The Lowest Guys on the Totem Pole

At least they didn't make 'em play in traffic.

I've said before that I'm not really into LARPing...never have been. Unless you count running through the woods as a 10 year old pretending you're a member of the Wolf Riders (complete with bows and arrows). Of course, we didn't have any "rules" associated with those games...maybe "don't shoot arrows into each other," but that's just common sense.

That the Convention chose to sequester the live-action folks away from the rest of the gamers (and the hotel)...well, I can't help but think that's saying something. Sure, maybe the LARP people wanted a "big space without distraction from the rest of the con." But an unattached garage? I mean, people were parking cars in it!

I wandered over to the garage Saturday afternoon, curious as to what I would find. A trifle nervous to be honest. I mean, MY basic inclination would have been to sequester LARPers off-site myself, but I understand that this prejudice comes from my own "fear of the unknown." They're just people, right? Right?

In the garage, there was one long table with chairs, and a bunch of scattered papers and junk...probably left over from the last game. There were also three people who had set themselves up in three folding chairs in the middle of the garage. One was a guy with a long ponytail, probably around my age or a little older (late 30s, early 40s). One was a woman probably in her 20s or 30s. The third was a kid, a girl, who must have been around 13-15, maybe 12. They were sitting side by side in the chairs, with the little girl in the middle.

The dude with ponytail beckoned me over. I approached semi-hesitantly.

"Do you want to role-play," they (the adults) asked.

I shook my head...no just 'checking stuff out,' seeing what's going on.

"Come on...just a quick one? It's fun..."

I told them I was actually just waiting for my ride to pick me up (this was true) and brushed them off...but I was creeped out the way they were trying to tempt me. Like evil gnomes trying to get me to eat fairy food.

When they saw I wouldn't budge, they went back to their "game," which appeared to involve sitting on a bus (?) with the two adults trying to tempt the kid into something (?!) though what I didn't get...they seemed to be having some sort of philosophic or academic argument/discussion while the girl verbally defended her position.

It was weird. And kind of creepy. I didn't really want to know how the scene was going to play out, and decided to leave. I did my best not to run.

Fun with LARPing

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I was totally out-o-commission for most of this weekend (Saturday I did absolutely NOTHING, being in "recovery from illness" mode and Sunday was full of football and party hosting).

I did have a chance to watch the pretty amusing Role-Models movie. Can't believe I missed THAT one for so long, especially as I am a long-time Kiss fan (Destroyer was the first vinyl album I begged/cajoled my parents into buying for me 'round about age 6-7). Rudd does a good job of walking the thin line between silliness and curmudgeonly straight man as usual, and his (originally Minnesotan) side-kick wasn't nearly as annoying as usual. Oh...and the kids were great.

I found the treatment of LARPing in the movie to be, frankly, pretty damn tasteful, something I was not expecting at all. Personally, I've never been into LARP, and actually the LARP depicted in this film was different from what I've usually seen (i.e. Vampire scenarios). This seemed more like a spin of the SCA, something with which I have had some familiarity. However, it just seemed so much less dysfunctional than the SCA I've known in the past...which again surprised me.

I mean, I love the IDEA of the SCA and it's associated groups (who doesn't want to be a knight or whatnot), but the political in-fighting, spouse swapping, mead swilling, and occasional embezzlement has always put me off a bit. I'll stick to visiting the annual Renaissance Fair in Carnation...the rest is too much like your everyday office environment (without getting paid!) for my taste.

Oh, well...maybe life in the LARP has changed since the 90s. Cetainly, regular human interaction with fellow humans is a healthier way to spend one's time than on-line gaming (you are welcome to disagree, of course). I've never been huge into improvisational theater (participating I mean...watching is hella' fun!) and cool as it is to heft and swing a true (or foam) broadsword, I've always found the RPG tabletop to be more fertile for my imagination than real life folks dressed in armor.

Now if they'd let ME dress up like Gene Simmons, it's possible I MIGHT change my mind.

; )