LARP: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:larp 3240.jpg|frame|It's at least as cool as it looks.]]

 

{{quote|''"And so LARPing was born! Dignity died shortly thereafter."''|'''[[The Spoony One]]''', reviewing ''[[Mazes and Monsters]]''}}

 

Worthwhile games are either multi-day (up to a week) forays into the wild, far from any civilisation, with a large part of baggage being vodka (no, really - and this applies to LARP wordwide, not just Russia!), or sizeable social events with elaborate costumes and [[Gambit Pileup|convoluted plotlines]] held in university ballrooms.

Settings are often some variant of the standard fantasy setting (of varying levels of "yeah, we nicked this straight out of [[The Silmarillion]]"), possibly with a dash of [[Alternate History]], or taken directly from a popular RPG.

 

 

In several European countries, LARP is viewed in a different light. Especially in the Nordic countries, LARP is increasingly considered [[Serious Business]]. While your milage may always vary, LARP is creeping into the realm of the mainstream. For example, there are more Danish kids participating in LARPs (often school or daycare related) than there are kids in [[The Beautiful Game|football]] clubs and a popular [http://www.dr.dk/ramasjang/barda/index.html LARP-show] is aired on Danish national television (and exported to Sweden) . The inter-nordic [[wikipedia:Knutepunkt|"Meating Point" or "Node"]] convention in particular strive to advance LARP as a medium in many ways, and serious academical papers on LARP is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon.

{{examples}}

* [http://www.air-maelstrom.com AIR Maelstrom] - An alternate-earth Steampunk-themed LARP based in Atlanta, GA, by lead writer G.D. Falksen, lead designer Chris Dodson, and many others at Hatboy Studios. Makes use of nerf guns as well as traditional foam swords, but also features robust economic and social systems for those not as keen on battle, and is well balanced between different player interests. Storylines are set up by the staff but players are highly encouraged to participate in the storymaking process. Also, airships!

* [[Amtgard (Roleplay)|Amtgard]]

* "Murder mystery games", either at parties or special dinner events, are a semi-mainstream variant.

* Treasure Trap - One of the oldest LARP groups in the UK, beginning in the 1970's. The original system is now defunct but student spin-offs are still running in Durham and [[Cambridge University Treasure Trap|Cambridge]].

* IFGS: The International Fantasy Gaming Society, inspired by the [[Larry Niven]] and Steve Barnes ''Dream Park'' series.

* [http://www.skullduggerylarp.co.uk/ Skullduggery] A medium sized LARP based in the south east of England who have been featured on British TV several times, most notably when Dara O'Brien tried his hand at LARP for the Tough Gig series.

* The [[Society for Creative Anachronism]], or SCA is not a LARP and calling it one is bound to press someone's [[Berserk Button]] but deserves mention here because many of the roots of LARPing lie in it and there is substantial membership crossover. The same goes for Renaissance Faires.

* [http://www.live-adventure.de/ConQuest_english/start.php Conquest of Mythodea], Germany's largest recurring LARP, possibly the biggest in the world.

* [http://www.drachenfest.info/en/ Drachenfest], the second largest annual event i Germany.

* [http://www.labyrinthe.co.uk/ Labyrinthe], a high-fantasy system run mainly in Chislehurst Caves for literal dungeon-crawling.

* Tol-Galen, a mid-low fantasy LARP system native to the channel Islands and parts of Manchester, with themes varying by chapter. The Guernsey chapter's setting is quite possibly the most pop-culture saturated LARP in existence with an unusual atmosphere that bounces between tongue-in-cheek comedy, genre deconstruction and in many cases psychological horror. It uses the same equipment and maintains some links with the Lorien Trust system mentioned above. It operates via tavern evenings (In-depth, noncombat/combat-lite sessions that focus on intrigue and character development) and adventures (sessions at various sites with a heavy focus on combat and puzzle solving, usually working through scripted encounters in a linear or branching order, mainly due to monster crew constraints. Overall gameplay is NPC/plot-crew driven and skirmish based.

 

* Otakon has a Theatre-style LARP which has been going on for decades.

 

* The second arc of ''[[Powers]]'', "Roleplay," deals with a college LARP group that pretend to be superheroes (in a universe that actually ''has'' superheroes) complete with "calls to action" from the rooftops. Things start to go horribly, horribly wrong...

 

* The movie ''Sydney White'' has the title character, an [[Expy]] of [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|Snow White]], rooming with "seven dorks" one of whose hobbies is this.

* One of the mentored kids in ''[[Role Models]]'' is a LARPer. The movie's central plot, a pair of adults learning to be less cynical and enjoy life more, reaches a critical point when one of the men decides to blow off a court-date in order to join in the kid's LARP and {{spoiler|help him ''almost'' win the big annual free-for-all.}} He even admits to one of the game organisers that he'll probably be back some time.

* ''The Knights of Badassdom'' which is about LARPers who accidentally summon demons into the real world and then have to battle them.

 

* The [[Larry Niven]] and Steven Barnes series ''Dream Park''

* In the ''[[Dresden Files]]'' short story "It's My Birthday Too", the action takes place in a mall that's been rented for a LARP very similar to Minds Eye Theater. Ironically one of the people in it is Thomas, Harry's brother who ''is'' a vampire.

* Many founding members of the Portland Protective Association in S. M. Stirling's [[Emberverse]] series were originally SCA members.

 

* One of the Geeks in a season of ''Beauty and the Geek''. In fact his was the pairing that won that season.

* The Winchesters are accused of being such in ''[[Supernatural]]''.

* In an episode of ''Series/Castle'' Rick mentions a group he once researched for a book that roleplays fairy tale charcters, although none of them appear in the episode, which revolves around women being murdered and found dressed up as fairy tale heroines. Another episode features a "zombie run".

 

* [[A Hawk and a Hacksaw]]'s music video for "Cervantine" depicts a LARP sword battle, and plays it up for maximum [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]-ness.

 

* In ''[[Transhuman Space]]'' this is how Lunar kids spend their time, since they can easily reform Lunar City's smart buildings into whatever environment is appropriate, and don't have realtime access to the Earth-based Net games.

 

* [http://geebasonparade.keenspot.com/ ''Geebas On Parade''] is all about this and is based on the experiences of creator Jennie Breeden in both NERO and SOLAR. Her half-orc character has also appeared in her other strip ''[[The Devil's Panties]]''.

* The protagonists in ''[[Weregeek]]'' participate in a Minds Eye Theater vampire LARP and, less often, a fantasy boffer LARP. In one arc they also inadvertantly stumble into a horror LARP without knowing it.

* The cast of [[Something*Positive]] have spent plenty of time engaging in various [[LAR Ps]], predominantly Steampunk-esque ones. In fact, some of the popular minor characters (such as Spooky) appear almost exclusively in the LARP-related arcs.

 

* [[That Guy With The Glasses]] third year anniversary video "[[Suburban Knights]]" seems like it revolves around this at first. Until the magic becomes all too real...