It was Memorial Day weekend, 2001, at Nero Central Illinois (International), and my friends and I decided to NPC for our first event. The king's daughter (Played by the chapter owner, Marissa) had a penchant for sneaking out at night to explore the lands, and we took on the role of her loyal bodyguards.
The whole time as we skulked about the woods, she taught us about roleplaying our characters, that we should keep out silver duct-taped swords low and covered to avoid the reflecting the moon light, and how to hold a glowstick so we could see the path, without being seen or losing our night vision.
When we came to the edge of the woods, she signaled for us to drop low to the path. We covered our swords like she taught us, and stared out into the field, lit up by the full moon. I had never spent so much time in the dark before, without any lights from the city, and for the first time I found my "night vision". It was amazing! I couldn't remember the last time that I had seen so many stars, without the dull orange haze of civilization to obscure them. And when the entire town of PC's (About 20 people) walked by, less than ten feet away. I realized how much of a crutch the moon had been to them as they stuck to the open paths, not to mention that they had just come from the tavern, nothing more than a picnic shelter with tarp walls, and a bright, burning firepit in the center.
I couldn't see her smile, but I knew it was there. "Don't make a sound, don't run. Just walk quickly, and follow my lead." With that, she stepped out from the shadows, and walked right up to the trailing PC's without saying a word, and we obediently followed. I would say that she got about 2 feet away when they finally noticed her. The scream I heard couldn't have been simply surprise or roleplay. It was the scream of someone who had suddenly been confronted by an apparition that couldn't be reconciled with what he thought he was seeing. And in that brief moment, I saw what this game had to offer, what no video game or book or movie could ever truly accomplish; A REAL, total, and visceral emotional response. His fight-or-flight response truly kicked in, and I felt a very real sense of accomplishment from this small, simple act. In fact, for the rest of the night, my friend Lyle and I were positively giddy with ourselves.
I have NEVER seen a human being so frightened in my whole life, and I'm a guy who frightens easily. In fact, before Nero, I was terrified of the dark. It's just the thought that there's something out there, and I won't see it until it's too late. It never occurred to me that someday *I* might be that something in the dark.
After the entire train of PC's raced back to us and the Princess explained why she was there, I realized that while everyone was focusing on her and her voice, not everyone could see the two guards immediately behind her. Whenever someone realized that there were more of us, they took a sudden step back in surprise. But we never said a word. We just looked on, as if materializing out of the shadows was perfectly natural for NPC's like us!
That event revealed to me what Nero and larping could be. After the weekend ended, we all had stories. Turns out, the PC's loved that experience as much as we did. We had helped give them a fantastic memory and story that they told over and over again. And when they took the time to thank us for it, I just couldn't have felt better.
I was hooked.
That weekend was full of incredible memories, and most of them didn't involve combat or gold or loot. It was making an emotional impact on a group of people, and giving them those stories that they'd never forget. And in the events that followed and I finally began to PC, I remember performing my first resurrection as one of the few town healers, and roleplaying my heart out. I felt like I was really making a difference as I attempted to convince the dead player to return to life, as if I were grasping at ethereal straws, desperately trying to hold onto a confused and wandering spirit.
I can't tell you how sad I was the first time I saw a healer just sit in a circle with a dead player, and after ten minutes announce, "Resurrection Complete." Or even worse, the first time I witnessed a "Field Rez."
