How can we increase fun?

[Wraith]

It also gives them something other than stuff to strive for. Recognition is fun.

Absolutely. I mean, these characters are heroes, and not just to the locals. Bards might follow you, ask for more details on your exploits. Young farmhands ask for tips on how to be a better fighter. Some hotshot wants to challenge you to a spell duel. Maybe even a fanboy who thinks you're the coolest person EVAR. Or just the local farmer sending you a thank-you gift months later because you've saved his farm three times this spring alone.

That's a sort of fun I've always felt was lacking, and I've started to see as part of the reason why there are so many antiheroic and straight out shady PC's. Heroes sacrifice for nothing, a lot of the time, and are forgotten by next event. When you're giving up some ability to win at the metagame for in-character goals, having some responses that reinforce that is a real motivator.

 

[Anazstaizia]

It also gives them something other than stuff to strive for. Recognition is fun.

Absolutely. I mean, these characters are heroes, and not just to the locals. Bards might follow you, ask for more details on your exploits. Young farmhands ask for tips on how to be a better fighter. Some hotshot wants to challenge you to a spell duel. Maybe even a fanboy who thinks you're the coolest person EVAR. Or just the local farmer sending you a thank-you gift months later because you've saved his farm three times this spring alone.

This. PCs do awesome, heroic things that change lives and the course of history. Recognition for that is worth more than gold to many people. One of my favorite moments at an event was at the SF alternate campaign, Twinspire, when we returned from clearing the sky of a global Cloak of Darkness, and we were greeted by an adoring crowd of locals who wanted to thank us/get our autographs/get in our pants. It was great fun.

Oh, another cool thing that came out of that event- ritual RP. There were a couple rituals that instead of requiring formal ranks, required the PCs to piece together the ritual instructions from four different books, assemble a piece of equipment, and write out runes in some sand. It was awesome. It didn't rely on dice rolls or formal ranks (except for when we backlashed it by messing up...), but on us being careful and precise. It was one of the most nerve-wracking things I've ever done at LARP.