Reaching Level 2: What comes after your first game?

You've attended your first Game of Enclave. Welcome! We're thrilled you decided to join us. But we know that some people might find that one rodeo isn't quite enough to know everything. That's fine: your first LARP can be a big experience and there's a lot of new information to process. That's why we've to put together some advice on what to do before your next game.

Graduating from New Player Training

If you feel like you need to run under the guidance of the New Player Trainer again that's fine. Just attend another Friday night like you did last time and explain to the person signing you in that it's not your first night but you'd like to do the New Player Training again and they'll sort you out.

But the main job of the NPTs is getting you ready to play Enclave safely and fairly. Everything else will come as you play, so you'll learn best by just getting out there. More importantly, LARP is a community activity and you will get the most out of your experience if you interact with the rest of the players.

What’s next?

The easiest way to become part of the community is to join our Discord. This is the best place to reach out to the Organizers and other players with any questions you might have. There's also a wealth of information about the game, crafting, and other LARP events happening around Melbourne.

One of the channels you might find most useful is the Tour Requests channel ("Tourist" is our name for somebody who's just looking to try out a house, or running with them for a special event.) But we also have spaces for sharing role-play, getting help with craft projects, and just sharing good old fashioned memes.

How to start touring

Touring with a house usually starts with just putting a request up. You could ask to run with somebody in particular, or just if there are any Houses with space for extra people that night. You might even want to try out a certain play style or a new type of weapon: ask here and a house who can accommodate you will probably show up. And don’t stress if I can’t remember what something is called; if you just ask for “Those people in purple who like to sing”, our community members will figure it out.

Get in early

Asking ahead of time makes life easier for everybody. Most houses will have a limited number of tourists they can take on a night, and might only bring spare gear if they know it’s going to be used. It also gives you time to get a bit of a costume together, even if it’s just whatever kind of neutral colours the house prefers you wear: if they wear black and blue, they might ask you to wear a plain black shirt and pants, so they can lend you a blue tabard to complete the look.

Showing up on the night is usually fine, but it can put a bit of extra stress on you having to approach each house and ask if they’ve got room for you. It might also lead to disappointment if you were hoping to run with one house in particular and they’re already full up or not even there that night!

Play the field

Not only is it fine to run with a few different houses, we encourage it. Especially if you’re new to LARP, trialling different groups is the best way to figure out what's best for you. You might LOVE the aesthetic of a house but find their play style doesn’t match yours, or that you really enjoy the social vibes of a house more than what you’re actually doing on field. You’ll never know until you try.

It can also help you avoid wasting money. Many a new LARPer has fallen into the trap of spending a bunch of money on really cool gear, only to find the things they love in video games or TTRPG aren’t actually what they enjoy when it comes to physically doing it. So before you invest in something, why not talk to a house who does the same thing and ask if you can borrow some gear and try it out with them? They’ll also be able to give you pointers on the best way to use it, so you get the most out of the experience.

Lastly, it’s a great way to meet people in the community. Getting to know everybody at Enclave might seem like a daunting task, but getting to know the regular players one house at a time is much easier, and you’ll build those relationships much quicker fighting side by side.