misterdaniel | [LRP] LRP and me...

I've been thinking about my future, and LRP's place in it, and some musings are below.

I realised something over the weekend. For the first time since 1988, I do not have an LRP character. Mario Bardi started in Maelstrom before Lemming died, and whilst you can count gaps between Mario-Ahkator and Ahkator-Azul-Oso, they were death transitions.

Arguably, Doctor Mortimer still exists, but Riftworld has not run in years and it is unlikely he will make an appearance again.

No, this is the first clear break in over 10 years where a percentage of my brain-space is not plotting and planning my IC other life. It is a little strange.[1]

Perhaps more noteworthy is that I am not clamouring to fill that brain-space; at least not with another character.

It is not like there are not good options out there; Insurrection, Ornithocracy, Odyssey and Empire being some strong contenders. I could even try the LT again.

I think what is holding me back is a reticence about investing; partly the resources (i.e. new kit), partly the time/brainspace.

Another part is an acknowledgement of just how spoiled I was by Maelstrom, both as Mario and as Azul-Oso (less so as Ahkator). It was, on the whole, a game perfectly pitched at my level.

The best experiences of LRP are those where the player and the organiser are on the same wavelength; where one is playing in harmony with the game being run, rather than bumping into points of tension and friction.

For various reasons, I had a fantastic degree of synchronicity with Maelstrom. A key part of this was the people I interacted with, within the Cardini/Flambard and Bendal-Dolum V.1 and V.2. In many cases, I had the joy of interacting with the character and then getting to know the player.

Another key factor in this equation is, of course, my kids. It says something that the project that has my attention/brainspace at the moment is planning around a spy-themed SHIELD-vs-HYDRA mission for a 6-yr-old.

So, maybe, this is the time that I retire from LRP. I understand that, in some circles, this is a rite of passage, wherein I have played alongside a number of LRP ex-retirees in recent times.

Most likely retirement comes in the form of possibly crewing Empire to see my contribution realised and/or LRPing-as-a-father rather than for my own sake.

Either way, it feels like some kind of milestone/landmark and worthy of comment.

[1] There is a special exclusion here for Quill, my table-top character in Jimfer's online ACKS, though Quill does not use a lot of brainspace as a character or a player of that character

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I know ~exactly~ where you are coming from with this and notions of retirement. For years now LRP for me has been about the people - seeing them/hanging around with them/etc. rather actually games and synchronicity as you put it.

It would be nice to see you back in a field at some point

Aye, indeed.

The key barrier being that, I suspect, you and I have quite different tastes in LRP these days.

Still, its not beyond the realms of the possible.

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I have done a stint as part of an LT faction plot team. I had a habit of creating game elements not included in the main events and thus skirting/courting controversey (e.g. alchemy pre-OSP alchemy skills, a crude trading system).

Suffice it to say that my experience was such that I am not 100% committed to a designer/organiser role in the long term.

Whether SHIELD is a one-off or a launching point, I cannot say.

Franchises come with compromises (i.e. using someone else's rules, world-setting) but is arguably easier because some of the logistics have been done by others.

Could I launch my own equivalent of Insurrection or Ornithocracy? Not with my current life equilibrium.

As to Empire, its a bit different. Helping with design means having input into the setting/context from which franchises may operate. Once its up and running, its PD's show.

Done well, the franchise also provides a rich background to weave stories into.

Granted.

Yet the converse is also true: Done badly, and its a straitjacket

I'm finding myself in a similar situation. I have no active characters in any setting, even table top. I do sometimes yearn for getting inside a character and seeing where the story goes, but none of the current offerings are really grabbing me. I feel similarly spoiled by Maelstrom. I suspect one day someone will pitch a group concept at me and it will hook me in again, but I'm not seeking it out right now. I would very much like to introduce Douglas to it at some point. This and SHIELD put me in mind of a conversation you and I had one day while our respective other halves were off at an event and we took the kids to the park. Do you remember our bague plans for some kind of LRP lite for Douglas, Ellie, et al? Perhaps it's time to start thinking about something along those lines?

Yes, I do recall the idea of investing in LRP-parenting. It is very much part of the idea behind the SHIELD scenario. I think Dessie and Bria have positive opinions so far, and Duncan was very taken at the weekend. Ellie is still too young to really embrace this. Russ has been brilliant.

I am certainly open to exploring this further. I suppose the thing at this point is a mailing list/facebook group.

The slight twist is that I am then taking my hobby/brainspace to a kid-centric place. In my experience, LRPer Parents tend to view events as a chance for some "non-parent" time. Kaz and I have thought about it as such. This would erode that divide.

Saying that, I am wondering about non-parent time as Daniel rather than as someone else (albeit Daniel playing board games or watch 15+ films).

You may not be following this LJ entry at tne moment, but check out Bryony's recent comment.

Ohhhhhh, yeah

I do understand well on that whole being spoiled by Maelstrom. I found it, not easy per se, but definitely possible to achieve great things (tm) if willing to try. And it was very much a whole different level of game from anything else.

I haven't been to anything else in quite a long time barring Live Action Cthulhu.

I'm not sure I could now. Though I'm planning on Empire next year to fill the Maelstrom hole. At least a bit.

There is a warehouse in Bar Hill, just outside Cambridge, which is done up as a Russian embassy that you need to infiltrate complete with laser corridors, safes to crack, zipwires and puzzles involving lots of climbing up pipes and synchronised pressing of buttons. It is excellent fun, especially when undertaken as a crack team of zombies in evening dress (but I digress). We got talking to the staff, and the owner set it up having created similar games for his sons on their birthdays over successive years. He had gradually got local businesses involved in his schemes, so that the kids would visit the local travel agent who would get out a special briefcase from under their desk. The 16th birthday "finale" involved a shoot out in an aircraft hanger and a kidnapping in a light plane.

So the sky is the limit :-) Very excited to see what you do next.

Wow. OK, so that's the bar very definitely raised and set.

Also I want to have contact details for that place because I want to do that thing. Spy-Fy LRP would be something new and different.

http://spymissions.co.uk/home.html

They used to be called Spymasters. They seem to have changed their name and set up a second base in Milton Keynes, which is fortunate because I was getting angsty that some bastards had stolen their schtick. It turns out that in true master spy fashion it was them all along!

Wow. I want to be that parent! I suspects funds will neer run to light planes, though!

I think our funds could stretch to £15-20 per head to access a session at http://spymissions.co.uk/home.html though.

That's Ben's 6th birthday party sorted out!

[LRP] LRP and me...

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