What do you get when you have a mixture of oddly dressed people and you add 4 walls, a roof and doors are optional? A LARP event of course! But not just any LARP event – this session of live action role playing will be hosted inside a building of one sort or another.
Before we begin let me clarify that I know that this seems like a straight-forward topic; live action role playing has been hosted in one building or another for as long as people have been pretending to be someone or something else. Kids do this in their living rooms and never needed a tutorial so why this and why now?
Because some people need to be told.
It really is that easy. If you have ever hosted an event then you know that someone, at some time, is going to forget to bring something or fail to participate in an appropriate fashion.
So let’s get to it shall we? What do you need to consider when you want to participate in a live action role playing game that is being hosted inside? Here are a few things that I have come up with:
Venue:
What kind of venue will it be? Is it the basement of one of the players or host? Will it be in a friend’s house where there are personal items and breakable things? Will it be in a hotel where they may have ‘rules of conduct?’
The main consideration behind the venue will be the expectations that are imposed upon you and your fellow participants but these expectations are not always posted for everyone to see. For example, if the game is to be held at someone’s house it would be inappropriate to go snooping through their things but they are not likely to tell you this directly.
Take the time and consider what is expected of you within the venue that you will be playing at. If it is a commercial venue then you or your host may want to obtain a written form of their rules of conduct, requirements and expectations that they have of those who use the facility.
One such expectation or rule that I think needs special notice is whether or not you are allowed to permit any form of combat within the venue. How does your game resolve physical conflict and will that method cause your game to break something, or be banned from using the facility in the future?
Climate:
Even though you will not be outside the climate may still affect your game experience. If it is incredibly humid and your venue does not have a dehumidifier, or air conditioner then you could be caging yourself in a hot and humid box, dressed in your costuming, and feeling uncomfortable.
Whether it is cold or there are dreary weather conditions may also affect your game if your venue is not properly insulated or there is a draft.
In the very least you will find that weather conditions will affect the number of players that attend an event. Heavy rain or snow tends to have an impact on attendance, as does the weather when you look at your venue location. If your venue is hard to get to or out of town and there is bad weather you may not have many participants show.
Venue Cleanup:
What is expected of your troupe when you consider cleaning up? How many people will you need to handle the various cleanup jobs required?
There are many gamers that seem to view cleaning up as a form of mental insanity and avoid participating in these tasks. This can be approached many ways depending on the viewpoint of your LARP facilitator.
If your LARP is for fun not profit then everyone should be pitching in to clean up the mess that they had a part in making. If someone isn’t doing their part then I suggest culling them from the herd and make it known that they aren’t invited out unless they also help with the clean up.
If your LARP is for fun and profit then you may want to offer some rewards for help that you receive cleaning up. This can be a double edges sword because you are giving your players a way to feel that they have no responsibility for the general state of the venue once the game is finished. Do not offer lame rewards or you will not get any help.
And lastly, if your LARP is a complete ‘business venture’ where your participants are ‘customers’ then they will not likely feel that they have an obligation to help clean up. They paid the price of admission to play, not to be put to work.
However you approach it make sure you have this part of your game well taken care of. You do not want to leave a bad impression on your venue owners or you may not be invited to use their facilities again.
What Do You Wear?:
Again this topic seems straight forward but there are times when you need to take this into consideration. Will your costume be able to handle a street fight scene? Will the climate control of the venue open up some costuming options for your character?
And that’s just the beginning. What about accessories? Would it be wise to consider how you are going to sit down during this indoor event? Will you need to bring lounging pillows? What about knee pads for when you drop to 1 knee on the hard wood floor?
Supplies:
A lot of venues do not provide any real usable supplies for your participants but you may want to ask. Are your players expected to bring their own provisions or will there be refreshments and snacks provided? If so, how are they going to be provided?
You may need to bring your own form of utensils, cups, tables or chairs if you want these forms of amenities at your game. It’s important to know what you are being offered by the venue before you go through the effort or bringing these things for yourself.
Cost:
How will the cost of this indoor event change the cost of the game for your participants? How many participants will you need before you can financially safely run this game? Do you expect that kind of turn-out?
As you can see the points that I am making all evolve around considering your environment when you are getting ready for your indoor event. It’s not always as simple as throwing your costume into a duffle bag and heading out the door.
If you have any other suggestions for LARP participants or facilitators when considering hosting a live game at an indoor setting feel free to post them in the comments.
All the best in your future LARP endeavours,
Kevin Tjia
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