Setting up a common armoury or newbie stash or however you call it.

At a certain point, I should say above a certain number of people - a larp group grows beyond the point where you know everybody and can pay attention to everybody. There would also be a sort of population boom - the bigger it is, the more folks will start coming.

Now what I'm going to argue about is the benefits of setting up a common armory with spare kits for the new guys. Lets be reasonable most of them start with nothing. You don't want folks with jeans and T-shirts and we've grown beyond the point where everybody is everyone's friend who'd teach him how to craft his stuff. Not to mention there are a lot more new guys so time and money and effort becomes an issue. A lot of groups have loaner kits - just a sword and(maybe) a tabard or tunic. I'll argue about taking this a bit further. Let's talk about setting a common armory.

  And by Armory, I don't mean just clothes and some weapons - I mean everything! Weapons, clothes, armor, shields and basic equipment. Here in Sofia, I keep the main common armory and it occupies much of the attic. Yes yes, the person dealing with it will need space. He will also need some help, at least in the start - be it with extra hands or money or old equipment nobody needs(for now). 

What are the cons? Well, its time consuming and definitely a resource drain. Often the task is not appreciated by others as well. Keep in mind to always remind people that you are not a charity or a given benefit.


What are the benefits now? They come three-fold.

1st - much less immersion breaking jeans and T-shirts in games.Even new guys will be able to blend in easily and play without gear related limitations from the start.
2nd - the above mentioned fact will keep a lot of people in the hobby, that would otherwise just give up and go before they pick up the basics. By allowing them to try out stuff for free - they can decide exactly what they want to play and how to equip themselves.
3rd The extra gear does not have to be newbie only. For example the tolkien game from the previous post.

By providing equipment from the common armoury - I made sure that the Gondorian tower guard actually looked like god damn Tower Guard from Minas Tirith.

Our orcs(plenty of first timers among them) looked like proper orcs! Yes I used up a lot of scrap leather and canvas and bones but its ok.

If necessary I could have equipped a few more gents. The point is that the spare kit does not have to be junk. It can be good quality stuff that can be used by game organizers when they need to give a faction the look that it requires so that they are believable.

One thing I don't advice is giving away consumable items arrows - arrows are lost way too easy by inexperienced archers.

On armour - chainmail - the simple chainmail shirt tutorial part 1

I've made enough progress with the commissioned chainmail shirt to make part one of the tutorial on how to make your own. Mind you part two won't be coming soon - it will take me a while to get to that point.

Anyway, on the point. As stated before - homemade chainmail is the obvious choice for good quality larp armor when you are on a budget and can't afford much. However, making something big like a shirt or a hauberk is the biggest possible project you can engage with so don't take on it without previous experience.

So - chainmail body armor - what do we need?

TOOLS. - the usual for making chainmail - pliers, a cutter of some sorts, mandrel and optionally electric drill.

BUDGET - depends on the material, the size of the shirt and your local prices. The ones you see above are from galvanized wire and cost about 30$ apiece in terms of raw materials.



First of all a bit of extra info. Chainmail body armor comes in 3 main types, depending on the size, namely - vests, shirts and hauberks.

After seeing my awesome photoshoping skills, back on topic. The given numbers are rough estimates of course, based on my own experience for standard 2mm thick wire and 10mm inner diameter of the links. Mind you there are hauberks with short sleeves and shirts with long sleeves so again - the numbers could be different.

The sleeveless vest is the easiest to do and a lot of larpers don't do anything bigger. However often it gives an "unfinished" look - it depends on the rest of your costume.

The chainmaille shirt is the most widespread type. Usually it has short sleeves covering down to the upper thigh. The tutorial will be for one of these.

The chainmaille hauberk is the biggest possible project and a major undertaking. Its slow to make, and heavy to wear for most people. On the bright side - its a full set of armor that covers  your body, arms, upper legs and if you have an integrated coif - your head as well and thus it can serve as a costume on its own. Just get some feet wraps and a norman kite shield and you are good to go with a garb that will be accepted pretty much everywhere.



So, how to make your own chainmail shirt?

First of all you'll need to make a lot of rings. That involves a lot of  coils - its better to wind all or most of your wire first, instead of making some every day. It will save you time spent on dismantling and re-mantling the winding equipment. To give you a rough estimate - here is what 8-9 kilograms of coils looks like. 

If you are making a shirt you'll need about 1.5 the amount shown - if you are making  a hauberk, twice that.
Don't worry if you have left overs. They will be used elsewhere.


The chainmail shirt can be divided on several parts - the main body, the sleeves, the skirt and the sides(they are optional - depends on how big you are yourself)

We start with making the main body of the shirt. For this I made a lot of veery long chains. 22 of them at 1.5 meters long each. Mind you this is for someone smaller than me. You should make more if you broad shouldered.

This is going to be the main body of our shirt - front and back combined. Once I weave them together in a big rectangular piece as shown above, I will check if it needs another 1-2 chains to adjust the size, then simply open a hole in the  middle for the neck. In the next part of the tutorial I will measure, adjust then close the sides. If you are making a chainmaille vest, that's when you stop. 

Basic larp costume - the benefit of trift stores and flea markets

After the doctor diagnosed me with periathritis of the shoulder yesterday, I did the only logical thing a larper can do in the circumstances. I went shopping. Unfortunately shopping for me doesn't mean going to the mall  squeaking and buying $100 t-shirts. First I went to a local hunting shop and bought myself a $200 hungarian recurve bow just to show my periathritis I mean business. The bow is by the way Awesome with a well deserved capital letter and you will likely see additional blog posts on archery tips, a review as well as a quiver guide in the mostly foreseeable future, depending on how fast my shoulder heals. 

Anyway after that well deserved treat I went to the flea market. Did I ever mention flea markets are a gold mine? No? OK let me say so now, flea markets, trift stores, second hand shops are all gold mines. Old leather jackets are the cheapest source of real leather you will find but they are only the tip of the iceberg.
The next very useful thing you can find cheap is tough leather belts. And god is my witness you will need belts all the time.

Well maybe not THAT many belts, but for example - I have four - one for my hauberk, one for my coat of plates, one weapons belt and another for the waterskin and purse. Can't cut that number any lower, so I was naturally happy to get a pair of real leather heavy duty belts. You know there is strong, then there is Army strong and then there is Soviet army will work all day every day just add bullets strong. That was ten bucks well spent, the big one can probably support my full weight.

But the real gem and I should really have bought the two of them not just one, is an old rifleman's ammunition pouch for bolt-action rifle clips.  To put it simple - best 5 bucks I've spent in a while. They are for the lack of a better word - perfect for the task. Tough as a pair of old boots(and made from the same material), easy to hang from your belt and great addition to any character. The bonus point(questionable some might find it a minus) is that its old and well worn, it lacks the fake plastic look that comes with most items in online stores.

 

As for the possible uses, well there are two(3 really if you decided to do both)

One is to use it for purely RP safekeeping - trinkets, valuables, your coin, a potion or two(and yes I made another potion from a mini bottle) can be kept fairly safely inside and will certainly be less intriguing to some people than a jiggling coin purse on your waist. 

 Another possibility is to use it for keeping off game items - in my case keys, some aspirine, perhaps a couple of bandaids and a swiss army knife. Alas my magical talking stone (i.e. the phone) is just a bit too big to fit in. Perhaps if I oil the leather to soften it a bit, it will work. Normally people should not carry their phones as well - there is nothing more irritating that a call coming in the middle of a fight. Still having one or two around for emergencies is a wise idea and the tough leather pouch can keep it safe during the game.

Of course you can always do both and keep ingame items in one and offgame items in the other pouch.
Once I get another some free time I'll go search for new finds.

Getting gear for a modern or futuristic larp

Well then. Some people think otherwise, but larp games that don't involve medieval or fantasy settings work quite well too. They are also far less taxing when it comes to getting your gear. I mean come on you need only to get some old clothes from your locker.

Civilian clothing etc. is something you will manage in no time, and a visit to the second hand shop will help for the rare occasion where you lack something. However there are other types of gear that will take some thinking.

Take for example Hazmat suits. I mean come on - hazard suits are awesome and well if its Fallout or STALKER pretty much a must.

So how do we get a suitable alternative?  First of all, check for Workman clothing shops around your area. They often have chemical/dust/acid protection suits.

Basically all you need is a gas mask and some gizmoes and voila your rad suit is ready! Besides it will be a real chem protection suit to boot! Oh yeah they also got stuff like disposable lab coats, nurse and doctor outfits etc. if you want a more classic scientist look or medical personel.

If you don't have a gas mask and there is no army surplus store around, don't worry you can still find substitutes. Yeah...workman clothes/tool shops are a boon aren't they?

An eye shield like this one can help you seal your suit, you can also get dust masks that will pass for gas masks just as well, because...you know - they ARE ones.

That spectrum covered, what about soldiers? I mean its obvious we'd have some. For camouflage clothing, I'd say again army surplus stores, airsoft stores, hunting stores...All have it as well as tactical vests, helmets and so on. A balaclava is dirt cheap and quite enough on its own if you are not supposed to be regular military. For a more sci-fi look, check out the sports goods, namely motorcycle armor.

All in all, motorcycle armor is pretty much instantly ready sci-fi soldier armor that you only need to put on. You can add some extra stuff and paintjob but thats it. Get a full set, and get it 2nd hand it probably cost you about a 100 bucks, and you don't exactly need it in pristine condition, considering what's about to happen to it.

With some creativity and you will look just like a riot Robocop or a generic sci fi trooper.