The Very Model of a Modern LARP Organization

 On occasion I will wax philosophical about my thoughts about the ideal LARP organization of national scope. My primary contention is that the constituent local chapters should exercise as much autonomy as possible. The higher organization should restrict itself to the following duties:

• Promulgate a standard set of rules. This facilitates cooperation among local chapters. I would allow house rules as long as the changes don't compromise player safety.
• Coordinate multi-chapter events, although even this could be accomplished by alliances of local chapters.
• If possible, provide access to legal non-profit status and liability insurance.

You may notice that I do not include things that are considered staples of national organizations, such as standardized titles or dictating local organizational structure. I firmly believe that these should be left to the discretion of the chapters.

Occasionally you may get some adherents of standardization point to the centralized administrations of Late Medieval England or France to show that kings held supreme authority. Thus, higher levels of the organization should function like these kings. To that, I would like to point to a better model - the Holy Roman Empire.

Why is the Holy Roman Empire an excellent model for national LARP organizations? While nominally united under the governance of the Empire, the 300 or so local states were effectively autonomous. The local lords, who held a variety of titles but were collectively known as princes, ran their own affairs, had their own armies, and generally did their own thing. I assume they likely were able to elevate their own knights and lower lords. Local LARP chapters should be allowed to do the same.