When the going gets tough the tough put on their armor, grab their foam swords, and take their mom’s minivan to go LARP.
The greatest warriors of our time meet on the battlefield right next to the girls’ soccer practice to fight evil, forge friendships, and hit each other really hard with foam swords. Warriors, wizards and even orcs meet up to decide who the best of the best is, but be warned, this sport is not for the faint of heart. In this world of magic and fantasy there is danger including asthma attacks, boo boos, and even scraped knees this kind of brutality could haunt someone for the rest of his life.
LARP or Live Action Role Playing is less of a game and more of a lifestyle. In these games, players pretend to be characters in a fantasy world and then act out what the player thinks the character should do. Scenes can range from Middle Earth, to Hogwarts, even the Starship Enterprise and people can be whatever they want. LARP has really started to go mainstream with competitions, conventions, and being featured in moves like Role Models.
Like all sports LARP has rules first don’t break character, next rule, don’t break character. LARP is based on the idea that the outside world doesn’t exist so if you could break character then LARP would just be pointless a bunch of guys running around with toys, that is just crazy. LARP is more than just pretending it is an escape of reality where you and your friends can go and be whatever you want to be a wizard, an astronaut, even a cowboy. LARP is a great sport where people can grow and learn a lot of applicable skills like leadership skills, teamwork, love, even magic.
LARP is a sport that The Ocho, the most important part of The Oracle staff, firmly believes has a strong future at this school and in the nation. This group of teenage boys believes that LARP may be the most important thing to happen to America in a good, long while. LARP will help train young Americans on how to handle themselves if they ever get lost in Narnia. The skills that these people learn are essential for life. I mean, how do you expect to do well at Hogwarts if you don’t know at least some magic?
LARP is ridiculed by people who don’t understand it. Yes, Larpers wear costumes and attack each other with foam swords and that may be a little weird, but it’s not that crazy. Larpers are just people who want to follow their dreams, even if others think they’re weird, and that is pretty cool.