pretty cool costuming...

Fynwei

Squire
and if you'll also notice everyone has latex. and it really helps the look... ;)
 
Dreamingfurther said:
and if you'll also notice everyone has latex. and it really helps the look... ;)

I prefer we take a hit on looks so's I don't take a hit to the face with a weapon edge with a 1/10" surface area being swung be someone used to the speed/force we in Alliance use with our boffers.
Never mind the initial/maintainace/repair costs associated with those weapons.

cool costumes tho.
-toddo
 
Toddo said:
Dreamingfurther said:
and if you'll also notice everyone has latex. and it really helps the look... ;)

I prefer we take a hit on looks so's I don't take a hit to the face with a weapon edge with a 1/10" surface area being swung be someone used to the speed/force we in Alliance use with our boffers.
Never mind the initial/maintainace/repair costs associated with those weapons.

cool costumes tho.
-toddo

I'm curious how many folks have actually tried out forgoten dreams, palnatoke, or camancil latex weapons?

I've actually played the Alliance rules with these sort of weapons... honestly its not as bad as everyone fears. And I have a hard time taking cost as a legitimate complaint when you are generally spending about as much as it costs for a basic latex weapon just to PC one event... Not to mention actual armor costumes... :?

That said we don't need to have the whole latex vs. boffer argument again here. I'm happy to live with boffers too. :D And happier not to jack threads and get into fights! ;)

*extends olive branch*
 
Dreamingfurther said:
Toddo said:
Dreamingfurther said:
and if you'll also notice everyone has latex. and it really helps the look... ;)

I prefer we take a hit on looks so's I don't take a hit to the face with a weapon edge with a 1/10" surface area being swung be someone used to the speed/force we in Alliance use with our boffers.
Never mind the initial/maintainace/repair costs associated with those weapons.

cool costumes tho.
-toddo

I'm curious how many folks have actually tried out forgoten dreams, palnatoke, or camancil latex weapons?

I've actually played the Alliance rules with these sort of weapons... honestly its not as bad as everyone fears. And I have a hard time taking cost as a legitimate complaint when you are generally spending about as much as it costs for a basic latex weapon just to PC one event... Not to mention actual armor costumes... :?

That said we don't need to have the whole latex vs. boffer argument again here. I'm happy to live with boffers too. :D And happier not to jack threads and get into fights! ;)

*extends olive branch*

LOL, this isn't a fight. But it will be if those aren't black olives.

I have many and varied issues with latex weapons but I agree, this isn't the forum. (Or at least not the thread)
 
yea yea I know it wasn't, I just know people can get quite heated about weapon discusions... ;)

Anyways the branch didn't even have olives! It was simply green. :D
 
yes, I don't think any disputed that. But these do look like pictures probably of the best of what is there. I mean pictures of the best of what we have are pretty fantastic too. ^_^

But yes, very cool costuming!
 
Dreamingfurther said:
Toddo said:
Dreamingfurther said:
and if you'll also notice everyone has latex. and it really helps the look... ;)

I prefer we take a hit on looks so's I don't take a hit to the face with a weapon edge with a 1/10" surface area being swung be someone used to the speed/force we in Alliance use with our boffers.
Never mind the initial/maintainace/repair costs associated with those weapons.

cool costumes tho.
-toddo

I'm curious how many folks have actually tried out forgoten dreams, palnatoke, or camancil latex weapons?

I've actually played the Alliance rules with these sort of weapons... honestly its not as bad as everyone fears. And I have a hard time taking cost as a legitimate complaint when you are generally spending about as much as it costs for a basic latex weapon just to PC one event... Not to mention actual armor costumes... :?

That said we don't need to have the whole latex vs. boffer argument again here. I'm happy to live with boffers too. :D And happier not to jack threads and get into fights! ;)

*extends olive branch*

OMG is that a latex weapon olive branch that you got from Forgotten Dreams? It looks beautiful, affordable and it doesn't hurt when you hit me with it! Amazing!
 
Well you post a thread with pretty pictures, and what do the boys point out. Naturally the pretty weapons. :D
 
Thats the gnoll mask from kangena. They make it in several colors.
 
I'm trying to figure out what makes the LARP shown here so much more visually impressive than any Alliance event I've been too.
 
The anachronisms are minimal to non-existent. Nobody is sitting in a modern folding chair, there are no gatorade or soda bottles, no cars in the background. Nobody wearing sneakers or other non-period outfits (though they seem to mix periods fairly widely, none of it is modern). Even their tents - with one or two exceptions - are period canvas pavilions, rather than modern types.

Try as we might all these little things creep into our game. One alone might not be much of a big deal, but they all build and conspire to throw off the shared illusion.
 
Having played with the Maelstrom folk, and in fact with a bunch of them before Maelstrom in another game they ran called Omega, I can tell you they do in fact rock the awesomesauce. I can also tell you their game system is vastly different from Alliance, or Nero, or anything I've seen here in the US. We use a much more combat oriented system and you will not find ongoing, continuous PC vs. NPC combat in MAlestrom or most of the UK larps. There are no npc crunchies and there's rarely even a big bad with an epic and terrible plot to kill everyone. In fact most of the combat I was in during their events was pc vs pc. (An entire player group came into game as a tribe of cannibals and ate a few people before they were sussed out and slaughtered on the second evening of an Omega event :)

Ezri is also right, there are many little things we do that often pull us out of the illusion. Bear in mind they also put a lot more resources into their games. There was a full service tavern at every one of their events, and by that I do mean a fully catered hall with a selection of kegs and hot food at all hours. Think renting a german beer hall, but the trade off was they charged very real quid for their goods. But LARP is in general a much more pheasible and established business there. Costume and weapon merchants would rent space on the grounds for the event and set up large tents to sell everything from goblets and candles to armor and battle axes. Think a mini ren-faire just for the larp crowd selling larp specific goods. So there actually is a real economy backing up their larp's.

They also tend to write their campaigns/worlds/characters with a very finite life span in mind. Omega, which preceded Maelstrom, was written from the get go with like a three or four year game in mind and then the whole world ended. Characters are not expected to surive into an epic campaign. There were no ressurections, and no ten year investments in a single character that you have grown to love and treasure.

They do mix cultures very widely. The opening premise for both Maelstrom and Omega, if I remember right, was that you had to come in as part of a group (I believe four people was the minimum) and each group represented their own culture/society that had received a strange summons to meet on common ground. Along with character history every group had to submit a culture pack before the first game designating a group leader and culture background. So yeah, we had romans next to samurai next to vikings next to cannibals...

I'm probably not explaining this all that geat, but suffice it to say their game system is just structured vastly different from ours from the ground up. There is no real focus or plan on providing an individual adventure experience to the players, and it is very easy to get left out unless you are aggressive about creating your own RP. But they are aggressive about it, and the costumes are a big part of that for them. They go all out with their costuming and the latex weapons and the massive pavilions each group will erect for the weekend. They also spend much money on it all.

In any case, I may still have the original MAelstrom packet that got sent out when the game started. It included a rule book and a demo dvd with some of the writers/core players acting out small scenes to define each of the player races. I'll see if I can find it for those interested. And yes, those pics do represent the higher end of their costuming though.

Ok, I've really gone off here, but I do confess a bit of nostalgia for my time with these folks. They hold a special place my wee heart... but so do y'all.

much love my peeps,
-Nic
 
They look just about as good as many of the games I have played here in the US. There are those who spend a good amount of time and work on their makeups and then there are those that just snap on a mask with elastic. I think that they just have a slightly better handle on things since it is their history with medieval items. Just like we'd have the best lookin' Wild West LARPs - if they were very popular that is.
 
Fynwei, all I have to say is come out east for even one game, and you will have a much better perspective on what Alliance should and can be in the majority of chapters. Thats why I said the better end of Alliance costuming and makeup isn't so far from this. I'm sure Seatle will be a step up certainly! ;) Although we all could work on slowly working more and more in-period things into the game. (Tents, goblets, trinkets, exe exe)

And Nic I had no idea you had played some Euro larps. That sounds REALLY awesome! :D Although I should have infered it perhaps from the good gear and RP you put out yourself. (btw your Biata scares the crap out of my Dark Elf... "Yea were not going to talk about that or I'm going to kill you..." ;) ) Anyways If you wanted to come to one of the dinners after an event we are both at or something I'd love to hear more about the other larps you've played. I mean I can tell you love it just knowing how far you come to play the Deadlands. Why don't I see you in other chapters? :)

In any case it is my hope that one day the Alliance may move slowly but surely in this dirrection. And a LOT of it is dependant on constantly bringing in new people and everyone continuing to try just a little bit harder in every way to improve all the little things that we can.

Definately cool pictures though.
 
Well of course it depends upon the number of people and their dedication to the game. We are only seeing the photos that they put up on the web. And a few of them have such shots as someone mugging for the camera while holding up a coke can. ;).

when SF Alliance started, I'd say that 80-90% of us had good costuming - however most of that was due to the fact that we have been LARPing elsewhere for a while and slowly increased our kits. People just starting out rarely have fantastic gear.

A group of players formed a type of 'company camp' where they all camped together, draped tapestries over their modern tents, set up a feasting table and put out their standards in front of it all. You just have to find people willing to put forth a little bit of effort.

Oh, and as for playing UK LARPs - it is fantastic. Nothing like grabbing someone from behind by their forehead, pulling their head back and slicing their throat. It still sends shivers down my body.
 
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