LARP System Mechanics - Origami

Community Larp discussion
#1

Unrelated to anything I’m running or organising (in the foreground) currently, I thought it a good idea to gauge opinions on an idea I have had.

What do you all think of the idea of using origami as a spell casting technique in a sword and sorcery LARP? The folding of the paper would be the performing of the spell, and the final product could also be an enchanted item on it’s own, giving effects etc. The more powerful the spell, the more difficult the folding necessary to achieve the model. Enchanted origami items would lose their enchantment after the destruction of the paper model.

This idea came to me as I have been exploring alternate methods of spell casting to those mechanics currently used in LARP. I’m looking for things that would take effort, and a bit of time, so that they are more tangible for those performing them, and for those observing the casting or being under the effects of the spell. Although that does not mean any future game I include these sort of mechanics in would not also include spells that are chanted.

Let me know what you think of the origami idea, and whether you have any ideas of your own for spell casting techniques that would be tangible and require effort.

#2

Works on a lot of levels. Like you say it creates a natural casting time. Paper is cheap and biodegradable, so it’s a practical physical requirement. It makes a physical prop that represents the spell and can be destroyed, which is a nice twist.

If it was entirely unambiguous what any given origami spell does in context, that would be ideal. For example, if attaching a red paper crane to a katana always meant that the sword was enhanced in a specific way until the crane was removed or destroyed, that would make it easier for people to recognise the effects of magic without it having to be called out constantly.

Personally I’d only see this mechanic suiting a Japanese-themed game in an original setting where origami can have magic powers. In that instance it would be a lovely piece of IC and OOC symmetry. In any other context it would feel out of place to me. Origami just says “Japan” to me really strongly, it doesn’t seem generic in the least.

#3

Yes. But it would be an absolutely beautiful and elegant mechanic for such a game.

Are there equialent arty / crafty things we could find for more western fantasy?

#4

Embroidery

#5

This could be hilarious, but also involves needles, which are easily lost and inevitably found by the pointy end :S

#6

You cannot defeat me! I have crafted a doiley of protection!

The origami idea sounds great :slight_smile: Its something people could practice too and become more prolific spellcasters

#7

Or possibly more proficient.

#8

Err… yes. that one ^

#9

[quote]Special Talent: All-Seasons Spellcaster
Caster may use greasproof paper for spellcasting, allowing magic to be performed in the rain.[/quote]

#10

[quote=“TimeTraveller”]You cannot defeat me! I have crafted a doiley of protection![/quote]:wink:

For a more European theme, something like crocheting or finger knitting? It’d kind of fit in with a flavour of magic that’s to do with knots and weaving, which some novels do. And change the role of casters from something you do in the middle of a fight to something you do in quiet periods as preparation.

#11

Knot-tying in general is probably a fairly universal craft that takes time.

I don’t think it has quite the same cool flavour or practical advantages of origami though. And I would never play a spell-caster in a game where you had to that used knots for magic… I really suck at knots. Never tried origami.

Writing symbols on paper is another time-consuming action that can have a magical flavour, and it could be combined with paper-folding.

#12

Naturally, I’ve now found an example of early European paper-folding in an illuminated manuscript from 1440.

loggiaserena.com/Resume/Docu … ingDoc.pdf

Paper-folding enthusiasts were apparently very excited by the find. :wink:

#13

Drawing/painting specific symbols/runes.

Step 1 of magic would be to acquire the symbols (can provide RP opportinities like being mentored by another mage, or finding magical scrolls with the symbol, or buying them from people, etc …)

Step 2 would be to do the drawing/painting

Step 3 would be to do the thing with that drawing/painting (stick it on something, burn it, put it in water, etc … )

You could have different material components that added different abilities/effects to the casting (i.e.; a rune drawn in another person’s blood cast the effect on that person - a symbol forged out of silver effects werewolves, etc …

I like the origami idea too. Origami is beautiful, but so far I’ve only ever managed to figure out how to make a hat! Maybe that’d make me immune from sap as long as the wee hat stayed on my head?

Edit: Edited because my sleep-deprived brain composed a sentence that made NO sense!

#14

Cat’s cradle and other string figures. They can be v. simple or v. complex, some patterns (like the cradle) need two sets of hands, and they were extant in Britain as far back as the Middle Ages.

#15

[quote=“amphigori”]I like the origami idea too. Origami is beautiful, but so far I’ve only ever managed to figure out how to make a hat! Maybe that’d make me immune from sap as long as the wee hat stayed on my head?[/quote]And if you make it out of tinfoil, then you’ll be immune to sap and the GMs won’t be able to read your mind. Good thinking! :slight_smile:

#16

I like the origami, and string cat cradle idea for casting spells, not just because I am terrible at remember phrases. Uses concentration and both hands, which for me have been traditional aspects of spell casting. Being a visual thing, I can see people trying to cast surreptitiously, and can be interrupted, which adds good game interaction potential.

#17

The concept of being able to hand the target something tangible (whether completed origami, knot, string figurine, ballon animal, whatever) as a focus/token for the magic is quite neat.

#18

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone! It’s great to see this discussion take off.

Perhaps I should have called it Paper Folding, rather than Origami, since, as Ryan points out, the craft spans much of Eurasia, even centuries ago.

I’m liking the other ideas about tangible spell casting as well, please keep them coming if you have more!

#19

What you’re talking about is a method extremely similar to something already in play in a LARP, namely the Jade Empire, an oriental fantasy.

The system I got to see as a crew member was that many of the magic users in the game must spend time writing paper talismans with calligraphy brushes - these talismans can then be used once ripped in two - and can be used by a non-magic user also.

I’d get in touch with game creator and lead GM Erin (steelphoenix on these forums) if I were you Nick - you two ought to compare notes.

#20

Its certainly an interesting idea, and it can potentially significantly change the role of magic users and the way they are played in a game, especially in boffer combat situations. But, that being said, it is also possible that I might be put off playing a magic user in a game where magic was done in that method, simply because I’m pretty useless with my hands and wouldn’t trust that I could actually produce origami/knots/etc that were good enough to be considered successfully cast spells. Its similar to how I won’t try to play some sort of sword master at a boffer LARP, because I simply don’t have the skill in real life to back it up. But that’s me.