Hey everyone! I’m Holly, and I’ve been reading a lot about Empire during the pandemic. I think I want to get involved with the game post-pandemic, but due to having no experience with LARP and a very limited (student) budget, I would love any guidance on battle mage armour. I’ve already checked out some of the threads on here, and have been reading the wiki religiously, but really just want some reassurance from more experienced players as to what fits the feel of Empire and is LARP appropriate in general.
Firstly, I want to emphasise that any advice on getting cheap kit would be amazing, as though I appreciate that LARP is an expensive hobby, I’m obviously unable to raise massive funds and invest in higher quality gear. I plan on looking round charity shops for some items, as I’ve seen this recommended in other posts, and making as much of my costume as possible in order to keep costs down. Are there any other ways to keep kit as budget friendly as possible?
I’d also be grateful for any pointers on specific kit needed. Thus far I think for my base kit I’ll use a tunic, the trousers with the fitted bottoms (I’m sorry, I don’t know their proper name!), and some boots. I wanted to use a corset on top of this just to provide more shape, but based off the wiki it seems that this is frowned upon. I already have one which is a brown faux leather, so am reluctant to invest in a hero belt or similar unless I really have to, at least for my first event. Would I be able to wear the corset for one or two events, just to spread out my expenses, or is this a deal breaker?
Furthermore, for my more battle mage specific section of the armour, I like the idea of using pauldrons, vambraces and a circlet to satisfy the requirements, plus a cloak and faulds because I think they feel visually suitable for the mage aesthetic. Are there any issues with using these faulds, either aesthetically or considering the in-game history of the Marcher uprising? I understand that they took faulds from Dawnish armour designs along with other components, but hope that by using fabric it will be clear that my faulds are not an imitation of traditional armour, but are an extension of mage armour.
Finally, I want to add that I appreciate that I’ll need other components to my costume such as pouches and the like, but that I feel reasonably satisfied that I understand what to do concerning these elements. Regardless, if you have any big pointers or concerns on the wider costuming front, please let me know so I can adapt and improve my ideas.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give. I’m so excited to get involved with Empire!