I'm a semi-secretive LARPer. I pack my stuff at night, don't talk to my coworkers about it, and just go about my life as if I don't.
I've found people are pretty judgy about it, so I just don't mention that I enjoy getting into a neat costume, playing some little mini-games, having a drink or six, camping, and (most importantly) seeing my friends once a month in a structured activity.
It's fun stuff if you find the right group. That last part is hard.
Honestly, I don't know why people rip on other people's hobbies just because it's something they wouldn't do. As if their opinion has any bearing on other people's happiness. I'm glad you've found something that makes you happy and gets you out of the house.
Seriously, you'd think people could just be happy for someone's happiness, instead of being miserable. I'm over those feelings. You don't have to like the same stuff to get along.
Primary motto:
Do your best not to hurt anyone, but otherwise do what you want. Enjoy life while you have it.
Secondary motto:
Enjoy seeing other people's happiness. Sometimes giving up something (small) you want for someone else to have something they really want (or even need) feels even better.
Have fun, and do good. Thanks for your kind words 😊
Is that a Role Play game in real life, or what?
Big ol' post below:
Every LARP has a different system, which in our game is light-touch(1) and kinda light-hearted. We use latex weapons like those from Forgotten Dreams and Mytholon (two manufacturers I know of off hand), and there's a hit point system, and vocally called damage and skills with different effects.
Example:
Hitting an opponent and calling "Strength 5" indicates to the opponent that they need to take 5 steps away from the attacker in the direction the attacker chooses. They also take basic weapon damage of 1 HP in this transaction.
While every LARP has its own system, there is a lot of overlap because of the limitations presented by a physical (ie. in-person) system. You can do a way larger swath of things in a tabletop.
Look for LARPs in your area online, and I'm sure you'll find a few.
(1)Different games handle it differently, but we have players stemming from single digits to upper double digits, and we try to be accommodating to the needs of a diverse age group with varying degrees of disability.
Yep, pretty much that. Some of the bigger groups with lore spanning decades by now, written by in game historians and smaller meetings besides the big cons to act out little side stories. It is awesome and tbh did a lot for my ability to go up to and interact openly with people I don't know.
But how does it work. I mean, you sometimes are an NPC and sometimes you are a player?
Yep. People that don't want to or can't commit as much time or as regularly often choose to play NPCs. There's a DM or a DM committee on site that observes the game directly or through their NPCs and uses the NPCs to steer the story (which can be hard, because proverbially, every plan is excellent until it meets the players).
Sometimes they'll stage little or big events for players, e.g. if a player has let them know that he wants to kill a char, that is always a great opportunity for a neat send-off. Maybe the char is murdered during a banquet to make the other players aware of a treason subplot or he gets to save another character during a road robbery at the expense of his own life or something like that, that goes into the in game history books.
I'm a semi-secretive LARPer. I pack my stuff at night, don't talk to my coworkers about it, and just go about my life as if I don't.
I've found people are pretty judgy about it, so I just don't mention that I enjoy getting into a neat costume, playing some little mini-games, having a drink or six, camping, and (most importantly) seeing my friends once a month in a structured activity.
It's fun stuff if you find the right group. That last part is hard.
Honestly, I don't know why people rip on other people's hobbies just because it's something they wouldn't do. As if their opinion has any bearing on other people's happiness. I'm glad you've found something that makes you happy and gets you out of the house.
Seriously, you'd think people could just be happy for someone's happiness, instead of being miserable. I'm over those feelings. You don't have to like the same stuff to get along.
Primary motto: Do your best not to hurt anyone, but otherwise do what you want. Enjoy life while you have it.
Secondary motto: Enjoy seeing other people's happiness. Sometimes giving up something (small) you want for someone else to have something they really want (or even need) feels even better.
Have fun, and do good. Thanks for your kind words 😊
Is that a Role Play game in real life, or what?
Big ol' post below:
Every LARP has a different system, which in our game is light-touch(1) and kinda light-hearted. We use latex weapons like those from Forgotten Dreams and Mytholon (two manufacturers I know of off hand), and there's a hit point system, and vocally called damage and skills with different effects.
Example: Hitting an opponent and calling "Strength 5" indicates to the opponent that they need to take 5 steps away from the attacker in the direction the attacker chooses. They also take basic weapon damage of 1 HP in this transaction.
While every LARP has its own system, there is a lot of overlap because of the limitations presented by a physical (ie. in-person) system. You can do a way larger swath of things in a tabletop.
Look for LARPs in your area online, and I'm sure you'll find a few.
(1)Different games handle it differently, but we have players stemming from single digits to upper double digits, and we try to be accommodating to the needs of a diverse age group with varying degrees of disability.
Yep, pretty much that. Some of the bigger groups with lore spanning decades by now, written by in game historians and smaller meetings besides the big cons to act out little side stories. It is awesome and tbh did a lot for my ability to go up to and interact openly with people I don't know.
But how does it work. I mean, you sometimes are an NPC and sometimes you are a player?
Yep. People that don't want to or can't commit as much time or as regularly often choose to play NPCs. There's a DM or a DM committee on site that observes the game directly or through their NPCs and uses the NPCs to steer the story (which can be hard, because proverbially, every plan is excellent until it meets the players).
Sometimes they'll stage little or big events for players, e.g. if a player has let them know that he wants to kill a char, that is always a great opportunity for a neat send-off. Maybe the char is murdered during a banquet to make the other players aware of a treason subplot or he gets to save another character during a road robbery at the expense of his own life or something like that, that goes into the in game history books.