I have been on a kick lately about props. As such, I figure it's probably appropriate to ask the readers about their favorite prop that they've ever seen/made for a LARP game.
My Favorite Prop - Two and a half years ago, we had the season/town finale at Exiles. Devil's Perch just had the worst two days of it's life, between the deadly smallpox outbreak, brutal zombie assault, and crazy preacher with a bomb threatening to blow up the town.
That bomb prop was ridiculous. From what I've been told, it was a built-up version of an operation game (it was so well done I had no idea), with layer upon layer of metal pieces that had to be removed in a specific order to prevent it from going off. Each time it buzzed, a card was drawn from a deck to see the effect. If the Ace of spades was pulled, then it was good game for all the PCs (yes, they were prepared for a full town wipe).
Definitely an invigorating module, and probably one of the best modules I've been on in my 11 years of LARPing.
What's your favorite prop?
Thinking about it, I have a hard time remembering a really memorable prop I've encountered. Even rudimentary mechanical traps have been a rarity where I've LARPed, so far, in my 10-13 years at it (deducting breaks I've taken).
ReplyDeleteThinking more about it, I'm reminded of the set for Rise of Aesther I played in at GenCon this year. The set was really remarkable; false walls, with "windows" composed of flatscreens showing the "aesther" outside of the airship. Brass-painted fans, even, to insure airflow inside of the false walls and a separate engine room! It was really astounding.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, they had better puzzles than I've ever seen elsewhere; essentially, assembling brass tubing in a pattern on a board with holes bored into it to take specific pieces. It wasn't mechanically reactive, but still did quite get the "you're fixing an airship" point across.
Another thing they had that was a great plot was this huge mushroom sculpture they put under a glass dome.
These guys were really in a whole other league; shame they're all the way out in Seattle.
err, great prop, though also great plot.
ReplyDeleteI know that PST Productions (Terrorwerks, Cthulhu Live) tend to have some nice props at their Con games. In fact, one of the guys who runs it told me that they often build the adventures around a prop, rather than the other way around (as we usually do).
ReplyDeleteMaybe not a single prop, but a good example of creating an interesting mod using props was a "haunted house" type mod I went on years ago. It was really the first mod I'd been on that used things like lighting, sound, and actual phys reps of things like spiderwebs, shock wires, etc. And I'd been larping for years by then :) The props weren't anything amazing, just some cotton spider webs and tarps cut into strips, electric flickering candles, and yarn (as I remember) - and the mod itself wasn't an epic conclusion or an exceptionally innovative encounter (I recall spiders and a vampire) but put all together it really stuck in my mind. Good support for your theories, Bill, that a few touches can really make a memorable encounter!
ReplyDelete