Campaigns or one-shot games?

[Merten]

It seems to me that a lot of people play in LARP campaigns and lot less in one-shot games. Is this true? Are campaigs a majority? I'm a bit suprised by this (assumpted) trend; I've only played in three or four campaings, one of them long, and most games around here are one-shots.

And which one do you prefer and why?

[Something Else]

I don't really know, not having much experience with LARPs. That said, I think one-shots are probably easier. It seems like there's a lot of cool concepts that could be done as a LARP, but that would break down once people leave the LARP environment; murder mysteries would be a good example. The sharing of information by players out-of-game could lead to problems.

I know one major LARP in my area, the Ring Game, redoes the same story every year (it's a LOTR LARP.) I believe it all takes place in one day, although I could be wrong.

[salamanca]

I prefer to dothings in one shots but that's because I hate the idea of having to plot ongoing material for a large group.

[Ambrogino]

Most UK fest and many of the smaller ones are campaigns. Of course, they tend to follow the comic book method of (entirely random) plot continuity, due to different refs and players having different sets of information.

I think it works better - certainly character death is more meaningful if you've been playing month-in month out for years and everyone there not only knows your name, but what you've done before, why you'd be willing to sacrifice yourself for this, etc.

Linear based games have less of a cohesive campaign feel, although characters that have met before on previous games will recognise each other, dependant on their players doing so.

[Attila-IV]

We've doing one shots with pre-made characters for the past 5 years now and we've found it to work much better than ongoing campaigns. It allows us to compose much more complicated plots and character interactions. But the main reason we switched over to one shots as opposed to campaigns was that we got sick of 25 people making characters, only 15 people actualy showing up, and only 5 people bothering to show up for every session of the campaign. Now the entire plot can be runthrough in a single night, and next months its something totaly new.

[Airk]

In Norway, the standard is one shots. However, it's not uncommon to have a small LARP as a prequel a few months to a year before the actual event. Also, a really good LARP is usually met by wishes for a sequel. That being said, Norwegian LARPS usually have six months to two years of work and planning behind them. Occasionally, people do double shots - two LARPS with a month in between, for example - but that's fairly uncommon.

There have been episodic LARPS, Mind's Eye style, in Norway (none that would touch MET rules with a twenty foot pole, though). I GM'ed one that lasted for four and a half years straight, four or five hours every second Monday. Most, if not all, of these were Vampire. They've pretty much fallen out of fashion a few years ago, though.

[bink]

playing only met, campains are the norm. The only one shots I have played have been at con games. Those have turned into pure compititions of twinkyness between the local groups. Happy to say that my group won. Or joined one shot con games where just by looking at my pregenerated character they gave me I knew they had no idea what they were doing, or just didn't care. I haven't been to any one shots that anyone has ever put good effort into. I will also say I perfer campains for character growth, and I get to spend money on a costume that will be used for more then one night. My experances of met campains, normally end up with very few people giving backgrounds, and a bunch of people just showing up on game night. With maybe a character they stated right before they left to show up, or nothing at all.

[Merten]

We've doing one shots with pre-made characters for the past 5 years now and we've found it to work much better than ongoing campaigns. It allows us to compose much more complicated plots and character interactions.

That sounds very familiar, as does the Norweigan situtation (no suprises there, especially concerninig the pole). Are you doing MET one-shots or something else?

Does anyone do MET ones-hots except for conventions?

[Jadasc]

About evenly divided. Most of the convention games are one-shots and the stand-alones are chronicles.

[Attila-IV]

We've been primarily running Cthulhu Live and Passion Play. We haven't run MET in years. THe last timewe did MET it was only designed to last for 3 sessions.

[Eggwhite]

Most of the stuff I've been involved in running has been in the form of ongoing Campaigns.

MET Vampire Cam/Anarch (Camarilla UK)
MET Vampire Sabbat (Camarilla UK)
MET Mage (Camarilla UK)
MET Dark Ages: Vampire (Independant)
Unknown Armies - homebrew TT -> LARP conversion (6 month limited run, rather than ongoing)

I have played a few convention one-offs, although I've generally not been that impressed with them - usually just because people either don't read or choose to ignore their briefings, or because the briefing information doesn't actually give you anything useful for the game...

That said, I'm planning on running a few one offs in the near future. I've already found that I prefer to run either short runs or one offs for TT games, and I'm wondering if it'll be the same with LARP. My UA game is my first proper limited run LARP, and I must admit that knowing it will end is certainly helping.

I'll be intrigued to see how the shift to one-offs pans out.

[Merten]

I have played a few convention one-offs, although I've generally not been that impressed with them - usually just because people either don't read or choose to ignore their briefings, or because the briefing information doesn't actually give you anything useful for the game...

Personally, I'd consider convention one-shots to be a special case which probably most of the time don't have much to do with one-shots run in circles you know. I don't know what kind of screening process for player applications (other than "first twenty players are welcome") the convention one-shots have, but I'm under the impression that having such things might be against the spirit of the occasion.

Running just a stand alone one-shot gives you changes to either get the players you want (aka. invite whom you like) or at least give you a rough change of selecting players via the means of recruiting players and/or screening process for applicants.

I've been in a good convention LARP, but most of the time, I'd rather stay clear of them.

[Airk]

Just out of curiousity; how long is a "standard" LARP here?

The Norwegian model works as it does because it's very rare to see LARPS shorter than a weekend of non-stop gaming, 30-50 people involved. You have your occasional four-hour introduction stuff, but that's meant to give people a taste for the weekend- or whole week things.

[Attila-IV]

The LARPs my group typically runs last from 3 to 6 hours and have 10-20 players. I've played in a few MET games that are proported to last all night, but I usualy got fed up and left after 3 to 4 hours. Most convention games I have attended last 4 to 6 hours, usualy due to the length of time that any given space is avalible. Due to a schedualing error I was in a Fading Suns LARP that had to be rushed through in 2 hours and 45 minets. It worked out well, but I would have prefered a more leasurly pace.

[Merten]

Just out of curiousity; how long is a "standard" LARP here?

We usually go from a long one day LARP (8- hours) to weekend-long games (from one day and night to max. two days and two nights). Longer games are very rare, though, so are shorter ones, unless it's some kind of convention game.

[Eggwhite]

Usually the games I'm involved in have run for 3-4 hours a session. Occasionally that changes (we've done the odd six hour game, for example), and when I get around to running one-offs they'll probably be either 8-12 hours or weekend long events, depending on the venue and the genre and theme.

[Ambrogino]

I tend to play weekends, especially 3-day bank holiday weekends, and once a year play a 11-dayer (one normal weekend, one bank holiday weekend, and the week between them). That's a bit of a killer though, and has considerably longer breaks than any normal game.

[Graham W]

Personally, I'd consider convention one-shots to be a special case which probably most of the time don't have much to do with one-shots run in circles you know. I don't know what kind of screening process for player applications (other than "first twenty players are welcome") the convention one-shots have, but I'm under the impression that having such things might be against the spirit of the occasion.

When I've run convention LARPs in England, they seem to attract a core group of experienced LARPers. So, although there's not a screening process, a large proportion of your group know what they're doing. Those players often set the tone for the group.

People will sign up on the day too. I like that, though: it's interesting not knowing <i>quite</i> who'll be playing. Also, the ones who sign up on the day are often the most fired up to play.

Graham

[David Artman]

Campaign games:
MET Normal and Dark Ages (one night a week)
SOLAR, TALAN (boffer, one full weekend a month)

One-offs:
Two customized games (pregen characters, homebrew rules)

[Ryan Paddy]

I think it's a cultural thing. For example, in the city I'm in most of the larp activity has been campaigns, including live combat fantasy, MET, or Cthulhu. But then in another city in NZ where a lot of larp happens, it's mostly one-shot games.

I think people just join in with whatever others in their area are doing and then rationalise why it's the best way afterwards.

Then again, the number of one-shots in my area is increasing now. Cultures change.

[NERO Aeon]

I enjoy looking the part of the character and putting the character into different scenes that help me to explore their character traits. I find this hard to do with one-shot games, and for the most part don't enjoy them as much as a campaign style game.

There is also something to be said for working, planning and finally achieving your successes in a game that continues over 6 months. A single day's victory/challenge is hard to compare.