LARP for kids

ok im a new guy so heres some basic ideas i think would rip

Ok idea one

Kids traped and forced to fight to the death but to add a twist they have bombs straped to there leg (simler to Contest the condemd and battle royla)
they can kill each other or fine the people keeping them hostage and kill them (these will be the older people)

Idea 2

Those of you who read the precy Jackson books we could do that half god half humen at a camp getting trained in combat and going on quest

I regularly run larps for kids in the 6-12 age group. The kids vs adults thing is quite useful because it enables the kids to work together, and for the adults to be used as crew.

This would work for older (13+) kids, I think. Perhaps the first fight could be between characters that have every reason to keep each other alive (e.g. siblings), so the kids will be forced to find an alternative to actually fighting to the death.

This would be quite cool as well. Getting the special powers to balance would be key. Perhaps the camp could be attacked and their teacher(s) kidnapped, and the kids would need to rescue them in order to continue their training ?

thanks for the help that sounds great im very new to this and im not sure how to get started in the LARPing world

I’d suggest you have a look at how other people deal with the mechanics of their LARP games. That way you can check out how these things are done already and add your ideas on top of this.

Several people have systems they will share with you, providing you acknowledge their work should you “borrow” any of it. As for Kids larps, well, kids are natural role players, you don’t need many rules. I have played many a simple combat game with my kids out on the street with only this rule - 3 strikes (torso/limbs only) and your dead/unconscious for 20 seconds.

I have a variant, where I play a zombie, the kids have 1 HP and I as the bad guy have as many HP as there are opponents, which also works quite well.

As a side note, I have played with weapon looting rules, where kids may take the weapon of their defeated opponent as long as they leave their own in place. Typically this means the sneaky kid will actually backstab his team mates to get a bigger weapon or shield.

Though not intended for children, the Knightshade Realms and Knight-Fight games systems I have posted in the Knightshade thread may prove insightful to you, even if they are not directly applicable.

As Jared suggests, coming along to games is a great way to gain insight into developing your own system. Where are you based ? If you are in or near Auckland, then come and crew at one of the upcoming games, such as Knightshade.

I you want to develop games, then crewing is a good way to find out some of the ins & outs that aren’t so obvious to players.

I intended holding a Kids Skirmish towards the end of summer, and you’re welcome to help out and learn our (intentionally) simple larp system.