I spend last weekend medieval camping in the wilds of Sparta, New Jersey at the Knight Realms LARP as part of my book research. Well, not quite medieval camping -- I and around 60 others huddled in heated cabins that had electricity, but we wore medieval style dress and lugged around boffers.... Read More
That in-game emotions sometimes spill over into the out of game world is one of the hazards of LARPing. Say someone kills your character in-game, knowing that in doing so, they're causing your character to lose stats. Would you bear them ill-will once the event is over? I always thought my answer would be no. After all, it's the risk of conflict, penalty and the unknown plot point that makes LARP exciting. But a few months ago I learned otherwise.... Read More
I love the idea behind LARP and tabletop role-playing -- that a group of people are getting together to collaboratively tell a story. But whenever someone explains the mechanics of a game to me, my eyes glaze over in seconds and I start thinking about what kind of hat my character would wear.... Read More
I'm at work on a narrative nonfiction book about Live Action Role Play, also known as LARP. The book, tentatively titled Leaving Mundania, is the story of LARPers, self-described geeks who come from a variety of backgrounds and occupations.... Read More
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