Posted in Feminine Side of Larping, tagged bodice, boffers, Boy Scout Camp, chick, cliques, corset, Costumes, costuming, cosutmes, dirty larping, dwarves, elves, embarrassment, explain, feedback, females, fights, geeks, geeky women, gender, girl laper, Girl Scout Camp, girls, hot girl larper, hot larper chick, issues, larp, larp cliques, larper chick, larpers, larping, larps, latex, live action role play, Lore, LoTR, opinions, problems, Role Models, Rules, Weapons, weapons creation, women on August 9, 2009|
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The Feminine Side of LARPing
Part 5b, Clicking with the Cliques.
This blog is in response to my earlier blog: Me, Myself and Cliques; Can you handle the clique?
I explained how to spot cliques and my experiences with them. Now it’s time to deal with them. There are mutiple ways of dealing with cliques; you can decide to ignore them, try to become included with them OR leave the game in search of greener pastures. There ARE games out there that do not have cliques and the player base is warm and welcoming. Don’t settle for something you’re not enjoying when these days some areas have multiple LARPs running and some might even be held at the same camp you’re at.
Some tips on telling from the LARP’s website if they have cliques so you can avoid them from the start:
- Check the Forums and read the new players section, are only staff members welcoming the new players? And is there only one staff memeber saying hello days later? Or are players also welcoming the newbies?
- Look for established groups of players that have attended for years and seem cold and unwelcoming to low level players. You can usually spot these on the Forums as well. Check if they have their own ‘rooms’ or a special saying in their signatures.
- Read the highlights and lowlights of the events (on again on the Forums) and see what other players are saying.
If you miss the warning signs, are already invested in a game with cliques, or you ignore the signs and still attend there are some things you can do for damage control. If you ignore them keep in mind that this being a social game with you ignore certain power groups may effect your game play. Some groups have been with the game since the start and will have plot written for them because the staff are trying to keep them coming, if you’re ignoring them you’ll miss out on plot and if you’re missing plot what fun is that? If the staff memebers ARE catering to the older players this is another red flag, not only pertaining to cliques but pertaining to the entire game.
If you make the decision to join a clique, then go for it! Cliques are not ALWAYS bad things. Sometimes they can be the exact thing you need to get you involved with the game. But being a girl you have brownie points. You’ll have a better chance at joining a clique… and if you’re a supporting class (healer (HUGE bonus), dpser, gatherer, etc.) that will increase your chances even more. As for the guys, you’ll have a better chance at creating your own group. But then you’re just helping cliques become created. Just be aware that if you do make it into an established clique there will be a hierarchy already in place and you won’t be the boss. Atleast not at first ;).
As for moving on… you can do it. It’s going to be painful since you’ve most likely made friends, put some effort into a players and/or costume, and you’ve already overcome the ‘new to the game awkward phase’. But you’ve gained experience and that is something that will benefit you for the rest of your life. Plus those friends you made might be unhappy too so they should follow you and your character? If you tweak it just so you can most likely use the same character at a new game. So don’t be afraid to hop around LARP to LARP until you find something that you feel comfortable in. There is not a better feeling then really being involved with a LARP.
-tinamarie86
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