Maybe you’re already familiar with it, maybe not at all. ShortLARP.
Here’s a short summary:
Live Action RolePlay is a form of immersive theatre. This means that you yourself play out an improvised story, as a character within that story. There is no audience: everyone present is a character, playing alongside you. You interact with one another from within your roles. A game master, organizer, or showrunner roughly defines the storyline, the rules, and provides input. A LARP can run a few hours to several days.
These are short larps, which can range from 15 minutes to a few hours. At our festival, each round lasts about 3,5 hours. In that round, you start with a workshop to shape your role and get familiar with the game mechanics. After that, you play out the story together with the other participants. On this site, we refer to these stories as scenarios. You can expect anything from lighthearted to intense, from abstract to very realistic. Last year, there were negotiations about selling an airport, a music band went on a reunion tour, and a classic murder mystery was solved. You can read the full programme from last year here.
Your game master or showrunner will start with a workshop. In that workshop, you either receive or choose a role. You’ll also agree with fellow players on your mutual relationships. This gives you plenty of material to build your character.
Each game has its own mechanics. For example: “If the game master plays rain sounds, everyone remains silent until the rain is over” or “There are three acts, and if you see the game master dim the lights, the act is almost finished.” These mechanics are also explained in the workshop.
No, you don’t need any theatre, improv, or larp experience. Do you enjoy diving into a story? Then this is for you. You can always step out, but you’ll be playing a character for an extended period of time. If that sounds fun to you, the rest will come naturally.
We agree on rules together so that everyone can really let go in the game. These safety rules are also listed on the website. We ask everyone to read them carefully. No prior experience? Then it’s especially important that you take the time to read through these rules.