Enjoy playing the game!

As the year starts to wind down, so do the seasons for most Live Action Role Playing games, or LARPs. Although some groups do have events all throughout the year, most LARPs do not due to camps closing in the fall, or the winter weather being too unpredictable to ensure the safety of participants.

If your game doesn’t push through the cold and snowy season, what else can you do to scratch your fantasy itch? Once you hang up your Medieval costume for the year, what can you do with your group to keep the creativity flowing? There are several options that you may be able to pursue:

Pen and Paper Role Playing: This is essentially the same as LARPing, except instead of heading out into the camp, you and your friends gather around a table to all take part in the story telling. There are several games and game systems out there, and once you find the one you all like, one person will become the Game Master. The Game Master will construct the story and present challenges to the players. To represent the chance of each encounter, players will role dice to determine the outcome of a conflict. With a dedicated group, it can be a very entertaining and rewarding experience.

Table Top Gaming: There are several table top strategy games that allow you to incorporate battle tactics into the core mechanic of the game. These types of games actually let you collect, assemble, and custom paint your own models so that the army can have the look that you want. There are rules for constructing your armies, moving through difficult terrain, shooting ranged weapons, and operating siege weapons. Most games also have various races to that you can play as orcs, undead, elves, witches, or whatever your favorite fantasy race happens to be. Everything comes down to your strategy, the roll of the die, and your ability to react.

Hopefully you will find these hobbies just as entertaining as LARPing and will be enough to hold you over until the start of the next LARPing season.