Possible New Player?

Lemmonaid

Newbie
I don't know If I'm allowed to post here if I haven't registered to play yet.. Oops? Anyhow, I'll be turning 16 in June of this coming year, and I'm planning on attending an Ashbury event at that time. However, none of my parents or older siblings are interested in larping, so I'd have nobody to go with. That may not be a problem, since the rules (from what I can see) don't require adult supervision, but I'm still a little worried about saftey. Does anyone have tips or advice?
 
I'm sure a staff member will come along and correct me if I am misinformed, but I'll try to answer your questions as best I can until then.

If I understand the current rules, you can play, without guardian supervision, at 16, but you need a guardian to sign a form saying that you can play. Said form is available for download at this link: https://alliancehq.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/legalrelease.pdf

As for safety, Alliance LARP has been deemed to be safer than Little League Baseball. That doesn't mean it isn't smart to take a few precautions. My recommendations are:
-Bring and use plenty of sunscreen to avoid sun burns
-Wear sturdy boots that you have worn long enough to be comfortable in (to avoid twisting your ankle)
-If you wear glasses, wear one of those sports bands that hold them to your head
-Bring and drink plenty of water to avoid overheating
-Practice safe weapon combat with an experienced player before the game if possible (if you show up before game starts, someone on staff or an experienced player will almost certainly be happy to help you with this)

The community is very helpful and you should find plenty of support during your first game. Take advantage of that and you should have little difficulty staying safe and should have a good time. It is very unlikely that you will be injured, but if it should happen, game will literally stop to ensure your welfare while on-site medics see to you. If necessary, you will be brought to a nearby hospital (though such occurrences are extremely rare). Better safe than sorry, make sure you know your insurance information just in case.

-MS
 
I can not agree more with Mike, sturdy broke in boots are so important.

Have you read through the rule book?
You will find that Alliance is super friendly and I am sure you will find help where ever you look. Some stuff I still mess up and I have been playing for four years now.

Do you have costuming? There are some good low cost costuming idea all over the net. If you have access, Thrifting is your friend when it comes to costuming on a budget.

Have you put any thought into character race or class yet?
 
I have looked through the book, although I'm a little intimidated by just how much there is (I'm used to very simple magic systems, Heh!) As for characters, I was thinking a Wood Elf Scholar! I even have a little backstory blurb (and the necessary costuming on hand)

Although I am a little nervous about being in a new place, possibly without an Adult that i know on hand.
 
For the first part, you don't need to learn it all at once. As a 25 build scholar, you can only cast up to 4th level spells. So, for now, you can afford to only learn spells level 1-4 (and only of the type of magic you cast: earth or celestial). You can pick up the rest gradually over time.

For the second part, I can only think of one thing that might help. The Stormbreak campaign is holding a RP only session in February. The link below gives details. If that happens to be close to where you live, you can go to that and try to get to know a few of the adults that play the game. It should help with your comfort level before spending a full weekend with these people.

I understand your consternation. My first ever Alliance (it was called NERO back then) game was when I was 16 and I was all alone surrounded by strangers who were all older than me. A handful of them went out of their way to mentor me and that helped a lot. Hopefully a few people will do that for you.

https://alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/official-stormbreak-feast-day.38384/

-MS
 
@mikestrauss That might help, but I'll still be 15 when the feast happens, so I don't think I'll be able to attend. Thank you VERY much for the tips on playing a scholar though!!
 
I also agree the magic rules are daunting at first, but once you have some base knowledge you will pick the rest up as you go. If you get hit by a spell and don't know what it is, you can ask OOG someone around you.

As for the knowing people, you will find that people are very friendly. I dunno if I will be there in June but the Healers Guild is a good place to start as an Earth caster. Also getting there a bit early before start time will give you a chance to meet some of the people behind the characters.

I also might suggest a tent, if you are a private person. Most bunking areas are communal and don't offer much in the way of privacy. There are places to set them up both IG and OOG.
 
For the second part, I can only think of one thing that might help. The Stormbreak campaign is holding a RP only session in February. The link below gives details. If that happens to be close to where you live, you can go to that and try to get to know a few of the adults that play the game. It should help with your comfort level before spending a full weekend with these people.
.

https://alliancelarp.com/forum/threads/official-stormbreak-feast-day.38384/

-MS
Just as an FYI, Stormbreak is an 18+ campaign, so even if he came with a parent/adult he wouldn’t be able to go to the feast day. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

Also, as an FYI, in August (usually) we have a kid’s campaign - you’d be too old to PC, but you could NPC. We often have parents come with their kids and just hang out and read and avoid game altogether:) Also, a lot of our NPC crew are younger, having recently graduated to the adult game :)
 
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