A Brief Introduction to Live Action Role-Playing Games (LARP)

If you are already familiar with the idea of role-playing games, then understanding live action role-playing (LARP) is not too far beyond what you already know. Rather than sitting at a table, describing what your character does, and rolling dice, you actually assume the role of your character, and act out some of the actions of your character (within reason). Even if you and your gaming group prefer table top role-playing games, you may be able to adapt some of the techniques used by LARPers to improve your gaming experience.

Live action role-playing is a lot like improv theater, something akin to "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" You create a character within a specific set of rules, and your character, along with the characters of other players, are placed into a variety of situations, to which you each must react. Some LARPs focus heavily on combat and fighting, while other LARPs focus more on socializing or problem solving. The best LARPs, in my opinion, combine all of these aspects, so that nearly any type of player will find something to do that interests them.

When acting out the actions of your character, it is important to keep the "within reason" caveat in mind. Most LARPs do not actually allow the players to engage in combat with one another, but have systems for the resolution of combat. Mind's Eye Theater games actually have a rule regarding "no touching" of other players or the Storytellers. Other systems, like NERO, use padded weapons and other props to allow players a chance to do some combat. Aside from combat, other situations can arise in a LARP that would be unwise, unsafe, or otherwise undesirable to actually act out, and systems can be devised for resolving these actions as well.

If you are someone who enjoys role-playing games, you really should give LARPs a shot as well. I have found that after my friends and I had been LARPing for a while, my table top games became a lot more dynamic, with many of the players exhibiting far better role-playing than they might have without their LARP experience. After playing a game where you essentially become your character, you will often find that adopting a certain posture or accent can really enhance your table top gaming experience as well.

Although some LARPers are a little unusual, most gamers are a bit unusual too. Not all LARPers are crazy folks running around in fake contacts and fangs, regardless of whether or not they are portraying vampire characters. Some of us are basically normal human beings who enjoy dressing up and physically portraying aspects of our characters, rather than spending our time tied to a table and dice.