Belegarth

So I was Recruiting people from the local community center, and a lot of them were comparing what we do to the recent movie "Rolemodels." for those of you who have not seen it, it is a movie with larping in it. I tried my best to steer people away from their analogy and tried to make them see what we do has no magic or any of that other * in it at all. Any ideas as to what should be done?

ya, thats the only thing i hate about that movie

On the bright side of things, there are plenty of people that will be interested in just the combat.
More people are going to see that movie than the WN spot on Discovery, so just get used to stressing the fact that our activity is less nerd-ish than the movie makes it appear.

Just tell them that they can come out and beat up on a bunch of people legally.. and that we don't use "magic" .. like the d bags in Rolemodels... Though I did love that move so funny... Minotaur!!!!

I would strongly recommend not bashing the LARPers. I mean what did they ever do to you? Get a lightning bolt to the face or something? Seriously though, this is no less of a geek-a-thon than those games with magic when they are compared by "normal" people. It is much better to treat everyone with respect. Our group is able to hold events with large attendance pulled from many different boffer and LARP groups. We also get together for wicked treasure hunts. Although, I love my sport more, it is great to have huge turnouts every so often, and besides-if you are going to call the LARPers d-bags, the "normal" people will think of us as "those geeks with foam swords without magic, but who call everyone else d bags because they think they are better than everyone else". Does that sound like a group of people you want to run out and join? Or would you prefer "those geeks with foam swords without magic who are cool people who emphasize hardcore fighting?"
-AoC

I'm not calling them larping d-bags, just what to say so that we keep things different. I'd be a lil teaed off if someone came to practice with a Gandolph costume and a pouch full of beanbags.

only combat that was even close to what we do was when the king dude was fighting augie

LOL I kent no offense to any larpers every one has there own standards to what they view as fun.But if some one came to my realm dressed as gandalf and started throwing bean bags I'd probably lmao.just sounds funny to me

Personally, i see it as a positive thing.

I think that we as a sport and an organization try be different and unique that we lose sight that we're here to have fun. I don't know how many times I've heard people explain Belegarth, and they speak about 'magic' like is the **** plague. It does make us look like *.

Its like a person who plays WoW who rips on another person who play any other MMO. Guess what you're still playing an MMO yourself, ya **** douche.

Anyway, I digress. It was war!

Over the last month while recruiting, at least two people referenced the movie. And I explained it was different by the use of weapons, combat, and no use of magic, they didn't seem any less interested. I say just be frank, and don't bash any other aspect of any other game.

Overall you gotta take into account that there's a certain amount of 'geek' in a person that makes them want to try something like this in the first place.

When I have had anyone reference rolemodels, or any other LARP, RPG, MMO, or MCS I tell them something like this:

"I haven't seen that movie/game/whatever, but what we do is a medieval combat sport. We use stiff foam padded swords, most of the time you won't even get bruises from them, but people can get picked up and thrown off their feet from really solid blows. Some of our fighters are on a local high school track team and at their first practice they were puffing and saying this was brutal (This was after 45+ minutes of chaos teams). I don't know what is portrayed in that movie/game/whatever, but this is a fast, fun, hard-hitting sport and the best exercise of any game I have ever played. Come out and try it!"

I really don't care about Rolemodels or whatever other game/yadayada they want to talk about when I am recruiting. I want to focus on what we do, why it's awesome and that they should come try it. Time spent talking about whatever other thing is shifting the focus, taking away from what I want them thinking about. So, I respectfully acknowledge what they have brought up, if possible I plead ignorance, and then I dive back into why we are really there and what we are really talking about.

Tails wrote:I'm not calling them larping d-bags, just what to say so that we keep things different. I'd be a lil teaed off if someone came to practice with a Gandolph costume and a pouch full of beanbags.

I've actually found Role Models as a great help. People see it and make the connection; it gives them a reference point to understand the game. They get even more impressed when I mention that the Edhellen people who sold the weapons they used in the movie fight in our game.

If someone asks, just explain that the biggest difference is the focus on fighting. No magic, no character classes or skills. Just clean, hard-hitting fighting. If you've explained the rules thoroughly and new people still try to come in and throw fireballs or lightning bolts, step into herald mode and tell them that they're not playing by our rules. If they can't get with the program and conform to a different type of nerdery, you have the right to sit them out or boot them entirely. Voila, it's no longer your problem.

Edhellen made the weapons for the movie? i didnt know that. I think i shall also mention that when ppl ask. thanks for the info

rolemodels = good

because humor is a great way to recruit. I normally say something like, "oh yeah, we're totally like that, only we keep our magic to our hard core dnd sessions. This is more like a sport." which leads to an inevitable "how so?" and it's in the bag.

true story acorn i would have to say i side with you but i also agree with lykos i would laugh if someone with bean bags er watever showed up

oh hells yeah. laugh my * off.

although this one guy in our realm sometimes fights with goggles....
or a gas mask....

but he's an exhibitionist. and he doesn't have them at events. lol.

and of course, i laugh my * off at that as well.

No publicity is bad publicity. Role Models actually might help you explain the game to someone. If they ask if this is like what they saw in the movie, you can point out that while some aspects are similar, there are many differences that make our game geared more toward physical combat. Let them know that the weapons and shields are the same we use, but we do not (by and large) stab each other, we hit harder, and we do not punch other players (ref. Augie v King of Casadonia). Most people don't talk like the dude in charge of Xanthia, we don't have "centaurs", and we don't use magic. We do have a great group of people who love to dress in comfy clothes and whack the snot out of each other. We also have large national events where we get together and beat each other up during the day, and we all hang out and party at night with good food, good company, and (if you're old enough) good booze (like the last scene in the movie). That last one I usually add to the people who walk by DeKalb practice... Stupid college kids.

Eris wrote:we do not (by and large) stab each other

Changing rapidly.

Granted. But I saw way more stabbing in the movie than I generally see on a Bel field.

And we still don't punch each other. When I watched the movie again Saturday night I had to explain to my mundane friend that if anyone did that on a Bel field, we'd take their stupid pointy hat and kick them off the field.

Larping in the movie is to belegarth as flag foot ball is to the NFL.

In the Bowling Green KY area, just recently we have had a couple people approach us wanting to try and their reason was Rolemodels.

I thought it was pretty funny. I like how the king's headquarters was a nearby burger cafe thing.

Of course you cant forget that Edhellen made the weapons

Big Jimmy wrote:Larping in the movie is to belegarth as flag foot ball is to the NFL.

Awesome. Jimmy I am using this when people ask

Big Jimmy wrote:Larping in the movie is to belegarth as flag foot ball is to the NFL.

That's *exactly* what I tell people...

great minds think alike....

oh yeah...so do we, apparently.

I has to giggle at Lykos an Crow..they've been fighting with some new peoples that have come out BECAUSE of the movie!!

You babeh boys never even knew it.

When I talked with the noobies at recruitment I explained the sport and the differences in Belegarth and LARPing..that neither is bad, just personal preference. We hit hard, we hit fast, we're not correographed, and that few LARP within Belegarth. Our reenactment is medieval.

The only question I got that I had to giggle about was nothing about magic or anything, but if they killed our king would they get to be king.

I think the movie is a great thing for both belegarth and LARPing, embrace it and welcome the curious in!

And hey..there are some in Belegarth who do add an aspect of LARP to their personas...don't knock them..just accept them as they accept you.

I had a funny role models experience last night. We were hosting one of our Werewolf treasure hunt battles, and since it is light on the combat, I posted it on LARP alliance. We had some people who saw the post and were first timers, and they called me about my event. The guy says, "I have a friend, who wants to play a fighter, can he wear jeans?" I laughed and said-we can all play fighters and you can wear whatever you want. I thought it was funny, they all seemed to have fun, even though this time the werewolves won.
-AoC
PS: My college realm doesn't require garb, which makes the jeans part funny too.

I miss your events...〒_〒

In my experience I have found in my School that so many people have never heard about Belegarth or anything like it before that it kinda helps to be like "ok so you saw role models? ya will its kinda like that without any role playing"
people generally tend to show up then or they say well its just not for me

but for the ones that really seemed interested in it, I have found that it is really good to stress the physical aspect of the sport and how much fun it really is

Aggro_Smith wrote:In my experience I have found in my School that so many people have never heard about Belegarth or anything like it before that it kinda helps to be like "ok so you saw role models? ya will its kinda like that without any role playing"

Well, it might be better to say that role playing doesn't affect the rules. People still RP (it IS medieval/fantasy combat), but race/class rules aren't an official part of the game.

There is NO spell which can protect you from the Royal Stinkeye!

Role Models is actually what got me interested in all of this. I saw the movie and thought "That looks like fun" so me and a couple buddies started looking around for how to make foam swords. All the tutorials we saw referenced Dagorhir and Belegarth and such so naturally the links led me here.

After reading about Bel a bit I basically came to the conclusion "So it's like Role Models but with more focus on fighting." That should probably be what you tell new people like me.

I love it when non-belegrim roll by and yell "FOR XANNNNTHHHHIIIIAAA!!!".
I usually die because I'm laughing so hard.

On the real though. I saw the Movie,(was funny as hells), and did some research on the game. thats how I found Belegarth. I read about the LARPers and it just wasnt for me, plus, there was no realms close enough for me to go. Im glad I looked it up and Found Gilead as my realm.

I had never heard of Bel or Dag before Role Models, which got me to looking around on the web, so here I am.
Was looking for something that was more fantasy then the SCA, but without the magic stuff that complicates things, so Bel just kind of fit my perspective.

no remy, its "Kiss-My-Xanthia", and Im starting that unit tom. I need a Deamon, and Star Child, any Takers, LMAO!!! J/K.

You must not have watched the movie. The whole thing is fighting in garb with different factions. Role Models as a movie was a lot closer to Belegarth and the other other white meat than it was to Amtgard or any of the actual larps.

The next time someone asks you if what you do is like in the movie, say YES! and promptly hand them a waiver and a sword.

A lot of serious fighters have come our way due to this movie: Thank you Role Models!

So I laughed so hard in those parts of Role Models...I was totally laughing at myself a bit I think though....
So my wife is NOT a Larper, Bel dag or Amtguard fan, at all...but...she just rolls her eyes and laughs, and I find that it sort a helps me keep it light when I do the same. Yeah, it's geeky, but its so darn fun, it doesn't matter, and most people I know hear that and lighten up a bit, almost like admitting it makes it ok somehow...that we can sort of laugh at ourselves sometimes (not all the time, just sometimes, I like the battle seriousness too, that's part of the fun) and then they just think, "what the heck, I'll try it because it looks fun" regardless, since most outsiders don't know much difference between LARP, Bel and SCA anyways. Once they get a stick in their hand, they tend to love it... I'm new but the small group I have been fighting with locally seems to be catching on, mostly because the emphasis is on fun, then the rest comes naturally... garb, persona, etc, since they realize how much more fun it can be when those aspects are included also...
Life is to short to always take ourselves so seriously anyways, besides, taking things too seriously is what the SCA is for (just kidding, just kidding....seriously, I don't want to offend anyone...totally kidding...

If you can't laugh at yourself, you will die of boredom.

Eris wrote:If you can't laugh at yourself, you will die of boredom.

Amen....amen.....

I just watched Role Models last night, and I think it pretty much hit the whole thing on the head. You've got the guys who take things way to seriously (no, really, we're not a LARP!), you've got the kids who just want to get out and play, you've got elves, you've got * politics that no one cares about but everyone has to deal with.

And it presented LARPing in about the best possible light. Yeah, the kids a dork, but he knows how to do romance in a pinch, he's pretty smart, he knows his thing, so whatever. Basically, the movie takes people's concept of Larping from 'Lightningbolt Lightningbolt Lightningbolt" To 'Hey, that actually looks like fun". The bit where Matt Damon beats the Hammer dude and they switch instantly from 'Grr, I will kill you' to 'Isn't this stuff fun?' was good, as was all the cheeseball death scenes and hammy acting during the fights.

Plus KISS. Can't go wrong with KISS, right?

Anastasia of Chamonix wrote:A lot of serious fighters have come our way due to this movie: Thank you Role Models!

who would those be? Ana, I believe you might be using the words "serious" and "fighters" a bit loosely here.

Oh- I hate this- BUT I agree with Jimmy here.

Now the world will end.

Big Jimmy wrote:Larping in the movie is to belegarth as flag foot ball is to the NFL.

Darth Cheeseheart wrote:

Anastasia of Chamonix wrote:A lot of serious fighters have come our way due to this movie: Thank you Role Models!

who would those be? Ana, I believe you might be using the words "serious" and "fighters" a bit loosely here.

Josh/Youric-Aggelgorod
Olag
Students and High School Students have mentioned they liked the movie and came out to see us because of it.

That's actually what got my best friend, his girlfriend, his brother, and myself all into bel. Hell, The best friend and brother went to visit you for a bit Ana (glad he came back in one piece, but if you could've just knocked out a tooth I think it would've done the guy some good. He needs a bit more challenge than most of ATD can hand him)

We've actually had a great time and are now very serious about what we do in bel. We started a unit and hold a second practice in the week. Smaller though it may be, we get enough people out and get to focus more on skills and 1 vs. many fights much more readily. Now when people ask about "that fighting thing I do" they usually compare it to Role Models. You've just got to tell them "Yeah, we're like that, but without all the royalty junk. We just like to full-on fight without actually cracking skulls."

Now because of this, I have one friend who's going to try it out even though it's WAY out of her spectrum, one friend trying to start up a realm in his town an hour away, two friends who are just getting started on their first weapons, and my little brother is stoked for his thirteenth birthday and I'm sure he'll be shaking by the end of the month until he gets to play.

(Also without bel, I'd get NO exercise.)

I LOVE this movie! Between the foam figting and the 'behavioral' child, that is the epitome of my life!! I have even introduced some of the kids in my self-contained classroom to the fighting! One of my students was exactly like the little foul mouthed kid!
Do you find people asking you more if you've seen the movie when you tell them what you do for fun?

They don't really ask me, they mostly just assume.
"Yeah, tonight I'm going to swordfight with a bunch of friends"
"Swordfighting!?"
"Yeah, with foam, for safety."
"Oh, like in RoleModels" OR "Oh, like in that one movie?"