If you have ever walked by the Campus Green in the evening, you’ve probably seen them. A group of students swinging swords and wielding war hammers, sparring with each other and practicing for battle. Perhaps you have wondered what they were doing when you passed by or you may have even stopped to watch for a few moments in curiosity. Just who exactly are these students and why are they fighting each other with hard-foam medieval weapons?
This is Kennesaw State University’s Larpers. LARP stands for Live-Action Role Play and is accurately described as a hybrid between improvised acting and a full-contact sport. Some larpers simply enjoy emerging into their character for a weekend in the woods and being in a community with other larpers. Other players enjoy LARP for the exciting battles and hand-to-hand combat with weapons that range from foam-blade daggers to large, two-handed maces.
It is pretty easy to start making some general assumptions after seeing the larpers practicing on The Green. Sure, the whole thing seems a little unusual at first. Why would college students at Kennesaw State want to put in so much effort for a game of fantasy that is fueled by imagination?
For Marion Reese, junior, the most important part of larping is the friendships he has made since joining.
“We’re all close friends,” Reese said. “[Going to events together] definitely makes a strong connection.”
Reese was a commuter student when he joined, simply looking for an activity to get involved in on campus. While Reese gave details of his first night larping, a cold evening that involved guard duty while a character playing a necromancer vampire attacked neighboring camps, his normally low monotone voice quickly transitioned to an enthusiastic one with a large smile. He said he was hooked after his first event.
This seems to be a common testimony of the group, despite the fact that most players are below average fighters when they start playing.
Nick Griever, Technical Theater major at Kennesaw, was an exception at his first event. Griever had already been involved in Shinkendo, a Japanese sword-fighting martial art, so he was better than most experienced LARP players.
The larpers on campus know that some of their college peers might have some reservations about joining Kennesaw State University Larpers.
“Anybody can do it but they might have to embrace their inner nerd,” Griever said with a smile.
Larping at face value appears to be just this embrace and nothing more. A nerds will be nerds sort of community with chainmail and shields. But this is a severely misguided notion. LARP is a very complex and intricate universe that not only provides entertainment but also creative and emotional outlets for people from all sorts of backgrounds.
Gina Juhan, English Education major and the group’s unofficial spokesperson, explained how she has learned from the character she plays at LARP events.
“My characters always reflect aspects of me I want to be different,” Juhan said. “Role playing a stronger character, or even a more reserved one, can really help you develop those things in your real life self.”
LARP gives each player the opportunity to practice traits they want to have in real life. These traits can be noble, heroic even, depending on the player and the situation. The true value of LARP is that it can use a fictional character to teach real-world character, all while going to foam-war with your friends.
If you are interested in the Kennesaw State University Larpers on campus, check out their Facebook page Fighter Practice KSU or head on over to a practice on Tuesday or Thursday evening from 8-10 p.m. on the Campus Green. They will even provide practice weapons if you do not own any. It isn’t too late to join the group before their next big event in Macon, Ga. this December.
