In both the games I'm currently playing regularly, my character has some reason to set up a shop. One of them is a wild west Doctor, with tons of herbs and concoctions. The other is a bookbinding guild master.
Now, I was traveling before the first time I played the latter character. My wife graciously put together costuming/gear for the event ahead of time. And I can honestly say, I wouldn't dare play a merchant character (PC or NPC) ever again without one of the things she packed for me.
Tablecloth
It's such a small prop and it's not that expensive, but it can absolutely transform space, especially whenever the site you're using doesn't exactly match the theme of the game. To me, nothing pulls me out of game as a merchant selling their wares off of a fold up table.
And since it's essentially a finished piece of cloth, it can be used as so many things when in possession of the staff; Tapestries, environmental effects, dimming lighting. Sky's the limit.
So get yourself a table cloth!
As an aside, one of the players for both of these games put together a set of faux-suede curtains/tablecloths in order to transform an open air tavern into a more confined, more immersive setting. I'm going to try and find some pictures for you guys.
Yes! I think cloth goes up there with lighting on the list of bare-bones things that can transform a space.
ReplyDeleteI love when people use nice-looking cloth to decorate OOG looking tables and windows. Camps tend to have big open indoor spaces, and I've seen people use cloth dividers to good effect to create smaller, more intimate spaces.
For fantasy larp purposes, I suggest checking out the after-holiday sales at your local Target/Walmart/What-have-you. You can usually find some pretty jacquard tablecloths (as long as you're okay with red, green, white and gold as colors) for cheap.
I've also seen people use this sort of tapestry to good effect: http://www.celtictapestries.net/
But really, any kind of fabric can be good-- My favorite piece of cloth to use for decorating is an old sari.
I must say, I'm quite impressed by the look and cost of the tapestries at that site. Have you, or someone you know, ever used one from there? If the quality is good, I might have to get me one.
ReplyDeleteHere's a good one!
ReplyDeletehttp://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q221/WesternLarp/April%202008/?action=view¤t=AprilExiles.jpg
For those of you who are LARPers in the Ohio area, the picture 'Nise posted was at Lewis Arboretum.
ReplyDeleteFor comparison, here is a picture of the same area with no coverage.
Not from that vendor specifically, but those kind of tapestries are a pretty standard ren fair/art festival item, and a number of different people sell them online, usually in the $25-35 range. They're usually bedspread sized, washable medium-weight cotton. If you google "celtic tapestries" you'll find a number of different vendors.
ReplyDeleteAlso-- love those lamps in Nise's photo!