FAQ

Here are some answers to questions I get asked frequently. Is your question not on here? Ask away at nelarpnews@gmail.com!


My daughter/son really wants to attend a LARPing event, but has never done any LARPing before. Where should they start? What will they need by way of costuming etc.?

There are several LARP camps (as in summer camps) around the country which are a good place to start, especially for younger children.

For instance:

• Wizards & Warriors Camp is in Westford and Burlington, MA. Here's an interview with their director.
• The Arlington Enrichment Collaborative runs the LARP Adventure Program for middle- and high-school students.
• The Wayfinder Experience in upstate New York run day-long larp camps for eight-and-ups and overnight larp camps for teens.
• They're out of this blog's scope, but Renaissance Adventures has a number of locations in the western US.

Frankly they all sound like a lot of fun. :-)

If you sign your child up for one, the camp should be able to tell you what you'll need by way of costuming, preparation, and so on.


How do I find LARPs in my area?

There are several directories (databases, lists, whatever you want to call them) of LARPs in the US and around the world.

For instance:

• Shade's LARP List
• Larping.org's LARP list

(Is one of these links defunct? Please e-mail me at nelarpnews@gmail.com, and I'll remove it.)


How do I find out about what LARP events are happening when?

Northeast LARP News maintains a calendar of all the events posted, which also provides links to other LARP event calendars.


I want to write a LARP! Where do I start?

First you should probably play some LARPs, if you haven't already. (It may seem obvious, but trust me, it isn't to everyone.) This will give you a huge leg up in terms of the terminology and the expectations of your players.

Local LARP groups sometimes run LARP-writing boot-camps (Intercon's Iron GM competition or NELCO's BYOG) which can be a great way to get started with a short game, a built-in audience, and a bunch of other excited newish people to work with.

There are a few getting-started resources. They vary a lot depending on their intended audience, and are mostly targeted at particular regional LARPing cultures rather than documenting the One True Way to write a LARP. For instance:

• "So You Want to be a GM" slides (from a lecture hosted by the MIT Assassin's Guild)