Editing Live action role-playing game (section)

==Play overview==
The participants in a LARP physically portray characters in a fictional setting, improvising their characters' speech and movements somewhat like actors in [[improvisational theatre]].<ref>(Kilgallon et al. 2001:1) "A live action roleplaying game is a cross between a traditional 'tabletop' roleplaying game and improvisational theatre."</ref> This is distinct from tabletop role-playing games, where character actions are described verbally.<ref name="Tychsen2006Embodiment" /> LARPs may be played in a public or private area and may last for hours or days.<ref name="SalenZimmerman2003">{{cite book| last = Salen| first = Katie| author2 = Zimmerman, Eric| title = Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals| publisher = The MIT Press | year = 2003| isbn = 978-0-262-24045-1| quote= Live-Action Role-Playing Games can take place in indoor or outdoor settings, in private or public spaces.}}</ref><ref name="Widing2008">{{cite book| last = Widing| first =Gabriel| editor= Markus Montola, Jaakko Stenros| title = Playground Worlds| chapter = We Lost Our World and Made New Ones: Live Role-Playing in Modern Times| publisher = Ropecon ry| year =2008| isbn = 978-952-92-3579-7| quote= ...the participants sustain these temporary worlds for a few hours or several days}}</ref> There is usually no audience.<ref name="FalkDevonport2004Audience">(Falk & Davenport 2004:128) "...live role-playing games are devoid of the audience concept."</ref> Players may dress as their character and carry appropriate equipment, and the environment is sometimes decorated to resemble the setting.<ref name="FalkDevonport2004Costume">(Falk & Davenport 2004:131) "The LRP player, like a stage actor, is a person who under-goes a transformation into a character. The character's costume and accessories, or kit, aids this transformation ... Physical structures may be used as game locations, and sometimes even purposely constructed to enhance the game world ... Players frequently use physical artifacts as props and tools in their role-play, primarily to back up their character roles."</ref> LARPs can be one-off events or a series of events in the same setting, and events can vary in size from a handful of players to several thousand.<ref name="Tychsen2006ClassificationDuration">(Tychsen et al. 2006:259) "Most LARPs are either scenarios (or single-shots) or campaigns (also known as chronicles)"</ref><ref name="Tychsen2006EventSize">(Tychsen et al. 2006:258) "Games range in size from a handful to more than 4,000 players"</ref>

Arrangers called ''gamemasters'' (''GMs'') determine the rules and setting of a LARP, and may also influence an event and act as referees while it is taking place.<ref>(Tychsen et al. 2005:216) "In order to play, the players must have a fictional setting... In essence, the GM creates the magical circle around the game."</ref><ref>(Montola, Stenros & Waern 2009) "Runtime game mastering is the process of influencing the flow of a game in real time."</ref><ref>(Tychsen et al. 2005:218) "The GM may or may not be responsible for enforcing the rules between players... The GM can also be responsible of {{sic}} hunting down cheaters or other rule breakers."</ref> The GMs may also do the logistical work, or there may be other arrangers who handle details such as advertising the event, booking a venue, and financial management. Unlike the GM in a tabletop role-playing game, a LARP GM seldom has an overview of everything that is happening during play because numerous participants may be interacting at once. For this reason, a LARP GM's role is often less concerned with tightly maintaining a narrative or directly entertaining the players, and more with arranging the structure of the LARP before play begins and facilitating the players and crew to maintain the fictional environment during play.<ref>(Tychsen et al. 2005:218) "[The GM is] forced to let go of the game and let it take on a life of its own outside his or her control. While based on similar principles, the requirements [are] therefore very different in practice from GMs in PnP RPGs... The GM is generally, unless the LARP is small in terms of number of participants, ''not'' responsible for keeping the narrative flow. The GM can however oversee the progress of the game and help or influence where needed... Establishing a hierarchy of GMs and NPCs to monitor the game and ensure everyone is entertained and activated within the shared game space is a typical way of controlling large fantasy LARPS. This structure is usually established before the game commences."</ref>

Participants sometimes known as the ''crew'' may help the GMs to set up and maintain the environment of the LARP during play by acting as [[stagehand]]s or playing ''[[non-player character]]s'' (''NPCs'') who fill out the setting.<ref>(Bestul 2006:26) "Finally, a person may also participate as a type of stagehand. Though not all games will require them, it is occasionally necessary to have a support staff to help coordinate events and NPCs as a stage manager or running crew might."</ref><ref>(Tychsen et al. 2005:216) "The environment needs to be filled out with non-player controlled characters (NPCs)</ref> Crew typically receive more information about the setting and more direction from the GMs than players do. In a tabletop role-playing game, a GM usually plays all the NPCs, whereas in a LARP, each NPC is typically played by a separate crew member.<ref name="Tresca2010NPCs">(Tresca 2010:188) "Where LARPs differ most from tabletop games is in the handling of non-player characters (NPCs). The physical performance necessary to pull off a performance in a LARP makes it impractical for a single person to handle many NPC roles. As a result, there is often a cast of characters who take on the roles of other NPCs. Unlike the players, the NPCs usually know the game's plot and have some idea of the narrative. NPCs, then, are a form of pseudo-player. They play the game, their characters have somewhat more limited goals, but they are ultimately constrained by the plot."</ref>

Much of play consists of interactions between characters. Some LARP scenarios primarily feature interaction between PCs. Other scenarios focus on interaction between PCs and aspects of the setting, including NPCs, that are under the direction of the GMs.<ref name="styles3">(Young 2003:11) "The focus of interaction of larp... can be player to player or player to environment."</ref><ref>(Tychsen et al. 2005:216) "LARP scenarios can likewise vary from detailed scripts of each participating character, to a loose association of GM-controlled NPCs in a fictional world setting."</ref>