Courtesy of Tim Baker, an experienced LARPer who plays in the League, we have here what his days at Empire look like. Note, of course, that there are thousands of stories at every event, and this is but one of them…
Someone asked the other day about what actually happens when you show up to an Empire event, and it got me thinking about the kinds of details us old hacks take for granted. So with that in mind I decided to write up an account of the broad strokes of a typical game for me. This is by definition a personal account and some things will vary for others, but I hope it gives a sense of things.
Personally I usually arrive on Thursday afternoon to get the group tent set up, so we’ll start there. Arriving on site, Dadford Road has a long, dusty track leading to the game area. As you get to close to the heart of the site you’ll usually find a short queue of newly arrived cars. Red Caps (site volunteers who wear the iconic red baseball caps) will be waiting to speak to us. As we get to the head of the queue we roll the window down and they’ll ask if we have pre-booked; if you have, they’ll check your name on their list (and your Personal ID number, or PID, if you know it - this will come up again later). Thursday arrivals also pay a tenner for the extra night at this point.
Shockingly friendly in all weathers, the Red Caps will send us on our way with some directions to either the in character (IC) or our of character (OC) camp we need to be in. During the drive in there will be a load of other players about the place setting up, as well as flocks more red caps, frantically finishing a host of jobs before the game starts.
Arriving in the IC camp, my nation’s camp planner will be around the place and will confirm exactly where I’m supposed to pitch up, or if something has changed from their plan. Usually I co-ordinate with a few friends to arrive at a similar time so we can help each other with the big tents. As soon as the IC tent is up, I head to the OC camp to pitch my sleeping tent. Red caps on the gate usually suggest a helpful direction to go, but this is less strictly controlled than the tight IC camp. After setting up my sleeping space (with the knowledge that next time I come back it may be dark, so everything needs to be where I want it), I will head back to the IC area. On the way I will swing by GOD.
GOD (Games Operation Desk) is on the border of the IC and OC areas and is where all the admin happens. It is staffed by the Blue Caps - go on, guess how they got that name. We’ll be coming here a few times over the weekend. If it is open, I can pick up my character pack, which will include any resources I’ll start the game with, as well as a laminated character card that lists my character’s skills. Sometimes there are other goodies in there too (like curses!) if my character has been somewhere exciting in the time between events (usually called ‘downtime’). If GOD is not open yet there’ll be a sign saying what time to come back. A key tip here is that there is a very fast moving queue for people who know their PID and have already created their character, or a smaller one for more admin-heavy players, such as those who still need to make a character or who have to have their concession status checked.
Once the tents are up and I have my character pack, I generally feel much more relaxed and will wander about, check the lay of the land, catch up with friends, have a look at the menus on offer by the caterers, catch up with friends, maybe help some random strangers with tents. This is social time now until Friday afternoon. Friends will trickle in and nation camps start to take shape. In my own nation we lay the camp out with people roughly together according to the territory they are based in, and this helps us meet new players who are in our own neighbourhoods. Key game areas will get set up that certain characters will want to know about - Conclaves, The Hub, Academy, etc. If I know there’s a place I will want to go in game, I might take a few minutes to find out where it’ll be.
Friday morning starts with a run - a few keeners always meet up outside GOD for a 5km run at 9am or so (actually two runs - one for fast-ish folks, another run at a leisurely jog). There are two sets on showers on site, the better of which is still weirdly under-used because it is a further walk away, so I’ll get clean and eat second breakfast. Then more chilling, chatting, eating. Eventually I will slowly get into costume some time after lunch. There are a whole bunch of workshops and exercises put on for new players in the afternoon and I help out with the New Player Skirmish, so I like to be dressed up before that. Once the NPS is done there is a sense of acceleration, as the game starts soon. One of my hot tips is to grab an early supper on the Friday, before the game starts, just in case I find myself so wrapped up in the game that there is no time to eat until late.
At 6pm it is time in, and my nation is one of the ones that starts with a meeting open to everyone. The core idea is to welcome new players and tell them what stuff is going on, and for experienced groups to suggest things they are up to which others could get involved with. The nation egregores will also be there, and will often work hard to introduce people and involve them. Straight after that we have a combat training session for the nation’s fighting block, where we practice some of our most common manoeuvres and ensure everyone knows what the key commands mean. If there are skirmishes we expect to get involved in, we’ll also talk about those afterwards.
By this point, people with Imperial titles will often be running about, trying to get things done, politicking, trading favours etc. Anyone who has any kind of influence in any body at all will be getting tapped up to ask for support, votes, funding, help with spreading word etc. Empire is at heart a game about politics, and it will be heating up as everyone pushes their agenda. I’ll also be catching up with my own group, who have interests in varied areas, and we’ll keep each other informed, or aim to help each other (touching base with each other will go on all event).
As a fighty player, I will be very interested in what Military Council decides on the Friday, as that will dictate when my nation is fighting and where. If we’re fighting on the saturday there is very little time to plan/prepare, so we keep our ears open, waiting for word to come back. Usually the generals send their adjutants back to the camp ASAP to start spreading the word. The night before we fight there will be a captains’ meeting where the generals brief us on what is going on, talk tactics etc. Lots of cool roleplay will come out of it, and battles are ten times more fun if you know what is going on - it is super easy to get involved in those meetings at some level, even if you are a brand new player (my own nation, League, has the benefit of being the smallest fighting contingent, so our meetings are open to literally everyone taking the field. Some other nations have a smaller meeting first, then captains brief their units).
Once the night gets late, business will either be done or have to wait for morning, so I get back to my group tent and we all chat, snack, gossip and take the piss out of each other lovingly until bedtime.
Battle mornings are busy. On the mornings where my nation monsters, people will group up at GOD before 10am to be assigned into a unit, unless they are part of a dedicated monstering unit (super keen players in every nation run these - Elite Military Units, or EMUs). They will muster separately, with their own briefing and possibly their own objectives for the battle. Some of us volunteer to ref the battles, so meet even earlier. Either way, this will keep us occupied until about 12.30 or 1pm. Remember: two sets of showers on site.
When we’re playing the battles, we have to be ready to start fighting at 11am, the army gathered at the Sentinel Gate. It’s always pretty impressive, with hundreds of people ready to go in a frankly awe-inspiring bunch of costumes. There will be a ruck and I will have a great time. If my character dies in the battle, I’ll go to GOD to register the death and make a new character. There are many people here who will merrily talk and give advice.
After the battle, I’ll be a wreck, sweaty and hungry. Shoving food in my face, I will try to feel human again in order to handle any other business of the day - roleplay moments with friends and enemies, duels, meetings, skirmishes, being brutally beaten up by the children in our group, whatever comes. If I’m going on a skirmish then I’ll spend a bunch of the day getting ready for this, as they can be dangerous and go much better if you are organised. Saturday night for me finishes with going to Senate Motions for dancing, but there is a veritable feast of entertainments for varied tastes around the field.
Eventually we get to 3pm sunday and time out is called. There is often a moment of relief where I think ‘well that was amazing, but I’m knackered now’ and want to hug whichever friends I was roleplaying with, especially if some intense scenes were happening. But knowing that takedown is tiring, we usually try to keep ourselves working before collapse. Resources that want to be used in downtime have to be handed into GOD, tents need to come down, then cars can be brought on to pack and head home. On a great day we might meet on the way home for a curry and to froth about the game.