The Dreaming LARP

[Jasper]

Why would you want to make toys that safe?  When my group does boffers, we just tape some pipe insulation to sticks and hit as hard as we can.  People get stung, sure, but it's quite invigorating.  We're realism fans though.  If your blocking form was crap, then the fact that someone powered through it and cut your head off is how you know.

ETA:  I'm reacting to the Dagorhir site that said "don't hit hard".

[Cramulus]

I'm a touch lost on the whole dreamstone thing.

cool - I'll have to clear this up on the website a bit.

you don't have levels or experience points in this game, everybody is more or less at the same power level. Everybody has four skills and one racial skill.

the Dreamstone, however, levels up and gets more powerful as you play. Everybody has one, and their Dream Stone gives them one additional power, skill, or defense. The Dream Stone cannot be stolen or traded, it's a magic item which only works for you.

does that answer your question? or were you looking for more information about Resonance and how to activate the Dream Stone?

It might be a good idea to include a link to a site that outlines Boff design and building, as well as safety testing them.

I agree - this section needs more links. Making a boffer weapon is already pretty well described on the internet, but I need to clarify which type of boffer culture this is

The fighting in the Dreaming will be more like NERO than Dagohir. Light, quick hits with light, quick weapons.

The idea is that you don't have to be a bigass meat sack in order to get in a boffer fight. Real World sword play rewards big strong dudes who are tough enough to still fight while injured. But in this game you can still win a sword fight if you're a 90 lb chick. So the emphasis is on speed and technique more than strength and force.

Ultimately, the weapon construction guidelines are going to be left up to local players. If somebody shows up at your territory with a re-bar wrapped in duct tape, you will have the ability to restrict those weapons from combat. If everybody is fighting "lightest touch" and you are repeatedly cranking people in the face, whoever owns the territory can give you a yellowcard / redcard to boot you out.

But if you and your friends are into a high contact game, and everybody is cool with that level of risk, you can play at that level. The safety standards are set by the people playing. It's just that the default is really light, quick combat, and I think that should be the rule in most places.

Why would you want to make toys that safe?  When my group does boffers, we just tape some pipe insulation to sticks and hit as hard as we can.  People get stung, sure, but it's quite invigorating.  We're realism fans though.  If your blocking form was crap, then the fact that someone powered through it and cut your head off is how you know.

ETA:  I'm reacting to the Dagorhir site that said "don't hit hard".

This is meant to be a fantasy game and not a simulation of the grim reality of a sword fight. While some people may enjoy injuring each other during a sparring match, that's not the intent here - we want the game to be accessible to as many people as possible, and that means creating combat situations in which people aren't injuring one another. The 300 lb guy swinging a PVC pipe like a baseball bat will scare off that 100lb teenage girl. I'm not interested in whether the fighting within a fantasy larp is realistic - I'm more concerned with whether it's dynamic and fun.

[Jasper]

It does make more sense to do it your way for this game.

[Cainad (dec.)]

This sounds both incredibly lame and incredibly awesome. I'm still undecided on whether I'll be joining or not, as even my nerdiest friends are above LARPing. Also, it is fucking cold in Fredericton at this time of year.

All you have to do is get one person they respect to get into it. Everyone I know here had the "Fuck LARPing, it sucks and is lame!" attitude until I came back after my first weekend, dispelling rumors and jabbering excitedly about the +1 brassiere they'd made me wear how much fun it was. Now I've got like 6 people who are all excited for it.

[Richter]

Back to the boffer aspect, (the martial arts nutso in me here.), are there going to be any restrictions on who can use what weapons? 
From what I've sene of armed combat sports, those with quick, light weapons going for only a light touch vastly favor two - weapon fighting(2-stick).  (Followed in effectiveness by polearm, or sword+shield) There is also the question of "Can you use it?"  Two weapon is difficult to coordinate effectively against ONE opponent, let along 5 at once while trying to keep together with a group of allies.  Even if you can pick it up, like it or not, you need practice at it to be GOOD with it. 

Also, any equivalent of the "flurry" rule?  (Don't just walk up and unload, stop for a beat after 3 swings.)

[LMNO]

You mean like Filipino stick fighting?  Man, that shit is fun.

[Richter]

NM, I just RTFM.   
Superficially reading, it looks like it's excluded for PC's, except for a sword+dagger possibility with the right character skills.

You mean like Filipino stick fighting?  Man, that shit is fun.

Youtube "Dog Brothers" if you haven't already.  They're some dudes in South CA who do that, and practice full force in fencing masks and pads.  (They make the SCA heavy fighting look downright SANE.)  Most of their matches end by submission or injury.  They also focus more on the quick, practical strikes and good tecnique in guard and recovery, rather than the flowing dancelike routines you see in a lot of classes.  (Fighting only looks that good if the fighter is crazy good)

[Telarus]

Dog brothers are one of the best Escrima groups out there with video right now.

This style is where most of my weapon training is based on (and a bit of aikido sword technique). And Richter's right.. with practice you can hold off 4-5 people, without practice your arms get tangled in each other or you hold the sticks waaaaay to wide to avoid tangles.

[Richter]

We should take this up in a new thread.  For purposes of Dreaming though, I like the way it's looking for balance of boffer aspect so far.   

I'm eagerly awaiting more fleshing out of rituals, skills, class and race info too.  Since it's not necssarily a combat oriented LARP, with more possibilities for networking, alliances, and in general social play, I'd love to see a lot more of that. 

Again, I need to start telling RI folks about this.  Many are bored to death by hearing about my LARP fun, but can't attend themselves due to time / money.  This could really fill that niche.   

[Cramulus]

I think that weapon styles will probably be class based.

Everybody can use any kind of one handed weapon.

The mage classes won't have any additional access, but may have a special power they can use while holding a staff.

The rogue classes will have access to two-weapon fighting styles. One rogue class will also have bows (you'll throw spell packets to represent arrows, and you also have to hold a bow prop)

The fighter classes will have access to two handed weapons and shields.


If you want to switch up your style, you can rebuild your character (or start a new one entirely) once per month.

[Cramulus]

did a fuckton of work on the class page, check it out:

http://www.principiadiscordia.com/cramulus/index.php?title=Dreaming_Class

At character build you'll be able to pick FIVE skills (used to be four)

still tinkering with the Summoner - I think that the ability to create a minion is probably the most powerful skill in the game. Even if you're a chode, having a partner to doubleteam your opponent is fucking brutal! But the summoner doesn't have many skills - need some more stuff to round out that class.

[LMNO]

Haven't read the page, but I was just thinking... why not build the Summoner character with incredibly weak additional skills, so that they are almost co-dependent on the minion they create? 

It might make for some very interesting in-game interactions and developments.

[Richter]

Looks like the Summoner has minimal abilities otherwise, it looks like, and no direct damage capability, so you're right.  They're a pony with a GOOD trick though.

Could you voluntarily "Shade" a current player though without them dying first?  On the plus side, in a tough fight it would give you an expendable minion, and then you get your PC back.  Downside, the 60 sec. delay before they can vanish / respawn.  It might be worthwhile to do this only after death though.

Can the "Imp" your shade is created as choose Summoner as their class themselves?

[Cramulus]

Haven't read the page, but I was just thinking... why not build the Summoner character with incredibly weak additional skills, so that they are almost co-dependent on the minion they create? 

It might make for some very interesting in-game interactions and developments.

The summoner role emerges from the fact that when you die, you're done playing for the night.

In the past, we've found this to be really frustrating. You're on your way to a public vote, and your enemies don't want you to vote against them, so they assassinate you before you can get to the meeting spot. You're shut down before you even got to play!

or maybe you're on an adventure and you die, but your friends still have a few more encounters to go. You wanna play with them, right?

So the summoner's ability allows you to take someone who is OOG and make them your IG minion. It also allows non-players to jump in and try out the game without having to make a character.


In practice, you're not always going to have an OOG buddy to turn into your shade minion. So the summoner class needs to be able to function on its own even if nobody's died yet tonight. I don't want to give them the destructive powers of a sorcerer or the healing/status powers of a shaman, so I'm still trying to figure out what else they should get.

Could you voluntarily "Shade" a current player though without them dying first?  On the plus side, in a tough fight it would give you an expendable minion, and then you get your PC back.  Downside, the 60 sec. delay before they can vanish / respawn.  It might be worthwhile to do this only after death though.

No, and that's a point I need to clarify. The Shade needs to be created from a Dead Character or a Non Player. If you have a Dreaming Character and he's alive right now, your body isn't capable of hosting this kind of shade.

Can the "Imp" your shade is created as choose Summoner as their class themselves?

Oh shit -- good spot! That could rapidly become a sorcerer's apprentice scenario!

In general, shades shouldn't be summoners. I will note that.

[Richter]

Thanks, not to be a gamebreaking jerk.

Also, could you Summon, Take a Breath, and then Summon again, to control 2 Imps at once?
Do Imps die if the summoner dies WHEN the summoner dies, or does it fall under the "10 sec. out of line-of-sight"?  (10 seconds of berserk shade ?  )