Introduction to Live Roleplay

Live Role-Play or LRP (Pronounced LURP) is a physical form of role-playing. The dice and books are swapped for costumes and armour, and for weapons made from foam and latex rubber to make them safe for physical fighting.

As LRP safe weapons can still seriously injure your opponent if you don't pull your blows, it is probably best to get some good advice and guidance from someone with experience of LRP combat who can teach you how to pull your blows before you get involved in this side of the hobby.

Most LRP games have a set of rules known as a system. These rules control what is possible in the games universe, for example, does magic exist and if it does, how do the players use it? If a spell exists to give a character the ability to cause another person to fear them, they must perform the gesture of pointing at their victim and chanting 'By my power I fear you', this would be understood in the game that the person being pointed at should be over come by fear and must run away from the other player (if they can).

These rules also set what is allowed in fights, for example, hits to your opponent's head will in the game count as damage towards yourself (note that each character has a fixed amount of damage they can take before they die, normally this is the number of times they can be hit or absorb a damaging spell etc - this can be a number of times per body location or a total). A rule like this is to help remove the temptation to hit someone in the head, for obvious safety reasons. Other rules set the era in time that the game is in, i.e. a medieval Lord of the Rings style world, a Futuristic Aliens style world, or the present day but with Vampires and the like.

The idea of LRP is to act out your character's life in an imaginary world, but unlike normal acting there are no scripts, only an unknown plot that is going on in the background of the game's world that is controlled by the all powerful Game's Master(s). A good plot is one that involves all characters in the game's world from the player who is the King of a country down to the peasant soldier in a King's army. The plot should also keep the players interested and involved, it should also continue from game to game and when one plot line finishes a new one should take its place.

The best games can be big organized events with hundreds if not thousands of players, but if the event is too big the plot might not involve all of the players, unless they are prepared to find and get involved in the plot. These games are normally run over weekends and you can stay in character almost all of the time, with only some areas on the event's site and some times to be out of character. Normally these are the camping areas, the washing and toilet blocks, any market areas (some events will have LRP stuff for sale, costumes, and weapons, etc.) and a period during the night for sleeping. Some events even have a bar that is in-character (although you will have to use real money) and you may even get involved in a bar fight or two, all fake of course.

To make an event successful you must be willing to do some of the work, as a Monster or a None Playing Character (NPCs). This "work" will normally be paid for in "in-character" money which can be spent on in-character stuff, like a map, information, bribing a gate guard and if you have a lot then special weapons (which will be just a card that you attach to your weapon!). Almost all plots involve NPCs who will interact with the other players, maybe you will be a drunk old man who babbles about some legend or other, or as part of a band of strange creatures that attack the camp of another group of players. You might do this in your own costume or the event organizer might supply you with a costume and a mask, or use stage make-up to change what you look like.

Most players make some of their own equipment and costumes, if not all. As you will have seen by now, the costumes can look very good and almost anything goes. If you go to an event you will normally be able to buy the costumes and other equipment or find out how to safely make your own.

All the photos on this page were taken at The Gathering on the August Bank Holiday weekend in 1999. This event was run by The Lorien Trust.

For more information contact:
The Lorien Trust
68, High Street,
Eaton Bray,
Dunstable
Beds LU6 2DP
(01525) 222884