Stuff NZLARPS needs

nzLARPS
#1

We have an amazing amount of stuff, but there are always a few more key things that would be nice.

This is a topic where people can list things they’ve noticed would be nice to have at games, and the society can consider accumulating the items at some point. They could be purchased from the general funds or by specific projects that might especially want them. Or someone can point out that we do already have the item, and where to find it.

Makeup mirrors
I brought a small round mirror (around 10-15cm diameter) with a built-in stand to the game, and the crew found it very useful for applying their own makeup. I think it cost me under $10 at a dollar shop. Having two or three of these in the makeup box would mean that several people can apply their own makeup at once.

A large mirror
I used to bring a cheap long & narrow mirror to games, and people found it handy for arranging their own costumes. It was from the Warehouse, and a bit warpy, but that doesn’t matter for this purpose. However, we would need a hard case for transporting and storing a large mirror. EDIT: a half-length mirror would also be useful as an IC prop for decorating rooms.

Light gels
I assume the boxes of electric lights I saw belong to the society. The coloured cellophane we have is very limited, it seems you can’t put it directly in front of the lights or it will overheat/melt. That makes it hard to direct coloured light straight at a target area. I think we need something like these or these but I don’t know what they cost. Red, green, and blue seem to be popular with GMs.

Smoke machine
We shouldn’t have to keep borrowing these.

Caraffes
Some plastic and glass jugs for drinks at games in “civil” settings. Mix of modern caraffes and curved glass jugs that would suit any era. Again, glass items would need to include packing for transport and storage.

A pavilion
We’ve had this discussion before. If we had one, we’d use the hell out of it. The downside is that it’s an expensive item.

#2

Light gels
IIRC, these are around $20 each, but you get a reasonably large sheet that you can cut to size. The lights were mine, although I am happy to lend to games. NZLARPS three pairs of 20w energy save lights that put out the equivalent of 110w each

Smoke machine
A similar one to Porl’s is $125 on TradeMe, and about $40 for the oil. Porl says they’ve used about 2 litres of oil over the years he has used his one.

Kitchen Box
Something with all the kitchen basics: tea-towels, cloths, a set of basic cutlery etc

#3

In that case:

Spotlights
A couple of spotlights or some similar sort of lighting. Also long extension cords, if we don’t have any. We might be able to buy the gels in a package with the lights, so that they fit into a special slot in the front of the light. Ideally they’d be water resistant.

Also:

Storage boxes
Our quantity of gear seems to be outgrowing the number of plastic storage boxes we have, and a number of them are quite broken. We could probably do with another 10 large boxes, and to chuck out some of the broken ones.

#4

[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]Storage boxes
Our quantity of gear seems to be outgrowing the number of plastic storage boxes we have, and a number of them are quite broken. We could probably do with another 10 large boxes, and to chuck out some of the broken ones.[/quote]

At the last gear day, the society purchased 4 or 5 new Plastic storage boxes for all the extra stuff we had accumulated. We can look at the state of the older boxes on the 11th at the Gear Rationalisation day.

#5

Pirate flag
The one we had met a fiery death this weekend. More seriously, anything more stuff that could be used to decorate rooms and conceal modern stuff would be an added boon. The carpets and pillows we have are great. Cotton fabric is preferable to polyester for this, as polyester is rather flamable.

#6

A large amount of plain black fabric was purchased recently by the society for Chrono Continuum Game 1 and also One Night in Heaven. This is still available currently for use as well as a large amount of white or light coloured fabric (2-3 boxes worth). Some of this may be made into costumes at the upcoming gear day, but I believe that there will be enough saved for the purpose you stated above

#7

We did have quite a bit of plain fabric, and it’s a good cheap way to conceal. But it’s also good to have things with some character like those rugs (we used one of them as a table cover in “noble meeting room” scenes), to actively add to the ambiance as well as hiding the obviously modern stuff.

#8

As we managed to demonstrate at the last Multiverse, candles and larp don’t always mix, there’s a very real fire hazard that needs to be carefully managed. But they’re great for atmosphere. Woe, the conundrum.

Electric candles
I was at a restaurant the other day, and it took me half an hour to notice the candles were fake. They were these guys:

The burned-down look conceals the fakeness of the flickering “flame” behind the “wax”. The melted look helps with the illusion too. Best of all, this Smart Candle brand is rechargable with a little docking station. The downside is, they’re expensive. The set of four above is US$100. Unfortunately they don’t seem to do the cool “votive candle ivory” look shown above in larger sets (I’ve emailed them to check), and the other look with the wick exposed looks much more fake unless you put it into a glass or something. They also do tall taper candles and others, but I think those are battery not rechargable.

It seems expensive, but the real candles we use up are quite an ongoing cost too, and the potential cost of a fire is unpleasant.

#9

I’ve just found the NZ distributer for Smart Candle, and they do 12-sets of the melty-looking silicone votive candle.

NZ$410 for the 12-set and 12-at-a-time-charger above. Twelve would probably be enough for the society, but they also offer extra candles for NZ$22.50 each.

I suppose $410 is a steep entry cost for us. Alternatively we could get a 4-set with charger for NZ$140, then acquire extra candles as money allows. That would require candles to be rotated through the charger between events, but would be cheaper per candle. That would work out to $320 for 12 candles plus the 4-at-a-time charger, saving $90.

#10

A while ago you could pick up short, wick exposed, battery-powered ones in Whitcoulls for a couple of bucks. We used them for MUch Ado in Wellington, and they worked well.

#11

I wonder how the rechargables would stack up against the batteries for cost in the long run.

#12

The problem with candles setting things is not a new one. It happened to medieval people as well.

The period solution was to use a candle lantern to hold the candle. You can get them from $2 shops for stuff all.

#13

Medieval people weren’t forced to use horrible bright flourescent lights in order to avoid setting off smoke detectors though. I think electric candles are a must-have for NZLarps. Whether we can afford the super pretty ones Ryan has found is a separate issue. I think they look great and they do solve the battery buying problems but dang that’s a lot of money.

Slightly more naff looking cheap ones would still be miles better than having to turn on the lights. :frowning:

#14

Wolfgang bought a box of 50 really awesome electric tealights. I have no earthly idea what happened to them.

#15

A basic manual of small group tactics for the crew and some basic puzzle books for players, just so they can get warmed up.

Just saying is all. :laughing:

#16

There is a full length mirror coming nzLARPs way, via Erin and Gaffy.

#17

LED Tea-Light Rechargeable Candle Lamp with Glasses Kit (12-Pack)
Price: US$54.81 - including shipping

dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.9383

I don’t like battery powered candles myself.

#18

They’re not quite as pretty, but that’s a good price. I think mine were too expensive, there’s too great a chance of NZLARPS kit going missing to spend a lot on small items like this.

Real candles are much better for atmosphere, but they seem like a disaster waiting to happen. Our games are too unstuctured for them, too much chance of being left unattended.

#19

What are the venues policies regarding candles?
Also, what are our liabilites regarding accidental fire at these venues? e.g: does their insurance cover us?

Given the length of time we’ve been using candles at larp (and other re-enactment events) and the fact that we haven’t burnt down any venues, or even come close to, points to the majority of us being responsible and cautious with candle use. I think we’re probably over -inflating the risk and worrying too much about it looking at our track record.

If we really want to make some effort at mitigating the risk then start with:

  • candles in lanterns
  • candles extinguished when leaving a room unattended.
  • Invest in a fire extinguisher to accompany the first aid kit. (approx $50 from Mitre 10)
  • Point players at the electric light options and encourage their use.
#20

I think we could also invest in some uplamps as well as the LED lamps. Many venues do not allow candles, and typically we end up with flourescent lighting, which is garish.

The advantage of lamps is that they are not battery powered and are useful when we would otherwise resort to flourescent lighting. Getting some LED lights that Derek identified would be good too, but I’m not sure they would provide enough lighting for a large hall room.