You're Having A LARP!

They’re the geeks other geeks think are weird: across the country, grown men and women are pretending to be elves, overlords and space marines. But Hot Press finds the world of live action role play is actually, well… kind of fun

Valerie Flynn, 09 Nov 2010

The Grand Duke of 18th-century Little Siskington has convened a council of lords, ladies and bishops to find solutions to his many problems.

What is the duchy to do about the upstart ‘middle class’ of commoners? How to raise revenues without taxing grain, a move which could lead to a revolt? What is to be the diplomatic policy towards the French, currently in the throes of revolution?

This is the premise for a live action role play (LARP), taking place in a function room of a Dublin hotel. The 25 or so adult participants are all determinedly in character; dodgy German accents and faux-Regency language are de rigueur. Everyone wears nametags with things like Lord Pimperninkel and Lord Jaeger-Landky written on them. A few people have gone for the “formal dress” recommended in the game’s blurb – one guy even has a pretty convincing powdered wig – but many are just wearing jeans and t-shirts. There are a handful of female participants, elegantly fluttering fans made of folded-up printer paper.

Meanwhile, in the corridor outside, a group of five or six guys, ranging in age from 11 or so to mid-30s, are dressed in what look like red, oversized papier-mâché shoulder pads. They’re space marines, apparently, and their mission involves infiltrating the upstairs of the hotel.

Having just been beaten back by their alien enemies, the space marines are regrouping, loading up nerf guns for the next battle. Passers-by are solicitous (“Well, how are the space marines? Get upstairs yet?”).

At the shout of “space marines, go!” the attack is launched and, as the last foam bullet falls to the carpet, it’s clear that the aliens have lost this round. The aliens themselves seem pretty blasé about it; they come back to life and requisition an armchair to shelter behind. It, em, looks like this could go on for a while.

PLASTIC FARMYARD ANIMALS

Gaelcon is the biggest gaming convention in Ireland devoted to non-electronic gaming, and on Saturday, October 23, it’s thronged. The cavernous ballroom of the hotel is mostly given over to rows of tables peopled by inch-high Warhammer figurines. Men (yes, they’re all men) are busy rolling dice and pondering their next move. There are scores of other tables hosting everything from high fantasy down to Scrabble, as well as one inscrutable set-up that involves plastic farmyard animals.

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