Life. Action. RolePlay! A LARP Podcast

Matthew Lillard, most known for Scooby-Doo and SLC Punk!, joins hosts Cynthia Marie, Ryan Omega, and Kai Norman to talk about being one the owners of a luxury gaming merchandise company, Beadle & Grimm's! We talk about what inspired the move to go into the luxury tabletop world and why they've become successful in this market. In this episode, we also talk about stories of the films he's in, as well as geeking out to Magic: The Gathering! To watch our live programming, go to twitch.tv/lifeactionroleplay! If you want to support the channel, you can support us at patreon.com/lifeactionroleplay!  

After a slight break, Ryan Omega, Cynthia Marie, and Kai Norman get together to talk about their personal losses and how they have handled in both LARP/roleplaying and in real life. This episode is more of a casual conversation among friends as we figure out our new direction with the talk show.

Kai Norman and Ryan Omega talk with guest, Anthea Tuley, a LARP runner of Refuge San Francisco and Alliance LARP in the SF Bay Area about the experiences and challenges of running a LARP. Discussion includes how LARP leadership has evolved over the years, how community management has become an important aspect, and giving suggestions for others in running their games. This podcast was originally recorded May 23rd, 2021.

Cynthia Marie, Kai Norman and Ryan Omega invited Kelly Lynne D'Angelo, Native American writer and DnD Personality and Dr. Diana Leonard, Associate Professor of Psychology at Lewis and Clark to talk about the differences between appropriation and inspiration when it comes to roleplaying characters and creating world builds.  In this timely topic, we address considerations of roleplaying an underrepresented group, what to do when you come across details that are not authentic in these cultures, and how our own personal identities and backgrounds shape how we roleplay.  New and present content each week on our Twitch channel twitch.tv/lifeactionroleplay For behind the scenes access, join our Patreon at www.patreon.com/lifeactionroleplay

On this episode, Dom Zook, producer of the Twitch channel, Saving Throw, joins Cyn, Kai, and Ryan about what it takes to produce a livestreamed roleplaying game show. We cover everything from the technical side, production logistics, and tips on balancing paying attention to the players of your game and to the audience at home.  Dom Zook's Twitch channel is twitch.tv/savingthrowshow Life. Action. RolePlay's Twitch channel is twitch.tv/lifeactionroleplay for their latest content. For behind the scenes content, Life. Action. RolePlay's Patreon is www.patron.com/lifeactionroleplay  

Hosts Kai Norman and Ryan Omega invite Mike Graves from Eldritch Sky Gaming and Spencer Winter to the show to talk about what makes a character that you are creating "memorable" in the eyes of other players.The discussion includes how to work with archetypes yet avoid stereotypes and why creating a character that is "cool and perfect" will be frustrating to play rather than memorable. Also covered in this topic are tips on playing characters with underrepresented backgrounds (racial, gender, or sexual minorities) that are different from the player and how to avoid being accidentally problematic even when well-intentioned but still play that character in your game.

Ryan Omega and Kai Norman invite two guests who play archetypical characters of faith yet atypical concepts in LARP: Vivid Vivka, who plays a crow-fae druid in Twin Mask LARP and Dylan Buchanan, who plays a Telling Visionist priest inspired by Walt Disney in Dystopia Rising.We discuss what attracts people to playing characters of faith and why it can be addictive roleplay to those players, tips on how to enhance conveying spirituality with costuming and props, and why preaching your religion and aggressively handing our pamphlets is one of the least effective ways to roleplay a character of faith.

For today's episode, Cyn, Kai, and Ryan tackle a more light-hearted topic where you had to roleplay a character or plan a LARP or roleplaying game and things fell apart at that moment. So we talk about our epic fails (and how we dealt with them) and our unexpected triumphs when things in our roleplay took a wide left turn! And we did this over drinks. So some of the podcast also didn't go as planned (but decided to keep this in editing!)

What happens if you no longer find joy in roleplaying or LARP? Is it because your time with the hobby or game is over is there something else happening?We invite back Tessa Thurman to the show as we discuss what happens in our brain chemistry when we experience LARP fatigue (or Roleplay fatigue) and what are solutions to resolve these issues so we can find joy in roleplay again in our games.Tessa Thurman is a game designer and game writer who also runs escape rooms, including virtual escape rooms during the time of quarantine.

Bleed, the roleplay concept where emotions you feel as your character are carried over into your real life, seems to be heightened while we roleplay over Zoom during the pandemic. Ryan, Cyn, and Kai talk with our guest, Tessa Thurman, about the scientific and chemical processes in our brain that allow us to feel the highs and lows of roleplay and discuss strategies on how to mitigate those lows from affecting our everyday mood.

Outline Storytellers and Game Masters guide their players along a prescripted path. Sandbox Storytellers and Game Masters give their players freedom to do things until confronted with boundaries. How can you tell which one you are and how can you prevent railroading your players, where players are given no options except the story you wrote?Joining us is Kailey Bray, the DM for Damsels and Dice, the Disney Princess DnD game, as we collectively figure out which types of storytellers we are, how do we prevent decision paralysis in players and when we give players a nudge when they take too long?

With the current quarantines in place, there has been a couple of questions most LARPers are afraid to ask: What will the future of LARP look like? Will things ever return to normal?Joining us for this topic are Garrett Hallows, the Head of Story for Twin Mask, and Fabienne Miskelly, one of the producers for the Twitch channel, Scabby Rooster, to talk about the adaptations current LARPs need to continue making roleplay accessible, including an in-depth discussion on the different virtual LARPs taking place in Discord and Tik-Tok. We also speculate what Physical LARPs will look like when we are cleared to interact socially again in physical spaces.    

Cynthia Marie, Kai Norman and Ryan Omega welcome Mikey Strange, a storyteller for Twin Mask LARP and the puzzle maker for Aetherhaus Academy on the Twitch channel, Scabby Rooster. Cyn takes the host helm while Mikey, Kai and Ryan all talk about how their methods of creating puzzles and using puzzles in their storytelling. Mikey shares where his inspirations for puzzles come from, Kai explains in detail his favorite puzzle, the Einstein Puzzle, and Ryan talks about his favorite storytelling puzzle as a one-shot mod.

Ryan and Cyn are joined by Krystina Arielle, Jordan Raskopoulos, and Sharang Biswas and together, they were all part of #RealityRP, one of the featured events for DnD Live 2020. Sharang and Ryan were two of the five narrative designers and Krystina, Jordan and Cyn were three of the ten performers.Reality RP was a comprehensive roleplay event that included roleplay on Instagram, discussions on Discord, twine adventures, the audience finding clues on the DnD Live 2020 website, and a live-streamed reality programming elimination event.Here the designers and performers talk about the event, all the behind-the-scenes that people didn't see on live video and their favorite moments from the three-day game.

Kai, Cynthia and Ryan invite Greg Tito, the Senior Communications Manager for Dungeons & Dragons, to talk about his D&D event of the year: DnD Live! Greg talks about the history of DnD Live, how the event showcases a different way to play and upcoming things about #DnDLive2020! Ryan, who is one of the Narrative Team/game designers for DnDLive2020, will also talk about the development of #RealityRP which is a mixture of Reality gaming, LARP and canon DnD characters, and his experiences directing the intro videos for Dungeons & Dragons.

Ryan, Cynthia Marie and Kai invite their friends, Shea Gibbons, the new Head of Story of Dystopia Rising: Northern California, and Ezekiel Bradshaw-Little, from the Community Management Team for Twin Mask, to talk about using costume, props and physical movement to enhance your characters.This audio track was taken from the live talk show of "Life. Action. RolePlay!" on the new Twitch channel: twitch.tv/lifeactionroleplay  This has been edited to tighten the track without removing the original content.

From our second live talk show of Life. Action. RolePlay! We are honored to bring back Jason Carl, Storyteller for LA by Night and Brand Marketing Manager for the World of Darkness. We talk about roleplaying in this time of COVID and how the World of Darkness, and roleplaying and LARP in general, are affected by it. We took questions from the live chat and answer them here.The podcast has been edited from the live broadcast to remove long pauses or live broadcasting issues. To catch live episodes of Life. Action. RolePlay! Tune in to the twitch channel under http://www.twitch.tv/lifeactionroleplay!

Ryan, Cynthia Marie and Kai did their first livestreamed talk show on their new LifeActionRolePlay twitch channel and invited the audience to ask questions live!For the first live talk show, the topic "How to Roleplay" is kept general enough to involve people from beginners to veterans, and also address multiple roleplay scenarios from LARP to tabletop to livestreamed games.The show has been edited to reduce pauses or stray noises.If you want to support the Life. Action. RolePlay podcast and Twitch channel, go to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/lifeactionroleplay!

The hosts get together remotely to record a podcast about games we playing through this time of social distancing. At the time when we recorded this, lockdown has been effect for a while and we talk honestly about how we are doing and how we are coping.The conversation moved into trying to be motivated to get throughout the day, so we also talk about using gaming as a way to accomplish things.We reference a book of microLARPs called "work/play" by Alex Flanigan in this podcast, found at: https://therealalexflanigan.itch.io/workplay-a-microrpg-collection-for-difficult-days?fbclid=IwAR25wtXP7MzsX_AuSxq5H3uV3lnv7iVPYPQeTa4k3mzRGGy_Gb7ebTPqTS0

Cynthia Marie, Kai Norman, and Ryan Omega are finally back together for this episode of Life. Action. RolePlay! The topic is "Making Character Backgrounds" and we start with a test to see what KIND of character we like playing by taking the "Bartle Test" that tells us how we like to game.We also segue into the idea of "Play to Lose," an advanced concept in roleplaying where you make bold narrative choices that could end badly for your character.You can take the Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology at this link here: https://matthewbarr.co.uk/bartle/

While visiting Seattle, Ryan interviews Tobias McCurry, a regular guest here on Life. Action. RolePlay! except visiting him in his hometown on Valentine's... er... Sonic Day! The topic is "How to Do The Dumb," a phrase referring to being brave enough to make a foolish choice as your character in a game rather than the wiser choice in real life. It means letting go of ego and embracing the fun in failure!  Tobias McCurry is a maker, costumer, and performer out of Seattle, WA. Known primarily for his participation in the show "Steampunk'd" on GSN, and his Steampunk creations such as his "Spring-Heeled Jack" outfit, his most notable works involve his unique take on costuming. He strives to integrate special effects knowledge and practicality into outfits, props, and other projects.Coming from a strong background of professional theatre and performance involving anything from spewing fire to sword fighting, Tobias has made himself the jack of all trades of event production. Utilizing his knowledge of the performing arts, he has expanded the art to platforms such as Live Action Roleplaying (LARP), independent film/commercials, and the convention circuit itself!Participating in LARP across the US for over a decade, he has become strong advocate for its creative and mental benefits as a performing art for nerds. Tobias has engaged in genres such as Medieval Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic, Steampunk and more while encompassing aspects such as character development, production, interpersonal communication and practical costuming.  

Cynthia Marie, Ryan Omega and their guest, Lex the Chameleon talk about the differences between roleplaying in LARP and roleplaying while on camera in a livestream. They use examples from their own shows such as LA by Night and Blank Slate as well as the LARPs they've attended, such as Twin Mask and Vampire LARPs.We also address ideas like, "How much of your roleplaying is performing when you know you are watched on camera?" and "What kind of characters are more difficult to roleplay in a LARP vs Livestream?" 

First podcast of the new year and we're back!Kai Norman interviews his co-host, Ryan Omega, on the creation, inspirations and the methods to create his livestream LARP show, Blank Slate, on the Scabby Rooster channel on Twitch. They go into several behind-the-scenes details on how to storytell with several players, giving them player agency, and also break the fourth wall to involve the chat into influencing the overall story.This episode will have some spoilers as we get into the details of what influenced and behind the scenes events each season.

Ryan Omega sits down with Ryan Galiotto, who has been a site manager dealing with many LARP game sites, to talk about LARP logistics. This includes acquiring sites for a LARP game with tips on making it easier, challenges to deal with and some stories of the best and worst sites in our experience.We also talk about Galiotto's involvement in the early days of the vampire network One World by Night, as he was responsible for getting those sites for LARPs in Chicago when the games first began in this network. This is from the Kublacon series of podcasts recorded over Memorial Day Weekend in San Francisco.

Kai and Ryan interview Dustin Fletcher who came all the way from Atlanta, Georgia, to talk about storytelling in LARPs but also in production. Our group has a unique set of backgrounds; all of us have worked in the entertainment industry, have experience playing games on livestream and have run LARPs.We discuss some of our favorite moments as storytellers and the challenges we face wanting to tell a story when the LARP player base wants to do in a completely different direction and how we deal with that.Dustin Fletcher runs the Dungeons & Dragons campaign, D4, alongside his Co-DM, Devan Henderson, on the #DnD Twitch channel. He has run LARP games and events with the emphasis on darker storytelling that includes making sets and props to create a more immersive world. He is also a professional movie propmaker and costumer. WARNING: This episode has discussions on graphic cruelty, torture and miscarriages, as related to storytelling and how player consent is important. Audience discretion is advised.Picture of Dustin and Devan from D4 as an Ettin. Picture by @sebepic on Twitter.

In this episode, Ryan talks to Tina Braganza about the differences and similarities of Improv vs LARP. Tina is a theatrical performer and does not label herself as a gamer, so she has a unique perspective on this topic. We do this on a Sunday morning over breakfast mimosas which definitely had an effect on the podcast!We also tangent on the discussion of being People of Color in LARP, how that affects the character choices that we make in our roleplay interactions. This is part of the Kublacon series of podcasts recorded over Memorial Day Weekend.Note: This podcast was reloaded due to found technical glitches in the original upload.

Recorded LIVE at WhedonCon from the "What is LARP?" program panel with Ryan Omega, Cynthia Marie, Courtney Kraft and PJ Megaw as the panelists. You'll hear the audience ask live questions of the panelists who are curious about live action roleplaying, and we talk a little bit about the WhedonCon LARP: Dr. Horrible's Superlative Fanfic, before the actual event.

What differentiates LARP games at conventions from those held at other sites? Are convention LARPs more immersive and more new player friendly? And what are some tips for those trying your first LARP at a convention?Ryan sits down with an assorted circle of guests with varying degrees of LARP experience: James Medina, Ashley Bargenquast, Anson Thurston and Alex Webber. We recorded this at Kublacon, a gaming convention in San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend. As we were recording in a panel room, you'll hear guest voices who popped in their head to say hello and con murmuring outside the walls.This recording was gone at Kublacon over Memorial Day Weekend and is the first of our Kublacon podcast series, interviewing and discussing various topics from the guests at the convention.  

Roleplaying in games enables people to play several characters, but what if that person is someone that you have always wished to be? Ryan speaks with Chelle Gibbons, Taylor Frost and Aleks Thurman on how LARP has been a way to roleplay personality traits and even identities that we are curious to explore. We mention some of our personal experiences but also some advice when deciding to try this aspect of LARP for your next character.This was recorded on a drive on the way to Kai's game of Dystopia Rising NorCal in a moving van so environmental noise is in the recording.

The hosts, Kai, Cynthia Marie and Ryan go deep and get very personal into asking for help both in-character and in real life when it comes to live action roleplaying. We have very frank discussions about our own experiences and discuss practical solutions on what to do when a person is overwhelmed from a situation in LARP or how to deal with a person that makes you uncomfortable.We also talk about the phenomenon "The Broken Stair" in LARP and how this affects the safety of the LARP community and what can be done to fix it.    

This is a supplementary episode for Life. Action. RolePlay! where one of the hosts, Ryan, answers questions about the interactive LARP livestream show "Blank Slate" on the Scabby Rooster Twitch channel from the internet.  The show is on Tuesdays at 8pm PST on twitch.tv/ScabbyRooster 

The first episode we posted here on Life. Action. RolePlay! wasn't actually the first that Cyn and I recorded.We had another podcast that we recorded earlier which is our very first one. After listening to it, I decided that it wasn't... quite right to start off this Podcast.  So Cyn and our friend, Nox, suggested I take our first podcast and react to it to see how bad it was and react to it.It involved a lot of mimosas. You can hear the pour of champagne in the middle of the recording.Let's take a trip down memory lane as we listen to, and I comment on, that very first recording for this show.

Trying to come up with a new character concept? Or maybe you've played a long time character like Ryan has and it's taking you at least two years to think of another idea? Guest host, Courtney Kraft, shares tips on coming up with a new character idea along with guests, Alexis George and Maxwell Colburn, experienced players with theatrical backgrounds that are known to play a variety of characters, principally in Dystopia Rising and Twin Mask. Guest host, Courtney Kraft, is a LARPer with over 20 years of experience and is currently a writer and performer with Dungeon Master. Her notable experiences include working with many gaming businesses including Geek & Sundry, Anime Expo, and G4. Alexis George is an editor and LARPer based out of Los Angeles. She currently is a player advocate at Twin Mask, and a writer and Operations Guide at the NorCal Dystopia Rising chapter. She can be found at @Alexisspeaking on Instagram and Twitter.Maxwell Colburn is a crafter, dramaturge, and LARPer based out of North Hollywood. He is currently an Operations Guide at the NorCal Dystopia Rising chapter. He came to LARPing through battle games and is still an avid stick jock. He can be found on Instagram @DeniablePlausability.

Hosts Cynthia Marie, Kai and Ryan have a full table discussion with guests Vivid Vivka, Aelflaed and Liam Neary on how Veteran players affect long time running games, how they shape the experiences for new players and the whole game world and the responsibility veterans, intermediate players and new players have to each other to keep a LARP community going. We also define different ways what makes a veteran player in a LARP. VividVivka is a one-woman virtuoso of all things geeky. She is an accomplished and seasoned costume designer and cosplayer, specializing in armor and detailed builds. She's a video-game fanatic, Magic: the Gathering obsessed, and has a long list of Waifus. She is currently on Dungeons and Dragons' Maze Arcana Twitch show "Sirens of the Realms", as Ghost. She also plays the Dungeons & Dragons NPC, the Black Viper. She actively participates in a Vampire: the Masquerade LARP, and has a steady hard obsession with LARPing at Twin Mask. Her collection of sparkly dice is to be envied but her rolls are terrible.Aelflaed is a model, cosplayer, and LARPer from Seattle. She began LARPing three year and immediately fell in love with it. She currently mainly plays Dystopia Rising, but is always ready for the next adventure in whatever world it may be. Liam Neary is an actor, prop maker, costumer, and Live Action Roleplayer! In his professional experience, he acted as a game runner for Dystopia Rising: Massachusetts, and has worked to broaden his horizons in the hobby by participating in various LARPs internationally. Liam is a nerd extraordinaire working in front of, and behind the camera. While in reality, we have suspicion to believe he may actually be a dead body piloted by 3 cats studying humanity for plots of world domination.Nevertheless, the less we know the better.

We made this podcast in response to one of the most searched topics on the internet in relation to LARP: "How to Win at LARP." But it is far more interesting to fail or set yourself up for failure in LARPs when it comes to roleplaying.Ryan and Kai are joined by Ash Minnick, Kevin Pearl and Quintin Johnston to talk about their favorite moments when their characters or plot failed at LARP and why taking risks will give you stories that you'll end up telling for years after that scene.Ash Minnick is a Producer at Geek & Sundry, player of games, builder of props, mother of kittens From Quintin: “I play Twin Mask, Apocalypse 47, Undying, other LARPs around SoCal! I’m even staff for some of them, so come check them out! I’m also a friendly bean that you can talk to about anything if you ever wanna talk LARP shop!” Kevin Pearl is one of those New Yorkers trapped in LA you often hear about. He has been Larping in one form or another since 2004 and is getting ready for the Cozy Larp Festival in April in Highland Park. https://cozylarp.wordpress.com/cozy2019/    

We asked our listeners to our podcast to submit their favorite LARP story to us, in celebration of reaching 10,000 downloads here on Life. Action. RolePlay! So the hosts, Cynthia, Kai and I pick our favorites, read them and react. These stories range from the romantic to the downright scary, some stories of personal pride and the outright funny, we are very thankful to receive these and we thought this would be a perfect way to add our audience's stories along with ours!We even have a radio drama submission retelling a LARP event. So these are the best LARP stories from among our submissions and we hope to get into more of these in future podcasts!

Sometimes we get ready for LARP very hyped but the day comes and we're not in the mood to play. We're either low energy or we're distracted by something outside of game that affects how we roleplay.  Kai and Ryan are joined by James Dickinson, a marshal for Dystopia Rising: NorCal, as we talk about how players can get into a roleplay mood when they are not feeling it, how the community can reinforce positivity proactively, and how to remain positive in the face of negative situations or even negative characters. According to James in his own bio: James Dickinson is a somewhat experienced larp staff member and player with particular enthusiasm for positive community and comedic role play.

It's not unusual when people think of Non Player Characters (NPCs), they think of a generic character like a merchant with a script of a few repeated lines in a video game. But in LARP, while an NPC merchant needs to sell their wares, they may choose who to sell it to, what price, or even entertain a bargain because they are STILL a character. For this podcast, Kai and Ryan speak with Brian Richardson, Director of the LARP "Last Frontier," Noxweiler Berf and Fabienne Miskelly, who both serve as Story Advocates for the LARP "Twin Mask."  We talk about the use of NPCs by LARP storytellers, how playing an NPC allows some players to try different things they aren't able to do as a PC, and their favorite NPCs and NPC moments. Noxweiler Ignatius Berf was raised by wolves in the far reaches of the wild lands beyond The Wall. Classically trained in circus arts, puppetry, make-believe, and sleight of hand, his work as an artist and general ne’er-do-well can be found in various locations around Los Angeles. He is a player advocate for Twin Mask, a plot member for Undying, and producer of the Dungeon Master stage show. You can find him on The Painters Guild on Geek and Sundry and see his work on various properties on the Project Alpha channel. He also hosts a variety of content on Twitch.tv/goblincavalcade and can be seen on Anesidora on Maze Arcana with Ryan Omega! He is the creator of Boogah Badtongue and isn’t sorry about it. Fabienne Miskelly is a player advocate at Twin Mask. She has a BFA in Performing Arts, with experience in performing, but also in technical aspects like stage combat, prop and scenic design, as well as managing theater company’s. You can find her performing in the improv show “Dungeon Master” in Los Angeles, on the Twitch Channel “Goblin Cavalcade”, and everywhere @MagicalGirlFab.Brian Richardson is the co-creator of Last Frontier, a space-western mining town LARP in Southern California, and an equipment design engineer for a major medical device manufacturer. He has previously worked as a Marshal and Storyteller for Dystopia Rising SoCal.

In today's podcast, we talk about online roleplay: everything from Forum RP to Discord to even Instant Messenger all the way back to MUDs and AOL Chat and we discuss how it is both like LARP and not like LARP at all.Joining Cynthia Marie and Ryan Omega are Courtney Kraft, Community Manager of Alpha; Angela Basset, one of the owners of Twin Mask LARP; and Cyn's sister, Lex, who all share their experiences, challenges and favorite moments of text based roleplay online.

What is LARP? In this podcast, our panel answers this question and everyone has a very different answer.We also cover Kai Norman's experiences running his own LARP, his first opening game of Dystopia Rising: NorCal and things he has learned from that.Our guests are Jared Rico, who plays in various LARPs in SoCal including Twin Mask and Empty Thrones and known colloquially as the "Meme Goblin," and Cyn's sister, Lex, who is a player in Twin Mask and the One World by Night Vampire game, LaSangre.

How does a LARP deal with the scaling of a game from about 20 players to nearly 200 people at an event? Joining Ryan Omega and guest host, CW Fox, are Angela and John Basset, the creators of Twin Mask, a Southern California LARP that has been dealing with recent expansions in game. They share what they have learned in making a game grow to accommodate a larger player base as well as their thoughts and opinions of the recent popularity of LARP not just in geek culture, but in the mainstream.

In this podcast, we focus on the art of making props with our very own Kai Norman and our special guest Lauren Markland. Both have had extensive experience in crafting prop items, clothing and weapons in the entertainment industry and they share tips and tricks on how they bring that creative expertise to LARP.   Kai, Ryan and Lauren with... "handfeet."  

Many LARP genres like vampire and post-apocalyptic LARPs often have a hint of humor or lightness in their games and this podcast covers how a little bit of humor can temper a darker game. We also cover setting up ambiance in a LARP game and the humor inspired by that.Joining Ryan and Cynthia today is Bruce Monach and Joanna Cross, storytellers from the custom Vampire LARP, Hollywood Forever LARP. Bruce also is the Game Master and Game Creator of the show "Anesidora" on the Maze Arcana channel.

Have you played a character concept in a LARP and realized you don't know where to take your character in the story? Or have you played a long time character, about to start another, but completely clueless where to start?Hosts, Ryan and Cynthia Marie are joined by guests, CW Fox and PJ Megaw, to discuss different ways to avoid getting stuck with your character and brainstorming new character concepts.At least it started this way. There's going to be a lot of discussion about Cheesy pizza places and bad accents in this podcast.  

In this interview recorded while at Gen Con, Kai Norman and Ryan Omega interview Matthew Webb from Jackalope Live Action Studios, starting from the discussion of Webb's blockbuster LARP, "The Night in Question," into the exploration of why people indulge in stories of monsters, gore and evil and why villains are so seductive. And when these narratives translate into a live action roleplaying event, the responsibility that the event runners have to keep everyone safe when exploring these dark topics.

It was 110 degrees when we were sharing a bottle of pink wine and Ryan, Cynthia Marie, Kai and Tobias McCurry talked about stories of long time friendships from LARP and roleplaying. While segueing into other topics, we talk extensively about reaching for the safety of communities in LARP as the foundation for many of these friendships and relationships to grow.

Cynthia Marie and Ryan Omega do a last minute get together with P.J. Megaw and Courtney Kraft to talk about the game "Arcana High," everything from the inspirations behind this game among friends to becoming a Dungeons & Dragons game as a show on Maze Arcana on Twitch.Over a large bottle of unfiltered sake.

Inspired by a late night conversation that ran until 4am, we are covering the topic "Why Do We Play?" which goes into personal and philosophical discussions on the nature of play.B. Dave Walters is a Storyteller, Geek, Motivator, and proud Scoundrel American. Dungeon Master of Theogony of Kairos and cast member of Inkwell Society on Maze Arcana, and We're Alive: Frontier on Project Alpha. Co-host of Ask Your Black Geek Friend on Geek & Sundry, and the Rundown Predator web series for Fox! He was a player in Dungeons & Dragons first livestreamed LARP, "Off The Table" at the event Stream of Many Eyes run by Ivan Van Norman and is a current player in Bruce Monach and Ryan Omega's Vampire: the Masquerade LARP as the Ventrue Primogen.P.J. Megaw is a gamer and dork, playing D&D since 2008 playing every edition from AD&D to his beloved 5th edition. When he’s not gaming at the table he’s an avid LARPer in the California area in the LARPs Twin Mask and Vampire: the Masquerade. When he’s not enjoying his favorite geeky pastimes he’s an actor in film and television with years of comedic, dramatic and improv experience. You may recognize him from the stage combat vote based improv comedy show The Video Games that toured the California Comic Con circuit and just retired after a 3 year tour! 

In the effort to help people worried about going to their first LARP, Kai Norman and Ryan Omega go over EVERY instance of preparation someone needs to physically and psychologically prepare for their first LARP, whether parlor, boffer, Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy or Vampire.We may have gone overboard; we feel you will also be prepared for an actual end of the world scenario if you listen to this podcast.

While LARP is considered its own performance, performance-based character types like bards, minstrels and even mimes are a whole class of roleplaying in itself. We ask two of our friends, Noah, who played a scholar and was thrust into playing a Bard from roleplay circumstances and Jordan, who has played a mute and illiterate LARP character for several years. We cover how performing within a LARP is different from performing elsewhere, whether a bard is considered a support character in a LARP as it would be considered in a tabletop game and even well... what episode on bards would be complete without a performance!

In this podcast, we cover how to play nobility in a LARP or any social setting. We talk about not just about how nobles walk and speak, but also how they think in a group roleplaying situation. We also cover how to play such a character when most of us live in a modern era where most people believe in a democratic society rather than titled hierarchy.Joining us is CW Fox, one of our longtime friends and guests and storyteller. His site, CWFox.com, is a blog site decided to all posts on storytelling and character creation with practical advice on doing both.