Getting Ready to Play in a LARP: Demystifying Live Action Role Playing

Preparation for going to a live action role-playing game (LARP, for short) often consists of far more than one would suspect. Even though I will be at a LARP for about four to six hours, I can sometimes spend over an hour getting ready for the game. Follow along with my evening of getting ready for LARP, step by step - costuming, getting character related materials ready, and beginning to get into character.

I get off work at 4 p.m., and drive home. My boyfriend goes in to work at 5 p.m., so we spend a little time chatting about how our days went, doing a few small chores around the apartment, and fending off our two cats. We share a car, so either I have to be ready to leave for the LARP by 5 p.m., or I need to find another ride. A quick phone call to a friend who will be driving right past our apartment on his way to the LARP, and the latter is accomplished. This gives me more time to get ready, and less time sitting and waiting for the game to begin. On a typical game night, LARPers will start gathering at the game site around 6 p.m., but the actual game won't begin until about 7 or 8 p.m.

After he leaves for work, I start getting ready. The character that I play in the LARP tonight calls herself Viridian Walker. Prior to becoming a vampire, Viridian was an Irish-American law student, with ties to the American branch of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Since she became a vampire, less than ten years ago, she has been a member of Clan Tremere, vampires who are adept at the use of various forms of magic. So when I choose the costume that I wear for the game, I try to keep these things in mind.

Usually, this means that my costume will consist of military-inspired cargo pants or jeans, a close-fitting shirt, and sturdy boots. The whole image that I'm trying to achieve is one of practicality and ruggedness. When it's cold out, as it is tonight, I'll typically add a jacket or overshirt. Tonight, I decide that the plain black T-shirt and bluish-purple overshirt that I wore to work today is good enough. I change into black cargo pants to match, and I'm dressed. I already know that the bulk of the people who will be there won't be dressed up, but I enjoy costuming. I think it helps a lot for getting into the mindset of a LARP character.

Then I move on to the accessories. There are two necklaces that I always wear for Viridian - one is a thick braid of blue yarn, which represents a magical item; the other is a handmade necklace in blues, greens, and purples. Greens and blues tend to be the colors that I steer towards when I'm planning a costume for Viridian - green for her Irish heritage, and blues because the type of magic she studies has to do with controlling the weather. She ends up wearing more black than I'd really like, but when close to half of your wardrobe is black, it can't always be avoided.

Having finished getting dressed, I dig around in the box where we keep our character sheets and other character related items. I used to keep all of Viridian's stuff in a purse that I had made, but I traded that off for some handmade candles a week ago, so I need to find something new in which to carry my character stuff. Sure, I have pockets on my pants, but it's a whole lot easier to just drop everything in a purse, because then, after the game, everything goes back into the purse, and it's ready for the next game. Not all LARPers are as careful about their character sheets and related items as I tend to be. I always make sure I have a relatively up-to-date copy of my character sheet and keep everything else relevant all in one place.

So now I need to find something new to carry this all in. I've got a lunchbox covered in stickers, where I had temporarily put my character stuff, but that doesn't quite work for Viridian. Instead, I dig out another purse that I made, and call it done. I also throw my boyfriend's character sheet in with my stuff, as he'll need that when he gets off work around 10 p.m. He entrusts me with the duty of bringing his stuff so that it doesn't get mangled while he's working or forgotten altogether.

Now I've got some time to kill before my ride arrives. Dinner is probably a good idea, unless my ride is going to be here soon enough to get some food with my friends. They'll be a while still, so I find some food and eat. I don't usually eat much before a LARP, as I have a tendency to have metaphorical butterflies in my stomach before game. Even though I've been doing this for over eight years, I still haven't quite conquered my fears of public speaking and being the center of attention. With this character, I don't often end up in the spotlight, but you never really know when it might happen. So I eat a little now, and I plan on getting a snack later on in the evening, when I get hungry again.

While I'm eating, I bring up a playlist on my computer entitled "Viridian Walker." When I make a new character, I usually make a soundtrack to go along with whatever background I write. Listening to the soundtrack before I go to the game helps me to get further into character. In this case, it's a lot of Celtic inspired punk - The Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, and the like. It's also good background noise for whatever else I decide to do until my ride arrives. Tonight, I surf the internet for a bit, play some Solitaire on the computer, and otherwise try to relax a bit. The nervousness will subside some before I leave the apartment, but I'm sure it will pick right back up when we arrive at the game site.

My ride calls me when he's leaving his house, about half an hour away, so that I know when to expect him. I do one last quick check over my character stuff, to make sure I have everything I need, and then pick up a novel I've been meaning to read. Even though we'll arrive at the game site near 7 p.m., there might still be a little time to kill before the LARP begins, and I might as well have something to do while I wait.

In some ways, getting ready to leave for LARP is no different than getting ready to go out for any social plans on a Friday or Saturday evening. But while the majority of college students and those of a similar age will go out to see a movie, a band, to dance, drink, or whatever, those of us who spend our weekends LARPing will instead head out to take on the role of someone we are not. We use our imagination and acting skills to pretend that we are part of another world, one which resembles the real world, but isn't quite the same. It's a form of escapism, to be sure, but probably more intellectually stimulating than what the bulk of college kids are doing with their weekends.