Larping in the UK, a report

Community Larp discussion
#41

[quote=“Xcerus”][quote=“Robza”]Adding onto what Anna’s just mentioned, that’s what I absolutely loved about crewing for Wolfgangs, and more recently Jade Empire, the variety. Not having a PC was fine, because crewing was a blast, and I know many many LARPers agree with me, considering how often we all enthuse newbies to try and crew first. A weekend away at a LARP where you have no idea who or what you are going to play is absolutely great. It’s allowed me to go from priest to villager to gypsy to vampire to vampire hunter to Clan Lord to ninja to Imperial prince… you get the idea.

However, having said that, I am VERY VERY happy to try crewing for a couple of hours in a LARP that I’m playing in. Precisely for the above reasons. I’m that random type of person, :smiley: .

Still, the issue of IC/OOC meta-knowledge must be taken into account. It’s the GMs responsibility to not let any players that crew for a little bit to get any hint of incoming plot, but also those players need to be aware of this issue.[/quote]
The easiest way for the players to be used as crew is to use them as generic types be it merchants or bandits or orks or slaves for sale or whatever you could do with more of in your game that don’t in any way need to know why they are there plot wise. For example: I was taken from my home, please help me! as the innate responce for a slave gives nothing for plot to worry about and if somthing does pop up - such as what town they are from - it can come up later if it is urgent to the plot.

Zombies:
Ok todays brief guys - you have all been raised by the dark lord Drall, he has a phylactory the players need to destroy so you will be guarding it for him. If the players manage to destroy it then they will be able to take down the big bad at tomorrow afternoons game - if not then tonight we will unleash wave after wave of zombies untill they throw down their weapons and surrender - whereby they will have to work for him and tomorrow will be attacking the nearby town of Birmingham.
You cannot say anything other than groan and moan as if in pain. Three strikes and you are down respawn at your spawn point or a nearby gm.

  • no.

Ok todays brief guys, you are all playing 3 strike / hp zombies, once you are dead respawn on the gm or at your spawn site untill you are told otherwise. You are guarding this area so stay together and give the players a good fight!

-Yes![/quote]
Having said all that i am sure most gm’s here already do that unless its with an npc that needs to know some plot or they are ONLY crew and never play and thus the gm is happy to give them a bit of exta info so they have somthing to think about and can understand the plot flow of the game.

#42

Exactly what Adam said. At these games you do your two hours to provide fighting fodder basically. The interesting plot roles should be given to the dedicated crew who are giving up their weekend to help make the event.

The thought that suddenly 25 of the players bolster the crew for a big fight, so the other 25 players are suddenly outnumbered would bring a great dynamic to the game.

I think it needs to be done at a convenient time, I’d suggest at a normal weekend game you could crew for the first two hours of Friday game or the first two hours of the Saturday morning, then off you go get into kit and carry on.

Obviously for people with a lot of costume/makeup it’s a bit of a drag, but I think the pay off is more than worth the inconvenience.

#43

Regarding the food: don’t we already serve food and drink at all our (weekend) games? Sometimes it’s paid for in advance, sometimes it’s snacks etc that you can buy on a whim. Do we have any of the licenses for this that people have mentioned up-thread? How would this differ from an inn-type place?
Another thought: exchange real money for in game currency at the beginning of the game, that can only be used for the inn. At the end you can change back what you haven’t spent. Lets you put a real world limit on how much you spend while still allowing you to buy food spontaneously IC. Of course, players of rich characters might feel pressured to spend more, but that would probably be the case if you were using real money anyway.
Also it kinda opens up the hornets nest that is IC currency and how you deal with it. And potentially creates an accounting headache for the GMs when it comes to giving people back their spare money.

#44

I don’t mean this to sound overly critical but I’m having trouble phrasing it. Basically, not everybody is attached to the notion of playing “their own character”. When I choose to crew a game, I am very happy to just play whatever the GMs need me to, and a lot of people who go dedicated crew feel the same way. I love PCing, and I love developing my characters, but I think that there are less people than you think who need to play “their own character” to get satisfaction or enjoyment from a game.[/quote]

I was just thinking that players giving up a small portion of their playing time to crew, would be in an effort to support the existing crew, not to swap roles. It’d mean that the supporting players can be mooks/henchmen and let the dedicated crew take the spotlight as notable NPCs with some serious back up.

Not that this is that much of a factor; but I’ll still mention it. We’re still paying quite different amounts of money and people who sign up for crew and those that sign up to play, go into the game expecting two different experiences.

#45

Just throwing this out there… if you can get the licensing and such I am a licensed bartender/bar manager.

#46

[quote=“No Rectangulars”]Regarding the food: don’t we already serve food and drink at all our (weekend) games? Sometimes it’s paid for in advance, sometimes it’s snacks etc that you can buy on a whim. Do we have any of the licenses for this that people have mentioned up-thread? How would this differ from an inn-type place?
Another thought: exchange real money for in game currency at the beginning of the game, that can only be used for the inn. At the end you can change back what you haven’t spent. Lets you put a real world limit on how much you spend while still allowing you to buy food spontaneously IC. Of course, players of rich characters might feel pressured to spend more, but that would probably be the case if you were using real money anyway.
Also it kinda opens up the hornets nest that is IC currency and how you deal with it. And potentially creates an accounting headache for the GMs when it comes to giving people back their spare money.[/quote]
There is big difference between providing meals at a paid for invite only event and selling food and drink :frowning: silly beurocrazy :confused:

On the flip side - we did look up some liscencing laws - if the event is invite only and the site organisor ok’s it then you can serve alcohol without a liscence :slight_smile:

#47

Regarding makeup and costume heavy characters, Nick mentioned upthread that there’s usually some kind of mooks with heavy robes or masks needed. Still doable.

As Zephy I would have a hard time taking 2 hours out to play a human warrior, but an npc air/water elemental or a mask-covered zombie or demon would be easy enough.

#48

Having just watched a documentary series called “filthy cities”, which included the horrific details of what happened in the absence of food regulations, I’m quite keen on that bureaucracy, thanks. I’d rather not have maggots in my meat, borax in my hotdogs, and salmonella for breakfast.

ObLarp: If you want to dress your set properly, the show does show you how to make authentic medieval London street surface, out of mud, straw, animal dung, rotten fruit, animal guts, and human excrement. Though I think that would be taking it a bit far.

#49

[quote=“theotherphoenix”]Regarding makeup and costume heavy characters, Nick mentioned upthread that there’s usually some kind of mooks with heavy robes or masks needed. Still doable.

As Zephy I would have a hard time taking 2 hours out to play a human warrior, but an npc air/water elemental or a mask-covered zombie or demon would be easy enough.[/quote]

Agree

With Make up it would need to be before I apply it, or have some way to mask it while I kill my IC beloved as an NPC

#50

I don’t mean this to sound overly critical but I’m having trouble phrasing it. Basically, not everybody is attached to the notion of playing “their own character”. When I choose to crew a game, I am very happy to just play whatever the GMs need me to, and a lot of people who go dedicated crew feel the same way. I love PCing, and I love developing my characters, but I think that there are less people than you think who need to play “their own character” to get satisfaction or enjoyment from a game.[/quote]

And another angle. Hadn’t considered that but I think I covered that in another part of my comment. My sole point was that if we had a game with crew rotation then perhaps crew could rotate into player.

#51

I don’t mean this to sound overly critical but I’m having trouble phrasing it. Basically, not everybody is attached to the notion of playing “their own character”. When I choose to crew a game, I am very happy to just play whatever the GMs need me to, and a lot of people who go dedicated crew feel the same way. I love PCing, and I love developing my characters, but I think that there are less people than you think who need to play “their own character” to get satisfaction or enjoyment from a game.[/quote]

And another angle. Hadn’t considered that but I think I covered that in another part of my comment. My sole point was that if we had a game with crew rotation then perhaps crew could rotate into player.[/quote]
It is a good idea Jarred but I would prefer to keep players and crew seperate to prevent the cross polinization of plot.

#52
  1. This would defeat the purpose of pumping crew by adding players, if we simply rotate crew out.
  2. Not everybody wants to play. Most people crew because they want to crew.
#53

[quote=“Xcerus”]
It is a good idea Jarred but I would prefer to keep players and crew seperate to prevent the cross polinization of plot.[/quote]
Just for clarities sake:

Crew: Full time crew - never a player

Monsters: Players who spend a few hours at an event crewing.

The fact that these may not be the correct definitions has sprung to my mind however they are my definitions and i feel you all deserve clarity :slight_smile:

#54
  1. This would defeat the purpose of pumping crew by adding players, if we simply rotate crew out.
  2. Not everybody wants to play. Most people crew because they want to crew.[/quote]

Didn’t mean to cause a fuss. Just saying what was in my head.

#55
  1. This would defeat the purpose of pumping crew by adding players, if we simply rotate crew out.
  2. Not everybody wants to play. Most people crew because they want to crew.[/quote]

Thought I covered this earlier on too? Maybe people don’t read my posts…

#56

I’m sure people read your posts Nick. You know how forum threads go…not exactly linear conversations. :smiley:

Back on the subject of making a cool-looking IC tavern…

At the building we used as the “Inn” there were two areas - the upstairs room that was flanked by sleeping quarters, and the downstairs kitchen area.

I know the downstairs kitchen area was used for at least one meal, but otherwise seemed mostly unused. Could we turn that area into the IC tavern? Then the people who want to sleep can do so without the noise.

I looked at some pictures of the Crimson Moon… (well actually I googled “Crimson Moon” and got a picture of a man with his pants around his ankles showing off a sunburnt butt…) and, save for us not having a big tent, I think we could do an OK job putting something similar together. The main considerations would be:

  • Wall coverings to cover all the modern bits and bobs and add flavour (such as simple two-colour pendants: rameset.com/images/2CLRPN.gif

  • Tablecloths all of the same colour

  • Low lighting to simulate candle-light (and hide other modern ‘sins’). Use of those LED candles would be ideal.

  • Period bowls and plates for snacks

  • Period vessels for drinking

  • An absence of overly-modern bottles so the tables aren’t littered with Ribena/Sprite/what have you

Obviously the flags would have to be affixed to the wall but we’ve done that before with staples/pins haven’t we? If we hang a dowel through the flag then we’d just need one thumbtack per flag which probably wouldn’t be super-damaging to walls.

I’d be willing to:

  • Make a bunch of flags
  • Host a sewing bee at my place in Titirangi for others who would like to spend a few hours sewing flags
  • Help set-dress the Tavern on Friday night (though I’ve also got significant costuming requirements of my own, plus other people, so I will need to ensure I give myself time to get kitted up before game start)

Anyone else keen to help?

#57

Fixing stuff to the cinder block walls is the big issue. At the Teonn weekend game, I think I probably spent three hours spread over the weekend trying to stick fabric to walls with various kinds of tape, and it just kept coming down. Was it Nick made the comment about getting stands and theatre blacks? I’m guessing it’d be expensive to buy professional level gear outright, but if someone could think of a cost effective portable stand type solution that material could be clipped on to, I think it would get a lot of use.

#58

Velcro spots sometimes work. The adhesive is a little stronger than most tape. Not as good a solution as this one, but cheaper off the bat.

#59

[quote=“amphigori”]I’m sure people read your posts Nick. You know how forum threads go…not exactly linear conversations. :smiley:

Back on the subject of making a cool-looking IC tavern…

At the building we used as the “Inn” there were two areas - the upstairs room that was flanked by sleeping quarters, and the downstairs kitchen area.

I know the downstairs kitchen area was used for at least one meal, but otherwise seemed mostly unused. Could we turn that area into the IC tavern? Then the people who want to sleep can do so without the noise.

I looked at some pictures of the Crimson Moon… (well actually I googled “Crimson Moon” and got a picture of a man with his pants around his ankles showing off a sunburnt butt…) and, save for us not having a big tent, I think we could do an OK job putting something similar together. The main considerations would be:

  • Wall coverings to cover all the modern bits and bobs and add flavour (such as simple two-colour pendants: rameset.com/images/2CLRPN.gif

  • Tablecloths all of the same colour

  • Low lighting to simulate candle-light (and hide other modern ‘sins’). Use of those LED candles would be ideal.

  • Period bowls and plates for snacks

  • Period vessels for drinking

  • An absence of overly-modern bottles so the tables aren’t littered with Ribena/Sprite/what have you

Obviously the flags would have to be affixed to the wall but we’ve done that before with staples/pins haven’t we? If we hang a dowel through the flag then we’d just need one thumbtack per flag which probably wouldn’t be super-damaging to walls.

I’d be willing to:

  • Make a bunch of flags
  • Host a sewing bee at my place in Titirangi for others who would like to spend a few hours sewing flags
  • Help set-dress the Tavern on Friday night (though I’ve also got significant costuming requirements of my own, plus other people, so I will need to ensure I give myself time to get kitted up before game start)

Anyone else keen to help?[/quote]

Just as a heads up - the crimson moon does not provide drinking vessels as they tend to dissapear or get broken so are a constant cost to the business. Instead people are encouraged to bring their own tankards which are filled for them.

#60

With respect to masking overtly modern bottles, a simple scrap of fabric/fake leather and a bit of string can be used to make an effective wrap … takes about half a minute of effort, and looks pretty good.