What Level of Combat do you like

Community Larp discussion
#21

I have two reasons for voting light.

  1. I’ve been crew only so far. Crew get hit A LOT. Especially newbie crew who have no idea what they are doing with a sword (ie. me) . So heavy combat would hurt A LOT. Oh, also, crew don’t often get armour… altho in a heavy combat larp I hope that would NOT be the case.

  2. I’m really crap at pain, I fold up and cry. It’s pathetic, I know, but so far I haven’t been able to do anything about it. I’m even too scared to take up a martial art or do sword training because it will hurt.

I think that as much as I would like to be a hard-ass heavy combat female, it’s just not going to happen and a heavy combat larp would not be an option for me. Not to say there shouldn’t be one, tho. To each his/her own! :slight_smile:

Kara

#22

[quote=“Exquire”]Hype.

This is the part of combat in a larp that we can do fully.

[/quote]

Then why dont we?

In Mordavia i lost count of the number of times i have seen a bunch of players standing around at night, in the middle of the bush, talking at full volume, laughing, even singing, and Adam it looks great but that white outfit of yours is a search light, you could be seen from space.

There was no threat of death therefore no fear of death, which meant players who treated combat as a fun and part of the “game”, combat should not be fun. It should be dangerous, deadly, dirty and mean, something that you want to avoid at all costs.

My favourite Mordavia game is Reckonings, why, because at the end of it there was actual grief at the battlefield, the consequences of the battle hit people.

I would like to see combat have conseqeunces. the act of killing to have repercussions.

either emotional repercussions or social ones, like Silvermoons trail after he murdered that band of orcs. that had a large number of wide ranging repercussions.

I have seen people smiling while fighting, people laughing while fighting, in Mordavia the combat was never a threat, it was fun, part of the game, (until the stone golem came onto the scene)but it shouldn’t be it should the last resort, the ultimate breakdown of communication, the worst thing that can happen.

#23

Carl, you’re right about people not fearing death. But blow strength has nothing to do with that

It’s because people have too many hit points :smiley:

#24

yeah I know I wish it did though

[quote=“Derek”]
It’s because people have too many hit points :smiley:[/quote]

Which is another thing i would like to see, less hit points.

we would need to test it but i believe that if we have two Hit Points, and we used medium strength blows, there would be No cheating, either accidental or deliberate.

if you really feel the blows you cant deny it, and if you have only two HP then you are not going to last long even if you are cheating.

#25

I’ve been so serious about Mordavia, and with all the appropriate fears - so you mean it’s because I only had 2 hit points? (ok, I could make a Warding Brew - but it requires money 8) ) Hmmm…
The fear should come from roleplaying, not from real danger, is it not?
And I too cry when it hurts :cry: :cry: :cry:

#26

[quote=“Aiwe”]…
The fear should come from roleplaying, not from real danger, is it not?
[/quote]

You should beleive that the danger is so real that it scares you, when you see that giant orc stomping towrds you witha 20 pound hammer, you should feel the warm trickle of urine coursing down the inside of your leg.

#27

I’ve been so serious about Mordavia, and with all the appropriate fears - so you mean it’s because I only had 2 hit points? (ok, I could make a Warding Brew - but it requires money 8) ) Hmmm…
The fear should come from roleplaying, not from real danger, is it not?
And I too cry when it hurts :cry: :cry: :cry:

#28

Games should always feel safe, even when your character is scared.

#29

[quote=“Aiwe”]I’ve been so serious about Mordavia, and with all the appropriate fears - so you mean it’s because I only had 2 hit points? (ok, I could make a Warding Brew - but it requires money 8) ) Hmmm…
The fear should come from roleplaying, not from real danger, is it not?
And I too cry when it hurts :cry: :cry: :cry:[/quote]

is there an echo in here?
echo
echo
echo
echo

                                    :stuck_out_tongue:
#30

I have to great a grasp on reality to ever feel fear from a rubber orc.

It’d be nice, but it isn’t going to happen.

#31

Oh, thank you very much for such lively explanation…
Well, it makes sense.
No echo, just my stupid internet connection. Sorry about that. Hopefully I’ll fix it soon.

Exactly!!! That’s the whole point!
Then what are we arguing about? :question:

By the way, did you notice how alive Diatribe suddenly became now when Mordavia is over? I’m typing reply to one post, and while I do it two other people post as well 8)

#32

I’ve always felt frightened in Mordavia combat, in character. My first character had a sword but never used it in the three weekend games she was at. It was sheathed at her side when she died :unamused: The fear I felt in character was the sheer vulnerability on the battlefield of if something decided to attack me, that was it.

With my second character, at this last game, I decided to try more of a fighter character which was risky given I have zero real life sword training. It took me most of Friday night to overcome my out of character apprehension about forraying into combat and had a great time all of Saturday actually partaking in the fighting.

There was one fight I didn’t feel scared at all. No co-incidentally, that was the fight my character was killed in. I think a certain level of fear keeps you on your toes…

#33

Steve here, using Carl’s logon…Fascinating discussion, and Carl asked me to share my opinion - after the number of times we have tried heavy hitting with the larping swords at training, I have noticed (in myself as well as others) a tendency to deliver hard hits from positions of poor balance, with the accompanying loss of control, just because the weapon has no weight, and can hit first - I regard this as unfortunate in our setting, but not too risky IN THAT SETTING . Within the larping scenario, having looked at the suggested striking definitions, I myself would be happy playing to the medium hits, but not above.
Decent blow, hell yeah…
Still within control, hell yeah…
Full strikes, full power, full speed, all levels of participants, not for me.

Thanks for the opportunity to share. Steve.

#34

We’re discussing many things: the big question is what level of fighting do people feel is appropriate for a larp.

I’m comfortable at THIS level,

But some people are more comfortable at THIS level.

I’ve done both and most of the stuff in between. I actually enjoy all of it :smiley:

#35

[quote=“Aiwe”]
By the way, did you notice how alive Diatribe suddenly became now when Mordavia is over? I’m typing reply to one post, and while I do it two other people post as well 8)[/quote]

Yes, I saw that.
No users at Mordavia / 11 users at Diatribe. :slight_smile:

#36

Can people let others know this is the new place to be? Ta :smiley:

#37

I agree with Kara.

If you write and run a system (like I have) you realise you are not just catering to the party, but also the monsters as well. If you run a heavy contact system then you must have all the monsters dressed up like SCA people.

In a light contact system you vcan have much prettier monsters. One of my favourites was two guys playing trolls. Their entire costume consisted of false teet, a loin cloth and spray paint. Not fair to hit them hard. Creatures like sappy dragons and fear bunnies would be black and blue at the end of the day.

Also enchanted creatures like vampires are immune to normal weapons. It would be hard to roleplay this properly when the party is pummeling you as hard as they physically can and and you are not blocking.

If you want to hit hard, do it by mutual agreement at tournaments, else keep the blows soft.

#38

I’m glad Carl posted his opinion here because it makes me look more moderate. :smiley:

Even though we can demonstrate that fighting hard is possible without needing to take people to hospital every game, it’s very clear that most of the players are not looking for this type of intensity from larp.

I agree with Carl that some people could benefit from hardening up. But my feeling is that there already exists several excellent avenues for people to do some form of martial art with swords at a high level of intensity and to get very physical. I’m not convinced we need another.

I disagree with Alista that people who want to hit hard do it as a skill substitute. Some might, but if you look at real sword fighting, much of the skill was in hitting hard. Fighting to a touch just requires different skills to fighting hard.

What value people put on these skills is up to them.

It seems clear to me that upping the power to make combat more realistic does not have popular support. Can we now look at other questions like:

Other than hitting harder, what would make combat “better”?

#39

In immersive larps:

  • People roleplaying their characters’ natural aversion to being butchered if the setting is intended to be gritty/realistic

  • Taking killing seriously, if appropriate to characters in the setting

  • Roleplaying of wounds

  • No cheating, and rules simple enough that it’s easy to tell what’s happened to you.

  • People not dropping out of character to complain, or minimising it

Apart from that, I’m fairly happy with most of the combat I’ve seen and done at Mordavia.

#40

For me it’d be:

  • wounds rather than hit points
  • armour that works like armour
  • removal of instant healing[1]
  • blood[2]
  • less combat (less is more[3])
  • simple ruleset that can be explained quickly

[1] Instant healing makes combat too safe and less scary

[2] When I played Sir Nigel of Hoven, the watch captured me and tied me to a chair. They then beat me black and blue. Makeup was applied and I had fake blood in my mouth (mmmm maple syrup). People who saw the makeup thought I’d actually injured myself.

[3] Is this a Craigism?