New character questions

[davidgrenier]

Hi folks. I've gotten back into LARPing this year after a long (like, decades) hiatus. My friend and I did an event in CT back in May, and my wife came out for her first event this weekend (we NPCed in NH). We've all pretty much decided we want to start PCs at some point. I have a few questions for folks:

1. Realistically what level do you need to be as a new character to actually be able to play? I know the textbook answer is that anyone can play and even newbies can have fun, but when the APL of a weekend is somewhere in the mid/high 20s, it seems like to participate in any meaningful way you probably need to be at least 8th or 9th level. I plan on NPCing a few more events before I PC, but I'd love to get a sense of what is a good level to come in at.

2. How do most teams/parties/whatever form? Is it mostly people who know each other out-of-game who come in together and form a team? If someone is a brand new PC at the game by themselves, how do they find stuff to do? I know the textbook answer is "talk to people! get involved!" - but what does that mean in a realistic sense? Do teams regularly recruit new members from the new players? Do folks get involved with ingame class or race-based groups (healers guild, etc)? In short, should I put off creating a PC until I can find a group of 5-6 players willing to go regularly with me?

3. I'm intrigued by the RP possibilities of being an artisan and getting to know other PCs by hanging out in front of the tavern selling stuff. While I think you could do interesting stuff with such a character when telling a story - does it work in a game like Alliance? Are most players likely to actually buy stuff and talk to a merchant throughout the weekend, or would it wind up more like taking preorders, trading tags for gold Friday night and then not really doing anything for the rest of the weekend? How many folks actually play the Artisan class?

 

[Wraith]

Hi folks. I've gotten back into LARPing this year after a long (like, decades) hiatus. My friend and I did an event in CT back in May, and my wife came out for her first event this weekend (we NPCed in NH). We've all pretty much decided we want to start PCs at some point. I have a few questions for folks:

1. Realistically what level do you need to be as a new character to actually be able to play? I know the textbook answer is that anyone can play and even newbies can have fun, but when the APL of a weekend is somewhere in the mid/high 20s, it seems like to participate in any meaningful way you probably need to be at least 8th or 9th level. I plan on NPCing a few more events before I PC, but I'd love to get a sense of what is a good level to come in at.

Depends on your local chapter, really. I've had a great deal of fun playing brand new characters in an APL 25 chapter before, but it really requires the plot team to be aware of the level disparity and willing to throw you a bone. If you haven't played Alliance before, -do- play at level 1. There is nothing that can replace the experience of knowing you're outclassed and winning anyway.

2. How do most teams/parties/whatever form? Is it mostly people who know each other out-of-game who come in together and form a team? If someone is a brand new PC at the game by themselves, how do they find stuff to do? I know the textbook answer is "talk to people! get involved!" - but what does that mean in a realistic sense? Do teams regularly recruit new members from the new players? Do folks get involved with ingame class or race-based groups (healers guild, etc)? In short, should I put off creating a PC until I can find a group of 5-6 players willing to go regularly with me?

Generally, most of the adventuring groups I see are OOG based, but my experience may be off due to being a 'traveling' player even in my home chapter. The real question is how you plan to act at game. If you're outgoing rather than aloof, jump on plot hooks whenever you can, and get a reputation for being useful you'll most likely eventually make friends and get pulled for mods. Being a healer or good alchemist helps a lot as far as being a go-to for modding.

3. I'm intrigued by the RP possibilities of being an artisan and getting to know other PCs by hanging out in front of the tavern selling stuff. While I think you could do interesting stuff with such a character when telling a story - does it work in a game like Alliance? Are most players likely to actually buy stuff and talk to a merchant throughout the weekend, or would it wind up more like taking preorders, trading tags for gold Friday night and then not really doing anything for the rest of the weekend? How many folks actually play the Artisan class?

Artisan is, frankly, a bone thrown to the players who aren't interested in playing the combat side of the game. You can just as easily do the merchant concept as another class while still being combat effective, and that gives you more options in how to participate in the game than dedicating yourself to just having production skills. In my experience, even at the really big events like the National, there isn't really enough downtime sitting around the tavern to keep an artisan player interested. Last time I ran the tavern for Chicago, I ended up spending most of the weekend reading in a chair because everyone was constantly out dealing with plot.

 

[markusdark]

Most groups will already have their own "Production Monkeys" to cover most of their production needs. Unless you're willing to sell your items for cost, you usually won't get many takers. They'll simply expect you to use your production items during the major fights just like they expect spell casters to use their spells to heal/protect adventurers.

IMO if you wanted to go with Artisan and become active with other groups, you'd want to become a master in either Blacksmith or Create Scrolls. With Blacksmithing, you can refit people's armor in 30 seconds, making you very valuable on the field while the Create Scrolls allows you to cast any of the spells, even in the dark, and if you work out an effective scroll phys rep system where you can easily access stacks of scrolls, you can be just about as effective as any spell caster. During a major battle where fears and commands were being thrown at the players more than any other magic, backpacking one of the main fighters with two dozen awaken scrolls strapped to my forearm was better for him than a healer (better for us too so he didn't turn around and begin killing us all).

Unless you have a plot team that goes out of its way to create plots tailored not only for non-combatants but especially your character (so that it doesn't get snatched up by non-artisans), you will spend quite a many hour in the tavern by yourself.

YMMV of course.

 

[OrcFighterFTW]

I play an Artisan. Like any other character class, it's all about the role-playing and how much you choose to get involved. I spend a good deal of time in the tavern, finding out information and interacting with others to develop plot. However, if no one is around, I join up with my "party" and go on a few mods as a general support character (blacksmithing to refit armor, potions to be a healer, etc.). I've never "sat alone in the tavern for hours" and I have never felt useless after logistics. If Alliance was a battle-only game, I could see that argument, but it's not. Battles are only a portion of it- not every problem or plot is a nail that the hammer can fix.

Don't let others define the value of an Artisan for you or try to pigeon-hole it as a useless role. I have tons of fun with it and you can too.

 

[RiddickDale]

It sounds like you'll be playing in the North East... so I'll try to suppliment the information that was already given with that in mind. (The information labeled above is all accurate btw... I'm just here to suppliment.)

1. I'd like to say that level doesn't matter. But, you hit the nail on the head. Sometimes stats are just... stats. My personal recommendation is to determine what character type you want to play and then start playing with the skills you would like to eventually have. If you want to be a rogue with waylay, make sure you come into game with waylay. If you want to be a scholar and a sword, NPC so you can buy your sword AND come in with enough spells to have something to do. I agree with Wraith though (yeah.. that just happened), Don't npc till level 10-15 just because you don't want to PC low level. Some of my fondest memories were when I was level 5 and getting in over my head. It also builds the basic skills you'll need to USE those funky build bought skills at higher levels.

2. You played in CT so two of the larger teams that you interacted with were the Phalanx and the Hunt. The Hunt (the dudes in Maroon/Black) were largely formed In game. A lot of them are friends, but they didn't come into game together as a unit at first level. The Phalanx (The dudes in green/black) largely came in together as a group of OOG friends that formed a team. So it can be done either way. Both of the teams I mentioned (and others in CT and the rest of the north east) do recruit new players as they rise in the ranks and make themselves known. There is also plenty of room for new teams.

Getting involved with groups is actually pretty easy in most northeast chapters. CT is a heavily guild based chapter so the Healers guild and the mages guild are big sources of interaction. New players that are active and interested WILL find things to do and people to play with.

3. I'll just throw this out: Artisan /= Merchant. You talked about playing a merchant character. Someone that seels stuff and focuses on RP. You could do that with a fighter stat card if you wanted. My team has a big time merchant on our team. He's a scholar who makes potions and scrolls. He was thinking about artisan, but he crunched the numbers and scholar was a better class for his interests. The best advice I can give is to think more about the character you want to play and the stuff you want to do... and then find the class that fits that best. You'll be known as a merchant no matter what your class is if you RP it right.

I'll join the artisans can be cool club too. They have some unique advantages if you want to take advantage of them. They'll never DOMINATE combat for entire weekends. But, I would hate to stat a module with an artisan rolling in with 20 lvls of scrolls and 20 lvls of alchemy. That guy could have months worth of stuff ready to throw in my NPCs faces.

 

[davidgrenier]

Thanks for the advice, folks!

 

[James Trotta]

Hi folks. I've gotten back into LARPing this year after a long (like, decades) hiatus. My friend and I did an event in CT back in May, and my wife came out for her first event this weekend (we NPCed in NH). We've all pretty much decided we want to start PCs at some point. I have a few questions for folks:

1. Realistically what level do you need to be as a new character to actually be able to play? I know the textbook answer is that anyone can play and even newbies can have fun, but when the APL of a weekend is somewhere in the mid/high 20s, it seems like to participate in any meaningful way you probably need to be at least 8th or 9th level. I plan on NPCing a few more events before I PC, but I'd love to get a sense of what is a good level to come in at.

Depends on your class and your team. Come in game with your wife and your friend and the three of you can be effective at low levels if you work well together. Class-wise, a 5th level fighter is normally going to feel more effective than a 5th level celestial scholar in a high APL game (because of weak wand damage until you get a few 9th level spells).

2. How do most teams/parties/whatever form? Is it mostly people who know each other out-of-game who come in together and form a team? If someone is a brand new PC at the game by themselves, how do they find stuff to do? I know the textbook answer is "talk to people! get involved!" - but what does that mean in a realistic sense? Do teams regularly recruit new members from the new players? Do folks get involved with ingame class or race-based groups (healers guild, etc)? In short, should I put off creating a PC until I can find a group of 5-6 players willing to go regularly with me?

In short, no. You can have fun solo, with your wife, or with a friend or two.

Teams form for IG and/or OOG reasons. Being OOG friends with someone can get you on their team. For example when I brought my wife to the states (from Korea) she got to roll with my high level team even though she had no larp experience and didn't know the guys.

New players can get recruited though not usually at the first event. But if you're fun to be with and have OOG skills and want to be on a team it shouldn't take long. Personally, I wouldn't join a team my first event anyway - you want to get to know them both IG and OOG before joining.

3. I'm intrigued by the RP possibilities of being an artisan and getting to know other PCs by hanging out in front of the tavern selling stuff. While I think you could do interesting stuff with such a character when telling a story - does it work in a game like Alliance? Are most players likely to actually buy stuff and talk to a merchant throughout the weekend, or would it wind up more like taking preorders, trading tags for gold Friday night and then not really doing anything for the rest of the weekend? How many folks actually play the Artisan class?

When I played my merchant, I sold food and got involved in as many fights as I could so I'd skip artisan (spend build on combat skills) and sell stuff like food or beverages. A level 30 guy probably doesn't need your sleep gas or scroll but might be in the mood for a nice cold drink or a sandwich or whatever. Plus they might talk to you while drinking whereas they have no real reason to talk to you after buying a potion. You might even talk to your local chapter about running the tavern or helping to run the tavern. I can't predict how much downtime you will see as a tavern guy, but there will be some in any chapter I've played at so it's nice to get into the fights too.

 

[James Trotta]

Just want to point out that the scholar you mentioned earlier can do the same. Heck, even though my character doesn't produce anything I can still walk into a mod with enough scrolls and alchemy to blow everything up. So yeah, an artisan with a ton of production is cool but so is anyone else with a ton of production. The artisan gets to do it a little cheaper is all.

I'll join the artisans can be cool club too. They have some unique advantages if you want to take advantage of them. They'll never DOMINATE combat for entire weekends. But, I would hate to stat a module with an artisan rolling in with 20 lvls of scrolls and 20 lvls of alchemy. That guy could have months worth of stuff ready to throw in my NPCs faces.