How to avoid long combats in no-contact live-action role-playing (LARP) games

In a full contact or moderated contact live-action role-playing (LARP) game, combat is usually quick and frenetic. Players rush at each other and bean each other with foam covered boffer swords and usually the first one to get a good hit in is declared the winner. Easy.

LARPs that don't allow contact however rely on contested character statistics and an element of chance as provided by a rock-paper-scissors test, sometimes between players or players and storytellers. When it comes to large groups of people involved in this kind of contested LARP combat, chock full of special powers, difficulty and situational modifiers, extra actions and special weapons, things have the potential to go long.

Game-masters realize that long drawn-out combats are one of the most un-popular aspects of a game of this type, so I am giving some advice based on the combats I have run and witnessed on how players can help the storytellers and have a smoother, faster combat.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Patience
• Your character sheet ready to go

1. Be There if You're Not Supposed To. This applies both to in character and out of character. In character, if everyone swarms the castle looking for glory, the townsfolk will panic and the bad guys are going to get away in the confusion. Your character may lose face and the in character authorities will be mad at your character. Out of character, if your character isn't part of the combat, but you're just hanging around, you'll only suck up the time and attention of the game-masters and the players who need to be focusing, and you're not watching the combat on Pay Per View so go role-play!

2. Don't Be There if You Don't HAVE To, Combats increase in time more and more for every character that joins in. There are more actions, more complications and more distractions, so if you aren't SURE you should be going, consider having your character help secure the home base, cover the diplomatic fall out or care for the returning wounded, or any number of useful and worthy things.

3. Beware the TIME BUBBLE. Remember if you start even a couple of minutes after the first group/person to go fight, you're likely to miss the battle, as a single combat round is usually only a few seconds in game time, but might take 30-45 minutes in real time, and most combats last fewer than 15 game seconds or three rounds. So, consider spending your time role-playing rather than waiting around and asking the game-master the gamer equivalent of "are we there yet?"
   
   Now that I've tried to talk you OUT of going to the Combat, if you still just gotta go, try to follow these guidelines:

4. Be Organized. Have your Character Sheet out, and all your Equipment Cards or props out, and make sure they're all approved by the game-master BEFORE you get there. Know your basic die pools and statistics, like Initiative, Attack, Defend and Soak... Don't make the Storyteller do all the math. If you don't know how to use your character's statistics and powers, spend some time with an game-master or rules-savvy veteran player during peacetime to learn.

5. Pay Attention. Be quiet and listen to the Game Master and the other players so you know what's going on. If you're talking when other people are taking their turns, and make the person running the game tell you what just happened, you're dragging out the combat time.

6. Stay Put. Stand where the Storyteller asks you to. There are usually a lot of things the Game Master is trying to keep track of, and in an imaginary space, if you start wandering around, it makes keeping track of the what's going on hard for both the GM and the other players. Plus, if you wander too far, the GM might have to track you down to talk to you.

7. Be Ready. If you have followed the guidelines up till now, and are standing in your spot with your character sheet out, and you've been paying attention so you know what's going on, this one should be easy. When the Storyteller asks you a question, have the answer ready. The questions are almost always "What's your Initiative?" or "What's your Action?" or "What's your Die Pool?" and you'll know in advance based on the situation which one its likely to be. However, lots of time is lost waiting for players to fish out their character sheets or props, decide what their action is or do simple math in their heads (write it down if you need to).

8. Don't Argue. This doesn't mean don't ask questions, or point out mistakes ('cause goodness knows your game masters are only human and do make them sometimes) but once the Storyteller has heard your point and made a ruling, DROP IT. If you think the rule is horrifyingly unfair, approach them AFTER the Combat is over. You aren't likely to get the game-master to rewrite what has gone before, but the game master will be more willing to listen to all your arguments. If you waste everyone's time arguing in the middle of combat, you just make tempers hotter and loose the sympathy of the Storyteller and your fellow players.
   
   These last two are THE biggest wasters of time that I've seen, so be mindful of your own actions. Value the time of the GMs the other players and yourself and do what you can to cut down on Combat and leave time for more of what you really LARP for--the Role-play.

Resources

• Emerald City Chronicles