Photo by Brittany Zweir. Pictured: Daniel Carrione
We were all new once… and many of us have been new several times. Each time you try a different larp, you’re a new player, walking into a community of people who have established connections, jargon, and traditions. As we remember how tough it can be to take those first steps, most of us do all we can to welcome new players. But how can we help? Here’s three things we shouldn’t say (and three we should) to new players.
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One survivor bests another. Photo by London Belli. Pictured: Victoria Gomez-Egger
Larpers (and people in general) like hard and fast rules that apply in all situations - it makes it easy to know what is allowed and what is not ok - but not all situations are the same. In Part 1, we talked about the different groups of people who have to consent to Character versus Character (CvC) conflict but we didn’t talk about how they signal, obtain, or confirm it. The key to any of those topics is this: consent should be appropriate to the risk of the action.
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Two survivors face off. Photo by London Belli. Pictured: Dan Carione, Dan Gower.
“Consent is critically important.” That’s what the Dystopia Rising Rulebook says about Character versus Character (CvC) conflict (page 159). However, the rulebook doesn’t discuss exactly what consent means, or how to signal, obtain, and confirm it. As consent has to be clear to all people involved, we at Dystopia Rising New York (DRNY) want to talk about how it applies to our game. To begin our three-part series on consent and CvC, we’ll focus on the different groups of people who have to consent to CvC.
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Two friends mourn someone who didn’t survive. Photo: Allana Marie. Pictured: Chris Moscato, Dylan Agan, Michael Bruni.
Dystopia Rising New York (DRNY) says that we’re a survival horror larp - but what does that mean? A lot of other larps also say that and some of them are pretty different from us. Rather than offer an academic definition, we want to tell you what you can expect from our survival horror game.
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A survivor meets Jack Warren. Photo: Allana Marie. Pictured: Dylan Agan, Earl Pomeroy
In a boffer larp, monsters are easy to handle as a player - hit them until they stop moving. But when your storytellers send out NPCs… sometimes things go a little sideways. Maybe an NPC meant to promote roleplay turns into a joke, or an NPC provided as a “hook” doesn’t spark interest, or the players just can’t figure out how to engage with that political NPC. While it’s the responsibility of the storytellers and the people playing the NPCs to make them compelling, larp is collaborative, and we all work together to make the game fun and interesting. So how can you help NPCs show you a good time? Here’s a few specific tips (and a couple warnings) to help you make the most of the NPCs you meet.
Read MoreNewcomers to Dystopia Rising New York may hear a number of new words - “Family,” “Fold,” “High Lord Executioner.” Requiem features a host of persistent non-player characters and unique customs that let players immerse themselves in the setting. To help you with these features, we’ve put together this primer: Requiem 101.
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