Diary of a Croatian larper

Jaska 7 (our May event) was in-game hell for my character. I stayed there for a short time, and the first news I got when I appeared in-game was that the maid of honor from my wedding (in-game, of course) was killed. I got manipulated (knowingly, that's the best part) in the cold rage, and took my revenge by taking out the murderer in the middle of the city. During the extremely delicate negotiations that were just taking part. And, of course, the city was plunged into chaos. The count was absent (due to his RL studies in England), and as his friend I got in a really tense situation due to the betrayal of his deputy (who's turned to the evil arts of necromancy) and the fact that city was populated mostly by new players and characters who quickly started taking matters in their own hands. I felt old :) That night, organizers dropped the A-bomb. Or, to be precise, a huge red dragon who landed into the city and proclaimed his rulership. And people did not get rid of him, as they...

OK, it was a large break. Over 4 months since my last post. But a lot of it has changed during this summer - and it was Croatian LARP at its highest point so far. I'll be slowly reviewing all the major events I've been to. And there have been many. Stay tuned :) Oh, and this blog got a redesign. Hope you like it.

One of our two biggest LARPs in a year starts right about... this very moment. However, due to work, I'll be going there tomorrow. It's gonna be a sleepless night for sure. If you're still in doubt... Come to Jaska 7, it's gonna be epic! I'm reviewing it as soon as pics will be online.

Right now I'm on my way to the filming of the show "8. kat" on HRT, Croatian national television. 8. kat (meaning: 8th Floor) is a Croatian talk show resembling the popular Oprah Show. I'll be talking about LARP of course :) And there will be several members of Ognjeni Mač in the public. In full LARP gear. The show will be played on TV in about two weeks, and will be available here  for a while. I'll attempt to get a recording which I can link somewhere else then :) There will be other guests, reenactors, trekkies, cosplayers, writers etc. - basically everyone who's working on making the imaginary worlds come alive. LARP got some serious TV coverage now, especially considering we were also filmed during SFeraKon last weekend. Update: Here's the video: And that SFerakon video I mentioned is here:

It was a weekend before Jaska LARP, but it was not filled with preparations for it as usual - instead, lots of us LARPers went to SFeraKon, largest & oldest sci-fi/fantasy/horror convention in Croatia. Next years' SFeraKon will also be Eurocon . Yes, we had a quite attractive stand there. Guys from Ognjeni Mač, Croatian LARP association (which I'm a part of) who were keeping the stand did a good job in getting the visitors interested in LARPing. It's probably our most successful con presentation ever. Reason 1 is purely a great job they did. Reason 2 is... we just re-started our convention attendance. Until last year, we were regulars on every SFeraKon and Istrakon (second largest convention in Croatia, but considered by many to be more fun), but for various reasons we missed last year's SFeraKon and Istrakon, as well as this year's Istrakon, which is kind of a shame - but probably a reason we were so successful this year, we gave some people chance to rota...

Continued from Part 1 The problem with being a so-called Perfect LARPer is - it's inefficient. There are very few people who can do all that, do it well, and not burn out. The proper solution is diversification. Everybody is good at something and can help in his or her way - that solution requires more people, more cooperation and teamwork, but it has a better effect overall. Every experience is valuable. That's one of the reasons why small LARPs who remain a one-man-show don't achieve their full potential - the singular organizer can't do everything on his own and do it well. Players who learn that it's the way LARPs should work and try to emulate the one-man-band skill set will waste an awful lot of time and achieve less overall. Like I mentioned earlier, everybody's good at something. And everyone knows something which will help him improve his LARP or his LARPing experience - and by doing so, he'll also improve other peoples' LARP experience...

If you've spent some time LARP-ing, then you are probably aware of it. You're supposed to try to become The Perfect LARPer. What makes The Perfect LARPer? You're a great roleplayer You can set up a camp on your own which will look better than anyone else's camp You're probably running some LARPs on your own You're a fighter-type character You can fight well, and carry a respectful-looking armor and a lot of gear with you You've made all that gear yourself You've sewn your own tent You're cooking your own food at LARPs - and cooking it well You're always bringing tons of stuff on every LARP - for you, your camp, and your friends You primarily hang out with other LARPers IRL You've introduced lots of new people into LARP You're promoting LARP in any way possible When you're not LARPing, you're preparing for your next LARP (continued in Part 2 )