Live Action Roleplay?

Yes it’s a geeky hobby (aren't we all geeks in the end?). Its taking up to much of my time and too much of my cash…..but I love it…! What’s it all about? Good question, you get an idea from the videos on this page,but to explain more...

Here we go...

Its hard to describe to some-one who has never done anything like tabletop Dungeons and Dragons ( Game that came out many years ago where you play a character and roll dice ), theatrical acting ( To be or not to be ), paint balling/laser quest ( I got gun, I must shoot people ), or Historical re-enactments ( Real armour, real weapons, real food, real smell ;) and fake dieing, all done for a big audience ). It’s a mixture of all four, but with a distinct difference.

First is – You take on the roll of a character, the character depends on what type of system you are playing and how far your imagination/ cash will go. You play all the intricacies that living the day to day life of your character needs, Eating, Drinking, Socialising and Fighting, all within a set place and time period eg: an evening in the local pub ( with permission of the landlord of cause ) or a weekend away to the local scout camp. Live Role-playing in a pubic place is seriously frowned upon.

Second is – You are set in an imaginary world, but it is replicated in real life through physical representation. For example wearing costume, fake ( but usable ) weapons, equipment and monsters….yes people dressed as monsters/ non-player-characters ( NPC’s ).

Thirdly – There are rules and there are referees/ marshals that police the game, but most of the time you self-police – yes cheating does occur and is not really in the spirit of the game, very like any physical sport….

Fourthly – You fight for real using specially made weapons, made of foam and latex, using very strict rules so nobody gets hurt. Each monster and character has a thing called stats that represent how good it is. You have these stats available on a battle board or character card, but most of the time it’s easy to remember.

To put this a little simpler – think of your favourite historical/ TV/ film/ fantasy/ sci-fi character, imagine if you yourself could be that character, have their adventures, making your own decisions and fighting your own fights – in a relatively safe environment – then that’s live Role-play.