The Blood Games
The Blood Games is a weekend-long LARP event running from the evening of July 4 through mid-day July 6, 2008, designed to bring together players from all LARP groups near and far in a very large gathering. All LARP groups are invited to send their contingents to compete for glory and showcase their Realm in these Games. Player characters will spend the weekend fully in game, immersed in the excitement of the Blood Games and the plot surrounding it. The event will be filled with numerous competitions, both physical and mental, as well as a plethora of auxiliary action and intrigue throughout the weekend.
The primary theme of the Blood Games is a series of challenging competitions, culminating in a mega battle on Sunday. The contests include individual exhibitions of skill and talent, as well as team competitions of various types. Although competitors may compete as individuals, many will no doubt compete for their Faction, House, and ultimately, their Realm. The Realm that distinguishes itself most throughout the Games will carry home the Blood Games Prestige Trophy for this year. Throughout the weekend, you will also have opportunity for small group action in forays against darker elements threatening the competitions, as well as against Factions, Houses, and Realms other than your own. |
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The Blood Games are organized by Ye Olde Commons, a facility dedicated to supporting the LARP community and to providing opportunities for LARPs to shine and grow.
What is LARP?
LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing, and the acronym is often used to mean the game or the event at which such activities take place. The term “role playing” means that you take on the persona of a fictional character, and play the role of that character. The term “live action” means that you are actually acting out the actions of this character, rather than just talking about them or describing them. If you’ve played tabletop D&D, or played on-line in a MMORPG, or participated in an improvisational theatrical show, then you have experienced some of the components of a LARP. Combine the fictional characters of D&D with the real-live action of improvisational theater, and the quests and large-scale interaction of an MMORPG, and you have some idea of a LARP.
There are many flavors of LARP games, differentiated by genre, setting, and the detail of the rules of interaction. The Blood Games is a LARP with a distinctly fantasy flavor, in a setting where magic is real, and with the opportunity of physical battle. In order to accommodate the interaction of many players coming from many different LARPs, the rules used in the Blood Games are kept very simple.
