Frequently Asked Questions

From Cambridge Larp Society

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What is Role-playing?

Role-playing is the act of playing the part of someone (or something) in a situation different from your real life. Specifically, in role-playing games players take on the roles of characters and describe, either verbally or through acting, how those characters behave. Role-playing games have been around for millenia, and encompass everything from children’s games of make believe, to tabletop games such as Dungeons and Dragons, to murder mystery games. Settings for roleplaying games are equally diverse, including complex fantastical worlds, dystopian futures, snapshots of modern society, and even entirely abstract realities.

Many role-playing games take place at a table, with the characters existing on paper, or as models on a board, or even without any paper at all, with players simply sitting around and talking. These games are commonly referred to as "tabletop" role-playing games.

Photo by Tom Garnett
Photo by Tom Garnett

What is LARP?

LARP (Live Action Role-Playing, also written as larp) is a type of role-playing where you take on the mantle of your character physically and perform their actions in real life. This has some advantages and some disadvantages over traditional tabletop role-playing. Swinging heroically from a chandelier while fighting a horde of angry goblins might work in your imagination, but actually doing it is another matter. On the other hand, what you do in LARP is a lot more immersive than most tabletop games. LARP takes elements from improvised theatre, tabletop roleplaying and genre fiction, and meshes them together to provide a uniquely immersive experience to players.

LARP games vary in length from a few minutes to over a week, from one-shots to long campaigns (which may last for years and run events are more or less regular intervals), and their settings vary even more. There is scope within LARP to play combat scenes with safe foam weapons, solve intriguing mysteries, rack your brain on complex puzzles, fight political battles, seek revenge, obtain glory, make friends, build relationships, save (or destroy) the world, and so on. What you choose to do depends on the setting and on what you as a player are looking for. Some LARP are more focused on action, with players working together collaboratively towards a shared goals, others are more focused on the individual experience and put an emphasis on immersion and drama. The amount of background rules can vary between settings from very complex to almost no rules at all - not all LARPs have characters with stats and skills that players need remembering.

== What events do you run? == . The pages there will explain the setting and the rules. Good luck! We look forward to seeing you at an event soon - and remember that you can email the refs if you have any questions.

What if I cannot commit to coming to every event?

You can come to as many events as you wish to, and stay for as long or as little as you want (eg there is no requirement to attend for the whole of the three hours on a Friday night Interactive and some people leave earlier).

If you are planning to take part in the main long game (Obscura this year), and cannot make it every week, or cannot attend linears, do not let this discourage you from signing-up anyway. Many players attend only occasionally, and this should not hinder your character’s development.

If you don’t want to commit to playing the regular game but are still interested in trying out LARP, check out the website for updates on the occasional one-shots we run or come to have fun with our crew for the main game!

What does this specific word mean?

Sometimes people use jargon that can be confusing if you’re new to larp - we have a glossary here with some common terms, and if there’s anything missing from that don’t be afraid to ask!