Welfare in larp

Community Larp discussion
#1

Coming off the end of the Teonn campaign some things about larp and our community have been highlighted, specifically about bleed.

For those who don’t know, Bleed is when the in character emotions start to affect the out of character emotions. Bleed is not all bad, in fact it is what some people enjoy about larp but when it starts to effect out of character relationships/interpersonal exchanges it can become worrying. As a community this is something that we need to try and prevent, as it can have negative effects on those that we share this hobby with.

Some things to keep in mind:
Ultimately we do this for fun, but everyone has different ways of having fun at a game, be respectful of this.
We are all affected by bleed in different ways, especially when our character’s have different outcomes. Think about how you react OOC to situations that affected other characters, as the other players may have viewed the situation very differently. Sometimes what seems hilarious to you could be quite painful for that player to live through. Be sensitive and supportive about this.
If you feel that bleed is affecting you, perhaps instead of immediately reacting or retorting to what another player says OOC, remove yourself from the situation so as not to cause OOC conflict that could wind up hurting someone. If you feel like you need to talk over the situation, seek out a friend, possibly a fellow larper, who wasn’t involved.
It is not ok to lay blame on players/bully players for IC situations. If you believe that they tried to OOC machinate the situation to their advantage, have a talk to a GM/ST to see if the situation can come to a resolution.

Ultimately bleed is something that is happening and will continue to happen in the larping community, we as individuals need to recognise how it affects us, and as community try to minimise the OOC negative impact it has on our community.

Going into Crucible, which seems to have more of a Player vs Player aspect than many other games, these sorts of issues are more likely to arise, and so its great to be mindful of the above points when approaching the games that we play.

PC instigated death of another PC is also a related issue. As crew we have always been instructed by the GMs (if given a killing blow) to make a players death awesome. This is collaborative storytelling, and this is a great thing to keep in mind, if this is the route that your character takes. Keep in mind that people invest time, money and energy into the character’s an costume, so please be mindful and sensitive of this fact.

#2

I approve of this message =D.

I’d also like to add my own involvement with negative “Bleed”. Hopefully so people can recognise it if it’s happening to themselves, and can prevent it =P.

Basically, Teonn was my first LARP, as a result a lot of new things happened and such, first game happened, and in character, Kamica (my character) suspected Cornelius (Another character) to have stolen a scroll, I never did learn what happened to that scroll, probably got lost, but while Kamica disliked and mis-trusted Cornelius, I now disliked and mis-trusted his player! Without even knowing who he was I was disliking this person, who I later on learned is actually quite cool. Anyway, in later games, I went to the After-Larps, talked a bit more with him Out of Character and discovered the difference between him and his character.

What I suggest, is that if you have the same feeling towards someone as your character, for example you hate a person because of something he/she did ICly, maybe go to them in an OOC occaission, maybe at the start of the day, when everyone’s still preparing, or late at night if people have gone OOC, or maybe at lunch or an After-Larp, and just hang out with that person, maybe even tell them that you want to get to know them out of character, as you fear otherwise you might get prejudices towards them =P.

I hope this helps atleast someone =P.

#3

That is so important, Kamica.

And, conversely, if you are playing a dreadful, horrible character, it doesn’t hurt to make the effort to get to know people OOCly before/immediately after you play just to reinforce what we assume everyone knows: that you’re roleplaying a character, but that you’re really a lovely person IRL.

#4

This may also prove to be useful. I am beginning to think this is becoming more and more necessary.

larpwright.efatland.com/?p=384 : Player Debriefing for Intense Larps 101

#5

I remember after my first weekend LARP ever (St Wolfgang’s), I just went home after the event, not to the after-larp, etc … I had no idea about bleed. I felt completely alienated from my partner and friends. I was wandering around a shopping mall thinking I was nuts for feeling so out of it. I really should have gone to the after-larp for that post-weekend shared-comedown and de-brief.

I try and take extra care with new players I have connections with, both pre and post-game. And I make a point of checking in with experienced friends too post-game. Being able to ‘go deep’ is really dependent on these safeguards and a caring community where we look out for each-other.

#6

I agree. This is the most important part. Not only do we need to be free to respect the right to create whatever character the setting allows, but we need to be aware that after the game is done, People are still going to be there, feeling human things.

We don’t go out of our way to hurt people Out Of Character in larps. We’re all here to tell a story, to have fun. Yes, some of our creations may not be shining paragons of virtue, but that’s part of the game. We make these characters to enrich other people’s experiences and offer a wide variety of creativity, not as an out of Character personal attack against other players.

That being said, we as OOC people need to look after each other and respect each other, on both sides of the situation.

People may be upset by things we do In Character during the game, or we in turn may be upset by things someone has done that has had an effect on our In Character game experience. The important issue is that it is addressed after the game is done, as soon as possible. We need to talk about these things. It is important to remember to keep everything away from the first person when letting them know what has happened, as expressed in the article, to assist in breaking out of immersion mentally.

If issues are not addressed and resolved, it runs the risk of creating continuing Out Of Character tension between players that may run into following games, which is not pleasant for anyone.

#7

I don’t know if this is possible, or if anyone is willing to do it (voluntarily).
But would it be a good idea to have a sort of LARP councillor or mediator?
That way, there’s always a person who people know they can go to, and those people who are a bit more shy, and don’t like confronting people, can instead go to them with their problems.
This could also help with problems where one of the two people have actually approached the other, but conflict has broken out OOCly as a result.
I don’t think it should be the GMs under any circumstance, because they are already way way too busy, so dedicated volunteers would be nice =P.
Again, I don’t know if this is a good idea, but I figured it was worth throwing it out there.

#8

It’s a very good idea Sander, and one that we’re employing in Crucible with a dedicated welfare room and welfare person where we can deal with things in a quiet and private space.

Unfortunatly when things happen outside of the game and in places where a GM or a friend can’t step in with a ‘hey guys, take a step back, count to ten and think before you do this’ is when things seem to snowball into the worst kinds of hurts.

#9

Most of us are indeed like that and that is AWESOME! But it only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch =/, and if you have any community, especially a growing one, there are bound to be some bad apples in the bunch, who will actually try to hurt people OOC. I believe this is the reason for this thread =P.
The New Zealand LARPing community seems like a really awesome one, and it’d be great to keep it as awesome =P. Unfortunately that means confronting unfortunate situations =/

#10

In addition to the bleed effect, people should be aware that after a larp/at night once everyone is out of character, little stresses that have built up over the day or days prior can lead to ooc confrontations.

This happened between myself and another person at the last Teonn and had it not been for other people reminding me that I was simply under stress from things going wrong/driving in Auckland (I’m a small town driver… I get lost in Hamilton)/trying to make the game in time etc. and snapping over something which I normally wouldn’t, could have had very real and very bad consequences. As it was, it made for a very tense evening which actually ruined my night as well as a couple of other people’s.

Thankfully we were able to resolve the issue in the light of day after a fair night’s sleep and a bit of destressing and relaxing.