Camp Spoiled

This is not to say that any particular camp has been spoiled.  This is to say that it is possible to be spoiled by a camp.  In a previous post, I lamented the horrors of having a lot of hilly terrain to cover.  You know what?  I should just shut my face.  Recently, my game tried out a new camp that no lie, is a 20-minute walk from PC Town to the Inn.  It's a gorgeous campsite, with the exception that the game needs to watch its volume at certain points as the site abuts a snobby residential area (and a lake, across which those bloodcurdling 3am screams carry quite well), but god forbid you forget something somewhere, because it is going to take you forever to go back and retrieve it.

This makes for fantastic opportunities for the NPCs however, as there are literally thousands of spots from which to ambush PCs.

(Bastards.)

We probably won't be going there again any time very soon, as Dec. and March events are already booked at the one reliable winter camp in the area, and we aren't having events in Jan. and Feb.  I'm kindof meh about the site.  I love it because it is beautiful, and spread out enough that you can get up to some serious hijinks, if that is your cuppa.  I hate it because it is so spread out, and it is exhausting to get around, so everyone tends to cluster around the Inn for hours and hours, and you lose the will to go anywhere.  The ground is very sandy (hello, Pine Barrens!) so it can be tiresome to walk through, but it's also perfect for sneaking up on people or creeping through the woods to get away from things.  There is one trail that apparently leads to the Actual Middle of Nowhere.  Seriously, the ranger on duty told us to not even bother going 10 feet down the thing, as nobody who isn't the ranger has ever gone down it and found their way back without the aid of a search party and dogs.  Also, there is an issue with showers being some distance away, and I know I'm old and all, but if it's 102 degrees out and humid, I want a shower every day.  Possibly two.  And I don't want to have to get all sweaty and nasty walking back to my cabin after having a lovely cold shower.  I just don't.

I Got The Power

A game needs two things above all else to run: players and money.  Yes, you need a staff to do things like plot and logistics, and a campsite or some place to play, and an engaging storyline and a stock of NPC weapons and costuming doesn't hurt, either.  But let's face it.  The game wouldn't be there without the players, and a game can't run eternally in the red.  It needs you and your money.  Which is why it boggles me completely to hear people talk about playing games they profess to hate.  People, you are paying for an entertainment service.  If you're not entertained, wtf are you paying for?

If you are a member of a LARP and the game starts taking a turn in a direction you don't like, be it staffing changes, story changes, general treatment of the membership, dynamics, etc., there are a few things you can do to try to make the experience more enjoyable.  The first thing is a little introspective: you need to remember that a game is a living, breathing, shifting thing, and you need to be adaptable.  Because people come and go, and people change, and life changes, your game is also going to change.  Rules that just don't work for the game are going to be changed (or should be).  Storylines are going to change from time to time.  Because old players are continuously leaving and new players are continuously joining up, because the power level is constantly shifting, because that's just life, the game changes.  If you go into it knowing that things are not always going to be as they are, you might find that you can handle those changes a little better, rather than trying to cling to the way things were.

Now, you might find that changes are going on that make the game hard to enjoy, or are otherwise just not your cuppa.  Or, you might find the opposite: a game might be stagnating, keeping plot lines that are going nowhere and hanging on to rules that break the game.  Worse still, the social dynamic might be shifting, and extra attention is being given to certain cliques, or choice NPC roles are being given to significant others or close friends over and over again.  It's now time to get off your duff and do something. 

There are basically two major things you can do to help bring about necessary change: get in or get out.  Getting in means that you start talking to people.  You get to know the game mechanics very well, and you can offer suggestions for fixing the parts that are broken.  Taking that a step further, you can look into joining the game's staff.  Have a good idea for a plot?  Are you awesome at crunching numbers?  Do you just love sorting and filing?  Do you love marshalling armies to go out and wreak carnage and havoc?  There is probably some kind of room for you on the staff.  It is a lot easier to try to spur change when you are in a position to make rules and regulations and set precedent.

Sometimes it's just not possible though.  You might not want to take on the reponsibility of being a staff member.  You might not want to deal with the politics that are often attendant.  There might not be any open staff positions.  The current staff might not be apporachable, in one possible worst-case scenario.  This, my friends, is the time to step up and speak with your dollars and your presence--Namely, by removing both.  I mean it.  There is no reason in the world to stay somewhere where you are unhappy, dissatisfied, and not having a good time.  I hear from a lot of people that are unhappy with the game they attend regularly how awful the game itself is, but that they enjoy hanging out with their friends.  I always have to ask why they can't possibly do something else to hang out with their friends elsewhere.  Because really, that money that you're dumping into the game you hate would be much better spent playing laser tag or going to Dave & Buster's or throwing a hotel party or JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE.  But LARP Chick, you say, I talked to the director and I don't have to pay, I just have to show up!  To which I say, again, don't fucking do it.  By making an appearance, you are giving the game your approval; you are saying yes, this is worth my time and effort, and by showing up, I am telling other players that I support the system as-is.  If you don't support it, don't go.

And if you do go, then for the love of all that is holy, don't bitch.  Because the only thing I want to hear about less than the stats on your character card is how you're going yet another month to the Worst Game Ever.

Raggedy-Ass Monday

I suppose this term could most aptly be applied to the Monday after a weekend game.  When you have to drag your ass in to work, all dehydrated and sleep-deprived, you've still got some kind of dust-snot way up in your sinus cavity, and all the sugar scrub in the world is still not enough to get that grit out of your pores.  And you just know there is no way you're going to the gym later, because damnit, you got in a week's worth of exercise over the past two days, and your legs just aren't going to move another unnecessary step until at least Wednesday.

Personally, I apply the "raggedy-ass Monday" term to nearly every Monday.  Seriously, what Monday isn't a little raggedy?

Monster Manual: The Self-Pitying Geek(TM)

Ladies, today we're going to talk about the Self-Pitying GeekTM.  You will meet a lot of guys in your LARP career, and while not every single one of them is going to fall into a category or type, there are enough that will, to be able to identify them and get the hell out of the way.  Which you should definitely do.

The SPG is a nice enough guy.  He'll help you carry your stuff from your car to your cabin and back.  When you wake up in the morning and it's cold, he'll offer to run to the kitchen to get your coffee and breakfast.  In fact, this guy will become so obliging, the temptation to constantly and totally take advantage of his servile nature will become almost irresistible.  DON'T.  Before you know it, The SPG will be your shadow, hanging on your every word and gesture.  And suddenly, every thing you say will have special meaning to him, which he will have to ask you about, because he could be reading your signals wrong, but he hopes it means that you really want to let him into your pants.  In the meantime, he will continue skulking around, doing stuff to try to win you over (although he will never say that, he's just being "nice") and looking like a dog that you might want to kick.  (Not that I condone kicking dogs at all, as I don't.  Kicking people I leave to the kicker's individual conscience.)

The SPGs of the world (consciously or not) phrase things to play on your senses of empathy and guilt, either hinting or stating outright that you should go out with them because they're nice fellas who get screwed over by girls all the time. (Now bear in mind, this kind of guy, The SPG is a different breed from The Nice GuyTM. The Nice GuyTM is a whole different headache, of a more dangerous variety, and will be addressed in a future post. Also, my definition of the Nice GuyTM is different from Sweet Machine's.) It might come across as kind of cute, and you might actually feel bad for the guy.  Ladies: Don't be a sucker for this jerk. Being emotionally manipulative is obnoxious. Being emotionally manipulative to get into someone's pants, guilt someone into dating you, making you feel like a bad person because you don't want to date them for whatever personal reasons you have, and being aware of and then constantly pressing your personal boundaries is vile.  You will find yourself feeling a need to tell this guy repeatedly that you have a significant other with whom you are very happily involved, and you will find yourself growing weary of the tired and pathetic sigh that inevitably follows: "Oh, I know...I didn't mean anything by that..."  You will decide that you would have at least more respect for the guy if he would just grow a spine and declare his intentions flat-out than shilly-shallying around like this, even if you would never have any desire to get involved with him.

You are not a bad person for wanting to date or not date anyone.  Don't be afraid to be firm, and don't be afraid to be less-than-sunny or nice about this if someone is saying things that make you feel guilty or bad.

Dip me in Tiger Balm and throw me to the massage table.

The warm-season camp that my current game favors (Hickory Run in PA, if you must know) is pretty popular with the NJ-PA LARP crowd.  It's spacious, woodsy, and from what I hear, pretty reasonably priced.  However, it is also hilly as all get-out, and even though this past event was three days ago, my legs, knees and ankles are still killing me.  I know most if that is the product of three things: age, weight, and general inactivity every other day of the year.  Only two things on that list are anything I can do something about, and I'm adapting both IG and OOG to find some kind of comfortable balance with those.  Let's face it, LARPing is a physically demanding activity, unless you seriously only want to sit in a corner all weekend, doing nothing much and getting beat on LOTS.  Even the most sedentary character is going to get some run-to-escape time in, and unless you keep a pot strapped to your butt (which incidentally I do not in anyway suggest or condone), you're going to have to walk to the bathroom.  In my case, the building where my bed is doesn't have a kitchen, so if I want to eat hot food, it have to hoof it to the kitchens.  If I did nothing else but get through the basics of my day, I'd still be sore on Monday.  (Probably not still sore today though.)

Feminist Moment, or why "Skullcrusher Mountain" really isn't all that funny.

I am not a hardcore feminist, but I do have a healthy dose of self-respect as a woman. While I sometimes disagree with the points and arguments put forth in Kate Harding's Shapely Prose, the women there are usually on the ball and are often much more articulate about stating things that make me so pissed off I can't form a coherent thought, let alone write a readable post. I strongly recommend the two recent-ish posts, "Guest Blogger Starling: Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without being maced" and the slightly earlier post, "Would it kill you to be civil?"

Why do I think you should read these? Firstly, because Guest Blogger Starling's post is one of the most balanced, sensible, non-judgemental and well-written pieces I've read that explains to guys why a lot of women are a little jumpy at best when being approached by strange men. In my experience, men and women tend to think differently and apporach social situations differently. Now, factor in that a good 75-80% of LARP guys are pretty socially awkward on some level (and I'm being generous here), and while I believe that the majority of them are not necessarily dangerous and do not have any kind of malicious intent, they can still come off as kind of annoying, creepy, or scary, all without meaning to. They're just that clueless and/or awkward. Although I rather wish that the author gave the sources for her statistics, they are fairly sobering but not the most extreme I've ever heard, and at the very least it'll give you some good ammo for explaining to that ardent but unnerving suitor why stalking you through the woods OOG is really not going to be his best approach to getting a date with you.

Secondly, the second post hits a bit closer to the mark. Now, I know you've all met these guys: they're nice enough; maybe not the best looking but not grossly deformed; ranging in conversational skills from being tolerable to talk to, to really comfortable and fun to be around, most of the time. every now and then however, they say something that makes you feel a little odd--a little sad, a little guilty, a lot of uncomfortable. They're the ones that will drop the odd self-pitying statement at slightly weird points in conversation. The second post I listed explains the Self-Pitying GeekTM's lament in more feminist terms than I would generally adhere to, but you'll get the gist of it.

The Self-Pitying GeekTM and the Nice GuyTM will both be featured in posts of their own in the future.

A couple quick pieces of general advice

Ladies! Do not lock your keys in the car. Especially if your purse, which contains your cell phone and your spare keys, is also in the car, and you can't remember the phone numbers of anyone you might call to come and get you, because hey, they're all programmed into your cell, and your cell is locked in the car. I speak from (recent) experience.

Also, it is much harder than you'd think it would be to find tiki torch fuel in the Northeast US in mid-October. Seriously.