A theme for next year maybe...

[redd_18235]

Well, i'm going to BM this year for the first time and if it works out ok and is enjoyable, i'll bring a theme in 2006. There's a fun live action rpg called Amtgard if anybody's heard of it. Anyways, we'll leave the rpg element out and keep the duels and combat play in. An information site for the game is at: www.amtgard.com Please let me know if the theme sounds do'able and fun.
My email address is: chrisredden_444@hotmail.com
Hope to hear from you all soon. Thanks.

Redd

[Shinxy]

Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt! :P

[Isotopia]

There's a fun live action rpg called Amtgard if anybody's heard of it. Anyways, we'll leave the rpg element out and keep the duels and combat play in.

Role playing game? Why would you do that? As a first time person going maybe you should hold on to your idea and see what the event is about. In the past RPG suggestions have been met with some....skepticism in that such things tend to take participants out of the moment in the same way that tv does.

[robotland]

*rolling percentile dice* Hmmmm....I've got a Constitution of 16, so I should be able to walk from Hushville out to the Temple and then swing by Center Camp and back without getting heatstroke....Consulting the Monster Manual, I see that Ravers can take 3 hitpoints of damage except to the ears, which are magically protected, so I'll need to dazzle any that I encounter with my Magic Item....(Stick of Glowing.)

[Grizelda]

I think that whether or not RPGs take people out of the moment really depends on their attitude towards the game. I've been known to zone out and decide to go do some baking while the GM consulted a million charts to decide the fate of my character, but then I've also been scared of a sheet of paper describing an angry werewolf. There is also something to be said for a game where I get to spring out at people and scream "SURPRISE!" and make them jump half out of their skin and this is considered acceptable behaviour.

With all the competing distractions going on at Burning Man, though, it would be tricky to get people into the game enough to suspend disbelief and have fun.

[Bay Bridge Sue]

That's the artistry of it as well... to take something and mold it into something else and see if it's a cathedral piece or a bunch of chunks of glass...

If you do something like this next year (and you may decide after going this year that your perception of reality has changed and it doesn't seem as good as something esle which you flash on) the true test (in fact, the true test of not the art but the artist) is if it turns out not to be a "hit" will you be OK with abandoning the idea for year 3?

Otherwise... it seems kind of like what Vortex has done for a while now... not to mention Thunderdome... and a lot of other theme stuff. And you never know if you will have a hit or a miss until you try it. But I would, were it me, keep it simmering while you grok BRC for the first time and between the sensory overload (is that a good term for it?) to see if what you have in your mind will (1) work, and (2) be an attractive draw or a dud. You'll be able to tell (I hope) by the time Sunday comes around.

Because... and no one talks about it, kinda like the way no one talks about their Aneorexic Alcoholic Agnostic Athiestic Aunt Adolph - you may get there, decide "what the fuck am I doing out here in the god-forsaken desert when I could be somewhere else"... and do something else next year. For there *are* people (sad as it is) whose first trip to Black Rock City is also their last. Don't understand it (meebee becuz my mind was addled by alkaline water as a child) , but it's as real as playa dust.

JUst stuff to think about. Feel it out first. Know what your absolutes and negligables and no-go's are. And from there build a foundation.

[redd_18235]

Wow, almost everyone is poo-poo'ing the idea and they didnt even read the part about loosing the rpg element of the game. Without it, its just a bunch of friends wacking each other with foam sticks with minimal rules i.e. torso hits kill and limb hits cripple (which rocks). F**k the role playing, on with the mock fighting with friends. I know it looks stupid and even childish from someone who's never played before , but just think of it as extreme fencing and it seems less lame. Believe me, when 2 or more seasoned vets are pitted against each other, you're in for a show. No role playing, no dice, no character stats, and no funny costumes or anything like that. Just friends hanging out together drinking and taking turns going at each other can make for an unforgettable night.

[unjonharley]

o3 a camp had battling with padded quarter staf. They would stand one air pillows faceing each other. Looked like a lot of fun.

[Janka]

In the past RPG suggestions have been met with some....skepticism in that such things tend to take participants out of the moment in the same way that tv does.

Uh, what?

With over 15 years of RPG activities behind me, I find that statement utterly peculiar. Rant follows, and I know I am off-topic, since the original poster did not want to do an RPG anyway, just a boffer sword duel field (which, in my opinion, sounds extremely fun, but has exactly about nothing to do with roleplaying.)

What many people who have not really played RPGs extensively do not realize is that roleplaying, in its simplest form, is exploring possible worlds and characters through imagining you are them in their situation, and doing this interactively with other people portraying other characters yours interacts with. All the rule-sets and whatnot on top of that are just tools for doing that - sometimes better, sometimes worse. Roleplaying is not all about fantasy, and it is not all about whacking monsters and being a cool hero. The fact that most RPGs seem to be about simplistic heros in simplistic fantasy worlds does not mean that all RPGs are that, any more than the prevalence of bad action movies says anything about movies in general.

RPGs, when played by more or less mature adults with some creative skills (and yes, I do realize that that is quite a requirement, but maybe not as unrealistic in BRC as in the default world ;)) do not take you "out of the moment" any more than any other interactive art/entertainment form does. TV is passive watching, yes. RPGs are active creation the participants are an integral part of. To compare those two does not really work, sorry.

If I was doing a live-action game for BRC, I would not take any ready-made (fantasy or other) world/game and try to adapt it on the playa, for several reasons. Instead, I would like to create a game that would speak specifically for BM citizens, invoke some thoughts and feelings that were specific to the year's theme maybe, something that could be quickly briefed and quickly played. (But I am not, not this year anyway.)

Apologies for ranting, you hit a pet peeve. ;)

[Dork]

Screw the burnier than thous. Bring all your gear, your most elaborate costumes and props, and have fun. Conduct live action role playing games that roam the playa. Roll dice to see how messed up that shroom will get you. When you come across strangers who seem interested, invite them into the game as friend or foe.

Set up a combat arena in your camp and go at it. Rally others to join in.

Stagnation is one of the biggest threats to the event. Don't let people convince you there's one correct way to participate. Make your own way.

[robotland]

Forgive me for mocking the D&D angle....I'm not the only one on the Eplaya who's brandished a duct-tape-and-foam-on-a-hockey-stick weapon, and it IS a pile of fun. Spent most of my teenage years running around in the woods pounding on people, in fact.
And Janka's entirely correct about the creativity that RPGs can foster.
I just know that it'd make me sad to stumble across a tentful of people fondling their polyhedral dice while the giddyness of BRC swirls around them....

[dragonfly Jafe]

Burningman is one big RPG for some people, complete with costumes and assumed identities. Others just need a little encouragement.

I would say if you want to do an RPG camp, keep it simple: the only rule is you cannot be yourself (and if you do have dice, make sure they are HUGE, like 3 feet across). You have to pretend to be someone/something you are not normally. Costumes optional but encouraged. You could even have a "grab bag" of random identities for the imagination-challenged...

[robotland]

(and if you do have dice, make sure they are HUGE, like 3 feet across.

Heh. Haven't finished the covers for the domes yet....I might have to dress 'em up as percentile dice.

[Dork]

I just know that it'd make me sad to stumble across a tentful of people fondling their polyhedral dice while the giddyness of BRC swirls around them....

I can see that. But.. a roaming gang of costumed RPGers incorporating the environment in their game, that would be cool. I say this having played a total of 1 hour of RPGs and deciding it wasn't for me.

[dragonfly Jafe]

o3 a camp had battling with padded quarter staf. They would stand one air pillows faceing each other. Looked like a lot of fun.

It was fun - it was also just there for people to do with what they wanted (nobody "running" it like thunderdome). This is the way to do it in my opinion (provide the space and the weapons, with some thought to safety, but do not "organize" it)

[dragonfly Jafe]

(and if you do have dice, make sure they are HUGE, like 3 feet across.

Heh. Haven't finished the covers for the domes yet....I might have to dress 'em up as percentile dice.

If you do, don't be surprised if one night your dome gets rolled across the playa!