If you have a life, you probably don’t know that LARPing stands for Live Action Role Play, which isn’t a sex thing, but a geek think—make that a SUPER geek thing. Even ubergeeks think LARPing is crapstastic.
Or is it?
If you’re the kind of person who likes to dress up in costumes and get together with your nerd friends and act out swordfights and vampire fantasies, you might love LARPing.
But if you prefer the real world and friends that don’t act like wizards and warriors or wear fur on their boobs... then LARPing may not be for you.
You might think all LARPs are created equal... you would be wrong. Even in the LARPing world, there are so many genres and subgenres that almost anyone can find a LARP that they are into.
Such as...
Darkon
Every other weekend, hundreds of Darkon LARPers get together to beat the bejesus out of one another with padded weaponry while wearing fantasy costumes. Yeah, including animal outfits. And did we mention that most Darkon LARPers are adults?
Darkon is so popular that they made a documentary about it, which in turn inspired the comedy “Role Models”, starring Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott and Joe Lo Truglio.
Don’t let your mom and dad read this, or they might punish you by donning LARP-wear when they pick you up from the mall.
Cool points: 10 – No matter how lame you think Darkon is, they made two movies from it, which automatically earns it 10 cool points.
Lame points: 3 – The “furries” scare us.
Steampunk Meets D&D
Steampunk mixed with D&D sounds kind of interesting—but ONLY on paper. These LARPers dress up in leather and chains to act out a world that only lives in someone’s bedroom. Sorry, guys, but the throw blankets tacked up on the walls doesn’t come close to looking like a dungeon OR a hot air balloon—and we suspect that when you take down the blankets, the walls are gonna have some Bieber posters on them..
Cool points: 1 – A few sort-of hot chicks play.
Lame points: 8 - So does this guy.
Vampire LARPs
Vampire fanatics really like to dress up and pretend to bite each other with fake teeth. These LARPers take the “game”—and themselves—very seriously. Never, ever tickle a vampire LARPer or they might infect you with geek blood.
Cool points: 5 – The costumes are pretty cool.
Lame points: 5 – We’re tired of vampires…but at least these guys aren’t playing a “Twilight” LARP.
World of Warcraft LARPing
People who think WOW is only played by a bunch of losers who live in their moms’ basements will be relieved to know that hardcore WOW players occasionally get to see the sun. But we’ve got news for you, WOW kids, LARPing the game does NOT make it cooler. WTF is that thing on the left???
Cool points: 1 – WOW is awesome, but WOW LARPing is NOT.
Lame points: 9 – C’mon guys get a firetrucking hobby that allows you to meet regular people with real lives!
Warhammer 40K
If reading the books, playing the computer game and painting wee miniatures for the tabletop game doesn’t satisfy their geek needs, Warhammer 40K fans can now LARP. Donning 40,000th Century spaceman outfits, W40K LARPers run around in the park and pretend to blow each other up with cardboard guns. Wow, that’s almost as lame as the SCA.
Cool points: 4 – Space marines are cool.
Lame points: 6 – We suspect these guys don’t get out nearly as much as WOW players.
Klingons
Of all the Star Trek LARPing (and yes, there are five gagillion Trekker LARPs), Klingon LARPing has to be the most disturbing. Klingon opera? The Klingon Language Institute? They don’t already have enough ways to dork out in skull wigs? Our favorite form of Klingon LARPing…Klingon Paintball LARP. Yes, you read that correctly.
Cool points: 8 – It takes forever to get into Klingon costumes. That’s dedication.
Lame points: 8– It takes forever to get into Klingon costumes. That’s just sad.
Furries
Furries like to dress up in full-body animal costumes and hang out together, claiming “furry fandom” is all about love of animals. However, lots of furries take things a bit too far... they often like to hump each other while in costume.
Furries scare the hell out of us. Especially when they look like that this guy.
Cool points: 0
Lame points: 10
Do we really have to explain why?
Is LARPing lame or cool? Vote in the comments.
Check Out 12 Alternative Activities For Your Weekend: Larping!
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