Does anyone have any advice for a first time LARPer?

Whatever you do, don’t laugh.

My fellow nerdians and their foam swords can be rather intimidating when angered. Also, since you’re a chick, and I’ve been there done that… Don’t make any innuendo unless you’re fully prepared to make naughty jokes forever while pretending you’re an elf. Pervy boys.

I had not thought of that. Thank you very much. I would have made a dirty joke and probably had a whole pack of horny nerds after me for life. :P

@Kat: Girly, you have no idea. I spent a weekend being ninja motor boated. Lovely, lovely boys.

On one hand every time an undersized boy jumped up and face planted onto my chest I felt mildly violated. But on the other, I queen of nerdom for 48 hours. It was a strange weekend.

The out-of-game politics that go along with LARPs make Machiavelli look like a piker. They tend to be nasty and personal, because a lot of LARPers invest far more of their self-worth into LARPs than they should, and when things go poorly in-game (because there’s conflict all over the place, someone’s gotta win and someone’s gotta lose), they take it out on the real world. Or, they use real-world connections to win in-game. Don’t invest too much of your real-world self in “winning” or “not losing” in-game; if you do win, do it fairly, and if you lose, turn it into a “win” by roleplaying a character who’s losing. You are not your character.

Not all LARPers are socially inept geeks, but as you’re female in a largely male hobby, it’s probably safest to assume that they are until you have some evidence to the contrary. You’ll probably find that they separate themselves out pretty quickly.

Your best bet is to find a group of people in the game who play the game honestly and who are fun to hang around with, and spend your time with them. If it’s necessary for someone else to hurt your fun in order for them to have fun, don’t hang out with him or her. The highest goal is to find a group of players to hang out with who enhance each others’ fun.

Once again, something I had not thought of. Thank you!