It seems the most misunderstood aspect of LARP is also the most basic: the battle. Whether it’s full scale warfare or one on one melee, combat in LARP is both the stuff of legend and the star of a fair few jokes and myths.

Combat in LARP doesn’t follow the same structure as pen & paper games, like Dungeons and Dragons, for which it’s often confused. It’s most often gritty, real, fast-paced, realtime, requiring a referee to sort it out and containing genuine unpredictability and risks to your character’s safety.

Here’s a small video clip of some unrehearsed combat at a LARP event. It may demonstrate a bit better that the commands aren’t called by the roll of dice, and nobody stops halfway through to shout something about a saving throw. There’s nothing wrong with pen & paper, but plain and simple – pnp LARP is not!

If you’ve stumbled upon this site & you’re new to LARPing, or if you’ve heard of it but are still a bit confused what it all means, you should definitely take note: I’ve found one of the most thorough guides to the in’s and out’s of LARP I’ve ever seen at How Stuff Works. It’s complete with lots of photos to illustrate the explanation (or just to entertain you!). I highly recommend reading the article if you’d like to learn the essential concepts.

We’ve all been through it: experienced the dreaded name generating creative block. You know, just when you need the most clever, most original, even simply most tolerable name you can devise for a character…and you draw a total blank.

Most of us have at some time or another sought help from friends, books of names, and name generators on the web. Some of us have even borrowed from films, movies, pop culture, history, or mythology. You may recall the Terry Pratchett-inspired name in the character creation documentary profiled here this week – borrowed from a novel simply because he was headed to an event and in a crunch for name generating time.

Whether you’re creating a new WoW account or headed for your first LARP event, it’s worth having an arsenal of naming tools at your fingertips just in case something to call your character is the last detail you decide.

Great free fantasy character name generators:

• Rinkworks Fantasy Name Generator – comes in serious, silly, and specialty versions.
• Seventh Sanctum Name Generators – a truly huge list of generators for every purpose.
• Mystic Nights Fantasy Name Generators – about a dozen themed generators and a character creation tool.
• Yafnag – “Yet Another Fantasy Name Generator”…does what it says on the tin.
• TheForge – a suite of powerful “creative inventing” tools covering not just names, but spells, beasts, and locations.

Do LARP parodies like “The LARP Rap” bother you, or are you down with humor even sometimes at LARP’s expense? We’ve set up a poll page where you can see the “LARP Rap” video & cast your vote if parodies are fun or offensive. View & vote here!

Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, you can learn how to make a boffer weapon in a mere 9 minute clip. From choosing the core to carving the foam, and polishing up the finished product, you can take this inspiration and run with it for your own flat foam boffer. Check it out here.

Not sure what a boffer is? A boffer is just a foam or latex weapon used in LARP battle. Boffers are relatively harmless in play, allowing characters to take blows without real life fatal consequences. (But playing with any weapon comes with some dangers; just because a boffer is made of padded or lightweight material doesn’t mean it should be used recklessly.)

Let’s start at the very beginning: character creation! Here’s an excellent 10 minute clip from a documentary made by English students at a massive LARP event, all about why people LARP, the basics of LARP, and how to create a character.
LARP Documentary on YouTube

‘Tis the season to LARP (and it’s always the season to LARP!) with NERO, as their steady December ’09 schedule will give LARP lovers across the US and Canada plenty to do before the Christmas business.

What’s NERO? NERO is one of the most prestigious and active LARP viagra in North America, and has been going strong for 20 years. NERO has its own system of play and chapters throughout the continent. Read all about NERO here.

NERO Calendar of December Events (check this page for weekly updates)

December 4th – 6th, 2009
Phoenix, AZ
Chicago, IL
Boston, MA

December 11th – 13th, 2009
Boylston, MA (Fables of Fenorra)
Altamonte Springs, FL
Camp Hammond, KS
Piedmont, NC
Camp Oyo, OH (WAR)
Dallas Fort Worth, TX
Toronto, Canada (Aeon)

December 18th – 20th, 2009
North Texas

Happy LARPing!!

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Welcome to LARPALOT – soon to be a premier destination for LARP info, events, videos, products & social networking on the www!

What’s LARP? Quite simply, “live action roleplay”. If you’re looking for a more thorough definition, try this from Wikipedia.

A live action role-playing game (LARP) is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out their characters’ actions. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world, 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. Keep reading

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