Hello, Nerds.
Welcome to the first episode and the launch of Larp House
A web series and online community dedicated to the encrichment of the hobby of LARP
But also dedicated to benefitting creative people everwhere.
So of course the first question is
What is LARP?
As many of you have probably googled
The definition of LARP is
LARP stands for Live Action Role Play
We dress up
We play characters
We fight each other and do magic
according to the rules of the game
Now there are many many games
and many styles of game
I'm going to give you a couple examples of organizations that are in this community
On the heavy combat side of LARP we have the practical LARPS
Practical meaning
If you can't do the thing
Then neither can you character
These experiences include SCA & Reenactments
or historically accurate LARP
They use real dull weapons, real armor
and they are full contact
sometimes there are broken bones
These guys are really hardcore and it's kind of awesome
There are some who say that SCA people and reenactment people are not LARPers
However they do bleed over into the LARP community
On the story telling side of the spectrum
is story only LARP
These are things like murder mystery parties
in which you
You experience a story and you roleplay
But combat is either non existent or it is simulated
The escape rooms that have become so popular now
are a perfect example of story only LARP
and in the middle of the spectrum is boffer LARP
So named because the weapons that we use are made
out of foam
and we call those boffers
My background is in boffer LARP
and the communities that I participate in are boffer LARP
Now within boffer LARP there is a whole mess
of different styles
For example Belegarth is a heavy combat
low roleplay, high action battle game.
They are also a practical LARP meaning
remember, if you can't do the thing
then neither can your characters
Amtgard is another heavy combat LARP
although fantasy is more of an element
roleplay is optional and rare
These are both more battle strategy games
My style is fantasy boffer LARP
with medium combat and heavy roleplay
These are the kinds of vanilla LARPs
that you see in movies like Role Models and Knights of Badassdom
But larping for me is more then categories and sub categories
It's pretending, it's a sport, it's comraderie, it's art
It is a collaborative story telling gaming experience
that an entire community of people pours
time, energy, talent, and money
into creating entire game worlds for their friends to explore
So after explaining what LARP is to a person
The question that I Inevitably get is
Who are these people?
and
Why do they do that?
People who LARP tend to be intensely creative
driven
and passionate
and intelligent
and adventure seeking
So pretty much anyone
can fall under this category
as to why a person would LARP
Let's take a look.
Oh gosh, there is just so much
The drama, I love the drama
I love that I got a chance to use piercings and
do the whole punk thing
Very different from what I'm used to
It's fun to play that slightly smirky
sort of cheeky
action hero type of character
It's the stupid accent
and she just doesn't take anything seriously
except when she does
and she just wants to be friends with everybody
Like she doesn't care
she just wants to be friends with everybody
It gives me an opportunity to be
Snarky, and witty, and one line-ry
and a little more confident
Catharsis, that's the short answer
and it really works, it helps me alot
it gets me out of some negative head places
refreshes me
What are the reasons you should LARP?
For a creative outlet
To explore your emotional range
To participate in fantastical adventures
To make friends and to have fun outdoors
So how do you get started?
Well, the first step is to find a list of LARPS
that are in your area
and there is a great website called
larping.org that does that for you.
you have to go to www.larping.org/larps
and it's a google maps page
that will give you a list of the registered LARPS in your area.
On that list
you will find information about the LARP
possibly its website or a way to contact a member of staff
and that's your starting point.
Since joining the LARPing community
I have made friends that have changed my life
for the better and who I will keep with me till the
end of my days.
It is for them and the wonderful creative people
like them that I started this web series
Larp House
Every week we are either going to provide you with
tutorials on everything from prop making
to makeup
or provide you with discussions about LARP theory.
To find out more about us or if you want to become
a backer and keep the show going because
we really do depend on you guys
Go to www. patreon.com/larphouse
There are really cool rewards for people who subscribe for a little more
Or like us on facebook
we are facebook.com/larphouse
We're also on instagram as Thelarphouse
We will see you next week with a tutorial about
a makeup prosthetic that is very easy to apply.
Remember
Like us, subscribe to us, fight with us