I got a question today from someone looking forward to coming to their first event.

Great question!

Preparing for Your First LARP

Going to your first LARP can be a little scary, but once you are there, it is nothing but fun. It is always good to come prepared for the LARP as others are also investing their time into it and it gives you something to do until the event.

Attending your first LARP, keep these things in mind:

First attempts are rarely perfect Nobody is going to kick you out if you mess up a dialogue or do something illogical. Everyone you are LARPing with was once a beginner and they understand that people make mistakes. This applies to everything. You do not need to have a perfect costume, be the greatest warrior, or know how to recite a spell precisely on your first try.

All that counts is that you are putting in the effort, and if you find that you are enjoying it, there is plenty of time to learn everything before the next event takes place. Many people have developed their skills over years of play and practice. Often they will be excited to share what they know and are glad to show a new player the ropes, so introduce yourself and ask questions.

Educate yourself LARPing is a lot of fun, it is even more fun if you go prepared. The least you can do is educate yourself with the lore, the settings, the story, and the rules. This will help you understand what is going on in the game, it can also help guide you in creating a character that will be perfect for the setting of the game and your personality. Lore:  https://www.larpadventures.com/lore

Portals: https://www.larpadventures.com/portals Map of the realm: https://www.larpadventures.com/osterra-map

The Forum: https://www.larpadventures.com/forum

Creating your own character Take a turn in the game as a NPC (Non Playing Character), you can get a feel of the setting and what's going on and get to LARP with some of the veteran players. This also helps with getting familiar with the rules of the game because they are always ready to help.

Creating a character for yourself can be one of the most fun parts of LARPing. You can let your imagination run wild in the world as you get to know it and create a backstory, personality and objectives. Or let it all happen organically and see what interests you, that is another of the joys of LARP, is that you can try many different things. https://www.larpadventures.com/copy-of-character-paths

Costuming Costuming, also known as garb and gear are an important part of LARPing. Since it is your first event, as mentioned earlier, you costume or gear does not need to be perfect. In fact, it doesn’t even need to be close to perfect. For costume info: https://www.larpadventures.com/forum/gear-garb/basic-garb LARPing gear is quite cool, and one of the primary reasons people get attracted to LARP is the garb, gear and the costumes. If you are looking for gear, you can learn about how to make it yourself, there are tons of resources online, research and ask others in the group, buy it online, at ren faires, thrift stores. You can learn the fine art of thrift store shopping. LARP Adventures is also a great source for gear at reasonable prices.

The main objective of LARPing is to have as much fun as you can, that is how you win at LARP, having fun, you might just make a few friends on the way. Don't let stressing over how your first LARP will go spoil the mood. Never let go of the intention of having fun, and trying to learn as much as you can.

For like a list of what to bring check the forum: https://www.larpadventures.com/forum/general-discussion/larp-adventures-campout-packing-list

Thanks for your question, I hope this helps. If you have any other questions, let me know.

If any one else would like to add to this first time player thread, please do!

See you at the event!