Rules
Many LARPs have game rules that determine how characters can affect each other and the setting. The rules may be defined in a publication or created by the gamemasters. These rules may define characters' capabilities, what can be done with various objects that exist in the setting, and what characters can do during the downtime between LARP events. Because referees are often not available to mediate all character actions, players are relied upon to be honest in their application of the rules.
Some LARP rules call for the use of simulated weapons such as foam weapons or airsoft guns to determine whether characters succeed in hitting one another in combat situations. The alternative is to pause role-play and determine the outcome of an action symbolically, for example by rolling dice, playing rock-paper-scissors or comparing character attributes.
In Western LARP gaming, "safe" weapons such as swords made of foam or airsoft guns are used. Some other traditions of live-action roleplaying, such as the Russian one, tend to use more realistic weapons such as swords made of hard plastics (composite epoxy material is the most common material for LARP swords in Russia) or 4.7mm BB guns. The Russian tradition, adhered to in many post-Soviet countries, has more focus on weapon realism issues such as weight and balance of swords, so CEM, a very hard, very resilient plastic close to metal in density was chosen. Other common materials include wood and duraluminium.
There are also LARPs that do without rules, instead relying on players to use their common sense or feel for dramatic appropriateness to cooperatively decide what the outcome of their actions will be.
Read more about this topic: Live Action Role-playing Game
Famous quotes containing the word rules:
“It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the problems.... However, with faith and perseverance,... complex problems in the past have been resolved in our search for justice and peace. They can be resolved in the future, provided, of course, that we can think of five new ways to measure the height of a tall building by using a barometer.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“The early Christian rules of life were not made to last, because the early Christians did not believe that the world itself was going to last.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Life is a game in which the rules are constantly changing; nothing spoils a game more than those who take it seriously. Adultery? Phooey! You should never subjugate yourself to another nor seek the subjugation of someone else to yourself. If you follow that Crispian principle you will be able to say “Phooey,” too, instead of reaching for your gun when you fancy yourself betrayed.”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)