Costume Advice (overheating concerns)

Falross

Newbie
Hi guys, I was out at the new player event yesterday (i had a ton of fun), and I had a couple of thoughts on the way home.

I was thinking about a barbarian scholar, but after the combat practice yesterday, and the heat today, I'm wondering if this might not be a good idea. I want to do my costume justice, but I'm starting to think that having any real amount of fur on me when it's 25+ outside is a recipe for disaster. As such, I'm probably just going for a human at this point for simplicity, and likely more control of how many layers I need to be wearing.

What sort of things do the rest of you do in the heat of summer?

Also, what sort of clip is needed for the battleboards?

Thanks,
Morgan
 
I just noticed that I forgot to ask something else. I have a stack of EVA foam floor mats. Are these of any use in LARP? I found out they're not much good for armor, but can they be used for other things?

Thanks,
Morgan
 
I'm not in Calgary, but here in Minnesota, most of us Barbarians have separate costumes for winter/cold and summer/heat. For the summer costumes, a light synthetic/faux fur fabric that looks like fur but has much more breath-ability is a good way to avoid the heat build up of real fur while still meeting the racial requirements.
 
I would look at "norse barbarians" on Google and see if you can find some pics for summer/winter. There are ways to incorporate "fun fur" (from Fabricland) onto a costume that will give you the effect without being too warm. Honestly, hydration is key at events and we usually tell players to bring 4L-8L of water with them on top of the stuff we can provide.
 
I'm pretty sure I wear some of the heaviest armor in our chapter. I avoid overheating by keeping hydrated as well as soaking my arming cap in water whenever I get the chance. My armor also allows for some air flow around my body. If you plan your costume with air flow and comfort in mind that will go a long way to preventing overheating. For summer I'd suggest using fur as trim as opposed to the main component of your costuming. Make it look like its fur lined when it actually isn't. Most importantly, keep hydrated.
 
I suggest a fur cloak! :D

Easily removable, it's fashionable, Warm when you need it, open and breezy when you don't..

:D
 
One question wasn't answered.. so;

Falross said:
Also, what sort of clip is needed for the battleboards?

Don't need a clip for the boards - just keep it on you (I usually fold mine into one of my pouches for easy access - I used to keep it in the leather bag I always carry until I once had a bottle of water spill all over it making it unreadable!)
I have _never_ been asked to see my board (though, I don't have a lot of 'uses per day' powers until recently when I started purchasing my racial resists) but even still, you never know when a marshal needs to double-check something. Actually, as a scholar it might be more important, as I think you have to cross off your spells on it (unless they do it with tags, IDK I'm not a spellcaster)

What you *might* be thinking of is.. it's reccomended to have some sort of 'binder ring' type thing for applying tags to, such as your Armour tag and any spell/potion tags that get get cast on you. I don't know if it's still true, but I got mine at logistics (where you sign in) for $1.


As for summer heat - I wear leather armour (a black faux-leather jacket and a leather kilt). The kilt's fine as it's airy (though I wore black pants underneath in the winter) the leather jacket is BRUTAL. I actually discovered that wearing a light coloured silk robe over my armour helps reflect the light and prevent the armour from heating up. (I really thank David AKA Lauront for selling me the gold kimono he lent me for the Festival of Crows last July.)

And.. ditto on the water reccomendation. Armour + running around + heat = dehydration very quickly. Not so bad if it's overcast or a little damp, but it's not terribly predictable.
 
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