Live Action Role Playing at Mason

By Rachael Dickson 

On a college campus, the words “sword” and “dagger” are generally used as synonyms for male genitalia. Frat boys justify themselves by saying, “It’s not the size of the sword, it’s what you do with it that counts.” Girls use the terms as well, often in discussion of how awkward it can be to hug a guy friend with an obvious “dagger.”

This article is not about penises. It’s not even about sex. Instead, it’s about a group of students that sword fight in the quad between SUBI and Fenwick Library every week.

They get their fair share of dick jokes and Star Wars references. More often than not though, others will gather to stare, take pictures, and even shout encouragement to the fighters.

This is Live Action Role Playing, otherwise known as LARP.

See more pictures of LARP at Mason.  Click here for the full gallery.

All photos by Rachael Dickson.

“It’s like a giant medieval Nerf fight with a side of storytelling,” sophomore Scott Baumann said. “It turns out really well.”

The group meets every Friday afternoon at the quad to practice their fighting. The rules are simple- a direct hit on an arm or leg disables that appendage for the rest of the bout. Two hits on one appendage “kill” the player, in the same way actually cutting off an arm or leg could cause death in reality. A hit to the torso region is an instant “kill.” Don’t worry about getting whacked over the head by a friend though- headshots are illegal.

“Most of us make our own weapons,” Baumann said. He made his sword with a PVC pipe core, PVC insulation, and duct tape. The cost for making a weapon is minimal; Baumann estimated he could make two swords and a dagger for $20.

“Some of us are from a bunch of different organizations and some of us just showed up to hit things with shit,” senior Megan Williams said. “It’s something to do at the end of the week. It’s a great stress reliever.”

A variety of LARP organizations are active in the Northern Virginia area, including Simterra, Nero, Avalon and Dragorhir. The groups, with simulations ranging in size from 40 players up to 2000, play in backyards, neighborhoods and state parks. Formal games have diverse sets of rules and stories. Players can choose their character’s species, name, rank in society and skill sets, in a similar fashion to Massively multi-player online role playing games such as World of Warcraft or EverQuest. However, stats and character development often mean little in the outcome of a LARP match, as fights depend entirely on the skill of the player.

Others are welcome to play- the LARPers enjoy teaching newbies the rules of the game.

"It’s a lot of fun- all groups are welcome,” Baumann said. “If they look interested, we’ll offer them a chance to play.”