FinalHavenLarp.com

To poke the bear..

Cheap to me is less than $30 for a complete set of heavy armor. If you disagree, that's fine, but that's what I have to spend, and I shouldn't be penalized for my RW finances or lack thereof.

Now I have never spent alot on stuff and would fully expect as a player to be penalized.

And here is the argument. We are penalized all the time. Should people be allowed to play football even if thy canot aford the equipment?

We have options in the game that do not involve heavy armor but should a game just give heavy armor out to people even if they cannot afford it and if a LARP does are we not just encouraging everyone to do less? Are we not just offering a type of welfare?

Chew on that.

........

i think i might be on to something so i would just like to switch over to what i belive is the "root" of the problem

most people will try to get all the protection they can out of a build, and armor plays a large part of soak, sometimes even half or more of it, i think if armor wasnt as good, or mabe had a fantasy counterpart that while not being as good was a viable alternitive, it would increase apearence, because only those that want o wear armor would, not be "forced" too

example

person has 8 life, the can now choose between CR or Armor

CR they can get are 6, but require no Physrep, there character is just fast and nimble.

Armor they can get is 12, they are not fast and nimble in the armor and so dont get CR, but they can take more damage.

you can even still have heavy, medium and light armor.

light armor is only 6 armor, but you get 3 CR

medium armor is 8 armor, but you only get 2 CR


with this you actually have mechanical benifits for choosing not to wear armor and choosing between the different types

les overall soak hmm this might be good

i actually just saw my little formula i did but i missed.

you would have 6 CR, for every 2 armor added you loose 1 CR

2 armor = 5 CR
4 armor = 4 CR
6 armor = 3 CR
8 armor = 2 CR
10 armor = 1 CR
12 armor or more = 0 CR

the difference could be greater, but obviously haveing full heavy armor would be double the CR of wearing none

but yes no massive soak change, and now you wouldnt feel "forced" to wear armor, it would simply be more benificial too, wich means those that have nice armor and like to wear it can and get a bonus to it, those that dont still get something.

I actually like that a lot. It's beautiful in its simplicity. Good idea, Josh!

Kalphoenix wrote:To be fair, I don't think any of those listed prices are what I would consider a "cheap" investment, deal or not.

Cheap to me is less than $30 for a complete set of heavy armor. If you disagree, that's fine, but that's what I have to spend

done, get with me at the next game, ill take your measurements and make you an armored breastplate with shoulder, bracers, and shin guards for less than 30 dollars.

GM_Chris wrote:To poke the bear..

Now I have never spent alot on stuff and would fully expect as a player to be penalized.

And here is the argument. We are penalized all the time. Should people be allowed to play football even if thy canot aford the equipment?

We have options in the game that do not involve heavy armor but should a game just give heavy armor out to people even if they cannot afford it and if a LARP does are we not just encouraging everyone to do less? Are we not just offering a type of welfare?

Chew on that.

I'm not sure where you are getting at with the football thing.

This isn't football. People better not be purposefully bashing into each other. LARP armour is for eyecandy, not actual protection, so to say someone HAS to go out and spend $100+ on decorative equipment is just dumb.

When we're renting castles, tents and fortresses in the wilderness without anachronisms en-mass and having to share the site with boy-scouts, then I can see raising the standard for the sake of immersion. Otherwise, to DEMAND that kind of standard is ridiculous.

So you're saying I shouldn't be able to play a warrior because I can't afford the real-world equivalent of Plate mail? That's a really, really nice outlook to have for a fantasy game. Again, if the issue is visual, make them wear something that makes it obvious they are wearing heavy armor. Otherwise I personally feel it's simply an elitist attitude similar to "You don't roleplay good enough."

Again, I still think the current system is fine as it is.

celegar wrote: done, get with me at the next game, ill take your measurements and make you an armored breastplate with shoulder, bracers, and shin guards for less than 30 dollars.

I guess I should have said "had" to spend and not "have." I should be at the one-day but I likely won't have money coming in to spend on LARP gear until I'm working again, and at best, that probably means April. Thanks though.

Interesting idea on the CR and armor. It truely hurts the warrior path unless the warrior gets something to replace the CR or gets a bigger bonus on the armor.

CR is an assome skill because it only takes 5 minutes to repop. Armor requires a physrep and takes an in game skill to repair and takes time to repair also. So yes you can have a higher soak with armor, but you need to have some investiment out of game and in game.

I personaly believe the current rules allow people to be lazy and not stride to have actual armor physrep's. There are many ways for people to make or get cheap armor that looks good. Just ask your follow players for help. What drives me nuts is looking at a person wearing a trench coat and finding out it is considered heavy armor. That will change the way I would be fighting them. I would think they are in light armor at best and fighting tatics would change if I could understand it was heavy.

I think a decent fix is to only allow 1 bump in the armor category with paying a higher upkeep. This means you need to have armor looking physreps to have heavy armor. So if you are wearing a trench coat the max armor you can have is medium.
Or another idea is only actual looking armor phys-reps can be qulaity. This would push people to have good looking armor which will increase folks imersion in the game. I'm not saying the armor must be real, I'm just saying the phys-reps need to look like inperiod armor! It does not matter what it is made from. It is all on how it looks.

This isn't football. People better not be purposefully bashing into each other. LARP armour is for eyecandy, not actual protection, so to say someone HAS to go out and spend $100+ on decorative equipment is just dumb.

Ok another example. There is a fancy ball. The requirements to go to the ball are to dress up as it is a black tie affair. You cannot afford to rent a tux, get a proper dress. Should you be allowed to show up in jeans if that is all you can afford?

This isn't football. People better not be purposefully bashing into each other. LARP armour is for eyecandy, not actual protection, so to say someone HAS to go out and spend $100+ on decorative equipment is just dumb

My armor is not just eye-candy. My gauntlets protect my hands which I value quite highly. That's a good part of the reason I bought them. But I agree that no one should be obligated to spend $100 on equipment.

Ok another example. There is a fancy ball. The requirements to go to the ball are to dress up as it is a black tie affair. You cannot afford to rent a tux, get a proper dress. Should you be allowed to show up in jeans if that is all you can afford?

This is a LARP. Not a ball. Our dress code guidelines are much more liberal because we are trying to bring people in, not keep them out. People who have balls tend to want to keep people out because they are elitist. And they want to hang out with other like minded people. We are desperate so we'll take anyone. The more people who play this game the more fun it is. But to answer your question, no I don't think they should be allowed in.

My big issue is with not knowing what someones armor catagory is by looking at them. I don't want an exact, just an idea. Trusks foam plate lets you know that he is in about medium to heavy armor. Cost, about $30.

Actually Josh's system lowers the overall soak of the game, which I like. How would quality armor work?

Suggestions:

Quality armor needs to be split into two different catgories. One that increases the soak of the armor and one that lowers the armor catagory by one. Actually I think this should be done anyway.

Reinforced Armor - This armor gives you 1 more point of armor per location. This cannot be combine with Quality Armor

Quality Armor - This armor is considered 1 catagory lower for the perpose of armor restrictions. This can't be combined with Reinforced armor.

This is a LARP. Not a ball. Our dress code guidelines are much more liberal because we are trying to bring people in, not keep them out. People who have balls tend to want to keep people out because they are elitist. And they want to hang out with other like minded people. We are desperate so we'll take anyone. The more people who play this game the more fun it is. But to answer your question, no I don't think they should be allowed in.

Hmm elitism might be part of it, but not completely. The point is what type of setting do you wan and where you do draw the line?

Want to take anyone? Then dont have a dress requirement and allow jeans and shorts for perhaps this will attract more people. Forget about the in game bonuses for just a moment and lets just look at costuming. Do you want to see the army of people in full plate? Do you want to see a line of people in clothing pretending they are in full plate? Do you want a line of people in jeans with a colored plastic line over their head and you ask what you see and they respond an army of people in full plate?

SCA has an armor requirement and gets 1000's to pensic every year so I dont think requiring armor is a barrier to entry.

It is all about what you want to see in the game. The reality is that if you allow an armor bonus without wearing armor then eventually that is what you are going to get. I mean why is it fair that Doug, even if he can afford it, wear full plate while someone else gets the ADVANTAGE (that is right not wearing armor is an ADVANTAGE) of not wearing it and getting the same points?

Doesn't quality work like that already? If it doesn't it used to.

Okay, how does asking to properly phys-rep armor differ than asking someone to properly phys-rep their race?

If you can't afford to buy ear-tips, don't play an elf. If you can't afford to buy or make your armor, don't play someone who wears it.

Duh.

This is a hobby. It can, as most hobbies, get fairly expensive. Know your limits, what you're able to do, and go from there.

Okay, how does asking to properly phys-rep armor differ than asking someone to properly phys-rep their race?

If you can't afford to buy ear-tips, don't play an elf. If you can't afford to buy or make your armor, don't play someone who wears it.

Duh.

This is a hobby. It can, as most hobbies, get fairly expensive. Know your limits, what you're able to do, and go from there

Now to play Devils advocate. Please understand I am not trying to be frsutrating, but this is really a drama play that has real life connotations. I mean we could be congress discussing universal health care right now.

What about the people who really really want to play an elf and do not have the extra money to pay for ear tips. Why should they be penalized? Why do those with money get the bennifit of playing elves and the poor don't get to? Shouldn't the game come up with a cheaper alternative?