Rudolph Winterhagen
Novice
Guten Tag. My name is Rudolph Winterhagen and I thank you for letting me join this forum. I look forward to joining your ranks in the field. P.s. I am bring an Imperial platoon with me....can't wait to play.
Hallo
- Thread starter Rudolph Winterhagen
- Start date
Hello! I'm not quite sure you've got the right game. What's an Imperial platoon? The only thing I can think of is that you might be referring to some kind of miniature wargame. Alliance LARP is a Live-Action game. If that actually is what you're looking for, welcome! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Rudolph Winterhagen
Novice
Yes live action role playing is what I want. Lol. By platoon I literally mean a platoon of people. We portray mercs, mostly Germans i.e. Imperials. I am very excited to get started. We have all of our kit and we are working on getting weapons. What kinds of weapons are ok? There are weapons on medieval collectibles. The are Larping weapons, very well made.
I think I know what's going on. You're primarily familiar with European style LARP I'm guessing. While there is nothing inherently conflicting with you and your friends coming in as a mercenary company, I would contact the plot team of the chapter you're looking to play at in advance. It will allow them to integrate a large group into the ongoing story more readily. We are a latex foam and boffer LARP, and play by lightest touch rules. I highly recommend giving the rule book a once over to help get the community and combat ideas that are underlying the Alliance LARP style.
Some chapters have new character representatives to help folks transitioning from other LARP play styles, so I recommend posting in the Out Of Game section of the chapter you plan on attending. You'll get more chapter specific information and backstory that way, as well as a chance to interact with the players and staff you'll be alongside at game.
I'm a plot member for the Alliance: Seattle chapter, so if you're looking to come play with us, I can help you out.
Some chapters have new character representatives to help folks transitioning from other LARP play styles, so I recommend posting in the Out Of Game section of the chapter you plan on attending. You'll get more chapter specific information and backstory that way, as well as a chance to interact with the players and staff you'll be alongside at game.
I'm a plot member for the Alliance: Seattle chapter, so if you're looking to come play with us, I can help you out.
The rulebook can be found here: http://alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/alliance-rulebook.19208/
Additionally, the world of Alliance is not analogous to Earth. While there may be an empire in the chapter you're looking to play in, it won't have the Holy Roman Empire, especially as there is no religion allowed in Alliance. Without that the political landscape of Fortanis is very different from medieval Europe. Most of the LARP latex weapons from Medieval Collectables are fine, although Alliance prefers a softer foam than Calamacil weapons tend to have. I'd speak to the rules marshals of the specific chapter about weapons that normally pass inspection.
Additionally, the world of Alliance is not analogous to Earth. While there may be an empire in the chapter you're looking to play in, it won't have the Holy Roman Empire, especially as there is no religion allowed in Alliance. Without that the political landscape of Fortanis is very different from medieval Europe. Most of the LARP latex weapons from Medieval Collectables are fine, although Alliance prefers a softer foam than Calamacil weapons tend to have. I'd speak to the rules marshals of the specific chapter about weapons that normally pass inspection.
Jovunn
Specialist
Definitely what MaxIrons said re: checking with your local chapter about approved latex weapons. Not all chapters allow the same brand - many don't allow Calamacil, some do, some don't allow other brands. Your best bet would be to check with the chapter you plan to play well before buying your weapons. Nothing sucks more than spending money and finding out you can't use the weapon.
Additionally, I have had AWFUL experiences with MedievalCollectibles - long delays on shipping, things backordered for over a year, etc. If you've worked with them before and had positive experiences - awesome. If you've never worked with them before - oh my God go elsewhere.
I'd also recommend NPCing first if you've never played our game before - I find it gives you a better opportunity to learn the rules. It also lets you play some different races and get a feel for their RP.
Not sure where you're from, but if you're looking at Gettysburg, I'm you're go-to person for help.
Additionally, I have had AWFUL experiences with MedievalCollectibles - long delays on shipping, things backordered for over a year, etc. If you've worked with them before and had positive experiences - awesome. If you've never worked with them before - oh my God go elsewhere.
I'd also recommend NPCing first if you've never played our game before - I find it gives you a better opportunity to learn the rules. It also lets you play some different races and get a feel for their RP.
Not sure where you're from, but if you're looking at Gettysburg, I'm you're go-to person for help.
Rudolph Winterhagen
Novice
My guys and I are from the central pa area. Harrisburg, ect. We are primarily historical reenactors, but don't worry I know this is fantasy. I just said the empire to give people an idea of what we are. But I will definitely check in and see the rules. I look foreward to playing. We all have acting experience so we are great with "yes anding". Any help would be great. I've had many dealings with medieval collectibles and they were good.
Rudolph Winterhagen
Novice
Also never larped before so I'm not familiar with the European style you talked about. Lol
If you're in the Harrisburg area you're in range of the Gettysburg, HQ and NJ chapters. Jovunn up there can answer any questions to Gettysburg and if you wander down to the NJ and HQ sections of the board you'll find people who can help with any questions specific to those chapters.
On weapons:
I strongly advise you NOT to purchase weapons online prior to coming to your first game. Alliance has very strict rules on weapon sizes and weapon safety and I wouldn't want you to drop money on an awesome looking weapon only to have it fail because it's too hard or too long. HQ (and I'd assume pretty much any other chapter) will be happy to loan you weapons for your first game as a player, though if you've never LARPed before I recommend NPCing your first event. Not only do you get to learn the rules and try out a ton of different weapon styles, you get experience points you can use on your character so that you don't have to come in at level one.
On weapons:
I strongly advise you NOT to purchase weapons online prior to coming to your first game. Alliance has very strict rules on weapon sizes and weapon safety and I wouldn't want you to drop money on an awesome looking weapon only to have it fail because it's too hard or too long. HQ (and I'd assume pretty much any other chapter) will be happy to loan you weapons for your first game as a player, though if you've never LARPed before I recommend NPCing your first event. Not only do you get to learn the rules and try out a ton of different weapon styles, you get experience points you can use on your character so that you don't have to come in at level one.
Rudolph Winterhagen
Novice
Now as far as rules for characters, most of us have characters we have used for Renaissance fair and other reenActing events. It says no religion, does that mean that is my character is technically a "witch hunter" and does "odd jobs for the church." That's no bueno? I'm just making sure. Because there isn't really a name or dinomonation. Thanks.
No religions, churches or Gods in Alliance. You could be mercenaries working for the crown or various guilds, but religion and churches are absent from our games. You would also need to make characters specific to the Alliance game. If you and your friends want to play people with the same personalities as people you RP as at other games/events that's fine, but you would be from the Alliance world with new backstories and would not be able to reference other games you play.
Rudolph Winterhagen
Novice
Ok that's perfectly fine. Survive and adapt. It's just we know the characters we have already, easier to tweak the ones we have than make new ones.
OrcFighterFTW
Mentor
I'd recommend that your group avoids the seemingly easier route and instead steps outside your comfort zone to give "vanilla" or as-written Alliance at least a couple tries before trying to force your character concepts on a game system and role-playing environment that may not be compatible. This is not just theoretical advice, Alliance has been around for 25+ years, so this type of thing springs up from time to time and the experienced players posting in this thread have seen this before.
Each chapter has its own unique in-game geography, main conflicts, and other rich and highly developed histories from years and years of actual player experiences. For example, while the Southern Minnesota chapter plot has royalty, guilds, and that political structure in the background (far away at the Capital), and the adventurers (players) are usually on the front line in a hundreds year old war against cursed creatures called the Corrupt, expanding deeper into war-torn enemy territory each year.
I have had personal experience working with a group concept similar to the one you are describing. A few years back in Minnesota, we had a large (dozen or so) group of friends join the chapter with the intention of being their own group with their own pre-written background and character concepts created before consulting with chapter plot staff, including being from a land that did not exist in the storyline of the chapter and some other minor issues that were in violation of Alliance rules. In short, it was a very difficult task to try to reconcile the differences for friendly customer service reasons, forcibly educate them on Alliance rules, and convince them to join the storyline already in progress. However, in the end, only a couple players stuck around after a few games and even those players abandoned their original character concepts in favor of Alliance-compliant ones.
To summarize my point, rather than adapt characters from another game to Alliance, start new and fresh in Alliance and create characters that are built for this system. If Alliance is what you're looking for in a game after trying it out, great! If you try it and decide it's not for you, that's cool too. But again, give Alliance as it's been played for many years a try first.
Each chapter has its own unique in-game geography, main conflicts, and other rich and highly developed histories from years and years of actual player experiences. For example, while the Southern Minnesota chapter plot has royalty, guilds, and that political structure in the background (far away at the Capital), and the adventurers (players) are usually on the front line in a hundreds year old war against cursed creatures called the Corrupt, expanding deeper into war-torn enemy territory each year.
I have had personal experience working with a group concept similar to the one you are describing. A few years back in Minnesota, we had a large (dozen or so) group of friends join the chapter with the intention of being their own group with their own pre-written background and character concepts created before consulting with chapter plot staff, including being from a land that did not exist in the storyline of the chapter and some other minor issues that were in violation of Alliance rules. In short, it was a very difficult task to try to reconcile the differences for friendly customer service reasons, forcibly educate them on Alliance rules, and convince them to join the storyline already in progress. However, in the end, only a couple players stuck around after a few games and even those players abandoned their original character concepts in favor of Alliance-compliant ones.
To summarize my point, rather than adapt characters from another game to Alliance, start new and fresh in Alliance and create characters that are built for this system. If Alliance is what you're looking for in a game after trying it out, great! If you try it and decide it's not for you, that's cool too. But again, give Alliance as it's been played for many years a try first.
Hello there. Glad to hear some people with a historical background coming to try this game out. As a reference I am a very long time player of this hobby and have over 30 years of historical re-enactments, so I would be more than happy to give you any assistance on bridging the knowledge gaps. The Gettysburg chapter holds event right outside of Harrisburg in Cornwall and I am one of the weapons marshals there and so I can certainly help you with any weapons related questions you might have.
So please reach out via pm if you want some pointers. I think you will see more posts like the one above urging you to leave old roles behind, but if tweaking personans makes it more comfortable for you and your friends to attend together and have fun together then I would love the challenge of assisting you in making that happen.
Joe Siegel
Marshal Alliance GB
Resident Jerk
So please reach out via pm if you want some pointers. I think you will see more posts like the one above urging you to leave old roles behind, but if tweaking personans makes it more comfortable for you and your friends to attend together and have fun together then I would love the challenge of assisting you in making that happen.
Joe Siegel
Marshal Alliance GB
Resident Jerk