Realms of Elzwehn - the Elevator Pitch

Last year, my friend Robb and I began work on a set of LARP rules called Elzwehn. Even as we prepare to launch a chapter of Way of the Sword, I have been fiddling around with Elzwehn. I've named the latest iteration Realms of Elzwehn. Here is my elevator pitch:

What is Realms of Elzwehn? 

An open-source, generic, universal set of rules for playing live action battlegames (LABs)

What is a live action battlegame (LAB)? 

A cross between a LARP and standard foam fighting. LABs are played in a series of connected combat scenarios that form an ongoing story. Players form 2 teams that take turns being PCs and NPCs.

Yes, I created my own term. This emphasizes that RoE is not quite a full immersion LARP but offers more than the standard foam fighting organization.

Why open-source? 

This gives the group organizer (which I call the Realm Master) the freedom to develop a setting, create adventures, run battles, and determine the effects of victory or defeat (which could include in-game awards and titles).

Why generic and universal? 

Once again, this gives the group organizer freedom to develop the setting. A group can also skip around between settings without having to learn new rules.

What does the name mean? 

It is intended to highlight two important aspects of the rules:

• We see each group as autonomous, without interference from a higher organization. Essentially, each group is an independent realm. I have taken to referring each setting (and a group can develop multiple settings) as a realm. Hence, multiple groups will form multiple realms.
• Elzwehn (i.e. elsewhen) emphasizes the universal nature of the rules. Settings may exist across time as well as space.

Have Some Class

"For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function." Romans 12:4

As I pondered recruiting for my new LARP group, I realized that having a class system has certain advantages. If we are recruiting D&D players, having classes makes the game more relatable. But one of the drawbacks of Amtgard was that its class system seemed very unbalanced and overly complicated. I've long been considering ways to simplify yet still have classes. In fact, the first draft of Elzwehn included a system where each class had 1 to 2 abilities with no levels (to make it newbie friendly).

Recently, another idea has been rattling in my mind. In a way, it is an even simpler system, but it provides some flexibility.

Classes

There are only 3 broad classes:

• Fighter - the front-line warriors. They tend to specialize in melee, but can use missile weapons. They would include standard fighters, barbarians, and monks.
• Sneak - they primarily rely on stealth and surprise, although they can mix it up in melee. Often they use missile weapons. Rogues, assassins, and scouts would fit into this classification.
• Caster - users of magic, whether arcane or divine.

Skills

Each class would have a pool of skills available to it. Players can choose the skills that match their character conception. For example, we could have a Fight After Death skill available to fighters. If a player wants to be a barbarian, he/she could be a fighter with the Fight After Death skill.

How many skills does a player get? That's to be determined, but I would keep it small.

Arms and Armor

We could limit armor by class. For examples, casters cannot wear armor, sneaks can wear light, and fighters are allowed heavy.

Similarly, we can limit weapons. For example, casters may be limited to staffs and blue weapons.

Perhaps we can allow armor and weapon upgrades as a skill, e.g., casters could purchase use of light armor.

Levels

I'm ambivalent about levels. It significantly disadvantages new players when they play with more experienced LARPers. Yet leveling up is a powerful incentive. Perhaps we could include a simple leveling system that allows players to buy one skill per level. Something to think about.

Anyway, just some random thoughts.

We're Doing It Wrong

As I prepare to launch a new boffer LARP group using the Way of the Sword rules, I have been reflecting on ways to recruit new members. And it struck me that our seemingly perfect target audience is not joining our ranks. Consider this - Dungeons and Dragons had record sales in 2019, and then topped it in 2020. Yet even before the pandemic, the ranks of boffer fighters seemed to be dwindling in South Florida. We are just not tapping into the popularity of D&D.

I have some ideas to make the game more palatable to the D&D crowd.

• Call it a LARP, not a sport! Many members of boffer organizations downplay the roleplaying aspect and highlight the athletic aspect of their games. I suspect that the priorities of most D&D players are the reverse. We should emphasize roleplaying, and create more scenarios that accentuate it.
• Run it like a D&D campaign. Boffer events seem to boil down to fight, reset, fight again, etc. In a sense, each fight is like a short sporting match that stands alone. Usually, there is no connection between each fight. And more importantly, there is no story. We should try to create linked scenarios that build to a larger story.
• Embrace fantasy. Add magic and different classes to the mix. Just be careful that magic is not too powerful, or else your warriors will get bored of being fodder.
• Level the playing field. In most boffer games, new members are thrown into the thick of battle with much more experienced members. As a result, they become fodder. This is a downer for a new player who dreams of being a hero. I'm not exactly sure how to mitigate against this, because skill matters. Perhaps we should have more battles with smaller groups, then set up teams to provide support to the new players, and then let them fight other new players. Veterans, don't target the newbies!
• Make the rules more accessible. It's true that boffer rules are available for free online. But you have to be looking for them to find them. We should make our rules visible to people who may be interested but not have heard of the game. They should be on Amazon, Drivethrurpg, and in game stores.

 As far as organizing and running games, these are my latest thoughts:

• Focus on the local group rather than big, inter-group battles. This will allow more personal stories.
• I'm thinking the optimal group size should be 7 to 13. There will be one gamemaster and two teams of 3 to 6 players. 
• The teams take turns as player characters and non-player characters. For example, in one scenario, team A will be the adventurers sent to rescue the mayor's daughter who has been kidnapped while team B plays the orcs who did the kidnapping.

Anyway, just some thoughts for now. I'll probably elaborate at a later time.