Does anyone LARP?

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

I don’t even know if I’m saying it right.  My (28 y/o) sister has found a Geek Camp nearby. It’s family friendly and my almost 11 year old son and his best friend have found out about it and desperately want to go.  If it matters, all three are autistic(my sister does not prefer first person language so I use her preferred terminology) of various highish-levels of function. My sister is probably the lowest functioning and would not be able to go on her own or take the boys with her, and my parents think fantasy anything is beyond stupid.  
She’s asked me to go. This is the first thing in her life she’s ever really wanted to do that involved other people or socialization.  My geeky son and his BFF would love this camp.  There’s board games, RPGs, Pokémon stuff and the whole thing is really a medieval LARP. It’s a week long and we would stay in my large camper on-site. There’s childcare for youngest two kids, though I suspect my daughter would love to interact.

I want to make this happen for my loved ones but it is totally out of my element. And as an autistic person myself, I really hate things that are out of my element. (My son’s BFF’s mom would also come. She’s been my BFF since we were 14, and she’s done a couple RPGs and says I’d be just fine. I’m not convinced.)

Do I need elf ears? A cloak? Brush up on my Middle Earth lore? Help!!!!

Edited April 14, 2021 by Mrs Tiggywinkle

[Katy]

I don’t but I have 2 geeky friends that do. One of them said she learned all about it on YouTube, so I would start there. 

[Spryte]

I don’t, but DSS does and I expect that DS will someday.  You are so cool for doing this for your sister and kids!
 

Some college friends I had way back used to go to week long events, and had a blast.  They definitely took it seriously - medieval speech, cloaks, they went so far as to make medieval tents. There was a definite community.

[Spryte]

Oh!  One more thought ... can you get in touch with the organizers?  I’d probably try to do that, to get a feel for the culture and find out what’s the norm there.

[Terabith]

I don't but my oldest especially has been drooling over it for years.  It looks really fun!  I agree with talking to the organizers about the culture.  There will probably be lots of people in costume, but I highly doubt you will NEED to be in costume.

[City Mouse]

My kids would love something like that. If you don’t want to participate, could you just bring a camp chair and some books to read or other things to do. Or if you aren’t interested in the RPG part, you could lay board games or Pokemon. I learned to play the Pokemon card came just to give my DS someone to play with. The game has a lot of parts to learn, but it isn’t bad once you figure everything out.

[vonfirmath]

36 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

I don’t even know if I’m saying it right.  My (28 y/o) sister has found a Geek Camp nearby. It’s family friendly and my almost 11 year old son and his best friend have found out about it and desperately want to go.  If it matters, all three are autistic(my sister does not prefer first person language so I use her preferred terminology) of various highish-levels of function. My sister is probably the lowest functioning and would not be able to go on her own or take the boys with her, and my parents think fantasy anything is beyond stupid.  
She’s asked me to go. This is the first thing in her life she’s ever really wanted to do that involved other people or socialization.  My geeky son and his BFF would love this camp.  There’s board games, RPGs, Pokémon stuff and the whole thing is really a medieval LARP. It’s a week long and we would stay in my large camper on-site. There’s childcare for youngest two kids, though I suspect my daughter would love to interact.

I want to make this happen for my loved ones but it is totally out of my element. And as an autistic person myself, I really hate things that are out of my element. (My son’s BFF’s mom would also come. She’s been my BFF since we were 14, and she’s done a couple RPGs and says I’d be just fine. I’m not convinced.)

Do I need elf ears? A cloak? Brush up on my Middle Earth lore? Help!!!!

I used to LARP -- but it was Werewof LARP not medieval. Yes we would dress up. That was part of the fun (I never went to a week long event. I had a local group that met weekly)

 

There's a BIG medieval LARP community (Complete with kingdoms and all) but I believe even for them there is tolerance for those new to the hobby and those that have gotten more into it.

Edited April 14, 2021 by vonfirmath

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

https://greatescapeadventures.net/greatescapeonthelake2021/
 

this is what my sister found.  I’ve spoken to the organizers to make sure it was appropriate for two 11 year old boys and(probably) my 9 year old daughter.  They seemed extremely nice and excited to get kids involved.  I started to explain the autism component between the kids and my sister and then realized the person I was speaking with was likely on the spectrum herself.

I was a philosophy and creative writing major in the early 2000s.  Tolkien was huge as the LOTR movies were coming out. I may or may not have owned a cloak myself....this just feels totally out of my element.

i know some rudimentary Pokémon gaming as its one of my son’s obsessions. That and King Arthur, so this is perfect for him.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Mrs Tiggywinkle

[vonfirmath]

1 minute ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said:

https://greatescapeadventures.net/greatescapeonthelake2021/
 

this is what my sister found.  I’ve spoken to the organizers to make sure it was appropriate for two 11 year old boys and(probably) my 9 year old daughter.  They seemed extremely nice and excited to get kids involved.  I started to explain the autism component between the kids and my sister and then realized the person I was speaking with was likely on the spectrum herself.

I was a philosophy and creative writing major in the early 2000s.  Tolkien was huge as the LOTR movies were coming out. I may or may not have owned a cloak myself....

I wanted a cloak so bad I wrote it into my "Going away" outfit from my wedding and my dad made it for me. I still have it and use it for church, etc.

 

(My wedding dress was also styled after something I saw in the Lord of the Rings movies and liked the look of)

 

[vonfirmath]

Looking at the website -- this almost looks more like a Convention (like Norwescon or WorldCon) held out in a camping environment (And lasting longer) than a RPG-all-the-time type event. At conventions, some people come in costume and others are in street clothes.

 

[elegantlion]

I don't technically LARP, but I do garb up (medieval) just for the heck of it sometimes. Questions I would consider (which you don't have to answer here): 

• would you go all week? If so, I'd set parameters on what would happen if doesn't work out as planned. Do you stay? Go home? Etc.
• I'd encourage garb for those that want to - no requirements. At our Ren faire, many people garb, some from really basic to all out. Basic attire would be full length tunic for women/girls, knee length tunic men/boys with cotton/linen pants. Shoes can be basic boots or slip on. (consider the grounds and if it might be muddy- our Ren faire grounds are super authentic and really muddy sometimes)
• will everyone want to try something new or will they just walk around and watch. I would push to have participation - it's more fun. 
• have fun. Ask questions of people. 

[catz]

It was actually really big here with a bunch of homeschoolers prior to covid.  There was an outdoor LARP meet up weekly.  

I would bet there won't be any forced participation.  I'd bring my knitting, some reading material, etc and be ready to kick back and relax and see if the mood moves you at all.  Since there is just a food and lodging option, I am guessing there will be others just along for the ride and it looks like their is lots of outdoor amenities on site too.  Actually for the weekend with a BFF and a couple of your kids that come along, sounds fun!

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

56 minutes ago, elegantlion said:

I don't technically LARP, but I do garb up (medieval) just for the heck of it sometimes. Questions I would consider (which you don't have to answer here): 

• would you go all week? If so, I'd set parameters on what would happen if doesn't work out as planned. Do you stay? Go home? Etc.
• I'd encourage garb for those that want to - no requirements. At our Ren faire, many people garb, some from really basic to all out. Basic attire would be full length tunic for women/girls, knee length tunic men/boys with cotton/linen pants. Shoes can be basic boots or slip on. (consider the grounds and if it might be muddy- our Ren faire grounds are super authentic and really muddy sometimes)
• will everyone want to try something new or will they just walk around and watch. I would push to have participation - it's more fun. 
• have fun. Ask questions of people. 

It’s only ten minutes from my house, so we may not even stay overnight.  Just kind of come and go as we please.  I’m familiar with the camp and the grounds are very nice. It’s right on a small lake with a nice beach area too.

The organizers sound like it’s pretty low expectations.  

[Ailaena]

You don’t need to dress up or participate, but people are extremely welcoming and very much want new people to play with.  They won’t even notice that you feel awkward 😉

Your kids will have loads of fun but please, please, please don’t expect the different gaming/play groups to be babysitters.  When you ask, “is it ok if my kid plays,” they will almost invariably answer yes and then be forever annoyed when your kid cannot sit still or follow rules.  It would probably be best if you were quite nearby for the first day, or so, in case the kids need anything.  If for no other reason than to point them to the restrooms.

If you’re going for all the days, you can probably get a full cabin with the six of you, will would be nice!

ngl, I’m kind of jealous because I haven’t played a board game in person with people outside my family in AGESSS