So, I’ve been having ideas over the last couple of years and figured I’d detail them, both in the hope that I’ll actually get started, and to possibly spark other people’s creativity.
Deadlands – It’s a western, but with magic and all manner of horrible gribblies. I had some notes about a riverboat cruise combined with a poker tournament (Yes, I’ve seen Maverick), but factor in intrigue between the rail companies, poker players (And those trying to steal the pot) and several gunfighters on a trip and there’s an idea which should make it past the after party. Some system would be needed for magic, but as for combat, if you can hit the other person with a Nerf dart, then you’ve wounded them. Plain and simple.
Ghost Hunters International – 1 goup of players is the investigators, the other are a mix of the local experts and the ghosts.You could take that further in a Cthulhu mythos direction, or the PC’s could be trainees of Ghostbusters International. There’s certainly interest in that given the new movie, though I’d set it in the new movie universe, just to annoy any whining man-babies. You wouldn’t be restricted to Ghostbusters, you could have the client, journalists and reps from head office checking how the trainees are doing etc.
Star Trek – The idea’s not mine on this one, but I’m part of the planning crew. Two ships (Federation and Klingon?) have been damaged/stuck somewhere, but can communicate through viewscreens (Ipads connected though wifi). The plan was a make it a con game.
Shadowrun – Along with Fallout, I love the universe , though haven’t spent much time in it. Either way, something post apocalyptic would be a nice change. I’d also be open to a retro-future style Cyberpunk 2020 style game. Or perhaps some sort of cross between The Running Man and Escape from New York?
Conan – I did some prep work on this a couple of years ago. The idea was a 1-shot set in a tavern in Arenjun, city of thieves. Someone has stolen an important thing and come to make the exchange. Others want the thing, or to stop others from getting the thing. Mercenaries looking for work, fences looking to make the exchange etc. Either way, put a load of people who aren’t trust worthy in any way, add in a pile of coin and an expensive magic thing and stir.
Adventurer School – This one snowballed somewhat. What began as Adventurer College: 10 Year Reunion: The Freeform morphed into a series of games where we see the characters start Adventurer School, then games based around the first day of high school, formal and college. Maybe another LARP that’s their athletics carnival?
Star Wars – a planned (2-3 sessions) game set in the Old Republic era. Probably set on Nar Shadda to allow for agents of both sides (Jedi and Sith) to appear. Perhaps some sort of negotiations at opening, but I haven’t had a plot for this one, just the idea.
So yes. At some point I should actually put something together, as opposed to the one I’ve actually said I’ll run, which is as follows: Star Wars: A Small Disturbance in the Force.The PC’s are a group of Jedi trainees in the Old Republic era, but the twist is they’re all the smaller races – Jawas, Chadra-Fan, Squibs etc. Oh, and one Wookiee. True, they aren’t small, but you try telling Massive Q no… š
So, a few more thoughts on the recent Zedtown, slightly more critical than previous: the QR code readers not working at the start was irritating, and the territory mechanic wasn’t really explained. Knowing that we had to start a quest at a point to use the code, as opposed to just being there would also have helped. I’m happy to give them leeway, as this stuff has to be tested, but explaining the process would have helped. Also, some indication of where the bases where at the start of the game, or an organised convoy to take us there like at Outbreak (Last year’s game at Olympic Park) would have been nice. Given we had 5 minutes before zombies could start tagging people, there was some pressure. I don’t want to sound like I’m ripping on the game all of a sudden, as I had a hell of a lot of fun, but now that the initial adrenaline has faded, there were some issues. Nothing that majorly detracted from the game, more stuff that will hopefully be corrected in future events.
I also regret not congratulating Jordon Raskopolous when I saw her in the queue. Well, congratulating’s the wrong word, more giving a quick note of support. But every time I saw her she was either in conversation or looked busy and I donāt want to interrupt. Besides, I have a bad record of interaction with geek celebs ā Iām still embarrassed about the idiot I made of myself when I met Richard Biggs (Dr Franklin from Babylon 5).
Other costume ideas that have been suggested (Not all are mine, I’m just listing ones I’ve heard):
Two people in a pantomime horse outfit. They’d get tagged early, but then two part ZOMBIE HORSE.
Judges. I assume you know what sort I mean. Because why the drokk not?
Original Series Star Trek crew. Bonus points for using mobile phones like comunicaters, acting as if they’re an away team and ripping their shirts when they become zombies.
As the counterpoint – a group of Klingons, or, the crew of the NSEA Protecter. I can picture it now, as a comrade get’s tagged, one of the crew grabs them (striking a dramatic pose) and quietly whispers ‘By Grabthar’s Hammer, by the suns of Warven, you shall be avenged…’ and then is promptly swarmed by the other zombies. Fuckin’ zombies – no respect for good drama.
Kurt Russell. I’ve already called dibs on Snake Plissken, but given time I can beard up like John Ruth from The Hateful Eight. Or, if you need variety, expand that to John Carpenter movies. You still have Snake Plissken and Jack Burton, but with bonus Rowdy Roddy Piper!
Colonial Marines. Because who hasn’t held up a Nerf rifle and quoted Aliens?
I’d also love to see some more roleplay put into it. I get it, it’s been 5 hours or running, you’re cold and tense and can’t be arsed getting back into character, but that’s some of the best time to. Given the atmosphere of the game and the paranoia it encourages, there’s a solid framework for this, and that’s without going into the faction based racism. It seems disturbingly natural as within minutes other players move from fellow survivors to “They aren’t us? Fuck those guys.” It’s only late game when the zombies have multiplied drastically that any sort of human solidarity starts to emergere, and even then any alliances are tense. Mind you, the Reds moving away from the would-be evac point during the late game countdown seemed kinda odd, but given the cold I can’t really blame them for not thinking.
Now, looking to future loadout changes:
Given the success of the Hammershot and the beauty of the holsters we bought the plan is to go two pistol, possibly with a Slingfire rifle as backup. Outide of the sheer awesome of the western theme, the Hammershots can put enough darts in the air to (hopefully) give most zombies pause and are quick on the reload to boot. How time flies – I remember when the Maverick was the height of Nerf weapons technology…
As I posted previusly, the Slingfire is a fine weapon (I’m a sucker for lever action blasters, even the terrible ones BuzzBee did a few years ago with the shells), but it doesn’t fire fast enough, which has led me to the Rapid Strike. I’d talk about how accuracy is needed, but it’s a toy dart gun and you aren’t going to get it. Since you can’t really get that it’s down to varying amounts of spray and pray. Most blasters will put the dart roughly in front of the barrel at a decent speed, but it’s how quickly you can get that next dart out that really matters. As for spray and pray, it goes against everything I hold dear when playing laser tag (Where I’ve been described as a cold blooded sniper), but the Rapid Strike does put a lot of darts out there.Ā Normally I go by the Rule of Cool, but I figure next event is time to experiment.Besides, I have one of them (Thank you Kmart $15 sale!), so why not use the thing? As for the annoucement of the next event, well I have two words:
(Looking back on this, I’m sure if you told 14 year old me I’d be doing this at 36, he’d have laughed. Oh, what a wonderful geek happy world we live in. ..)
Roughly 600 humans began the latest Zedtown. 1 got evacuated at the end.
Yep. Around 600 started, and 1 made it out. True, there were a number more who survived (I believe around 100, though I could be wrong), but werenāt at the evacuation point at game end.Ā But still, 600 go in and 1 comes out. That’s one hell of a Thunderdome.
Woooooooo!
That was my third Zedtown, second as player and it was a joy to participate in. I continued my track record of A:not surviving and B: managing to hide from photographers, both of which Iād like to change in future. If I had to sum up how I felt, it would be with one word: ow. My legs ache, shoulders are sore and the fingers on my left hand were cramped from holding a trigger for several hours. Praise be to Deep Heat, the miracle substance!Mercifully the paranoia is fading, though we had someone run past us at the shops post game and we almost went for our blasters. That might have been awkward.
The Cons:
The cold. Nothing the orgs can do about that, but I was damn glad for the Driza-Bone I had on.
The line. Look, the queue at set up is part of the experience, but having clearer signage as to which line is for what faction would have been useful. We almost made it to the front of one line only to find that we were in the wrong faction’s lineā¦
The Pros:
Really, everything else. The NPCās were fantastic, the mods helpful and polite and any issues we had were dealt with promptly. Sure, there were technical issues with a couple of things and the game did start late, but those are minor quibbles.
The level of costuming was itās usual high standard. There was one group clad in bright primary colours and tuts, Mario and Luigi, some nuns, one group in doctorās scrubs and a seemingly endless variety of tactical gear, slings and combat webbing. My group? We were the squad āThose with Gunsā, dressing old west style.
āThereās two kinds of people in the world my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig.ā
When the game began paranoia kicked in incredibly quickly. There was talk of a corridor near Gold Base that held a zombie spawn point with an improved zombie said to be guarding it. There wasnāt as much paranoia over hidden zombies as I remember from the previous event, at least that I saw, mostly cause my group hadnāt ticked the OZ box.
We spent some time foraging for fuel coasters and dodging zombies, the numbers of which were still under 100. Early on the survivors far outnumbered the zombies, but that doesnāt help things much. Panic and nerves are high, especially with Original Zombies (Or OZās) hidden away in each faction. We ran from Alpha Zombies (We didnāt know they could be killed at the time) and ended up taking āsticky eggsā (Ping Pong balls covered in something I think was lube) over to the shop, which was roughly 2/3rdās of the map away. It was during that quest that the first of my squad was lost, and I was separated from the second. Much travelling, some running and wracked nerves managed to bring my egg to the shop to claim my reward, that being a disgusted shopkeeper giving me a coin to take the egg away.
The shopkeeper’s ‘assistant.’ Never did find out if they managed to open the safe.
We trekked from one side of the map to the other, escorting an NPC with a flashy whirly device, said to be able to turn the territory into an evac point. The members of Red Faction seemingly let us have it, possibly in the name of human solidarity. They outnumbered us, and we had zombies at our backs, but the flashly whirly device was kept safe through itās countdown and the point was ours.
We got told to hold that point (While the rest of the group fought their way back to gold base), so we spent the next hour on the edge of the clearing watching lights moving through the trees, dealing quietly with any zombies who were nearby and trying not to freeze. The later it got, the louder the chants of āHORDE!ā became and the more we tried to sink into the earth, both so as not to get spotted but also because it might have been warmer there. As the time ticked down, we decided to blast our way into the safe zone and ran for it. Iāll admit, I might have been tagged as I was leaping into the zone ā I can only apologise and blame adrenaline.
The map itself.
Weād made it to the safe zone and evac, or so we thoughtā¦ Given the number of zombies the safe zone was decaying and the clock was ticking. After a countdown, the zombies charged and it was all over. Well, except for 1 lucky sod, who had hidden away under all our corpses. Nicely done sir!
For Next Game:
Carry more snacks with me. I was starving and cramping up by the end. Itās not often I say Iād have killed for a Mars Bar, but I was close by the end.
A torch, preferably gaffa taped to the barrel of my main blaster. I hadnāt expected it to get quite so dark as it did, though we were up around the top of the map away from buildings and light sources. This didnāt help much when car headlights from the nearby street kept seeming like torchlight.
A different loadout. The Slingfireās a fine weapon, but it fires a bit too slow and the reload is cumbersome. Weāre torn between twin pistols (Hammershots most likely), or a full auto rifle (Most likely the Rapid Strike). At the very least something pump action, maybe one of the Rebelle Crossbows.
Night Vision Goggles. I kid, mostly. At the very least, a set of binoculars or scope would have come in handy.
Radios. Sure, they donāt fit the old west theme, but they could have been useful when we got seperated.
Costuming: More comfortable shoes for one thing. Weāre looking at coming as Templars, from the roleplaying game Deadlands: Hell on Earth for the next event, both to keep the post apocalyptic theme going and to stand out again.
So Zedtown is a few days (At the time of writing) anticipation is high, though their social media currently seems flooded by people making “Is my blaster OK” jokes after this post.
Loosely inspited by the group at UK game Zombie LARP who turned up as Morris Dancers, a housemate and I were kicking around costume ideas. The standard approach of tactical gear was out, as there’s plenty of other groups doing that.Labcoat clad corporate scientists was an idea, but we settled on dressing old west, mostly due to a shared love of the works of Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone. A drizabone thanks to Ebay and a holster from Artisan Leather Crafts and I’m ready to go.
It took a while to narrow down that idea though – some of the others on the list are as follows: Archers – everyone use Nerf bows or crossbows and cosplays as famous archers. One of my housemates has claimed Green Arrow and I’ve called dibs on Hawkeye. Hey, I like purple.
Arnold – Schwarzenegger characters, complete with either abs drawn on in texta or foam mucles suits. I’d expect a large number of T-800’s but me? Dutch Schaefer. Because zombies bleed, and if it bleeds, we can kill it. š Hopefully I’d also be able to make to when the escape chopper arrives… Normally I’d go as Conan (I’m about as close to REH’s Conan as Schwarzenegger was, though I’ ll defend the first movie till the cows come home), but since melee combat is banned by the system*, there’s not much point.
There was an afterthought to that one, of going as 80’s action movie characters or the Expendables, but that’s more military than I prefer. I’ve got nothing against the guys who wear tac gear and carry around more foam (darts) than a mattress factory, but that style of play isn’t for me. Still, going as John McClane with a dart blaster taped to my back isn’t a bad idea.
Flash Gordon –Ā Given how often ‘I love you’ in my house is followed by “But we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!” this seemsĀ a natural idea. My wife is very enthusiastic, more so to see me dressed as Prince Vultan than to play. I’ve already got the beard, though I’ll need to carry a loud hailer to come close to matching BRIAN BLESSED for volume. And we’d need someone called Gordon to frequently check in on. Granted, running in that kit wouldn’t exactly be practical, but that get’s you Zombie Vultan.
3 days to go. I should probably watch Commando and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly again in preperation…
*I’m fine with that by the way. As much as I’ve love to bring a longsword along with me, it’s nor worth the risk. 500+ excitable people, few of which would have any sort of training and that’s more potential for injuries than I’d be OK with. Besides, spending the game in a block of pikemen and musketeers would just be dull. Efficient, but dull.
Out on the endless ocean
We tear along the gales
With rum inside our bellies warm
And freedom in our sails
A wayward bunch of scoundrels
Assassins, thieves and slaves
The rich and blue bloods fear us when
We hunt upon the waves
Beneath the Black Flag – Miracle of Sound
Ā So, thanks to a discovery recently, Iāve had a thought about running a pirate LARP. Mostly owing to Ian Sturrock, a British game writer, whose bio mentioned heād run a game called Cutlass Island (described as a cross between Itās a Knockout and Pirates of the Caribbean), which has to be one of the greatest ideas known to mankind. Sliced bread? BAH!
Ā So, the ship has been sunk (By storm, battle, or kraken) and the survivors struggle to shore, dragging what weapons and supplies they can, and must now decide what to do. That was the basic idea, closely followed by the possibility of running it on a beach somewhere for that extra bit of atmosphere. Finding a good location is a start, preferably free of civilians and with a fire pit or two nearby, though having gamed on public beaches before itās not an insurmountable hurdle. (Iām still curious to know what that fisherman must have thought of the group of heavily armed crusaders walking down to the beach during the first St Wolfgangās Vampire Hunters.)
Do they elect a new captain, break into petty recriminations or just get roaring drunk? Are there survivors from other ships, leading into an uneasy alliance for survival? Or are the others plotting to wait till they sleep and cut their throats? Paranoiaās always a fun tool in a GMās arsenal, with the occasional glimpse of something through the trees, or sentryās being picked off unawares. (During St Wolfgangās we didnāt spot the first vampire till near midnight, which only made the wait more maddening) Players donāt necessarily have to play pirates or sailors, they could be merchants, travellers, apprentice sorcerers or any sort of character with a reasonable excuse to be at sea.
Could there be food and fresh water inland? Itās possible. There could also be mysterious natives from an aeonās old civilisation, escaped slaves desperate to escape or degenerate cannibals. There could be survivors of other wrecks desperate to escape or other horrifying monsters. It could even be the legendary island of the scantily clad nymphomaniacs where the rivers flow with wine, but you arenāt that lucky are you? Does someone have a map (Maybe even one not written on human skin), heard rumours in a tavern or have you delved into the iron-bound books of Vathelos the Blind in search of hints of what grisly fate awaits you here? Or is it just wrong place, wrong time?
Iām not interested in debating ruleās systems at the moment. All I do know is Iād prefer to keep things as rules light as possible, which brings to mind the ruleset used for Hyborian Tales. Perhaps an adaption of Barbarians of Lemuria (A system I adore), the career stytem fits well. Weapons would be LARP safe, possibly with Nerf bows and crossbows mixed in. Alternatively, it could come down to card draws or rock paper scissors for combat, but I really enjoy live combat, so thatās not my preferred approach. Could be put to a vote of prospective players. Moving alongā¦
Ā Then, Conan. Itās a setting I adore, being a huge fan of the original stories and where no shortage of piratical shenanigans can be had (In his time Conan sailed with all 4 of the Hyborian Ageās major pirate bands), along with oceans over flowing with lost islands stuffed full of monsters and loot thatās worth the ransom of kings. Thereās an eternal enmity between the Barachan Pirates and the Zingaran Freebooters, while the Red Brotherhood of the Vilayet Sea plunder the Turanian galleys, striking back at those that held them as slaves. The last major pirate group of the setting is the Black Corsairs of the Southern Islands, from whom Belit, the Queen of the Black Coast emerged to sweep the coast with fire and sword.Ā Iād be most likely to set a game on the western oceans, which also leaves open the Picts (The Picts of the Conan saga were more like American Indians rather than the proto-Scots of Howards Bran Mak Morn tales) and if we go really far North, the Vanir (Read Vikings). Either way, the chance of hell or plunder is a good one.
There were some seventy of them, a wild horde made up of men from many nations: Kothians, Zamorians, Brythunians, Corinthians, Shemites. Their features reflected the wildness of their natures. Many bore the scars of the lash or the branding-iron. There were cropped ears, slit noses, gaping eye-sockets, stumps of wristsāmarks of the hangman as well as scars of battle. Most of them were half naked, but the garments they wore were fine; gold-braided jackets, satin girdles, silken breeches, tattered, stained with tar and blood, vied with pieces of silver- chased armour. Jewels glittered in nose-rings and earrings, and in the hilts of their daggers.
Robert E Howard – Iron Shadows on the Moon
The main method of advancement among crews is simple and to the point ā have the support of enough of the crew, then kill the captain in a fair fight and youāre sweet. Ā But, how can you can be sure of their support? Have you led them to enough loot, or are they drunk enough? Or are you just going to have them all killed ‘accidentally’ and thuse leave yourself with a larger share of the loot?
I guess the only other thing to work out at the moment is what theyāre going to do outside that ā whatās the final goal for the adventure? Survive? Make it through the night, or to another ship? Or find the horrific monstrosity guarding the treasure at the heart of the island and kill it? Or a combination of all three? *ponders*
(Disclaimer: the following is written entirely from my point of view. Any and all inaccuracies, misconceptions and typos are mine.)
Rumours swirl of dark events in the city. The CDCP have set up quarantine zones throughout the area, but are denying anything is wrong. Whispers speak of the walking dead and other, darker, creatures. The Apocalypse has come, but will you survive the night? Gather your comrades and load your weapons amigo, and welcome to Zedtown.
Zedtown is an 850 player zombie apocalypse Nerf war that ran at Sydney Olympic Park last Sunday. Basically, itās a giant game of tag played by adults with toy dart blasters. The basics are as follows: if you shoot a zombie, they have to return to re-spawn. If a zombie tags you, you become one of them. Simple. That’s really all you need to know, though being able to engage the following helps:
Your inner 10 year old.
Your inner paranoid maniac.
The feeling of machismo you get when sugared up and watching 80ās action movies.
At the start of the game, the humans are split into 3 factions (Red, Yellow and Blue), with a small number of zombies released about 20 minutes in.Thereās also 3 special zombies, known as Original Zombies, or OZ for short. The OZās are special in that theyāre in disguise, resembling normal human survivors, and from 5 minutes in can start tagging them and turning them into zombies. This results in Cold War levels of paranoia, with a frantic race to try to identify them being one of the few things that the factions will work together as one to complete. The squad Iād joined up with (Not knowing any other players in my faction) kept weapons trained on me for most of the opening hour (To be honest, I canāt blame them), with a joke from another player almost leading to shots being fired. Nerves were starting to fray early. This event had introduced survivor vs survivor fire, which seemed to work well, despite some complaints leading up to it. (Basically, if you got shot by another human, you had to go back to your factionās base to respawn.) It added an extra element of āHumans are dicks and will fuck each other over happily!ā when the sensible response is to combine forces and fight as one. Maybe next eventā¦
The pre game briefing, shortly before all hell broke loose.
Iām now horribly tempted to sign up as an OZ for a future event and keep myself hidden until about an hour to go. Rest assured Iām not actually going to, cause that shit takes effort and I have a horrible poker face (Seriously, Iām an awful gambler ā even in video games). But the looks on peopleās faces if you could pull that off would be magnificent.)
Who else would you trust to save the planet?
Other random moments of awesome: Incredibly Shouty Guy and his slightly quieter counterpart, Slightly Less Shouty Guy Whoād Lost His Voice. The incredibly efficient Russians and Red Berets. Walking with a horde of zombiers to the last enclave of survivors chanting “ONE OF US!” The observation from a squad member that the factional conflict is showing us how racism works (We hadn’t met them and already hated Blue and Yellow) and discussing whether hiking up my kilt at zombies would break the rules (Yes, I was wearing underpants. I don’t kilt up without them, no matter how much my wife complains) The Holly Jolly Christmas Squad (Who attended the previous game dressed as the Brides from Mad Max: Fury Road), and the dancing zombie with a speaker on his back (Iām guessing in homage to Doof Zombie from the last event who apparently had thrown his back out and couldnāt attend). Escorting a zombie close to our base who claimed to want to talk peace. It was an interesting idea (Leaving aside the whole āzombies wanting peace thingā which was pretty bloody weird), but an NPC corporate exec shot him, so that idea went down the gurgler pretty quick. And at some point Iāll make it out to investigate the bar thatās hidden somewhere in the play area.
Survivors, strut!
FUN FACT: We also discovered that yelling āWOAHā repeatedly and randomly pointing guns at people is an impressive distraction tactic.
At first, the zombies are seen in small groups, and a group of survivors who donāt panic can deal with them without too much trouble. Thereās also the Witch, a fearsome creature considered unkillable (Rumours persisted she could be pacified with sugar, with our faction being issued with fun size Snickers bars just in case). Initially restrained by the CDCP (You could go visit the cage she was in!), she broke free about halfway through the day and roamed the grounds, a terrifying scream announcing her presence. She swiftly became an object of such fear that large groups of players would simply run rather than confront her, which worked wonderfully. Case in point: late in the game (After Iād become a zombie) we were pursuing a large group of players whoād formed a defensive line. It was Mexican standoff time and all we needed was the guy whoād been whistling the theme to āThe Good, the Bad and the Uglyā to turn up to help soundtrack things. Then one of our group screamed and the players (Who had been looking rather cocky up till that point) broke and ran immediately. Causing fear is a wonderful thing.
The CDCP and their… creation.
Itās when the numbers start getting higher (And they do) that things start to tip in the zombies favour. Watching the survivor count, or the faces of other players, drop when the count is announced getās tense.Ā In fact, itās remarkable easy to buy into the whole experience ā at a certain point it stops being a game and turns into a desperate life or death struggle, albeit one that we all survive.Ā And thatās even before it got dark, which amped up the paranoia even further. Walking through the stadium watching over the group planting beacons, then hearing the zombies scream over the other side was a real āoh, buggerā moment. It was shortly after that when I got tagged, while hiding behind a fence. I was a bit miffed, but I’d laster till nightfall, much farther than I’d expected to get, so I was well chuffed.
In all fairness, if you thought she was coming round the corner, you’d run too.
FUN FACT: Cowardice and unfitness is a remarkably useful survival strategy! Not a good or efficient one, but it worked well for me.
From 850 survivors at the start, only 13 brave and lucky souls made it out to be evacuated.Ā A mere 13. Around 48 made it out of the last event, and that only had 700 players. The Blue and Yellow bases both fell relatively early (I believe it was still light – I didn’t spend much time at Blue), and there seemed to be a last stand late at the Red base, but I was walking back to the re-spawn area and missed it. It was a glorious day, albeit one that my legs are still complaining about.
Looking to survive the next event? Here’s some tips that may help you!*
Comfortable footwear. I canāt stress this enough. Comfy shoes are a must, even before weapons. You can make it through the day with minimal firepower, but you still need to be able to move.
Bathrooms. Shelter is useful, as are comrades whoāll watch your back. But knowing a safe spot to pee is incredibly useful. Even more so when you badly need to and realize the closest toilet is in enemy territory.
Comfortable costume. It will be hot, you will be running. Being decked out in masses of camo gear may feel awesome, but thereās no point in wearing it if youāre going to melt. I canāt throw stones though, as I (For reasons unknown but Iām claiming awesome) decided to wear a kilt. Why? Breeze. Breeze is good.
Stake out sources of water and food. Ideally, youāll have a bottle of water (Which you’ll need) and some snacks in a back pack, but more never hurts. Donāt forget though: the zombies also know this.
As for weapons, thereās two main schools of thought on this. The first is pack a pistol, maybe a small rifle and go lightly armed, relying on stealth, speed and cunning. The second is to tool up with the largest most intimidating blaster you can find, carry enough ammo to last you through a small war (Or a Schwarzenegger film) and spend the day quoting Jesse Ventura from Predator. Both schools of thought have their adherents and itās not up to me to pass judgement. I prefer to run lightly armed myself, mainly because Iām lazy and unfit and prefer to have less stuff to carry to and from the event. Whatever works for you and, more importantly, let’s you feel like the lead in your own action movie.
Thereās no word on the next event, but Iām itching for it. One of the housemates and I are planning to costume like weāre in a spaghetti western. Between us we should be able to handle a fistful of zombies…
Musing recently about the lack of an Assassinās Creed style James Bond game (How has this not been done already?), the thought, as my brain frequently does, turned to LARP. What followed was a couple of minutes of brainstorming with a housemate and a train ride or two of writing.
1: SPECTRE
Itās that time of year when Number 1 summons all of SPECTREās top brass for the annual meeting. Sadly, owing to the activities of a certain British secret agent who shall remain nameless (*cough* Danger Mouse! *cough*), things arenāt looking too good. Can you wheedle enough cash/resources/favours out of the other top brass in time to please Number 1? Perhaps youāve been skimming and need to get some fast cash, dislike another boss enough to frame them to want to move up the pecking order or are you just James Bond in disguise?
So, what sort of shenanigans can SPECTRE’s top brass get into before Number 1 show’s up? Each member will have a different area of expertise (Smuggling, trafficking, extortion etc) and a certain amount of resources. Naturally, everyone is running short on something and everyone should have something the other wants. Oh, and evereyone hates each other. No honour among thieves after all.
2: PRE CREDITāS SEQUENCE
Obviously/sadly most LARPās wonāt have the resources to build a lair in a hollowed out volcano, but the pre credits scene from Goldfinger, something resembling that is more doable. What follows is a 10-20 player NERF war scenario.
In short: M has ordered James Bond to blow up a SPECTRE facility, preferably without being detected. Runs should be from 10-20 minutes each (Depending on the venue size), with Bondās player changing each time.
1 player is James Bond, everyone else is a SPECTRE mook. Bond must infiltrate the enemy base, plant the explosives and get out unseen. He has a silenced* pistol with 2 full loads of ammo, the explosives he needs (Set to a short timer), and his wits. His pistol will kill anything in one shot (No matter where it hits), but he has limited ammunition and probably be shouldnāt be pissing about trying to kill everyone he can when thereās women with sexual innuendo based names he could be trying to seduce. Priorities right?
The mooks start out unaware of Bond and wander the area at random. They can be taken out either with pistol fire, or by incapacitating them with either a tap on the shoulder (Simulating the Bond/Shatner/3rd Doctor shoulder chop) or by wrapping something soft around their throat from behind ā maybe crepe paper or a sock, this takes them down immediately. Bondās player can drag them into cover if they wish (with the help of the knocked out player). Any mook dragged into a bush must hide and can give no information if found by other players.
The mooks all carry machine pistols (fly wheel guns, in order to distinguish themselves from Bondās gun). There are several alarms bells scattered throughout the map, as well as the location that Bond has to set the explosives at, which will change with each run. (This is done to stop sneaky players noting where everything is in order to help themselves along.) All mooks will know where the alarms areā if the alarm bell is rung all mooks should head towards the alarm area.
(Whether or not Bonds player wants to wear a tux underneath their spy clothes isnāt necessary, but is highly encouraged.)
The difficulty could be boosted by adding more mooks, shortening the time or allowing them to make a loud gurgling sound when taken down. Alternatively, you could add a SPECTRE assassin stalking Bond (See the opening scenes of From Russia with Love), or another freakish henchman such as Oddjob or Jaws. I’ve not seen a LARP safe version of Oddjob’s hat, but I’m sure one could be worked up.
*Obviously we canāt fully silence a Nerf gun, but between the mooks having motorised guns and playing dumb, we should be able to represent it.
First off, in some unrelated good news ā Skindred are working on their latest album, Testament are halfway through theirs and the rumblings about Iron Maiden recording (combined with their most recent Christmas card having an anagram of the word tour on it), which meansĀ Iām going to be one happy head-banger this year.
Anyhow, the actual point of this entry: Characters. They’re the second most annoying thing about RPGās, I findĀ the first being choosing names for said characters. Most people will have one or two ideas, and settle on one without too much trouble. Iām the opposite. Ideas pour out of my brain in a flood and like floods, most of them tend to be awful. It takes a lot of sifting through the garbage to find either A: a workable concept thatās going to be fun to play for more than two sessionsĀ and B: something Iām going to be able to play well. Thereās no point in playing a character that I know Iām going to be shithouse at, unless the plan is to completely sabotage things and that’s just not that fun.
BE WARNED: Iām not just going to tell you about my character, Iām going to tell you about characters Iām not playing.
So, thereās two LARPās Iām looking at playing in ā the first is Clans of Elgardt, a fantasy LARP.Ā Now, given itās roughly based on Medieval Europe, youād expect some sort of crusader or barbarian (Especially given my beard at the moment). Nope! Instead, Iām planning a character from the shifting sands of Kharmen, a desert region where the locals ride ships on the sand that are greased with stomach acids from the Dragon Snakes of the area. Itās no shirtless Viking with axes out the wazoo, but itās still pretty fucking metal. (If you disagree, please remember Iron Maiden wrote a song about Dune and it doesnāt get much more metal than that.)
There was also the following exchange with my wife:
ME: Basically, it means Iād be dressed like Ardeth Bey.
WIFE: Who?
ME: Oded Fehr, from The Mummy.
WIFE: [BRIEF LOOK OF SHOCK, FOLLOWED BY NOISE BEST DESCRIBED AS PURRING] Yes, you could do thatā¦
Now Iāll admit that choosing a character based on the reaction of your spouse to the costume is far from the most optimal way to do things, BUT ITāS THE ONLY WAY I KNOW. Besides, I still remember the look on her face when I took her to her first LARP and emerged dressed as a pirate. She was happy. [FADE TO BLACK] The other advantageĀ of this isĀ Iāll mostly be dressed in light linen/cotton robes that means Iāll be able to costume in the Australian summer and not DIE IMMEDIATELY of heatstroke, which is a really useful thing.
The second is Horizon, a game set in the world ofĀ Warhammer 40,000 from theĀ Games WorkshopĀ miniatures game.Ā For those of you not familiar with the setting the phrase ‘In the Ā GRIMDARKNESS of the GRIMDARK far future there is only GRIMDARK‘ should sum it up nicely.
Iāve been kicking around a bunch of ideas for the last few weeks, most of them unworkable or little more than a one-note joke. Now, I did finally decide on one,Ā but first, hereās the ideas I didnāt choose. Hey, you were warned.
The first was a Scum (Yes, that is a character class), who makes a living modifying and selling weaponry. The twist is, heās actually working for an Inquisitor, whoās told him to keep being useful and he wonāt get shot. Thereās the hope of becoming one of his acolytes, because I’d love to enterĀ a room and yell āImperial Inquisition!ā and watch the resulting mess of cries of “WHAT?”Ā and āI wasnāt expecting thatā¦ā Dick move, but a hopefully amusing one. Next was a former Imperial Navy pilot turned smuggler (Gee, I wonder where that idea came fromā¦), with the third a Preacher formerly attached to an Imperial Guard unit, who carried a prayer book and flamethrower.Ā (In 40K, a fire and brimstone approach to religion tends to feature real fire.)
However, the idea I settled on was a Rogue Trader, but one born on a Forge WorldĀ What is that you ask? Think a merchant ship captain with far too much power who was born on a wold that’s a giant factory ruled over by priests who worship technology despite having no idea how to build most of it. It’s an odd mess, but so is most of the 40K setting. Iām still sorting out the finer details (Personality, family membersĀ etc), but it’s coming together quite nicely and gives me the chance for some elaborate costume, which as you should know by now, is half the reason I LARP.
Ā Mmmm head tubes. Sexy, sexy head tubes.
So yeah, that’s beenĀ where most of my spare brain power has been devoted of late. Until next time, be seeing you…
Woooooooo!
āThereās two kinds of people in the world my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig.ā
The map itself.
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