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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday March 27 2018, @02:06AM   Printer-friendly
from the larping-for-fun-and-understanding dept.

Beyond Dungeons and Dragons: can role play save the world?

Live action role play, or larp, is a combination of re-enactment, storytelling and gaming – players are given a role and act out their character's actions within an overarching story. These interactive games can last a few hours or spin out over months and years, with players adopting familiar characters time and time again.

If you've come across larping before, you might associate it with orcs, elves and swordplay – a dynamic offshoot of tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons. But although mythical creatures can be involved, a growing number of larp games explore situations, stories and characters as a form of activism.

The creators of a new experience, The Quota, decided to use larp to tackle one of the most fraught issues facing the world today: the refugee crisis. Halat Hisar, a Palestinian-Finnish larp, explores life under occupation. Other larps include the seminal Just a Little Lovin', set in a fictionalised New York in the early years of the Aids crisis. Even a recent Jane Austen-inspired larp had lessons to teach on social inequality – alongside dancing and witty conversation, of course.

One worry is that these larps involve people of comparative privilege "playing" at being refugees or people with Aids. Helly Dabill, one of The Quota's creators, understands the concern. "We acknowledge that people who are not familiar with larping, or whose idea of it remains firmly entrenched in fantasy games with orcs and goblins, are often shocked at the topics that larp is willing to explore." But, she adds, people also write novels about difficult subjects, or plays, or make feature films. "All of these things can be harrowing, powerful and informative. They make people think. Most importantly, they start a dialogue about difficult subjects."

Unrelated: Dungeons and Dragons creatures, generated by neural network


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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Bot on Tuesday March 27 2018, @02:18PM (2 children)

    by Bot (3902) on Tuesday March 27 2018, @02:18PM (#658974) Journal

    I never understood meatbags' need for dice, as they own an endless supply of perfect randomness: women.

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  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @12:31AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @12:31AM (#659248)

    Women are much louder than dice, tho, particularly when you try to toss them again after having already done so several times.

    • (Score: 2) by Bot on Friday March 30 2018, @11:11PM

      by Bot (3902) on Friday March 30 2018, @11:11PM (#660596) Journal

      You don't toss them, silly you! you sit back and LISTEN.

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