What is Larp? a beginners guide...

Live action role-play or LARP, as it’s more commonly referred to, is a hobby in which you dress and act as a character that you have created. This character has a race (dwarf, goblin, human elf etc…) and a class (rogue, mage, warrior etc…). Each race and class has its advantages and disadvantages.
Role-playing gives you the chance to take on the spirit and identity of someone or something else. You can basically be whatever you want to be, well within reason. You can even be a ten headed dragon but remember you can only become stronger by gaining experience points.
However, although I have just said you can be whatever you want to be, don’t go racing off to become dashing heroic princes and “Oh- somebody-come-rescue-me” princesses just yet.  STATUS IS EARNED NOT ASSUMED. This means that as you work your way up in experience and levels you can become a higher rank like a lord or a duke before working up to be a higher status. Nobody likes an arrogant so-and-so who assumes positions and ranks.

Characters Costumes

So you’ve made a character and now you need to make a costume to tie in with it. Firstly: what type of character have you created?  For example: Is it a warrior? Does it need armour? Is it an elf? What about ears? Secondly: What Alignment do you have Is it chaotic evil? If so, pink flowery clothes wouldn’t exactly go down too well. Is it neutral/good? If so what colours would it wear?
A costume is really a personal choice of what you feel good in and what you want to wear not what others are wearing.
It is important to not poke fun at people’s costumes, especially if they have just discovered what a sewing machine is. Always encourage people, if you put them down there true potential may not shine.
A suggestion of an outfit to wear for those first few times you go role-playing is a tabard, trousers, a belt and a pair of boots. A tabard is simply a piece of material folded over with a space cut out for your head to fit through. It is belted at the waist so little or no sewing is required. Girls: I advise you to wear a plain strappy top (preferably a plain coloured one) underneath so that you don’t flash everything. trousers that are black or brown if you have them, if not any black trousers will do as long as you don’t mind them getting dirty. Black trousers are especially good as they go with everything and can be used time and time again. Boots: trainers and other types of shoes 1) will get muddy and 2) don’t look as effective as boots do with an outfit. A simple pair of hiking boots would be good, you can get them from around £15, cheaper if you go to markets in Hitchin or Dunstable. This outfit is ideal for those of you who 1) doesn’t have the money to fork out for expensive outfits (and believe me they can be expensive to buy ready-made, unless you make yourself). Or 2) aren’t quite sure if role-playing is quite for you and just want to give it a try.
REMEMBER: a Role player’s best shop is the humble charity shop. You can get loads of clothes that people would hate to wear in every day life, but would go down a treat in the middle of a Goblin battle. Or simply to cut up and make into another peace of clothing or even armour.

Warrior Costumes

Warriors can wear anything, they usually wear trousers, top and/or a cloak. They can wear armour but bear in mind armour, made or bought, can be expensive so think carefully before thinking of getting any.

Typical Wizarding Costumes

Wizards, mages and the like tend to wear robes, just think Gandalf the grey or Merlin the wizard from King Arthur, and you’ll get the picture. Robes are fairly simple to make if you by lots of material and have a sewing machine.
I would advise you all to invest in a pair of boots and make your own costumes from material. You can buy material quite cheaply on markets. If you can’t sew, get someone else to make it for you but you have to be nice to them!

Weapons and what are they made of?

Weapons are made of a carbon fibre core. Surrounding this is closed cell foam. This is to give shape and to protect the user from the core, as the core can be dangerous if allowed to penetrate the foam and stab into the user or anyone the user is fighting.  Over the foam are a few layers of liquid latex. Weapons will last for a long time, especially Medlock weapons (Medlock weapons have a symbol of an M rune on it somewhere) However, these can be quite expensive. When first starting out role playing it would be better to buy swords and weapons from Eldritich (www.eldritch.com). They don’t last as long but they are a damn sight cheaper. Any weapon not treated correctly you can damage them and result in hurting yourself or others during fighting.
If you want something different like a bow and arrows then that’s good. For your first time role-playing I would advice not make these your self. If made incorrectly they have the potential to kill! So I would advise a Webster like www.lrpstore.com.

Weapons and how to use them

Be warned: if weapons are not used properly then they can seriously hurt people!
Weapons are used just as you would expect them to be, like all those swashbuckling films you’ve seen (man in the iron mask, the three musketeers). You will need to pull your blows. To this when you go to hit somebody you bring the weapon down upon as if you would hit them hard but pull it so when it does hit them it taps them (not hard). It’s more acting and making the blow look real then actually hitting all that hard. If you are unsure of how much you need to pull a weapon ask somebody to receive a hit (with you pulling your blow) and see if it needs adjustment. Ask anyone, they should be happy for you to hit them,
Mwa ha ha ha .
Just remember, If you are fighting in a battle you want someone to know that you have struck him or her a blow. So remember to not make it too soft if you know that there is no way they could see it.

And under no circumstances stab with your weapons!!!

The different weapons characters can use

As expected there are lots and lots of weapons that you can use. There’s swords,  (and lots of different types like bastard sword, two-handed sword, short sword, long sword etc…), bows (crossbows, short bows, longbows, long distance, short distance, recurve etc…), axes, knifes, staffs, spears, and all their varieties. Again this is personal choice depending on what you are comfortable with and what you can afford. As a general warriors use swords, axes, bows etc and mages/wizards use staffs. This is just a general of what people tend to use; you don’t have to actually stick to them.

Where can I get weapons from?

Weapons can be obtained from special shops, the Internet or any major event. Please look at our links page for the most well known weapon sellers or below there is a link that will direct you to the right place.

http://www.eldelphia.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/resources.htm

I would advise for beginners to buy form www.eldritch.com. they are cheap and they also deliver in time.

I warn you now weapons are expensive so think before you buy, test them out if you can and get a feel for them before buying, just in case you find you don’t like them.

Hit points and experience points

HIT POINTS: In Lyoness everyone starts on One Hit Per Location. Your locations being your: Head, Torso, Each Arm and Each Leg. You can add the number of hit points per location by choosing certain skills. Once all the HP on any location is reduced to Zero then it is rendered unusable. If your head or torso is reduced to zero then you fall unconscious and start your 2 minute death count. Once this happens you can act this out in a number of ways:
1) Fall in pain and agony and make it obvious to every one that you are just about to pop your clogs. This may grab the attention of a healer around to regenerate you.
2) Fall silent to not make anyone think you’re getting attention or just don’t want to make it obvious for some reason. It is a good idea to do this an a dangerous situation where making a big noise may alert the natives
Each time you are hit you will need to role-play the blow, you have to imagine that the blow would have been made of metal and wasn’t pulled, not with latex swords with pulled blows. Acting skills come into play here.
EXPERIENCE POINTS (XP): these are gained after a game has finished. Depending on what the game was and what it asked you to do depends on how much experience you get. As your experience grows, you will level up meaning you can pick more things for your character.
If we think any one has done particularly well in the game we will award extra XP. But in order to do this you will have to show that you are making the most of what skills you have.


Alignments:

The Alignment of your character depends on how you want to start out. You can choose from:

Lawful, good
Lawful, Neutral
Lawful, Evil

Neutral, good
Neutral, True
Neutral, Evil

Chaotic, good
Chaotic, Neutral
Chaotic, Evil 

The alignment of you determines how your character acts so choose one that you feel you would like to act as. Your alignment can be changed, but you must tell us before hand if you wish to do this. This is because it gives the game maker some clue as to what is going to happen. Please note for all that are unfamiliar to this. The first part is how you react to laws and rules, the second part is how you interact with people.

Mana And Karma

Magic. Corporals and mages use mana to cast spells. Once you have cast a spell you will need to rip the right amount of mana cards to suit it. Different spells cost different amounts so be aware of how much mana you have.
This goes for Karma as well. Priests and shamans use this.

How to cast Spells

When casting a spell shout LOUD AND CLEAR so that everyone can UNDERSTAND the spell you are using and its effect. If you are casting a spell directed at somebody then make sure that they can hear you. If casting long lasting spells then call the effect and again make sure everyone can understand you. When you cast a spell you will need to rip the cards you have been given so you can keep track on how many spells you have cast already and how many more you can still cast.
Once the mana/karma cards have been torn put them in your pocket. The owners of the woods and land we use don’t look kindly to litter every where.

General Tips And Advice

There are no specific rules on how to act so just act as your character would. If you need advice then just ask or email, one of us is bound to have an answer. Oh yeah, BRINGS LOTS OF WATER. You get very dehydrated during the day so bring lots of water. Bring food because you will get hungry as the day goes on. Like I said if you need any other advice just ask one of us, we should have the answer, if not we’ll help in any way possible. E-mail James or Rob with any queries or concerns from the Contact Us page.

Happy Role-Playing!!!