It’s my first time LARP, Yay! coming for the summer solstice with an old school buddy.
We both are very excited but are classically struggling with which nations to choose, and I’m wondering if it’s a good idea to:
Both be in the same nation for our first go,
or be in different nations (could we travel around still as a pair and get a window into each, see each other’s sites, ceremonies/sessions together? see different play styles)
The choice is between Dawn and The League, and I’m pretty sure my character’s outfit idea would fit either.
I think I’m more Dawn and my Friend more League. But I’m willing to join either.
I think Dawn speaks more to my inner child’s joy of fantasy and glory and love, but I also love mercantile/political intrigue and deception that the league offers.
Is it advisable to come as people from different nations for a first go? Say, if I came as Dawn and he the League, a cross-national political alliance? Or might this be a bad idea and more advisable to join as one nation?
I would 100% advise you to start in the same nation. If you, for example, joined the League then you could always explore Dawn during the event to see if it’s a better fit. You can move nations IC or have a complete do-over after your first event.
Holberg joined the Empire as League instead of Dawn and is next to the Barrens (now Dawnish). It’s also the Greatest City ™.
What sort of game are you looking for? I’m a banker/trader and my guild has two priests. We’re all magicians but we don’t fight in the battles.
If you’re going with a friend, I’m echoing the above advice of go as same Nations, as it’ll make touching base easier and gives a familiar face you know is likely going to be in the orbit
The League has the advantage (in my socially inept opinion) of being massively^ smaller than Dawn, so it’s easier to “punch above your weight” if you’re looking politics or rumour mill game
However Dawn’s also had some very interesting big plot hooks recently and does sit more firmly in military game if that’s your vibe.
(^- Dawn is currently the third largest player base of the ten Nations, the League is somewhere around the middle point.)
That being said:
The game is large enough that, even if you are in the same Nation, there’s lots of niche to play firmly within National brief…but play a completely different game to someone else in your group
As self example, partner and I play as part of a small Spire in Urizen.
However, whilst he’s often off playing about with artisan and trade stuff, another member of our group is off selling sorbet and doing IC navy fundraising stuff, whilst another is doing magic tangential stuff…and I do a lot of Anvil Hospital/Conjunction wrangling stuff (and pastoral priesting for the Archmage of Summer who is currently Dawnish)
We’re all part of the same Nation and group, but we’re all sort of in different little niches which overlap, but often run more parallel to each other
I would like to do battle/military/fights, my pal does not. But we’re both cool with going off separately at these battle/skirmish points.
My pal’s character wants to be a bit roguish/sneaky, which feels a bit more League… he would like to trade in alcohol and apothecary things, trying to appear and be upper class and be above his status, but actually be a bit of a lowly loser dude.
I’m still coming up with ideas to match alongside his character, but currently thinking of coming from a somewhat wealthy family that has traded in honey for a long time. I’m the eldest son and have been in charge of the shipping/transport, but is a bit of a glory-seeking champion, enjoys a good fight.
If your character attends Anvil, they’re one of the 1%.
Even if they’ve just rolled into their money, they’re still in the tip top top-most earners of the game’s setting.
If this is your first ever LARP, I 100% advise playing this straight, rather than trying to go contra to it.
Mostly because there’s a bit more to the game than the Wiki and a good chunk of the RP is hard skill blagging rather than a TTRPG’s “and I roll to succeed” (tone neutral)
Sneaky fits in most Nations if you play it right.
Dawn isn’t always comfortable with it, but I’ve seen a lot of really clever underhanded IC actions from folks in Dawn (after all, every Arthur needs a Mordred)
They’re not D&D “classes,” but more hooks for character thematics
If you want to play “down to scrap,” I can say I IC know many Bravo types who are more stab than sense
Love them to pieces, but they’re very much on the “live fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse” side of character vibes
Potentially you could be looking at a bravo and a mountebank, For fighting in the League I would recommend starting with the national block (who usually do some training straight after the “debutante’s ball” which is an in character (IC) meet-up aimed at new players. There are also a number of mercenary companies to choose from, but they might be more fun to find out about IC. League bravos like duelling, Here’s a relevant poster I’ve often seen in the run up to Empire.
A couple of years ago a duelling competition was won by a mountebank at his first event – who exploited a loophole in the rules (the rumour was that he had won with duels of riddles but … ). I had particular fun that event because I was selling the entry ribbons and he had checked that the essence of his plan wasn’t against the game rules with me OC near the start of the event so I knew more than my character. I used my OC knowledge to guide how I counted the ribbons at the end, to give the organiser a small chance to rumble his scheme…he was proclaimed the winner and won custody of a magical sword for a year.
I agree with @Squeek_D that Empire works best when characters conform to their national stereotypes. You can still have depth, but that can be added in-play rather than having to be there at the start.
