FAQ

System

Do you use the Cinematic Unisystem rules? They seem simple enough to use "live", particularly if you replaced dice with some other system.

I use a tweaked version of the Cinematic Unisystem that's been getting highly positive comments from players and Directors. More I cannot say, for certain reasons...

Specifically, the World of Darkness larp gets away with almost no NPCs because it is roleplaying-intensive. But how do you do that in Buffy, without "ye olde fight scenes"?

As someone who also runs a WoD LARP, I'd say that the WoD LARPS get away with it on paper , but in reality I find the Buffy and the WoD LARPS to be in equal need of NPCs (that is to say, not very much), and just as likely to come to a combat situation. It's just the Unisystem handles combat better.

Also how do you go about...

Fight scenes?

Cinematic Unisystem, with slight tweaks, works like a dream for LARPs. One of my Assistant Directors said that it was "the fastest, smoothest combat system [he'd] ever run." LARP combats have a tendency to take HOURS. Long, boring hours. I've taken naps while waiting for my Initiative to come up in a LARP combat. Not so with this one... not only are they quick, but the inclusion of Combat Maneuvers makes them much more entertaining to play. We've had people whose characters weren't involved in combat scenes stop to watch them because they were fun to watch.

Research scenes?

I don't like to drag these on too long, in LARP or tabletop. Either they'll find it or they won't, so I don't like to make them sit there making roll after roll. I prefer to call it a montage of people reading books and stuff.

Patrolling scenes?

Well, we run as close to real-time as possible (which means we run all night), so there's not much time where the Slayer and company have to go looking for trouble. It has come up a couple of times, and I was able to grab a couple of PC Vamp Minions who weren't doing anything and offer them up as grist for the mill (more on Minions later...).

But how does that actually work? Player seeks out a GM and says he wants to research so and so? Then said GM resolves the action and gives out the result?

Yup.

You mentioned that you use a "tweaked" Unisystem for the combat, and that it flows very smoothly and looks really cool.
What is your actual system of arbitration? You implied "rolling", but in LARPs that I've participated in, I've found that using props for arbitration (dice, cards, etc.), blows the rhythm of anything choreographic/movement-based to the degree that it's little more than a distraction, from my perspective (enough so that I don't do LARPs that use them); in fact,it slows things down in a combat-related scmeme far more than the old MET's system of bidding/RPS.
Is your system prop or gesture-based?

Well; I think I was unclear when I said it was fun to watch; I don't necessarily mean that because of the way people are moving, etc; it's mostly narrative descriptions of character actions, which are nonetheless quite entertaining. In reality, Player A isn't actually capable of picking up Player B and using him like a baseball bat, and even if he was, Player B isn't likely to let him do it. So we do it all narratively; though props and stuff do play a role.

We have two resolution methods: one uses cards and one uses gestures. Which one is used in any given situation depends on the preference of the players involved, as they both randomly generate the same numbers.

Logistics

What are the logistics of those events? How many players split into how many factions over how many game locations? The project I'm working on has nothing to do with convention play but i feel that if understand correctly your group dynamics I'll be able to transfer some of your experience.

We average about 30 players per game. We have two major factions, the "Scoobies" and the vampires, and there's been a small Initiative squad in town (3 people) whose story will be wrapped up after the next game. We also have one character, the bartender at the local demon bar, who doesn't take sides. Location-wise, we have a library for the Scoobies, a penthouse lair for the Vampire Crime Lord and his minions, and a bar for the bartender to run, which serves as neutral ground.

One other thing i'm wondering about is how often do you play and how does the typical session go?

We don't play nearly as often as I'd like; we have to wait for a convention to roll around that can fit it into the LARP schedule, so it's been a while between games. Episode Three was in January 2005, the last one was the preceding July(!). I expect to run another in this series in April, as well as a separate one at I-Con on Long Island in April as well.  We have neither the funds to rent our own hotel space for a game nor a house big enough to host all of our players, nor the funds or time to travel very far to find more cons. It's hard to say what a typical session is like at this point, it's still unfortunately too early for trends to develop either way.

I'm assuming the plot is planned in advance for each individual session, it wouldn't make much sense to let everything go freeform like in a Vampire LARP. It must be kinda hard not to be exclusively monster of the week.

The plot for the first episode was planned as far as the characters were all pre-generated and each had a goal. I made sure that their goals would cause them to cross paths, and I made sure each group knew something important that no one else knew. The plot grew out of everyone's attempts to accomplish their goals.

The plot for the second episode was a logical extension of that, which ended up being a lot of RP-intensive stuff leading up to the big "we hate everyone who isn't us" mass combat. At the end of it all, the bad guys clearly had the upper hand.

The third episode had numerous sub-plots introduced, but those took a back seat to the determination of some Players to pull out all the stops in order to wipe out the other side... unfortunately they got themselves pretty well slaughtered, which means the remaining and future bad guys will be much more careful if they're smart.

That all being said, the Buffy/Angel LARP is no less freeform than the World of Darkness LARP we are also running. I don't like to set up plot for a LARP per se , just to provide situations for the players to react to.

Story

Could you perhaps give us a little more detail about characters and plots? Detail the factions a bit? Must have been something more fleshed out than good vs evil?

Sure do, just go to this page for some more details on the plot and characters...

Miscellaneous

I'm very curious about the reasons that are preventing you from telling us more about your live-action version of the Cinematic Unisystem. Without more details, we're bound to assume you're playtesting some super-secret Eden project...

Well, I don't know if it's super secret.  Just keep an eye on future editions of Eden Studios Presents...

Is "weird forehead guy" a photo of a player in makeup or a photomamipulation? As I'm interested in the "spectacle" side of live gaming, I'm curious about the "special effects" used. I'd love to try a game with a makeup crew...

They are both photomanipulations.

Sadly, I haven't been able to get the makeup demo crew that I was hoping for in time for Episode Three.  But it makes me feel pretty good about my skills with Photoshop that you had to ask.