Sca Larp

Sca Larp

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So you would like to find a boffer or L.A.R.P. group near you?  Well first you have to choose what type of group you would like to play with.

There are many groups that you can join there:

• Amtgard
• S.C.A.
• Belegarth
• N.E.R.O

That is not to say they aren't many more,  but these are the main groups.

There are also three different genres of boffer groups.

• L.A.R.P,(Live Action Role Playing)
• If you like acting or you love playing Dungeons and Dragons, then will also love playing with these groups. You choose a race and class (much like in the popular game W.O.W.)

After you have arranged who you are and what you do,  you get to dress the part, with chain mail, plate armor, and in period clothing. With your group you will go adventuring ,(usually in parks) earning money and experience, by killing monsters and completing quests and missions. These groups are normally storey oriented. N.E.R.O is considered a L.A.R.P and so is Belegarth.

• Boffer groups

• Boffer groups are more simplistic and battle oriented. These groups are the kind of groups that go out to a park or a large aback yard and can start playing with very little set up.

These are the types of fun games where your high off adrenalin and could keep fighting from dusk till dawn. The weapons in these groups are always different. The speck on there weapons, can be very different from group to group because in most cases they ether make up there own rules or borrow them from other groups. These groups are a lot of fun and can be started with only a few boffers and a couple of friends.

• Reenacting groups

• Reenactment groups are like the people you would see at a Renaissance Fair. These people are sticklers for there authenticity. Reenactment groups  are also battle oriented group and are usually better connected to each other having kingdoms and more widely followed rules then, plain boffer groups. These groups also have to register to join a kingdom, before they are considered a actual group. Some times these groups will don home made plate armor and use rattan (hard solid bamboo) swords and other weapons. These would be groups like the S.C.A and Belegarth.

So now that we've talked about some of the types of  boffer groups,   you can now decide witch type of group you would like to join. Start by looking at colleges near you.  They are almost always great places to find boffer groups.  It may take you some time looking and finding a group that is right for your interests.

If you look and ask around you can usually find some one who knows what your asking about. Another great way to find a group is to actually ask some of your friends if they already boff.  Believe me, they are always looking for more people that want to join and play. If all else fails then go to Google or Yahoo or what ever your favorite search engine is and look for boffer group in (your area) and you will usually get a couple of good hits and a lot of information. Craig's List is also a great way to meet and find groups. You can usually find some one who knows about reenactment groups at local renaissance fairs as well.

Don't let the fact that there isn't currently a group in your area be a deterrent!  If  all else fails,  you also you can take matters into your own hands. You can get a bunch of your friends together and depending on what type of group you want to make, create your own group. If it's just a boffing group, you could actually try and get your school to start one. If you already know of  a L.A.R.P,  you can find ways of making groups with them. Or you can start your own L.A.R.P  group, with your own races, and stories.

John Swenson is the author of this article. Known by JB to his friends and family, he resides in the Pacific Northwest . When not producing boffers to sell at local artist markets, JB embarces his inner priate and boffs at the local university as well as a local LARP group. Catch more of JB's articles and exploits at SoftSwords.com [http://www.softswords.com/medieval].

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