A distant cousin of the standard tabletop and/or pen and paper role-playing game (from hereon to be referenced to, as RPGs), the live action role-playing (from hereon to be referred to as LARP) game is more complex, although complexity depends on the system one uses. For instance, the group I play with generally uses the World of Darkness setting, and the myriad of rulebooks that go along with it. Yet, despite all of this, LARP is a much more fun way to play.
At its core, LARP is part improvisational acting, part updating your character as time passes, and part sheer memorization of the system one is playing in. However, one thing must be said before we can continue further, LARP isn't simply confined to faffing about in a wooded area dressed up in period clothing or intricate costumes. It can be simpler and more confined to a smaller, more tightly knit group. In my case, my first, and only experience has trended along the latter. And in my experiences, I prefer the smaller group setting as opposed to larger parties of 30 or more.
LARP is unlike most other venues of role-play, in that you aren't just a person rolling dice and playing a character. To some degree, you are your character; you become them and act as they would. I've heard stories of some games where as soon as you enter the venue, you are expected to be in character until the game ends. And what this means is that until you flash a signal that you are speaking out of character (crossed fingers is a common one), you act as this person would. You, as the player put aside your standard morals or ways of acting and do what your character would.
I spent two years playing my first (and so far, only) character, O'Malley, An Irish werewolf. While witnessing the evolution of a character through their eyes and not my own, many times I had to pause and repeatedly ask myself a single question, “What would O’Malley do in this situation?” In truth, the hardest part of playing in a LARP is removing yourself from the equation. You’re not just a person rolling some dice over a table, speaking with your fellows; you’re an actor thrust into a scene where you and your fellows are facing down supernatural horrors. Scenes are quickly paced and not stifled by out-of-character discussion, and you as the player only know what your character would know, which makes meta-gaming quite difficult.
In truth, the most enjoyable part of a LARP is creating a character. To build up a fictional person to embody, a new person to be for four or so hours at a time through which you can be immersed in improbable situations and do impossible things, is all made even better with a good group of friends to join you. In truth, the group I play with has become a second family of sorts. We talk for a bit, and when it’s time to play, we get into character and dive deep into the world, getting into antics, and laughing as we all cheat death in various ways or share our assorted antics with one another.
In truth, getting involved in a LARP was one of the better decisions I’ve made, and it’s not one I’ll regret. I have fun and get to be with people I like, and goof around for the better part of an evening, playing around in an improvised world of make-believe, piloted by skilled storytellers through chronicles and tales, inevitably leaving me and the other players with memories that will last a lifetime.
