About Elysium LARP

LARP stands for Live Action Role Play - it can also be called LRP (Live Role Play). It's got quite a few analogies, from 'paintballing with swords' to 'cross country pantomime'.

LARP originated from Role Playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons, known as 'Tabletop games', or computer MMORPGs (Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games) such as World of Warcraft, Everquest or Guildwars. In these, each player has a character (sometimes more than one) which is played in a scenario or game which normally involves elements of fighting, puzzle solving and improvisational acting. Each character has a set of abilities or skills which are simulated by the computer in MMORPGs or by dice rolling in tabletop games. The longer the character is played for, the more skills they accumulate and the better they become.

LARP differs from both MMORPGs and tabletops by the fact that we actually act out the scenarios. We wear real armour, and use theatrical props as weapons to act out battle scenes – the games are run by one or two people at a time, and everyone takes turns to play the 'monsters' who play the opposition for the characters.

People LARP for many different reasons – some enjoy it for the exercise, others enjoy the role play aspect. Some like creating costumes and weapons and seeing them in action, some pretending to be someone other than themselves, some enjoy the challenge of building the 'best' character that is statistically possible.

We run on a weekly, or bi-weekly basis, on Saturdays, in the woods behind the University of Bath. We normally meet at 11:00 am in the far end of East car park (the Park & Ride carpark). The games starts at midday, and will generally last anywhere between 3 and a half to 7 hours.

Details of future games can be found on our event calendar.

Anyway you want to really! If you'd just like to see how it's done, feel free to turn up to monster or just watch. If you have any questions, or would like to start making a character, then email us!

Please note, due to insurance and legal reasons, you must be 18 years of age or older.

We put a lot of effort into making each larp an immersive atmosphere, so we do request costumes from our players eventually – we don't expect you to turn out fully kitted on your first game! - and if you monster, the chances are you'll be handed a piece of kit eventually and expected to wear it.

It's worth noting that not every piece of costume has to be flamboyant and overt; in fact we have only three hard and fast rules about costume.

Weapons are generally bought from traders off the internet – the safety mark to look out for is whether it's been approved by the 'LORIEN TRUST'. A couple of our own members make their own weapons, but none of them do so professionally, so you'd have to ask very nicely indeed for them to see if they could make you something.

Armour is dependant on what sort of thing you are looking for – in terms of leather armour, leather trousers and jackets are easily obtainable and modifiable, or internet bought armour is another option, although will be more expensive, but the end product normally looks more professional.

Metal armour is a more expensive and generally has to be bought from a professional maker; if you have the time and the effort, it is possible to buy set of rings to create your own chain mail from.

Like any physical activity, there is always a very small amount of risk, but this is minimal, and we have never had an accident. In order to keep Elysium this safe, we do ask all members to follow our safety guidelines.