Finding a site
One of the most important considerations is the availability of suitable locations. Obviously a game set in the middle ages suffers if played within a modern setting. Atmosphere is important, and poor choice of location can severely hamper the game.
The suspension of disbelief is a necessary part of LARP. There’s no way that we can represent everything so some “imagining” is required. This is made easier by having a location that befits the game, but there are other considerations also. The main points to consider when thinking of suitable locations
1) Genre – Fantasy medieval settings should be played in areas that are devoid of modern technology. Woods are the most common areas to play. Ensure that you are not trespassing if using outdoor locations. Modern games are often set in someone’s house, or a pub or hotel, or more unusual locations. There’s no reason why futuristic games cannot be held in the woods of course
2) Numbers – Ensure that the location is of a size suitable for the numbers of people that you’re expecting. A venue that is too big can be just a bad as somewhere that is too small
3) Cost – Many venues are available for free, but lots charge a fee.
4) Access – Though there may be suitable locations available, remember that getting to them may not be very easy, especially if you’re relying on public transport. Some of your players may need to catch a last train home and being in a remote location may hamper this
5) Visibility – Its practically impossible to avoid dog walkers, hikers etc when playing in woodland. You’ll find them where-ever you go. This is not too bad in a fantasy setting, they usually have a bemused look on their face and ask a few questions but are otherwise fairly harmless. Unless you are carrying out a mock Black Magic sacrifice. This tends to disturb Joe Public and will often wind up with a polite refusal to be allowed access to the site. Likewise, the use of weapons that could be construed as real may cause problems. Under no circumstances should you attempt to run a game using replica weapons whilst in public. No-one wants to be arrested or shot.
The privacy aspect also come in to play when having to speak to everyone as a group, or performa group activity that would normally not be carried out in a public venue. If your Prince wants to address the Neonates, doing this in the middle of a crowded pub will attract a lot of attention form “the straights” as well as being excruciatingly embarrassing for the poor person playing the role of the Prince. Privacy and audibility is required for these kinds of activities
Remember that locations can be dressed to look like somewhere else. If we can imagine that we are elves, we can imagine that the music is coming from a minstrel in the next room and not the stereo. With a minimum of effort you can transform a room into a set.
If you wish, rather than using numerous real-life locations, a single location can be dressed to represent different locations. This can be either that each room in a house represents a different location (i.e. the garage is Joe’s Auto repair shop, and the living room is The Pink Flamingo nightclub), or alternatively the same room can be re-dressed for each location. This can be done on a larger scale, i.e. a 3 floor hospital can be represented in a single location by getting the players to go into a small “elevator” cupboard whilst the referees re-arrange the furniture accordingly to match each floor
The suspension of disbelief is a necessary part of LARP. There’s no way that we can represent everything so some “imagining” is required. This is made easier by having a location that befits the game, but there are other considerations also. The main points to consider when thinking of suitable locations
1) Genre – Fantasy medieval settings should be played in areas that are devoid of modern technology. Woods are the most common areas to play. Ensure that you are not trespassing if using outdoor locations. Modern games are often set in someone’s house, or a pub or hotel, or more unusual locations. There’s no reason why futuristic games cannot be held in the woods of course
2) Numbers – Ensure that the location is of a size suitable for the numbers of people that you’re expecting. A venue that is too big can be just a bad as somewhere that is too small
3) Cost – Many venues are available for free, but lots charge a fee.
4) Access – Though there may be suitable locations available, remember that getting to them may not be very easy, especially if you’re relying on public transport. Some of your players may need to catch a last train home and being in a remote location may hamper this
5) Visibility – Its practically impossible to avoid dog walkers, hikers etc when playing in woodland. You’ll find them where-ever you go. This is not too bad in a fantasy setting, they usually have a bemused look on their face and ask a few questions but are otherwise fairly harmless. Unless you are carrying out a mock Black Magic sacrifice. This tends to disturb Joe Public and will often wind up with a polite refusal to be allowed access to the site. Likewise, the use of weapons that could be construed as real may cause problems. Under no circumstances should you attempt to run a game using replica weapons whilst in public. No-one wants to be arrested or shot.
The privacy aspect also come in to play when having to speak to everyone as a group, or performa group activity that would normally not be carried out in a public venue. If your Prince wants to address the Neonates, doing this in the middle of a crowded pub will attract a lot of attention form “the straights” as well as being excruciatingly embarrassing for the poor person playing the role of the Prince. Privacy and audibility is required for these kinds of activities
Remember that locations can be dressed to look like somewhere else. If we can imagine that we are elves, we can imagine that the music is coming from a minstrel in the next room and not the stereo. With a minimum of effort you can transform a room into a set.
If you wish, rather than using numerous real-life locations, a single location can be dressed to represent different locations. This can be either that each room in a house represents a different location (i.e. the garage is Joe’s Auto repair shop, and the living room is The Pink Flamingo nightclub), or alternatively the same room can be re-dressed for each location. This can be done on a larger scale, i.e. a 3 floor hospital can be represented in a single location by getting the players to go into a small “elevator” cupboard whilst the referees re-arrange the furniture accordingly to match each floor
External Articles
LARP Guide has an article on how to source the perfect site
