What is Live roleplay? (LRP/LARP)
Information about Live Role-Playing(LRP), character generation and events Click
What is an LRP event? Click
What is a character and how do I make one up? Click
So who are the Dragons? Click
So what happens at an event? And what do I need? Click
So you've booked a place and arrive at an event... Click
Facilities Click
So you set up your tent, get into costume and join other players...
Click
What about fighting and spell-casting? Click
If you've got this far chances are you know what role-playing is. If you have heard of or played any of the "table top" role-playing games (like A. D&D, Rune Quest or Earthdawn), you're over the worst of it. If not let me briefly explain, LRP is like writing your own part in a play. You make up a part ( a character) within a given background and get together with other people doing the same thing. You decide who/what you want to be, make some costume, find, make or buy some props and join the increasing number of LRPers who spend their weekends away at local, national and international events!
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Events are where groups of characters get together with their imagination and some background information (the world they live in, the places they come from, the people they might represent) and have fun living in an imaginary world! For some it's the world of Vampires or Cthulu, others Tolkien or Dragonlance. The Dragon Faction is one faction on the fantasy world of Edrejya. Events can be political, social or military and differ in size. Unlike historical re-enactment, we only use mock up weapons that are heavy enough to fight with but only imitate real weapons. The smallest events may have 50 characters and 50 monsters to the largest which may involve several thousand people.
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What
is a character and how do I make one up?
OK so you're interested! Characters are taken from event to event and take
on a life of their own. In this case I work within the framework of rules
used by the Lorien Trust (one of the organisations who run and sanction
events throughout the UK). To generate a character for this system you have
17 points to allocate to skills. You must initially decide what race your
character is (e.g. Human, Elf, Drow, Orc, Fey - the list is endless! ) and
whether you intend to play a combat or non combat character - there are
plenty of both! What skills your character has depends on what sort of thing
you want to be. Each skill is worth a number of points and you choose skills
until you have used up all 17.
For example, I play a Mermaid Healer character. She spends a lot of time
crewing and captaining boats in Dragon waters. She took One Handed Weapon
(1 pts), Light Armour (2pts), Literacy (1pts), Shield Use (2pts), 9 points
worth of Healing, Numeracy (free), Small Weapons (free) and a Lore skill,
Make & Read Maps... She is a combat character who has worked for the Chancellor
of Erin.
A more specialist fighter character might take Body development (6 points)
which means they are tougher, or heavier armour which means it takes
more to "kill" them. Anyone interested in playing a magic user has a
variety of combinations available. If you want to play a Cleric character
you would take some level of Incantation, a Mage would take some measure
of Spellcasting. You could decide that you want to be a Ritualist and
take Ritual Magic alongside either Incantation or Spellcasting. There
is a detailed breakdown of the rules and skills in the Lorien Trust
Handbook and it can be found here
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So
who are the Dragons?
The Dragons are a Faction (equivalent to a Nation) in the gameworld of
Edrejya. There are others - Harts, Wolves, Vipers, Lions, Bears, Gryphons,
Unicorns, Jackals and Tarantulas. These Factions make up the nations of
the Heartlands (which have great similarities with Europe) and like the
nations of the real world each has a very different culture. Although
it varies slightly it would be fair to say that the setting is late Dark
Ages - Early Medieval. However in Edreyja things are never that simple!
Some characters seem to revel in the distant past and a few have arrived
from the future!
The Dragon Faction is a Celtic Nation set in the Dark Ages. Dragons live
in the lands of Erin & Cymrija. If you've read any Celtic Mythology (the
Mabinogi or any of the Irish cycles), are interested in the Celts, or
like Bernard Cornwell or Katharine Kerr then this may be a good place
to start. You don't have to come from the culture, we even had a Roman
or two to argue with! But if you'd enjoy the environment - join the Dragons!
The other Factions all have their own approximate identities but you're
not restricted in choosing which Faction to join. The Vipers are known
for their "Greenskins" - they're not all green but this is where you'll
find the Goblins, Orcs, Ogres and Trolls. They are based in Teutonia.
At the other extreme you have the Harts. They are a very medieval and
courtly faction (very English!) Known for tea drinking and cake eating,
they are ruled by Queen Elspeth and her consort. They replaced The Lions
as rulers of Albion , the Lions travelling through the mists to the magical
realms of Avalon. Arthurian legend abounds both there, within the Lions,
and in the Harts.
The Unicorns are a trading nation, they are the merchants, the privateers
and (often rumoured ) the pirates. The Gryphons inhabit the realm of Estragales
to the South and are home to the Elven Alliance.
Our wilder cousins live to the North. The Bears are a kilt wearing nation
(think Highlander!), known for hunting the Haggis over the mountains of
Caledonia! They are ruled by a tripartite of Queens and are rumoured to
be a most hospitable Faction! Over the Northern seas are the Wolves, known
for fearsome army and feats of drinking. Their Viking Lands cover Norsca
and Orkneyja.
The Jackals are a new faction, who are based in Aegyptus.
Finally there
are the Tarantulas. This is where you will find a lot of Drow (think Forgotten
Realms) and their lands lie beneath the surface in the Underdark. The
extent of their realm is unknown. They are led by a council of Matron
Mothers.
This varies depending on the size of an event but there are common factors so I shall try and cover most of them. LRP events are on the whole held outside either on private lands or on campsites hired for the weekend. So yes you guessed it, the majority of events need you to own or share a tent! Winter events are often held in youth hostels or scout camps. Aside from a tent I would say that the next most important things are: a decent sleeping bag and a decent pair of comfortable, waterproof boots! There is nothing more miserable than being cold and wet!
The weather is unpredictable in the UK and even the hottest of summer days can turn into the coldest of nights. A variety of clothing and costume is a good idea. You don't need to worry about spending a lot of money on, or making a vast amount of, costume but a variety of plain clothes to layer under a cloak or tabard means you'll be warm when you need to be. A basic costume could be a cowl and a cloak. Avoid any modern clothing with distinctive logos and slogans. Often valued more highly than any other piece of kit is a decent belt. Swords, tankards and pouches can all hang from them and they often prove a necessity.
If you're not sure whether you'll enjoy LRP stick to something improvised from your wardrobe or something quickly and cheaply made and work on improving your costume later. At many events there are traders who sell weapons and all sorts of other "kit" (costume, props etc) and this can give you ideas.
As far as weapons are concerned, I would attempt to borrow a safe sword from friends. These weapons and mock-ups can be made with a carbon fibre core, surrounded by padding, shaped and then either covered in gaffer tape or painted with many layers of coloured latex. All weapons must meet certain safety standards and are checked at each event to ensure that the safety of all involved is as high as possible. You don't have to fight in the battles - many do enjoy it - but no one will think the worst of you if you are apprehensive!
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So
you've booked a place and arrive at an event...
First thing to realise is that at the majority of events the day is divided
into time in and time out. This is time "In Character" (IC) and time
"Out of character" (OOC). Even when events are billed as 24 hr time
in, there is often a time when the fighting stops so that people can get some
rest. At any point in the day (unless you're up to your neck in plot!) you
can go back to your tent and relax. Most people find that they are so interested
and involved in what is happening that they don't spend much time in their
tents, but its reassuring to know you can take some time out and rest.
On a similar note - anyone who has a medical condition that may affect them
e.g. asthma or diabetes must register this when booking a place so that arrangements
can be made and staff are aware of any potential difficulties. There are always
first aiders on site and if you are in any form of distress approach any member
of staff, referees or other players. People come first and the LRP community
is generally very helpful.
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These vary from site to site and event to event. The bare minimum is running water and toilet facilities. Other sites have showers available, although it seems to be down to potluck as to whether you get hot water throughout your shower! The sites are usually chosen so that there are areas of shelter if the weather turns really bad and often fire pits are provided. There are to be no other fires but camping cooking equipment is fine as long as it used safely. Many events have some catering facilities so that hot drinks and some hot food as available for sale. It is always best to be sure you have plenty of food with you. Some sites are near supermarkets and people often go off site for a pre 'Time In' hot breakfast.
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The scenario for an event is often given in a description of the event. Within the Faction there is an IC Command Group of players, usually those most experienced and with a considerable character history who OOC often take responsibility for Faction level plot, liasing with the Lorien Trust and event staffing. At each event you will have referees to follow groups of players through plot and see that people are playing by the rules and that certain events happen. There are referees for both Players and Monsters. They are also there to maximise the safety of all involved.
What happens next depends on what is plotted for an event and how the Players react to it! Expect to be awake at strange hours, there are often opportunities for those interested to be involved into the early hours of the morning. A typical Time in is 10.00am or midday.At the end of an event, 'Time Out' will be declared and you can then relax and pack up your kit, tent and say goodbye to friends and leave the site in a decent state. Often we have to be off site by a certain time.
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What
about fighting and spell-casting?
Each character has a certain number of hits per location, if during combat
they are hit on that location they reduce the number of hits that location
has until it goes to zero when that location becomes useless. Obviously
depending on the location this is more or less crippling. Most wounds
can be healed by an IC Healer but if you're in a bad way in the head/chest
region and don't get healed within ten minutes, your character dies. If
this happens - you can go to the refs. and roll up a new character there
and then. There are some weapons that do different types of damage and
have different effects, when someone has a special weapon they will have
to call out something every time they use it e.g. "silver" or "blunt"
or "enchanted". You'll get the hang of these calls, certain things affect
certain beings and there is some guidance available in the Players Guide.
Spells are done with vocals and gestures. You get a certain number of
spells per day and at most events you are issued with spell cards which
you must rip up every time you use a spell. You cannot carry spells over
to the next day, each dawn you are assumed to have fresh power for that
day. Healers use different numbers of spell cards depending on the type
of injury they are healing. Again see the Players Handbook for a full
description.
You might want to have a look at the Guide
to Heroic Combat, . This is a useful guide to making LRPcombat
entertaining, fun and safe!
There are a number of "calls" that are yelled out during combat situations
and the most important of these is "Man Down" this is a call for OOC aid
when someone is in distress or has been inadvertently injured. Anyone
in genuine distress can call out and everyone takes this seriously. If
you ever hear this then cease fighting and let people through to help
whoever is involved. Common sense really! Another call is "Time Freeze"
and this is to allow something to happen, sometimes it is necessary to
yell "Time Out" (often happens with a "Man Down" call). If this happens
"Time In" will be called when everyone is ready.
This is only a summary and there are a lot of links to other resources
on the Internet in the Resources section of this site. Please feel free
to get in touch with questions, queries or suggestions - mail them to
me here or use this form
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Updated 04.02.04
Site Created April 2001
Copyright © Amanda Closier except where stated
