Theatre Larp 101

In December, I was asked to take part in a panel presentation introducing Larp to an audience of students at NYU, hosted by Shoshana Kessock and the NYU School's Game Center (proving I picked the wrong major). I was asked to introduce Theater Larp. The majority of people see Larp in the boffer variety or, now thanks to the media, Nordic style. Most of the games I've played/ran have been theater style larps.

But what the Hell does that mean?

NYC's Changeling the Lost Game, photo by Craig Page

So, before I begin in describing it. Let me first state that this is MY interpretation. If my blog has said anything, it's that I do not speak for everyone in the community and my opinions and biases are well known. If you have a different meaning to it, by all means comment and contribute! So on with the show.

Let's first begin with the statement of what I feel Larp means: Larp is when people create characters and perform them physically in a setting created and/or moderated by a core set of people. This is the core definition that can apply to mosts larps. Note, I say most larps, as even then there are exceptions. That's the general definition. What separates Theater Larp from say a Boffer Larp is that Theater Larps tend to be shorter in their time span, lasting only a few hours (2-6 on average). Physical combat, and most actions that are out of the question for the player or the environment are narrated, not acted out. As such, the focus of these games is social interactions. Most games centering around some sort of social function while the action goes on (most often) outside of the area.

Games are generally held in black box rooms, studios and spaces that the Storyteller narrates as being the location in general. I have played poker with Vampires on the top Floor of the Empire State Building, I have held secret meetings in abandoned theaters and subway stations with Mages, I have been beyond the Hedge and in the Goblin Markets where only Changelings may go. I have been all of these places in my mind, my body is more often than not in some studio space in manhattan, or an apartment in the City. Because the logistical need in these games are low, and most interactions rely on the storyteller, you just really need a space to play in. Of course, there are those who play in churches, bars, and apartments and they are treated exactly as they are...some of us are lucky. Ultimately it boils down to economics and the Cost of Gaming, we can only play where we can afford to play.

I've mentioned that actions are narrated, and that leads me to IC/OOC bleed out. Social interactions are considering in character unless specifically stated otherwise. Sometimes, descriptions have to be narrated out of character. Changeling the Lost is notorious for this as it has a Mask and a Mien, a Mask is generally what you look like and a Mien is the Changeling you're playing. My mask looks roughly like me while my mien looks like an Orcimer from Elder Scrolls. The same goes for the environment, castles, special areas, even common areas like landmarks that players are visiting should be narrated, and most often by the Storyteller or the hosting character's player.

The key point is that all interactions generally have to go through the Storytelling staff. ST staffs in large games are often spread out and not everything can be monitored by staff. In a theater Larp,  the staff is most often in the room with them, moderating the function. If players wish to engage in investigation of the environs or engage in combat, they need to speak to the Storyteller. In this, it shares close ties with it's cousin in Tabletop games, and a large chunk of tabletops have been converted to Larps. Of these the World of Darkness games have a large following. However, this leads to a special problem: whereas in boffer larps or fully immersive games, you need a storyteller to do most of anything. Some games can be run just knowing your characters and the situation and running loose. In a theatre Larp, someone is often usually at the wheel, or at least moderating.

Which also leads to the fact that games do not end at the end of game. Scenes, character interactions and further actions take place over the month, in what we call "Downtimes". Downtime Actions are done through emails, skype or google hangouts, dinners. I've had Ordo Dracul meetings in the backrooms of Horror themed bars and Changeling meetings in swanky apartments. The key, again, goes back to roleplay, mechanics doesn't often happen here. We call it soft RP. If these are monitored or acknowledged by the Storyteller, the players get experience points and more personal or game related plot. This type of gaming though leads to an interesting form of Alternate Reality Gaming, where real life and game life bleed into one another. It's fascinating stuff, something I'd love to work with if I had the time/money/energy/sleep cycle to figure it out.

When things DO get rough, and fights or investigations need to happen, that's when the character's stat sheets come out and the storytellers need to get to working. Actions are based on the stats of the characters, usually their inherent traits like Social, Intelligence or Physical aptitudes and specific skills added together with other factors to make a base number. From there, chance decides. Some games uses cards, others dice, Old World of Darkness uses Rock Paper Scissors. Either way, Chance decides how those factors work. Some times it can change a whole game, some times it is purely academic. This leads to a lot of number crunching, which is time consuming. Large combat actions that in game-time takes minutes, but in real time takes much more than that. Also, some people, when making their characters, Maximize the stats they need for certain actions making pulls a moot point. I'm not particularly a fan of min maxing, unless you're playing a savant or something which in that case you've got other issues to deal with as well.

So, to conclude. Theatre Larps are Character Driven Gaming, with the Storyteller being directly involved in each player's action. It can span multiple media, and can be played roughly anywhere at any time. Because of these, it can be accessible to casual players from all stripes.

However, because of such things, it isn't as inherently immersive and relies on the players performances to carry the immersion (assuming that is what the players wish to do). It also presumes that the Storytellers can access each player on an equal basis, giving everyone the freedom/understanding. Storytellers are just people too, and sometimes they forget, or can't be everywhere. It's also mechanics heavy, which becomes a major time and energy drag. I've seen combat scenes go four hours without resolution, incidentally I've seen people not come back afterwards.

It also, I should say, has the distinctness of favoring people with high social skills in real life. I've seen the truly charming be able to play masterfully without ever having to use their sheet. I've seen the great debators talk their way out of things both ICly and OOCly, and I've seen these players be the top of the pile in terms of the game. Keep in mind that some of us aren't born with that, and you sometimes find yourself locked out a bit. In all Larps this is a thing, but when Social skills is the key factor, it becomes paramount.

And that, is my description of Theater Larping. It's not a perfect one, it's not even a great one. But it's the one I have.

Later.