Firefly LARPs

[jpariury]

That's right, I said it.

There's a Seattle-based game is dress-up with dice. Meh.

There's a game in the UK... theirs is a point-and-click system that is call heavy, and they encourage dramatic play (i.e. your health is the maximum amount of damage you can legally take, damage calls are the minimum amount of damage they do, but if it seems dramatically and thematically appropriate, you can take more damage than they call). I don't know that it would play well over here.

There's also a South Carolina game, but their online rules don't give a good feel for what to expect when you show up. The impression I get from reading what is available, though, is that it's a non-confrontational kind of combat system... RPS, pick-up-stix, dice, something...

Gotta say, for my money, this Wisconsin game looks sweet. Added bonus: rulebook is only five pages long. Sure, fisticuffs is resolved with RPS, but everything else is boffer, NERF, or Airsoft. Airsoft is only used in specific sections of the site, so it seems like it would be easy enough to play without having to get shot by beads, if one was so-inclined.

Now... flights to Wisconsin... hmmm.

 

[SkollWolfrun]

I could see airsoft being the main way to go...or a paintball with low FPS settings option.

Downside if that you can only do so much with it.

 

[Lurin]

There's a firefly larp up in SoMN but I've never partaken, perhaps one of local players will shed some light on things.

 

[Jim]

That's right, I said it.
There's a Seattle-based game is dress-up with dice. Meh.

Way to dis my old LARP there JP.

We'd talked about going full on nerf-style with it, but it seemed a little silly and our player base would have changed dramatically. The story was good though.

 

[Wraith]

I'd think they'd have the same problems with the police getting called that makes most modern-setting LARPs avoid weapon props. Cool idea, though.

 

[jpariury]

No offense intended, I just have an allergy to larping with dice in general. To be honest, I don't even like table-topping with dice. It becomes more numbers-strategy than roleplay, in my mind, and in a larp, it becomes numbers-strategy over roleplay and live-action. I like dice for games that require numbers strategy (40k, Backgammon) but not so much for rpgs in general.

The Airsoft version uses a paintball field, so no worries there. If I were to run such a thing, I'd use known Airsoft fields or paintball fields too.

Their use of Nerf as "stun weapons" is a good compromize, I would just require that players doctor them up to not look like day-glo nerf crap.

 

[SkollWolfrun]

No offense intended, I just have an allergy to larping with dice in general. To be honest, I don't even like table-topping with dice. It becomes more numbers-strategy than roleplay, in my mind, and in a larp, it becomes numbers-strategy over roleplay and live-action. I like dice for games that require numbers strategy (40k, Backgammon) but not so much for rpgs in general.

In my 20 years of PnP RPGs, it really comes down to the players you play with & the person running the game. A good group can go an entire night & never really be 'rolling dice' and come out having accomplished much.

The Airsoft version uses a paintball field, so no worries there. If I were to run such a thing, I'd use known Airsoft fields or paintball fields too.
Their use of Nerf as "stun weapons" is a good compromize, I would just require that players doctor them up to not look like day-glo nerf crap.

Yeah, unless you know everyone there very well I would only use known fields & make sure they chronograph all the markers. Played at a few speedball/indoor fields that never chrono'd and I came out looking like I played 3 hockey games. When I asked people to check speeds before the last few matches, people were shooting paintball markers at over 350 fps and very short ranges.

 

[jpariury]

In my 20 years of PnP RPGs, it really comes down to the players you play with & the person running the game. A good group can go an entire night & never really be 'rolling dice' and come out having accomplished much.

"Accomplished" is such a vague term. Tabletop has the flexibility of being home-brewed and run, and only requires dice if people decide to play the game. Don't get me wrong... I used to dig dice and all its assorted stuff, I just got tired of it. Live-action has given me better ways to be immersive, and going back just grates against me. A LARP system that outright requires dice is just oxymoronic, imo.

Yeah, unless you know everyone there very well I would only use known fields & make sure they chronograph all the markers.

Natch. Airsoft Pacific requires all weapons be chrono'd at "sanctioned" games, I'd expect any other "professionally"-run game to do the same. For small-knit groups, it's rarely necessary. Once you start a larger-scale thing like a LARP, though, I'd require it.

 

[Wraith]

Yeah, unless you know everyone there very well I would only use known fields & make sure they chronograph all the markers. Played at a few speedball/indoor fields that never chrono'd and I came out looking like I played 3 hockey games. When I asked people to check speeds before the last few matches, people were shooting paintball markers at over 350 fps and very short ranges.

Very necessary. Speedball field I used to play at had a real problem with guys with electronic regulators with two settings. One for chrony, and one for play. Had one get arrested for assault after he hit someone at 10' on exposed skin and split them open. Gun clocked at 345 fps on a field specc'd for 285.

 

[SkollWolfrun]

Yeah, unless you know everyone there very well I would only use known fields & make sure they chronograph all the markers. Played at a few speedball/indoor fields that never chrono'd and I came out looking like I played 3 hockey games. When I asked people to check speeds before the last few matches, people were shooting paintball markers at over 350 fps and very short ranges.

Very necessary. Speedball field I used to play at had a real problem with guys with electronic regulators with two settings. One for chrony, and one for play. Had one get arrested for assault after he hit someone at 10' on exposed skin and split them open. Gun clocked at 345 fps on a field specc'd for 285.

Wow, that is really unlucky. I played an outdoor mega game (field stated 1,200 players) and got ambushed by this guy that hit me in the neck at maybe 15'...people at work the next day thought I got mugged. Funny part, headshots did not count so I stood up & unloaded on the guy.