I don’t know what came over me in the last few days. Since I set up this blog, I have been an unstoppable writing machine. I wrote something like 11,000 words in a 24 hour period. What the hell is my problem?
I’d been meaning to get a lot of these thoughts on paper for years. After I made my first post here, the seal had been broken. It’s a lot like like staying up all night at a LARP by drinking a gallon of coffee. The next morning you wake up early and flood the world with an unceasing torrent of urine.
A lot of these thoughts emerged from observing how LARPs are run in different parts of the country. I’ve sampled many styles of games – I know that there’s no correct way to run something as big and subjective as a LARP. But few people get a formal introduction to running a game – they sign up to staff, and shortly thereafter, they find themselves plunged into the deep end.
Running a LARP takes more responsibility than running a tabletop. A LARP director is one part Dungeon Master and one part Event Coordinator. If those two jobs weren’t complex enough, they also have to handle public relations, money, and forum moderation. (It’s not an easy job, but it’s very rewarding!)
So to get people up to speed, particularly people who are new at this, I want to expand this series of articles to create a somewhat comprehensive guide about running not just NERO, but live-combat fantasy LARPs in general.
Eventually, my goal is to compile these rants into a single document which I will make available for new staff members. As such, expect these posts to change over time as modify them and get feedback. (Please post feedback!)
What topics do you feel we should cover? When you started staffing, was there anything you needed to know? What sort of stuff should all LARP staff members be aware of?
I will gladly publish articles submitted for for Nerology so long as they are submitted under a Creative Commons License. I will gladly credit you! But because I may need to edit the submission, and may want to eventually sell this book, I reccommend this license. (all you have to do is mention it in your post)
Nerology 
#1 by phiend on June 24, 2009 - 6:51 pm
Yeah you have been a machine the past day or so. I had thought that it was a bunch of stuff you had already had written up and were just posting. That you wrote all this in the past day or so is pretty impressive.
#2 by phiend on June 25, 2009 - 6:28 pm
Some things I’d like to see.
I like the module ideas you put out, in fact I think it would be awesome if there was a repository available somewhere for such things. LARPA tired it for a while but it never seemed to go anywhere.
I think it would be helpful to have some info directed at new staff in how to prepare to start a chapter. Things like how to develop an early plot line, and what things to avoid when doing that. Things to focus on like early NPC characters and properly training your staff. The pitfalls of new chapters; wanting to do thing completely differently than the established rulebook, horrible NPC to PC ratio’s, trying to run the game that you want to play instead of the game that your players want to play. Stuff like that.
#3 by Daniel Burke on July 2, 2009 - 3:11 pm
Really loving all the articles so far. I’d love to see something on an issue I keep bumping into with newer players who are NPC’ing, making enough legitimate RP roles for new NPCs.
Been blessed lately with an influx of eager new faces…not all of whom are comfortable or in some cases capable of engaging in the physical aspects of NERO. The basic ‘you are a peasant’ roleplay just doesn’t hold much water for me, I’d love to find a way to incorporate these people into meaningful RP that forwards story progression in some way or at least adds functional depth rather than just a means to occupy an NPC that someone cannot necessarily use.