The Board and Sword is the club to join if you are looking to connect with gamers of all types. Roleplaying is part of the club, but it is not the only genre of game the group enjoys. Club members are able to organize individual games and meet up outside of KSU to play those games.
There are a number of events that occur during the year such as Boffer and Parlor LARPing. Boffer is more physical-action based with prop weapons and armor. Parlor is more character and acting driven. A Halloween LARP is held annually at the Marietta Campus. With the consolidation, it is hoped that one will also be at the Kennesaw Campus. Another event that is looked forward to is Siege Con, which takes place on private property for a weekend where LARP events take place. A cardboard castle is built and later burned during a barbecue at the end of the event.
Jubal Freeman has been in the club for a year. He estimates that there are around 80 members in the group. “Role-playing games run anything from free-form storytelling to war-simulations. My entire first game was free-form.”
The first club meeting of the semester was held on Tuesday Sept. 22 from noon to 1 p.m. on both campuses. On the Kennesaw Campus, it was held in Room 156 of the Student Center. At the Marietta Campus, the meeting was held in the Ballroom.
The group has moderators who teach the rules if new members are unfamiliar with the game, so if you are interested in joining the group, know that you do not have to worry about whether or not you know how to play a specific game before becoming a member of the club.
LARP stands for Life Action Role Playing and involves acting and action, and more often than not, players enjoy dressing up as the character they are playing. “Tabletop” involves sitting in a group and using dice and more detailed rules to play a game. Though it can be equally intensive in acting performance, it is more dice-based.
It helps to watch an event or gaming session to see how the game works. Imagine someone you would like to be, what their thoughts and motivations are. What is their past? Where are they from? Creating a character and living that character’s life is a unique experience and one that should be tried.
Roleplaying is a great creative outlet. It can be used to work on acting skills, to step into someone else’s shoes and world for a while, or to laugh. Some movies and books have been based on gaming sessions that took place (Dragonlance, Lodoss War).
The Board and Sword is a great place to meet people who share the mutual love of gaming. For more information regarding meetings, events or to join the club, go to OwlLife at the KSU website. Board and Sword also has a Twitter account: @BoardSwordKSU, where events and meetings will be posted..
