LARP campaigns are hard. Most good LARP games are one-shots. Which is popular at the tabletop too. Look at Spirit of the Century for example, which is designed for one-shots since the characters can't grow or change to any great degree.
Some LARP campaigns work with players earning extra bennies by playing NPCs. Or even better, you set up a troupe style of play with each player doing multiple characters at different levels of interaction. Ars Magica is a good example of how that can work on the tabletop. Games either then occur with everyone at the same level, or in a natural pyramid.
The problem is that most Vampire LARP storytellers can't envisage anything other than a power-political play.* There are other alternatives which focus play outside the group, but they require more effort to craft. And the Camarilla regulation system encourages this sort of thing.
As for locating a good gaming group, I can't help you. Scheduling is always really bad, especially if, like me, you like large groups and you aren't sure of your own ability to make games due to illness. =8(
If I was healthy and had a venue I'd seriously consider running competitive games. Perhaps setting up another mega-dungeon challenge. Post public rules for character generation, and welcome any team to try and get something out of the dungeon.
But as much as I'd like to do this I'd like to play in it even more, so perhaps a round robin of tournament dungeons, with scorecards for teams. Form a team, bring a dungeon, and compete in each other's dungeons for victory. [Although this might mean I might actually have to get copies of 4th Ed. shudder]
Either gives players the social currency (a leader board) that they crave (which doesn't necessarily reflect on their characters like XP), and results in a lot of input into the construction of the environment. Win. Win. Take my gold pieces and go back to the entrance.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2011-07-04 01:48 pm (UTC)LARP campaigns are hard. Most good LARP games are one-shots. Which is popular at the tabletop too. Look at Spirit of the Century for example, which is designed for one-shots since the characters can't grow or change to any great degree.
Some LARP campaigns work with players earning extra bennies by playing NPCs. Or even better, you set up a troupe style of play with each player doing multiple characters at different levels of interaction. Ars Magica is a good example of how that can work on the tabletop. Games either then occur with everyone at the same level, or in a natural pyramid.
The problem is that most Vampire LARP storytellers can't envisage anything other than a power-political play.* There are other alternatives which focus play outside the group, but they require more effort to craft. And the Camarilla regulation system encourages this sort of thing.
As for locating a good gaming group, I can't help you. Scheduling is always really bad, especially if, like me, you like large groups and you aren't sure of your own ability to make games due to illness. =8(
If I was healthy and had a venue I'd seriously consider running competitive games. Perhaps setting up another mega-dungeon challenge. Post public rules for character generation, and welcome any team to try and get something out of the dungeon.
But as much as I'd like to do this I'd like to play in it even more, so perhaps a round robin of tournament dungeons, with scorecards for teams. Form a team, bring a dungeon, and compete in each other's dungeons for victory. [Although this might mean I might actually have to get copies of 4th Ed. shudder]
Either gives players the social currency (a leader board) that they crave (which doesn't necessarily reflect on their characters like XP), and results in a lot of input into the construction of the environment. Win. Win. Take my gold pieces and go back to the entrance.