Starting as an orc.

Urig

Newbie
So I'm trying to start Larping as a hobby and am wondering what advice you guys could give me on roleplaying an Orc. I'll give you a some info to help give you an idea of my character, mostly visually and little bit about my idea of an orc.

So I know a lot about orc culture from various fictions, namely the orcs from Middle-earth which is the visual I'm drawing from(from the films, filling the gaps with the books), though I prefer to go more Warcraft or Skyrim personality-wise with the brutal honor.

I'm going to get this mask medievalcollectibles.com/p-22088-green-feral-orc-mask.aspx

I don't think I'll get contact lenses or tusks, my teeth are pretty pointy already and I like the way blue eyes can be more intimidating than contacts some times. And tusk talk is something I'd like to avoid altogether, I worry that it would hamper my vocalizations, going for a more middle-earth orc I do growls, roars, shrieks, throaty calls and a harsh, somewhat deep voice.

Armor/costume-wise I'm going with browns and blacks for the cloth, and a black base coat with a steel paint rubbed across it to give it a well used look, it will be a heavy armor set appearance-wise and I will be wielding a two handed, two headed battle axe so the orc will be a heavy hitter.

I've got some background info figured out and a character name, but was hoping to add some personalized orc looking heraldry to the outfit, so any suggestions would be much appreciated.

And sorry for the length of this post :p
 
Hi Urig,

Unfortunately for your idea, tusks are absolutely required for High Orcs in Alliance LARP. I originally planned to be an Orc (hence my screenname), but due to tusk issues I changed to Barbarian. This is not negotiable in any way. Some use latex tusks on their chins/cheeks to meet this requirement.

For steel armor, you need to wear actual steel armor, not just painted cloth. It can't just have the appearance, it needs to be the real deal to count as armor. I'm not sure if you meant actual steel with cloth over it in your post, so just making sure you understood the armor rules.

Also, for "heavy hitter" a two-hander is good for 1.5x prof damage (High Orc Fighter is a fun combo!) but remember you should only swing hard enough to let your opponent know they've been hit. It's weapon tag, not actual combat.

Make sure to read the rulebook section on High Orcs as well as your local race packet to get some ideas on local roleplay. Orcs in different chapters can be very different in roleplay, so which chapter/s were you planning on playing in?
 
When referring to the armor I'm making it out of a thick camping mat as opposed to cloth, Steel armor is out of my price range as it is. So would that count as leather armor or something, or does it being heavy foam change it's classification back to heavier armor? I will of course add tusks since they are necessary, but do they have to be externally visible? I totally get the "tag" thing as opposed to an "attack", it's not very fun to get bowled over by a warhammer.

I'll have to acquire the rulebook.

I'm very new to the Alliance Larp concept, so I don't exactly know what a race packet is, and don't know how to go about locating a chapter, I'm in Missouri if there are any here that you know of.
 
Unfortunately, none yet in Missouri. The closest chapters to you would be the Midwest chapters of Denver, Chicago, and Southern Minnesota. The different chapters are listed here on the forums.

The rulebook is available as a free .pdf download here.

Also to help get you started, some basic info for all new players can be found on the Southern Minnesota chapter's website under the New Player Frequently Asked Questions section found here. The information there also applies to other chapters because we all use the same rules, which is the core concept behind the national Alliance.
 
Well foo, Chicago is the only one I could ever see me possibly being able to go to, and it's too far for me to go to currently, and Illinoise drivers terrify me. I'll probably hang around the forum in the hopes I'll get an Alliance Larp here in Missouri someday soon and put together a costume to the Larps specifications.
 
If Chicago drivers scare you, you probably are reaching a bit to play a fearless orc :p
 
Every ones got to be afraid of something, but there is quite a difference between being afraid of battle and being afraid of getting turned into a street pizza :)
 
I'd still encourage you to make the drive sometime, Chicago runs a fun game, I drive down from MN myself and their site really doesn't take you through the ugly parts of IL as far as driving goes.
 
For reference, the campsite we use for Chicago is the Hoover Forest Preserve in Yorkville, IL. It's southwest of Chicago and firmly outside the actual metro area so you wouldn't have to deal with Chicago traffic to get to our game. That said, it's a pretty long drive from anywhere but maybe the far northeast tip of Missouri, so I can understand if you don't make it out. I do think we run a pretty good game at Chicago, though, so if you're up to the drive I think you'll have a good time. I'm on Chicago's plot staff, so feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Here's our schedule for the upcoming year.
 
Hey there,

I'm not a player anywhere near the Midwest, but I'd like to offer a bit of input about LARPing in general. I've been doing it for about 12 years, and Alliance for 3.

One, it's more fun than you think it is.

Two, it's an excellent way to meet new people.

Three, if you can financially afford the first event without absolutely destroying yourself, I'd recommend trying it so you get perspective. Who knows, maybe you'll find that the long drive is a small price to pay (as I'm unaware of your economic situation).

If you've never done it before, it's a great way to start.

-Evan
 
Well I am most certainly not opposed to it, though it would be a very long drive, it's a three hour drive to the top of the state from where I live(Lake Ozark is where I hail from.)

I'm still getting my costume together and am just really starting out life as an adult, so money is a smidge tight at the moment, but if I do manage to go it will probably be late summer/early fall. Thanks for all the advice guys :)
 
The furthest I've driven on purpose one-way for a LARP was four hours. Then there's the time I got confused about which State Park we were at and that was another four hours. Still worth it!
 
I had a similar account of wrong site mix up. it was 9 hours of driving, a flat tir on the side of a very busy freeway, and a dead battery. Made it in one piece. also flew to cali larped for three of the four days then flew home.

I suggest finding people to spread the driving out and the cost.
 
I havent atended my first event yet, but I'll be making a 7 hour drive to get there! (Im in Maine, larping in NH) Ive already visited the site itself and its absolutley amazing. Not even played there and I'm excited!
 
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