The Pros and Cons of NPCing at a LARP

There are many pros and cons to NPCing at a live action role playing game. Experience LARPers will know that most LARPs and LARP-type games invlolve mandatory NPC duty, during which players are required to step out of their PC roles and play a bad guy (usually a demon or thug) responsible for providing entertainment for the other players. If a player is lucky, he will participate in a game which does not require NPC duty (check out Seventh Kingdom IGE in New Jersey), but welcomes NPC assistance.

Here is a brief list of the pros and cons of LARPing. Please feel free to add more below as comments.

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Hey Young Larpers!

Latex weapons?

Now I understand the awesomeness of being a kid and opening your first Nerf gun. But unfortunately after you shoot your little or older siblings the family’s pet and the expensive thing in the house made of glass, it is taken away.

Hurray! The next generation of parents parents take away draw will have to be much bigger. The N-Force sword by Nerf  is what I would call a Latex weapon. Really. Seriously. So, our next generation of youngsters will be able to beat each other mercilessly. Hopefully they will learn about how they can open up their imagination and start LARPing with the best of us.

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Now for some older stuff.

1 Dragon T-bone Steak, Comming-up.

Sorry the post is going up late guys. I know how you all sit at your computers hoping that I post just one more time. But this is how I will make up for it.

In the olden days of my LARP youth, I found literal puns and Prop jokes hilarious. Well with that came the invention of this tasty morsel. Yes, it is a Meat Shield, Butcher’s Cleaver and a Fat kid (that’s me!). I understand and apologize for the Photo quality. The Shield is About 4 1/2 feet tall, and 10 inches thick. It’s made from 3 Mall food court trays, Bed Foam, and Red & white Duct tape. It weighs a ton. The Meat Shield’s awesome cannot be equaled so don’t try. The warning aside, you really can make anything with your imagination and some Duct tape.

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Sorry. I Was Bored.

Mining / Steam Punk goggels

Ok, well I was really bored. And from now on all my friends and viewers should know to never allow me to be in such a way. But anyway…

These are my new “Steam Punk” goggles, that I made for a LARP costume. I was interested in a pair online that looked amazing so I decided to just go for it. The mats happened to be laying around my house, but I used pleather for the cloth, waxed thread for the stitches and electrical fittings for the eye sockets. The glass was the tricky part. I wanted to have the ability to see but have the “old” look to them. CD cases. I cut one up. it chipped and cracked but stayed intact to make the great look I have now. Check out how to make them by Google-ing <Steam Punk Goggles> and look for the Instructables link.

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Cod Piece.

In Reflection of the Chain Mail Bikini posts, I have come up with this. THE COD PIECE.

Cod piece.

An important piece of armor in any mans collection is of course the cod piece. It may be viewed as a vulgar topic especially by the fairer sex, but sill important none the less. In the days of old it was used to protect the royal family jewels as well as the bloodline. But in today’s live gaming it should be implemented at all times. Any male who has LARPed, or even messed around with a boffer weapon in someone’s back yard, has had a shot in the nuts at least once. The cod piece, even being an old and antiquated armor piece, is still used to day in many sports. A cup. So gentlemen the next time you costume up for an epic battle in the Days of Olde, strap up, then cup check your friends for good measure.

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Latex Weapons.

Shank, gotcha.

Now here is a point that many LARPers argue. Latex weapons vs. Boffer weapons. Now as a Boffer man, I have a hard time taking the side of latex enthusiasts, but I can give insight.

I would like to state that there is nothing sexual in the conataion of latex weapons. (senter snarky sex joke here). They are casted from rubber and pastic cores, or Fiber glass cores. The weapons themselves look beautiful, and realistic. Charging into battle with them is like fighting with a real sword in the battlefields of old. Carrying one of these isn’t like lugging your arsenal around, it’s like showing art to your “dying” enimies. With these inhand the imersion of the game becomes more complete. Beauty is power on the battlefield.

As a Boffer-man, I find some things off about these weapons. They feel light. Think about training with a Broadsword your whole life then having to always fight a Fencing foil. Swinging these this is quick and easy, and with the cores being made out of these lighter materials the have more whip. To get around the whip problem alot of people have learned to pull their punches. But even with this training, the realistic edges are tapered. After being stung a by couple of hits, your would be attackers run away crying. This may be a plus, I still don’t want to get hit with one.

Even though I have a strong bias against Latex weapons, you could be happy with them. The Rule we all should adhear to in the world of LARPing still stands. “Hit yourself in the face with the weapon as hard as you can. Did it hurt? No? Ok, you can use it.” (Basically, if you can hurt yourself with it, you will hurt others with it.) Take some time and train, learn about the different fighting styles and all about the weapons that are out there. Make good choices depending on the rules of the game and the weapons should be alright in the end.

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Weapon Creation Part IV

How to Make a Boffer Weapon cont.

If you have any special strike zone boffer weapons, like an axe or hammer, make it out of couch foam, and cover it with one layer of tape if you can. The tape can get tough in warm weather and harden in cold, so making it as soft as possible is your goal.

Handgrips are the next big thing. It’s that little area that has ends of duct tape and Sharpie in it. This is where you can add a hilt, if you wish, just don’t make it out of PVC pipe. For the grip itself, I take some string or twirled up tape, maybe a scrap from earlier, and wrap the hand grip in it to hold it better, then I cover the area with hockey tape, but you can use duct tape with the same result.

HURRAY. I think you can now go wail on your friends, or terrorize your little brothers. Enjoy.

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