I’m the wrong kind of player for the LARP environment.

I don’t keep e-mails.
I like an empty in-box and the amount of e-mail generated by LARPs is IMMENSE. I usually have about one page of e-mails in my inbox. When I get involved in a LARP, that balloons up to ten.

I’m too busy in my real life for between-game actions.
I honestly don’t know how people like and do it. I just don’t know where all that time is. Maybe they poached some of mine. Or maybe they use it when I’m not looking.

This time around, I tried to play an Influence-heavy character who kept up political ties. I just could not keep up with the demand.

I don’t play to win.
This is the big one. I tried this method — commonly known as “ method” around these parts. I played to win. And I was doing pretty good. But I felt like a sap the whole time.

I’m not saying people playing to win are bad or they’re playing the wrong way. Quite the contrary. They’re playing the game correctly. I’m the one who’s doing it wrong. No, it is the right way to play the game and that makes my way of playing the wrong way. I’ve spent too much time as a GM with the philosophy “If everybody isn’t having fun, I’m doing something wrong.” If I fuck with another player’s character, I feel like I’m not doing my job. I’ve found out I can be good at it when I try, but I don’t like doing it. And that means I’m always at a handicap in a PVP game.

So, I’m gonna go back to running games for a small circle of friends. That’s when I was having the most fun.

I think I’ll do just that.

PS: I think I’ll miss the costumes the most. 😛