The problem with leadership in larp is that a good leader in character is very different from a good leader in real life. We all know people who we consider good examples of what a leader should be… perhaps a boss or a mentor, or even a family member. What we don’t do is ask ourselves: would this person’s leadership in the context of a story make the story better. In real life, leaders minimize conflict, unite groups, and make sure their people are healthy and happy. In a dystopian larp setting… those aren’t things we really want.
We don’t want happy characters… we want happy players. And players enjoy conflict, and being the center of attention, and often want to make bad decisions. For example, a good parent might make sure that two children don’t scream at each other, but when in a larp, family members screaming at each often makes for memorable scenes. Similarly, a good boss will make sure that tasks go to the people best equipped to deal with them: in larp, we might call that gate-keeping. Ironically, a player who is a good leader for a larp knows how to play a less-effective leader in a larp.
So what does this look like?
Efficiency is the Enemy of Story
Let’s say you’re the mayor of a small town, and every morning your townspeople bring you a dozen problems, and by noon, you’ve solved them all. That makes you a pretty good mayor, right? But let’s say you’re playing a weekend long larp, and your storytellers present a dozen plots on Friday night, and by noon on Saturday, you’ve led your people to solve them all. What do you do now? Efficiency is fun, but it can be a problem in larp: if you’re too good at it, then you actually make the game less fun. The solution? Have an agenda - something that’s not just “the good of the town.” Have a faith that’s problematic, loyalties to sketchy people, or just a character flaw that makes your leadership more interesting. It’s not that you don’t care about the town, it’s just that without something to give you pause or lead you to a bad decision, your efficiency is just going to be a bit… boring.
Charisma Creates Clumps
“Charisma” is a tricky word… to some it’s a gift or a natural talent, while others consider it a learned skill that includes empathy, attention to your people’s needs, and effective communication. Regardless, charisma helps cement groups together, and helps them grow. A charismatic leader in a larp can easily draw a large number of people into a large group… which then creates its own problem. First, a single large group displaces the smaller groups around it: it demands the attention of the storytellers. Further, the larger the group, the more likely someone is to be lost inside of it. The solution isn’t to stop being charismatic - people playing charismatic roles is good for the larp. What’s important is that as they make friends, they also make enemies: people who don’t like them. A charismatic leader needs rivals to keep them in check, and those rivalries are essential to the game.
Good Leaders Gatekeep - Don’t Be a Good Leader
In an organization, people develop specialties, and as they develop these specialties, the gain experience and expertise. The best thing a leader can do is put the “right” person in the “right” place, while training others to eventually take their place. This includes having training programs, where people learn how to do their jobs. Which is great for real life, but players don’t necessarily want to play a trainee when they come to a larp, they want to play a central character. Saying “you have to wait your turn” is a form of gatekeeping, as well as picking the “optimal” person to do a mission. Instead, make some mistakes. Force yourself to send the “wrong people” because some players want to do a mission, or ignore a player who’s “doing the dumb” and having a great time. Mistakes are more interesting: don’t gatekeep players from taking cool actions just because you don’t want them to make a mistake.
Playing a “good leader” in character doesn’t make you a bad person or a bad larper. It’s a choice, and it’s a fun one! You’re probably not going to ruin anyone’s larp, and if it means you have a good time, that’s okay. However, if you want to be a leader out of character, consider that you might want to make sure your character has flaws - ulterior motives, enemies, and a tendency towards mistakes - in order to make the larp better for the people around you.