larp thread
again as the previous one is yet again in auto sage

now 37,8% slower than ever

previous thread

>>10873579

>>10936832
This last weekend was the big bongland fest, so now I'm back my current project is fixing everything that broke over the event. I need to order some new buttons for my coat and doublet, derust and protect all my armour, do some minor weapon repairs and all that jazz.

I've got a 13th C game coming up fairly soon, so my next "real" project will probably be making some new soft kit for that. While my existing stuff is fine, it's a bit larpy and generic, and I'd prefer to make a new tunic with brighter colours than my current one.

Kit progress. I've added some stuff to the arsenal. I have a dress sword now for when I wear fancy clothes, because it will work better than the big swords for that. The purple elvish blade is a cursed weapon I'll carry on campaign, for the occasions where I might need to fall back on my weebness because it looks and handles like a katana without being one. The buckler is a small punch shield that I plan to use in tandem with an incoming studded club for if I want to get boffer-y in a fight, with omni strike surfaces not beholden to blade orientation.

The fancy hat is a fancy hat for the aforementioned fancy clothing; the pic doesn't really show it but it's purple and gold, because while I'm not expressly stating that I'm going to try and propagate a Slaanesh cult into this fantasy LARP, I'm probably going to propagate a Slaanesh cult into this fantasy LARP. The character's religion is basically gateway Slaanesh, and he's quite delusional already, so it's not a long leap to make.

I need to go and buy some tin snips to finish trimming the chainmail arms. My little wire cutters are struggling with the steel gauge. At least I know for certain it was built as advertised, it's definitely not aluminum.

More to come as I build up.

Where do you folk buy your armour? Sites, brands, etc. I'm geographically close to Greece/Cyprus if that matters. I wanna get something sorta along the lines of pic related, arguably with a different helmet, or minus the tassets or something.

>>10937384
This looks like a cool kit and you sound like a really fun player

>>10937889
I shop with a local guy (therionarms) almost exclusively.

Hey Hungarian (and other anon as well guess), how was 97 poets?

>>10938071
I really loved it, the Rolling guys made something uniqe yet again, but the first run was sadly plagued by problems outside of the organizers control. First and foremost there was a flood situation in the city which fucked up the site a little, so they had to deconstruct and rebuild a shitton of props. But even then they managed to run a great game which tells you all about their skill level.
Maybe later I will do a storytime or something when the pictures are out. But if you have a specific question just ask

Does anyone have the link to the latest version of the Historical european maker database excel sheet?

>>10938095
A storytime would be excellent hungarian, if you have the time. The one element which I was intrigued by was the Unseen roles, especially as I think a lot of larps would have just made them NPCs. Got any takes on that?

>>10938071
4chan has eaten my post twice now so I can't be bothered to type it out again. Long story short: it was amazing and you should go there if they do re-runs.

>>10937213 (OP)
>now 37,8% slower than ever
God, true. I do wonder whether adding thread questions to the OP, even just a "what game have you been to recently" or "what kit have you been working on", might spur some more posts.

>>10937889
I mostly get mine 2nd hand off of reenactors. Low prices for (generally) high quality, even if you generally have to derust em. Check out local FB groups as a good starting point. I hear Kult of Athena are fairly good as well.

>>10938767
Sorry to hear the basket weaving forum has harmed you like this, as I'd have liked to hear the long story long. I've heard almost exclusively good things (albeit with some caveats, like the workshops mostly just retreading things in the design document at incredible length).

>>10939217
the workshops were okay, especially considered all the setbacks the game had with the flood and everything. My biggest problem were that most of the players were way too western european for my easter european self

>>10939217
>now 37,8% slower than ever
>God, true. I do wonder whether adding thread questions to the OP, even just a "what game have you been to recently" or "what kit have you been working on", might spur some more posts.

Nah. There is just one anon who is salty that clownfag fucked his girlfriend or beat him at a tournament or >>10938764
something.

Then I will be doing my part by asking inane questions no one has answers for.

Does anyone know good resources on making medieval furniture, especially 13th century chests or a grainark? It might be nice to have a place to store my clothes that is a bit more waterproof.

I can probably try to make something from pictures but It would be nice to have some actual schematics instead of having to randomly guess. Especially since it would be my first woodworking project that is more than a few planks stuck together.

>>10939347
Rosalie Gilbert has a guide on her website on how to make a 14th C. box that I know several friends have used before, pic related. If you search up Regional differences in medieval chest construction there's a decent academic article that goes into a lot more detail but is far less of a tutorial.

>>10939231
How so? I've got a bit of an interest in East vs West Euro larp so intrigued to hear what you mean.

>>10939417
tl;dr version would be (in abscence of better english terms, because I have a lot of good terms in hungarian) a lot of toxic positivity, virtue signalling and circle jerk over unimportant things and every second minute telling everyone how great they are.
I know I'm more on the introvert side and culturally we keep way more distance from random people we just met but even so, sometimes it was over a treshold.

But I have nothing to do on the weekend so ask me tomorrow or something and I will have time (and pictures) then

>>10937213 (OP)
Going on my first larp, anybody got tips

>>10939417
The tutorial was a bit too ahistorical for my tastes but that article is a really nice source. Thanks for that and I'll give it a go.

>>10939470
No clue if it is helpful but here are my eight cents.
1. Be early and arrive late so you can talk to the people outside of the larp. This is also good for keeping a clear divide between the people and the characters they play, especially if the characters were your rivals/opponents.
2. Bring more booze to share around at the campfire.
3. I don't care how cool and deep you and your backstory are, there is no excuse for black clothes.
4. Be a retard, Jump into plots, go overact, don't keep information hidden. You have time to learn subtlety later.
5. On that note, have a thing you can do like a job or a mission so you are not dependent on others bringing you plot.
5. Being a retard is not an excuse to be that guy and ruin the game for others.
6. Read the rules and memorise the basics, doing that makes you better than 80% of all the players.
7. "Winning" in a larp means you have fun and create a great story. Not ending up with the biggest pile of marbles/arbitrary coolness points/referee dicks sucked.
8. Know the right amount of seriousness. Don't go "It's just a game" but also don't tryhard the fun away. Commit to the world but keep the game in mind.

>>10937384
>I'm not expressly stating that I'm going to try and propagate a Slaanesh cult into this fantasy LARP, I'm probably going to propagate a Slaanesh cult into this fantasy LARP.

Do it. An old French Canadian namefag that doesn't post anymore managed to get it started at bico, and we have people pretty much in every single guild and household nowadays.

>>10937889
For me, it depends on if it's for combat sports or if it's for LARP/ living history. There's actually a lot of good cheap stuff coming out of India if you know what to look for. I got a decent 18 gauge sallet from India off of eBay for like 40 bucks US. I buy a lot of stuff from individuals off of Facebook, but The guy that's been making my custom pieces unfortunately passed away. Alan Baldree, Master armor of AB Hammer/ Creation Time armory had made pretty much every piece of sport armor that I've worn since I was 16.

>>10937889
Hal is good people.

>>10938767
It's been glitchy lately. I wonder if that's because of the supposed upgrades that are being made?

>>10939331
Pic related.

>>10939347
There's an excellent a series of diagrams and patterns of the Westminster Abbey 13th century chests that might be up your alley.

>>10939429
Is it butt pats to try to keep player retention? Basically love bombing them to keep players coming back?

>>10939470
If you need weapons or equipment that you don't have as a new player, contact the group /game organizers. It's normal to have somebody who holds an official office as a noob wrangler, whose job it is to help you integrate and loan you equipment as needed.

Don't get hung up on having a perfect costume or character right away. Go for comfort and quality as best you can, and don't be afraid to be a little plain.

Consider volunteering for NPC and monster shifts while you learn the system and get to know folks.

Bring snacks. Bring water. Don't die. Dying makes the game look bad.

>>10939519
>Is it butt pats to try to keep player retention? Basically love bombing them to keep players coming back?
you should either do more drugs or less, it's too early for me for that kind of sentences

It was all the players doing, and I blame it on how some of the playerbase was from the stereotypical Disco Elysium fans, and the cfact that some of them from the US didn't help either. The kind that honestly think communism is the best idea ever, and gets offended on a lot of things but always try virtue signal in the process.

The kind that sign up for a character that is in the "sewer people" group, in a game that is held in an abandoned hospital, get surprised that the "sewer" in the game is the (well lit) basement area, get a panic attack and leave before the game starts. Just to tell a completely random example

>>10939470
Early on, it's better to focus on soft kit (clothing) rather than armour and weapons. People are generally happy to lend the latter but less so the former. 100% Wool is the uber material, it's just fantastic and the more you can get the better. Just throw yourself into it. There's no point in just sitting in a corner or not talking to people, everyone else there is going to be a fucking nerd as well.

What game are you going to and where, in very vague terms if you don't want to get too chummy on a Mongolian basket weaving forum. It'll allow us to give better and more focused advice.

>>10939533
Huh, that really wasn't a problem with Run 2 as far as I remember. The org did do an announcement at the start of the game to basically go "try not to be Western 21st Century real life liberals if you're character isn't PLEASE", so I wonder if that was due to how run 1 went. Also the announcement to not piss in the black box rooms was apparently due to some run 1 shennanigans. There were a few "haha whacky" RP-ers, but they seemed happy to mostly keep that RP within their small groups.

>>10939539
the game wasn't that bad, it was mostly before and after the game, I guess you seen the discord and what went down there.
Also the saddest part about the piss poor incident that it happened in TWO rooms.

On a lighter note, don't hide the taxidermy animals under the matrasses (and someone needs professional help)

>>10939498
>>10939519
NTA but this is all really good advice, thanks.

>>10939519
Sup clownfag? Feels like you haven't been posting much.

>>10939540
I havn't really looked at the discord that much, other than looking at some of the post game art. What happened?

>>10939937
nothing singular just the sheer amount of posts and circlejerk at a point gets overwhelming when there is little substance behind it. But maybe it's just me being antisocial

>>10939542
Life hasn't been great lately. I won't blog, but I've been dealing with a lot and didn't really feel like making it worse being on 4chan.

I've been working on a couple of projects lately though. First up, a HEMA/SCA fencing bollock dagger. Dickstabs forever!

>>10940262
Forgot my name.

Secondly, I'm going to be doing a one night, Mordheim skirmish event at a local 17thC site, So I dressed up a Indian made skull cap I've had sitting around for a while.

American friends, are you okay? New Zealand just declared you a hazardous country to visit starting in January.

>>10940893
At the current trajectory, no.

>>10941031
I understand that 4chan is predominantly an American populated site, but is it really getting so bad over there that the thread died?

>>10940893
Stay out of the major cities and we're doing good. Most of the country is peachy, it's just the browned areas and meth-ridden white areas that are sketchy. Politically, things aren't great, but that's another matter. Day-to-day existence for your average American is the usual cheeseburger fueled bliss.

I pop into these threads a few times a year to gawk and seethe. I've wanted to participate in a LARP forever now, but most American LARPs are absolute shit, unless you got to a MILSIM style event. A decent group did start playing in my old area a few months before I moved, though. Wish I could have participated. They actually put an appropriate amount of effort into their game. The photos they put out of their games look fantastic, tons of great props and a consistent tone. Picrel

>>10941906
The area I moved to actually has a decently large LARP community but it is, rather unfortunately, the usual dildo bat combat club type stuff. Picrel. Really frustrating. A friend of mine runs this club and he puts effort into costuming, but he's one of few exceptions. When I told him that I would gladly participate if they were to hold themselves to a higher standard of costuming, he gives the usual "higher standards scare away potential players" response. It's really frustrating, but what can you expect from people who can't put effort into showering or not eating too much?

>>10941906
Well, you sound like a cunt.

>>10941957
How so?

>>10941975
You either know, and are just trying to act like a victim, or you really are too dense to understand why you sound like a cunt bag, and should kill yourself.

>>10942171
NTA, but holy shit dude, fuck off back to /pol/

>>10942205
I don't go to /pol/, but I will fuck off. Have a nice day.

This is off topic, but this thread is probably the best place for me to ask this.

You guys know where i can get a decent quality cloak in Europe?

Thanks in advance.

>>10942423
This is 100% the place to ask, but there's a lot of variables that will help us provide you with the best options.

>1: is this costume or clothing?
I know this sounds kind of pedantic, but it's very important, if not the most important question.

There's nothing wrong with costume. Costume is meant to look good, and be cost effective. Clothing is meant to be lived in, rain or shine, and is going to be of heavier construction and more function than the costume, but will also cost substantially more.

>2: Do you have any references to the look that you want?
Art, pictures, time period, culture. There's going to be significant differences between "14th century German merchant", "LotR movies elf" and "Victorian fairytale red riding hood". If you have any form of images that might help, that'll also narrow it down.

>3: What's your budget?
You obviously get what you pay for, though we won't suggest anything other than quality product. That said, depending on how much you're willing to invest, can widen the options available.

>>10942423
Something I'd add is, how comfortable would you be to try to sew one yourself? Depending on the style, cloaks are one of the easiest projects for a beginner, often just being a square or (semi)circle of fabric. Making one yourself would allow you to either save quite a bit of cash or get better quality than store-bought.

>>10942438
It´s for a cosplay of a fantasy Druid. It's my own character so I dont have a good reference, something along the lines of the Image when it comes to the cloak.

So something that reaches or nears the feet.
Even though it is for a costume I always like getting better quality if it doesn´t destroy the bank.
Budget is about 120 Euros. I can go a little higher if its worth it.
Still unsure if I want wool or cotton, from what I've researched wool is better but pricier.

I had planned sewing some leaves and whatnot to the cloak to sell the whole druid aesthetic, not sure if that is achievable on a wool cloak.

Thanks for the help guys.

>>10942423
Here is the image, I am too stupid to use this website.

>>10942423
That option didn´t cross my mind for some reason. I do know basic sewing and have a good chunk of free time in my hands right now so I´ll probably do that instead.
I´ll still probably end up buying some accessories for my cosplay so if you guys know any good medieval fantasy or medieval clothing websites feel free to suggest.

>>10942454
I can't speak for any specific dealers, but you might be able to find euro based companies that carry the brands. Both Leonardo Carbone and Mytholon have decent wool and wool blend stuff that has embellishments around the edges and won't break the bank. The one I have pictured here is like 105 Burger bucks.

You're probably not going to find that weird dagging/ faux buttonhole like in your picture, but you can also probably replicate that pretty easily and sew it along the edge of an off the shelf cloak. But like Anon said earlier, if you feel froggy about it, cloaks are pretty damn easy to make and are first time clothing project.

>>10942454
This be my personal opinion, Don't assume I'm right.

You want wool for a cloak. It keeps away water, it breathes and it is very warm If possible get 100% wool. Anything less is not as good and anything under 70% is not wool. Note that a lot of "wool" clothes are actually 80% polyester.

If you want to make your own cloak you have four sources of fabric.

fabric markets: you can get 100% wool for 10-15 bucks a metre. However, selection is limited and you can never be sure they are not lying about the composition. Still, a great source of decent and affordable fabric. I made my stuff mostly out of this. Note that fabric availability is seasonal with wool in winter and linen in summer.

Fabric stores: The fabric market's more expensive cousin. You pay triple for the ability to have a greater selection of colours and off-season availability. I recommend against it.

Re-enactment fabrics. This tends to be 100% wool and a mix of decent basic fabrics, fashion fabric rejects and the occasional handwoven fabric. It's expensive at 30 to 60 bucks a metre for wool, but it is also higher quality, occasionally dyed by hand and includes twill patterns. If you have money to burn this is an option.

High-end fashion fabrics: If you want the best wool you need to search for high-end fabric stores who sell merino and the like for 60+ eurobucks a metre. Pretty nice but way above my budget so I didn't look into it.

>>10942454
Then for stores, You also have a general ranking

Halloween-grade: this is just polyester crap. Avoid it.

Larp-grade: Most larp clothes are kind of bad, rough canvas, bad stitching. All to keep it affordable. I don't like it but it's good for the beginners I guess. Brands would be, Leonardo Carbone, most of Mytholon and Epic Armoury,

High-end larp-grade: This is where people pay just a bit more to get to a quality platform. The fabrics are better, the clothes are assembled by 12 year old pakis instead of the 9 year olds, people actually thought about the design. The big player in this space is Burgschneider and you also have Freyhand. Additionally you can put the more fantastical eastern European manufacturers like Armstreet here.

Re-enactment grade: Real wool, good stitching, you get what you pay for and at this point you pay a pretty penny. At this point you are likely to finally get 100% wool with some quality. This can be both eastern European or local. Because they suck at promo you are best of going to a re-enactment festival and collect business cards. Stores I know are gambeson.pl, aketon.pl and living-history market but because I make my own clothes I never bought there and can't vouch for them.

museum-grade: Actual reproductions, Don't know where to find them. Way too expensive anyway.

Other larp brands: Wyvern crafts (weapons and leather) Fakesteel (weapons and leather)

Also, armour is a whole 'nother story but didn't have the time to type the full "larp armour sucks" disclaimer

How well do 150cm/5ft great weapons do in Drachenfest-style LARPs? Both in line fighting and skirmishes

Are they viable, if the user is skilled enough? Should I take the time to practice one, or just opt for the polearm/shield/dual wield meta?

Just to make some content. Friend of mine has been bugging me to join him in the local fantasy foam larp for about 19 years. Fuck it started this summer, but haven't had time recently. Stopped into the game today just for a quick to claim my birth month XP bonus. I had me a good laugh about my timing.
>plan to go to the game for 10 minutes to check in and get my birthday XP and take off
>do my thing with the logistics guy, finish up get ready to leave
>game owner/head Marshall calls hold (game pause)
>25th anniversary, last game of the year, Christmas time
>he's holding the container of gold coins, everyone grab a coin
>says lay on (end of game pause)
>logistics guy says, you're checked in go grab a coin, hey this guys leaving let him go first
Lol I randomly showed up exactly when they decided to hand out a gold coin to everyone. Added it to the bit of copper I got from NPCing.

>>10943132
In my experience they tend to be fish nor fowl. the 120-130cm two-handed swords tend to be around the upper limit of what can be comfortably carried as a sidearm, which means it's not a good emergency weapon. At the same time in the line of battle greatswords just don't have the same range as a polearm. Their niche is that they are very good at keeping away lightly-armed people with short weapons and can be used to threaten multiple people at the same time.

As a result they are mostly dedicated area denial weapons to protect the flanks and provide cover for the skirmishers. It is a very defensive weapon where your job is to keep people away rather than to actually score hits. If you have the discipline for it you can be a good asset but you aren't going to carry the team.

>>10943132
honestly, whatever floats your goat, individual skill isn't as important as formations or how a group performs in larps like that. That is as long as we are talking about the battles. In skirmishes it varies but then again whatever is comforatble to you will be better. Shields and polears are easier to use effectively but that doesn't mean a skilled person can't wreck either with whatever he is skilled with. Though I'm simplifying as fuck, so take it with a grain of salt

Is there a LARP scene in Oklahoma at all? I’m really struggling to find anything besides a VtM group.

>>10943242
Like a lot of things in Oklahoma, near non-existent.

I'm sorry Anon. You might find some foam battle games, or try the SCA.

Gut Sigmartag, and whatever other holidays you might celebrate, Anons!

>>10943979
Merry Christmas Gropey, and a happy new year. I hope all you anons got the larp presents of your dreams.

>>10944122
Happy New Year to ya'll too.

Anyone got any experience with Fakesteel's stuff? Particularly interested in their crossbows and blasters.

>>10944886
Never heard anything bad about their crossbows, but I can tell you that there melee weapons are pretty nice.

>>10944886
crossbows are just like any other performance wise but they are nicely made, good price for the quality. Blasters are meh. I mean they look nice but it's still shit for a larp. I mean nearly everything will outperform it. If you really want one and up for a shitton of suffering and crafting you can make your own. Radomír did put up the tutorial for the prototypes before he even joined Fakesteel.

>>10944989
That's a shame that they're on par with other crossbows. I've always been dissapointed in xbow performance at larps, and was hoping the fake steel ones might have some more punch. Ah well. I'll check out that tutorial, thanks Hungarian.

>>10944922
I've been very tempted to pick up one of their daggers, as they have the most "real" size of any of the makers I've seen. Daggers the size of stubby short swords just don't do it for me anymore.

>>10945260
most larpshops sell only the same poundage bows and crossbows (somewhere around 30 pounds) because that's the safety limit of most games, so it's not a coincidence that they all the same in this regard. But I'm sure you can ask for a stronger one for whatever reason

>>10945410
True, but not all bows and crossbows are made equal. I've seen two identical poundage bows launch larp arrows very different distances just based off their particular designs, so I'm hunting for a crossbow that can do more than an arms throw of distance.

>>10945447
just to be clear: arms throw distance is shit, and I do not consider it average

bomp

I'm heading to Epic Empires for the first time this year with a group of mates. Anyone got any advice for a first time Big Euro fest gamer?

On a completely unrelated note, does anyone know if there's any bong/euro weapon makers who do threshing flails? Like the big two handed ones the hussites used.

>>10946905
Being primarily an american-based website, with mostly American users, things are going to get even slower than usual because we are all currently LARPing the beginnings of the trashiest want to be fascist takeover ever.

>>10946980
I'l be honest, I really like to see dumpsterfires from afar like this. nice memes coming out of it too

Not sure if right thread, but Im trying to make a mace shaft. I bought some head online and its coming in, so I went to the woods and cut an ash tree down and started

Im trying to aim for around 14th century for all this, moreso for reenactment and to try to do it.

I shaved the bark off the tree and sanded a bit. How long should I leave it for the wood to dry? 1 week? After it dries more Ill sand it smoother

How do I mount the macehead? Its the one in the pic, it doesnt have an opening in the top so I cant do split the top an inch and put a shimmy in. Id rather not use epoxy resin and try to be """"historical"""" but if theres no good way I'll do it

How long should a 1hd mace be? The stick is 53cm/21" long.

Did they historically use cord/string/leather wraps for grips? Did they carve grips in the wood? Did they just not use grips at all on this kind of peasant mace?

Did they historically varnish their sticks? what did they use?

Any other tips? the stick is bit curved, and 1 end is 30mm wide while the other is 40mm I found but I dont really mind, i think it looks cool (as long as its durable and doesnt break instantly)

The stick feels really great though, its fun as heck to swing

I saw a Tod's Workshop video a while back, where he shows the entire process of mounting a mace head onto a mace. Don't recall exactly how much preprocessing was already done on the shaft before the start of the video, but I'm fairly sure it'll be informative either way.

>>10946980
Mood. My entire industry is in shambles.

>>10946988
God gives his hardest battles to his most depressed clowns.

>>10947053
Okay, couple of things from the point of view of both historic, and practical point of view.

Firstly, a tree branch is a terrible idea. Handles for striking tools throughout history are almost exclusively made from cut lumber, for very important reason: The grain. There's not a lot of introsperial grain with in a tree branch, and it will be far more prone to breakage. The longer staple of lumber cut from the trunk of a tree helps distribute impact without essentially delaminating and breaking. Carved to shape, or turned on a lathe is the best option.

2) haft lengths varies greatly historically, but I personally like mine to be somewhere around the 20 to 25-in range, depending on the head. My Bohurt mace is 21.5", and does the job remarkably well.

3) Many historic maces that I've seen on wooden hafts are secured with wedge and staple configurations, much as you would an axe head, and in the steel combat community, that is the prescribed method as well. Screws/nails create a weak point in wood that could be a failure zone.

4) your answer to grips is "yes". Carved, checked, rope wrapped, leather wrapped, fancier ones had shark or ray skin. I keep mine simple by throwing in a deep spiral groove while it's still on the lathe. Between my leather gloves and the lanyard, you don't need much else.

5) Hot beeswax/ linseed oil blend. Accurate, handsome, cheap, and tough as nails. Also, keeps the surface layers flexible.

>>10947454
The iron wedges. Got them at the local hardware store in the axe/hammer section. Really haven't changed since the bronze age. The iron is of course a hard metal, but soft enough that it deforms and displaces in the wood, securing the head.

>>10947455
And an old pic of my Bohurt mace next to a turned rattan mace/tournament club for SCA combat. I really need to get another one.

>>10947053
Specifically to a fix that mace head that you have shown, you'll still want to use a wedge and staple system, but you're going to want to do it as a blind wedge: You cut the slot in the top of the haft, after shipping it down to fit into the top of the head like a socket. You then stick the wedge in the slot, and then place the mace head over that, before hammering it down, causing the wedge to insert into the wood while inside the mace head, wedging it perfectly in place. Enjoy my magnificent illustration.

>>10947458
But how do you get it off if it's wedged on like that?

>>10947454
>>10947455
>>10947456
>>10947458
Holy shit it actually holds well. Im surprised, thanks a lot!

Also it isnt a branch, its just a young ash tree I cut down

Unsure If Ill cut off the bottom half still. The fucked up bark looks nice but It feels too long and its probably bad for the structure of the shaft (I dont intend to ever use this for buhurt or as an actual weapon, just to have for reenacment autism)

Im gonna wrap the top with some twine, I saw a ref where that looked cool.
I bought some beeswax and lineseed. Should I do that before or after wrapping?

>>10947533
... It's not supposed to come off. That's the point. If you're cutting the thing off, then the shaft is destroyed and you replacing it.

>>10947533
You saw it off. As >>10947561 points out, it's meant to stay on.

>>10947556
Don't be surprised. I'm a professional.

As for cutting it down, I would suggest doing so, but I would also suggest doing so after you straighten it. If that is your intention. With a bit of elbow grease and a big old hot pot of water, you should be able to steam it and bend it over your leg until it's straightish.

As for wrapping and finishing the surface, don't use twine. Get some good hemp cord. What you want to do is set up a burner outside somewhere, so that way you can slowly warm up a pot of the linseed oil, and beeswax. Two parts linseed oil, one part wax. Work it into the dry surface of the mace handle, and when it's still hot and a little bit tacky, wrap your cord so that it sticks to the surface. After it's settled, you can actually brush on another layer of the sealant on top of the cordage to seal and harden it.

>>10947458
NTA but this is genius.

Bormp

So how does one convincingly portray a halfling or dwarf when you are over 5'9?

>>10948084
Get a bunch of 6'5" friends

>>10948084
Don't know anything about halflings, but I know a 2m guy who plays an amazing goblin. He achieves this by wearing oversized clothes and having a very slumped over posture, as well as a thoroughly goblinized attitude. You can see him getting smaller with every hour he spends in character.
Dwarfs are more tricky, I guess you could go for the "being wider than tall" approach, though past a certain height you'll look more like an angry lighthouse.

Well this was fun

Not really perfect, the wrap didnt come out as good as I thought it could be, but oh well. I might do another one in the future when the weather gets warmer and I can better ID the trees. And get a better quality mace head and actual tools. I basically just did this with just axe, knife and sandpaper

Also I bought cheap demigauntlets from a local but they were too big at the cuff so Im modifying the size, still waiting for rivets to come in and figure out how to hammer them in (the aluminum one is a placeholder I will not use that)

>>10948084
Knee walk everywhere.

>>10948180
Very mudcore. Max peasant-pilled. Entering your brigand era.

>>10948084
You can't get around your natural physicality, but you can present a very different presence and costume in a way that expresses the image that you're trying to project. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's very much about acting your character's presence, and the the suspension of disbelief being upheld by the rest of the players. It related, some pretty decent dwarfs

>>10948180
Looks decent. Have you bashed anything with it yet?

>>10948191
>Knee walk everywhere
My hamstrings ache. Just thinking about that.

I'm in Ontario, where can I find medieval larp groups (or equivalent, even fantasy) . Is SCA good? I do hema but want to be even more autistic with my hobbies.
Also are Renaissance faires worth going to buy stuff by locals? (From bags and small things to armour) There's one in Niagara in March but when I looked on their Facebook page it looked depressing

>>10948370
I haven't been up there in A long while, but all of the folks that I met and played with in in the local SCA group (Ealdormere) were good folks.

On the subject of buying local at renfairs, in general, it's a toss up from faire to faire: check out the listed vendors on their page, and judge for yourself. Sadly, a lot of cash grab faires are filled with shitty Temu/Bud K resellers.

What would be... a resonable amount of pieces, for larper for heavy armor ?
I got a full harness for reenactment, but it weight close to 25kg (55lb), which is not much, but I'm a 55kg (120lb) dude.
I can handle wearing half my weight in reeactement for battles and duels as those last a few hours and minutes, but I really need to lose weight if I want to wear it for even half a larp, and I have a bit of trouble to find the balance on what to wear, as I default easily on "full harness or bust".
Else than the helmet, and maybe gauntlets what I could drop while still having a renaissance knight aesthetic ?

>>10949121
If you wanted to be very cheeky, you could make a jupon and wear that. Means you could shed the brig and upper arm armour, as that'd be hidden under the cloth, and just keep the other bits. It's very cheeky though, and obviously depends on your ruleset being pretty much just "respond to everything" rather than having armour rules.

For the "knight" look, you are limited in how much you'd want to shed realistically. However, you don't have to wear full armour all the time. Swap to soft kit and regular clothes when not directly fighting. Having really good, fancy basic kit means that you woudn't have to spend that long in armour at any given time, and you can always go out more lightly armoured (maybe just an arming doublet at most) while still retaining the knightly aesthetic by just being blinged out.

I'm cleaning out an old computer as I'm getting ready to migrate everything over to my new rig and I found this ancient relic saved.

Hungarian, Clowfag, you weirdos have been here for as long as I've been coming to 4chan and I appreciate you guys still sticking around.

>>10949302
sometimes I feel that old

>>10949363
How long have you been a namefag?

>>10949416
no idea, probably around 15 years, give or take a few. Never really counted

I've been trying to make an outfit, mainly for fun and larp in the future, any ideas for improving the top half of my kit? Im aiming for 14th century west slavic peasant armour (Think like Hussite wars stuff pretty much)

Im not happy with the gloves I have (the hema gloves, i like the demi gauntlets), I still gotta finish the helmet, im unsure on the hood as it sits oddly on my shoulder. and I still need arming points to mount the cops to my elbow so they actually connect and not fall out of position, but any other ideas?

Bottom half I only have green pants and thats it. Need shoes and was thinking greaves or something

>>10949363
nigga you've been larping so long you're now older than the middle ages are

>>10949780
Well, there are adult larpers here who weren't even born when I started playing so yeah sometimes I feel old. They no know nothing of the old ways when we just hit eaach other with wooden sowrds, or why the safety rules are written in very specific way, and more ofthen than not they were written in bloo, or shattered bones

>>10949737
the hood is... wrong. can't see much but it's from one layer of thin something ,best case linen, but you don't make hoods out of one layer of linen, rather from wool with linen backing or something. because of the maaterial it sits oddly.
If you don't have a separate coif, get one too, that can be from linen, doesn't have to be padded if the helmet has internal padding. it's for the simple reason that coifs are easier to wash then the hoods and everything else and if that's the direct layer with your head that will get most of the sweat and stuff.

>>10937213 (OP)
Murcian here. I'm 26 and have never been to a larp before. Is it worth it to try it at this point? Where do I go to find a good larp and what should I do/avoid?

>>10949849
yes. Checz Republic. Any "friends" who only talk to you when they want somenthing from you

>>10949850
What would anyone want from me at a larp? Like my gear?

>>10949848
Yeah I agree. The hood i have is just linen, and I realized yesterday after researching and saw that most hoods have linen liners which make it look and behave the specific way it is. Only expection I've seen are these fringed wool hoods.

Ill look at getting a new hood

>>10949853
nah, that was a general life advice, not related to larps

>>10949885
Thank you either way I suppose

Paging Gropey

>>10949737
Well there it is. I learned how to stitch, sow, and rivet (poorly) which was neat.
Ill post a pic on my head when my hood, pants and boots comes in. Made the worlds ugliest liner for it but it comfortably sits on my giant head atleast

>>10949908
He probably got arrested by ICE.

Absolute newcomer. I want to try attending some WFRP larpa. Got a replica helmet, medieval style boots and garb from previous ren-faire autism. What I don't have is weapons. How viable is it for an utter newcomer to build their own sword or whatever? I want to make a big ass executioner sword and they don't seem to sell those. Is it too impetuous to buy some fiberglass rod and eva foam pads? More than anything, I don't want the results to look like shit. So if paying a pro is the only way, I can be convinced.

Any tips & inspiration on how to hide an action camera?

>>10951227
stuffed animals or wooden box is the general approach if you really want to hide it. but depends on the size and if it really need to be hidden or not

>>10951306
stuffed animal isnt a bad idea actually, I suppose I could find one of those realistic foxes and throw it over my shoulder with the camera inside.
thanks hungarian!

btw do you have any new projects going on?

>>10951582
No big crafting projects, doesn't have time for it.
Mostly going to games as an NPC or organizing games. In the process of making a game about the soul crushing realities of meetings and corporate job, another game that satireze vampire players, a big game of wh40k, and reworking some of my older games.
Also when I have time for it I'm getting dissapointed by other larpers.

Also usually after midnight I'm contemplating to give up larping completely and take up either murder suicide or serial killing as a full time hobby.

So basically just the usual

>>10951607
>Also when I have time for it I'm getting dissapointed by other larpers.
relatable
>Also usually after midnight I'm contemplating to give up larping completely and take up either murder suicide or serial killing as a full time hobby.
relatable

the problem with larping is larpers, makes you want to kill sometimes

>>10950300
He's not /that/ brown though? He's like a hair breed or something?

>>10937213 (OP)
Anyone got a bycocket pattern i could use? I would like to get more into leather working and thought a hat would be nice

>>10952262
I mean, it's just two squished half circle that you sew together and turn up the brim. Not much to pattern there

Consulting the masses;

How do you deal with shields in your games? (Specifically tower shields, but any decent-sized shield as well)

My games usually have a combat system similar to Drachenfest, only that our fights range from skirmishes with about 5 people on either side to larger battles with a few dozens on each side. We have a few viable options for weapons - Bows, dual wielding (mostly for skirmishes), pole weapons and shields.

My initial thought was using 150cm/5 feet weapons as the "shield counter" weapon, either capable of breaking them or dealing damage through it, but breaking is an issue because it means you have to stop the fight to put the shield aside and dealing damage through it would probably need a certain cooldown and a keyword to shout which feels a little cringe.

What do you do in your own games?

>inb4 git gud
We do, but it can't help but feel a little off that the skill floor for beating an average shield-bearer is so much higher than beating a dual wielder or a polearm user.

>>10952857
impose size restrictions on shields so that people dont have tower shields that cover their entire body.
Its more fun in the long run for all parties involved if the wearer of a shield has to actually actively block incoming blows,
and giving people some kind of opening to aim for when facing a shield bearer.
the alternative would be to make a rule that legalizes body slamming shield walls, which has risks but at least it gives the shield bros a heads up of what will happen if they decide to chese things up.

>inb4 git gud
brother maybe its time that people take the axe pill

>>10949908
Email is always easier to get in contact with me. Whatcha need?

>>10950280
Looks good. Only suggestion would be a better buckle.

>>10950846
Depends on the conventions of your LARP. Most foam fighting games use pretty simple construction, that you can find guides to online easily. If it's the latex game, the cost of the materials and equipment alone might be a bit of a barrier, plus the more specific skill set involved. I would suggest contacting the group and asking about loaner weapons before anything.

>>10951227
Books, banners, stuffed animals, religious icons and the like. Pic related.

>>10953243
Forgot the damn pic, because 4chan kept on thinking my post was spam.

>>10952857
The reality of shields is that they're pretty damn difficult to break in real life. The fact that many manuals go into great detail about how to fight around and opponent's field, or displace it is testament to that. Everything else is going to be abstraction, so you just got to figure out what you can tolerate.

The real limiting factor of a shield should be the shield itself, which is a little difficult to abstract depending on construction rules. Physically, big shields are a bitch and half to carry and are completely impractical outside of battlefield conditions. Socially, a guy who's wandering around with a full-sized pavaise or tower shield who is not marching with the army for a siege should be as weird and uncomfortable to see as somebody wearing full riot gear or carrying an AR modernly and other players should react appropriately.

I bought this pic related buckler some time ago and i would like to add something to it. I thought about painting something on it, but don't really know what exacly. Any idea or tips?

>>10951607
>another game that satireze vampire players
Having ran two games that satirize vampire players, I support this notion wholeheartedly.

>>10952857
>How do you deal with shields in your games?
In games you play in, there's not much to be done. Without knowing the details of the system, there's very little generic advice to be given. Get a friend behind them, I suppose?

In games you design, on the other hand, there's plenty of ways to limit shield supremacy. What I've done is to:
>Write reasonable upper limits on shield size.
>Avoid "meat sponge" character builds.
>Actually crack down on cheaters.

Regarding that last point: a LOT of larpers create fake rules for themselves to justify cheating, like "if it only connects with me after I block it, the hit doesn't count" or "if the swing wasn't about ninety degrees, the hit doesn't count". I know this because I regularly hear them confidently and proudly admit this.

This results in a strategy of "taking the hit" in shield vs polearm matchups: running forward at full sprint, performing some mental gymnastics to not count (or, crucially, roleplay) the hit on the way in, and then wail on the target from closer than the polearm's effective range. If you get your players to stop doing that, you've basically single-handedly stopped shield supremacy.

That is, of course, assuming what I'd consider a reasonably typical combat system without a million combat calls, spells or whatnot.

>>10953244
Fuck that's brilliant

>>10953243
>>10953244
Thats a really clever solution, thanks!

>>10953285
Ideally you use shields for heraldry, but if you have none to apply I would suggest saving the space for later in case your character gets some kind of nickname or reputation that you could express on the shield.
One example I have is that I draw a white line on my helmet for every time that it has gotten bonked (like really hard)

But if you cant come up with anything, remember that simplicity is bliss.

>>10953788
>>10953897
Hell yeah, and that one is fairly simple. Imagine hiding a camera in this.

>>10950280
Progress!
Looking for suggestion for changes or next step of stuff to add. Currently in the process of mounting a italian style billhook as the main weapon. I'm going for a late 14th - early 15th century men-at-arms. I want to say "ambigously central european" but most likley will end up being italian or german, which i believe tend to blend gear a bit.

>>10956444
next step could be a better hose that is actually form fitting, maybe some kind of glove if you want to be kind of fancy, and on the long run a better shoe but that's always the last thing you should worry about as long as it's comfortable

>>10956704
You think it's possible me to tighten them to fit my form by wearing them and blowing hot air from an air drying on them? They're wool

>>10956767
Possible to do it but wont work and a very bad idea

>>10956444
Looks good so far, and I wouldn't have an issue with you at a historic event.

That said, I would suggest replacing the leather cords with braided/luncetted one, with simple brass or tin chapes, and the belt is a little dance for the overall kit, but it's not egregious.

>>10956704
All good points.

>>10956767
As Hungarian said, it's not a good idea. Depending on the manufacturer, it's not a homogenous wool and might shrink at different rates. It's also most likely not sewn with the weave on a bias, which is where hosen get their stretch.

If you want it to fit closer, get a friend and some pins. Stand on a chair, and put them on inside out so you can pin along the back seam, and then just zip them up along the new gather, and carefully cut off the excess before flat felling or ironing the seam

Somehow there wasn't a single hurdy gurdy player at the last medieval fair I went to. I'm gonna have to start bringing my own.

>>10956895
Because hurdy gurdy, despite them becoming popular with the tiktok crowd, are expensive to purchase (The cheapest I've ever seen online is $400 USD), expensive to restring, and are not as accessible to learn on as a guitar.

I've not touched mine in close to 15 years, because at this point it would be easier and cheaper to buy a new one then find a luthier do the maintenance.

>>10956899
Yeah I'm aware. We only have 2-3 serious players in my city. Mine is about 2000USD and I'd have to be pretty confident to walk around with it. A shame though, I absolutely love the things.

Why is everything from India? Etsy, ebay, all Indians. Can barely find local craftsmen

How long should the total length of a bill be? This is about 224cm (7'3), feels too long. Probably gonna shave off a foot and a bit

>>10956900
That's still an awful lot. I live in the original US capital with a huge living history scene, and we only have like, four.

>>10957329
Where is local to you?

>>10957461
It really depends on what you're using it for: are you fighting as an individual, or are you fighting alongside others?

A shorter polearm between six and seven feet allows you to more easily maneuver between the blade and the butt spike, and control the battle space around yourself. This is more ideal for the individual combatant, and allows you to better maneuver the weapon against an armored opponent, or leverage the ends of the weapon while facing multiple components.

Longer poles of 7+ ft 2 years are harder to maneuver, and essentially make the butt Spike less relevant, but are more ideal for fighting in a situation where you are fighting alongside other in a melee situation, giving you the reach and positive control of the head, while not having to worry about knocking into your fellows with a butt spike.

My go-to on the subject is Di Grassi (pic related), who discusses the pros and cons, and the techniques of both. I think Silver does too, but fuck Silver. For harness fighting and HEMA, my taste is 6'5" from end to end. For SCA melee and LARP, I like 7'.

I will also tell you that you want to invest in a proper milled pole as soon as possible, rather than the tree branch /sapling you got the going there.

>>10957559
It's actually a young maple tree I cut down. Is it still not good enough? Having trouble finding any wooden poles that aren't cheap dowels

>>10957620
Several hours late but forget picture. Dowels I originally bought

>>10957620
>>10957628
I mean, it's obviously better than a pine dowel, but if you're intending to actually hit anything with that, you're going to want a hardwood pole made out of something like oak or hickory. The biggest concern is that the natural curves and inconsistency of diameter create "hot spots" where stress is focused, and will be more likely to break.

You might end up having to order, but it would be worth it in the long run.

>>10957629
I intent to use it for reenactment for now but I'll look into ordering something better in the future. I didn't rivet the binding rod in yet thankfully so I'd be easy to replace

>>10957630
>I intent to use it for reenactment for now
Then my personal opinion would be to use one of the pine dowels with quick coat of something to darken it up. It doesn't have to be combat ready, it just has to look right.