Diary of a Croatian larper

I've larped in Germany before, three times on ConQuest and twice on Drachenfest. These are the biggest larps in the world, arguably very different from smaller larps that most people are used to. Ever since my first time there, I've been hearing about Katakomben - a larp tavern in Cologne (or Köln, for those of you using the German name of the city). So I decided to visit the Halloween event they had. Katakomben is organized as a monthly larp event, and it's played in a fort on the outskirts of the old city, close to the South Bridge over Rhine river. Once a month, the interior of this fort is decorated and plays a part of the in-character tavern... which can appear anywhere, and change layout... I took the photos during the day, as during the event itself (6 PM - 2 AM) it was dark and very dimly lit - plus, characters were already role-playing, and I felt bad taking my phone out. However, a photographer Kira Hagen was there, and made a lot of character portraits  so...

Before I visited ConQuest , I went to a Warcraft Live larp in Hungary, seventh part of its' series. Like last year , it was played at the same terrain near Tatabánya (about 60 km west from Budapest), where Chronicles of Demgard is also played (on a side note, there was no "international" Demgard event this year, so this year Warcraft was the only larp I've been to in Hungary - alongside with PoRtaL of course). As its' name suggests, Warcraft Live was built pretty strongly with Warcraft lore in mind, and the main story relies on it - I will be using some Warcraft terms in this review, if you find something unfamiliar you can refer to wowwiki or another similar resource. The setting was in the non-canon place called Principality of Hummingbird, but since it's located in the currently inaccessible part of the world map this was not really an issue. Although, the weather on this year's event was so hot and humid that it could have easily been set in t...

World's largest larp event. There's really no other like it. This was my third ConQuest - I've been there in 2012 and 2013, and every time I've been humbled by the sheer size and massiveness of the experience. It's impossible to review an event like this as a single person, since so many things are going on that you don't get to see or know the vast majority of it. Perhaps that's what makes it so special. The sheer scale makes it a world of its' own, and makes things possible which are simply not possible on small larps. The one thing that is possible is writing one's own experiences about it. I arrived to the terrain on Monday morning, 2 days before larp started, after traveling from Hungary where I've been on Warcraft Live event (another story for an upcoming article). Early setup made it possible for me to get everything sorted out, set up my probably smallest tent at the event, help others put up their tents, wash and dry my laundr...

This year's Terra Nova larp - planned for May 20-22 - will feature a new setting and a set of rules. This year a larger group of organizers joined the Terra Nova team. Plans for this year are considerable: new rules, new direction in design, more plot and props than ever before. In fact, rules are why I'm writing this post - I'd like to invite you to read them . Comment on them (or below). Write about what you like and what you don't like. We will take all feedback into consideration, and finalize the rules in the next two weeks. They're also under Creative Commons, so if you wish to use them feel free.

This is the big news. The fourth PoRtaL convention was announced, and it will take place in a month - April 15 to 17. True, it is a bit later than usual - so far it has been organized late February or early March - but it is happening. In Budapest, like the second convention (I was involved with organizing first and third conventions in Zagreb). The program for fourth convention will provide more focus on the educational and interdisciplinary content, and besides the presentations, discussions and panels, there will also be chamber larps, larp exhibit, and there's a planned publication. There's a CFP for it, and presenters can send their presentations in article form to be included as well. The main website (with registrations) is available here . You can also check the Facebook page and event for further info. As a refresher, PoRtaL is the biggest larp convention in this part of Europe. And only one, because apart from PoRtaL, there are really no larp-specific co...