Sensitivity on a Budget

Budgets are a concern for larps of every size. In a perfect world we’d all have props and costumes out of a blockbuster movie, food catered by a four star chef, and massages for the staff.* It can be hard to know where to start and starting by hiring someone to tell you to spend even more money can be intimidating at the best of times. For LARP runners like myself who run a Labor of Love game this can be especially daunting, though we’ve now set aside funds specifically for that purpose. With all of that being said, we’ve got 5 tips that will cost you no money to get started now to have your game be a more welcoming space.

Recruit a Diverse Staff (and listen to them)

Very few larps operate with a single staff member. If you do then probably you need to follow the advice of recruiting a staff ASAP and make this a part of it. When you are recruiting a staff make sure you look to people of a variety of backgrounds. This can be ethnic, gender, orientation, and ability. Diversity on your staff will give more diverse points of view and provide a richer story. As an important corollary, listen to them when they talk about their experiences and the advice they give. Everyone on a LARP staff brings strength and the background that many marginalized people bring to your staff will create a more welcoming environment.

Draft a Code of Conduct (and make it apply to staff also)

Imagine a game world with vast and gorgeous details, photos of players having an amazing time in gorgeous costumes at a stunning location. Now imagine you’ve ever had a bad experience at a LARP and you ask yourself “what if that happens here?” You look around their website and can’t even find the word “cheating” on anything. Have you found LARPtopia, the prophesied game where everyone is extremely healthy and respectful and never brings any of their baggage from the work week? Or...perhaps you’ve found a game where the owners are not prepared for when things go wrong.

Games of any size can and will have problems. Often those problems stem from mere miscommunication but even then it is important to have clear rules and guidelines about what to do in those situations. Having public rules and rules specifically that apply to staff makes sure everyone walks in with the same expectations and gives a structure for people who might have something bad happen. In the long run it means your players have an option for addressing issues rather than just leaving the game and you’ll have a safer and healthier play space to fully commit to exploring stories and experiences.

Have a designated Out of Play area (enforce it as a quiet area)

Role-playing can be an intense experience and LARPing even more so since we “are” our character even in small moments. Some of my most favorite experiences in LARP have come from those emotionally intense or sensory overloads. “Overload” though is an important word here. For many neuro-divergant people this kind of overstimulation can be taxing and even for the neurotypical they may find scenes to be triggering in ways not expected. This is why it’s important to have a designated out of play area and keep it separate. This might be the cabin of the player, a designated room, or the area outside of a building depending on the nature of your LARP site. Since LARP occurs in physical space the possible accommodations of each game must be taken into account but having this kind of space and checking in with people there can be a real boon. What if you want to keep the intensity but maybe just a notch lower? Well...

Institute a check in hand signal (and review it all the time)

Imagine a person is yelling and the other person crying while also giving the thumbs up. Why would they do this? This is an example of OK Check-in: https://nordiclarp.org/2016/09/09/creating-culture-trust-safety-calibration-larp-mechanics/

Through systems and signals like this players can approve of intensity in the moment without breaking the flow. Conversely, people can use this to signal to stop or take it down a notch. Personally I’ve run a scene with near constant check in as we edged close to a personal trigger for one of the players and we kept a very intense scene that pushed the boundaries for the characters without crossing the boundaries for the player and resulted in something far more satisfying since everyone in the scene knew that everyone else was on board and could commit more fully in the moment without worrying about the player since they gave regular update to their level. But what if we had crossed a line and the person did not feel comfortable saying so? What if we crossed a line and they still did not feel comfortable saying so directly?

Have an anonymous feedback form (and don’t do a public response to it)

Direct confrontation can be fraught for many people especially since most LARPs are of a size where there is a great deal of contact with staff both in and out of play. How do you say something critical without worrying that you might hurt a friend? Maybe you were uncomfortable and/or maybe you just see ways to improve the game you love. Many LARP runners feel they are open to criticism and feedback forms are pretty standard at most games. Having an anonymous form that people can submit to allows more freedom to critique for the socially anxious. Even if the form is never used knowing that it is out there can be a real boon in showing that the staff is open to feedback of all kinds.

What if you do have some funds though? Come back next month for our next article.

*No funds donated to Larping in Color have been used for massages but a man can dream.

Author: Christopher Tang