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L.A.R.P. stands for Live Action Role-Play. In simplest terms, LARP is where a group of Players gather together to play their Characters while a Storyteller runs the game as a whole, setting up the N.P.C.'s for the group to interact with, as well as describing what Players "see" as they play their characters. Each Player determines their own character's reaction to the events put in front of them, and their reaction (along with the reaction of other Players) can determine the course of the Game's plot or current events.
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That's an easy enough question to answer, really.
- A Storyteller is just that... someone who tells the story. They describe the what the players' characters see, and they describe the N.P.C.'s that those characters will need to react to. They are, effectively, the writer or director of the story which you are participating in.
- Players are the category that you'll probably fall into. Players are the people who play Characters... Get it? They're the ones who play the game, hence Players.
- N.P.C.'s are Non-Player Characters. These are all the Characters at Game that are not played by you or your fellow Players. For example, in a video game, the merchant in town would be an NPC. He's not usually a character you can play as or one that will join up with you or your group... he's just someone to interact with. So, he is a character, just not a Player's character.
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Playing a character is actually pretty easy. You merely react to the way other people In-Character talk to or act around you while you're playing your character. Anyone who has difficulty doing this usually finds it easier to do as they gain experience playing the Game, since the Storyteller and other Players help them learn better how to play.
Having more time under your belt can often make you a better Player, but doesn't mean it will happen for certain. Some people play for years and never quite get into the grove of how to R.P. (Role-Play) effectively. Conversely, some people play a single Game and come across like they've been RPing for a lifetime.
There is more to playing your character than just knowing how to act and react to other people playing theirs. For one thing, you'll need a Character Sheet. A Character Sheet (CS) is a list of all the Traits, Abilities, Backgrounds, Gifts, Rites and all the rest that your character possesses. You'll be needing a CS if you wish to Role-Play in our LARP.
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The first time you ever make a Character Sheet, you'll probably be getting the Storytellers and other Players to help you out. Most of the people currently joining us don't have a copy of the LARP rule book "Laws of the Wild" (which can be found on Amazon.com). Even those that do, often request help when making their CS.
However, if you happen to own "Laws of the Wild" (or have access to it), then the rules for creating a Character Sheet are contained within... So if you have more in-depth questions about Character Creation, look there, or in our F.A.Q. on the subject. Otherwise, come to me or one of the Storytellers and ask some questions. We're always ready to give a helping hand:
If you would prefer, though, you could always drop a message onto our Message Boards (The Barking Chain). Myself or the ST's may reply to you there, or you might even get a comment from another one of our Players. Feel free to drop comments or questions to this thread and we will respond as quickly as we can (or as quickly as we can think of something). You will need an EZ Board Account to Post, however, so you may want to set that up first.
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We're running a Werewolf: The Wild West game, which is set within Werewolf: The Apocalypse, in White Wolf's [original] World of Darkness, and during the timeline of the Wild West (late 1980's). Basically, we're mostly playing werewolves in the good'ol Wild West, though we have been known to have PC's (Player Characters) and NPC of other varieties than just werewolves (for more information how to do that, check Kudos.)
If you would like to know more, there's lots of information out there on the web. Check Amazon.com for old World of Darkness books or check White Wolf's old Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Werewolf: The Wild West pages for more information. Their current game is called Werewolf: The Forsaken and, while cool, is not what we are currently playing. You'll find lots of information on Werewolf, it's setting, and other creatures in the World of Darkness from both the web and by finding old books.
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Prettymuch anyone can play in our game. About the only thing you really need is a good grasp of the difference between In-Character and Out of Character and a passable imagination. It also wouldn't hurt to have the ability to handle yourself in a group of people... which includes getting along with them. If you don't like people, you probably wont like LARP.
Also of note is that if you're under the age of 18, you need a Parental Consent Form located here in the Downloadable Information and Resources section of this website. This isn't some kind of form that means we aren't responsible if you get hurt or something... it's just for us so that we know that your parents know where you are. It's also handy if your parents were to get upset, saying we stole you away to play in our demonic little game, when they already approved you to be out here as proven by the form, heh.
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Not really, no. I'm 25 myself, and I've been LARPing here for 3 years straight, at least. I think the lowest age we've ever had to come play at this Game was 14 (before I first came to play), and he grew up and was our Storyteller for a bit. As for yourself, you're probably good to go. If you are below 18 in age, you will need to sign a Parental Consent Form (as stated above). Otherwise, we seem to range in the twenties for most of game.
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We normally expect between 7 and 13 people to show up to each game. We're always looking for new players, though, and we give incentives and bonuses to the players that take efforts to expand our player base.
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