Hello. Me and my two partners are planning on heading to E4 this year but are unsure on which nation to join for our first time. We want to stay in the same nation for our first characters as we are all new to Larp.
We have been looking at the nations and like the look of Dawn and the League but both appear to have a complicated Houses/Guilds system that we fear may make getting involved difficult for new players. Is this the case? Are there ways of getting involved regardless?
If these would be too complicated, would Wintermark or Navarr be a better choice until we understood Empire and Larping better?
Welcome along, NotExactlyLying, to the hobby, the game and these forums
Playing with friends and sticking together as a group is a good plan.
All the nations have their own internal structure. But as a general rule, it is “In this nation a group of players is known as a X, led by a Y”.
Which might be a House led by an Earl (Dawn)
A cartel led by a Prince (League)
A Hall led by a Thane (Wintermark)
and so on.
As players of course, we write in our own flourishes, leading to (in Dawn) Enchanters, Seneschals, banner Houses, Lances, Circles and all manner of organisation of varying mechanical or social effect.
In no nation are you expected to jump in to the internal politics (such as they are) as soon as you roll up, if at all…
What has proven successful for uncertain players in the past is treating the first event as almost a tourist trip; Come, look around, investigate, explore, see what you like the look/feel of.
If you find you did well in your first national pick, stay put. If not, consider moving…
Heck yes. While there are some groups who have stuck around down the years, there has been high turnover, even within those groups. New friends and allies are always welcome, people with ideas and plans.
Ask around, see what needs doing (or, in your opinion, opposing). Have an idea, ask others for help with it.
What CAN be a little daunting sometimes is the costume standards. Different nations have different requirements: getting hold of a “Tudor peasant” look for the Marches can be easier than finding the right “Imperial Orc” for the … Imperial Orcs.
Which may be a contributing factor to Wintermark and Navarr attracting many new players: their costume tropes are a little more available…
However, it is possible to get suitable costume for any nation, reasonably cheaply. Especially for E4, as that gives you a good few months to prepare.
So in answer to your title question…
Yes, but not by much, and not for the reasons you were worried about.
(Bias note, I play in Urizen, which is the second smallest player base in the field.)
So, Wintermark and Navarr are MASSIVE.
As in, there is one player group in Wintermark that has as many players as comprises all of Urizen…and that’s barely a quarter of the player base that plays in Wintermark.
It cultivates a very different style of play and one, if you’re looking at diving into National politics or magic game, that making a name for yourself can be a bit harder. But it’s also got a lot of plot that is generated because of how player groups bounce off of each other.
Navarr is equally as big, but because of how the group structures play out, I’ve found it feels significantly smaller to interact with.
Also, there is nothing stopping you starting play in one Nation, realising you don’t like it, and changing Nations.
Someone in my group started play in Urizen, realised they didn’t gel with the flavour of the brief, and moved to Navarr. It made for a rather brilliant story hook
To answer your title question, yes, but which ones are more difficult will depend on things like what plot is currently happening, what sort of game are those new players interested in, are you gonna be cool with wearing a latex mask all weekend, etc.
As Geoffrey alluded to above, the system of Houses in Dawn and Guilds in League is not really any more or less complicated than the system of Halls in Wintermark or Steadings and Stridings in Navarr.
I think the best thing to do is to go for the nation you personally think looks the most fun and that you’re going to be the most passionate about. If you have enthusiasm for the brief and you’re actively interested in getting into that nation, it’s going to be way easier to hit the ground running than to go for a nation you’re more lukewarm on because people think it’s more simple.
Three people is also a good amount of people with which to either establish a small group or be on the lookout for an existing group that wants all three of you. I’d advise getting in touch with players from the nation you decide on (the associated facebook groups are the best place to start if you can bear using facebook) to talk about getting started in that nation.
Yes, some nations may be more challenging for new players due to factors like complex rules, economic conditions, political stability, or cultural differences. It’s important for new players to research and consider these factors before choosing a nation to play in.
