 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2018) |
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| Years active | 1978–present[ citation needed ] |
|---|---|
| Setup time | 15 minutes[ citation needed ] |
| Playing time | 2 hours to 14 days[ citation needed ] |
A live-action game (LAG) is a game where the participants act out their characters' actions.
Some live-action games are described as a "flag wars", "combat sports" or "battle gaming". Although these are strictly live-action games, they lack the plot and "character assumption" that is usually a part of live-action gaming. That is, each player assumes the persona of a character (like a "handle" in an online environment) and maintains that persona until the character dies. This variation is similar to the variation that also exists in table-top and computer games. Some table-top games (like Monopoly) do not require the player to assume a distinct persona, but games like Dungeons & Dragons do have this requirement. The same is true of computer games—the player of the single-player version of Half-Life assumes the role of a character with a name and personality; The player of Tetris does not.
Live-action gaming is sometimes described to novice players as a hobby lying somewhere between LARP and historical reenactment. [1] This is accurate in that the game contains the WYSIWYG philosophy and minimalist rules of historical reenactment, but adds the unpredictable outcome and player-created plot found at some LARP events.
Rules for live-action games are extremely simple compared to other forms of live interactive games like American Football or Orienteering. Combat is simulated, with one hit causing a wound. There are no 'hit points' or other conventions. Game rules are not used as stand-ins for components of the imaginary environment. If a novice player cannot immediately understand a rules convention, that rules convention is not used. Referees are not used and players are relied upon to be honest in their application of the rules. A special effort is made to convey and adhere to the spirit of the game.
The key to live action gaming is an attempt by the game directors to create a WYSIWYG environment. Instead of using a laminated card to represent a magical staff, an actual staff is used, as one might build for a play. Weapons (such as buffer swords or airsoft guns) are almost always part of the experience. Players stay "in character" at all times (except for medical emergencies). There is no convention for removing oneself from the playing environment.
Live action games are run by a staff that writes a plot that binds together the expected events of the game into a rough storyline, creates obstacles for the players to overcome, and plays the adversaries in the game world.
A single live action game can span anywhere from 2 hours to 14 days. Active groups can run as many as 18-20 events per year, with a mix of new players and veterans at each event. Most events are run by volunteer organizations for the enjoyment and exercise of the players and staff. Some events are free and use publicly available sites (such as college campuses), while others charge a fee to cover a private site rental (such as an outdoor camp) and equipment (and sometimes food).[ citation needed ]
A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by real-world environments while interacting with each other in character. The outcome of player actions may be mediated by game rules or determined by consensus among players. Event arrangers called gamemasters decide the setting and rules to be used and facilitate play.
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting or through a process of structured decision-making regarding character development. Actions taken within many games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines.
Freeform role-playing games, also called freeforms, are a type of role-playing game which employ informal or simplified rule sets, emphasise costume and theatricality, and typically involve large numbers of players in a common setting. Actions are typically adjudicated on the spot by a referee, though variants exist whereby players jointly mediate their own actions.
A foam weapon, also known as a boffer, padded weapon, or latex weapon, is a padded mock weapon used for simulated handheld combat. Such weapons are used in simulated battles called battle gaming and in some live action role-playing games (LARPs).
A play-by-post role-playing game is an online text-based role-playing game in which players interact with each other and a predefined environment via text. It is a subset of the online role-playing community which caters to both gamers and creative writers. Play-by-post games may be based on other role-playing games, non-game fiction including books, television and movies, or original settings. This activity is closely related to both interactive fiction and collaborative writing. Compared to other roleplaying game formats, this type tends to have the loosest rulesets.
Dream Park is a 1981 sci-fi/murder mystery novel by American writers Larry Niven and Steven Barnes, set in a futuristic amusement park of the same name. It was nominated for the 1982 Locus Award and later expanded into a series of cyberpunk murder mysteries: The Barsoom Project (1989), The California Voodoo Game (1992), and The Moon Maze Game (2011). The books describe a futuristic form of live action role-playing games (LARPs), although the term was not in use when the original novel was published. The novels inspired many LARP groups, notably the International Fantasy Games Society, named after a fictional entity in the book.
Dagorhir Battle Games is a national live action role-playing game with full-contact melee fighting and ranged combat as its primary focus. Fighters typically use foam weapons such as swords, flails, spears, bows and arrows, javelins, axes, and other medieval weapons. Participants wear period costume and are expected to stay in-character during events, although the amount of seriousness the role-playing aspect receives varies greatly by unit and chapter.
Lorien Trust is the trading name of Merlinroute ltd., a Live Action Role-Play organisation that runs LARP events at Locko Park, Derby, UK. It runs some of Britain's largest Live Roleplay events, historically claiming to attract around 1,200 to 1,500 to its first three events each year and around 2,500 to 3,000 people to The Gathering. More recent figures are lower, but not in the public domain. It was formed in 1992, originally as a charitable organisation. In 1995 it became Merlinroute ltd trading as Lorien Trust. The Lorien Trust has a well established game world, and uses its own set of LARP rules, known simply as the "Lorien Trust rules system". In addition to the four events held per year, the Lorien Trust also sanctions many smaller events to use the same system and game world.
The history of role-playing games begins with an earlier tradition of role-playing, which combined with the rulesets of fantasy wargames in the 1970s to give rise to the modern role-playing game. A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which the participants assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create stories. Traditionally all the participants but one take on characters and determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization and the actions succeed or fail according to a system of rules and guidelines, and one of the participants takes on the role of game master who narrates the story, plays all the non-player characters and determine the challenge rating and the outcome of various actions. Within the rules, the participants may improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games.
Live action role-playing games, known as LARPs, are a form of role-playing game in which live players/actors assume roles as specific characters and play out a scenario in-character. Technically, many childhood games may be thought of as simple LARPs, as they often involve the assumption of character roles. However, the scope of this article concerns itself mainly with LARPing in a technical sense: the organized live-action role-playing games whose origins are closely related to the invention of tabletop role-playing games in America in the 1970s.
MilSim, an abbreviation of military simulation, refers to live-acted simulation of armed conflict scenarios conducted by civilians for entertainment, sporting, or nostalgic purposes. It has been described as both a form of "extreme sport" and as historical reenactment.
True Adventures, Ltd., is a role-playing game company started by Jeff Martin. It operates two entertainment venues at Gen Con Indy: True Dungeon and True Dungeon Fantasy Tavern. True Adventures is notable because their signature event, True Dungeon, is "the single most popular event" at Gen Con, drawing people to the convention just for it. The event is also notable for its scale; about 3,000 players play in groups of up to eight people over four days each year. The company also hosted the event True Heroes in 2004 and 2005. True Adventures ran these events at Gen Con SoCal when the convention was still in existence. The company grew out of Martin's work in creating elaborate props and puzzles for his Dungeons & Dragons game.
Treasure Trap was a live action role-playing game established at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire in April 1982. Various splinter groups broke from the original system, some retaining the Treasure Trap name, and helped to shape the later British LARP scene.
NERO International is a live action role-playing game (LARP) played in the United States. The NERO name originally was an acronym for "New England Role playing Organization", but the game has expanded well beyond its original New England roots and thus simply adopted the acronym as part of the official name.
Curious Pastimes is an organisation that runs one of the best-known live action role-playing campaigns in the UK. CP is a private, profit-making company headquartered in Moreton in the Wirral in Northern England. The company was formed in 1995, as a break away group from the Lorien Trust.
LARP Alliance, Inc. was a non-profit organization based in the US, which was established in order to improve communication, support, and education regarding Live Action Roleplaying (LARP) throughout the entire community and with the general public. Programs and events designed to achieve this are run often and the LARP Alliance assists others by providing staff, props, resource materials, and contributing donated promotional items. The company exists to motivate and inspire the LARP community and bridge the gap to bring in new LARPers.
Fools and Heroes is a non-profit fantasy live-action role-playing game (LARP) which was started in the autumn of 1985 by John Naylor, who placed a small advertisement looking for players in TableTop Games, Daybrook Nottingham. The first events were run in 1986 and the rules system was written and published by John Naylor and Steve Bell in 1986, by which point the national branch structure had already been established. The Society is democratic in nature and has multiple branches around the country. Most branches contain 15–20 members who play at least once a month, though some have as many as thirty. Members can travel between branches allowing them to play in various areas and interact in different plotlines. There are also yearly gatherings which involve multiple branches simultaneously, the largest of which is the Summerfest.
A tabletop role-playing game, also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a classification for a role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a set formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, players have the freedom to improvise; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the game.
Dream Park: The Roleplaying Game is a role-playing game published by R. Talsorian Games in 1992. It was designed by Mike Pondsmith and was based on the 1981 novel Dream Park, which is itself about a live-action role-playing game amusement park. The player characters take on the roles of the players in this holographic game, simultaneously playing both the character and the character's alternate persona.