Wednesday Weekly Oneshots #3: Hassocks & Malfoy Ride Again

Setting 
The denizens of our house all grew up reading the Harry Potter books. I suppose they defined our generation; being exciting stories, nicely written, which brought us together in a communal narrative. Ten year-olds would wait for their Hogwarts letters, it became fashionable to wave sticks at each other, and sort yourselves into houses with colour-coded outfits. This world defined so much of our early creativity. So this his is probably why, when we discovered our love of roleplay, we loved the idea of playing a game in this wizarding world. Fresh faced, cherubic young Hogwarts students, keen to learn, full of japes or fripperies… OR we could generate and play two of the most evil men we’ve ever played.

Camp NaNoWriMo 2014

Gorgeous art by Hillary DePiano Every year since I started University I swore to complete NaNoWriMo. For those of you not in the know, that stands for National Novel Writing Month. Usually held in November, it gives writers 30 days to write 50,000 words. The main event is characterised by its access to universal forums, and a sense of dogged, winter grimness. Ploughing on with your word count with a busted radiator while the nights draw in. On the other hand, Camp NaNoWriMo runs twice a year in April and July, with a less rigid word count and no restriction on whether you actually write a ‘novel’ or not.

Wednesday Weekly Oneshots 1&2: Strange Gods and Strange Lands

Wednesday has always been roleplay day. At the University where I met my good friends and regular roleplay team, Wednesday afternoons were free from lectures and seminars. I can only imagine this was so the numerous (and probably award-winning) sports teams could converge and train while it was still light. The delightful outcome of that was a tabletop gaming society that could run games from 2pm - 7pm every week.

This was a unique experience, being involved in a capsule game that ran for the length of a semester every week. It meant that we got to experience different systems, plots, GMs; I would whole-heartedly support anyone attending a University with a roleplay society taking part and trying all the games you can. It will form the way you look at games.

Anyway, what is all this preamble in aid of? Recently a long running Star Trek game came to it's end-of-season break, and we were left with our Wednesday evenings again. And it occurred to me: Why can't we reclaim our Wednesdays for exploring our game experiences?

"Like the falling of small stones": Tabletop RPGs as the Ultimate Procedurally Generated Game

Tabletop beats video gaming. A bold statement perhaps, but some of my most immerse and emotive gaming moments have been around the gaming table. The ability of a GM to adapt to a given situation is what makes tabletop gaming the ultimate interactive storytelling tool far beyond the limitations of video gaming.

This topic was sparked by the events of our monthly game of Vampire the Masquerade (V20) which is a system that prides itself on the importance of telling a good story. Veronica, the childe of the Sheriff of Birmingham was snooping around the outside of a very well protected house. It was supposed to be a simple night of observation and information gathering. The rest of us were already crossing out our night's blood point and readied our actions for the next night. Unfortunately player action stood in the way. What followed was a string of actions and reactions between PC and Storyteller that took us completely off track:

HabitRPG: Roleplaying as Myself

An adventurer approaches...

I could live my life by gamification. I have always struggled to build up positive habits, or complete difficult tasks. Procrastination is the bane of all my days and without strong incentivisation, I wouldn't get much done. I've tried it all: to do lists, phone alarms, buddy systems, and reward schemes. Nothing really worked. For some reason I can just never stick to anything for any length of time, it is why I've found maintaining the blog so difficult. My notebooks are full of half-completed post drafts, but I can never seem to remember to maintain habits. 

Top 10 Etsy Finds - Summer 2012

• Another round-up? Come on Praxis Descends, give us a review, a tutorial, some lovely pictures?

• No! I've been meaning to do a round-up of my favourite Etsy pieces for ages. Last night I was updating my favourites list and realised I had ten things that were just crying out to be features in my I want list.

By the time you read this post, some of these things might have sold out or been taken off Etsy all together. If this is the case, please check out their shop for other things. These people put their time into making amazing and beautiful things, and they should be supported for it.

Crafting Roundup: July/August

So I spent a brief fortnight out of my busy life house-sitting my boyfriend’s parents in sunny Norfolk. During this period I took the opportunity to remember how to ride a bike, watch every episode of Jonathan Creek and do a lot of crafting. I thought it would be the perfect time to open myself up for commission work on the UKofEquestria forums. Alas nopony seems to be biting and I am still working on personal and to-sell projects.

[Once I have more pieces made up I intend to create an Etsy shop to sell from, and maybe that will bring in the revenue I need to pay the rent].

So in an effort to be more open about my WIPs I am going to dedicate this post to my process and half-finished works.

Custom Homestuck Figure: The Knight of the Void

I'm not the biggest fan of the Homestuck, but I couldn't resist sculpting one of these cute little armless twerps. This is the fan character of a friend of mine: The Knight of the Void. With the fighting symbol from Pokemon and some sweet-ass shades it was a relatively simple job, but pretty rewarding.



Here he is in glorious brown, black and white



The base was made out of Sculpy, with wire to hold the various parts together. Then the hair, feet and face details were sculpted on with Milliput. Then it was a simple paint and varnish job. Overall this was one of my easiest projects to date as well as the first figure I've made from scratch. Very pleased with this outcome, I'd be happy to make more.

LARP at the Gaming Table: Accents

I was a very theatrical child. Everything was an excuse to dress up and make-pretend, so when I discovered roleplay I was thrilled: gender-bending, my (limited) range of accents, the chance to glare my arch-rival in the eye and hold hands with my fictional sweetie… Then I remembered what an awkward bunch tabletop gamers can be; preferring to describe their actions and imply their character's voice and mannerisms. An absolute travesty, and a waste of a golden opportunity to improve game immersion.

So please, consider this my plea to all roleplayers to bring a loose element of larp into your games and make it more fun for everyone… Today we are looking at ACCENTS!

Ok, so not everyone (me included) can manage a convincing accent. It can make a person very self-conscious feeling that others might be laughing at them. Just remember, a little laugh is ok and your players will easily sink into it once the initial joke is had. 

Adopting an accent is a great way to get into character. 
With my Texan, mad scientist, Ethan I found that the second I sank into her deliciously slow, southern drawl my shoulders went back and I had the confidence to take on the world with my machine gun-rocket launcher. She spoke less words and was considerably slower, which gave me the chance to really deliberate on her responses. It also forced the rest of the PCs to listen to everything she said.

Another slow, reasoned accent was that of my Russian, City Gangrel, Isayev. His accent naturally deepened my girlish voice which made it easier for me to sink into a tough, male persona. Finally this particular vampire game was set in Italy, and the accent was a nice way to indicate how uncomfortable he was in his second language. (As a note when, later on I actually had the chance to speak Russian and not Italian I dropped the accent - go figure).

Everyone else knows exactly when you're in character. 

Every article needs a picture... I assure you this
 one is entirely relevant. Trust me...

Forget moose horns and crossing your fingers, this is the idiot-proof way for the GM and players to know where any comment is aimed. This is especially true of accents that wildly differ from your own. Once again with Ethan, her Texan cadence was a long way removed from my West Midlands derp and it kept everyone else in the loop. A very simple, straight-forward reason to adopt an accent.

Accents as languages!

Ok. It isn't quite tautology time, but this is a great way to keep hold of the voice of your players. I once took part in a very good, GURPS French Resistance game which spanned across three, in-character language barriers. Most of the player party were French nationals, except for the one British airman and my resistance operative. Since the characters only spoke French, they felt comfortable using their normal accents.

However, I spent much of the game flitting between French, English and German: accents were a must! Yes it did seem a little Allo Allo but as I said previously, take humour in your stride but keep things as serious as the game allows. Yes my British Airman voice was comically posh, but my French was passable and kept me in the era. The German gave me trouble… but that's a risk with accents.

Highlight of that game was a stand-up, blazing row with another character with perfect French accents. In-character and in the moment, what more could you ask for?

Accents as languages… again.

I haven't gone mental, I know what I mean. Certainly a French accent is perfect to indicate French, but what about Elvish? Or Goblin? or Celestial? Fantasy languages are a mine-field of representation. In a year-strong Pathfinder game where we rocketed from 5th level to 13th level (and still going) there were a lot of shared languages. The players started with hand shapes and gestures to indicate anything not in the common tongue, but that got old! We needed a change.

So I raided by character backstory; half-elf cleric, from northern hill village in the wild countryside. To me that said Welsh, and so my Welvish accent was born. Of course Titus is fluent in Elvish, my character sheet says so, but why shouldn't he have the accent of his homeland? Where in the rules does it say that fluent means RP? 

This idea worked so well, that it permeated into all other accents. Goblins became Cocknies. Dwarves, Scottish. Wolves, Russian… you get the idea.

Excellent Character Moments

There were many members of the party who spoke RP Elvish such as Titus' human, sorcerer boyfriend who teased him mercilessly for his country accent. Little beats of IC classism and mining of backgrounds are what these accents are all about. 

The GM required some of us to sing a little tune in Celestial - the voices of the angels; and nothing says spiritual, higher language than Latin. So a little Latin chanting, or a few hymns in the original can make any song or spell sound other-worldly. So keep an ear open for ancient languages and use them where appropriate. 

The culmination of my use of Welvish came when Titus and the human sorcerer set about teaching Elvish to the party Ranger. From one teacher he gained crisp vowels and perfect pronunciation; from the other, sentence fragments, swear words and, notes of that accent. Even now, months later this Ranger will still slip a little when he says 'Brilliant'!

Finally when you use an accent long enough as I did with Titus, the accent becomes second nature. During one particularly memorable moment, my priest became exceptionally stressed about the state of his battle clerics and went on a long rant to the poor Ranger. Totally beyond my control and notice I had slipped into Welvish mid-flow and the character was staring at me, confused… This is a situation I find myself in when talking to my bi-lingual friends; let alone the multi-lingual nature of any adventuring party.

To conclude...

Whether you want to add a little flavour to an NPC, another language, or you feel like adopting an accent-persona for an entire campaign; please do embrace what a different voice can bring to your characters.

Pottermore: The Beginning

After many months of dancing around it, I have finally begun my dissection of the much anticipated Pottermore. J.K. Rowling's grand follow up to her titanic Harrence Parrence series was always going to be enormous, but who could have predicted it's final home would be the internet experience that is now in beta.

So here it is the (entirely unanticipated) breakdown of my Pottermore experience.

First Impressions

I was not instantly wowed by the front page. The swirled lines and icons are nice, but generally I don't feel the best is being made of the space. However, as I progressed through the chapters and unlocked each new feature the gateway became even more intuitive. I suppose it's more likely that I got used to the layout.

I also find the colour a little dull. Yet the symbols for each book are quite nice.

Personalisation Features

Ollivander is always pleased to see you again

As you move through the plot of the first book you find yourself getting to make the same decisions as Harry in finding your wand, choosing your familiar and being sorted into one of the four houses. Here is a point where Pottermore really shines. Instead of the usual forced four-answer quizzes, the questionnaires to personalise your house and wand are quirky, interesting and truly inspired. On a personal note, Ravenclaw was always the last house I thought I'd be put in; so you can imagine my surprise when...

Houses and House Points

The background art never fails to impress me

So off I pop to do all I can for my new found housemates. There are various mini-games and surprises designed to earn elusive house points. The easiest is to just read through the books as beautifully re-illustrated on the site - anything you find, pick up and read can potentially earn you points. This encourages you to interact with everything.

The potion brewing mechanic is the most consistent (and enjoyable) when it comes to winning house points. There was once a duelling mechanic but lord knows where that's gone. Nevertheless, the thought behind potion brewing is really fun and quite exciting. 

Love that the background informs a less known house

As far as I can tell there is currently no discernible differences between each of the houses. You get a lovely welcome message, more facts about your house and a sexy common room background, but not a lot else. I would love a chance to fully explore my house common room; currently all I can see is a Facebook wall style set-up and penchant for blue.

This is where the houses fall apart slightly for me. I can see what people would get out of interacting with Griffindor and Slytherin (the two 'main character' houses), but in the books Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were always a little bland, following the other houses about depending on whether Harry was a hero or a whining angst monkey. Therefore, how the houses will develop as we are still seeing the books through Harry's eyes remains to be seen.

Hmmm... well if you say so

Moderation (addition)
Just as I uploaded this blog post, I received a curious message from the 'moderation team'. I had been struggling with posting in the common room. Sometimes it is easy to post a quick message to fellow Ravenclaws, but sometimes, no matter how many changes I make my post become 'under moderation'. I assumed this to mean 'lost in the ether of the internet'.  However, I was later sent a PM indicating that my post had been 'approved'. This approval system is inconsistent and entirely without reason, breaking the flow of common room interactions. This to me seems the biggest problem with Pottermore.

Overall, I am very impressed with Pottermore. I am greatly looking forward to the next book and further unlockable features.

To come: The Potion Brewers Guide & Early Tastes of Spell Casting.

UnConventional: Confessions of a Twenty-Something Con Virgin

Recently I attended the MCM Expo in London for the first time.  The day was fun, but I couldn’t help but feel as I left that there were a few things I wish I’d known before going to my first fan convention.

With that, I decided recap my day and put together a little list of things that I should have done (and the occasional few things I got right) when attending a fan convention for the first time.  

A little forward planning, a bigger weekend!

Con dates and locations are published months in advance (though, at the time of writing, the details of the May MCM Expo have not yet been announced) and this gives you time to plan how long you’re going for and to book less expensive train fares and hotel rooms.

I chose to go on just the Sunday, thereby trying to cram into five hours what many had spent a whole weekend browsing at their leisure.  Trying to get around everything was damned near impossible, as stallholders and guests will leave early on the final day and friends you meet up with will already have seen a lot of stuff and won’t want to trudge around the hall so you can see everything.  I’m not suggesting that you need to go for the whole three day weekend, but you’ve been working really hard lately!  You’ve earned a nice three day weekend and it means you can pace yourself out for longer.

While your planning your con weekend, take some time to plan what you’ll be doing while at the event; essential to this is buying the con guide book.  Generally available for about a fiver, this bible for the weekend advertises stalls, teases shows, showcases interviews and articles, but also, crucially, gives you a timetable of events and a map.  I didn’t manage to see a guide until after the event had ended, but I found that I had missed Gail Simone not only signing autographs (which would have crossed off at least one Christmas present!) but also giving her first talk in the UK.  I only caught a talk given by voice acting legend Vic Mignogna by dint of being at a nearby booth at the time!

There is also yaoi... lots of yaoi

Go with friends

Having travelled a bit on my own during my university days, I appreciate the freedom that comes in following just your own itinerary, but you want people with whom to share the moments, keep you company during the lulls and remember the experience with you later and the same is true at conventions.

Fortunately, I knew a few folks who were attending and wandered with them, enjoying their company and grabbing food with them later.  Had I not met them, I’m sure I wouldn’t have had as much fun.  Not every conversation is going to go down in history, but was nice chatting about the merchandise on offer, comparing swag and watching the cosplayers pass us by.

Have some time to yourself

As I already said, cons are great to go to with friends, but not everyone is going to want to wait while you try out the new Batman game or stand for your portrait.  Take an hour or two to yourself or with just a couple of friends to indulge yourselves and linger at the stalls your friends might want to breeze past, you can meet up with your buddies for food later to compare your goodies and swap stories about the fan-meet you attended.

Don't be afraid to talk to new people

Just because you’re going with friends, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t meet other people and there are a number of ways to do that.  One of these is talking to cosplayers (see below), but occasionally fandoms will meet up at conventions.  

At Expo, I went along to the 40 strong Brony Meet and while I spoke to a few, I found myself nervous at talking to people or joining existing conversations and I left not really having met anyone.

From my perspective, very few people attend such meets on their own or without having spoken to people on-line (something at which I am notoriously bad).  This may be somewhat contradictory to my previous section, but I’d recommend attending a fan meet with another friend, at the very least, you then have a conversational partner to fall back, but you’re able to invite people into YOUR conversation, rather than finding an opportunity to insert yourself into one already in full swing.

What is wrong with you Egbert?!

Cosplay!

At first glance, cosplaying can be an intimidating hobby when you consider the time and money that needs to go into matching the outfit of your favourite characters.  But when you actually start planning cosplays, especially with the wealth of tips you can find online, you start to realise that it’s a fun project to work on and has a wealth of benefits come con time.

The most significant advantages that I could see as an outside observer was that it’s a fantastic ice-breaker.  Cosplaying, particularly as a character from a less mainstream source (Dave Strider from Homestuck, as opposed to, say, Batman) let’s people know that you like that material as well and gives you a spring board onto more meaningful conversation.  It also gives you an excuse to compare costume notes with people.

Not that it’s going to make you instant friends with everyone who compliments your costume - they may not even recognise you if you decide to wander around in civvies later - but it’s a good starting point.  And if that doesn’t work, then plenty of people will want to have their picture taken with you, which is always good for the ego!

Clothes

OK, so you decided not to cosplay, not everyone does and you can still have a great time, but that doesn’t mean you need to consider your outfit any less.  Fan conventions take place in huge halls where the little space not occupied by vendor’s stalls is occupied by people.  With that in mind, dress light.  Even if it’s coming onto winter, don’t do what I did and wander round the convention hall in a great coat.  

It is also important to stay chilled at all times

Similarly, take a bag for any swag you pick up, it will make everything a lot easier, but travel light, start off with a small bottle of water and your camera in there because you will pick stuff up, even if you don’t intend to - it’s part of the fun of the con!  Certainly don’t walk around with a hardback of The Count of Monte Cristo in your satchel.  Dumas’ classic of vengeance and mercy may be an excellent read, but at over 1,000 pages, it’s something I shouldn't have been carrying around with me.

Being over-stocked is hot, it’s uncomfortable and there will almost certainly be a cloakroom (where both my coat and bag ended up very quickly) or a friend with a nearby hotel where you can dump your stuff for a couple of hours.

Take a camera that isn't in your phone. 

I love my smartphone, I tweet, I search for information, I even wrote the initial notes for this blog on it!  However, one thing I almost never use my phone for is taking pictures and this was much to my regret on Sunday.  It would be a quicker to list the unimpressive cosplayers and I really should have gotten some photographs.

Unfortunately I needed to get in contact with friends over the course of the day and call a taxi when I got home that evening, meaning I had to be conservative with my phone’s battery and because the camera is such a heavy drain on the battery, pictures were a no-no.

Well isn't he just adowable?

Maybe this is down to the type of phone I have, but there’s plenty of other reasons to grab a decent compact or SLR, particularly being able to set your camera for better shots and taking a better quality pictures.  For the next event I go to, I will certainly be investing in a camera that will last a day of use, without suddenly having to take a call.

What to do with your money

I’m not going to bother telling you to budget your funds or spend within your means. Expos have on sale some of the widest variety of memorabilia, media and miscellanea you should ever wish to come across and part of the reason they exist is to sell you stuff.  You seem perfectly sensible and I’m sure you’ll spend within your means, no you probably shouldn’t buy the £240 Gundam model, but go ahead and buy yourself something fun and self-indulgent like a self portrait from artist’s alley!

You will also see a lot of independent artists trying to sell their wares and see manga and anime that you may never have come across.  I’d thoroughly recommend taking the opportunity to try something new.  Single issue comics come in between £1.50 and £4 and tankōbon (collected manga volumes) start from around £5.  For my part, I picked up Moon, a comic about the spirit of the moon being incarnated as a secret agent to deal with drunken druid, gun wielding infants and traffic wardens from Detroit as well as Fetishman, a series of gag comics about a gimp-masked superhero which will doubtless make an appearance on my own blog.

Overall, if you have any interest in comics, anime, films, games, or just seeing people dressed up in some truly stunning outfits, get yourself along to a convention and I hope this little guide helped.  Certainly when I head to the May MCM Expo, I intend to take my own advice and expect a follow-up article, if Lillith lets me back! 

Loki Jones is a 23-year-old Northern-raised, London-based nerd.  When not writing about geeky pursuits on PD, he regularly writes about kink and movies that could be mistaken for porn on his own blog (as soon as he’s finished building the thing!)

No Refunds! Photo Roundup

The Quieting of the Maelstrom | The Rise of an Empire

So I've returned from Maelstrom (No Refunds!) torn and heartbroken by what we have been told.

Maelstrom is ending! 

It took me this long to find a way into larp and now my favourite system is being taken away from me. However, PD (Profound Decisions) is offering us something brand-spanking new: Empire.

Maelstrom has been the major feature of my brief larping life and I, like many other faithfuls, am deeply saddened at the prospect of its ending. Eight years of love and effort have gone into developing the world into a rich, intense roleplay experience. The interaction between races, nations and religions gives space for anyone to create a successful character.

Yet, regardless of my love for the world, for my character, for the people around her; I am happy Maelstrom is ending. Here are some of my reasons:

Character Disparities

The nature of growth and development has meant that there are many early or 'day 1' characters are wildly overpowered compared to newer creations. Not necessarily new players, but characters under two years in the making. There is no way for this gap to be rectified and it is only getting bigger. 

I have no intention of bitching and whining about my lot, my preference lies in roleplay opportunities rather than points level, but if I wanted to play a character competent in a skilled chosen field then there is no chance to catch up with the big boys. Furthermore many early characters had the chance to exploit holes in the system; the use of retainers for example. Something later removed by PD but which gave a further advantage to day 1 players.

Therefore I believe a clean sweep is needed; everyone back on day one with new characters and a fresh enthusiasm for experiencing a new system.

I'm looking at you Kamakura

Precious/Expendable Characters

With this high mastery level comes a great deal of 'player preciousness'. These players have dedicated years of their life into forming a master craftsman or talismancer and would do anything to escape death. This is an understandable situation, but has lead to a culture of characters who remain in their tents, avoiding conflict and plot. Whether or not they chose this path, higher level players have become locked into a cycle of progress and evasion. These people need a clean slate and a fresh challenge.

On the flip-side, Maelstrom has made life cheap. Players who choose a combat focus can only fight against fellow players, and will invariably end up murdered by someone at a much higher level. People on their ninth or tenth fighter have no interest in staying alive; simply after a cheap thrill and a night in the pleasure house. While they have no chance of breaking into the slower, crafting game for the same reason as anyone else - there is no way to reach the same level of attainment as the masters.

When placed alongside the 'precious masters' there is bound to be a grating of player ethos, especially at such a late stage of the game. I am aware that this problem could spring up in any long running game, but it is markedly visible in Maelstrom and so the new system should give everyone a chance to get out of their rut.

Dryads are cool, especially ones with axes

The Increasing Pace of the Plot

For some time now PD have been pushing a main plot thread of the oncoming 'Time of Destruction'. It has lead to lots of interaction, conflict and progress; but (obviously) the imminent end of the world can't go on forever. More and more undead have been arriving to each event, key movers-and-shakers dying and still the 'Time of Destruction' draws nearer.

There would be no real way of pulling back from this pace of frenetic activity. Mr Dandy is defeated/befriended, all the fluctuations in the maelstrom end, life goes back to normal… it couldn't happen, not after all the energy put into such a powerful, apocalyptic plot. To rewind from that point would be a betrayal to the Maelstrom player base. If the world is going to end, let it end! And let it end in style.

The sun is setting on Maelstrom.... lamest pun ever.

In my opinion PD has made absolutely the right decision. Bringing in an entirely new system, letting everyone know a year in advance, and letting the players decide how Maelstrom is going to go.

I personally couldn't be more excited about Empire; bring on that new horizon or something like that…

Larping & the Media: Tough Gig - Dara O'Briain

I can imagine when the producers of Tough Gig sat at their round table, planning comically hilarious set-ups for their top comedians, the list was endless; hippies, fashionistas… fantasy roleplayers. 

Exec 1*: "Hey you know those nutters who like to dress up as elves and dragons?"

Exec 2*: "Yeah, what losers. Why don't we send a comedian along to crack jokes at them. You know: foam ears, plastic swords, pretending to be freaky fantasy creatures. Hila~rious!"

Exec 1*: "What are they called again? Live-action roleplayers?"

Exec 2*: "No that sounds stupid, and the public don't like terms they don't understand. We'll call them fantasy roleplayers and have done!"

Exec 1*: "Brilliant, let's break for lunch and cocaine."

I imagine this is how TV producers make all their decisions. Nevertheless, when I heard there was a show about a comedian trying to 'understand' and then do a stand-up show for larpers I was terrified it would turn into an awkward train-wreck. I saw Russell Howard flirting with the one scantily elf maiden, Al Murray making 'fairy' comments about the guy in the robes, or Kevin Bishop cracking jokes about half-inching all the lammies in play… 

So when I found out it was Dara O'Briain, the sardonic but down-to-earth, Irish comic who was going to entertain us I was delighted. He is one of a handful of stand-ups performing at the moment who had the sense of humour and strength of personality to fit in with the larpers. 

Rocking the ears 'Morgan'

Having donned foam latex ears, learned a few spells, citing a former sexual fantasy roleplay of his own and becomes part of the crowd, Morgan Fairchilde strode into the encampment. O'Briain is a stand-up who never fails to make me laugh.  While he's wry and sarcastic throughout, I am struck by O'Briain's gentleness when faced with the seriousness of Rule Seven. 

There is a culture in modern comedy to be as cruel as possible about the subjects of ridicule: from the close-to-the-bone Frankie Boyle, to the downright unfunny Little Britain. There is no affection or understanding, only mockery. None of this is noticeable in O'Briain's stand-up. He only pokes as much fun as larpers poke at themselves.

Some atheists are beyond help

He has the same slip-ups that a cynical new player might run into: trying to be an atheist, picking an amusing name, even having a little private laugh at the name of the gods (Kermit, really?!) Yet, through all this he manages to have a go and even he admits that he cannot openly taunt such a friendly group of people.

While I was pleased that ITV didn't fall into the trap of scorning an unusual group of enthusiasts, I felt prouder of the larp community. Open, friendly, no signs of cliques: the players in this programme were an excellent advert for the hobby, and they paint a welcoming picture to anyone considering having a go.

Shh! He's hiding!

Overall O'Briain is amused by larpers (let's face it, we have a pretty amusing pass time), but never resorts to cliches or jeering. Aside from the obligatory 'fantasy roleplay sounds like a sex thing' joke - O'Briain managed to deliver laughs with his fresh, original routine. 

Of course in Tough Gig, the aim of the show is to appeal to a very niche audience. However, I saw this programme long before gaining a deep interest in larp and it was still funny then. My knowledge of the area has only made me appreciate the humour more. While the series was not successful or recommissioned, this 'fantasy roleplay' special is a rare, factual and gentle example of media attention on the larping community.

Watch it now!

Movie Review: Priest~

I want to start this review by stating that I have never read the Priest comic books, nor am I a student of any of the Priestly lore.  However, I am utterly obsessed with religious and catholic iconography in films, books, roleplay, art.  Well or poorly executed, it is an aesthetic I have always loved.  Mix that in with a little post-apocalyptic cyberpunk, and I was raring to go for Priest.

I didn't watch it in 3D... because
it's rubbish.

A nifty little animated opener describes the history of the world through the war between humans and vampires.  Forget brooding reflections of immortal sexuality.  Not a Count, Cullen or Compton in sight, these vampires are strictly blind, semi-humanoid, feral beasts.  And they want all human's dead!

Pit these soulless, godless demons against a crack troop of inhumanly gifted mortals who beat the vampires into submission.  The Catholic Church, stealing their moment have subjugated the people to a fascist theocracy.  It's brutalism is beautifully represented through Orwellian style mass prayers and automated confessional booths.

But I digress…  

Paul Bettany is one of my favourite actors at the moment, perhaps because he seems to take all the tormented religious roles that hit just the right note with me (Silas the Monk, the archangel Michael, and now Priest).  He is no less tormented and beautiful here.  Even with his disturbing body modification, Bettany's soulful eyes and softly spoken tones suit the Priest perfectly.

I have but one problem: why do directors insist on forcing him to do his American accent?  While British actors should have this talent to slot into films based across the atlantic, why is it foisted upon him when playing an angel, or post-apocalyptic demon hunter?  Surely the American accent is not required, and Bettany's brilliance shines far brighter when he is allowed to use his natural voice, (see A Knight's Tale for proof).  Nevertheless, he is excellent in Priest and manages to leave his strangely attractive thumbprint on an unusual, distant character.

Sexy, even like this...

Acting props must also go to the severely underused Karl Urban, another of my top actors.  The southern accent he perfected for Dr McCoy is back and better than ever.  Spending half the film on a train is no way to treat such a fine actor, but when he is given the chance he injects some much needed energy into the jedi-like priests. He even manages to make conducting explosions to Mozart's Requiem seem dramatic and not as ridiculous as it sounds.

... him too. Damnit this is a hot film!

While the art direction for this film is stunning and bleak, my main problem links in with an issue I have with most recent thriller or vampire films.  Darkness.  I don't possess a high-tech, high-def, high-price home cinema system (lord knows I wish I did).  I watch most of my DVDs on my laptop.  The screen is fairly smudged and even on the highest brightness as soon as all the lights go out I lose any ability to pick out fine detail in any film.  

This is a crime committed mainly in these vampire, horror thriller films, and while I understand that vampire films must equal a lot of night time, I do wish directors would come up with a more original way of lighting their scenes.  Lanterns, moonlight, fire, fucking arc-lights anything!  Just less darkness, please…

Overall, Priest has so much potential as a film setting and leaves all the right avenues open.  I only wish it had done better at the box office - I thought sequels were supposed to be obligatory!

5 Easily Forgotten Things You Must Pack For A Larp

This week I will primarily be focused on packing for my seasonal larp - Maelstrom. I mean to write up a piece on how excellent this game is. However, now is not the time. Today I will share:

5 Easily Forgotten Things You Must Pack For A Larp

While the obvious rules should be taken into account (pack for all-weathers, remember your tent, don't fill your suitcase with chocolate and porn etc) - these are a collection of simple tips that you can implement right now, absolutely free and will come in absolutely useful to any camping larper.

1) Cling film.

Keep in the cool box
to avoid awkward
cling film wrestling.

An odd first item, but cling film is an unspeakably important substance. For wrapping up any remaining food, keeping bandages in place, wrapping round your shoes in case of mud avalanche, and even for wrapping up a fiddly ground mat that just refuses to go back into it's too-small plastic bag. Endlessly useful stuff! And you've probably got some in your drawer right now.

2) Drugs.

Just please don't take anything you're
not 100% certain of.

No! I am not recommending taking illegal substances to a camp site, you will receive a beating from security and then from me if you do this. Let me explain. I am a terrible migraine sufferer and so practice excellent personal hydration. Nevertheless, while running around at an event (especially summer ones) you will get too hot, you will get a little dehydrated, and (in the case of beast races) your mask or prosthetic will put pressure in just the wrong place.  Headaches are almost unavoidable if they regularly strike at times of stress. The only thing I can do is pack the strongest, most potent pain killers I can, dose myself up all weekend, and not let it ruin my event.

As a side note, no matter how low the pollen count remember that you are camping in a field, hay fever will strike at the most awkward moment. Don't let these afflictions spoil a great event.

3) Blanket.

Colour co-ordinate to match your kit.

Simple enough, but another beautifully multi-functional piece of kit. My first event was in the spring time which I thought would be warm enough - I was very, very wrong.  My sleeping bag broke, I forgot my ground mat and ended up sleeping in a nest built of my clothes, ready to throw-up from shivering at 5am. Desperately unpleasant. Now, not only have I invested in a new sleeping bag, (which is cling-filmed to my ground mat see tip 1), but I pack a blanket. Nothing fancy, a neutral green, fleece blanket from Ikea but, very light and with many uses. When it's too cold I cocoon myself in it before getting into my sleeping bag, when it's too hot I use it as an extra pillow or ultra soft ground sheet.

Once or twice I've found myself crashed out in a friend's IC tent and my blanket has served as a perfect make-shift cloak to blearily make my way back to my own stuff. If you have a nice black, brown or green blanket then this item can double as anything. To keep you warm IC, as a quick cloak, picnic blanket or tent hanging. Never leave home without your warm piece of fabric.

4) Suncream.

Since you can't keep reapplying
be sure to use the highest SPF
you can get your hands on.

To human player characters this tip is simple - If it's sunny, put on your suncream. Yet, for heavily made-up characters this tip is vital. Contrary to popular belief, makeup does not stop the sun's rays. Always remember to apply your suncream before makeup, even if it's not terribly sunny. If the sun comes out halfway through the day, then you're sunk unless you want to take your makeup off and start again.

Another quick tip for those using water activated makeup (like Snazaroo). Use suncream instead of water to apply their paint. Useful both as a way of getting the cream on your skin, but also stops the queues and scramble for limited sink space at events.

5) Cereal Bars, Chewing Gum and Baby Wipes.

Homemade is nice, but buy your
own if you're short on time (which
I always am)!

I treat camping like one big sleepover and am truly terrible and looking after myself. For this reason I've lumped these three together into one category: the easy self-preservation category. I'm usually too broke to take advantage of the lovely caterers and too lazy to prepare clever and subtle camping meals to bring with me - cereal bars are a handy, slow release way of keeping you in nutritional health. Far better than just chocolate, Haribo and alcohol. They also fit nicely in a tupperware box in your bag, and don't need refrigerating. 

(Just before posting, a man who came onto my work place advises an effervescent Berocca tablet in a can of green Relentless. This is untested, but sounds plausible.)

Go for extra strong mint, or a brand
with tooth cleaning bits in.

I always take my toothbrush to these events and every morning when I go to check my makeup I clean my teeth. As I'm usually so obsessed with oral hygiene this is a must. However, as the evening wears on and I start flagging, the thought of traipsing all the way to the bathrooms to scrub up before bed is the last thing I want. Especially when I've had a few and I'm about to crash in a friend's tent! Then I will reach for chewing gum, especially those that are good for after meals, or even with tooth cleaning properties.

Come on guys! Don't be revolting!

This same thinking leads me to baby wipes. Sink showers can be messy and awkward when there are others around you, judging. When you feel less than fresh a quick wipe around all the key areas will give you a little more mileage before actually taking a proper shower. Also deodorant, lots and lots of it. This is not on this list because if you go camping without deodorant you will smell and lose all your friends - rightly so!