Chaos Attraction

To LARP or Not to LARP

2003-02-04, 10:14 p.m.

I'm working on a more intellectual entry, but that's not going to be done tonight, so instead, here's a totally trivial filler.

Remember how waaaaaay back when Dave used to like to go to those vampire games? Until they moved their location and the people who ran the show started banning people and doing other weird crap and from what I heard, the folks Dave hung out with stopped going.

Well, apparently things have improved since then, and Dave's back in with his friends again, and they're all going to the game again. The next upcoming game is on a Sunday during my three-day weekend, so I could go too.

This puts me in kind of an annoying position.

See, I don't mind going, per se. Making up characters on paper is fun, as is trying to figure out what to wear (though since I'm always coming from work, I have to er, have very posh characters). But actually playing the game? Hasn't been all that fun for the most part. People here generally play by talking in large secret groups, and don't do much else, and if you're not in one of these groups, you're wandering around yawning. Plus I never really get what the hell is going on. Other than the night we were all playing the crazy family, it's been rather dull when I've gone. I guess all the fun happens when I'm not attending, since they alternate between Fridays and Sunday nights. In the meantime, I haven't felt very impressed.

Unfortunately, they have strict rules about gameplaying. One of which is now that you can't just show up and play. You HAVE to have a membership, which costs $20 for a year. As far as I'm concerned, that's at least $10 too much, but whatever. You have up to three free times to go, and then you either have to quit or you have to pay.

I've used my freebies all up, so if I show up and want to hang out with people, I have to already have a membership number by the time I arrive. Which, well... I am not so hot at the idea of paying for. Frankly, it seems like kind of a waste of $20 even if it's for a year when (a) I hardly play at all, and even under the best of circumstances can't play more than once every other week, (b) am not all that good at acting or playing, and (c) well, it just hasn't been that fun. I'd be fine with going occasionally and doing a freebie game, but it doesn't seem worth it for me to pay to end up standing around bored and baffled on the occasional Friday night while everyone else makes up conspiracies.

But on the other hand, Dave loves that stuff. (For those of you who know what his 3WA name is, now you know why he picked it.) Has a fabulous time doing it. Has been whining for months about how he wants to go back to playing. So it'd make things a bit awkward if I didn't become an Official Member. If there's a game on a night I'm in town, he doesn't get to go or I stay home alone (yeah right on the last one). I might not even play much if we stay on the first-and-third weekend schedule we agreed on, because at the moment (subject to calendar change) those are Sunday night games. Then again, he says if I'm not into it he could just only play on weekends I'm not there. Or I could just mooch and let him buy the membership for me, though I dunno how comfortable I am with that either.

I don't know. I'm really eh on the idea of playing again. It's neither exciting nor abhorrent to me. I could go again and be eh, I could never go again and be eh, but feel slightly guilty. Though game Friday nights were still more exciting than er, most Friday nights here of late.

I'm just annoyed that I have to pay to playact at being a vampire, dammit. Sheesh.


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