Starting Your Own LARP Group

Note: This is a guest post from Andrew Seiple, creator and owner of Wastelands. Remember, entries are still being accepted for the LARP Ohio Contest.

Hello. My name is Andrew Seiple. I’ve been roleplaying for about 20 years, and LARPing for approximately 15 of them. I started with Vampire LARP, moved on to NERO, and tried various independent LARPS in and around the Ohio area. A few years back I got the idea that led to starting the Wastelands post-apocalyptic LARP, a game that runs roughly quarterly in the western Ohio area. It’s been a hell of a struggle at times, but it’s been very personally rewarding, and I look forward to running it many years to come. But there’s much to do when you want to start a LARP, and I think that by listing a few things that I had to deal with below, folks who want to do their own thing LARP-wise might get a better idea of what’s to come. This isn’t a hugely detailed list, and I am NOT an expert in this subject matter. But I think that it might be of use, so here you go. On to the good stuff…

So. You’ve got it. You’ve got the idea, the dream, the fever, and you gotta try it. You’ve been to NERO, or maybe tried a little Vampire, or done stick-jock time in Amtgard or Belegarth. You think you know how it works, you definitely know when it doesn’t, and you reckon you can do it better! Or differently, or in some way that hasn’t been tried before. You’ve got white-hot mechanics, or a gimmick that’s fun to use, or a plot that would make the late Mr. Tolkien weep in awe.

Or hell, maybe you just want to play a kind of game that isn’t out there yet, and no one else will do it.

For whatever reason, you’ve decided to start your own LARP.

Buckle in, because it’s a bumpy ride…

There are a few things that you need to look at. Call them basic concerns… These are topics that should raise tricky questions, time and again. If you’re not prepared to handle them, then you may want to reconsider running a LARP.

1. Solid Concept: What genre are you working with? What are you doing with it that separates it from other LARPS of that genre? If it’s an entirely new concept, then what can you do to make it fun? If it’s a concept that’s been used before, then what can you recycle from other similar LARPS that worked? Is there a time limit, or are you planning to run as long as possible? Do you have stories already in mind, or are you going for the sandbox method?

2. Ruleset: Are you writing an original one, or adapting from other LARP rules? What do you have to worry about that’s different from other LARPs? What can you recycle? What’s FUN to use? How firm are the rules? How flexible are they? Are you going to be writing them yourself? If not, then can you mod them on the fly, or are you stuck following them to the letter?

3. Money: How much will it take to buy props? How much will it take to rent sites? How much will it take to cover food? How much can you devote to this LARP? How costly will it be to equip your starting NPC shack? How much will printing costs eat up? What kind of budget do you have for props and costuming? Can you afford insurance?

4. Places to Play: What kind of space/functionality do you require to play? Do you require privacy? Electricity? Running water? Toilets? Overnight accommodations? What is your BARE MINIMUM required to run? Got it? Good. Now scale up a bit. Figure out what you WANT from a site. Separate buildings for NPC’s and PC’s? Forest terrain with plenty of paths? Flush toilets? Kitchen, refrigerator, and microwave? Easy accessibility from the highway?

5. Supplies: What will you need in order to run? How much do these things cost? What’s the bare minimum you need for a game? Where can you get these supplies from? Can you get them used at a cheaper price, or do you have to buy them new? How much crafting do you have to do on props/weapons/costumes? How often are you going to have to refresh supplies of various items?

6. Help: Does anyone share your dream? How well do you know them? How reliable are they? What are their strengths? How much time can they devote to your LARP? Are they likely to quit or do other things at some point? How many people do you need assisting you in order to run a game?

7. Participants: How much interest is there for your LARP? How can you drum up more? What can you throw in to keep them happy? How many people are going to attend your game? How much can you charge them? What demographics do they come from? What LARP backgrounds do they come from? Do you think that you will have enough people to cover your expenses?

8. Competition: What other LARPs are around you? How close is their operational area to yours, geographically? What do they charge? How fun are they? What can you bring to a game that they can’t or won’t? How friendly are you with the proprietors and the player base? How similar is their concept to yours? Can you co-exist? How can you keep relations workable?

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the concerns that you’ll have. There’s quite a few other things to consider, but most of them vary immensely depending on your decisions on the base 8 above. If you really want to do this, if you really want to start a LARP, then you have to make a lot of decisions and choices on those 8 things above.

If for whatever reason, you do not feel that you can deal with one or more of the concerns above, then consider working with an existing LARP. If all you’re looking to do is run a plotline, or get your feet wet with a few of the concepts, then this is a GREAT way to dabble. It also has the side effect of getting you goodwill, and becoming known as someone who can handle running LARPs. It will help you gain “Face”.

Face is a topic that’s worthy of a lot more discussion, so I’ll save it for another post. Peace, and I hope to see you across the battlefield at Wastelands someday...