Perhaps you know Role Games like Shadowrun or Magic. And I´m sure you have been at a theatre. Perhaps you already know the books Lord of the Rings from J.R.R. Tolkien, the Dragonlance Sagas or the stories from Tad Williams.

Well- LARP is a mixture from all that... and in some way it´s not.

I´ ll try to explain now:

Most of the LARPlayers are loving fantasy stories. Many of them began with Table Role Games and then they heard something about larp and are enthuiastic.

At a LARP you play a role. You´re not longer a figure on a sheet of paper. 
You play a character like an actor in a theathre does, with the original clothes
(more example-photos are on the other sides of this HP) 
Lots of LARPers make the costumes themselve. 

Because LARP adventures are played in a middle age fantasy world. So cars, computers, TVs... do not exist. Instead of this you can meet elves, dwarfes, goblins, knights, witches, princesses, dragons ....

Most of the LARPers stay for a weekend and live there in a tent.
Cooking on the fire, big Linen-Tents (not plastic!), knight-armour (chainmails..), correct speech and a lot of fun are typical for LARP (if there are good players.)

If you´re looking for LARP-equipment you should try it at the McDowells
Malcom Mc Dowell says he have everything to buy, there is nothing you ont find at his booth.

Big LARPS can take place in castels, even when it´s to cold to sleep in a tent.

You play your character like a role in an theatre. At a LARP you´re no longer Sam Smith, but earl of Eibland, the elf Arien, witch Esmeralda or a sorcerer, maid Rebecka or dwarf Boronk Eisenhammer (first picture).

LARPers choose their character theirselve, and many of them you can meet on the con(ventions) again and again.

The gamemasters, who organize the con, often plan a PLOT. 

That can be a war against evil Orks, the search for a treasure, the fight against daemons, dragons, evil kings, a academy for magicians, adventure games.. like it is seen in the books or filmes.

The evil part of the roles were played by voluntaries (NSC= Non- Playing- Charakter: which means they play NOT their own self-invented characters, but the ones the GM gives them to play).

At small and not heavy-plot cons the actors make their own plot. For example Healer Rana shows other intereseted people herbs and natural medicine.
(In real live the healer is f.e. chemist and tells you usefull things during the play)

What´s about magic? 

The others must able to believe that your last act was a magic one. So most magicians use rhymes and sentences (often in latin or an unknown language.)
In adittion to that remedies like little fireworks-bombs or lights. 

The people, who are in a magic ban, act like the magician tells them (only if his acting had been believable enough for being real magic) 

Fights in LARP will be decided with LATEXWeapons. 

The weapons are made fof latex, a stick and an inner soft-filling.

If you need LARP-swords , -axes and -knifes, look at the HPs of the Schatzkammer and of the LARP-World.

On the Larp-world Homepage are more informations about LARP.

In the channel #larp.de (irc) you may find some people to ask about larp (every wednesday 21:00)

For your first LARP you needn´t an expenisve costume.
I started LARplaying with a green leggins, some leather-pants and an old brown linen-shirt.

The best costumes you can find in a second-hand-shop.

If you want to know, at what time LARPs iare setted in germany and how much they cost look at: Larpkalender.

• Most of the cons are weekend cons, where you sleep in a tent and cook for your own. (30-100DM a weekend) 
• Castlecons (with sleeping in rooms and 2-3 meals a day) 70 DM - 200 DM a weekend)
• If the con is longer than a weekend it will be more expensive.
• Expensive Cons have often big war- and magician-plots with a lot of equipment, fireworks... 

Good con needn´t have many action and expensive special effects. Good Cons depend on good GMs and actors!

Different kinds of Larp 

• Adventurecon: with riddleplot, robbergangs...
• Battlecon: with warplot
• Highfantasycon: with magic-plot
• Academycon: academy-plot
• Traveler and Tradercon: meetings
• Corte-cons: Peer-meetings at castles

Some affirm that LARPers are satanists, a sect or abolutly mad and far from reality.

The first two affirmations ar nonsens, the other ones may be true;)
A lot of LARPers spend their holidays far away from every day life.
Most of the Live Role Players are Students (70%) or even teacher, policemen, computerdesigners or bakers. You can find LARPers in every business- and age-group (betweeen 16 and 60). 

It´s the right hobby if you love dreaming, fantasy, camping, hiking and playing adventures.

Informations about the index-site www.Boronk.de/LARP/index.html:

If you want to see more Photos:
look under "Bilder" and "Conberichte"

under "Charakterboegen" you may find a descroption of the characters from our LARP group (only in german)

Any questions?

mailto: susi@boronk.de