Community, Preparation & No-Gos

LARP is more than a game — it is a community. Anyone who becomes part of it enters a social fabric with its own rules, unwritten codes, and expectations. Those who know and respect them are welcome. Those who ignore them make play worse for everyone.

Arriving Well Prepared

Solid preparation starts two weeks before the event — not the evening before.

Check your equipment: Go through your costume for tears, stains, and missing parts. Inspect latex weapons for damage (exposed cores, cracked surfaces). Check props for completeness. A broken sword just before the weapons check is not a good start.

Read the ruleset: Every event has its own rules for combat, magic, character death, and more. Read them beforehand, not on the field. Ask the organisers if anything is unclear — better to ask once too often than to get it wrong in play.

Pack smart: Alongside your costume, this includes: weather protection (jacket, rain poncho, sturdy footwear with grip), food and water for between meals, sunscreen (even on overcast days, especially at outdoor events), insect repellent (forest locations in summer are hard going without it), toilet paper (often scarce at outdoor events), a small repair kit (safety pins, needle and thread, gaffer tape), and all necessary character documents. Players who are well supplied on the field stay in the game longer.

Contact the organisers early: If you have questions or special requirements, get in touch before the event. Most organisers are happy to help — and you make their planning easier.

After the Event: The Game Continues

An event doesn't end at game-off.

Debrief with the group — what did everyone experience, what was the best moment, where were there problems? This conversation strengthens relationships and helps process what was lived through.

Give feedback — many events use post-event surveys. Fill them in honestly. Constructive feedback, including critical feedback, helps organisers make better events.

Share and recommend — photos, write-ups, recommendations to friends: this brings new faces into the community and keeps the scene alive. Always mention the organisers.

How You Contribute to the Community

Most LARP events run on the back of volunteer work. Organisers rarely receive thanks or recognition proportionate to their investment. A few simple ways to give something back:

• Help with set-up and pack-down — a few extra hands make the difference between a stressful and a relaxed end for the organiser team.
• Stay flexible — when schedules change or plans need last-minute adjustments, a calm attitude is invaluable.
• Take on NPC shifts — many events look for helpers willing to play NPCs for a few hours. This takes enormous pressure off the organisers.

Culture and Unwritten Rules

The LARP scene has its own culture that is hard to describe but easy to experience. A few fundamentals:

Inclusion is foundational: LARP is for everyone. Respecting pronouns, respecting boundaries, taking safety signals seriously — these are not extras, they are the baseline.

IT is not a free pass: What your character does or says remains within the fiction. It does not give permission to actually hurt, pressure, or place people in situations they would not want as players. The character is a role — the person behind it is real.

Resolve conflicts OT: If a game situation genuinely bothers you, address it outside the game. Friendly, directly, after the event. Most conflicts arise from misunderstandings, not bad intentions. A short OT conversation resolves more than weeks of silent resentment.

The LARP No-Gos

Some things are simply not acceptable in the scene — regardless of setting, regardless of any in-game justification:

• Real physical harm: Hard blows, grabs, throws without consent.
• Physical contact without consent: Even in a combat scene — what is not OK OT is not OK IT either.
• Ignoring safety signals: Anyone who ignores an OT gesture or the safeword endangers others.
• Metagaming at others' expense: Using player knowledge to disadvantage characters who haven't earned it.
• Damaging others' equipment: Another person's costume, weapons, and props are their property. Damaging them — even accidentally and without reporting it — is not a minor matter.

The consequence for repeated or serious misconduct is removal from the event or exclusion from future events. This is not punishment for its own sake — it is protection of the community.

Welcome to the Community

LARP communities are, as a rule, remarkably open. New faces are welcomed, beginners are supported, and those who show that the community matters to them become part of something that extends far beyond a single event.

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