Why I LARP
by Kaylyn Zeff, Staff Writer
September 29, 2010
Maybe it was the appeal of smacking someone over the head with a PVC pipe.
But over the summer, I got roped into Quest. I had only the faintest idea of what Quest is – some kind of role-playing game where I get to hit people with foam-covered PVC piping. So after numerous pep talks and a two-hour drive to a Boy Scout camp, I got handed two bright orange boffers and was told: “Okay, you’re a dark elf. You have 35 health points, you swing for 5 stun, and you have a portal into the Underdark. Have fun!” My head spun with all the terminology.
At first, I followed behind my friends, unsure of what to do. When the player characters (or PC’s) showed up, the vast majority of the group crowded around them and began attacking. Eventually, I plucked up enough courage to swing my weapons a few times. When someone became stunned enough, we “carried” him into the portal. Half an hour of fighting later, all the dark elves were slain and my friends and I were well on our way back to the central plot shed.
As an NPC, or non-player character, I was sent out on many different missions as different beings over the course of the weekend. I was a town guard, a part of a pack of lions that ran around for four hours, a member of an army of re-animated skeletons, and so many other things, not necessarily characters, that I don’t remember.
Playing a lion was the most fun. A group of eight or so NPC’s gamboled up a huge hill, over many rocks (dubbing every one “pride rock” along the way) and the “vast plains.” On our way to find another rock, we ran into a PC by the name of Aramil. The pack warned him not to come any closer, as it was our territory. He belligerently stepped forward, so we pounced on him. Aramil used a magic portal, an instant way to get to a safe place like the Tavern, and escaped our pack. It was all right, though, since we claimed another Pride Rock.
I love Quest not only because of the time I get to spend with my friends, but the time I get to spend making new friends. In between banter about fights, I met many new people who eventually became new friends. We began talking outside of Quest, and since then I have found friends I know I can count on for anything.
At three days, Quest is a phenomenal weekend activity. Traipsing around the woods, eating delicious SpartiQue (a take on a barbeque that serves a hamburger between two pizzas, among other delicious things) and staying up for almost a full day is an excellent way to make new friends and reconnect with old ones.
At its heart, Quest is a Live Action Role Playing game, or a LARP. That means we put on silly costumes, run around in the woods, and beat each other up with weird-looking “swords.” Quest is so much more than just funny costumes, though. It’s a pretty large social gathering of 90-100 people who enjoy a weekend of athletics, food and camaraderie. The three-day weekends seem so short, but when spent in the heat of combat surrounded by friends, it seems like a wonderful forever.
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