Let's Jam this Bog with Roasts

[Rabid Dinosaur]

haha he looks so much better

3dmm.com is pretty quiet lately

[Phil Williamson]

3dmm.calm

[BjergClimber]

3dmm.bro.uk

[Happyjuice]

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[Air Rick]

[Old Rivers]

think you need to get a new wife, eric

[Phil Williamson]

you can get one at the nice wife store

[Air Rick]

i'm pretty sure my current expression matches the second chip's on the video's thumbnail.

[Tuna Hematoma]

[Izak MD]

Originally Posted by Compcat

this is basically what i imagine when people try to explain to me what LARPing is

[Trooper]

Hahaha, I've always wanted to be a fly on the wall at a LARP thing. The infamous "lightning bolt" video doesn't really cut it for me. The whole thing seems so silly. Like, the live-action aspect of it is presumably meant to improve immersion (because, let's face it, the alternative is a board game in someone's basement) but surely everyone having to shout out numbers and attack names and stuff sort of spoils said immersion. Like, for fuck's sake, if you really want to play knights, why not literally play like kids do? Who gives a shit what your armour class is, or that you've found an item that buffs your Charisma? It's like "Hey, remember all the pretend games that were fun when we were 8? Let's do that only add a mathematical aspect and character mortality!"

[Phil Williamson]

well I mean that's what D&D is compared to Candyland too so it's not all that surprising

[Skittlebrau]

NOTE: I'm about to be such a fucking dork right now. Skip this post if you'd rather not deal with that. I may be a nerd, but i know enough to be considerate and give people the opt-out on this stuff.

Originally Posted by Trooper

"Hey, remember all the pretend games that were fun when we were 8? Let's do that only add a mathematical aspect and character mortality!"

This is more or less the core concept of an RPG. It really is a lot like a pretend game when you're a kid. The only differences are there to add stakes, and an element of danger or risk to it. With the pretend games, pretty much everybody yelled what was going on and whether or not a shot/sword hit/etc hit or missed, pretty much at their whim. In an RPG, there's one guy who says whats going on with the stuff you cant see (NPCs, the environment, etc), and the numbers are there to objectively say whether what you're doing succeeds, and to what degree (to prevent the kind of "I got you!" "No you didn't!" arguments that came up when you were 8). The idea of failure, character mortality, all that, is there to give your decisions weight and your successes meaning. The game doesn't just suck your dick and give you everything just because you're the good guy, you usually have to actually take risks and have a sense of adventure to succeed. You fought the thing/jumped over the chasm/tried to reason with a monster, when you could have just run away, you absolutely could have failed and died, but you didn't. Thats pretty cool.

I dunno, I've hung out at a few LARPs, and played sometimes, though none of them ever stuck. The amount of stats that come into play, and how much you do physically, varies wildly. One of them had full character sheets and stats, and resolve basically any challenge/conflict/etc by means of stat-influenced rock-paper-scissors, preferring almost no physical involvement at all. One of them was you, in armor and a sword, just talking to people, forming alliances and bonds, betraying people, and when it was time for combat, you just fucking swordfought. And then one of them was...yeah, basically everything you're describing, where there was swordfighting, but people were shouting out damage numbers for their attacks, and there were wizards reading elaborate incantations from a scroll before throwing a beanbag on the ground representing, like, a geyser or something, and one of the referees says a damage number. Every one has its own unique flavor, so its hard to generalize them (that first one up there was actually a Vampire: The Masquerade LARP, so it was almost entirely people in formalwear chatting, playing cards, and going about elaborate clan-based vampire politics).

A lot of the fun with LARPing, the thing that sets it apart for me, is that you're playing with a LOT of people (usually between 20 and 50, in my experience). Not only does it tend to be a pretty nice social atmosphere, but it means that when your character does something, you have an audience. There are usually in-game consequences and status that you gain, but if you take down an enemy leader, or you defend someone in trouble (or stab someone in the back and take their shit), a bunch of other people are going to see that, and they remember that. You and the character you're playing can noticeably gain a reputation within the game, which is something you really cant get from a tabletop game, and that games like Fable or Skyrim try and usually fail to pull off.

Like I said, I never was able to get a solid foothold in any of the LARP stuff I tried. Between hilariously complex rules, or not-great people, or simple logistical stuff, none of them really worked for me. And honestly, despite the four longass paragraphs to the contrary, I'm still not comfortable just being a neckbeard dork and losing myself in that lifestyle, so I get self-conscious. But if you can find one that works for you, where you like the campaign world, its close by, the people are friendly, and it has the right amount of rules to suit you, it seems like something a lot of people would enjoy.

[Mabdog]

[Evil Ash]

That was cool but I think the music was really not fitting.

[Trooper]

@Sprow- Yeah, even as I typed "character mortality" I knew it was a dumb thing to complain about. It's definitely better to have risk and consequence - I won't argue with that. I stand by the fact that people yelling damage numbers must kind of spoil the immersion, but if you say there are varying levels of it depending on where/with whom you LARP, that sounds better. I certainly don't look at it with the "Haha! NERDS!" mindset. I just thought the thing didn't deliver what it was created for but yeah, minimal yelling of numbers and throwing of beanbags sounds alright.

[Shaun]

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/rip-margare...204019153.html

[Tuna Hematoma]

[Tuna Hematoma]

http://www.egmnow.com/articles/xbox_...red-president/

[Tuna Hematoma]

[BjergClimber]

[Happyjuice]

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[Trooper]

[Happyjuice]

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[Rabid Dinosaur]

where is the recorded commentary