#larphacks

Master Tip: Confidence and Consistency

Different professions have totally different protocols for speaking over a radio. Ambulance dispatchers, military units, merchant navies and astronauts all have their own way of doing it. Each protocol comes with its own unique set of grammar and vocabulary - often varying wildly between countries - sometimes called “voice procedure” or VP. There is no single “right” VP that will instantly make you sound professional, and this post isn’t going to teach you VP.

Instead, you should focus on confidence - practicing a few hacks to make your voice come out fluent, clear and reliable. The first few tips will focus on ways you can fake this. Then try to achieve consistency - a set of mutually agreed rules which mean you’ll communicate information the same way every time you pick up a radio, and more importantly, that your fellow LARPers will do the same.

As an example of the latter, in my professional life, I use the word “roger” to mean “yes, I’ve understood you”. But when I volunteer as site crew for a major UK LARP, everyone I work with uses the code “JG” - short for “jolly good” - to mean the same thing. If I’m the only person saying “roger” in that context, I don’t sound professional - I sound like an outlier. Better that I say “JG” instead, because then I’m widely understood. Consistent group language very quickly creates a group identity through shared speech (a sociolect) which sounds impressive and slick to an outsider listener. This single shibboleth makes it sound like we’ve all had radio training (most of us haven’t!) and that we’re sticking to a defined procedure - one of the hallmarks of professional voice communication. It’s more important in LARP to be consistent than to be “correct” by real-world standards.

Photo from Gruntz, by Oliver Facey.

1. Think, Rehearse, Press, Pause, Speak

One of the biggest mistakes unpracticed radio users make is working out what they’re going to say after pressing the transmit button. Two-way radio isn’t like a phonecall - people can’t talk over the top of you or interrupt: when you have that button held down, you’re broadcasting to every other set on your channel. That means you need to work out what you’re going to say before you start saying it!

Mentally rehearse the exact words you’re going to use before pressing the button. In a crisis, when you’re stressed, take the cognitive load off by physically rehearsing - whispering or subvocalising - before sending. You might think this slows down your chat, and it does, but you’ll save more time in the long run by not babbling, saying “ummm... errr....”, or using long inconvenient pauses.

Once you press the button, pause for a moment before you speak. Most handheld radio sets have a delay of up to half a second before your voice is actually transmitted. Always think - rehearse - press - pause - speak.

2. Use the ABCs

The ABCs of good radio communication are Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity.

Accuracy - strive to use precise, unambiguous language. Say exactly what you mean in the simplest terms you can manage. If you’re asking for something, be clear on precisely what you need, when, and where. If you’re relaying information, ask them to “read-back” or verify they’ve got it correct.

Brevity - Say as little as possible. Time on the net is precious. Aim to never speak for more than 20 seconds at a time; break your transmission into multiple bursts if it’s long. If you need to have a drawn-out conversation with someone on a busy net, consider switching to another channel or moving to their location instead, rather than clogging up the main channel.

Clarity - your voice will be distorted over the radio. Speak slower than you think you need to, enunciate clearly, leave gaps between words. Don’t whisper or shout. High voices carry better than low voices over most frequencies, so consider altering your pitch if people are struggling to hear you.

A note on roleplaying. There are always going to be times when you’re going to want to convey emotion through a radio broadcast - this is LARP, after all, and if you’re panicking because you’re pinned down under a horde of zombies you want your fellow players at the other end of the line to be panicking too! Of course you can, and should, break these rules when it’s IC appropriate. If you play a character who has great VP most of the time, it’s even more harrowing and effective when you suddenly break down sobbing or screaming!

Photo from Arkfall, by Oliver Facey.

3. Callsigns

Everyone loves callsigns, right? They make you sound badass. They’re like the nickname you wish you had in school. Every action hero has a callsign.

Callsigns are great - in real life, they’re used to clearly identify who’s who on a busy radio channel. In military and paramilitary contexts, they also protect the identity of the speakers by avoiding the use of real names.

When picking a callsign, consider the cultural context of your character. How did they get their callsign?

If they’re a hot-shot independent type - a pilot, or a bounty hunter, say - perhaps they have a badass nickname which says something about their character. (”Goose”, “Maverick”, “Iceman”). In some organisations, these are picked by the individual; in others, they’re agreed by their peers during training. Link the callsign to a significant background incident for additional colour.

If they work for a hierarchical conventional military organisation, they’re more likely to have a standard pattern given out from above and based on their current role. This might be a string of letters and numbers - let’s say they’re the squad commander of 3rd Squad, 2 Platoon, they might be called 23A on the radio. This works great when you’ve got a bunch of characters from the same military unit who agree to use the same pattern, and gives an immediate impression of professionalism.

A nice midway point between the two is to give your whole group a team designation (this can be something “cool” - Kryptonite, Jackal, whatever) and then assign each individual a number or letter code. (Jackal-One, Jackal-Two or Jackal-Alpha, Jackal-Bravo and so on.) This is great if your group’s going to be interoperating with other groups also using the same net.

Alternatively, you might simply give people callsigns which reflect their role in the mission or team, particularly if it’s a small team. “Guns”, “Med”, “Base” and “Bossman” all clearly indicate who you’re talking to.

Photo from Contact LARP, by Oliver Facey.

4. Grammar and Vocabulary

Like I said at the start, I’m not here to teach you one set of VP. I could write a post explaining why in my profession you should never say “repeat” over the radio unless you want a lot more artillery than you bargained for, or why I immediately know someone who says “over and out” hasn’t had much training. But that isn’t why I’m here - you’re here to fake knowledge!

What I will say is that you should construct, or adopt some set of radio grammar and vocabulary, and agree it with your fellow players. It doesn’t matter what it is - what matters is you do it the same way every time. That’s how you quickly sound tactical. If you want to adopt an existing one, a fellow LARPer has written a great guide to the basics of the British system which is easy to steal, here.

If you’re constructing your own, I’d suggest at a minimum you probably want to consider:

a) How do people introduce themselves? You can’t always recognise voices on the radio - somewhere in the transmission they need to use their own callsign.

b) How do they make clear who they’re speaking to, or asking to speak to? “This is Iceman, I need backup!” is going to cause confusion as everyone tries to answer at once. “Hello Zero, this is Iceman, send reinforcements to Hut Three!” is going to get you what you need.

c) Do you have special words for encountering the enemy (”contact”)? For asking someone to repeat their last transmission? For acknowledging you’ve heard someone (”roger”) and/or that you’ll comply with what they’re asking you (”wilco”)? Do you use special words for different types of enemy?

(If you’re in a sci-fi or postapoc setting which is not strongly tied to modern militaries, this is a great time to start adding in your own distinct flavour. Pick something that isn’t “roger” or “affirmative” to mean “yes”, make sure everyone understands it. Use a few words in second languages to emphasise a linguistic legacy from particular modern Earth cultures, or add in bits of religious language for an occult vibe. It doesn’t take much before your sociolect is very distinctive and recognisable - great for group cohesion.)

d) How do you end a transmission - do you use a special word to make it obvious you’ve finished? 

(Many organisations in real life use “over” as the last word in a message to mean “I have finished speaking and expect a reply”, and “out” to mean “This conversation is over, do not reply”.)

e) Do you launch straight into transmissions, or do you use a “warning” transmission first to get their attention?

(Some organisations find it polite to send a message like “Hello you, this is me, message, over” to make sure they’ve got someone’s attention. This saves you talking to thin air as someone on the other end has left their radio on the table!)

f) Do you have specific types of report you will ask people to give - for example, instead of “how are things going”, might you ask for a SITREP (situation report)? Or a report on the status of casualties? Talk through these scenarios in advance and try to agree a format for what a “standard” report might include. Don’t be afraid to write down these formats on little laminated cue-cards so you can read them off when sending a report - professionals use these cheat cards in real life!

g) How do you tell someone that their message is clear? Or that it’s broken up and you’re struggling to hear them? Are they too quiet, or too fuzzy?

h) Do you have a special way of saying numbers or letters (which are often misheard over the radio)? For example, in a modern or near-future sci-fi LARP you might want to consider using the NATO phonetic alphabet.

Photo from Before the End, by Oliver Facey.

5. Check Your Comms!

LARP radios are notoriously unreliable. They will break down, constantly. This can be great fun when it happens in the middle of a tense stand-off! But to avoid it happening too much, make sure you check how reliable your comms are before setting out on the big adventure. Stand a good distance away from “base camp” and make sure the radios can hear each other. Plus, the action of conducting this comms check IC immediately establishes your professional credentials and is a nice bit of flavour roleplaying to get you in the zone.

If you have a particular pattern of checking, you can use this when you’re out and about on a mission just to check in and make sure your radios are still working.

6. Code Words

There will be times you want to communicate without everyone understanding exactly what you mean - this is a great opportunity to use code words. Code words might be used for the objective of a mission (a person, place, or enemy base), particular locations, or particular scenarios you’ve foreseen in enemy planning.

Remember, code words sound extremely cool, but they’re only useful if everyone remembers them! - so try to keep it simple. If you have three objectives to complete, calling them “bronze”, “silver” and “gold” or something equally logical is fine. You might feel super tacticool muttering down your mic that you’ve neutralised Objective Sparkling Thunder, but if nobody at the other end knows what you mean, you’ll end up looking a bit daft.

Location identifiers can be invaluable when you’re trying to talk someone on to a target. “Behind the tall tree” isn’t great - “fifty metres west of Hut Five” is much better. Helps if you have a map of your site and a compass, but even without that, you can designate location names on a site walk-round.

One particularly fun example of code words is a duress code - a phrase spoken over the radio which secretly tells your mates that you’ve got a gun to your head. This needs to be something sufficiently innocuous that you can work it into any normal speech without alerting the baddies. You might never use it - but agreeing it and rehearsing it with your colleagues can be a great piece of roleplaying!

Photo from Death Unto Darkness, by Oliver Facey.

Final Note: It’s OK to be wrong!

1. Positive Energy

This can be a surprisingly high-energy role. Particularly in the crew room, one of the most important things a welfare officer can do is be positive and energetic when everyone is feeling a bit tired and down. This is hard! But a bit of jollying-along goes a huge way to changing the dynamic. This is even harder when YOU'RE the one feeling tired and cold and sad. But if you are visibly struggling, nobody will approach you when they need help! A "brave face" is your best weapon.

2. Shut Up!

Sometimes you need to be the "voice of reason" - getting people to concentrate, or quiet down, when it's important that something needs to be done quickly. One good way to do this is to be cheerful enough most of the time that people LISTEN on the rare occasions that you raise your voice and ask them to please shut up for a minute.

3. Early Start, Late Finish

The two above points are ESPECIALLY important during set-up and take-down. You need to be "on the ball"/on duty during periods where other people are transiting into and out of the game. During set-up, your keen crew and players will all be busy frothing and sniffing each other's butts because they haven't seen each other for a year, they want to show off their new kit, and their adrenaline is through the roof. But - it's 30 minutes to time-in and nobody's in kit and the IC areas aren't set-dressed. You need to get them moving!

During take-down, everyone is exhausted, a bit overwhelmed, and wants to sleep (including the refs). But the site needs to be taken down, cleaned and tidied up, lost property needs to be organised, and there are always last-minute disasters involved in the logistics of getting people off site. You can't collapse now - your job isn't done. You might not be in charge of take-down, but you ARE the right person to gently corral and rally tired people towards the plan.

4. Who does what?

If you're the first point of call for someone who's having an issue, being able to confidently signpost to other crew is really important. So firstly, you should know exactly what the other other staff members do and where they're likely to be (in both time and space). If a player comes to you and says "I'm really struggling with the Sorcery rules and I feel very stupid", then sure, you can (and should!) offer them some immediate comfort and consolation. But in order to help them with the root of the problem, you need to know several bits of information:

a) What are the different staff members' responsibilities/expertises? Who does what? (Mike is the person who handles Sorcery rules.) b) Where in space are the other staff located? (Mike is currently refereeing the Clawed Fiend encounter on top of the hill.) c) When in time are the other staff available? (The Clawed Fiend encounter can't be interrupted. It is scheduled to end at 2100hrs. Mike should come back to the crew room after that.)

I'd also recommend you have a good "ticket-tracking" system to make sure your incoming queries are handled and nobody falls through the cracks. You could devolve this onto players ("Come back at 2110hrs and ask to speak to Mike") but it will help things flow smoothly if you are also logging things yourself. I'd recommend carrying a small notebook and pen so you can note things down and tick things off. You can also help things along by being an active communicator and setting the emotional context for solutions. If Mike comes back at 2100 and immediately gets jumped by an emotional player, he might be tired and confused and not give the best answer. But if he comes back and you tell him "There's a player who is having a bad time with the Sorcery rules, they seem quite distressed, I think you can help, they'll be around in 10 minutes" then he won't be surprised and will have the right bit of his brain switched on.

5. It’s all in the Filofax

There is admin information about players/crew which will really help you if something goes wrong too. I'd suggest having the following on-hand, glued into your notebook, on a tablet, or otherwise kept secure on your person (since some of it's sensitive personal data):

a) A list of everyone's allergies and medical conditions. b) A list of qualified first-aiders, and the locations of first-aid kits. c) A list of every vehicle on site, registration number against player/crew name, in case you need a car moved in a hurry. d) A rough understanding of who arrived from where, with whom. It doesn't need to be exhaustive, but if the vehicle which brought 6 people from London breaks down irrecoverably, then being able to help sketch out solutions to get those people and their kit home will be massively easier if you know roughly where people came from.

6. The Outside World

You are likely to also need to be able to signpost to help *outside* the game. If a player comes to you with a problem that can't be fixed with on-site resources, what are you going to do about it? You can't predict every scenario, but at a minimum I'd suggest having the following prepared:

a) A breakdown service for the vehicle that won't start (in the UK the most common is the AA). b) A mental health or emotional support helpline, like the Samaritans (116123). c) The emergency number for injured wildlife - in the UK, the RSPCA (0300 1234 999). d) The emergency and non-emergency medical numbers (in the UK: 999 emergency, 111 non-emergency) and police numbers (UK: 999 emergency, 101 non-emergency). e) A clear understanding of where on site you can get mobile phone signal. f) A plan for how you would get an ambulance onto site if you needed one: run through the whole thing (where on site can I get enough signal to call the ambulance? What is the postcode of the site, and do I have a set of clear directions to give the dispatcher in my notebook? Who am I sending to the site entrance to walk the ambulance on? Is their most likely route of approach clear for a large vehicle?). If you've never called an ambulance in this country, then ask someone who *has* to practice with you, so you understand what questions they'll ask and in what order.

7. Kit & kaboodle

The following are things which LARPers reliably fail to provide for themselves, and which you will benefit greatly if you have on hand. Find out from the organisers what your budget is, and buy accordingly:

a) Salty snacks (crisps/nuts) and quick energy (sweets/fruit). Keep a small separate store aside from the usual 'crew food' to help someone who is struggling. b) The ability to make a hot sweet drink in a hurry. c) Hydration solution (Dioralyte, Powerade, or the cheap alternative, which is six teaspoons of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt per litre of clean water). d) Paper and pens. e) High-powered torch (for searching for lost objects). f) Your own phone on an in-country network, plus at least one charged mobile phone powerbank with multiple charger ends. g) Ice packs - ideally the "squeeze to activate" sort so you aren't relying on the site freezer. (Most common item left out of first aid kids - and immediate relief/comfort for the most common LARP injuries.) h) Warm blankets. i) An idea of how you'd provide a simple hot meal in a hurry. (This could be a packet of rice you can chuck in the microwave, a cup-soup and kettle, a ration pack and a Jetboil, or a good understanding of what the caterers' plan is for an emergency meal.)

If someone is in a lot of distress, going through the process of dealing with their physical needs (food/water/temperature/etc.) can often help them become better able to communicate their psychological/emotional needs. Often a LARPer who is dehydrated or low on blood sugar doesn't KNOW that's the problem, they just know they feel awful and are crashing hard.

8. Know the Ground

KNOW YOUR SITE - I can't stress this enough. If someone has a costume disaster and needs somewhere private to change, where can they do that? If someone is overwhelmed and needs a quiet, safe, cool (or warm) room or tent to lie down in for an hour, where can they do that? If a shy new player shows up and asks "Where do I put my kit?", then being able to answer them quickly and competently with a smile on your face will immediately endear you (and mean that they WILL come to you later, when they're suffering, instead of sitting alone on their bed being sad about it).

9. Late Bloomers

What is the late arrivals plan? If you went IC at 1900 and the traffic means some of your players don't arrive till 2200, then most of your key refs/crew will be busy running the game. You're the most likely person to escort the late arrivals onto site, get them set up, and get them integrated into the game. You'll need to reassure, but you'll also need to understand a lot of admin details to make sure they don't feel any more overwhelmed and embarrassed than they already do. This might involve giving a second safety briefing, pointing out any last-minute changes that weren't included in the game pack, and pointing them to the right ref to get their characters timed in. You can be as nice and friendly as you like - but some people will be even more reassured by practical, reliable and clear directions when they’re feeling rushed and panicky.

10. Herd those Cats

What is the crew plan? Depending on role, you may or may not be involved in "crew wrangling" - this is often a separate role, and deserves its own post. But even if you aren't "crew boss", you need to understand and be able to help balance crew energy and engagement. If there are long periods where crew are likely to be sitting around bored, where are the "pick-up-and-play" roles they can briefly read, digest, and go out to engage in? If crew are doing three hours of back-to-back combat roles, where is the plan for ensuring that they're all fed, watered, rested and properly kitted before their next high-energy role? The best refs will have considered this and have a clear plan for managing crew in small teams to maintain their energy levels - but as a welfare officer you are likely to be the advocate/interface if it doesn't seem to be working well, so make sure you understand where the weak spots and frictions in the plan might be so you can deal with them in advance.

What happens if a crew member comes to you and says they're really struggling with their NPC role and aren't enjoying it? (If you're the approachable face, they'll likely come to you first before a busier ref!) Do you understand the crew matrix well enough to think about solutions, alternative roles they could do, or how the timetable could be re-worked to end their role early? Wherever possible, you should strive to go to the refs with a solution rather than a problem: "Harry is struggling and I think if we brought the poisoning forward an hour, then let him play a gremlin for the rest of the night, that would fix it" is better than "Harry is struggling". They may not accept your solution, but the conversation is already moving onto alternative ways to fix the problem.

11. Easy In, Easy Out

How do players enter/leave the game if they're fatigued or unwell? Your game may not have a clear system for this, and it may be players' own responsibility to manage their fatigue. However, some will struggle to cross the IC/OC divide here: if the character is fighting for their life, how do they resolve that with the player needing to have a lie-down for an hour so they're safe to drive the next day? One of the best games I've run had a clear, signposted system where players who needed a break could "vanish" IC (with a clear IC logic for their disappearance) and take as much time as they wanted. When they were rested, they could go see a ref for a special briefing which told them what had happened while they were away (and explained how they reappeared). You won't find this in every game, but think about ways to make taking an OC break feel like a positive and productive experience, which leaves the character with plenty to talk about when they return, rather than a potentially embarrassing one which leaves the player out-of-the-loop and feeling like they've missed out on the fun.

12. Look After Number One!

Practice active self-care, both to facilitate all of the above and as a good example to others. Going back to the first point, most people can't project positive energy if they're sad, wet, cold, tired and hungry. Have a routine worked out to look after yourself. Understand what you can and can't do and work to your limitations. If you have lots of physical energy but are struggling to deal with six emotional crises in a row, get up and walk around site. If moving exhausts you, pick a central location to base yourself and make sure all the things you need to do your job are in easy reach.

That isn't always possible, clearly; next best is seated (or squatting, if you're as flexible as a Gurkha), followed by kneeling, followed by standing. Each of these positions have "supported" and "unsupported" variants - "supported" here means that you're using a vertical feature like a rock, tree or post to keep your rifle still. Supported is always more stable, though some people find it trickier in the intermediate kneeling and squatting positions. (I am a worse shot kneeling supported than kneeling unsupported, but that's mostly because I've spent a LOT of time practising kneeling unsupported and not much practising at the post.)

If you're roleplaying lining up a shot in a leisurely fashion, get as low to the ground as you possibly can, and put the maximum of your body on it. Body parts on the ground don't shake, tremble or wobble about from muscle fatigue or heartbeat. Moving body parts mean a moving rifle, which means a poor shot.

Photo by Oliver Facey, from Arkfall. Standing supported, nice relaxed dominant arm, buttstock firmly in the shoulder. 

2. ASSUME THE POSITION

Just like a good bench press, a good shot doesn't start in the hands - it starts in the feet. Beginning with the feet and moving up your body, you are now building up a firing position. Every part of your body wants to be balanced and relaxed; everything from your feet, up through your legs, groin, core, chest, arms and neck, must cause the rifle to point naturally at the target. If you are having to strain or force a muscle to point the rifle at the target, that strain will "uncoil" when you relax before you shoot, pulling you off aim. Shuffle and wiggle about until you're comfortable, look down the sights a few times - when you are not having to "pull" the rifle into position, but it naturally falls in line with the target, you've got it right!

This process sounds like it takes a long time, but once you are practised at it, much like a weightlifter setting up their lift, it can all be done in less than a second. You get used to the mechanics of your body very quickly when you are using it as a machine to make bullets go straight hundreds of times a day.

When prone, some people prefer to spread their legs like this, while others prefer to cock one leg up and keep the other straight, like this. The latter is often more practical on rough ground if you'll have to get up in a hurry. All the same processes apply in the seated, kneeling and squatting positions too; work through your body from toes to fingertips, tweaking until you are relaxed, balanced and the rifle is naturally aimed at the target.

In practical terms, kneeling is by far the most common position to shoot from, since it's the position you automatically adopt any time you're not moving while on patrol. Most people in British forces kneel on the right knee; this leaves the left thigh flat, which in turn means you can rest your left elbow on a flat surface. This is important because your left hand controls the front of the rifle, the "business end", and small movements up here mean big trouble with your shot. (This is particularly true with the standard British rifle, the SA-80, a heavy and back-weighted bullpup weapon balanced almost on the pistol grip.)

This is HM the Queen firing an SA-80. I am not going to critique her shooting, because she is the Queen.

(Nobody is left-handed when using an SA-80; the spent casings are ejected from the right side of the weapon, and attempting to fire it with your left hand on the pistol grip and trigger - i.e. with the buttstock in your left shoulder - results in hot brass in your face.)

(This fact, incidentally, is why you often see images of British troops wearing only one kneepad, and that on the right knee.)

3. HANDS ON

Now you've got the gross motor stuff right, it's time to think about arms and hands. Your elbows should be tucked close in to your body; the further out they are, the more small movements of your arms will be magnified to create large movements of the rifle. (Tucking in also gives you a flatter, longer base for your buttstock to rest against, and reduces your profile to incoming fire.) If you're lying down, brace them firmly on the ground. Seated, brace both on the insides of your knees. Kneeling, rest one elbow firmly on the meat of your thigh which is parallel to the ground, tuck the other one in. Standing, just tuck 'em in and hope for the best!

Honestly, tucking your elbows in while firing standing is the single most effective thing a LARPer can do to make themself look like a more professional shot in a hurry.

Photo by Oliver Facey, from Tommy Guns and Temperance. Although I can’t see the left elbow, I can tell from the angle of the wrist it’s very nicely tucked in, providing a stable base for the gun and making the shooter appear professional and accurate.

Using your non-dominant hand, draw the stock of your rifle tightly in to your dominant shoulder. You are trying to give it as solid and immovable a platform as possible. This is why standing is the least stable of all the positions; when standing, your rifle's only connections to the solid ground are through your shoulder and non-dominant hand, then through your ENTIRE wobbly-ass fleshsack to those two tiny Vibram bootsoles. So many things can go wrong in that chain - it's like trying to open your front door with the housekeys on the end of a fishing pole. Much better to give it a nice stable foot-knee-foot tripod or, better still, a lovely wide butt to connect it to the ground! Best of all, of course, is to let the rifle have some ground contact of its very own; and this is why the prone position is ideal.

Your dominant hand should NOT be clenching tightly on the grip or helping yank the rifle towards your body. It should be closed firmly but gently around the grip, with the index finger running along the outside of the trigger guard. It should NOT be taking any of the big muscle work of keeping the rifle steady; it's going to have its work cut out in a minute, so give it a rest. Use your non-dominant arm to pull inwards. This is easier said than done on rifles which lack foregrips.

Now, assuming you have built up your position correctly, as you pull the rifle into your shoulder and lower your cheek towards the buttstock to look through the sights, you should find that the rifle points naturally at your target and you barely have to do any aiming at all with your hands. If not, that's OK; but the solution now is NOT to yank the rifle way over to one side in order to bring yourself on target - it is instead to build up your position again from the start (yes, from the feet!) until you are back on.

Photo by Oliver Facey, from Pioneers LARP. Building up a good position, semi prone in cover, keeping a low profile and close to the ground.

4. EYES ON

Now that you've built up your position, you want to be looking for what is called a "sight picture". On a weapon which has "iron sights" - physical notches along the top of the rifle - this means ensuring those notches are in line with each other, and with the target; those three reference points all lining up are helping you ensure that the rifle is aligned vertically and horizontally to the target. Through a scope, it's much more straightforward; assuming your rifle has been zeroed correctly**, simply ensuring that the your scope is clear and not shadowed top or side (and that the target is showing in the middle!) is enough. To replicate this step in LARP, if you're not using real sights on your weapon, just take a moment to stare down the length of the rifle at the target, with your non-dominant eye closed.

Photo by @tomgarnett, from Pioneers LARP. A good example of standing unsupported, with straight, balanced posture and the buttstock firmly drawn into the shoulder - note the tension in the grip of the left hand. A quick glance over the top of the sights helps centre your aim before you bring your cheek down to get your sight picture.

5. BREATHE WITH ME

In real life, what happens now is that a sharpshooter will take a few steady breaths in and out. If they have done everything up to this point correctly, they will see the target track up and down slightly in their sights, with no horizontal movement. If they're seeing horizontal movement, that means they haven't built up their position correctly and need to start all over again!

You won't see this unless you're using a real sight; but the breaths are an excellent piece of roleplay to demonstrate you're ready to shoot.

We are taught that a sharpshooter fires with empty lungs, just after exhaling. Spending too long waiting to fire after setting up the sight picture is called "dwelling in the aim", and often leads to inaccuracies. This is because the longer you stay completely static, the more your muscles will start to tremble - microtremors can throw off your shot substantially. Shooting on the exhale helps relax your muscles as well as reminding you not to stay there too long - it's harder to hold your breath out than in. My target shooting usually goes "breathe in, out, in, out, fire".

I find the moment between exhaling and releasing the shot a very calm, peaceful and meditative moment. This is something you might choose to incorporate into your roleplay. Think of the way the _Hunger Games_ films focus on Katniss' last breath before narratively important shots - it's much like that.

Photo by Oliver Facey, from Death Unto Darkness. Kneeling unsupported, great body language - he is clearly hunched right into the rifle and using his whole body to steady it. Note the left elbow braced on his flat thigh.

6. THE RELEASE: DOS AND DONT'S

Mostly don'ts, actually!

Releasing the shot is all about your hands. You may think that pulling the trigger on a rifle is the easiest thing in the world, but actually this is where an awful lot of mistakes are made.

DON'T - keep the safety off. Your safety catch, if present, should come off just before you're ready to fire, stay off until you've fired all your rounds at a single target, and then go straight back on.

DON'T - snatch at the trigger. Your movement should be a gentle squeeze of the index finger *through* the bite point of the trigger with calm, even pressure.

DON'T - move straight away. "Follow through" by staying in position for a second after the shot; this both helps prevent subconscious last-minute movement and lets you get an immediate damage assessment impression of whether your round has struck or not.

DON'T - forget about recoil! Your LARP weapon is very unlikely to simulate recoil. A real rifle jerks backwards and the barrel a little upwards every time you fire. If it's setting appropriate, simulate this with a quick jerk up and back with your non-dominant hand. (If your character's rifle fires lasers or is some equally advanced bullshit space gun, it may not have recoil at all.) (Recoil is dependent on weapon construction and calibre; a high-calibre round from a flimsy plastic American rifle hurts a lot more than a 5.56mm from something as beautifully solid and overengineered as the SA-80.) (If your character is an inexperienced shot, consider roleplaying a bruised and sore dominant shoulder!)

DON'T - stay too long! Once you've popped off a shot or two, you have alerted the enemy to your presence, and muzzle flash will soon be giving your position away. Fire no more than three rounds before moving position, even if it's only a few metres to roll into a different bit of cover.

Photo by Oliver Facey, from Pioneers LARP. This is Sarah. She is applying none of the marksmanship principles, because she does what she likes. There are no faults whatsoever in this picture; she is flawless.

* I apologise for the gendered language; it's the Army's technical term and I don't have another clear one. "Sniper" isn't quite right in this instance because I'm not actually talking about sniping, which is its own separate discipline (that has more in common with reconaissance than combat shooting). Alternatives gratefully accepted!

Leadership

Who?– People with commanding voices and a clear understanding of the mission. People who your subordinates will listen to instinctively, either because they are charismatic/commanding, or because they already know and respect them. 

How Many?– Approximately one “squad leader” per 4-6 personnel you’re leading. If you only have 4, then you’re the only leader necessary; appoint a 2iC from among your troops. If you go above 6, split them into multiple squads and pick a sub-leader for each, who reports up to you. 

Doing What?– Giving clear direction for where the group is going, why they’re going there, and in broad terms how they are going to achieve their objective. Mission leaders should not be “double hatted”, i.e. fulfilling one of the below roles in addition to their primary role; this is sometimes permissible in smaller groups, where not much coordination and control is necessary, but disastrous in large ones. 

Experts

Who?– People with the expert skills, training or knowledge necessary to achieve your aim.

How Many?– Exactly as many as you need to fulfil the core aim - plus a spare or two in case you lose one along the way!

Doing What?– Staying out of trouble and keeping themselves safe until their moment of glory comes!

Force protection

Who?– Reliable fighters who can follow orders. During an arduous or complicated mission, teamwork and cohesion can be more valuable than raw fighting prowess, so consider both qualities carefully.

How Many?– That depends entirely on the threat level. In a setting where I expect a reasonable amount of combat, I like to have my FP:Everyone Else ratios at about 50:50.

Doing What?– Forming a ring of steel around the “squishy centre” that is your command group and experts, scouting ahead, guarding behind and destroying everything that stands in your way. You should be in “close command” of these guys (through your subordinate leaders, if appropriate) - they should be prepared to move when you say move and hold when you say hold.

Combat Support

Who?– Quick-thinking, highly reactive support specialists who can identify where their skills are needed and move there quickly, with a minimum of direction.

How Many?– One healer/doctor/etc for every 4 personnel in the party is a good rule of thumb, depending on your system’s rules and threat level. Plus anyone you need to e.g. navigate you through the dread portal, send prayers to Zeus to let you pass unscathed through the field of lightning, etc.

Doing What?– These guys are more a “wind up and go” toy than the Force Protection. You should give them clear priorities at the start of the mission (like “heal anyone who needs it”, or “buff the tanks first”, or “keep us moving but conserve resources”), and they should then execute them throughout the mission with a minimum of direction. If there are a lot of them, then you might choose to appoint a subordinate leader within the combat support (this is a great role for your 2iC!) to report back to you on casualty states, resource consumption and the like.

Through the gate! Photo by Oliver Facey, from Odyssey LARP (now tragically finished).

Like I mentioned in this post, understanding the source of your IC authority is paramount in small squad leadership - and that applies to picking your team as much as leading it in the field. 

If you’re working in a quasi-military setting where you can assume that most characters will basically follow your orders because of your rank, then you don’t need to fret over the force protection much - finding people who will do what they’re told is easy! - but you may need to go out of your way to find intelligence, proactive personalities for your combat support.

By contrast, if you’re working in, say, a byzantine Renaissance-inspired nest of vipers high-politics setting, you won’t need to worry too much about finding robust characters who can be relied upon to look after their own safety, but you want to spend more time finding a 2iC and subordinate commanders you can really trust not to put the knife in your back at the last minute.

Clear delineation of mission roles. Photo by Oliver Facey, from Pioneers LARP.

A final word of caution: While it’s all good roleplay, some of your fellow players may have bad memories of being picked last for sports teams or activities in school. You want to avoid making anyone feel OC isolated or sidelined through your IC behaviour. The best way to do this is to be clear, up-front and honest about your reasons for picking your squad, and to present them publicly. You cannot guarantee that you won’t upset someone with your decisions - that’s the nature of life, and of Geek Social Fallacy #1, unfortunately. But you can actively look for opportunities for anyone who feels left out to join an alternative mission or get involved in a different aspect of the game.

If you spot someone being repeatedly left out of “cool stuff” in a LARP context, and have reason to believe they might be taking it hard OC, consider bringing them along on your next outing. It isn’t your job to bend your character just to make their life easier, but you’ll often find yourself surprised by what someone you have previously overlooked can bring to the party. Something as simple as a new perspective on the mission can be worth twenty reliable stick jocks in a crisis. Picking the “unknown” might be risky - but we never achieve anything great without tolerating a bit of risk!