Have you ever wanted to be a knight or a queen? Does the thought of chainmail and armour excite you? Or do you just fancy the idea of smacking a friend with a sword and shield. Well, I might have an activity for you: LARPing. Standing for ‘live action role playing,’ LARPing is a new activity that’s hitting the Singapore scene.
LARPing is essentially a mix of Dungeons & Dragons and lacrosse but with a twist. You have a game master that sets up the scenario, and you act it out to see the consequences in real life… while battling each other with sword and shield.
You have a certain amount of hit points determined by the game master and the amount of armour your wearing. Full plate armour give more protection than a shirt, so full plate gets additional hit points. It may sound unfair but it’s really not, the more armour you wear, the faster you get tired, as some of this stuff can literally weigh a ton. So you have to make a choice of what’s more important, protection or mobility. Stamina really plays a part in this game, as you’re running and swinging a heavy sword for sometimes hours on end. It’s a freaking work out.
Costuming and weaponry are part of the fun. Dressing up as your favourite character from medieval times, whether good guy or bad guy is an interesting notion. It allows you to transcend past the now and into medieval times—a time of knights and dragons and mystical possibilities. Very similar to Game of Thrones, there are different clans and families. You really create a brotherhood/sisterhood that last outside of the field. Each clan has its own formal attire and colour with their coat of arms.
I got a chance to give it a try and absolutely loved it. The knights and warriors at SG Battlequest LARP gave me a rare opportunity to play as a king for a game, with full chainmail armour, tower shield and King’s sword. It was a completely different experience then what I expected. These guys are hardcore. They have actual archers firing arrows across the field at you as artillery and warriors in full gear. Some of the players even build their own arms and armour. Not to mention the amount skill with a sword and stamina they have. I saw a guy bigger than me take out 4 guys wielding double swords without breaking a sweat.
I on the other hand felt like I was about to pass out just running across the field to land the killing blow (okay, so the four King’s guards that fell before I got there helped a little). They are a really impressive lot of people. What’s even better is that they are really nice people who share a passion for the game and the time period. Even though they may be from different factions or clans, they are all very nice and inviting. Their main goal is to build a community of like-minded people who want to play.
Don’t fret if you don’t have gear, they are more than happy to rent you out a set for a very low price of $5. If you’ve ever wanted to be a sword wielding hero, or menacing archer, then here’s your chance. They try and have an event once a month. Check out their Facebook page for the latest updates.
Tell them Juan Pablo sent you and they will hook you up, medieval style.