Romantic Misinterpretation in Gaming

Truer words were never spoken...

A while back, someone in our local gaming group mentioned that girls shouldn’t wear “sexy perfume” to a game if they do not want to be hit on, because it sends the “wrong” signals. Obviously, this stirred up a rather large debate among the players, male and female alike. Though this occurred some time ago, the Princess and the Warlock feel it is quite relevant to discuss.

In role playing games males and females of varied backgrounds, nationalities, races, religions, and sexual preferences come together to enjoy a single hobby. We take on different roles much like actors. We play a part. In many cases, we are playing with a group of our friends that we interact with on a regular basis, but other times we are interacting with people for the first time whether at a convention or getting involved in a new group. However, among friends or strangers misinterpretation can and will occur from time to time.

We can all intellectually distinguish the differences between OOC and IC, but sometimes the lines blur. Especially when you are throwing emotions into the mix. Sometimes we pause and question IC actions – “Why is Cordelia’s character constantly attacking mine? Is she made at me? What did I do?” or “OMG, Xander’s character is flirting with mine? Is he trying to hit on me?”.  As players in a game, it is our responsibility to keep OOC and IC separate. Again this doesn’t always happen though. Usually two types of responses in misinterpretation occur – transference and repulsion.

For an example of transference, if Willow decides to play a seductress, wear a short red dress and perfume and starts hitting on you, that is not an OOC invitation that she wants to date you IRL. It merely means she is playing a part. Don’t allow the IC emotions to transfer into OOC assumptions. Likewise if Angel’s character decides to hit on Willow ICly, it’s her responsibility not to freak out and worry if he’s being a creeper and trying to use the character to get close to her OOCly. Don’t have a knee jerk reaction of being repulsed by something that occurs IC.

One of the best ways to avoid misinterpretation of romantic intent is to be open and honest with the group. If you are playing a character who you intend to be a flirt, then it is best you let your gaming group know. Just take a moment to explain that you intend to play the character a certain way and that nothing you do is meant to be taken OOC, but that if you do something that makes another someone feel uncomfortable, then please let you know. That right there can eliminate any potential misinterpretation. But if you feel uncomfortable with something someone else does or says ICly, you need to speak to the person directly and be honest about how you're feeling. A clear line of communication is often the key to avoiding drama.

Problematic Character Concepts

You're doing it wrong

Games, by their nature, are a social activity. When we come together, we are creating an interactive story. It’s a process of synergy wherein players and storytellers combine their creativity into a cohesive force. Well at least ideally anyway. Often we have plenty of issues along the way that spring up to prevent that synergetic process from occurring. Sometimes this occurs on the storyteller’s end and sometimes this occurs on the players end.

As players, it’s important to recognize that the game is not all about you. This realization and acceptance needs to start at character creation. When joining a game, it is your duty to understand what the setting and genre is so that you will be able to make your concept work. You also need to consider your fellow players and think how your character will benefit the game and how they will be able to contribute to the overall experience. So let us explore so common character archetypes and explain why they are problematic.

The Loner

This concept can range from the painfully shy misfit to the stone cold mercenary. For whatever the reason, your character just doesn’t play well with others. Are the warning signing flaring up? Because they should. Let’s take a look at the very first line of this post – “Games, by their nature, are a SOCIAL ACTIVITY”. Its fine to play an introverted character and it is fine to play someone with a dark and mysterious past, but when you take this to the extreme you are doing a disservice to yourself, your storyteller and your fellow players. You can play a loner, sure, but you need to create ways to hook your character into the plot and connect to other characters so that you are not forcing the game masters to jump through hoops to get you involved. And furthermore, its simply unfair to expect that the GMs should have to run you exclusive RP simply because you refuse to interact with others. They already have their hands full. Don’t wait on the GMs to throw you plot cookies. Flesh your character out and give him/her motivations that will help you connect them to the game and other players. If you are not interested in having a social experience, then you may wish to consider sticking to video games.

The Psychopath

From the cute little girl with a bloody knife to another Joker rip-off, mental illness is suddenly so very in because heck, it’s just so darn cool. Only… it isn’t. Mental illness is not cool. It is not silly. It is not awesome. It is a very serious debilitation and to properly role play a character with such problems takes a commitment to do some extensive research. Too many times people describe their characters as “crazy” or “a psychopath”. But what do they mean by that? What specific mental illness is the character suffering from? Most immediately say “schizophrenia”, which seems to be the fan favorite among gamers and yet so few are willing to put any effort into understanding the ailment, and we have yet to see it accurately played. If you do want to accurately portray a mental disorder, then you need to pick up a copy of the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (more commonly referred to as the DSM IV among psychologists) and do your research. Try volunteering at a psych ward or consult a local psychology professor.  Do your homework. It can be insulting and disrespectful to improperly portray these illnesses to people who actually have suffered from them or who have loves ones who have. Please treat these concepts with the level of respect and sincerity that they deserve.

The Nobody

The Nobody comes in a few different flavors. This can be a rushed character concept with just numbers on a sheet and no backstory or personality, the amnesiac character that the player just told the GM to come up with the character for him/her, or the character is a blatant rip off of a pre-existing character in pop media. For whatever the reason, you’ve put the minimal amount of effort to create an original, fleshed-out concept. You haven’t delved into who they are and are just drifting or else are trying to box your character in to a concept you didn’t create. In the first case, it’s an easy to solve problem - just take some time to actually think about your character before playing. If you don’t have a solid concept you run the risk of becoming inconsistent doing random things out of boredom because you don’t know what else to do since your character is lacking in motivation. The amnesiac is in a similar situation. It’s fine to play a character with amnesia, but have an idea of their baseline personality at the very least and work closely with the GM so you can have clearly defined goals to keep you involved in the plot. Lastly, we come to the blatant rip-off.  It’s fine to take inspiration from outside sources and piecemeal together a character from a patchwork of different characters, but when you create a character clone and just give it a different name you run the risk of confining your creativity. Your character is likely to be in situations that the base character was not in. Instead of struggling to figure out WWJSD (What Would Jack Sparrow Do), make your own character. You will know the in’s and out’s of their personality and have a clearer motivation which will allow you to react more naturally as the character. If you are struggling to connect to your character, then speak with your GM and ask for assistance. Don’t be a Nobody – be a Somebody!

The Badass

Ahhh… the Chuck Norris with a side of Samuel L. Jackson. It’s fine to play a toughie, but when you refuse to allow your character to lose, look foolish or give someone else the chance at a victory, then you are in danger of becoming a problem player. This is less a character problem and more a player problem, because it becomes a “sword”-waving contest which usually results in the player becoming irate if they don’t get their way. One way to avoid this from occurring is by giving your character flaws, faults and fears and being aware of them and allowing them to play out and be exploited. You need to be aware that your character is not infallible. Perfect is boring. Mary Sues and Gary Stus are annoying. Not one wants to play with a sore loser. This kind of behaviour and character concept should stay at your kindergarten sandbox. Much like the problematic Loner, the Badass player needs to realize that gaming is a social activity. A player who throws a fit anytime his/her character loses is not going to win any friends. And honestly, these concepts aren’t interesting. Flaws (and we’re not talking the “cool” my-character-has-an-eyepatch type flaws – we’re talking about my 16^th level samurai has an intense and crippling fear of confined spaces) are interesting. Grow up and shake off the inner power gamer.

What this all boils down to is being prepared and not settling for a gimmick, stereotype and/or a cliché. Problem characters mostly just come down to players who have not thought about the consequences the character will have to the game. Consequences being both good and bad here. Players simply need to be encouraged to think about two things when developing a concept:  1) What will this character add to the game? and 2) Will this concept hurt the game or others enjoyment of it?  Before jumping into any game, take the time to fully develop your concept. In the long run it will make for a more enjoyable experience for you and everyone else involved.  

(We would like to thank the members of the NYC LARP Troupe for their insightful discussion which helped to contribute to this article. Thanks guys!)

How to Hook a Princess

The Warlock's notes on how he caught his Princess.

So you want a princess of your very own, huh? Well if kidnapping or coercion isn’t your style, here are a few tips on how to go about courting a scene girl especially if she’s in a subculture you are not very familiar with.

The Gamer

The Princess says:

Maybe you saw her at a convention, or maybe she’s a new girl in your gaming community. Whatever the case may be, her hobby makes her very accessible since gaming is a social hobbythat anyone can participate in.    If she’s in your local gaming scene, then you’ll probably have a good chance to get to know her. If she’s at a convention, try to get involved in a game she’s playing in.

Play it cool with a gamer girl. She’s likely just as much of a fan as you are and probably just as eager to discuss the pros and cons of 3.5 vs Pathfinder. Treat her like an equal. Just because she’s a girl doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what she’s doing. I’ve seen plenty of guys make the mistake of assuming I don’t know anything about a given game based purely on the fact of being female. It can be very frustrating. If you happen to be involved in a game with her, an easy opener is using the game or her character as a conversation opener. Try to avoid instantly going into your character and all your war stories. Give her the chance to speak. Get her going enough and you may score a phone number.

The Warlock says:

Ok, so you found the girl that does want to hear about your 20^th level paladin, or at least will listen, so don’t over react!  The worst thing to do is overwhelm her, you want her to be able to open up .  Ask about her gamming experiences, ask about what games she likes, what her favorite characters are.  Give her plenty of time to tell you about what she likes.  Then once you have some footing  try to find ways to compare your experiences with hers.  You already have a lot of similarities if your both gamming, so try to find ways to cement that.  You want her to look at your similarities not differences.  Gamming can create some intense emotional experiences, find out what some of hers are, and then try to link it to one of your.  Now you have a linked strong emotional experience in both your minds, try to find a few more common grounds, and she’ll start to think you were made for each other.  Make sure she knows how to get into your other games, but don’t insist, just leave the comparison from her old game to this new one so entice her.  

The Lolita

The Princess says:

Tread carefully when pursuing a lolita. As someone who in actively involved in this scene, I can say to you with confidence that lolitas are very wary about being approached by strangers. And with good reason – we’re constantly the target of creepers and random people shouting insults at us on the streets because of our unique fashion sense. Please understand that this causes us to be more on the defensive when we’re out and about.

The first thing is not to assume that just because she is a scene girl does not necessarily also mean that she’s also into anime or gaming. Some are, yes. But not all. Lolitas appreciate sincerity and genuine displays of interest. Try starting off by complimenting her and follow up with a remark about how refreshing it is to meet someone who is willing to be themselves contrary to what popular media dictates. This will win you major brownie points. Saying something along those lines shows her that you are accepting her for who she is. Acceptance and validation are something many lolitas sadly lack in both society and their personal lives, so hearing this will certainly warm her up to you. From there feel to ask questions, just make sure to keep them respectful and be aware that she may be a bit guarded at first.

The Warlock says:

This one requires a bit of leg work, but if you put the time in at the beginning this one should a bit easier in execution.  Learn fashion.  Watch Project Runway, read a fashion magazine, or if you corner cutter (not a good plan here) at least watch The Devil Wears Prada.  Lolita’s know their fashion so faking it just won’t work.  Once you know a bit work on complementing the clothes.  Ask “Is that Innocent World?” or “Did you see Angelic Pretty’s last fashion show?  They had a dress very similar to that….”.  You don’t need to be an expert they’ll forgive you if you can’t tell Baby The Stars Shine Bright from Victorian Maiden, but the fact that you’re not ignorant of their life style is a great foot in the door (In fact if your clever enough to actually know the difference, you may want to make the mistake anyway, her correcting you should take longer than her just saying yes, giving you more face time to make yourself memorable)  Once you establish that you are 1) not making fun of them, and 2) know what they are about it should be easy to get them to talk to you.  For extra brownie points brush up on Victorian etiquette and use it whenever you can. 

  

The Cosplayer

The Princess says:

For the most part, you’re likely to meet a cosplay girl at a convention. Luckily, she’s displaying her fandom out in the open, so that gives you the opportunity to discuss a potential mutual interest right there. If she’s dressed out as a character from a video game series, you can ask her what she thinks of the newest game. It’s nice to be approached by someone who is interested in your thoughts and not the skin tight body suit you’re wearing.

Which brings me to the next point – her eyes are located on her head not her chest. Keep your sight above shoulder level. She’s likely been stalked around by shady characters with cameras all day. The last thing she wants is to have to deal with more lewd stares. Also remember that the more physically attractive and more revealing her attire is, the more frequently she has to deal with this behavior. 

The Warlock says:

Cosplayers are a bit eclectic so you’ll have to be a bit careful on your approach.  Fortunately if you around them, there is probably a group so you should have a few chances.  We’ll start with average/not revealing everything cosplayer.  Most of them are out going, expressive, and excitable.  Be very excited about their costume.  They did a GREAT job on it, IT’S AMAZING!!!!!  Working  in a little physical contact, such a feel of the sleeve, or closer look at a head piece is a great way to get in close and intimate fast.  Physical contact is a tricky situation but, they are usually used to being glomped so you should be good as long as you don’t just start caressing them or something.  After that try to find out what their other interests are besides the show.  Do they only like anime, do they love video games, are they any other category listed in this article.  Once you know what else they are like try to use that to build conversations on.  You want to stand out, and everyone is talking about their costume already so you need to talk about something else they like.  

Now onto the Poison Ivy/ Darth Talon/Is-that-just-a-pasty? cosplayer.  Boy are you not the first guy to hit on her, and yes she is sick of it by now.  So you have to make her come to you.  If she’s in the costume she knows who it is, and is probably as knowledgeable as you.  Use that.  Make a comment about the costume, but DON’T complement it.  “Really the costume from issue 18….bit overdone don’t you think?”  “Is that a wig?” (If it looks real NOT if it’s obviously a wig)  “Did you think about using liquid Latex for those scars?”  Make her defend the costume.  Make her interested in the fact that you’re not going out of your way please her like everyone else.  If you can open it to other critiques of the costume.  You don’t want to insult her but try to find neutral comments that make her fish for meaning, and therefore talk to you. 

The Rennie 

The Princess says:

Check out any local Renn Faire and you’re sure to find a flock of ladies with their bosoms half spilling from their tightened corsets. It’s an immediate allure for sure, and pair that with their fondness for bawdy songs and beer and you have yourself the chance for a potential vivacious and fun loving partner.

Like the Cosplayer, Rennie ladies (or wenches, as some refer to themselves as), are used to being gawked at by passersby. They’ve also probably heard every come on there is in the book. Futhermore, Rennies tend to keep to themselves when it goes to relationships. Faire workers and faire regulars are infamous for having a rather incestuous social scene. To get her attention you’ll need to stand out from the crowd without coming off as a total creeper. Rennies tend to appreciate witty humor, devilish charm and intelligence, so cleverness is the way to go for a first move. Try pulling aside a roaming rose seller and asking him/her to deliver a rose to her for you.

The Warlock says:

The fastest way to catch one is to be one, or at least seem to be one.  Like the Lolita this requires a bit of leg work.  You don’t have to have everything memorized, but learn a drinking song or two, review “medieval”  English vernacular (you don’t have to use it, but be able to follow it, and laugh at jokes) , and build up your tolerance for drinking.  You don’t necessarily need to be in costume or “garb” but it helps.  Don’t go half way though.  If it’s going to be a ruffled shirt with jeans and a Yankee cap don’t bother.  Just dress normal and be yourself.  If you’re going to wear garb then go and get a whole set and show your really invested.  The last thing you need is some gimmick, to help separate you from the rest of the pageantry.   If you can juggle, or ride a unicycle or do card tricks then great.  Lug that stuff around and make an impression.  If not try to find some obscure historical facts, memorize them and then drop them when you can.  This should be enough to get you started, but you’ll probably need to really learn stuff if you want things to continue.     

Closing thoughts

The Princess says:

There are a few universal tips when it comes to pursuing any lady. First, we can smell  desperation from a mile away. Women respond to confidence. That’s why you see so many of them with jerks. Don’t be a jerk, but do try to carry yourself with pride.

Second, give her space. Emotionally and physically. If you’ve made your move, chances are she’s picked up on it. If she’s interested, she will respond, if she doesn’t, let her go. Additionally, when approaching any girl, please don’t invade her personal space and do not make physical contact. Most women find that very invasive and may be freaked out. So please respect herpersonal space.

The Warlock says:

Be memorable.  Find ways to have a conversation, and make her think.  The more face time you can get the better.  Don’t be embarrassed by any of your likes and show interest in all of hers.  You need to be confident and show you are compatible.  Spend the extra money on good “garb” or clothes (at least 3 of the 4 Princess here are dressing up regularly) If you don’t look like you care about your clothes, then way would you care about theirs?  Don’t walk around in a ripped T-Shirt even if it does show how old school you are.  And last practice.  You don’t have to hit on every girl you see, and you don’t need to be hitting on someone to practice.  Just use the tips above to talk to girls about your hobby without wanting or needing it to go anywhere.  You’ll both get a fun conversation and you can get over any jitters you have about talking to girls.  Then when the time comes that you’re looking for that special someone’s number you can be more relaxed about it.  

(Or just make your own princess here!)

The Princess's Garden: Incorporating Lolita Fashion into LARPs

When my friend Victoria of Lolita Charm was planning to try out her first LARP experience in a local boffer LARP, she wasn’t sure quite what to expect and came to me for advice on how to incorporate Lolita fashion into her character’s wardrobe. I felt that this would be an ideal topic to discuss here, since I know many other lolitas who are also gamers, or lolitas who are interested in getting started in LARPs.

LARPs (Live Action Role Playing) can be broken down into two basic forms – demonstrative and salon. Demonstrative LARPs include “Boffer” style LARPs in which the actions of the characters are played out. The combat is done in real time with fake, boffer weapons. These types of LARPs usually take place in campgrounds over long weekends. You will be expected to remain in-character the entire time and will have to actually perform anything you want your character to accomplish. For example, in a table top game, you might play a bard and explain to the DM that your character sings a song in the local tavern to earn some money. In a demonstrative LARP you would be required to actually sit and sing if that’s what you wanted to do.

Salon style LARPs are more theatrical in nature. These include the MET (Mind’s Eye Theater) and Cthulu Live systems. In salon style LARPs, your character can perform actions you may not be able to. If you are playing a thief, you could make an ability check to see if you can open a lock rather than actually have to open the lock yourself. While dialogue and basic movements are all acted out, combat and abilities are determined by a system, often using rock-paper-scissors and dice rolling to determine the outcome.

In Demonstrative LARPs, you will likely be spending a lot of time outdoors being physically active and getting dirty. It is not an ideal LARP form for strict Lolita fashion, and in most cases demonstrative LARPs tend toward historical and/or fantasy genres, so straight up Lolita fashion is really not the way to go (you don’t want that Angelic Pretty OP covered in sweat and mud, do you?). However, you can create a wardrobe that is “Lolita inspired”. There are two ways to go about this; create your own outfit or shop around and build up a costume.

If you want to wear Lolita in a demonstrative LARP, I would advise staying away from brand and keep with inexpensive offbrand that you will be okay with possibly getting dirty or damaged. You may wish to consider delving into mori girl or dolly kei fashions which may be more appropriate. However, if you prefer to stick with Lolita, then I would suggest wearing more classic lines like the Innocent World JSK shown above. Since, as I mentioned, the majority of demonstrative LARPs are more fantasy based and take place in forest campgrounds, you will probably want to stick with more muted, natural tones. You can wear a faux-fur wrap or cloak over your dress. To add a touch of whimsy consider playing a fairy or an elf and add elf ears, fairy wings and/or a crown of flowers. Pair this with leather arm bracers and a good pair of comfortable boots as you can easily portray an elven archer or a fairy enchantress.

In Salon style, it is much easier to wear regular Lolita fashion since you will not be asked to participate in simulated combat nor will it be as physically taxing. Additionally, many salon style LARPs setting take place in modern times.

However, in cases of historical games taking place before the Victorian era, I would caution against wearing Lolita fashion in favor of working with the game’s aesthetic. In these cases, it’s best to just wear a costume of the appropriate time period to help with being consistent with historical accuracy. Likewise, a sci-fi or futuristic game setting may also not be appropriate. But for games taking place from the Victorian era to modern times, you should be all set.

The majority of salon style LARPs tend toward gothic and steampunk aesthetics, therefore classic and gothic Lolita attire will likely be the most appropriate. You can easily wear whatever attire you would normally wear out around the town for a salon style LARP since you will not be in any more danger of damaging your brand any more than you would going out on a shopping excursion.  If you’ve never delved into steampunk, often times just adding a pair of goggles and a pocketwatch  to your outfit will do. Character concepts like an occult scholar or an airship captain could be ideal for these type of games.

Surely you have noticed the lack of concepts here for sweet lolitas. That is because sweet Lolita style generally will only work in salon style LARPs set in modern settings.  In that case, there’s not much you will need to do to adjust your outfit to the setting.

So in conclusion, if you are a Lolita wishing to get involved into LARPs and want to incorporate your fashion into the game, the key things to remember are the type of LARP it will be and what the game’s setting will be. It may simply not be appropriate for you to wear your frills at game, but there are plenty of times you can. Just do your research before jumping in.

NPC Attachment

As a Game Master, it is your duty to fill your world with various characters for PCs to interact with. These NPCs help add flavor to the environment and can be used to guide players if they need a little nudge in the right direction.

Like any character creation process, our goal is always to make interesting, memorable and well- rounded characters. For NPCs, this also means the added responsibility of crafting characters that will not outshine the PCs. However, when we allow ourselves to become too attached to our NPCs, we are doing a great disservice to our players.

NPCs are first and foremost a tool. We must not mistake them as glorified PCs for us to vicariously play through. The NPC is there to support the story and the game. But when we grow too attached to our NPCs we create problems for the game. The following are several common NPC attachment warnings:

* You do not allow your NPC to be killed.

* You use information the NPC wouldn’t have to maneuver around the PCs plan.

* The NPC is constantly stealing victories from the PCs and is being used as a deus ex machina.

* You force scenes to occur to showcase your character.

* You find yourself getting upset with the player if their characters do not like the NPC.

* Your character is more involved in the plot thread than the PCs.

If you are finding these warning signs as being a theme in how you play your NPC, you may need to step back and consider their role in the game and your motivations. Are you creating NPCs as a way to play all the different character concepts you’ve always wanted to? If so, you need to reevaluate your motivation for running a game. The game should not revolve around the NPCs. It is the story and the journey of the PCs that should take priority. If you are finding that you are more concerned with NPC activity, then you might need to re-shift your focus.

So what should you do if you are becoming too attached to your NPCs? Well, as William Faulkner would say – “Kill your darlings”. While you may want to heed this advice and kill off interfering NPCs, you shouldn’t feel forced into such a drastic measure. You can always just have them step into the background for a while to give you some time away from playing them. If you are running a game with other Game Masters, perhaps you could ask one of them to NPC the character for a while to remind yourself that it is not your PC. Try to sever that emotional tie to the character so you can portray them without the interference of your own desired outcomes. Doing this will give you and your players the freedom to allow the game to flow on a more organic level. You may be pleasantly surprised by the new twists and turns that your story takes.

Getting too close to any creation we’ve made is always a risk. After all, you put a lot of time and effort into developing them. However, if you continue to put your own enjoyment before the players, then your game will not last long. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be having fun too, but if you sole enjoyment comes from portraying these characters and not from the story you are creating, then you may want to think about participating as a PC in games instead of running one.

Role Playing Your Way Out of a Paper Bag

There are a lot of parallels between acting and role-playing. Some people focus more on it than others, but we feel that everyone wants to portray their character well. With all the similarities, we can take a lot of lessons from acting. For some readers maybe you are in an acting program and know this stuff, but if you are new to the hobby, or maybe just haven’t taken actual courses you might still be looking for a good tip or two.


Here are the 3 best, and some of the simplest tips we have gotten from acting friends. These simple steps can help you get straight into character and help scenes flow so that everyone can feel like Academy Award winners.

1) Know where you are coming from and where you are going. This is such a helpful tactic to get into character. Before you start a scene, decide where you are coming from and where your character is going after the scene. You could be coming from the bathroom, your car, or just have fed off of some poor victim. This gives you a general idea of the mood you’ll be in. Did you just leave your loving wife, storm out of the house from your oppressive parents, or were sent out of your haven by an elder vampire. But you’ll be surprised at the how well this mental activity grounds you. And can help carry you into a scene. We have found it a good exercise particularly if your distracted or not in the mood to play your character. Also know where you are going. After this are you going to a restaurant, or to meet up with a date, or to a werewolf caern? This can really help you pace the scene you’re in. Are you in a rush to leave? Do you want to avoid where you are going? Who or what is important enough to stop you from leaving? The great thing is you don’t even have to think about the consequences of your choice, it will just flow in the scene as long as you have a clear idea of where you came from and where you’re going. Two simple decisions that help a scene so much.

2) Don’t say No. This is an improvisational acting rule, and seeing as that is largely what we are doing it’s an important one. What this means is try not to contradict other players - riff off of what they or the Story Teller/Game Master staff describe to you. For example: Your character gets shot for a lot of damage. The medical person comes up and heals most of it and says “It’s not as bad as it looks” to justify the medical skill. Don’t then go and say “What? It went right through my shoulder! Can’t you tell a grievous wound?” Now you have undercut the other players’ skills, are pushing the barriers of disbelief because now we all have to think of another reason a first aid kit and 3 seconds fixed a gunshot, and are retroactively describing a vague event making the other person look ‘wrong’. None of those things are fun for people and make it harder for the scene to flow. Whenever possible always try to be moving forward and not trying to be explaining things that already happened, that’s what we mean when we say “Don’t say no”. You’ll find the scenes will flow better and feel more natural, and more importantly the other players will feel it, and think you are a great actor/role-player.

3) Have a voice for the character. You don’t need to be good at accents, or impersonations. You don’t need to change the sound of your voice in anyway (though you certainly can if you like). Just adopt different vocabulary and mannerisms. If it’s your first time just copy someone, if you’re a veteran you can pick and chose all the traits you need from experience or your own head. Pick an actor, TV character or a friend and just try to talk like them. Make sure it’s someone you know well, or watch a lot. Just try and use the types of words they use and speak at the rate they speak. Are they always excited, are they normally very patient, do they use 8 words when 3 would do? Just try to pick someone a bit different than you (and your other characters if you are playing more than one, or NPCing or such) Try to have a few vocabulary word they fall back on to express things, like exclamations, insults or pet names. Just think about the words you use a lot, and when you use them. Then think of different words or phrases and use them in the same place. Little changes like that can help define a character so well. You’ll be amazed when you finally break character and everyone realizes it without you having to hold up your hand with your OOC finger gang sign. Now if you want to get into accents and vocal distortions and all that by all means go for it, it all helps, but don’t feel like you’re a bad role-player because you can’t do them well, because by the end of the day they are not needed. What is needed is to just have a separate way of speaking for that character that you can settle into. Eventually you’ll find it comes naturally when you’re in character, and your friends will think you deserve an Oscar.

The Warlock's Tower: So You Want to be the Bad Guy?

So you want to play the bad guy?


Obviously, cause you’re reading the Warlock’s Tower article. Normally it takes years of practice to play a good antagonist in a game but fortunately you were clever enough to go straight to a knowledgeable source so maybe there is hope for you getting out of minion status and to become a true master mind that will be remembered throughout the ages.

So let’s look at what you should be thinking about as a player who wants to play an antagonistic character in a game. Most of these tips are good food for thought regarding NPCs as well. There is a temptation for you to get a ‘me vs. them’ mentality that often leads to bad blood between players. But you are still telling a story with the other players, and you are playing a necessary part of that story, so just try to remember you are there to collaborate not compete.

These tips work best in large player settings, and obviously not for games set up strict PvP games. But I’ve found there is a lot of difficulty with people playing one of these characters in large online games or LARPs that are trying to include a high amount of RP. You can apply some of these to a table top game but in most of those cases I feel you will be playing more of a spy or traitor than trying to build yourself up to be a true antagonist, so if that’s what you’re playing just take the parts you need from this article.

Lesson One: Know what game you are playing, and what game the other players are playing. Not everyone is there for the same reasons you are. It’s ok to change your level of antagonism from player to player. There may be a competitive player, an introspective player, a beer and pretzel player, and a player only there for the role-play and social interaction. These players will all have very different reactions when you attack/backstab/take advantage of them. It’s OK to use different approaches for each, and if you want to be remembered as the best villain of the game, you should. Be everyone’s favorite person to hate and you’ll go down as the highlight of everyone’s war stories. Seeing as you want to be a foil, try to play the opposite of the character you’re targeting. If the other player is aggressive, be deflective and try to get them get them in positions they can’t muscle through, like legal binds. If the other player is defensive, attack a bit, force them to step up to defend their territory. You‘ll need to determine what to do on a case by case bases, but always try to be engaging the other player and exploiting their flaws.

Lesson Two: Use minions. Getting others to do your dirty work may go against the very sensible thought “If you want something done right then you have to do it yourself.” But if you’re in a game you have to remember to be inclusive of the other player. You’re there to tell a group story, and you don’t want to isolate yourself from the rest of the game. Strong arming, hiring or tricking other players into helping you involves them in the plot, and gives them things to do during a game. You may be more limited in a table top, but this is a great strategy for an online role-play centric game, or a LARP. Again look for the players that would be best suited and find ways to included them. One of my favorite relationships in a LARP was with a player who became my flunky early on, and failed at almost every assignment I gave him. Perfect, I thought! I sent him after new players, weaker characters I knew I could easily kill, and people more interested in RP. He would scare them, give them some plot, give clues that I was “after them” in some way, but they weren’t going to lose their characters, and it lead to lots of fun scenes.

Remember you are there to add drama and antagonize the story not necessarily to win. So…

Lesson Three: The lost art of Counting Coup. For the most part killing PCs in most of these games has one of two effects. First you killed someone’s favorite PC, they now hate you, (The player not the character like we would have wanted) don’t want to play with you anymore, and leave the game or cause drama you don’t need in real life. Or they don’t care, think of it like going down in Modern Warfare, and just bring up their next life with a character that may or may not have an inexplicable grudge against you. Now on the other hand, if you leave them beaten, humiliated, or having lost something they care about… it becomes about the role-play. Creates the back and forth rivalries and sets up the epic showdowns of legend that we go to the movies for.

Alternatively nothing adds to a story like temptation. Fallen characters are always a fan favorite, while those who resist temptation often become great characters. So if you don’t think you can beat them physically, see what you can offer, money, power….everybody has a price. If you can make them become the thing they fight (that’s you) then you have also won.

Lesson Four: If you want to be remembered as the biggest bad of all time, be consistent. This may feel like a contradiction of the first lesson but it’s not. Not only do you need to know your game but you need to know yourself. There are so many examples of people changing a villain’s motivations just to get the most “evil” or dramatic scene. Know what drives your character. Remember major villains have 3 key attributes. Selfishness, Arrogance, and the sense of victimization (yes there are more, but you’re game may or may not allow you control of them so we’ll just stick to these for now). The first two are going to be the same as everyone else’s attempt to be the bad guy, so you have to make the last one meaningful. Lex had his hair/looks, Magneto had the holocaust, Sephiroth had mommy issues. It doesn’t have to be rational but it does need to be meaningful and drive the character. For example if barbarians wiping out your village is your driving victimization, then try not to let the other characters be killed by a wild mob, even if it’s in your interest to let them die. Now you have a much more interesting character. He works against the other players at most turns, but wants to fight disorder more, or at least won’t let it steal his victory. So don’t switch motivations just to be evil.

Hope that helps you on your path of becoming everybody’s favorite person to hate. Just remember you are there to work with the other players to tell a story, and most stories are only as good as their villains… so make your count.

Gamer's Grimoire: Making Scars

Creating visual effects with make-up is always a great way to enhance your LARP experience. For this tutorial, we've decided to show you how to add scars. If you want to play a character with any prominent scars, we have a very simple and easy technique to share.

All you will need is a bottle of liquid latex, which you can find online and in Halloween speciality shops. Our pick is Ben Nye Liquid Latex.We grabbed a small bottle for $6 at our local Halloween shop. Unless you plan on doing alot of special effects work, a small bottle should be all you need for small scars. This stuff goes a long way.

Ben Nye Liquid Latex for all your emo gill needs

For this example, we will be making a simple, clean cut arm scar.

Place down a paper towel in case of drips. Then get a sturdy piece of paper with a thin edge. Something like an index card, a business card, or an envelope. In this case, we chose to use a playing card. Using the liquid latex cap's brush and paint a coating along the edge of the card:

Apply a thin, even coating

When you have a good coating, press the card aganist the area of the skin that you want the scar to appear. You will only need to hold it there about three to five seconds.While we are showing an arm scar, this can work equally well for facial scarring, though be careful to keep the substance out of your eyes and mouth (obviously).

Press firmly against skin

Gently pull the card away and let the latex dry. If the latex is a bit too wide, you can just wipe the edges to create a thinner line. And if it's not to your liking, you can just wash it off and start over, as liquid latex comes off very easily. After drying, you should have a nice little fake scar:

Show the other players that your character's daddy doesn't love them enough

The bottle does come with a brush cap, however, we find using the brush creates too wide of an area and too thin of a coating. This technique creates thinner and cleaner cuts that are great for displaying knife and blade related scarring.