live action: the sequel!

Khayankh · Post by **Khayankh** » Fri May 25, 2007 8:33 pm

I'm updating on the question I asked herehttp://forums.comicgenesis.com/viewtopi ... sc&start=0
I was emailed by a person who runs a free LARP for ages 16&up, it is called Heroic Realms. The Heroic Realms GM (I forget his name) says that 'Mike' gave him my email. Which one of you is Mike, and do you like chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal raisin? Seriously, you have my thanks.

Oh, and I thought awhile about costuming costs after some of my friends began discussing prom. Let us assume that all ordinary girls will go to prom and all geek girls will get LARP costumes instead. Based upon estimates from my friends, prom gowns cost between $150 and $250, and shoes that match your dress will probably cost between $30 and $70. Then there's manicures, pedicures, hairdos, and makeup, all of which is at least $20. Even assuming your boyfriend buys his own ticket and takes care of your ride, your own prom ticket is another $70 or worse, depending on your school. Oh, and prom dresses are worn ONCE, in your entire life. Assuming that a normal girl goes to her junior prom and her senior prom, and spends the most conservative estimate here, that's a total of over $500 for two events in her lifetime.
When one does a LARP, wearing the same costume repeatedly is encouraged, as you are retaining the same character. Also, your dues to the organization and other fees are not $70 per evening, you don't have to bring a boyfriend, and the highest estimate of costume cost I've heard on here so far is $100. Assuming a geeky high school girl buys two of the most wildly expensive LARP costumes she's heard of, joins a LARP with a $20-per-weekend fee (which is far higher than one might expect), and attends only three events, she's spent at least $250 less than her normal counterparts on silly clothes and once-in-a-lifetime events.
I don't know if this is true for boys or not, since I haven't gone suit shopping and I don't know what boy dress shoes cost. Discuss.

Narf the Mouse · Post by **Narf the Mouse** » Fri May 25, 2007 8:44 pm

...I'd find out who Mike is before I went.

Khayankh · Post by **Khayankh** » Fri May 25, 2007 9:35 pm

I looked at the website and Heroic Realms is a real game, and I sincerely hope that the email I got is from the actual GM, not a psycho persona. The links that are unclear are the ones between Mike, the GM and me. I have not released any personally identifiable info on the web apart from an email address, nor do I intend to do so. The exception to that statement is Facebook, but you can only see my profile if I friend your profile, and I only friend people I know well in real life.

Alina P · Post by **Alina P** » Fri May 25, 2007 10:12 pm

Yay! Glad to hear you found something in your area!

I'd speak with the GM of the game for now. That way, you know for sure you're dealing with someone from the game itself, and they'll be able to give you all the advice a new player will need to get started.

Also, it looks like it's a boffer LARP, as opposed to a theatre LARP. Cool - I've always wanted to try one of those. They sound like a ton of fun, though I imagine it's a tad more costume intensive than say, a vampire game, where you can get away with wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

I've got a bunch of links somewhere with cheap costuming tips for midevil/fantasy settings. I'll see if I can dig some up for you!

Thanatos5150 · Post by **Thanatos5150** » Fri May 25, 2007 11:44 pm

A note on males and the prom:
Yes, I went t one, Senior Prom (really, who cares about Junior, anyway, not even all schools HAVE a junior. I didn't know junior proms EXISTED until I got to Massachusets).
It cost about $300 - $350, which included the Tux rental, my split on the limo (yay for poor people in large groups), and (purchased) dress shoes, and the ticket(s). I'm not gunna post all the "cleaning up" I had to do for the prom (unless asked) , because lets face it, some females may or may not complain. Of course, I hate hip-hop and for other reasons had a horrible time, but theres your male end of the fincal spectrum.

As for LARPs, never been to one, but interested. My problem isn't costuming, its where to find the people. Then I'll have costuming issues.
~Thanatos

Thedon · Post by **Thedon** » Sat May 26, 2007 7:51 am

Well LARPs can be expensive some times, not always.

1. 225cn dollars for bus tickets.
2. 40-80 dollars for food
3. snacks unkown cost maybe 20-30.
4. slarpa games 15-20 dollars depending on how many games i'm going to.
5. Memories from SLARPA..Priceless

all in all i'm spending any where from 300-400 dollars on a LARP. going to try to get some cool costumes in. Going to stop by value villiage next week, need work cloths and may find some costume bits there.

Thunderhowl · Post by **Thunderhowl** » Sun May 27, 2007 5:00 am

thedon wrote:Well LARPs can be expensive some times, not always.

1. 225cn dollars for bus tickets.
2. 40-80 dollars for food
3. snacks unkown cost maybe 20-30.
4. slarpa games 15-20 dollars depending on how many games i'm going to.
5. Memories from SLARPA..Priceless

all in all i'm spending any where from 300-400 dollars on a LARP. going to try to get some cool costumes in. Going to stop by value villiage next week, need work cloths and may find some costume bits there.

This is because he moved to a different province from the LARP convention he is talking about. Results are not typical. The same Con will cost me around $50 for all three days. That includes meals.
Our regular Mage LARP costs $5 a month.

Keep in mind though, a grad outfit might make a killer socialite or debutante costume.

Think Sarah in the Vampire LARP in the comic.

JmcV · Post by **JmcV** » Mon May 28, 2007 4:49 am

also keep in mind when he says he's spending $300-$400 on a larp, he really means he's spending that money on up to 5 larps (since it is a larp convention and there are 5 events in total occuring that weekend) as well as spending the money on visiting friends and family that he no longer gets to see because he moved out of province.

;o)

BinaryKitten · Post by **BinaryKitten** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:17 am

I have spent over $200 on costumes, but generally on pieces that I know will transfer to a lot of different larps, or clothes that I can wear in real life too. I just bought a suit for a devil larp, but I do actually need dress clothes, so it wasn't too much to spend over all.

Thunderhowl · Post by **Thunderhowl** » Tue May 29, 2007 1:54 am

BinaryKitten wrote:I have spent over $200 on costumes, but generally on pieces that I know will transfer to a lot of different larps, or clothes that I can wear in real life too. I just bought a suit for a devil larp, but I do actually need dress clothes, so it wasn't too much to spend over all.

And this ties in nicely with my suggestion that you get some prom gear, and then wear it later at a LARP. Two birds with one stone!