I really wasn't going to run a larp in 2020. I was going to play a lot of larp, learn a lot, then come back in 2021. Then came COVID, and lockdown, and no face-to-face larps at all after Avalon LARP Studios' "Midwinter". That was not quite sufficient for a year. I did a couple... Continue Reading →
A Midwinter Night’s Dream: an online larp
Once upon a time, there was an event called "Twilight Theatre", the pitch of which was "The fae are real, they're waking up, and their magic is based on performance." The dream of Helly and Rob, it ran for a couple of events in a pub theatre in Camden and I had the bucket-list role... Continue Reading →
Immersive, interactive, in-character: larp edges into mainstream entertainment
The Peckforten Papers is a collection of writing about UK larp published by the Wychwood Press. You can buy it on Lulu should you wish, or get the pdf here.I wrote a bit for it in a stream-of-conscious sort of way, and it's down here so I don't lose it... I am sat where it... Continue Reading →
Games-within-games: a guest post by Nick Bradbeer
Nick Bradbeer was on the team for both runs of Allied Games' "Wing and a Prayer", and if he didn't coin the term "tasklarp" he was there or thereabouts when it was first used. (I'm pretty sure it was pre-dated by Lauren Owen using the phrase "joblarp", for what it's worth.) This is a Facebook... Continue Reading →
20th Century Fae: memory magic and its modern consequences
I like to try and aim for "what you see is what you get" in the larps I'm involved with. I'd prefer to use something to represent itself, rather than be a comparatively poor quality representation of something else. This post looks at some of the video we used, and how I felt about it.... Continue Reading →
Meet at the tavern.
It's a very familiar fantasy trope. There's an isolated tavern in an isolated village and you're there to adventure. I think the first time I stepped in the door of somewhere like this, it was December 1979, the tavern was in a keep on the borderlands, and the point was we are all off to... Continue Reading →
Rule 7: a confession.
I've been trying to evidence this one, to no real success. You'll just have to trust me, unless anything shows up. Facebook, 31st October 2020 Edited to add: Something I've no reason to doubt has shown up - see above - the rest of this is as originally written.I'm the one who coined "Rule 7:... Continue Reading →
Food at LARP
I've been meaning to write a post on food at larp for some time. By food at larp, I mean not the mass catering element. There's others that know so much more of that than I do. I mean stitching feeding into the body of a larp, so that it's as much a part of... Continue Reading →
Is LARP art?
It's a medium. Like telly, or cinema, or books, or fag packets. What you do with it is up to you.There.Settled.
Armour cleaning 101: guest post by Tim Baker
Just one of those Facebook posts which might be useful one day. Nb: before you start, this advice is geared towards a 'practical' clean with a focus on long-term protection and maintenance of the armour. If you want another specific finish you might take a different approach and I would tweak the advice.Tim Baker, Facebook... Continue Reading →
All For Anvil
Somewhat oddly, given it's at least larp-ish, I didn't mention this year's first project here. It was my son Bill's idea - an adventure book called "All For Anvil". designed to teach folk about the Empire game rules and world. To my great joy, and Bill's delight, it got successfully funded on Kickstarter. All For... Continue Reading →