My First LARP Event.

It is my childhood friends that made me discover Live Action Role Play, also known as LARP. For the longest time, they insisted that I should come to an event called “Terres Impériales” and that I would most probably like it because I already enjoyed roleplaying on forums.

I remember my first event really well. I was playing a forest elf ranger and my foam-headed arrows really weren't the best out there. I could barely shoot them five meters away. In other words, I was pretty useless in a fight. The other elves and myself had to prepare a forestine ceremony to thank the ancient forest spirits. We had to prepare beautiful gifts for them. I remember that the NPC priest that was leading us back then was particularly arrogant. But it was fun.

Then it started to rain, and at that place, when it rains, it pours. And every time my friend said: "Now it can't possibly get worse !", it actually did rain even more, just as soon as she had pronounced those accursed words. The travelling paths then transformed themselves into muddy rivers and we discovered that our tent was now a swimming pool because of a hole in the top. The matresses an luggage were either drenched or floating inside it. My friends unsuccessfully tried to patch it with duct tape but the tent's fabric was so wet it wouldn't stick. We then received permission to sleep inside the buildings, yet the storm wasn't over.Someone said it was raining so bad because a character called Edward McFray had "killed the sun" the evening before. In fact, it was a very annoying peasant disguised as a sun, but the sky didn't seem to appreciate his death nonetheless.

My poor elf ended up getting completely drunk at the tavern with a local pirate lady. She was highly disappointed that her ceremony got cancelled because of the muddy temperature. And because she heard that there were free drinks for those who enrolled in the militia, she ended up signing herself up.
That day, the path in front of the tavern was so muddy that an ork called Ouglouk and one of the Tree spirits (also called Feys) ended up fighting in the mud with only their underpants on.

Finally, because too many people were getting cold and tents were getting filled with water, the animation team had to cancel the event and the parents were called to bring us all back home. When they arrived, the sun was shining again. Oh, Irony !

We later learned that three tornadoes had passed in the region nearby, causing the massive storm. I guess shit happens sometimes, but because there's been rain every time we had a "Terres Impériales" event there since then, I still believe that place has been cursed for us when Edward killed the sun.

TIPS :

I learned lots of lessons from that event. The first one is to make sure your tent is waterproof and doesn’t have any holes in it. Unfold it at home after each event to make sure it’s really dry and clean and use a silicon waterproof treatment spray once or twice every season. Otherwise your week-end could turn really sour as your material starts floating in your tent and gets all wet. Bringing wet camping stuff back home is quite nightmarish.

The second one is to have a waterproof cape and boots. Army boots are probably the best investment out there, they’ll last you a lifetime if you treat them well. Wet feet can be not only a huge annoyance but also a cause of hypothermia. If anything, you wouldn’t want to get sick. Bring many pairs of socks and plastic bags in case there is a leak in your boots. Wrap your extra socks in a plastic bag so they remain dry no matter what happens to your tent. And also bring a couple change of clothes in case the rain manages to pass through your cape. Remember that, in case of cold wet weather, cotton clothes are possibly your worst enemy, they retain humidity and get cold very quick. Use wool, polyester or polar textiles. They’ll keep you warm even if they happen to get humid.

An the third, but the most important: if a peasant dressed up as the sun starts bugging you, by any means, DON'T KILL HIM ! I swear it will follow you for the rest of your life. The guy who used to play Edward still gets a reminder once in a while, and it happened at least five years ago.