Bored with sitting in front of a computer playing fantasy role playing games? Become your imaginary character for real by going to a live action role playing event?
Live Action Role Play came into being many years ago now, when a selection of people decided that Tolkien’s good works were just too good to stay in the books! The first, or at least most widely recognised, incarnations of this desire to further immerse themselves in the world of fantasy were in the ever famous Dungeons and Dragons games, back in the misty depths of time that was 1974. However, this was simply not enough! During the first years of the 1980s, LARP began to really kick off around the world. The UK”s official starting point is right there at the beginning in 1982 with Treasure Trap. Most clubs in the UK now can trace their origins back to Treasure Trap, and Three Kingdoms is no exception! The Cambridge Treasure Trap Medieval Fantasy Larp has regular games throughout the year.
What is Live Action Role Playing?
But what is Live Action Role Playing? Many of us will have engaged in LARP style games in our youth, from the first time you pretended to be a film character and fought the imaginary aliens in the playground to pointing fingers and going “bang, you’re dead!”. Fantasy LARP puts rules to these games.
You have hits, you have skills, you do damage with your weapons and spells. You can live and die, laugh and cry. Everything happens in ”real” time. If you decide your character is going to hit the bad guy, you don’t role the dice or ask the dungeon master, you get your weapon, walk up and hit the bad guy. You immerse yourself into a fantasy world, and into a fictional character. You are no longer Jo Normal from down the road, you are a mighty Hero, or dastardly villain, wielding the power of destiny, life and death, with the ability to shape the world and perform great feats of magic.
We use ‘realistic’ foam weapons and shields, real armour, and fight for real (with pulled blows and a few other safety rules!). Day adventures usually last for 5 – 6 hours and involve travelling from encounter to encounter in a large area of woodland, dealing with each instance as you wish in a party of 10 to 16 people. The adventures take place as you role play your character, set in a massive world with many different stories and civilisations to interact with and make a name for your character (or characters).
The hobby is extremely active physically, though can be more or less demanding depending on your choice of character (a wizard will usually be less active than a warrior) and very active socially, with a very active community of welcoming and interesting people, and social events happening all the time.
You can buy a huge range of LARP medieval costumes, props, armour and weapons from various LARP stores such as Andracor, Medieval Merchant, Dark Blade or Primal Forge.
So, visit LARP Finder to find a group of like minded individuals near you.
You could always improve your marksmanship skills by practising archery, paintball, or airsoft.