LARP in Germany is NEXT LEVEL (American reacts to 10 Facts About LARP in Germany)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- Thank you for watching me, a humble American, react to 10 Facts About Epic Empires | LARP in Germany
Original video: • 10 Facts About Epic Em...
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In Germany, we take our fun seriously 😂
Absoloutly!
Even jokes in Germany are no laughing matter.
haha for suuuure! We are known for our great humor
😁😁😂
i know a joke about digging a big hole, but it´s deep
As a german larper I would like to add some points: 1. Even if the weapons look like real weapons it's still soft foam. But there are quite a few craft business specialized on creating this great and realistic looks. It developed a lot in the last years 2. Of course you can use your mobile phone. But it's a no go to disturb the immersion. Meaning: If you use it in your tent where no one sees you everything is fine. But turn off the ringer ;) 3. There is a great quote "You won a Larp if you have more friends afterwards than before". Even if there are different camps you all work together in creating a great event for everyone. You may hate the other camps as a character. You should love them as a player and always pay your respect.
In general: Have fun and create a fun event for others. Larps are great. Go out and try it 😃
In addition: you do not only play your own character - you offer the opportunity to others to play theirs.
many of the swords there are real, just unsharpened...
@@akteno2796 Bullshi..
Some years ago I visited the Conquest of Mithodea and after the final battle, against the enemy, we clapped for over half an hour straight to pay them respect, because without them we wouldn't had so much fun.
@@akteno2796 No, that's not true. No LARP allows unsharpened real swords. At the Epic Empire the weapons must have at least 1,5cm foam.
There is also a Zombie Run in Germany, where you have to run away from realistic looking zombies, and if one gets you, you get made up as a zombie too and get to chase others
thats not a german thing. that "zombie-run" is also practiced in canada and elsewhere. maybe its even the same company doing this worldwide.
@@rileyxxxx Didn't know that. That's cool :)
@@rileyxxxx well, they didnt say its only a german thing 😅
...and they always have too much applicants for the Zombies and too less for the Human sides^^
@@Rabijeel Which I think is weird, because you get to be a zombie anyway, if you're bitten as a human. And zombies can also be killed. So if you go into it directly as a zombie, you're missing half of the experience.
I once met a Larper that played a fire mage. He really was able to shoot little fireballs with the same technique stage magicians sometimes use. He got a wristband that shot out little pieces of nitro-paper that burned away without leaving anything in seconds. Was a real banger to play with him at dawn and night!
On Epic there was a firemage some time ago that beat them all in over the top ridiculousness. Dude had a hat that was litterally on fire. Absolute madlad that one.
@@theexchipmunk Was this guy's name Till Lindemann?
@@GilbMLRS No, but good one. xD
We as Orga once staged an event, where a mage would take down a warrior. In the night.
The Warrior was equipped with a (really big) shield, and the mage threw a real fireball at him.
OK, imagine the following. Tha mage, wearing a fireproof glove on his right hand, and holding a foam ball. Dip into a bowl of already burning liquid , and you get a mage with his hand on fire, casting. And then the flight of the ball, and the impact on the shield, during nighttime... doesn't get more epic than that, i guess ;)
Needless to say that multiple people with fire extinguishers stood on guard, an the players weren't to close... but man, the effect! Oh yeah, ye olden times... ;D
@@theexchipmunk That guy was amazing. He once assaulted our fort and threw smoking skulls the walls that drove off the defenders. He even had voice modulation to make his spells sound more powerful.
German LARPer here, for the past 25 years. I am short, fat, and broad, so I play a dwarf. The added three beards glued to my face with Mastix glue can be a burden but they are part of the role.
The most basic rule for most combat is to pull a strike at the last second, unless you are fighting someone in very heavy armor. Also you should attempt to always target below the neck, as head and neck injuries may occur even with padded larp weapons.
The only time you go full contact is between two players known for their skill and control in combat AND both sides have agreed to some form of duel. Even then you should not attempt to harm your opponent but give everyone a good show. It's great if it works out but a few bruises or scrapes are normal in such a mock fight.
Edit: there is a difference between stealing and thieving. Thieving is the appropriation of in-game objects and resources that may or may not be returned to their in-play owner at the end of the Larp con. Stealing is the real life appropriation of objects that are NOT designated to be 'thieved' in-time. In essence it is identical to the real life crime. So if you can't keep your sticky fingers off other people's stuff not designed to be thieved, get ready to be kicked out with no second warning. You might even land in a black list as a player and be ostracized and banned from many other LARP cons throughout Germany or even the EU. We LARPers really believe in policing our own.
Edit 2: there are two calls for 'injuries': you call for a healer if you're suffering only from in-game wounds. If you call for Sani/Sanitäter/medic then there's a real injury, and if it gets called during a hot battle there is often a second command, the stop order. At STOP being shouted ALL people have to instantly stop ALL action within listening distance and should freeze in their positions as much as possible. Only when the situation that resulted in the STOP command is resolved is the STOP command lifted. If you want to order someone in-time to halt their movement call out a HALT, but not Stop. If they halt on a halt order is up to them, but a STOP order is universal and HAS to be followed because there might be a dangerous situation like people fighting too close to a campfire or a boiling pot of water. Or, as in the call for medic, someone may already be injured on the ground and should not be endangered even more. While immersion is sought, it doesn't go as far as trampling your beaten enemies into the ground.
The largest larp event not only in germany but worldwide is the "Conquest of mythodea". It has more than 10.000 attendees from all around the world every year (to the best of my knowledge the record for longest journey went to a group from new zealand) and is held in Brokeloh, a tiny village in germany that more than doubles it's population during the event. The organizers even set up their very own supermarket every year just for the attendees.
My son is a LARPer (he usually attends "Conquest of Mythodea" each August), wearing plate armor he actually ordered from the US. He sews his own costumes and builds his own furniture to take along. But the best experiences are when he sees proof of how inventive LARPers can be. Like in his first year of attending Conquest, he met a young woman who was playing a mystic/soothsayer that could tell whether people were lying or not -- she would touch them with a piece of unicorn horn, which would react to untruth. Now, there aren't exactly herds unicorns roaming around to donate parts of their horns, so what's a girl to do? Fake it, of course. She wrapped a small electronic device in a piece of velvet and turned on a hidden switch so it would tremble and shudder if she "detected" a lie. And what small electronic device might kind of look like a horn and can vibrate at will? Hint: It often comes in shades of pink, flesh tones, or even black, can be smooth or ridged, and is usually found in bathrooms or nightstand drawers ...
20:31 Call healer = character hurt.
Call Sanitäter/Paramedic and the whole larp will stop in an instant until the EMTs did their job.
...and the call for an EMT will spread fast and LOUD, to ensure that the hurt person gets help as quickly as possible!
I agree, it is very important that players know how to report when the character is hurt and when the player is hurt.
Believe me when i say, you don't need your phone when you lay down. You lay down, and you will sleep like a stone.
While it is very much fun, LARPing is also a very physical activity - you'll on your legs all day, doing stuff, not only fighting but just run around, looking at things, doing some tasks for your camp or the likes. Yes, you definitely will sleep VERY well. Without phones or other things.
I mean... for me it always was one of the main points of the whole thing (while LARPing or reenacting): You change from "It's 10 in the morning", or "Lets meet at noon" to "Well, it's lioght out there..." or "Let's meet when the sun's at the highest..."
The LARP scene here in germany is very widely spread. You have the newbies (maybe looking like the photo you showed in the beginning, but i doubt they'll pass weapons check ;)) and then all the way up to those who dedicate a lot of time and money to their hobby. I'll take a wild guess and say, some of the camps - like the norse or the pilgrims - do both: reenactment _and_ LARP (because, why not?)
So, you'll find also a lot of events for every type of LARPer. Many small ones, where it is OK to have "normal" camping gear around (everyone starts at some point) up to the mor... how to say this... "high class" ones, where you're not allowed to bring your modern day stuff - at least not in the open. You know, there IS a difference between sleeping on a pile of pelts on the floor and sleeping on a pile of pelts with an air matress under them... in the end it's up to you how far you'll take it ;)
Oh, and the food... OF COURSE you'll prepare your food on the campfire. What else? Here it also spreads from "we grill all week long" to complete field kitchens... (And usually, after the LARP ends, the nearest Temple of the golden M will be overrun by orcs and elves alike ;D
Employees at McD's around known LARP sites are even used to see people in their costumes multiple times a year...
I have gained some weight and don't fit into my gear anymore, so I've been dragging my feet on getting back into LARPing. A friend asked me to come to Drachenfest with him and his fiance, but I'd have to sew all my dresses from scratch. This video has really reignited my passion though, I think I'll see if I can start sewing tomorrow!
This only makes it more immersive when the belly hangs out
Good luck!
@@vomm When my belly hangs out of a floor length dress, I think I'll have a few more serious problems! 😂
there is another Drachenfest that isnt connected to Drachenlord, the streamer, right?
@@ared-ainu Just play as an ork and noone second guesses :D
Regarding the medics: you would be surprised how little medics have to do about "combat wounds". Most is about allergies to bees, not enough water and so on.
...and on most Events, they are in costume as well.
@@Rabijeel Depends on the event size. most things in the low hundred participants rely on players that are also paramedics (ratio for that may vary between groups and events. We have ~50% in our camp usualy. But A group we play with once or twice a year at events has 100% trained emergenca doctors.)
Bigger events usualy have paramedics that are there jsut to be paramedics at the event.
I play LARP since quite a while - and I've never saw a subset of people so immensly allergic to ... basically nature :D
As a medic in Czech larps, I agree. If an event is not only battle larp, but regular role-playing, you have more issues with camp related infuries, ie. ticks, stomach sickness or burns from cooking food. The most combat wounds happen when a battle larp is focused on beginners and they tent to have a lack of protection gear like gloves, hats/helmets etc.
I just find it funnily befitting that the Malteser have their origins in a medieval chivalric order
A few years ago I was part of the team that hosted a LARP on a former warship. We converted the "Mölders" into a spaceship and held a LARP in the universe of "Battlestar Galactica". That was about the most fascinating thing I have ever experienced, the immersion was impressive. You kind of know that it's not real and yet it feels different. LARP in Europe is next level ;) .
I've joined a Harry Potter LARP (Marauders time) in Germany and it's just AWESOME. We're renting a whole castle each time, we have a great plot team and it's just so much fun.
Of course, we can't perform real magic but when you scream "Petrificus totalus" in a duel and your opponent reacts to it accordingly, it makes you feel like a wizard or witch.
And it kinda feels like I've finally gotten my acceptance letter to Hogwarts (even tho I'm playing my character and not myself, of course)
Fun fact: Epic Empire is just the 3rd biggest LARP-event in Germany after the PvP (player vs. player) "Drachenfest" and the biggest one, Conquest - Mythodea with about 10.000 participants and the biggest NSC LARP army.
ahh! i am from sonjas team.. and i watch your videos regularly ;D ;D ..and now i see our video on your channel !!!! that blows my mind! gotta tell sonja about it ;D
haha best team
@@SonjasAdventures 💙
I am not into LARP at all, but this looks truly epic.
Cheers, mate! Glad you like it
It looks like a kindergarten for special adults, the way they sit there in their cardboard watchtowers waiting for someone to play with them.
@@vomm who hurt you little man? 🙁
@@solokom In any case no orc with foam axe
@@vomm well that would be bad larp if you really got hurt. I am glad that you are ok ... At least physically.
Trust me you wouldn´t miss your mobile phone at an event like this :D There is so much to experience you really don´t miss it.
And at least I fall asleep really easily at a Larp event just because it is pretty exausting. And if I can´t sleep I´ll just get up again and look for others who are still awake, because someone is always awake and playing.
All Festivals ever, Wacken, SummerJam, Rock am Ring without a Phone🤷🤦
Wait, what?!? You aren't holding a night watch? You're suicidal. Someone has to hold watch and keep guard at all times on such a large event.
@@RustyDust101 trust me, we DO!
@@TheKalgalath Ahh, good. I was worried about you guys. 😊😂
not having your phone on you for a week is actually really amazing. I couldn't do it in real life, but the one week per year where I go to a big larp is really like taking a vacation from real life. I don't know whats going on in the rest of the world, no news, no stressfull work emails, nothing. The biggest worries I'll have are whos turn it is to start the fire for the hot tea water in the morning or which army is attacking your camp today/making sure your group memebers stay alive. It's really really special and, imo, even way more restful than a "regular" vacation at a spa or something where you still are connected to the real life by social media.
A tip if you want to see the camps: play as a marketender (salespeople), and sell medieval-style fastfoods (boiled eggs, pies, the like). Often enough, you can go through and people are happy to buy. You could also be a an artificer of sorts and sell knick-knacks. or be a healer or soldier for hire, or even just a joker/clown, do some tricks. basically, just be unimposing and bring a deal. It is well liked and many will open their doors for a little fun role-play if you ask nicely.
Even if this LARP is the war-game type, many people just come to take in the atmosphere and stay in the camps or go around basically doing whatever pleases them. There is no rule to take part in the fighting (I know of someone who stays back and does the cooking for her group, i saw some who played as traveling entertainers, a whole group of them. Its great fun when they come around to the tavern and dance, play music and do their tricks. They are beloved for their enrichment).
I visited a few "smaller" Larps (still around 300-400 people) with a friend as NPCs. You get your role, the costume, they put really cool make up on you and it's free because your job is to entertain the players and help with the atmosphere from the plot. It was so much fun and one time especially, when we portrayed some sort of pixies like Teletubbies on LSD. The game masters allowed us to play around and experiment with "mind magic", so we basically troll some players so far the next day they tried to kill us (and failed because we "cheated" with magic 😂)
8:35 Stealing is okay for characters not players. You can steal a magic sword BUT after this you give the prop back to the player and buy/make a sword for yourself(which will represtent the "stolen" magic sword). If you actually start stealing shit , you will spoil the fun for the rest , have a talk with real police or be beaten up by some other payers because you stole for real.
Well, it´s a lot more varied that that. Most systems for example work quiet different than what you describe. Generally you need to inform the game masters that you will steal something, and most events will have tokens that are either fixed on the "stolen" piece or left there and the object is then given to the GM´s.
We differ between "dieben" and "stehlen".
"Dieben" is a made up word deriving a verb from a noun, which doesn't work as easy in German as in English. It is derived from "Dieb" (=thief) and refers ONLY to in-game thieving, following the specific rules of the event.
"Stehlen", which is the correct word to describe the actions of a real life thief is not only frowned upon...they will call the police and you will be banned from the event for that...
Thing is, if you steal an item from another player... you are the only one having fun. The other player might get frustrated not knowing what happend to his stuff (which maybe cost him lots of work or money) and personally, i dont wanna waste my time searching for my stuff... if the "thief" put it in his tent, i dont have a chance to find it anyway. What happens if the "thief" just keeps the stuff he has stolen during the event? not ok either. You might say he could go arround and bring the stuff back to the people, but would he really? Maybe he also has trouble finding the people he has stolen stuff from... maybe he has stolen something from a visitor of the city, not even knowing which camp he comes from... all of this is just causing problems, thats the reason why it is simply not allowed to just steal whatever you want. The gamemaster on this event are btw only a few and have other thing to do than track who stole stuff from someone else... also not an option :)
@@LUCANVOMDIENST Eh, depends on what you want to steal. If you actually benefit the feeling and story with it, you definitely can go to the GM’s. But we are talking stuff like fully planned heists here. Just taking stuff doesn’t enrich the game. It’s just an annoying inconvenience.
The costumes in Larp here are actually Above those at ComicCon and similar events and for one simple reason. They have to work and be real enougth to thant the absuse of being wornd for days and actually have to funktion as clothing.
Also, the metal armor is real metal.
You should watch medieval reenactment in Germany. Other than LARPs, which fight with foam and got "plastic" Armor, we fight with real (blunt) swords and axes in full metal Armor.
You are right about the weapons but we use real metal and leather armour, even though I have to admit, that many larp armours are made of thinner metal sheets than the ones used for reenactment fights.
No-one uses plastic armour in German LARP - unless it's something that could not be reasonable made out of metal and still be worn by a person.
Also, I've been part of a reenactment group until I fully changed to LARP - I could no longer stand people in shitty costumes, maille from India and ridiculously heavy blunt swords bragging about how much more "really real" they are, and how much bigger their dicks therefore were than those of LARPers. The last straw for me was a "medieval" event with a group of people with red modern kilts and plastic horned helmets (and a boombox in their camp) telling me (in a hand-sewn, natural-dyed colorful 1350s blue-and-red outfit) that "I look stupid, they did not have such colors back then", and a guy in a cotton bedsheet coat arguing with me that forks (not introduced to northern Europe until around the 17th or 18th century) are totally authentic for vikings. And trust me, I have more such examples.
A friend of mine participated in a big larp like this. Might have even been this one.
And he has a lot of amusing stories to tell about it.
One of the stories was that he was "catpured" by the enemey something like the chaos group.
And they brought him with them to their camp and there they "tortured" him.
His acting was apparently good enough that people dropped in to the tent asking if everything was ok xD
And of course they "messed him up" with fake blood.
And when he was let go 2 paramedics thought he was actually gravely injured.
Yeah... We go to a supermarket and buy food for the whole 5 days and cook over open fire with authentic utensils. Also we bring our own tents, costumes, weapons etc. You pay only for the event itself (like they rent public facilities, pay paramedics to be on site, a renting fee for the place, electricity, water, etc.). The camp provide their own materials for walls/palisades, we build them ourselves and store them on site between the event. Before the event starts, from each camp there are around 20 people coming 3-4 days earlier and build everything up :-) We also prepare things like new decorations, plot ideas, etc. in between each event.
ConQuest of Mythodea (German: Eroberung von Mythodea) is a five-day live role-playing game that has taken place annually since 2004 in Brokeloh in the district of Nienburg in Lower Saxony. With a total of 10,000 participants, the event is the largest of its kind in Germany, ahead of the Dragon Festival in Diemelstadt.
My boyfriend visits Mythodea regularly and the stories and pictures he and his friends bring back are always so awesome! Makes me want to be a part of it too :D (But I'm really bad at acting and I fear I would ruin the immersion lol)
@@nijuchan1996 Please come! And if you want a cheaper and softer start, you can come to us NSC´s. Personally, but I definitely am biased, I reccomoned comming to us from the Undead Flesh. We biring to the table a great comunity, a lot of nice people and a loudicous amount of gratious hate for those dirty settlers. :D
@@theexchipmunk Okay wow, if someone told me I would one day being invited to the undead flesh, I would've not believed them :D Unfortunately all my friends are in the Söldnerviertel, so that would be the easiest start for me haha
It's not just the largest in Germany, it's the larges LARP event in the world right now followed by Drachenfest in second place.
@@theexchipmunk Yes, the undead flesh is great. Your costumes are stunning, you put on such a good game and the camp looked amazing. Was part of the honor guard held for you at the last Conquest when the story of the original Undead Flesh came to an end. We'll see what the future holds for you guys but I'm sure it's going to be great.
At a different event, my camp one captured an orc. We named him "Bambi", because of his brown eyes 🤣
I really appreciate these events for their immersion. It's really relaxing, since the only thing you really have to care about is your camp.
At a different event, we once had a troll there. He said, his name was "U". And some guy said something like "U. Do I pronounce that correctly?"
Germany also has the world's largest gothic-festivals like Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig, Amphi Festival in Cologne and M' Era Luna Festival in Hildesheim. 🏴🖤🏴
the most important aspect about german larp, as I as a german larper see it, is that even though we all play opposing factions, our goal isnt to "win" anything. Our goal is to create as much immersion as possible.even if we loose the event, we had fun. the biggest thrill we get is when other players come to us after the game and say "the way you played there was so GOOD! thank you so much!" thats what we want to hear.
this is all because german larp developed from fantasy novels and reenactment in the 80s, while american larp developed from videogames and movies in the 2000s. similar genre, but totally different mindsets.
Iv'e done this for two years now on the Conquest (Larp event with 10.000 people in germany) and it is the most fun hobby I habe ever done by far! I love it and would recommend to everyone to try it if possible!
The three big ones in Germany are all cool and fantastic on their own way. Epic Empire, Conquest of Mythodea and the Drachenfest. You should have a look for videos about the other two too ^^.
20:25 most injuries are not because of the fights. Most of them are sunstrokes, allergic reaction to bees and wasps and finally: sprained ankles because of holes in the fields.
Jupp...25 years of larping and the worst injuries from fights so far are some nose bleeding and smaller bruises
so true.
Think the last time we needed somethign from our first aid kit was because someone cut themselves while eating.
I haven't been there for many years, but the memories will definitely last forever. Especially the fact that after a 13-day con we actually had to think about what a car is and how it works! You notice how quickly people can get used to completely different ways of life and forget the old ones. You noticed in the video that you don't see McDonald food or anything like that on our LARPs. There isn't either. But what was tradition for us back then was to drive into a McDonald's after the con in full gear and with weapons. Just the looks from people were always very amusing. But most of the time we were so exhausted that this actually fun event was more like the post-credit scene from the movie Avengers. (I mean the shawarma meal)
12:17 To answer your question: Of course it is allowed to use your cell phone, it is even expected. It is mentioned several times that everything that doesn't break the immersion is allowed, and as we know, the peasants back then were just chilling on their cell phones and playing Candycrush all the time. So, it's allowed. The video was also filmed with a cell phone, propably.
I think most movies are shot in other European countries with similar nature because of cheaper labour and things like that compared to Germany. It’s beautiful here yes, but it’s easy to find similar beauty elsewhere too. Parts of ,The Witcher‘ were filmed somewhere in Eastern Europe I think.
I remember from the early 70's that many medieval TV show and movies (also on German TV) were shot in countries such as the Czech republic and Slovakia.
The Witcher plays in an eastern europe inspired world so it only makes sense to film there, doesn't it?^^
18:42 Yes Larp is quiet expensiv in germany. But there are a lot of companys here that provide costumes, weapons, armour , special effects(mages) and everything else like potionbottles, pouches, tents,etc.
Also our medivial markets are prime hunting ground for LARP acessoirs.
You can sink a Lot of money here but it is possible to get some options for a slim coin pouch.
P.S.: Even the less regulated LARPS look way better than the american park guys.
Eh, it´s all things considered not that expensive. It´s comparable to going to festivals. Still pricy but there is a lot of hobbys that are a lot more expensive. Especially if you are smart and buy used and make stuff yourself.
@@theexchipmunk okay Mr. Musk, if you say so... must be nice to be rich ^^
Yet, you should take caution for what you can do as "Mage".
I remember the Guy bringing a bodyfixated Teslaciol to it, able to throw "Lightning - and caused severe Wounds with that Shite.
Noone checked on that and this Idiot did not tell either. Got arrested for that shite.
The opposite to that was that Lady Mage who "enchanted" the enemys Fighter who just plowed through their Lines and made him turn against his own People - great Scene.
And Yes, "you can only do what you can do" applys - you have to convince the other via Roleplay that it is worth to switch sides and - voluntarily - fall under your spell.
I really prefer this method to "Tokens" or such as this prevents misuse that robs someone of his fun.
Also, this Guy putting fluorescent Algae into an elven Pond... awesome. Made a real "Moonwell".
You can meet so much creativity there, it is awesome.
@@fumomofumosarum5893 If you are so poor that you cannot afford like less than 500 euros in a whole year sorry to hear. I am a student on a shoe string budget and can afford going there. I am just smart about it. I get stuff used off other larpers for a fraction of the original price, do some simple crafting with tools I got cheap or for free of ebay or the garbage and buy the tickets early when they are much cheaper. But bitching around about everything being „too expensive“ while not wanting to even do a little bit of work is also alright. Do what you do.
As an Austrian living in Germany for 20 year, I watched this Video a few days ago.. appriciate your reaction ❤
Du auch hier ^^
@@narzoggash ja, wie cool Dich hier zu treffen 😎 i like This dude, very friendly & chilled 👍 there should be much more americans like him
Never been to a larp, but there are tons of different kinds of events. Some are very family friendly and kids can literally stroll around the whole day before coming back to their parents tent. Others are banquets or magical academies. There's even a LARP location, where they build 2 villages with real houses to live in: "Bogenwald" as a typical medieval village and "Jyrlund" as viking village. Even at medieval fairs you'll see a lot of similar quality costumes - including the orcs, which are actually very friendly folks.
I remember my friends and me going to medieval fairs in full costume regularily. They apprecited us roleplaying with them alot, because most people won´t know how to react properly :D
I´ts a great video! My parents are big medival fans and I grew up in the medieval scene. I have a closet just for my costumes ^^
There is one thing about the video. I think it would be interesting to show something about LARP with horses. A friend of mine owns a medieval horse farm. You can learn how to ride in the medival style, and she also has horses for LARP events. The horses are trained for battles, so they are not afraid of the sounds, the (scripted) battle and so on. For example she has horses that looks like the horses of the Nazgul (Ring Ghosts) from "Lord of the Rings". The horses, saddles and bridles are looking like right out of the movie ^^ the saddles and bridles are completely selfmade, her husband works as a saddler.
That sounds kinda dangerous. Just imagine someone riding into a group of people to knock them over or someone trying hit a rider off a horse and accidently hitting the horse
That sounds like fun, I'd love to try that! Do you know what the farm is called?
And I assume there would be a lot of rules to make it safe, same as in every aspect of larp.
Horses are great for the atmosphere of fantasy/historic larp, but a large nuissance if you want to make them a bigger part of the event. Too many things can go wrong, you need to tend to them at all times and only a few horses are trained to be able to safely work in larp environment (like jousting or movie horses).
You should see the mediaval festivals and reenactments. They usually have real (blunt) weaponry and will sometimes do jousting matches or other performances. Very fun.
hi i am a german larp player and i can say the weapons only look so realistic because there are companies that have specialized in it. got her in the face too. it hurts a bit but it's not dangerous. There are also special arrows that are secured (padded) so that they can be used for larp. And if you want to see the largest larp in Germany, watch a video about the Conquest of Mythodea.
LARP is one of the best hobbies...I only know German LARP, Cosplay and medieval markets...a huge community with many people doing all of the stuff in all environments...and often there are children at markets and Larps...Cuddling with the Orks...it is sooo cute...the scene is a big family...
(sorry for my bad english...)
A friend was often at some Larp events. Most of the time, it was the Live Adaptation of the Pen & Paper Vampire - The Masquerade System. Two events (in a positive way) were stuck in his, and after he told me of them also in my head.
The first one: He once played a Malkavian Vampire. Because of their ancestors blood, they are all totaly crazy. So one of the other players came along and asked him, how old he was. He answered - with a very high pitched voice - "Around 10.000" The other player then walked away with a very pale face and the Game Master of the evening (a good friend of us) came to him and asked "What? You're 10.000 years old?" "No. My Character measures the time in days." The GM laughed and walked away. After that, he was "banned" to play a Malkavian again because he took the crazyness on a whole new level^^
The second one: He played a NPC and he and the other NPC's were schedulded to attack the players. Normaly, it's a simple mindless rage attack without any strategy. But because the GM hasn't forbid it, he had a plan. He threw a flash grenade into the room with the Players, the Players mostly botched their own rage test and slaughtered most of their own comrades, so the NPC's only had to deal with the rest. That was his second game ban.^^
But where is light, there is sometimes shadow. The worst event he had. He and a few friends of him were hired to play NPC. The GM of this event was a REALLY bad one. The place, where they should've pitched their tent was a sink and the whole day it was raining very heavy. So if they would've pitched their tent there, everything would be under water. Of course, they pitched it otherwhere. Shortly after they pitched the tent, the GM came and told them, that they had to attack now. They were tired from building the tent, but they put on their gear and did, what they were told. Hours later, they exhausted came back to their tent. The GM told them, that they weren't needed for the rest of the day. But right after they layed down their equipment, the GM came back and told them, that they were needed once more and that they had to attack NOW. So they switched back into their (heavy) gear and attacked once more.
On the next day, some friends of the GM arrived at the event. Neo-Nazis with some real weapons. My friend and his party avoided them as good as they could. But when the GM told them, that the place, where they placed their tent was the territory of some wild boars, who had cubs, that was the last drop, that let the barrel explode. They packed their things and left the event. After that, the GM and her events were blacklisted and they spread what happend there
Yeah - McDonald's is usually for AFTER the LARP week(end). Used to be tradition for me and my friends, after a LARP, to stop at a McDonald's on the way home, still half in costume and make-up, to get some food. There's a story about a group of Orcs, still mostly dressed up, "storming" a McDonald's demanding "MEAT!" - and that's what they got, just meat. *lol*
I love LARP in Germany
it‘s always so much fun to watch these videos with Ryan. I always watch them when I come home in the evening- a little joy to look forward to.
LARP in germany hits very different.
Sonja is an amazing person and a good friend.
I would love fgor you to watch more of her content.
Its not just the LARPers that are big. Medival reenactment (with real armour and sword fight) are also quiet big and sometimes even overlap.
And the MilSim scene, which is the LARP for people with Airsoft Guns is also quiet big, although their events are often outside of Germany due to our harsh legal restrictrions on these kinds of guns.
Never heard of that event and I am living only minutes away. 🤣 Love your channel!
For every person that attended this event, a thousand people have seen the video about it^^ And I´m part of both groups :)
Feel free to ask if you want to know specifics.
When I was Larping back in the 2000s it was mostly on a smaller scale (maybe 100 people at most) with improvised costumes, too.
The big events were just coming up... it grew massively when I stopped going on Larps... but it was alot of fun. :)
"Be an Orc for a day!"
made my day X D
4:04 It is not that bad, the weapons are padded enough. Also you do not put your whole bodyweight into a strike and the armour is usually pretty real.
Remembering a winter LARP were a fella slipped and fell on me. 80-90 kg guy + 18 kg full plate... I imagine this is the feeling similar to football, if you are the bottom of the manpile.
Yeah, also once had a massive dude in full plate fall on me. That wasn´t fun, but eh, German Larp is basically a full contact sport if you go into the battles, so stuff like that just happens. But injuries from the weapons outside the occassional small bruise are extreamly rare. The most common and serious injury that will befall some people on every large event is sprained or broken ankles because of the rougth terrain.
My most severe injury in 25 years of larping was neither caused by a weapon, nor by peope falling on me...I had to trip and fall all by myself while running from a couple orcs who were chasing me over a flat(!) patch of grass! I tore 2 ligaments in my shoulder. The most severe "injury" from fights (and I am playing a fighting charakter) was some bleeding noses and smaller bruises.
did he at least ahve decent armor?
have heard/seen enough times were people used bad/flimsy/chaep metal armor that ebnd on a bad fall and caused serious injuries to themselves or others.
Also nice when it bends in a way that it doesn't come of anymore, esp. on bigger dudes that then won't (easily) fit into normal ambulances weight/size wise.
@@maximilianschug6271 I would say it was quiet solid. Felt a bit like a fly that got caught under a rolled up newspaper. Actually learned afterwards that these deep purple hollywood hematoma do actually exist in real life, because a quarter of my arm turned that color. Actually did not notice that for two days till I got home, didn’t really hurt all that much and was on the backside of my upper arm. My mom just asked “What the hell did happen to you!?” when I met her. (and I always wear long sleeved clothes at larp, on one side because of historical accuracy for my garments, on the other because I am like a vampire without all the cool stuff. I just burn the moment I go out into the sun.) But eh, shit happens, and I always say larp is a full contact sport, and comes with the increased risk for injury these have. I have in the bast strained my ankles multiple times, from being rough on myself, like throwing myself to the ground or letting myself fall in mid run and so on, I have had more bruises and scrapes than I could count, broke a toe, a finger too and screamed myself (I am a hate preacher for the undead flesh after all nowadays) into a blackout. But I would never ever want for anything else, because I absolutely love this hobby. And I also had the same amount of injury’s when I was practicing martial arts in my youth and don’t get me started about when I was riding. Falling off a horse in mid jump isn’t fun at all.😅
Although, I do definitely accumulate more injuries than the average larper, but thats on me because doing stuff like stepping into battle lines as an obviously higher up NPC while only wearing robes or riding on a car on a sidestep during post apocalyptic larps does bring a higher risk for injuries. But then again, there is people who throw themselves of cliffs to parachute without a backup, so all things considered, it’s still pretty tame.😆
If you don’t want to travel to Europe for an immersive Larp, have a look at Bicolline in Quebec, Canada. Also, some friends who went to Drachenfest and Conquest of Mythodea (the largest LARP event in the world, Sonja has videos onthese, too), they tried to bring that immersion to the USA as well. I don’t recall their event‘s name right now, but they‘re somwhere around the BosWash strip.
Greetings from germany and keep going ✌
if ya like this larp stuff. ya need to check out some vids on german renaissance fairs, those happen all the time in all the cities.
ppl will just build massive karnival like fairs into city centres for a weekend, blocking all the roads having like old taime deals everywhere, ppl can "smith" some swords, medieval themed games, food, music and shows. usually jousting and sword fights duels etc what not. lots of cosplayers everywhere, the ppl that run the stalls usually themed n such.
these pop up in the "old town" districts of cities usually or they build em up in/around the local castle. lots of cosplayers that show up for such events
archery shooting also often a thing. but ya those happen a lot and are very neat.
its comparable to those american civil war reenactment events ppl do in america, its basically that, just with knights over here.
OMG! that's so funny, I'm in that video a couple times with my friends XD
I love Larp. I've been doing this hobby for over 9 years. Watch viedos about the 'Drachenfest'. It's impressive.
I once was a LARPer. A vagabond of some sort. When you don't see the shoes, it would fit in there. But my costume was very minimal of the price. Trousers? Get some old ones from martial arts and embrown it a bit. The tunika? Some brown fabric self sewn. Over that a jacket from natural leather without buttons or sleeves. The belt knuckle of mine looked like old copper, so, no need to change that. The only things, I bought, was a sword and vambrances and greaves (Arm- und Beinschienen) from leather.
In Germany there are companies that specialize in medieval costumes. You only have to indicate which era, what you want to put there, as well as the size of your clothes. And you get the real thing in the mail. The coats of arms on the slides indicate who you are dealing with. so a stranger can very quickly read the character of a possible opponent.
Certain types of arrows could deflect the mail from the body. Later, the arrows developed further so that they pierced through the chain mail.
Yo Ryan, i would also recommend sonjas video about Drachenfest (another larp festival in germany). Was there last year and it was awesome.
th-cam.com/video/liYxCubARAk/w-d-xo.html
Great video btw! Watching an american reacting to germany as a german is pretty funny :D
have a great day
I'll be at the Drachenfest again this year. You too?
Oh thanks Sir Galahad !!
@@DieBaeckerin Don't know when i get my vacation days, but i surely hope so!
@@IDIennis 😁👍 You'll find me in town.
wow, I come from Germany but I have never heard of that event. Even if I have to deal a bit with cosplay...thank you so much. Now I know where I will spend my next holiday 😂
Cosplay ≠ Larp ;) just keep that in mind :)
Also check out the other big two, Drachenfest and Conquest of Mythodea. One might be closer to you and the overall feeling is similar. Of course there are differences, but for me, one is a one hour drive, and the others are 5+ hours. Makes quite a difference, when you have to bring a lot of gear (tent, weapons, outfits, food)
Have you seen the "Hawkeye" show ? I really loved the LARPers there 😄😄
I am close to LARP community. Their games depends from the topic. Some needs such gear, some do not need any at all. Most at all happens in your mind. It is like a theatre play but without any set outcome. You have your character, goals and it is up to you how you lead your story.
As a german larper, once the day is done and the fighting time is finished, you fall into your bed.
Then you wake up at 6 am or 8 am, ready to fight another day.
(Always play a healer and alchemist, so I am mostly running around fixing people and using fake maggots)
Two points in addition:
First: You don't have time to miss your phone and when you go to bed, and you are in your closed tent, you are able to silently check your phone. But: usally after a whole day filled with emotions, fights and all this stuff, you wont need a long time to fall asleep. And don't forget - you wont find a power outlet anywhere to charge your phone.
Second: If you need a in-game healing you call for a "Heiler" or "heeler", If you have a real injury you have to call for a "Sani" or "Sanitäter" so a real medic. It's very important to seperate those terms very strict, because often you can't see if someone plays an maybe uses fake blood, or if it is real. I think a Lot of injuries are something like twisted feet or sunstroke. Truly serious injuries are rare.
That was absolutely amazing. My nephew plays Warhammer all the time and he plays Chaos. We were absolutely right into this video! Thank you for an amazing reaction to this! I love your reactions! They were great!🙂
Often you can get a first glimpse into German LARP events by joining as an NPC, because they will provide you with most of what you need.
I attended an event as an NPC once (because I was the "Elvish guy" who could perform a coronation in Elvish 😅) and they gave me a complete Elf costume - silvery robes, black wig and everything.
This video shows perfectly how hot and dry it has been the last years and the impact it had on the vegetation.
Take a look at the Dresden Christmas market, known as the “Dresdner Striezelmarkt”. This is the oldest German Christmas market. It has been around since 1434 and attracts 2 million visitors every year, although Dresden has a population of just over 500,000.
I heard that in Poland its a real big thing too. They reenact medival knight fights , or a WW2 battle with real tanks and stuff. Some of those guys take this really serious and spend a lot of money on their hobby.
The medieval one must be Wolin. But they use metal weapons, dull but metal 😉
that's medival MMA what you mean, this goes beyond LARP.😅
@@phillipsmejkal1 I know i love it 😁
Did not know Poland has the Tank thing, too. Just knew about UK having "Paintball"-Matches done with Tanks - can even rent thoose.
There are a lot of "medieval markets" too. One of the biggest mobile market is the "Spectaculum" open for all people
8:40 in the red bags are "ingame items" in the other ones are private stuff like powebanks money etc
As a German, I had no idea this existed.
But it looks awesome. :D
Personally, I prefer the larps with more role play, more story. And a nice fight for the icing on the cake 😁
Cheers for Heligonia ❤️
I remember the days, when you held your conventions at Castle Wildenstein :D
It was such a great coming-home moment, everytime I walked over the bridge to the first court...
I am not living far away from this event in Saarlouis. It is on the border to France and Luxembourg... Hell of a event and we got some other really nice conventions here too, like the FARK f.e.
Nice you are loving to watch things like that. Greetings from "Saarland" (State in Germany)
Not to forget the big Medieval Markets / Events,where they fight with REAL Steel Weapons or Lance Tournements,where they realy hit eatch other hard.I was a Member of this for about 10 Years,and I can tell you,I got a lot of Wounds and Scars forever !
The genre of Fantasy in Larp is the most common. But there are also Sci-Fi, Post-apocalyptic or even Cyber Punk Larp Events. I´ve heard about a Cyberpunk in an old battleship.
I go regularly to renaissance fairs, the largest and my favourite being the MPS (Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum), to which anyone is welcome, from baby to grandma. People can go in their everyday clothes, but most dress in medieval or fantasy clothing. Some people actually travel from place to place with the fair as a form of army camp. They live in tents and cook over open fires. There is great live music, ny favourite bands being German medieval rock band Saltatio Mortis and Dutch Celtic band Rapalje. Great fun for young and old, you really should check it out.
Mythodea is another one. It has a "diplomatic" part and the "Conquest"... Or "Drachenfest", a beautiful larp event, too. I guess these are the biggest right now, but there are countless others, too.
I played Vampire: The Masquerade LARP. That LARP event here is epic but imagine playing a century old vampire smack bang in the middle of a club or a restaurant or in a park at night.
In the city. Everyone looks like everyone else (or like goths), all seems very bland and boring at first glance but behind the scenes is where the action is.
One problem though, police got involved quite often. no wonder regarding time of day and our acting and equipment (stakes, guns, swords just LARP stuff^^). I had a classic Quentin Tarantino Reservoir Dogs scene with fake blood and brawling and gun toting in a back alley of a Kebap house. It was very spontaneous. The backdoor to the kitchen was open and the chef looked hella scared, we ceased and escaped in role. That was one of the coolest moments i had, very well played by my counterpart.
Wow, that place is literally about 30 minutes from where I live....I would love to partake in this!
Imagine one day mixing AR contact lenses with such LARP events. You really could see the magic and quest marks and so on
I had to put this in front of my comment in the hopes you will read it Ryan 😃You may not believe it, but ARVO IS ARVO in German and IT MEANS THE SAME THING!!!! 🎉🥳 🥳😃Thanks for this one Ryan!!! How much FUN does that look!? I love this new country thing as being an Aussie, I'm pretty down with the info you give (even though I still watch of course). You have already made me want to put Germany on my bucket list. Please do a video on German food if you can.
17:08 the cameraman is a timetravler from a possible future 😂
wow. i learned through your video that this is like 10 km away from my town. haha
I hope someone already mentioned DieselPunk LARPs in Castles and on Boats because we have those too
That is almost in my neighbourhood. just like a few km away.....
Fighting weapons are most of the time special Larp Weapons. They are not made out of steel, but more made out of a kind of soft foam with a shiny coating to make them look more realistic.
There are always photographers and camera crews on site of Epic Empires. They are in contact with the organizers and are allowed to be there. So there are only a handful and they work all day long to take great pictures. And the video crews are often either like here youtubers, journalists or do videos for their own marketing. 🙂 We just treat them like air and they are not offended by that. Often we even ask them to take group pictures or portraits and they are kind enough to do that. Edit: Most times there are injuries, is when people run and fall. There are not many accidents during the fight, because we take care of each other. If you see someone go backwards and he may stumble over something, you stop him/her using "off-time" language and switch out of character for a second, like "Hey be careful, there is a campfire. Come a bit forward."
you shold watch about the german WGT its the largest Goth Festival at all and so beautiful
I love to see some people I actually know in the video 😄
Larp and other medieval & fantasy markets are gorgeous here in Germany. Love to participate in some over the summertime.
I'm in this video. I watched it when it came out, because I'm a nerd. Then it blew up.
two of my favorite channels joined together? Friggin awesome! many greetings from Germany!
Hello 🙂
Regarding cameras. Those are camouflaged and/or covered with cloth or a specially made box.
If you like larp fights, you should look up buhurt.
It's essentially the same, but focused on fighting and with out the pretend part.
The weapons are all blunt and there are rules of course, but it's totally fine to roundhouse kick your enemy in the face.
Essentially medival mma
Now I really want to go into LARP - as if I don't have enough expensive hobbies with DnD, Warhammer and LEGO®. But some outdoor activity might bring variety into my free time.
Never know this was 20 minutes away from me =O have to visit this next time =O
And also i can say its abside this event also a very nice state to visit in Gemany , especially regarding the near borders to the frensh and luxemburg borders =)
You are right to assume, that fighting someone in an impressive costume, can be really intimidating. I still remember fighting some really awesome "orcs" during a similar, but quite smaller event. Those guys were so intimidating, that I got almost frozen in place and my instinct was just to run and hide. That was such fun 😂
I would love you to check out more videos about LARP in Germany. As a suggestion: "Weltenspieler"-documentary from hrfernsehen. It is in german, but there are english subtitles available.
I am so happy that you watched as well .... i watched the video like hour before you posted yours and i was kinda blown away myself 😁