#process hack

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.

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!

It isn’t good enough to write some airy-fairy “~~everyone is welcome at our LARP~~ ^_^” rubbish either. You’ve got to get real with this stuff. This is a statement of principles that your entire game needs to live up to. You have to start considering now: 

What the practical limitations facing you are, and 

What sort of game you want to run vs. what sort of game you can run. 

Is your intent to run a game where everyone has equal access to all IC spaces? Then you can’t put any of those IC spaces in areas only accessible by stairs. Is your intent to run a game where people of all genders feel welcome and included? Then you’d better be prepared to back it up in your setting material by including specific representation of multiple genders in different roles, otherwise your intention means squat. Is your intent to run a game where everyone can participate in combat? Then you need to have a serious chat with yourself about hard vs soft skills.

The statement of principles that you start with will influence every aspect of your game, from setting, to system, to what sites you can and can’t use. It isn’t set in stone - there’s nothing wrong with coming back and revising it later, adding elements you’ve forgotten or clarifying how it relates to your game; indeed I heartily encourage it! But you need to understand now what sort of game you intend to run, and for what sort of people.

Unpopular opinion time: It is not inherently evil to run a game which is not equally accessible to all possible players. LARP is a physical hobby, some variants more than others - it is not wrong to run a game where it’s easier to play a fighter if you have 20/20 vision and the use of both legs; it is not wrong to run a game where it’s easier to play a mage if you are highly numerate and can speak fluently in public. It’s not even wrong to run a game at a site that’s impossible to access by wheelchair, especially if that’s the only site available to you. 

What is wrong is not clearly signposting those restrictions up front in your publicly accessible game material, and making whatever reasonable adjustments you can to compensate. It is worse to be welcoming and “talk the talk” in your advertising material, then fail to follow through on the field, than to state simply and clearly what access restrictions your game comes with - your players need as much information as possible to decide for themselves whether the game is right for them.

If you want some examples of what an “OC policies” or E&D / accessibility statement might look like, try these:

Death unto Darkness OOC policies

Profound Decisions Accessibility Policy

Profound Decisions Equality & Diversity Policy

Tales out of Anchor Event Rules

Photo from the first event of Falling Down, by @tomgarnett​

2. WRITE FOR THE SITE

Now that you understand what inclusion and accessibility requirements you need to meet, you can pick a site! 

If you’re a university or small-town LARP, this decision may be from a very small pool indeed; you may even find after looking at your options that you need to go back to your accessibility statement and revise it or manage expectations. That’s fine - you can only work with the resources you have; just make sure that you’re doing site recce & viewings with accessibility in mind.

If you are mobility impaired or have a friend who is, they may be willing to help you out by conducting an accessibility survey of your potential site. Don’t assume they’re obligated to help you, but there’s nothing wrong with asking politely.

It is important that you match the game to the site, not the other way around. My LARP career is littered with examples of start-up games which had a fantastic concept of the world they wanted to run in, and which implemented shockingly badly in play because the site they eventually found didn’t match up with their requirements. 

What do you have? A lot of single-use mixed-terrain woodland? Then small-party linear adventures can be an excellent feature of your game! A big open empty field with nothing in it? Have some linefights, or a big friendly diplomacy-heavy IC camp! An abandoned glue factory but no outdoor terrain? Claustrophobic space-prison survival horror it is! 

At all costs, avoid marrying yourself to any particular gameplay style or type before you know what site you’re working with.

Photo from the first event of Regenesis, by @tomgarnett​

3. GAMEPLAY BEFORE NUMBERS

Start thinking about designing the mechanics and working parts of your game the same way the military plans operations: Begin with the effect you want to achieve on the players and then think about the tools you can use to get there, not the other way around.  A lot of people who write and run LARP games are mathematically clever and get excited about creating intricate, clever systems like D&D; that’s fine, if that’s the sort of game you want to run, but you need to be focused on what the players get out of it and how it works in play as the first priority, not as an interesting side effect.

Your “system” - the crunchy numbers bit, the magic, the calls, the death counts, the bean bags, the Nerf guns, whatever it is - is a mechanism to create the kind of gameplay you want, not an end in itself. 

Once more: System is a mechanism to create the kind of gameplay you want, not an end in itself.

Photo from the first event of Slayers LRP, by @tomgarnett​

4. PLAYTEST THOROUGHLY

Take every possible opportunity to playtest. Give your mechanics, your setting, your character creation and your fight system to fellow LARPers. Give them to LARPers whose opinions you disagree with, who like a different type of game to you, who you argue with on the internet. Give them to friends and family. Give them to total newbies and ask them how accessible they are. Ask them to murder your darlings. Swallow your pride and take all feedback with equanimity - use it to hone and refine your game. Don’t feel the need to change everything someone objects to, but understand where the objection comes from and how you would meet it from a paying customer.

Don’t try to please everyone “just enough” (unless you are trying to run a national, professional-level game you intend to make a lot of money from, or a local system in a town that has no other LARPs and which you want to have a wide appeal to local nerds); please your target audience as much as you can, and make it very clear who that audience is and what sort of game you are running. Hard work during the playtest will help you articulate these things, and clearly signpost who this game is designed for - and who it’s not designed for.

One useful project management system that my friends Crazy Donkey LARP use when receiving feedback about games is the Stop, Start, Continue heuristic. They ask their audience segment to tell them about things they didn’t enjoy (that they should Stop doing in their games), things they felt were lacking that they should Start doing, and things which worked well which they should Continue doing. 

Photo from the first event of Split Worlds, by @tomgarnett

5. THINK ABOUT THE BUY-IN

What is the minimum amount someone needs to know to functionally play this game, and how long will it take them to absorb that information?

If you really care about your game setting, you’ll be overflowing with cool tidbits of history and costume advice and setting material. That is great - and all to the good for stoking the fires of keen from already keen players! But a huge volume of game material (such as, much as I love it, the Empire wiki) can be really offputting for a new player. It’s in your interests to boil down “the basics” as far as possible, and present them in a clear, obvious one-pager which allows a new player to quickly and easily absorb them. This also helps accessibility for people who have issues reading, or absorbing, a large volume of text at once.

The “At-a-Glance” pages for the six Cultures of Odyssey LARP (now, tragically, ended) are a really good example of how the game writers used a single format to boil down a high volume of culture-specific setting material into a series of representative fragments that gave a new player all the information they need to quickly play a character from that IC culture. Here and here are examples.

In system terms, this is a pretty successful attempt to collate several pages of Odyssey rules into as-basic-as-possible summaries for the reader in a hurry.

The Empire Game Overview is another good page, and the Combat Rules page for Empire is an example of the “Bullet Point / Expand” format that can make it easier for some people to absorb complex rules and system information. 

Photo from the first event of Tales Out Of Anchor, by @tomgarnett

6. KIT & COSTUMING

When contemplating what costume looks like for your setting, you should be thinking on two levels: Firstly, what makes the characters look cool and iconic (and, assuming your setting has different classes, nations, professions or cultures which are distinguished by kit, what is obviously different about each one); but secondly and more importantly, what do your players have access to?

Once again here, understanding your target audience is key. For a small, local weekly game that runs for a few hours on a Saturday and targets university students, your costume briefs need to be realistically achievable by people with a low budget and time constraints. For a £250 three-dayer in a castle, you can probably assume your target audience has a bit more spare cash to splash out on frock coats or chainmail or EL wire. If your target audience already has a certain type of kit in abundance - Medieval armour, or Roller Derby kneepads, or leather jackets - build that into your briefs.

Do your best to provide photographic examples of costumes in advance so that players can see what sort of “look” they strive for. When writing costume briefs, pick one or two clear, simple, iconic and easy elements for each brief - like “wide sash around the waist” or “brightly coloured headgear” - and try not to crowd the brief with too many elaborate suggestions for the perfect look. Your players will pleasantly surprise you. 

Be aware of body shape and size accessibility when writing your costume briefs. “Empire line” or “broad shoulders” or “ethereal, floaty, elfin clothing” may all sound iconic and straightforward to you, but they are all examples of clothing which disproportionately favours particular body shapes; steer away.

Think about where your monster/crew kit comes from; do you expect crew to self-costume or will you be buying kit for them? What does a properly stocked crew kit room look like? How does that affect your budget?

Photo from Hades, by Oliver Facey

7. SEPARATION OF POWERS

When you’re putting your game team together, clearly define what each role means - who’s responsible for what - and write down those responsibilities somewhere everyone on the team can see them. An amorphous blob of “the refs” which slowly evolves into proper working practices is unlikely to be as efficient as starting out with a head of site & logistics, a head of setting coherency, etc. 

You can always change and modify these terms of reference as you go on, but setting them out clearly at the start will cut out an awful lot of drama later down the line. 

Try to avoid having any individual make big important setting, system or plot decisions on their own; everyone, no matter how authoritative, should have their work checked by at least one other person who has the power to veto or bring their material to discussion. 

If you can, appoint a “conscience” early in the game design process. That person’s job is to stand behind you every time you’re about to make an important decision or rules call, or finalise a plot, or do something you think is really cool, and ask “What about player agency?” and “But how do the players interact with this?” and “What effect does this have on the players?”

Photo from Gruntz, by Oliver Facey

8. CREW

Where is your crew from? How do you keep crew coming back for more? How many crew do you need to run a successful game?

If you’re starting up a local small linear style system, inculcating an early culture of “crew one / play one” is a good way to keep a regular stream of crew available for more. For medium systems, you might implement a “crew lottery” where people who crewed the last game get favourable placement for tickets for the next event, or discounts on future tickets. You should also do your best to include crew incentives - you’d be surprised how little “bennies” like hats or t-shirts help cement a sense of group identity and belonging among your crew cohort.

Out of the number of crew you need to run your ideal event, 2/3rds will book, and half of that number will actually show up. Be prepared and write your encounter based on low crew numbers as a contingency.

1. MORNING ROUTINE

Change out of your sleeping socks. If they’re dry and clean enough to sleep in again, ball them up and tuck them into your sleeping bag. If they’re wet or dirty, discard them into a laundry bag and replace them ready for the night.

Wash (a wet wipe wash is fine) and dry your feet thoroughly with a clean towel. 

Take care of any blisters / cuts / wounds; refresh and discard any dressings, apply fresh antiseptic.

Dust your feet and the insides of your socks with a thin layer of talcum powder. 

Don at least one pair of thin, dry, CLEAN cotton socks. 

If required, don a second layer of socks (waterproof if that’s your style) - but make sure the layer nearest your foot is the thin cotton one.

2. NIGHT ROUTINE

Remove your daytime socks and discard them into the nether hells, never to be seen again. (Inner layer only - if you’re using Sealskinz over liner socks, you can usually re-wear for a few days in a row.)

Wash and dry your feet again.

Check your feet carefully for any new and existing blisters, hot spots, cuts and the like; take care of them.

If you MUST pop a blister (see below), now’s the time to do it.

Rub in some moisturiser or foot cream (I use this Body Shop foot lotion which is SO GOOD I cannot even begin to tell you how LIFECHANGEINGLY HAPPY I was when my mother-in-law sent me a bottle of this stuff in Afghanistan it is AMAZING).

Don your Arctic sleeping socks, with optional cracked handwarmer.

Photo by Oli Facey, from Falling Down.

3. HOT SPOTS, BLISTER PREVENTION AND BLISTER CARE

What’s a hot spot? A hot spot is an area where your footwear rubs against the skin of your feet and causes a mild burning sensation, possibly with redness and a bit of pain. If you allow the rubbing to continue, a hot spot is likely to develop into a blister. When you find a hot spot, take a moment to zinc tape it (see below) to prevent the blister. Common sites for hot spots are the back of the heel, the insides of the big toes and the top of the third toes.

Zinc tape? A type of canvassy, adhesive athletic tape that sticks heavily to your skin and provides an extra layer to stop the friction from your boots causing blisters. Put a strip of zinc tape across the vulnerable parts of your feet; if you’re worried that it will rub off, secure it with perpendicular strips. Don’t use cheap Boots or pharmacy own-brand zinc tape - it’s crap and not worth the money. I use Strappal brand at 2cm thickness.

Toenails? Keep them as short as you possibly can, cut flat across, to help prevent black/lost toenails and skin tearing.

Help me LARPHacks! I’ve got a blister! - Okay, don’t panic! You’ll be fine. 

If the blister is still closed, apply a non-adherent dressing or some Hydrogel to cushion it, then layer zinc tape over the top. Don’t apply zinc tape directly to the blister - you’re likely to rip it off when you remove it.

If the blister has burst or ruptured, then clean it and the surrounding skin as soon as possible and apply antiseptic. I prefer a dry spray antiseptic (like this one), though they can sting like fuck. Then apply a dressing. Hydrocolloid dressings are good for absorbing the weeping fluid from the blister and keeping the rest of your foot dry.

I want to pop it. In general you should aim to leave blisters intact while you’re still in the field; broken skin is an invitation to infection. 

No I *really* want to pop it. However sometimes a blister is unbearably painful or in a really inconvenient place, and you’ll need to drain it. 

Prepare a clean needle or pin.

Disinfect your hands, the area around the blister, and the pin with antiseptic, soap, water, fire and holy incantations.

Carefully push the needle through the upper skin of the blister twice - in and then out again - as if you were about to pull a thread through it. 

Remove the needle and allow the blister to drain gently into a sterile absorbent gauze or pad.

Apply additional antiseptic cream/gel/spray.

Apply a dressing, then cover as above.

And when I sleep? Depending on the state of your feet, you may wish to sleep with a clean, fresh set of dressings on, or give them a chance to dry out. Personally I find that I heal much faster if I let my feet dry overnight and don’t leave them dressed, but you need to be sure that your socks are clean and won’t rub anything open before you try that. Press to test - people’s bodies heal differently.

What about callouses? Some people religiously file or pumice off their callouses in the belief this helps prevent blisters. Personally I only have a few callouses which are genuinely inconvenient (on the tips of my toes); the others are pain-free and don’t cause any trouble. There’s no reason not to pumice down your callouses if they are causing you issues, but you shouldn’t have to do this every night - it’s a once-a-week sort of job.

Photo by Steph Morris, from Empire LARP.

4. FOOTWEAR

Your walking-around boots should be well fitted, with good cushioned insoles that are appropriate for your gait and foot type.

If you don’t know what your gait is like (do you pronate? High arches or fallen?) then most running shops offer free gait analysis and a bit of advice about your foot type. They’re doing it to try and convince you to buy expensive trainers.

I strongly recommend Sorbothane brand insoles - I use Sorbo-Pro because I pronate badly, but I also hear good reports of the Double Strike and Full Strike models.

Your boots should be as waterproof as you can manage for the setting / costume requirements - but carefully consider your game before you decide you want Goretex lined boots (these will come with “GTX” or “Winter” in the boot name). They’re great for keeping the dew off, but if you are ever going to be immersed over the ankle, they will keep water in and stop it evaporating instead of drying out like a lighter leather boot would.

If it’s leather, your footwear should be polished or dubbined every morning to keep the water out.

Your local LARP may have different standards, but my very strong opinion is that my kit ends at the ankles - I will unashamedly wear modern boots and shoes for the sake of comfort and safety, no matter how good the rest of my costume physrepping is, and thoroughly encourage others to do the same.

This all starts from the assumption that you have got the basics right - which is to say, you're keeping your core warm, you have a decent sleeping bag / sleeping system which insulates you from environmental cold, you are sheltered from the elements and your kit is dry. Once you've done all that but you're still cold at night, try some of the following less obvious tips:

1. EXTREMITIES

Many people remember to keep their core warm but neglect the "ends" - hand and feet. While you won't necessarily lose much heat this way, most people's comfort is disproportionately affected by how cold their extremities are. Therefore, invest in a good pair of Arctic socks that you wear in your bed - but ONLY in your bed; this will keep them warm, dry and clean. I have a pair which I ball up and keep in the foot of my sleeping bag, changing into lighter, easier-to-discard daytime walking socks (or Sealskinz) when I get up. Make sure you dry and clean your feet properly before getting into bed. (Coming soon: the LARPHacks guide to foot care!)

For your hands, you can wear gloves in bed (wool or fur-lined mittens are favourite to allow your whole hand to heat your fingers up), but if you find that uncomfortable, then tucking your hands close to your groin will help warm them up quickly. The classic "squaddie doze pose" that anyone who's seen soldiers sleeping on airport floors during a delay will recognise is flat on your back, hands in hip pockets, legs crossed at the ankle - this helps keep heat in your groin and warms your hands quickly. Avoid putting cold hands directly on bare warm skin near your core - it's tempting but will not help.

2. GET OFF THE GROUND

As per this post, what's UNDER you is at least as important as what's over you when it comes to sleeping comfort. A low camp bed (like the one suggested in the linked post) is better than a rollmat, a high camp bed better still, for ensuring that you aren't losing lots of heat to the ground. If you can't use a camp bed, using more than one layer of rollmat + ThermaRest + reflective blanket will go a long way to keeping you warm. Ensure that you have good, comfortable covers below as well as above you. If the ground is likely to be wet (spoilers: it's winter. The ground is going to be wet, my British friends), make sure you have a robust waterproofing solution that keeps the water well away from your sleeping gear.

Photo by Jo Perridge, from Empire LARP.

3. LAYER UP

Make sure your sleeping system is multilayered. Additional layers help catch and preserve warmth far better than a single layer. My gold-plated solution is:

Inner layer - fleece blanket to wrap around particularly cold bits, or to push under my bum if the ground is cold.

Middle layer - silk or cotton sleeping bag liner. (Silk is better for insulation, cotton is better for machine-washing. A liner will also ensure you don't have to wash your sleeping bag as often, which is a big money saver if you have a large or delicate sleeping bag that needs professional laundering.)

Business layer - sleeping bag. I sleep in a Carinthia Defence 4, which is basically the stopping power of the Army issued sleeping bag at about half the weight. Down sleeping bags are also popular; they tend to be cozier and warmer at the same weight - the only problem is that they become useless if wet, while synthetic bags retain some of their insulating properties even if you have a tent leak.

Outer layer - Bivi bag. This is a waterproof "outer" bag made of Goretex or a similar waterproof material which will keep your sleeping solution dry even if the environment becomes wet. It also provides a final extra warmth baffle, but has the disadvantage that it prevents condensation from your sleeping body from naturally evaporating through the bag - so a few nights in a bivi bag will lead to an uncomfortably moist sleeping bag if you can’t air it during the day.

However, this setup is expensive - if I had paid full price for that lot, I'd be looking at over £200, not including a camp bed. When you inevitably have to compromise, "more layers" is better than "a single more expensive sleeping bag". If I had to go down to the £40 region for a sleeping solution, I'd buy two £20 sleeping bags (secondhand / military surplus) instead of a single £40 one. But ultimately, to be genuinely comfortable in minus temperatures, you will want a proper 4 seasons sleeping bag or equivalent.

4. SLEEP CLOTHED

Make sure your sleeping attire is warm and comfortable; ideally warm kit (fleece/thermal top and trousers), a hat, and something to cover your neck/chin.

Despite that common myth, you don't actually lose masses of heat through your head, but sleeping with cold ears or nose is hard! If you can bear it, sleeping in a balaclava or a headwrap is a great way to increase comfort overnight. If you can't stand anything over your face, a furry or woolly hat will still go a long way towards keeping you warm. If your sleeping bag is a "mummy" style which zips up over your head, then pulling the toggles close until you only have a small space to breathe will help keep warmth inside - again, if you can tolerate it. If you sleep on a pillow or other headrest, pull it inside the sleeping bag if practical - that will stop you sliding off it overnight.

Photo by Steph Morris, from Empire LARP.

5. DON'T SLEEP IN KIT

Ideally, you should have a totally separate set of kit that you sleep in, and which remains inside your tent (waterproofed, for example in a bivi bag or canoe bag) to be changed into. If you can't quite manage this, then at the very least REMOVE ANY WET CLOTHES before going to sleep. You may be knackered and miserable and just want to crawl into your sleeping bag, but it is a HORRIBLE MISTAKE to sleep in wet kit. If you have to get up in the middle of the night to go for a slash, change BACK INTO your wet kit to do so; do NOT drag your lovely dry sleeping clothes (and socks) through the dew and frost to the loo and back.

Changing into cold, wet kit to go for a wee is horrendous; even worse if it’s frozen - but if you don’t force yourself to do it, the alternative is worse.

6. MY FAVOURITE THINGS

For immediate comfort getting into bed, buy disposable handwarmers, crack them, shove them into your vulnerable areas. I use the type with a papery fabric outer layer (the cheapest ones around!) because this helps absorb a bit of the natural sweat that your feet and hands are likely to push out overnight, and helps avoid the dreaded Damp Morning Sock. If your budget is a bit more generous you can also buy adhesive heat pads which work on the same principle as handwarmers - they're designed to relieve back pain but work very well for an extra warmth boost in a pinch.

If you have access to a kettle or jetboil, then a small hot water bottle can be a great comfort on a cold night. Personally I use a suede-covered tin water canteen wrapped in my fleece blanket as a makeshift hot water bottle (with the nice side effect that it's cooled enough by morning to provide a litre of water right there to drink); I don't recommend this to the risk-averse, since there's every chance that one dark night the cork is going to fail and I will find my groin covered in near-boiling water and my sleeping bag soaked. You should probably use a proper rubber hot water bottle instead. Don’t drink from it, rubber tastes like arse.

Photo by LARPImages.com, from Forsaken LRP.

7. FUEL UP

If your digestion permits, eating a hot snack or drinking a hot uncaffeinated beverage immediately before sleeping will raise your core temperature and perceived warmth. It will also increase your sense of satiation, which (along with darkness and quiet) are two good stimuli for getting to sleep quickly and easily.

There you have it. I’m back in business! I’m sleeping outdoors in January FOR FUN! 

Tips I considered including but ultimately elected not to:

Sexual promiscuity is an efficient and enjoyable way to raise your core temperature in bed!

For a quick fix on cold nights, coating yourself in the blood of your enemies provides an insulating layer for exposed skin; in colder climates, you don’t need to worry about attracting insects like you would when you try this in summer.

If you lack good sleeping gear, disembowell a Tauntaun and shelter in its rapidly cooling corpse.

MORE BURPEES

Photo by Oli Facey, from  Empire LARP.