It's well into the LARP season now, but plenty of people may find that after the initial rush or getting back into playing, they are missing a little extra something. Here are a few ideas to get you back into the game.
1.) Re-connect with your character - Over a break, it's easy to lose the momentum you built with your character last season. Once you're back into the swing of playing, you may realize you're not as connected with your character. Review your character's history to refresh your roleplay. Remember what your character's about - maybe watch the movie that inspired them, or pick out a theme song to get into their mood. Then take some time to remember what you were up to last year, and figure out what you want to get into this year. If you don't have character goals, make some up! :) Decide what you want to do as a character in-game, and what kind of cool skills you'd like to work up to out-of-game. This can help you decide what you want to pursue at events, or between games, if you're looking for direction.
2.) Refresh Your Costume - We posted a lot about ways to spruce up your costuming over the break, but you may not have gotten around to it :) It's not too late - replace those ripped pants, buy a nicer pouch and keep your costuming looking good. Pick something nice to buy yourself - some kind of costuming you're excited about. Putting on a costume can get you into character fast - and it's a lot easier when you know you look good!
3.) Review the Rules - Maybe it's been a while since you last read your rulebook, so now's a great time to wipe off the rust. A lot of times, especially if you play multiple games, our memories of the rules aren't the same as the reality - especially with changes that are usually made early in the season. Knowing the rules is very important, and it's too easy to just let it slide. You'll be sharp on your game-play, and that can help get you into the groove!
4.) Renew Your Skills - LARP is somewhat physical, and with anything, practice makes perfect. Figure out what strategies work for your build and practice to get good at them. Figure out the best combinations of spells, practice your swings and blocks, set up a target in your basement. I knew a group who used to make up basic characters with different skills and protectives, etc., and then fight each other and trade off. It got them very good at knowing the rules, forming different strategies, and just generally being better at the game overall. And who doesn't like being good at something? :)
5.) Return to Basics - If you are still not feeling into your character, maybe it's time to make a new one. Sometimes starting out at low levels can help make the game feel new. You can try out an aspect you've never gotten into before, explore lines of plot or factions you don't know about, and again find fear in facing an orc. :)
Got some other ideas for getting into your game?
Most of the games I attend as either a PC or an NPC ask for players to submit Post Event Letters. These are feedback forms where the player gets to make comments about the game as well as let plot know what they did during the event as well as what they plan for the next event and what sort of things they would enjoy seeing. Typical questions I would find on a PEL include things like this.
ReplyDeleteWhich plots were you involved with?
What goals or unfinished business does your character have?
What actions did you take towards those goals?
Do you expect follow up from plot or an NPC in the coming events?
While these are primarily meant to be a tool for the player to give information to plot I find them very helpful in getting ready for a new event. This is especially true if there has been a long layoff between events, or as is often the case if I've attended several other very different events in the interim. By saving all my PEL's I can look back through them before attending a new event and get instantly reminded of all the stuff I did at the previous events and more importantly what I was working on and planned to do at the next event.
Great post. I especially like the idea of reconnecting with your character-- I wrote a response on writing exercises to facilitate this: http://collabnarration.blogspot.com/2012/05/getting-into-character-writing.html
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I do leading up to the season are some ingame emails to pcs and plot. Helps me get in the groove and get some goals.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I do leading up to the season are some ingame emails to pcs and plot. Helps me get in the groove and get some goals.
ReplyDelete