Working in Price Center, I deal with a wide variety of characters. From panicked parents racing to catch the next campus tour to sorority girls orchestrating their newest black-tie affair, it’s hard to think up a situation that would faze me.
Nevertheless, a cloaked man with a sword gave me a couple seconds’ pause. The room behind him, filled with other costume-wearing, item-bearing characters, sent me running straight for a look at that night’s schedule. A single glance at the entry reassured me that no, I was not hallucinating. The room really was full of characters.
LARP characters, that is.
LARP, short for Live Action Role Playing, is usually considered the epitome of nerdiness. Descended from traditional Dungeons and Dragons tabletop games, it takes role-playing a step further: Rather than just saying “”my character does … ,”” players in LARP games actually dress up and act out their characters’ actions, interacting with other players to create a storyline out of not much more than a setting and a few plot elements.
But watching them act out the world of Ravenloft, I was struck by how un-nerdy it actually seemed. Here was a group of lively, bubbly students who were fully ready and willing to perform in front of numerous gawking onlookers. If anything, it felt like I was watching an improvisational theater troop performance.
“”It’s all about dressing up in costume and playing in a completely different world,”” said Junior Melissa Courtney, high chancellor of the Sixth College Role Playing Games club.
She explained that, unlike traditional DandD, LARPing allows for a large number of people to play at the same time. And in their particular game, Ravenloft, the characters aren’t the superhero adventurers that most DandD players choose.
“”We’re just ordinary townsfolk, going through our not-so-ordinary lives,”” Courtney said.
It’s that element that makes this group so interesting: the fact that their game is based on character and story development. With few rules and even fewer dice rolls, the players are free to concentrate on creating a world that is unusual, entertaining and (occasionally) outlandish.
“”I love drama but I hate how they always put me in a certain role,”” said Jason Lambert, an Irvine area resident who came down for the LARP. “”Here I can interact as I see fit and whatever my mind can come up with is the limit of this game.””
A love of theater seems to unite most of the members of the club, a love that comes out in interesting ways throughout their game. In between priests stealing collection money to go on vacation and couples “”consummating”” their marriage during a police interview, there’s never a dull moment.
But Lambert’s presence here illustrates perhaps the strongest asset of the group – it draws in more than just UCSD students. The club links up to similar LARPs and games at UC Irvine and in the San Diego area.
The Sixth College RPG club even goes on field trips to game stores in the area. They truly have a close-knit relationship with the gaming community, attracting alumni and building relationships that stretch past school terms and geographical boundaries.
“”When I first thought about doing this, I thought, ‘I’m a big nerd, but even this sounds too nerdy for me,'”” Sixth College freshman Colin Wheelock said. “”But when I started, I realized how much fun it was. This group is really amazing.””
And the community doesn’t end when the players go home.
Courtney and the group have worked together to develop an online forum where players can discuss stories, characters, ideas or the next gaming session. They do much more than just LARP, meeting every Wednesday evening in the Sixth College Dogghouse to run a variety of RPG based games.
But it’s the LARPing that draws them together.
“”It’s really the best way to get RPG club people tight and having fun,”” Courtney said, laughing. “”We’re really one of the most unique things on campus.””
Stuck on the sidelines, I was forced to agree. Here was something that builds community more effectively than any A.S. president’s campaign promises, something that attracts people from all walks of life, something that looks like it is tons of fun to be a part of. This was, in short, something that I wanted to join – nerdy stereotypes be damned.
