I suggest “drop all” should be the phrase to immediately stop role playing. This could be used, for example, in a real emergency or when there is a real danger.
Since LARPs often try to realistically re-create emergency, panic and danger, I think it’s very important to have some call that clearly states a situation has NOT been simulated.
Thoughts?
It seems sound to me, and its what the NMC use as their stop doing anything right now phrase. the only thing is that it must be taken on board by all players as well as organizers. Its all very well for us to be yelling `Drop all’ till we are blue in the face, the players MUST follw the instructions they have been given about it. Drills before game are not out of the question.
In Holland we use “Man Down” for an OC accident. HEALER!!! Is sufficient enough for IC situation.
“Time stop” for other reasons.
– Tim
A lot of us who have done metal fighting are conditioned to respond to “BREAK!”
And to repeat it until everyone else gets the idea.
For an example, remember in the last Mordavia game (Solstice) when Scottie thought he’d lost his glasses.
~Dariyan (whose account isn’t activated yet)
There was also a lot of calls of “Time Out!” and “Game Stop!”. It still took a while for the message to get through, though.
It just needs something suitably OOC - If it doesn’t fit with the setting, then people are going to notice a lot faster. Something like “Hold Off!” wouldn’t work in Mordavia (goodness knows Carlyn was yelling it enough at the Portal Battle). “Drop All!” may have the problem that it’s not incongruous enough.
We used to use ‘Time Out!’ in the UK for ‘stop everything’. This worked well on the one occasion I saw it needed.
the phrase we use in Auckland sword and shield a steel weapons fighting club is "Brake"
and as far as i know mostly every other club use the same phrase.
the NAAMA festival for example if someone calls brake people immediatly stop due to the roll on effect of everyone else yelling the same.
it’s shorter than “drop all” or “stop game” and it’s not something you would hear people on the feild yelling as a tuant or anything else.
i may be bias toward that but thats my suggestion
And the SCA use “Hold” which does pretty much the same thing. It would be good to standardise, though, at least for any given game.
Personally, I don’t like the “Hold” phrase as it could well be used in-character when giving orders to the guard, for example. I prefer “Time Out” because there is no way it would be said in-character, it immediately breaks the illusion and makes people think.
But then again, it could just be because thats what I’m used to.
‘Break’ has the advantage of being a one-syllable word: it is quicker to say and understand in an emergency.
I think it’s an issue that both “break” and “hold” are fairly normal things to be calling in the heat of battle, or while abseiling down a building while being shot at by the aliens, or while hacking into the FBI’s data centre… but “drop all” is something you would pretty much never say in any larping situation - without going into the “I am not acting” explanation.
although i agree that hold could be easly mistaken in a larp situation for a very IC yell, i can’t really ever see break being used IC even in a modern or future larp , “hey you brake!” “yessir!” snap
“Break” said in a commanding voice is very different to “break” yelled repetitively in a panicked, cautioning voice. I think break works fine, unless you’re the timid, shy type who dislikes raising their voice. For most Mordavians, that shouldn’t be a problem.
I’m for break.
In the SCA we use HOLD! to stop combat. When you’re fighting and you hear HOLD!, you fall to your knees, raise your weapon above your head and yell HOLD!
From time to time, some plonker will yell “Hold the line!” with predictable consequences…
I’d suggest if it’s actually necessary that a “Time out!” be called with a T shaped hand signal.
Actually - this probably needs to be changed for whatever the game is “hold” and “break” are good medieval words and “time out” would be better to use in those settings. However if you were playing an American College LARP with a basket ball game then maybe “time out” would be inappropriate…
HAving a very clear cessation of all activities combined with everyone else picking up the cry…
In the game where Scotty thought he’d lost his glasses, those who heard it dropped out of character immediately… ignoring the blows that they were receiving. The sudden drop of Character is a splash of cold water to the observers and makes them aware of surroundings and they would start picking up the cry.
Words and actions combined would be the critical part. Having a standardised word is a little dangerous… but a clear “STOP!” or “HOLD!” or “BREAK!” or suchlike - people recognise the emotion rather than the word and with the sudden stop of action… it doesn’t mater what is being said as long as the cry is taken up by all players as well as the action.
Those who continue to push it… well… that is one of the rewasons why we have storytellers/DM’s/GM’s…
In my opinion a crucial thing is to make a differenz between the intime cry"Healer" and the outtime cry"Paramedic".
In germany the most common play-stop cry ist “stop” as it is mostly preceaved more as a outtime cry than “hold” etc.
Sometime GMs also use a wistle.
@Alan
You wrote: Having a standardised word is a little dangerous
I can’t see why that would be. If the word is standardised all players will instantly know that their opponent has really hurt himself… while if the word isn’t standardised you’d have that split second in which you’d have to think : “Has he really hurt himself or is he acting” and alot could happen in this split second.
Idhrenelin
I think a standardised “stop” word would be useful.
As demonstrated during my unfortunate “I’ve dropped my glasses” incident it took ages for everytone to stop… 
Having “played” at EMT scenario training sessions, the spectre of a real accident occuring, and being treated as a drill is very real (It’s bloody hard worklifting a 250lb woman down the whole lenght of the stairs at ericson stadium, we were lucky not to have had an accident ourselves).
The standard, made up phrase is one that I have never, ever heard anywhere else, TV, Radio, idle conversations, etc.
It is “No Duff”.
This call is made, and everything in the vaciniy either stops, or is relocated elsewhere, while the real crisis is delt with.
However, all the words / phrases being suggested in this thread have one thing in common. They are all ones that have been drumed into the suggesters.
“Break” for NAAMA steel sword users.
“Hold” for SCA people.
“Time Out” for others.
We have to make a choice, and stick to it. We must drill it into ourselves, and our friends. It MUST be one that is quick to use, easy to remember, and is very, very unlikely to come up by accident.
Which everone we choose, I will stick with it, and will try to spread it as effectively and throughly as possible.
AJ
PS Sorry if I come accross as a little confused / scanctimonius, but am running on very little sleep at the mo’
I favour “Time out” for LARP.
Unlike in SCA and steel sword, in LARP people are conversing in character, often during combat. Words like “hold” and “break” are things that might get said in character, with perfectly good justification.
I feel the same about “man down”, the call that is used in UK larp. Also, that’s too specific - it’s doesn’t allow you to halt the game for a dangerous situation that hasn’t actually resulted in injury… yet.
By comparison, “Time Out” is something you would never say in character. It can be used for injuries, suspected injuries, to stop dangerous situations, and to prevent damage to property. Also, “Time Out” reminds people that they are not only stopping fighting, they are actually dropping out of character and out of the game fiction to deal with the issue. That’s an issue that’s only relevant to larp. Finally, it has a natural opposite call, “Time In”, which can be used to resume the game.
So should we, I don’t know, do some kind of poll for the options ‘Hold’, ‘Break’, ‘Drop All’, and ‘Time Out’ to see what is preferred, or would you rather hand that over to the committee (at the Jan meeting by now probably) to get an overall keyword decided on to be used in all such situations?