Reflecting on the previous day's round of hectic activity, I'm sat outside the shower block (this place is used as a scout hut I think) in the early morning sunshine. After a little bit of head scratching I've decided to record some more thoughts that may help people new to LARP.
Potentially the most intimidating aspect of this gathering is the social factor. Don't mistake me, everyone is super-friendly and helpful but still there remains a definite disconnect for the new joiner without an existing LARP background.
First we have the in character/out of character barrier; this is vital for maintaining the immersion of the player base of course but it can result in some difficulties, especially if someone isn't used to it. This is mainly because, as a monster, you'll be sat in a relatively small area waiting to be called up for service while players are constantly role playing their characters, wandering about and essentially being entirely other people for the duration. This more or less precludes mutual introductions, at least until time out at the end of the day. This shouldn't be a huge problem however- I got around it by involving myself voluntarily in anything I could (including helping the kitchen volunteers peeling one metric Kilimanjaro of apples for the evening menu; ironically I was so tapped out I fell asleep early and didn't get any!); from asking around it seems that most new players start out their LARP life monstering this way, getting stuck in is the key.
Another thing to remember is that these gatherings are fairly infrequent so long-term friends naturally want to spend more face time with their fellow veteran LARPers. Again, don't be unduly discouraged if you end the event without a parcel of new friends (this is unlikely to be totally honest). Like everything, this takes time and effort.
OK, that isn't as helpful-sounding as I thought at first.
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