Last week we went to the Wallonian department of Nature in order to see if we could use a part of one of the largest forest in Belgian (2000ha big) for Banapsis. Sadly we were turned down, due to the fact that our event would disrupt natural life in the forest. Certainly since all the forest life is already disrupted during hunting season.
This again shows that larp in Belgium really needs a dedicated terrain where people acknowledge that we are certainly not more disruptive than hunting :-).
Anyway, using Google satellite maps we are again looking into nice big forests for Banapsis. We've found a few that in 1st instance look good, so we'll have to check them out in real life.
Also our trip to the Wallonian department was not a real loss, we were given info about magazines wherein we might advertise to ask private property owners to let us use (in exchange for a fee) their forest. But the department people did state that chances in success with this approach would be minimal :-(
So if anyone reading this blog has a forest of at least 20ha let us know, we need to talk :-)
Monday, August 27, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Larp summer over for me
Well, it's August, Avatar and Conquest of Mythodea are over.
While I didn't go to Avatar I heard positive and negative feedback about it. On the positive side it was deemed much more professional than previous editions. On the negative side it's still an expensive larp and sanitation installations weren't that good (i.e. for some camps it was a long walk). If something is done about the price I might go back to Avatar next year, but I'm also interested in the Weave of Fate larp in Sweden that'll take place at the same moment.
Beginning August I did go to Conquest of Mythodea as an NPC and it was great!
Low price for participation (29 euro) and I could even get meals from Tuesday till Saterday for a total of 28 euro. That are far better prices than what one would pay for the same at Avatar. Yes I was an NPC, but that meant only 4 hours of duty a day. The rest of the day I was free to do what I wanted. Being an NPC at Conquest actually means you are canon fodder, but I had some great fights and even a very nice one-on-one duel.
Also the look of the camps and the city is so much better at Conquest than at Avatar. Almost no OOC tents seen in the PC's camp.
Negative about Conquest were the Dixie toilets, they weren't emptied too often, but after 1 day I found next to the Dixies (a bit hidden) real water toilets, so that made up for the stinking Dixies. Also good showers with (at some times) very hot water.
All in all, I'm certain to go back to Conquest next year (they announced that NPC's would get more RPG instead of just hack 'n slash), Avatar is something I'll have to see. I'd love to play again with my Avatar group, but I won't stand paying alot for a so-so larp.
With Conquest my Larp summer ended, next larp on my agenda is Maelstrom (UK) in September and my own Manticore in November and of course lot's of work for Banapsis.
While I didn't go to Avatar I heard positive and negative feedback about it. On the positive side it was deemed much more professional than previous editions. On the negative side it's still an expensive larp and sanitation installations weren't that good (i.e. for some camps it was a long walk). If something is done about the price I might go back to Avatar next year, but I'm also interested in the Weave of Fate larp in Sweden that'll take place at the same moment.
Beginning August I did go to Conquest of Mythodea as an NPC and it was great!
Low price for participation (29 euro) and I could even get meals from Tuesday till Saterday for a total of 28 euro. That are far better prices than what one would pay for the same at Avatar. Yes I was an NPC, but that meant only 4 hours of duty a day. The rest of the day I was free to do what I wanted. Being an NPC at Conquest actually means you are canon fodder, but I had some great fights and even a very nice one-on-one duel.
Also the look of the camps and the city is so much better at Conquest than at Avatar. Almost no OOC tents seen in the PC's camp.
Negative about Conquest were the Dixie toilets, they weren't emptied too often, but after 1 day I found next to the Dixies (a bit hidden) real water toilets, so that made up for the stinking Dixies. Also good showers with (at some times) very hot water.
All in all, I'm certain to go back to Conquest next year (they announced that NPC's would get more RPG instead of just hack 'n slash), Avatar is something I'll have to see. I'd love to play again with my Avatar group, but I won't stand paying alot for a so-so larp.
With Conquest my Larp summer ended, next larp on my agenda is Maelstrom (UK) in September and my own Manticore in November and of course lot's of work for Banapsis.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Avatar and Conquest of Mythodea are coming
At the end of July the Avatar larp will take place in Belgium.
I've been playing in this fest larp for 4 years. Last year I couldn't participate due to Dragonbane and this year I won't out of principle.
I've always been part of the "Vlammende Adelaars" (Flaming Eagles) faction. And while I had some good moments I always remember the bad parts. The way the rules sometimes change during the game makes me angry about it. But also the way the organisers throw away money on stupid stuff is just crazy. The Avatar organisation publishes their bookaccounts every year, so we can see where all the money goes to. E.g. I strongly have my doubts about the need to spend around 500 euro/year on internet hosting.
I once read a report where they expected to get about 80'000 euro IN (reasonable amount of money) and then calculate that they'll spend 75'000 euro (most on stupid stuff), reality then showed them the numbers were changed: 75'000 euro IN and 80'000 euro out!
And then they increased the participation fee to cover the costs (at least 60 euro's for just a laminated card, some pocker chips money, stinking toilets and a patch of grass to put my own tent on).
Having done a lot of larps in- and outside Belgium made me realise that Avatar is actually no longer a larp (at least 2 years ago it wasn't), it's just an expensive camping site where people have a BBQ and wear Larp clothes. So no more Avatar for me, unless someone can prove to me that they changed.
This is an example of what I never want to happen to Banapsis. All the money gained from it should be invested back into it to improve the experience of the participants. Also Banapsis should be self-sustainable, this means that we'll never spend more money than we get from the participants fee.
So since I won't be doing Avatar this summer I'll be going to Conquest of Mythodea. Instead of the outrageous fee of AvatarI just paid 24 euro's. Conquest is run by a company and it's clearly visible, lot's of high quality larp props, good terrain, ... All the things I hoped Avatar had. Of course Conquest is your typical boffer larp, meaning it's mostly fighting (as Avatar is). I don't mind that since they advertise it as a boffer larp. At Conquest I can play the warrior I always liked to play, shield charging is allowed (never got a complaint about it :-) ), while in Belgium it would earn me a warning. Of course in Germany most warriors wear steel armour, so that might be the reason why hitting hard and shield charges are allowed. I.e. in such armour you don't feel it when someone hits hard. Only negative comment on Conquest is that the ref's direct the NPC's to much and are in OOC clothes.
I've been playing in this fest larp for 4 years. Last year I couldn't participate due to Dragonbane and this year I won't out of principle.
I've always been part of the "Vlammende Adelaars" (Flaming Eagles) faction. And while I had some good moments I always remember the bad parts. The way the rules sometimes change during the game makes me angry about it. But also the way the organisers throw away money on stupid stuff is just crazy. The Avatar organisation publishes their bookaccounts every year, so we can see where all the money goes to. E.g. I strongly have my doubts about the need to spend around 500 euro/year on internet hosting.
I once read a report where they expected to get about 80'000 euro IN (reasonable amount of money) and then calculate that they'll spend 75'000 euro (most on stupid stuff), reality then showed them the numbers were changed: 75'000 euro IN and 80'000 euro out!
And then they increased the participation fee to cover the costs (at least 60 euro's for just a laminated card, some pocker chips money, stinking toilets and a patch of grass to put my own tent on).
Having done a lot of larps in- and outside Belgium made me realise that Avatar is actually no longer a larp (at least 2 years ago it wasn't), it's just an expensive camping site where people have a BBQ and wear Larp clothes. So no more Avatar for me, unless someone can prove to me that they changed.
This is an example of what I never want to happen to Banapsis. All the money gained from it should be invested back into it to improve the experience of the participants. Also Banapsis should be self-sustainable, this means that we'll never spend more money than we get from the participants fee.
So since I won't be doing Avatar this summer I'll be going to Conquest of Mythodea. Instead of the outrageous fee of AvatarI just paid 24 euro's. Conquest is run by a company and it's clearly visible, lot's of high quality larp props, good terrain, ... All the things I hoped Avatar had. Of course Conquest is your typical boffer larp, meaning it's mostly fighting (as Avatar is). I don't mind that since they advertise it as a boffer larp. At Conquest I can play the warrior I always liked to play, shield charging is allowed (never got a complaint about it :-) ), while in Belgium it would earn me a warning. Of course in Germany most warriors wear steel armour, so that might be the reason why hitting hard and shield charges are allowed. I.e. in such armour you don't feel it when someone hits hard. Only negative comment on Conquest is that the ref's direct the NPC's to much and are in OOC clothes.
Friday, June 22, 2007
The rules also apply to the organisers
That is one of the most important rule of Banapsis. Whatever rule we set upon our participants will also be followed by the organisers.
One of those rules will be that fabric of the costumes must be natural, that means no synthetic fabric. There are a number of reasons for this; one is that synthetic fabric is not really authentic to the look we want to achieve, but the most important reason is that Banapsis will have open fires (aka campfires). Since people will cook at those fires their clothes will come close to the fire. Synthetic fabric will melt and possible burn the flesh under it (I once had it happen to me, so I learned that lesson the hard way).
So now that we have 400m of fabric I checked them out and it seems that there are a few synthetic fabrics amongst them, not that many, but still these fabrics will not be used by us in Banapsis. So now that we removed those fabrics we still have a rather big amount of fabric. The coming weeks will be spend making costume designs and making the costumes themselves.
As said before, we won't open our website unless we have at least one costume of each race/faction.
One of those rules will be that fabric of the costumes must be natural, that means no synthetic fabric. There are a number of reasons for this; one is that synthetic fabric is not really authentic to the look we want to achieve, but the most important reason is that Banapsis will have open fires (aka campfires). Since people will cook at those fires their clothes will come close to the fire. Synthetic fabric will melt and possible burn the flesh under it (I once had it happen to me, so I learned that lesson the hard way).
So now that we have 400m of fabric I checked them out and it seems that there are a few synthetic fabrics amongst them, not that many, but still these fabrics will not be used by us in Banapsis. So now that we removed those fabrics we still have a rather big amount of fabric. The coming weeks will be spend making costume designs and making the costumes themselves.
As said before, we won't open our website unless we have at least one costume of each race/faction.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
400m of fabric is now ours
Yesterday I collected the 400m of the fabric.
Most of the fabric is usable for Banapsis costumes, others will be used for other stuff.
I also had a talk with their PR guy and they sadly won't sponsor us, but we are still allowed to buy extra fabric if we need it. So all in all not a bad deal.
In the meantime we've gotten international feedback. One person already joined the team (a Swede) and another (a German) is on the brink of joining. Both of them were at Dragonbane and therefor know the goal we're trying to reach with Banapsis.
In the summer we will make some videos about Banapsis. Some will show the way of life, others the way we want you to fight, etc.
Most of the fabric is usable for Banapsis costumes, others will be used for other stuff.
I also had a talk with their PR guy and they sadly won't sponsor us, but we are still allowed to buy extra fabric if we need it. So all in all not a bad deal.
In the meantime we've gotten international feedback. One person already joined the team (a Swede) and another (a German) is on the brink of joining. Both of them were at Dragonbane and therefor know the goal we're trying to reach with Banapsis.
In the summer we will make some videos about Banapsis. Some will show the way of life, others the way we want you to fight, etc.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Affordable fabric
Last week we made a deal with a big international fabric manufacturer. Thanks to them we got all the needed fabric for Banapsis at an excellent low price. Since I'll be contacting them for a possible sponsorship I won't give their name yet. But I hope that soon we'll have them as one of our sponsors. Which in turn will result in us being able to extend the deal also with our participants. That way our participants will be able to get their fabric at a cheap price.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Making it affordable
As a former student, I know how difficult it can be to get the right gear/costume when you are on a budget. Since Banapsis sets high standards on costume and gear the costs will be higher than for a normal (Belgian) larp. Cause for a normal (Belgian) larp black modern shoes are ok, while for Banapsis you must have medieval style shoes.
First of all we are at this moment in the process of contacting shops/manufacturers/... to get stuff as cheap as possible, this goes from fabric, latex swords, mugs/goblets to shoes. Our goal is that for some 100 euro the Banapsis participant on a budget will be able to get all the needed stuff to make his/her costume and gear.
Of course with 100 euro you'll have to make almost everything yourself (including the shoes). But we will provide guidelines on how to make it all yourself.
Furthermore we will make sure that those with a bigger budget will be able to buy stuff at reasonable prices. For example good shoes starting at 50 euros, decent latex sword at 60 euros, ...
That way Banapsis is not a larp for the rich, but a larp for the dedicated roleplayer.
PS: if any of the readers here has any contact for buying stuff, let me know at jeremy at banapsis dot eu
First of all we are at this moment in the process of contacting shops/manufacturers/... to get stuff as cheap as possible, this goes from fabric, latex swords, mugs/goblets to shoes. Our goal is that for some 100 euro the Banapsis participant on a budget will be able to get all the needed stuff to make his/her costume and gear.
Of course with 100 euro you'll have to make almost everything yourself (including the shoes). But we will provide guidelines on how to make it all yourself.
Furthermore we will make sure that those with a bigger budget will be able to buy stuff at reasonable prices. For example good shoes starting at 50 euros, decent latex sword at 60 euros, ...
That way Banapsis is not a larp for the rich, but a larp for the dedicated roleplayer.
PS: if any of the readers here has any contact for buying stuff, let me know at jeremy at banapsis dot eu
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