Live action role-playing game

Not to be confused with Larb.

A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out some or all of their characters' actions. The first LARPs were run in the late 1970s, inspired by role-playing games and genre fiction. The activity gained international popularity during the 1980s.

LARP groups have highly varied approaches to rules, costume, degree of physical acting out, focus of character activity, and genre. Scale ranges from small private events lasting a few hours to huge public events with thousands of players lasting for several days.

Terminology

LARP has also been referred to as live role-playing (LRP), interactive literature, freeform role-playing, interactive drama (indrama), and wide game. Some of these terms are still in common use, however LARP has become the most commonly understood term internationally. It is sometimes written in lowercase, as larp. The live action in LARP is analogous to the term live action used in film and video to differentiate works with human actors from animation.

Play overview

Players physically portray characters in a fictional setting, improvising their characters' speech and movements somewhat like actors in improvisational theatre. This is distinct from traditional role-playing games where character actions are described verbally. Unlike in theatre there is usually no audience, as LARPs are played for the satisfaction of the participants.

The setting, characters, and rules may be defined in a LARP publication, invented by the organisers of the larp, or created by the players themselves.

Play usually takes place within a defined physical space. This may be a public area or a private building or section that has been borrowed or hired for the purpose. Play usually starts and ends at pre-defined times, and may occur over hours or days. If members of the public who are not involved in the LARP are in the play area, they are typically ignored or treated as part of the fictional setting.

Beyond these basic common features, LARPs vary greatly. In particular there is a broad spectrum of settings that play takes place in, methods of physically representing the characters and the settings, game rules, and types of activity that characters are involved in.

Production

Players may dress as their character and carry appropriate equipment, or costume and gear may be portrayed by physical symbols or entirely imagined. The environment in which play takes place may be dressed to resemble the imaginary setting, and special effects may be used to represent unusual occurrences in the setting.

In character versus out of character

There is a distinction between when a player is actively representing their character (called in character, IC, in game or in play) and when the player is being themselves (called out of character, OOC, off role, out of game, off game or offplay). Some LARPs encourage players to stay consistently IC except in emergencies, while others accept players being OOC sometimes and use devices such as off-game areas, armbands, or gestures to signify when players are currently OOC. Information learned while OOC is usually considered distinct from information learned when IC, and characters making use of OOC information is a form of metagaming.

Simulation and representation

All LARPs occur in both a real and an imaginary environment - the latter called the setting, game world or (in theory) the diegesis. Characters inhabit the imaginary environment, while players inhabit the real, physical environment. In all LARPs, the real environment to some degree represents the imaginary environment (for example, a real wall is normally also an imaginary wall) and player behaviour represents character behaviour. In cases where the real environment does not correspond to the imaginary environment, LARPs use different techniques to simulate events in the imaginary environment. These techniques may include game rules and randomizers (dice, cards), physical symbols (for example a rope signifying an imaginary wall) and theatrical improvisation.

Player characters and non-player characters

There is sometimes a distinction between player characters (PCs) and non-player characters (NPCs). The NPCs exist to make the LARP more satisfying for the players and they typically receive more direction from the organisers than the players do. Unlike in traditional role-playing games where a gamemaster usually plays all the NPCs, in a LARP each NPC is typically played by a separate person. The people playing the NPCs are variously called crew, cast, monsters (in some fantasy LARPs) or NPCs. Each crew member may play many NPC roles over the course of a LARP event. Sometimes players are asked to play NPCs for periods of an event.

Game rules

Some LARPs have game rules that determine how characters can affect each other and the setting. These rules may define things such as a character's capabilities, how those capabilities can change over time, what can be done with various items in the setting, and what characters can do during the downtime between LARP events. Because organisers are often not available to mediate all character actions, players are relied upon to be honest in their application of the rules. There are also LARPs that do without rules, instead relying on players to use their common sense or feel for dramatic appropriateness to cooperatively decide what the outcome of their actions will be.

Organisers

The creative content of a LARP is usually produced by players in collaboration with organisers, called game masters (GMs), referees or larpwrights, who determine the fictive framework of a LARP. GMs may decide how characters are created by players, or write and distribute characters to the players. The characters allowed or authored by the GMs, along with conflicts placed between characters and possible interventions during the LARP, usually determine the type of interaction in a LARP. GMs may also influence the LARP while it is played, for example by playing or briefing non-player characters. The logistical arrangement of a LARP event may also fall to the GMs, or there may be other organisers who handle details such as advertising the event, booking a venue, and financial management.

History

Main article: History of live action role-playing games

LARP does not have a single point of origin, but was invented independently by several different groups in the late 1970s and early 1980s. What these groups had in common was experience with genre fiction or tabletop role-playing games and a desire to physically experience such settings. In addition to tabletop role-playing, the early LARP groups were preceded and possibly influenced by educational and therapeutic role-playing, historical reenactment groups and the Society for Creative Anachronism.

The earliest recorded LARP group was the physical combat Dagorhir Outdoor Improvisational Battle Games, founded in 1977 in Washington, DC, USA. Soon after the release of the movie Logan's Run in 1976, rudimentary role playing games based on the movie were run at many US science fiction conventions. In 1981 the physical combat International Fantasy Games Society (IFGS) started, with rules influenced by Dungeons & Dragons. IFGS was named after a fictional group in the 1981 novel Dream Park, which described futuristic LARPs.

LARP quickly appeared internationally following the growing popularity of role-playing games in the 1980s. Treasure Trap, formed in 1982 at Peckforton Castle, was the first recorded LARP game in the UK and influenced many of the physical combat fantasy LARPs that followed there. In 1983 the first recorded LARP in Australia was run at the Canberra Games Convention, a freeform event in the science fiction Traveller setting. In 1993 White Wolf, Inc released Mind's Eye Theatre: The Masquerade which is still played internationally and is probably the most commercially successful published LARP.

Today LARP is a popular activity in North America, Europe, Russia and Australasia. Large games with thousands of participants are organised by for-profit companies, various LARP books are published and an increasingly professional industry sells costume, armour, and foam weapons intended primarily for LARP.

Classification

LARP is notably diverse, with widely different approaches being taken in different groups and regions. LARPs are sometimes classified according to the verisimilitude of the game mechanics, primary conflicts (player vs player or player vs organisers), number of participants, duration (campaigns or single events), stance on role-playing (immersive or theatrical) or genre (fantasy, science fiction, contemporary etc.).

Verisimilitude of Game Mechanics

A physical combat LARP battle at a Lorien Trust event

Latex weapons used in LARP combat

A game mechanic is a way of representing a character's action and determining whether it succeeds or not. LARP mechanics can be classified by verisimilitude, i.e. how closely the player's action resembles the fictional action being performed. This difference is most clearly visible when comparing LARPs that use physical combat and those that use symbolic determination of combat. However, the same principal applies to social influence and intellectual problem solving, which can also be based on the actual skills of the player or handled by symbolic mechanics.

Physical mechanics occur without interruption in role-play, using foam weapons, airsoft guns, laser tag guns and similar to represent weapons. Sometimes relatively harmless versions of real weapons (blunt metal swords, firearms loaded with blanks) are used as representations. Games using physical combat are often known as boffer or live combat LARPs. In LARPs with physical mechanics the physical skills of the player play an important role.

Symbolic determination relies on players momentarily suspending role-playing in order to determine the outcome of an action, for example by rolling dice, playing rock-paper-scissors or comparing character attributes. In symbolic combat systems, weapons may be represented by cards or physical replicas. Depending on the environment the game will be played in, the possibility of misunderstanding, and the sensibilities of the participants, realistic looking weapon props may not be allowed. A "no-touch" rule prohibiting physical contact between players is sometimes enforced. Many symbolic and physical combat systems also use game rules for character attributes like strength and physical endurance to help determine the outcome of a combat situation. Others use an honour system where players are trusted to determine the outcomes of combat through free improvisation.

Genre

LARPs can have as many genres and settings as novels, plays, or movies. Many use settings derived from genre fiction. Some LARPs borrow a setting from an established work in another medium (e.g. The Lord of the Rings or the World of Darkness), while others use a setting designed specifically for the LARP. Proprietary campaign settings, together with rulesets, are often the principal creative asset of LARP groups and LARP publishers. LARP players sometimes re-tell the events of a LARP as a story, with their character as protagonist. However, LARPs seldom feature pre-determined stories of the type common in literature or cinema.

Focus of interaction

Some LARPs, such as theatre-style games in the US, feature primarily conflicts between player characters or groups of characters. Others, sometimes called "adventure style LARPs", pit players against organiser-controlled obstacles or antagonists. Another distinction is often made (especially in the UK) between player-led and organiser-led interactions, the former being improvised by players during play while the latter are planned in advance by GMs although they are usually reactive to the players' improvisation.

Game format

LARPs vary in size from a handful of players to several thousand, and in duration from a couple of hours to whole weeks. Most LARPs are either single, self-consistent events or form parts of a campaign - a series of LARP sessions featuring the same setting, the same rules and many of the same characters.

Common styles

LARP rules and play cover a wide variety of different styles that blend into each other. There are some categorizations that are widely used and in broad terms help identify shared expectations for a game.

Avant-garde

Common in the Nordic countries but also present elsewhere, avant-garde or arthaus LARPs are eclectic events using experimental themes and techniques. Avante-garde LARPs have high culture aspirations, and are occasionally held in fine art contexts such as festivals, art museums or theatres. The themes, settings and characters of avante-garde LARPs are usually relevant to real-world issues of politics, culture, religion, sexuality and the human condition.

Linear

Some groups that run fantasy games with physical combat run small-scale events with between 6 and 12 players and a high NPC-to-player ratio. The ratio is typically 1:1 to 1:2, as opposed to the 1:10 to 1:20 typical of fest events. These events are usually more directed and objective-driven. These are sometimes known as linear events. The International Fantasy Games Society calls such events line-courses.

Fest

A fest (short for festival) LARP has hundreds of participants, usually split into competing character factions camped separately around a large venue. There are relatively few fests in the world, all based in the UK and Europe, however their size means that they have a significant influence on local LARP culture and design.

Simulation

Some of the first LARP-style games were group activities designed to demonstrate various social and political settings. One of the first such games was SimSoc, which is still used in modern social science classes.

Theatre Style / Freeform

A theatre style LARP taking advantage of a decorated room at COSI Columbus.

Theatre style or freeform LARPs are characterised by symbolic combat, an eclectic approach to genre and setting, and a focus on interaction between characters that are written by the organisers. They are sometimes played at gaming conventions, which they suit well as they typically only last a few hours and require relatively little preparation by players.

Youth LARPs

Youth LARPs are intended for children and young people. Some are organised through institutions such as schools, churches, or the Scouts. Denmark has an especially high number of fantasy and medieval youth LARPs. Other varieties of youth LARP include science fiction games and dramatizations of the Harry Potter world.

Common genres

LARPs can be in any genre, however certain genres are especially common.

Espionage

Espionage LARPs are inspired by spy fiction. Some leverage the real world as a venue or real player identities as characters in a manner similar to Assassin or alternate reality games. These usually avoid physical combat and real-looking weapons which could attract unwanted attention from the public and authorities.

Fantasy

Fantasy genre LARPs are set in pseudo-historical worlds inspired by fantasy literature and fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons. These settings typically have low technology, magic, and fantasy races. Many fantasy LARPs use physical combat and focus on adventure and/or competition between character factions. Fantasy is one of the most common LARP genres internationally.

Historical

LARP with a Victorian setting

Historical LARPs take place in our world, at some point in history. They can vary from a 1930s murder mystery to a feudal Japanese Samurai story. Historical accuracy, in both fictional content and physical props and costume, is often prized in these LARPs, and there are similarities with Historical reenactment.

Horror

Horror LARPs often use horror fiction as inspiration. LARPs with a horror theme can be set in any era, often crossing over historical or science fiction genres. One common sub-genre is based on the writing of H. P. Lovecraft, sometimes using the published LARP Cthulhu Live and often set in 1920s USA.

Military Simulation

Military simulation (mil-sim) LARPs focus on military operations, often in modern or futuristic settings. Many include live combat with laser tag, airsoft or paintball firearms. Some mil-sims have a hard-core approach and attention to detail that resembles police exercises or war games conducted by the military. Players may take on combat roles or play non-combatants such as civilians or VIPs.

World of Darkness

Main article: World of Darkness

Published by White Wolf, Inc., this is a goth-punk setting in which players usually portray secretive supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves. This setting can be played using Mind's Eye Theatre, which is a relatively complex symbolic LARP system also published by White Wolf. These LARPs are usually played in a chronicle, a series of short events held at regular intervals, and are also popular at conventions. An international chronicle is run by White Wolf's own fan club the Camarilla. The World of Darkness is one of the most commonly-used LARP settings internationally.

Mythology

Mythology LARPs are set in a semi-historical era with legendary aspects of that time. For example, a Celtic mythology LARP might include features of Celtic myth such as Druids with powers from the gods and goddesses, or legendary creatures and monsters such as the Tuatha Dé Danann or the banshee.

Science fiction

Science fiction LARPs take place in futuristic settings with high technology and possibly aliens, but usually without magic. This describes a broad array of LARPs, including politically themed LARPs depicting dystopian or utopian societies, combat-oriented events played with laser tag weaponry, and settings inspired by cyberpunk, space opera and post-apocalyptic fiction.

See also

Lists

• List of live action role-playing groups

LARP conventions

• Intercon - several conventions regularly held on the East Coast of the United States
• Knutepunkt - convention regularly held in several Nordic countries

Related activities

• Alternate reality game
• Assassin (game)
• Cosplay
• Historical reenactment
• Improvisational theatre
• Murder mystery game
• Pacifist warfare
• Wide game

Movies

• Darkon - Documentary about the Baltimore, Maryland Darkon Wargaming Club
• Monster Camp - Documentary about the Seattle, Washington chapter of the New England Role Playing Organization

References

• Dansky, Richard E. (Developer) (1996). Laws of the Night. White Wolf, Inc. ISBN 1-5604-506-8. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Niven, Larry (1981). Dream Park. Phantasia Press. ISBN 0-9320960-9-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Young, Mike (Editor) (2003). The Book of LARP. Interactivities Ink. ISBN 0-9708356-8-X. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

• RPG.net's LARP forum for general discussion on all LARP topics.
• Shade's LARP List - International LARP portal.
• Rule7 The UK's biggest Independent LARP forum.
• Journal of Interactive Drama Online peer-reviewed international LARP journal.