Packets: Not All are Created Equal

One of the big differences as a player transitioning into an Accelerant game, is packet construction.

For those of the uninitiated, many Larps use spell packets to represent hurling spells.  These are not entirely unlike the flags that are used by referees in football.  The construction is designed to allow for them to travel a good distance, be fairly safe, and to be easy to transport.  Some games that are less concerned about transportation instead use spell balls, that have about the same weight and size of a tennis ball, but that's a totally different story.

In many Larps, we're also concerned about biodegradability, since we're often using them on boyscout camps, and no matter what you do, you're going to lose some and you don't want them to be a burden.  So the primary component is birdseed.

But that's where similarities end.

So, in NERO and many other games, these are the only rules.  As such, the meta has evolved to the point where power players have designed the packet to be as powerful as possible.  This means that players pack the birdseed extremely tight and cut the tails to allow the greatest accuracy and distance as possible.  But the trade off is that the packets are more dangerous.

I know I got a chuckle out of a few there.  But seriously, a well packed birdseed packet can do (and has done) serious eye damage.

To counter this, Accelerant actually has a rule regarding how tightly packed a packet can be.  Specifically, the cloth needs to be a little stretchy, and you need to be able to almost touch your fingers together if you pinch a packet between them.  This may lower the effective distance, but it does a great deal towards protecting players' eyes (and minimizing game downtime, a major goal of Accelerant).

I'm sure it will take players some getting used to, but it's a transition that needs to be made.  Your eyes will thank you for it!

Hipsacks from Flowtoys

I just have to throw up a quick review for this belt.  Mad props to our buddy Tyler who turned me on to this little gem.

Flowtoys is a site that sells stuff for people like fire dancers, poi spinners, dancers, etc.  What's great, is that they understand the need holding a bunch of stuff when you're moving around a lot.  And so they sell this badboy.

My other buddy picked one up for me, knowing that I wanted one, and I must say, it did not disappoint.  All the pockets made it super easy to keep thing separate when I was NPCing, and a few of the pockets are the ideal size for tags, small tins, packets, and what not.

I've only had the chance to use this as an NPC, but I imagine it's going to work even better for me as a PC.

My one complaint about it is that it rides a little small.  I had to loosen the shoelace that connects the belt, and may even want to get a longer shoelace because I'll be wearing layers of other stuff.  Also, the golden "laces" on the big pouch look like they're just painted on, but that's pretty easy to fix.

You can pick this guy up at Flowtoys.com for $40.  Feels like a steal to me at that price.  

Mythodea

Advertising is super important in the Larp world - giving an accurate and exciting view of the various games that we all love to play.

There's nothing worse than a bad Youtube video to send the hordes giggles and laughing in the other direction.

One group that does it right is Conquest (Mythodea).  I actually got chills watching it.  Although, I do have to say, I have no idea how the lady kept her dress up in the one scene.  Lot's of theatrical placing of duct tape?

Keep in mind that while it looks awesome, there's some pretty good editing in there.  Great shots of people in full-on costume.  A creepy overvoice.  And maybe best of all the use of real camera equipment.  It doesn't look like it was filmed in a backyard.  It looks professional.

Anyone up for Mythodea at some point soon? :-)

A Plot Person's "WAR" Chest

I've been doing plot for over fifteen years.  It started out as a binder, where I drew up extremely detailed plots.  Like, really detailed.  Up to 15 or 20 pages for an individual plotline.  I wanted to make sure every possible contingency was accounted for.

That stopped after about four years.  I realized that I can't expect PC's to follow my plotlines from point A to point B to point C.  It isn't fair to them and it totally cuts their creativity.  Trying to plan for every contingency was a nightmare and incredibly time consuming.

Creating RP Through Reps

One of the things that I am super big on is the use of "non-typical treasure" as a plot person.  They can be a wonderful tool and I have already extolled their virtues in another post done a few weeks ago.  Today, I would like to focus on how plot people can help encourage rp through the use of non-typical treasure.

One of the best ways to do this is to create items that require/encourage a number of people to work on together.  For example, a code or prophecy.  Encourages you to go and speak with other individuals, historians, etc. to figure it out.  Once at an event (Ashton) we received two prophecies and 11 of us spent the better part of the afternoon putting our combined knowledge of racial/cultural history and ingame events together trying to figure it out.  It was awesome.  And everyone wanted the prophecy, so there were a bunch of people copying it down.  Lot's of fun!

Another example, something that I put out, was a "Spirit Board" at Lumberton.  It is currently about 2, 000 miles away (the person moved), but she graciously sent me some pictures to use.