For some reason, links aren't working when I try to embed them no matter which way I try, which is very annoying.
Anyway, there's a special bonus short story up on my Patreon about my LARP character, Sparrow. It's free to all members, all you need to do is subscribe.
This is Sparrow (in the middle) reconsidering their life choices the next day:
And this is the (really fucking HEAVY) rock that I dragged 400 metres in midday sun ON MY OWN for my feat of strength:
It's a faux-rock, so thankfully it's made of nice light things like polystyrene, chicken wire, and 2 bags of cement mix -_-
Gratifying to see other people try to lift it themselves and have a very out-of-character moment of of 'oh shit that's heavy-heavy, not pretend-heavy'
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Lt. Darian zur BĂśrde staying at her cousinâs manor
OC: Riots & Revolutions LARP character
Location: Tatton Park, UK, 01.09.2019
Photography: @berahthraben and @maliex
Riots and Revoloutions is a UK based LARP set in an alternate timeline of late 18th Century Britain.Â
Darian is Prussian, but is a lieutenant in the EIC as in this timeline they allow women to be part of the army. On leave due to a wound received in battle, she was visiting her cousin Mister Gabriel StJohn, here owner of Tatton Park, when E1 took place.
(Note: These are just photos we took at Tatton, the event itself was held in a boarding school)
E2 is aimed to take place towards the end of 2020. The Facebook page for this game is named:Â Riots and Revolutions LRP
Photos above were taken by David Lascelles. Thank you!
I had such as great time at Riots & Revolutions (Facebook), the first LARP in this story-line set in the late 18th Century. This event took place in 1793, in a slightly different history timeline to ours.
I played Lieutenant Darian zur BĂśrde, who joined the EIC as the Prussian military does not accept women at this time. She spent time in Persia, stationed in the port town of Bushehr. Here she learnt her specialist swordsmanship skills. Injured in battle, she was sent back to Britain so she took the opportunity to visit her cousin. But then she received orders from the EIC to represent them at a ball.
Cue French Revolutionaries, zombies, French Revolutionary zombies....Â
What made this event so enjoyable for me wasÂ
the clothing and aesthetic of the period
it was extremely well organised. I always felt like I had plot to be a part of
I felt like my character was in good hands and that the ref team got what I was going for
For the dress uniform I made a black velvet cutaway coat out of a pattern I had made myself for Mozart. The colours were based off portraits of Prussian uniforms, but I added the silver bands on the arms as a nod to Persian clothing and Qajar art.
My dress is the Burda 2493 pattern, made mainly from white muslin and Primark plaid bedsheets.
The Tricorn hat was made from a sun hat with a wire in the brim. The ribbon hides the wire and three sides were turned upwards. Inside the hat I added a cotton pad so that it wouldnât fly off my head every two seconds.
Aside from these items of clothing, everything else was things I already owned (because if you havenât noticed I really love the Heroic Legend of Arslan).
I met some great people and look forward to the next game! I hope to read a bit more into the time period and flesh out my backstory, but for now I should get to handing in my downtime.
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Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Calibration is a buzzword and activity that appears in a variety of larps, but is less common among linear and boffer games. What does it mean? How do you do it? Read on for a quick, unexhaustive lowdown on this technique.
Calibration is a technique used in a variety of games, though most commonly in the nordic tradition. It might sound a bit heavy, but fundamentally it means "adjusting your play to better reflect your desires and intentions". It can be done solo but also refers to the conversations you have with fellow players to figure out what you want in play.
Some games will have specific time set aside for these conversations and adjustments to happen. Some will be in workshops. Some will have third party guidance and help. Some you might do quickly in an OC space to stop a storyline going south. No matter how you do it, communication is absolutely key. It's also important to think of clear actions you can take in order to achieve what you and/or your roleplaying buddy desire - wanting something is all well and good, but how do you intend to fulfil that?
I am a firm believer that not every game or playstyle requires much calibration, with many players preferring a more 'let's just play and see where it goes' approach. I myself am one of these players! But different strokes for different folks for different games.
I find calibration most useful when thought of as a series of questions and answers, adjusting your play depending on the response. See some sample questions below.
To Ask Yourself:
Is there any part of this character that is hindering my OC enjoyment of the game?
Where would I like my character to end up?
What elements of my character do I think have been overlooked and need bringing out?
Are there any relationships I want to spend more time with?
Are there any parts of the game I would like to be more involved with?
Is there any plot or experience I would like to talk to a GM about?
To Ask Other Players:
Is there anything I can do to enrich your game?
Are there any adjustments needed for our character's relationship?
Are there any elements of your character you would like me to play on more?
Are you open to doing X with my character?
Could you draw more attention to this element of my character?
Where should we take our characters?
Are there any story beats you would like to avoid?
How are your comfort levels with X?
Are there any access accommodations you need from me?
This list could go on forever, but if it's your first time in a non-guided calibration session, hopefully this will give you some idea of where to go!
I hoard larp design resources like a magpie. I thought Iâd list some I like, with my biases skewing towards uk larp.
1. Larp Design: Creating Role-play experiences.
Immediately, I lie to you. Nordic-focused book about larp design. It's one of many Knutepunkt books (https://nordiclarp.org/wiki/Knutepunkt-books); I find this one the most accessible. Reading it for the first time helped me notice a bunch of things I never even considered to be part of larp design. It has essays on the whole process: from pitching and expectation management, to the different designable surfaces, to debriefing. Also, it got referenced in one of my favourite recent video essays (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgxuGSpOA5k) so thatâs nice.
2. Time For An Epic Fight Scene
Want to write a larp? Want it to have fights? Want them to be AWESOME fights? Here's how.
Really solid look at the different ways UK larps do combat systems and why that is the case. Plus, the back is stacked with interviews with various larp designers. As a cherry on the top, it has a real bibliography so you can follow up with so many extra resources. I love this book so much.
3. Alexandria
Another Nordic focused one, and a mix of larps and rpgs. If you read enough Nordic larp stuff, some common names come up, and this is a great place to look for them. (EG: the 'Just a Little Loving' script is here: https://download.alexandria.dk/files/scenario/4041/JaLL%20Larp%20Script.pdf).
4. Access: Larp
https://accesslarp.wordpress.com/, also at https://accesslarp.tumblr.com/
A lovely set of accessibility resources. It doesnât look like itâs been updated in a while, though thereâs more than enough to read through.. As a disclaimer, Iâm recommending it because its a cool resource I found, but note that in no way is it an area I have expertise in so I cannot judge how well it meets its goals.
5. Crooked House's Larp Blogs
https://crookedhouse.org/blogs/
Crooked house have done some expensive larps I have never played. BUT, they are well documented so I can marvel at all their interesting design decisions. God Rest Ye Merry is documented on the site itself, while All for One links to a bunch of frank and in-depth discussions one various refâs blogs.
6. Roots Part 1 and 2 by J Li
Roots are the type of content that we ground in when we embody a character. Being explicit about it can help us find more focusâŚ
A fascinating lens that helps with drilling down into what âtypes of gameâ you can get out of their larp character. It feels like a larp focused cousin to aesthetics of play. I often approach these kinds of taxonomies with scepticism, and yet the fact that I kept saying âoh yeah I recognise this in X player/ Y gameâ shows this one is a useful lens.
7. Larp Page's LARPbrary
To preserve the legacy of systems and perhaps provide inspiration for future LARP organisers, we've been collating a library of core ruleboo
It's the closest thing Iâve found to an attempt to archive old uk larps, and it looks like it's started to update again. It's only got a couple dozen, but it's better than nothing.
More broadly, it makes me wish we took better care to preserve old systems. Even looking for the docs for major systems involves trawling the internet archive, only to find the page/resource you want wasnât captured. After a larp is finished, so many only exist as third hand accounts, documents on private Facebook groups or dead websites. If you hear of a cool mechanic that exists in an old larp, you may never find it. Worse, âoldâ here can include larps that ran just a few months prior!
I've been slowly working on my fic for the 40k summer exchange. Can't share any of that, of course. The scope of the story has grown and I'm still wondering if it's okay to post one chapter and release the rest over the next new weeks. I guess we'll have to see. If I'm not done by the deadline, that's what it'll have to be.
I'm also not sure quite how smutty this one should be. Hmm.
Nothing more to report for WIP Wednesday, so let's talk about larp.
LARP â¨
Last weekend, my favourite larp ever finally finished...
It was an amazing game through and through. Not going to post the name because I'd basically be doxxing myself and it's over anyway, but the vibe was XCOM meets Bloodborne meets the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Labour rights.
This game gave me my first leadership role at a larp. Way back in 2018, I was chosen as the Commander of a secret government bureau responsible for fighting fear-based entities called Nightmares that were encroaching upon a newly industrial country in the wake of a revolution. I thought I'd be terrible in a leadership role, but actually, I had a great time and we collectively smashed the ending. I feel like I did a good job.
And my character got her desired ending. She led the bureau in redefining the nature of Nightmares, empowered the Dreaming Dead who watch over the country, helped establish a new form of government to replace the old monarchy, mostly kept her comrades alive, was promoted to the highest rank of the bureau, and finally, just as the game ended, sat down to rest with a cup of tea.
There are a lot of larps in involved in, but I'm going to miss this game so much.
...oh, go on then. Here are a couple of pictures.
So, as for the reason why there's so little 40k progress this week... Last week, I was busy preparing for the big larp finale, and this week, I've got Covid AGAIN. There are a couple of strains going around the UK again, seems like everyone and their dog has it at the moment. All attendees had to test before the game and about four long-time players couldn't come, but I guess someone slipped through. I'm self-isolating now, coughing a lot and feeling like utter shit, but I guess I chose this so I shouldn't complain too much. They really need to make the jab more easily available again, I would have gotten it if I could.
