What I Did At ODC Parts 2 and 3 (of 4)

[zebbiejohnson]

Being more of the Epically Long Report about my failure to locate the correct things to do to make ODC work for me, including death and pharaohs.

Comments

[green_bryony]

So a couple of quick thoughts -

- firstly lots of people do turn up as solo characters and report having a whale of a time. So assuming that they are reporting their experiences honestly, clearly that works for many people and it is not essential to have a group. But they may be people whose brains are wired differently to mine. I guess part of the problem is that I am not very motivated to make a complex background for my character if it is just me, where as I like world building and writing group briefs and then once I have that it is easy to create a character in the context of that group brief.

- secondly, there are lots of recruitment threads on rule 7 where you can join like minded people that you have never met before. I don't think it is at all essential that you know the people beforehand or ever meet up in real life, I just need there to be a strong group concept that I can buy into. So it is not restricted to OC friendship groups - but that is often an easier way to make that discussion happen so often groups do have a core of OC friends at the centre.

In the Khemenethorus there are a couple of people who I don't think I had ever actually spoken to IRL before we all rocked up on the field to be a tribe together. But we had discussed the group online, so that was all okay and we all slipped into 'but I have known you for many years, cousin Abel' very easily.

The problem I would have with going into a group where I know no one at all is having the trust that they would want to play the same kind of game as me and be as invested in creating a group dynamic. But I could get round that if they advertised sufficiently clearly that this was a thing they were seeking to create.

The group I am thinking about joining next in Odyssey is a group in Rome where I know two people OC, from my current Maelstrom group (who I met a year ago), and Entimix, and then the rest of the group I don't know at all and the dynamic would be very new.

So I would say that there is often, but there does not necessarily have to be, an OC friendship link. What I would say is essential (for me) is having a group who are willing to discuss (usually by email) what the group dynamic and purpose will be. So that is an OC time and energy committment before the event - but IME it pays off, while not putting in the commitment leads to frustration and woe.

But, again, there are clearly many people who don't work that way so I would be cautious about basing all assessments on fest larp on my personal preferences and experience.

[zebbiejohnson]

"I would be cautious about basing all assessments on fest larp on my personal preferences and experience."

I appreciate that but I also appreciate ideas, especially as it seems quite plausible that I will not otherwise be able to notice what the missing qualit(ies) that I lack relative to others who do 'get' fest larp is, due to missing it.

I am now wondering what would happen if I went to the LT again, as I do not recall getting anything like as actively bored at the Gathering as I do at PD events, even though I often also didn't actually do very much either, and wondering if either my playstyle or self have changed sufficiently in the meantime that now I would get very frustrated there too, or if it is also partly a PD-games issue.