Larp

Larp stands for Live Action RolePlay. You remember when you were a kid, playing cowboys or superheroes, and maybe you stole your mother’s red sweater and wrapped the arms around your neck so you could have a cape? Larp is that for grownups. Like gourmet mac and cheese, it takes the childish premise and makes it something much more interesting. And too expensive for a child’s pocket money.

The most common Larp is the quasi-medeival, sometimes fantasy setting, such as the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronisms) and, here in the southeast, SOLAR. It’s basically Dungeons and Dragons, only you run around the woods in full costume and makeup, and beat other people with padded sticks. Other common themes are vampires and, lately, steampunk or cyberpunk.

Is it hokey? Yeah, a little. Is it fun? Heck yeah.

Okay, so obligatory storytime. A friend and I were at Solar, sitting on the steps of the Garrison with other friends. Like many buildings at Solar, the Garrison had a “Ward”, or forcefield of magic X-mas lights that kept monsters out. Yay! We can sleep safely without being murdered in our beds! But no, on this evening, as we were sitting there chatting, we see a monster coming up the path (we knew it was a monster because he was wearing the tabard “poncho” that all monsters wear), with his arms crossed above his head. This means he is “rifting”, ie in another dimension or something. Essentially, we have to pretend we can’t see him.

And as we try not to watch, he steps right through the Ward and up onto the porch with us.

Now, any monster who can step right through a Ward is 1. very powerful, and 2. scary as hell. But we still can’t “see” this guy. And he’s standing right next to us! After a moment of terrified silence, we desperately try to restart the conversation. Ever talked about the weather while death is looming over your shoulder? Not easy.

Finally he came out of rift, and the Chief of the Garrison shouted “Ward Down!” and we bolted from the porch in every direction. I made it safely to the Armorsmith’s Guild. Some were not so lucky. But that wait on the porch for the bloodbath to start? Longest minute of my life.

Larp can be about practically anything. Got some friends, some clothing that could almost be a costume if you looked at it sideways, and a place to run around? You can start a Larp group! Many people pick their favorite fandoms or genres and play the characters from those. I was a member of a Final Fantasy VIII group (I played Irvine Kinneas), and we had many merry times, roaming the backwoods of northern Georgia, fighting off invisible baddies.

Odds are there's a Larp going on in your area, if you look hard enough. Some are pretty freestyle, others have strict requirements and hefty participation fees (Solar requires full costume, plus makeup for non-humans, and $45 per event, not counting boarding). Come try it out sometime; running for your life from ogres is a great way to meet new people!