Pull up a chair...

I am curious... i know LARPing includes the clothing and lifestyle of the characters you are portraying... but does this include the food you eat, the currency to you use and the way talk (accent and language) ?

The LARP group I was involved in had included as many elements as they could achieve, so from my experience that's a yes. However, there were at least three of us that were also members of a historical reenactment society, so what we knew and had to hand was incorporated into the roles we played at events we attended. For instance Locko Park in Derby, England.

Now that is pretty cool ... I look forward to taking part in one someday...

So doing some research on the event and era would be recommend

Yes, especially the group that you plan on joining. Every group is different, and there are many time periods from pre-Roman to WW2. The LARP group I was a member of were fantasy orientated, hence my Dark Elf characters. I was determined not to be a vampire, there were too many, you couldn't move in Newcastle for bloomin' vampires. However, saying that, some of my Dark Elves have vampiric tendencies.

I can imagine the pointy ears and teeth...

The dark appearance and then... the blood trail down the one side

The food we had was normal, it just was treated as if it was tavern food. But we didn't go out of our way to make it look different. Though what got me was when they had a menu for the drinks, they had what the game name was for them (example: Dragon's Breath) and under that it would say what it really was (say Mt. Dew).

Currency yes there were coins for the game. I don't remember if they were made specifically for the LARP group of mine or not. But you had to use them to purchase things.

If I remember right, which I may or may not, accents were possibly common, but it's been years since I LARP'd so I don't recall.

Still sounds pretty cool...

my curiosity about the food is due to me being a chef ... Creative for the drinks, just wished it carried through to the food...

But thanks Winter.. every bit of experience and information you guys share [even those that could be wrong] is great... Making me psyched to take part in one...
In another country but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it

I don't know how it was for other LARP groups, but LARPing is an EXPENSIVE hobby. So you should be ready to spend money.

If you were to do an NPC role, then the expense is not as bad as if you were a PC. (Just in case, to settle my mind, NPC = Non Player Character and PC = Player Character.)

My LARP group LARP'd at a boy scout camp, so we had to rent the camp for ourselves. There's also purchasing of food for all the players, though if you want you can bring your own food, that's what us NPC's did.

Costumes/makeup etc. are a huge part of LARP. If your a PC your going to be spending a lot (time and money) to make your character look the part, and also get the right items to fit your PC. NPC's usually wore what was provided by those running the game.

If your an NPC you mostly want to wear dark and loose fitting clothing. Not something overly heavy either, cause you'll be putting costumes on over what you got on.

Weapons start off as buffer weapons (padded weapons), to be certain new players could hit properly without causing too much damage. Then if you were lucky you got switched to latex weapons. They looked more like weapons, but you still had to be careful when using them.

Be it your an NPC or PC you'll need to bring some stuff. Like a first aid kit. Your not going to always be in a place where someone can just run to their room and grab one. Change of clothes of course. Never know when it will rain, or you fall into a lake or something (depending where you are). Plenty of covers for if your staying the night or what ever, and you know it gets cold. flashlights, batteries, lanterns. Pain killers, muscle rub. Your going to be sore fore certain, even when you get used to it. Especially if you got to toss a lot of spell packets or packets made to be arrows.

the $$$ part I understand well... the costumes also... I have Cosplayed before, and that was a very irritating day, with everything on me and me still trying to be a gamer and enjoy the rAge expo...


The rest I understand. Basic common logic items I guess... Don't just go in dressed to impress. Or be unprepared for the dangers that lay ahead...

Cool thanks... I'll keep those in mind

I only LARPed for a short time, but it was fun. We did a mixture of boffing and storytelling. I played an orc barbarian named Ghorza Bol, and I wielded a homemade foam mace and a shield. Once a week a bunch of us got together and just practiced, but a few times a year we and a bunch of other LARP groups from the same "system" got together and did a whole weekend adventure, complete with lore, storytelling, puzzles, you name it. The orcs went to one camp, elves to another, etc. and we were in character the whole time. (To be OOC we had to make a circle with our fingers - like an 'O' - and raise it to our foreheads.) This included food, drink, everything.

I honestly miss it. I had to leave for a very specific reason and I've been afraid to get into the scene again because of it. But I've moved two hours away and kind of want to start a World of Darkness vampire LARP, as it's something I've always wanted to do. Not going to lie, I'm interested in playing either a gangrel or a malkavian. But I don't know enough nerds here to put something like that together, nor do I have the money to sink into costumes and whatnot.

Goodness. THIS entirely.

I realize it'll be a challenge since you have to travel so far, but I do suggest trying out some different games if you can.

Some are rules light. Some are rules heavy.

Some use live combat (with padded weapons). Some de-emphasis combat and resort to dice rolling when it comes up.

Some are small affairs of less than 10 people. Some attract hundreds of players.

Many are set in medieval fantasy realms. But I've found some of my favorites were a bit more niche. Post apocalyptic settings. Zombie pandemic. Alternate history wild/weird west (that one used rubber band guns, which worked perfect!)

I haven't played in a few years, but this conversation is making me want to dig out all my stuff and go run away for the weekend!

And it's making me want to jump in...

To battle we go!

The SCA.

https://www.sca.org/

Thanks