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?
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
One Great Prop
One thing that I've found to be more and more valuable as a plot person is the level of immersion that can be generated from quality props. Now, I've always known that a module that's filled with quality props is better than one with no props.
But did you know that one spectacular prop can really drive a module home in terms of immersion?
Running a game takes time behind the scenes. If you try and do props for everything, you're either going to go insane working up props or the quality of the props is going to suffer.
Instead, pick one major prop that will be the focus of a module. This could be a costume, an item, the scenery, or even a monologue of some sort. Just make it look as professional and realistic as possible.
This one prop sets the mood for the entire module. If you make your prop creepy and scary, the players will focus on it and be creeped out. If you intend to make it humorous, the players will focus on the comedic value of the module. If you intend for something to be serious or dramatic, your focus will help push that home.
Often I see modules that try to do too many things at once, prop wise. You don't want the PCs to be distracted from the fear and intrigue that comes with a (fake) blood covered book filled with strange runes by the NPC who's costume is flashy and ironic. Pick a style and run with it.
So next time you sit down to write a module, pick a theme and ask yourself what one prop could really evoke that feeling from your players. Focus on making that prop as strong as it can be before you worry about the other props on that module.
But did you know that one spectacular prop can really drive a module home in terms of immersion?
Running a game takes time behind the scenes. If you try and do props for everything, you're either going to go insane working up props or the quality of the props is going to suffer.
Instead, pick one major prop that will be the focus of a module. This could be a costume, an item, the scenery, or even a monologue of some sort. Just make it look as professional and realistic as possible.
This one prop sets the mood for the entire module. If you make your prop creepy and scary, the players will focus on it and be creeped out. If you intend to make it humorous, the players will focus on the comedic value of the module. If you intend for something to be serious or dramatic, your focus will help push that home.
Often I see modules that try to do too many things at once, prop wise. You don't want the PCs to be distracted from the fear and intrigue that comes with a (fake) blood covered book filled with strange runes by the NPC who's costume is flashy and ironic. Pick a style and run with it.
So next time you sit down to write a module, pick a theme and ask yourself what one prop could really evoke that feeling from your players. Focus on making that prop as strong as it can be before you worry about the other props on that module.
Monday, August 29, 2011
The Week In LARP - August 29th
Last Week In LARP
Did you attend a LARP event last weekend? Let us know how it was in the comments!
This Week In LARP
Labor Day LARPing!
NERO
PRO will be hosting a 3 day event starting Friday, September 2nd and ending Monday, September 5th. The game will be held at Raccoon State Park camp 2 at the IG location of the Ebonmarr. It's $55 to PC ($40 with a good PC ratio) and is $25 to NPC, with a $10 discount if you pre-registered. This game wll be using 9th edition rules.
Alliance
Alliance South Michigan will be hosting a 3 day event starting Friday, September 2nd and ending Monday, September 5th. The game will be held at the MUCC Cedar Lake Outdoor Center. It's $75 to PC and I think it's free to NPC.
If you've got a game running this week and we didn't mention you, either drop a comment here or shoot an email to larp.plot.tips@gmail.com, and we'll add you as soon as possible!
Did you attend a LARP event last weekend? Let us know how it was in the comments!
This Week In LARP
Labor Day LARPing!
NERO
PRO will be hosting a 3 day event starting Friday, September 2nd and ending Monday, September 5th. The game will be held at Raccoon State Park camp 2 at the IG location of the Ebonmarr. It's $55 to PC ($40 with a good PC ratio) and is $25 to NPC, with a $10 discount if you pre-registered. This game wll be using 9th edition rules.
Alliance
Alliance South Michigan will be hosting a 3 day event starting Friday, September 2nd and ending Monday, September 5th. The game will be held at the MUCC Cedar Lake Outdoor Center. It's $75 to PC and I think it's free to NPC.
If you've got a game running this week and we didn't mention you, either drop a comment here or shoot an email to larp.plot.tips@gmail.com, and we'll add you as soon as possible!
Friday, August 26, 2011
YouTube Friday: Sintra Armor
One of the persona's I'm investigating playing in Exiles requires some pretty intense costuming, which includes a fair amount of armor that you can't take off. Since we play the game during the summer, I'm trying to find lightweight and cool alternatives to make the costume. And I was told to look into Sintra.
Sintra is the brand name for PVC board, which has a pretty unique and ideal quality for armor. Basically, it is malleable whenever it's hot, and is rigid when it cools back down. This allows for you to custom fit it on the body (or on a mold). Additionally, it's quite thin and it's pretty light, which helps us dramatically. My only concern is whether it will hold up or not under LARPing conditions, but we'll only know if we try.
If you're interested in using it like I was, you'll probably find a bunch of videos on YouTube about making Mandalorian armor, because everyone wants to be a Fett.
Anyways, here's the most helpful video I've found on the subject so far. Mad props for showing the use of rub and buff to make it look metallic.
Enjoy!
Sintra is the brand name for PVC board, which has a pretty unique and ideal quality for armor. Basically, it is malleable whenever it's hot, and is rigid when it cools back down. This allows for you to custom fit it on the body (or on a mold). Additionally, it's quite thin and it's pretty light, which helps us dramatically. My only concern is whether it will hold up or not under LARPing conditions, but we'll only know if we try.
If you're interested in using it like I was, you'll probably find a bunch of videos on YouTube about making Mandalorian armor, because everyone wants to be a Fett.
Anyways, here's the most helpful video I've found on the subject so far. Mad props for showing the use of rub and buff to make it look metallic.
Enjoy!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Trap Trigger - Pressure Plate
Alright, now that I've used them I have no problem talking about the design I made for a pressure plate trap trigger.
It uses the basic pressure plate concept, where there are two solid pieces with some sort of material that compresses in between. The trigger itself was a dog toy squeaker, but there are a number of electrical triggers that could also be used on something like this.
The reason we use two solid pieces is to allow for uniform compression when any part is stepped on. In the past we just used the squeakers, but they're awfully small and easy to lose. This trap basically created a 4" x 4" squeaker trap.
For the two outer pieces, I used the backing for an electrical outlet box. For the inner piece, I used the standard blue camp foam which I attached with tape and spray adhesive. I had to cut out a shape to allow for the squeaker and a path for the air/sound to escape. I taped it up with black gaffer's tape, and used that as the hinge between the top and bottom.
After all was said and done, the trigger cost about $1.50 - $2.00 to make (not including the squeaker), but has nice heft, is easy to set up, and is small enough to be hard to find, and is simple to disarm. All things I like to have in a LARP trap.
I'll try and get some pictures later so you can see the results.
It uses the basic pressure plate concept, where there are two solid pieces with some sort of material that compresses in between. The trigger itself was a dog toy squeaker, but there are a number of electrical triggers that could also be used on something like this.
The reason we use two solid pieces is to allow for uniform compression when any part is stepped on. In the past we just used the squeakers, but they're awfully small and easy to lose. This trap basically created a 4" x 4" squeaker trap.
For the two outer pieces, I used the backing for an electrical outlet box. For the inner piece, I used the standard blue camp foam which I attached with tape and spray adhesive. I had to cut out a shape to allow for the squeaker and a path for the air/sound to escape. I taped it up with black gaffer's tape, and used that as the hinge between the top and bottom.
After all was said and done, the trigger cost about $1.50 - $2.00 to make (not including the squeaker), but has nice heft, is easy to set up, and is small enough to be hard to find, and is simple to disarm. All things I like to have in a LARP trap.
I'll try and get some pictures later so you can see the results.
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