What is wrong with LARPing?

endersdouble · Post by **endersdouble** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:39 pm

So because it's basically impossible to find a gaming group once you move past D&D--side note, as this deserves a thread of its own: why is this so hard? I live in San Francisco. It's basically a city of 800,000 young dweeby software engineers with lots of cash and not a lot to do. It's not like we have dates. Why are there not 40 groups advertising for members somewhere, or are they doing this and I'm just not looking in the right place?--I'm starting to dig pretty deep in the well, and am looking into joining a local V:tM LARP group.

And for some reason I feel bad about this. I have no objection in admitting I know the rules to Mage: the Ascension or After Sundown or Shadowrun, but as expressed in such old copypasta as http://brunching.com/images/geekchartbig.gif LARPing is generally thought of as a much bigger stigma than tabletop gaming, and I can't figure out why. It's not the game is bad--I've played a bit before in college, and it was fine; heck, Mind's Eye is the only RPG system not written by Frank that I have seen him say generally positive things about. And on some sort of objective considerations it involves going outside and, like, talking to people. How is this considered, in nerd culture, more dweeby than sitting at home and talking about elves?

Whipstitch · Post by **Whipstitch** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:03 am

Social boundaries a bit more fluid in LARP games than when you're sitting around a table top and nobody's playacting. That can make things awkward particularly when you head out of the house and start doing things that observers probably won't understand.

angelfromanotherpin · Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:07 am

Basically because there are fewer of them. The more normalized LARPing gets, the smaller the stigma against it gets.

There's been a lot of talk about how actually dressing up was weird, or how the boffer LARPs were jock-like and therefore outcast from the nerd set, and so on; but it really was a matter of numbers.

K · Post by K » Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:21 am

LARPing combines the worst of social humiliation and the worst of being forced to spend time with bad gamers. (It's not that all LARPers are bad gamers, but when you have a group of 20 together, assume that 5-15 are awful.)

It's also not that fun from an escapist standpoint. Being limited by local geography is extremely anti-escapist.

Surgo · Post by **Surgo** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:40 am

Sometimes colleges will have LARP groups, try looking there. Mine did. Though my wife did LARP, I never joined it for pretty much the reasons K stated.

MGuy · Post by **MGuy** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 3:01 am

K wrote:LARPing combines the worst of social humiliation and the worst of being forced to spend time with bad gamers. (It's not that all LARPers are bad gamers, but when you have a group of 20 together, assume that 5-15 are awful.)

It's also not that fun from an escapist standpoint. Being limited by local geography is extremely anti-escapist.

Short answer "everything".

Splash · Post by **Splash** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:17 pm

I never heard a pitch/invite for a LARPing group that didn't go "mumble field mumble Saturday... But we can go to the pub afterwards!"

It's not appealing because I can go to the pub anytime, without needing to flounce around in the forest with a rubber sword.

infected slut princess · Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:53 pm

While it is theoretically possible to play a regular TTRPG with some people who are not total losers, it is categorically impossible to do a LARP with people who are not total losers.

Aryxbez · Post by **Aryxbez** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 2:16 am

As as social experience, I suppose there's nothing too wrong with it, get to be among people of like minded interests, and can even be kinda interesting to watch. As for playing it myself though, eh, I can't say I'd want to get into that kind of socializing, more into smaller sized, private group to get together.

Since I find that Community fiction has more limited stories, ones which the character's capabilities aren't as cool, and thus ye don't really get to do that big of things. These being the case in MMO's (RPGA I guess too?) as well, but it's not so much the case in more private experiences. Like in Tabletop versions, get to do big awesome stories as fitting for D&D, in single player video games like Everquests Champion of Norrath games, you got to fight entire gods of the setting, whereas it would've taken like 25-50 dudes in some MMO. Obviously truly quite lame, hell in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, I hear the main character even takes out a major threat rather awesomely (Kratos style?) that would be otherwise seen as impossible in the entire canon of Warhammer 40K for the most part. So in MMO's ye have people setting up cannons, or holding off minions with like fifty dudes, in an RPG, it's like five Hobos buttstabbing the universe, just to take out some giant Dragon.

hogarth · Post by **hogarth** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:53 pm

The number of people who like playing video and board games as a hobby is much bigger than the number of people who like acting as a hobby. So the more an RPG is like a video game/board game, the larger the potential pool of players is that you're drawing from.

JigokuBosatsu · Post by **JigokuBosatsu** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:16 am

What's wrong with LARPing? I don't know, what's wrong with Communism? People are stupid/crazy and ruin it for each other.

I did play some Amtgard back in high school, which was great for exercise. My fondest memory was duct taping a nose flute to my face so I could use the bardic music ability and have my hands free.

After that I did some MET- WoD was what we moved on to after D&D 2E, and the bull goose rpg nerd of my friends circle moved in with a hot chick who was into Vampire, so that was basically a given. It was pretty much the opposite of what I recall Frank's experience being, and pretty unpleasant. I remember always insisting on playing an infernalist of some stripe, so I could be a jackass BECAUSE SATAN.

Over the years I've looked into what LARPing was going in the PDX area, and every time I have been disappointed/horrified. So I have never seriously thought about doing it. Until recently... the next daddy-daughter project in my house is to build some boffers. The reason for this is that my daughter is basically the coolest motherfucker who has ever lived, and her making/swinging a foam battleaxe just seems like part of how the world should be.

One final note- my friend (and Lovecraftean film director) Aaron is a big proponent of the Nordic LARP-as-education model, and he seems to be putting on conferences and whatnot to bring this model to the States. I tentatively approve of this, though I don't understand it yet, and I figure if I wanted to do Nordic LARPing, I would just say fuck it and move to Norway. (though to be honest, that is my solution for everything lately)

shadzar · Post by **shadzar** » Sat Sep 22, 2012 8:38 pm

LARPing requires the same as RPG in general. social acceptance.

remember D&D was seen as satanic because stupid people didnt understand it, and other stupid people tried doing things with it it wasnt intended.

people going around saying "im a 30th level DM" and crap like that is taking D&D too far... they are trying to live D&D.

well LARPing takes that to an even further extreme.

with V:tM another problem exists... the masquerade. not only are you acting like a game world character in a group of like minded people, you are actually interferring with the lives of people not playing ni some cases while trying to actually play out the masquerade.

take a normal coffee shop that has an area around it you play at. well this coffee shop could be ru by a member of the LARP group, or allows it, but the surrounding businesses might not like the people loitering, distracting businesses, etc. also the non LARPers that visit this coffee shop might be put off by the number of people or the activities going on and no longer be a customer.

V:tM works best in an environment big enough to allow playing out "the masquerade", while at the same time being able to contact other players and STs. it is easier now with mobile devices than back in the 90s, but problems from the 90s still exist with the social acceptance.

best thing to do would be find a gaming store and ask them to host it and maybe talk to surrounding areas and explain the game to them. it CAN be done and work. you just have to find the right place to do it.

Neurosis · Post by **Neurosis** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:13 pm

infected slut princess wrote:While it is theoretically possible to play a regular TTRPG with some people who are not total losers, it is categorically impossible to do a LARP with people who are not total losers.

this is such bullshit haha

The larp I wrote/run and play with my friends, our player base is better looking, more conscious of social mores, more socially acceptable, functional, and "normal" than 95% of TTRPG groups, hands down.

You could not peg even one of us as a gamer, let alone a LARPer, outside of catching us in the act.

That said, we are a very small and very unsuccessful LARP (as measured by attendance) and I'm wondering if there is a lesson in this. I feel like our refusal to go even part retard has driven away the audience of full retards who flock to traditional LARPs in droves.

mikayel · Post by **mikayel** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:43 pm

As has already been stated, but in my own view:

What's wrong with LARPing is the same thing that's "wrong" with liking terrible music, telling bad jokes, and enjoying Taco Bell.

Subjective, opinion, each his own blah blah blah

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Fri Sep 28, 2012 1:48 pm

mikayel wrote: What's wrong with LARPing is the same thing that's "wrong" with liking terrible music, telling bad jokes, and enjoying Taco Bell.

I hate you for forever!

infected slut princess · Fri Sep 28, 2012 10:56 pm

Schwarzkopf wrote:
The larp I wrote/run and play with my friends, our player base is better looking, more conscious of social mores, more socially acceptable, functional, and "normal" than 95% of TTRPG groups, hands down.

You could not peg even one of us as a gamer, let alone a LARPer, outside of catching us in the act.

Oh sure, that's what YOU say. But what about independent reports that verify you are better looking with better social graces and more "normal" than 95% of TTRPG groups?

Scientific studies have actually proven that people who LARP are losers, so I don't know why this is a subject for debate.

Lago PARANOIA · Post by **Lago PARANOIA** » Fri Sep 28, 2012 11:34 pm

Schwarzkopf wrote:The larp I wrote/run and play with my friends, our player base is better looking, more conscious of social mores, more socially acceptable, functional, and "normal" than 95% of TTRPG groups, hands down.

You son of a bitch.

How DARE you enjoy a hobby without subjecting yourself to such indignities?

I... I think I'm going to have to lie down for awhile.

Korgan0 · Post by **Korgan0** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 4:35 am

Schwarzkopf wrote:
infected slut princess wrote:While it is theoretically possible to play a regular TTRPG with some people who are not total losers, it is categorically impossible to do a LARP with people who are not total losers.
this is such bullshit haha

The larp I wrote/run and play with my friends, our player base is better looking, more conscious of social mores, more socially acceptable, functional, and "normal" than 95% of TTRPG groups, hands down.

You could not peg even one of us as a gamer, let alone a LARPer, outside of catching us in the act.

That said, we are a very small and very unsuccessful LARP (as measured by attendance) and I'm wondering if there is a lesson in this. I feel like our refusal to go even part retard has driven away the audience of full retards who flock to traditional LARPs in droves.

I think the reason for this is that if I remember correctly, Schwarzkopf is German, and I've heard that LARP's are a much bigger deal over in Eastern Europe than they are over here, with a much more dedicated and intelligent playerbase, and with a lot more effort put into them. I could be totally wrong, but that might have something to do with it.

MGuy · Post by **MGuy** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 6:04 am

infected slut princess wrote:
Schwarzkopf wrote:
The larp I wrote/run and play with my friends, our player base is better looking, more conscious of social mores, more socially acceptable, functional, and "normal" than 95% of TTRPG groups, hands down.

You could not peg even one of us as a gamer, let alone a LARPer, outside of catching us in the act.
Oh sure, that's what YOU say. But what about independent reports that verify you are better looking with better social graces and more "normal" than 95% of TTRPG groups?

Scientific studies have actually proven that people who LARP are losers, so I don't know why this is a subject for debate.

FUCK YEA SCIENCE!

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 11:53 pm

Okay, I have got to see that study.

mikayel · Post by **mikayel** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 3:58 am

Do you really doubt that people who LARP are (on the whole) less socially-well adjusted than people who don't?

Or are you curious to the specifics? I guess I am too, a bit.

Orion · Post by **Orion** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 4:49 am

I like reading studies.

Korwin · Post by **Korwin** » Sun Sep 30, 2012 7:14 am

Korgan0 wrote: I think the reason for this is that if I remember correctly, Schwarzkopf is German, and I've heard that LARP's are a much bigger deal over in Eastern Europe than they are over here, with a much more dedicated and intelligent playerbase, and with a lot more effort put into them. I could be totally wrong, but that might have something to do with it.

There are some big fucking LARPS in Germany.
Drachenfest gets how many? (a friend allways tells me how awesome it is)
Tried to look it up. http://www.larpkalender.de/termine/
Holy shit there are many... Best was "training to figth on an horse"

JigokuBosatsu · Post by **JigokuBosatsu** » Mon Mar 11, 2013 10:41 pm

Major necro, but shit has been busy in Casa Gulbranson. So this happened:

And it was a rousing success. I think LARPs are missing out on a huge demographic- little girls. We went down to the park with Amelia's new boffer and assorted Lightning Bolts, and there happened to be a group of 7-year-old girls having a birthday party. Amelia is tall and mature for 4, so she of course fit right in, but the real hit was the point at which a group of little girls was literally lining up for a chance to beat the living hell out of me with the boffer. I actually ended up pretending it was broken so I didn't get killed by really really blunt trauma and/or dirty looks from the moms at the birthday party.

So yeah. I'm not the handiest dad, but this project put more smiles on her face than almost anything I can remember, so it looks like the boffer workshop is going to be going full steam soon.

Neurosis · Post by **Neurosis** » Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:34 am

I just wanted to pop in to say I'm as American as apple pie; only the name is German (ish), and even it is just a Shadowrun reference.