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Wag
 
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Heather (3/6/2007)
"I'm planning on starting my own LRP group and bringing in some new ideas, for instance we'll do actual fighting instead of throwing ping pong balls at each other."
Which one young lady from a vikings living history groups announced a couple of years back.
Didn't see this first time. Holy crap. Our US cousins have a lot to answer for, don't they?
PD - Brother Farael of the Ordo Dictum Dominus
EOS - Some Raggard Scum, previously Some Arimin Scum
6P - System creator (now retired), Andrei Treune of Clan Suner (for the moment)
RL - Will Robinson
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Heroic Knight
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On a purely journalistic note, that is a bloody awful article.
1 - Poorly phrased, overuse of the dreaded exclamation mark (!!!).
2 - Despite the opening claim of clinical, unbiased writing, the author degenerates into an obviously biased position.
3 - The consistent use of hearsay and unsubstantiated claims.
4 - He is basing his knowledge of LRP on two or three year's experience, over ten years ago, in a system he claims to have run himself. At the very least he should have researched the current state of the hobby, preferably by attending at least one current event, or otherwise by interviewing current LRP attendees (and then interviewing LH participants for balance).
On a personal note, I'm happy to write an article in response. Give me a month, I'll finish my MA and do some research.
Sod it, I'll write it if it's wanted or not - I want to know if LH really is as superior as this man implies.
Maelstrom - Elspeth Grigori - Holy Martyr
Lilith Sartia - I see weird people!
EOS - Maram-amma Suran - The Very Important Wife
Reality - Rebecca Willatts
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Wag
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medabeaks (8/31/2007)
I want to know if LH really is as superior as this man implies.
It is if you like it- and I think that's kind of the point, this guy was so busy frothing about what he liked, he forgot what his article was about.
I've done both and liked both, but I love the freedom of interpretation which we get, you don't get to interpret anything in living history- you just accept the authenticity officers word for it.
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Squire
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I think its subjective, and depends on entirely the mind set of the individual and what they want to get out of their hobby.
I love Living History (as opposed to Reenactment). You can get so much more from Living History compared to reenactment in finding out what it might have been like to have lived in X period, understand the technology, the mind set a bit more, compare my experiences of living in a certain way at a set time to those accounts from that period, finding out how something worked, was made etc. And I am also suitably anal enough to hand make uniform and not even make a piece of kit until I have seen several original examples.
The claim you can't do much in LH in terms of interpretation or freedom of expression I think is misplaced...you can. Yes there are sociological protocals as in any society - even in a fantasy world - and things that were and were not done, but I don't think you cant have someone say "they didn't do that" because at the end of the day those people in X time period were people and to be honest we haven't changed much; indeed for those who portray a soldier/military type a squaddie is a squaddie is a squaddie at the end of the day. The Vindalanda letters from the Roman Soldiers prove as much - constantly grumbling about piss poor food, marching no beer etc.
In LARP I think it is different as you are allowed to create and act a character of your own imagination which on one level is less constricted by a historical/real world time period, but yet is also constrained by the society and world of fantasy in which one immerses oneself. So is there that much difference? To my mind, the biggest differences is that you are so much freer to express yourself - ie not just stuck to one race, one culture, one period - in your character, go beyond the norms etc and can let your creative energies go off into fantasy. You can create the history and background of your character and their appearance, everything which is not as constricting as portraying, as in my case an Artilleryman from the French Imperial Guard Artillery c.1810. In Maelstrom and other games I can be who I want to be, even act as a totally different way to how I am and that is a great liberating factor.
In Living History there can be a lot of "hurrying up and waiting" to use an old military maxim when off duty or on duty...whereas in LARP the events are what you make them.
I think one of the other crucial differences is the level of discipline needed for an accurate and authentic portrayal of, for example, a soldier from the past. You need to spend hours of drill getting arms drill to parade ground level and also weapon safe. I also think that for similar reasons there could be a lot less prep. before events? I.e. not spending hours cleaning your kit, pipe claying belts, stripping your musket and cleaning and oiling it, cleaning buttons etc. In LARP I think that depends entirely on your kit and what you want to portray. You do see a lot of shit Reenactors with kit thats beyond being worn out and filfthy, but thats just them being lazy.
Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that at the end of the day one is a game with rules and the other is equally as valid as a means exploring and understanding an actual time period from the past. I don't think one is better than the other. They are similar in many ways and I enjoy both LARP and Living History for different reasons, and also the same reasons - being with friends, going away, making new friends and at the end of a long day doing something which unites Living Historians, Reenactors and LARPers - sitting round a fire, with a beer, with friends. Thats the best bit!
It is with Artillery one makes war
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Champion
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The two can meet and enrich lrp in more then just kit. I went to a lrp in France last year (which I did a review of), which had elements from medieval France in it. I only understood this year, that this was unique to the group because their lrp and re-enactment societies had began with the same people. They got a blacksmiths and people to brewer beer there with their trade but also as a character in the game. They also had three sisters who sang medieval songs and priest who gave (a semi joke) mass each year. They had two functional bars run by two family's who fought against each other. As well as English speaking 'English soldiers' to attack and yell insults at them (Irish in fact  ).
It gave the lrp a grounded permanent feel of community because people had a job or a place in the castle. Whereas most English lrps revolve around people moving to a new place for an event.
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EOS: Azameer: Argen Pathfinder
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Squire
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Yeah...it comes down to the common goal of creating a believable impression and a believable world, in one case fantasy the other historical. The more you can do to make it more believable and real the better, either in terms of kit, or characterisations and so forth.
In my Living History group we do costumed/uniformed interpretations where a character will do a 15 min monologue to the punters in role and then do a feedback/Q&A session after that, but still in character. We also carry around all the correct paper work etc, e.h a soldiers livret and pocket book with name, serial number, career etc in it. It adds tot he authenticity of the reconstruction/impression and also to your character.
It's also about fun too!
It is with Artillery one makes war
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Heroic Knight
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Bombardier (9/19/2007)
I don't think you cant have someone say "they didn't do that" because at the end of the day those people in X time period were people and to be honest we haven't changed muchFrom my experience of reinactment, I don't really agree with that. I've never done living history, but I've done one reinactment and didn't enjoy it. The group I was with (Wolfshead Bowmen) was very welcoming and great people, but I just found the whole thing too restrictive. I certainly found that what people do *has* changed a great deal over the centuries, and I found standing back and watching the guys strut and fight and shoot while I did the sewing and weaving and cooking pretty dull. After "time out" everything was equal again, there was none of the above mentioned snobbery regarding who had what role or any talk of the women having to do "woman's work" after the public had gone home, but the actual game/performance I found frustrating and restrictive. The larps that I play allow equal opportunity and experience for both genders and I found I really missed that at reinactment. On the other hand, the girl who introduced me to the group loved Wolfshead Bowmen but quit larp after a few tries because she found it too silly and unrealistic, so I guess it's horses for courses.
- ---------------------
- LT - Captain Iolanthe Swan
- Riftworld - Jenna Neraid, Clan Sceptre
- Brighton Below - Drizzle
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I do talk a good fight
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Not all re-enactors insist on strict gender roles... the group I'm in, British Plate Armour Society, has several female knights & archers:
http://www.britishplate.org.uk/photo_pages/photos10.html
http://www.hyboriantales.com
PD: Ghostdance ("The most irritating curse I've ever encountered" -- NPC played by H.)
Riftworld: Rossar Kuug ("Clearly mad, because he thinks he's a Com-Trow Skirmisher" - Aela)
Hyborian Tales: Crew, cook, dogsbody, general labourer, toilet cleaner ("Dangerously overoptimistic ref" -- Tom Nowell)
Otherwise usually crew ("Quite spry & fit, & willing to wear a big costume & run around a lot" -- various event organisers)
"My other oversized foam weapon is THE LORD" -- Questionable Content
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