Everything about LARP weapons

With a LARP, of course, come LARP weapons. Whether you play a mysterious mage who has never touched a sword, or a brave knight sitting armored at breakfast, almost every LARP character has at least one LARP weapon at their disposal, and usually even several, ranging from a small dagger to a large war hammer. These are weapons that are often based on historical weapons or weapons from popular media in appearance, but with an added level of safety to keep the game enjoyable for both parties. The weapons are not made of steel and iron, but of a fibreglass core surrounded by a thick layer of foam rubber, reinforced with a layer of latex. It is important that your LARP-weapons are safe for when you want to have a good bash at a LARP event. Different LARPs and events have different rules regarding the safety of LARP-weapons, but usually, these broadly align with each other. 

To ensure the safety of LARP-weapons, strict rules have been established for the condition of the weapon. At the beginning of each LARP event, weapons must be checked by the game management to ensure there are no sharp edges sticking out of the weapon or cracks in the latex. If your weapons no longer meet the quality standards, it is best to discard them to avoid confusion. In some cases, a weapon can still be salvaged by applying a new layer of latex over the weapon, but this will likely be indicated by the game management conducting the weapon inspection.

The following rules are essentially established and will apply to all LARP events you participate in, whether in the Netherlands or abroad:

• Hard surfaces should only be felt in the handle. The rest of the weapon must be soft. 
• The handle must be securely attached to the rest of the larp weapon
• The core, which is often made of fibreglass, must not protrude from the weapon anywhere. This is very dangerous because fibreglass can be razor sharp and leave nasty splinters. Therefore, always check extra at the tip to ensure the fibreglass core does not protrude through the kevlar coating. 
• Especially long weapons should not be too floppy. Think of long sword blades and pole weapons. If a weapon is too floppy, you have no control over where you hit. Long weapons must therefore always have a sturdy core
• Thrusting is never allowed. The reason for this is, of course, the fibreglass core. But even with weapons that do not have a hard core, thrusting is almost never allowed, not even with spears. There are weapons specifically made to be safely used for thrusting; often these are still not allowed to be used for actual thrusting, partly due to the uniformity in rules. Always check this with the game leaders of the LARP.
• Weapons must be made of one piece and have no connections like flails or nunchakus. Such a connection is often not LARP-safe to make and handle, because the connection will still have to be made of a hard type of metal or plastic to be functional. You can injure yourself or someone else badly with it.
• Weapons must not be too heavy. Heavy weapons still deliver a hard impact, even if they are made of foam rubber. The rule is that the weight of your weapon should always be liftable with one hand, but you play out IC as if the weapon would be as heavy as if it were made of iron or steel.  

You cannot hold a LARP weapon in your hand for an entire event, so it is convenient to use a suitable holder for it, which you can hang on your belt, for example. Because LARP weapons have a layer of latex, it is important to consider this when choosing your holder: sharp (metal) edges can damage the latex layer and latex can have a chemical effect with copper and tin, causing both the metals and the latex to be affected.

Of all LARP-weapons,  bows and crossbows perhaps the most dangerous. With a bow of low poundage, you can still significantly injure someone. This applies to the people at the end of your arrow, but also to the archer themselves. Therefore, there are extra rules for archers at LARP events. At most LARPs, archers are required to take a bow test. This checks whether the archer is skilled enough.

At almost every event, the maximum allowed draw weight for a bow is 30 pounds, and shooting must be done from a minimum distance of 7 meters. Additionally, not every type of bow is allowed to be used at a LARP event. A compound bow, for example, shoots at a much higher speed than a traditional bow. Therefore, even at more contemporary or even futuristic LARP events, compound bows are not allowed.

Special rules also apply to crossbows. At many LARPs, crossbows are not allowed at all, but when they are permitted, there are always rules about the maximum allowed energy a crossbow can have. Always check with your game master before purchasing a crossbow!

Finally, there are rules for the arrows and shafts you use during archery at a LARP event. The tips must, of course, not be sharp, but the arrows should have either a bulge instead of a point or a flat piece of foam. This way, you can feel the arrows when you are hit, but no one gets impaled. Often, LARP organizations also ask you to make your arrows clearly identifiable, possibly with a piece of reflective tape, so that the arrows can be easily found in the dark. After shooting, each arrow must be checked for damage. Damaged arrows must be discarded, as they are no longer safe to shoot with.

You can probably imagine that shooting with a LARP arrow works differently than shooting with regular arrows with sharp points, due to the shifting of the center of gravity. This is another reason why you are often asked to take a bow test before you are allowed to archery at a LARP event. It requires quite a bit of practice to aim the arrows where you want them to land, and not in the eyes of your fellow players.

Some LARPs take place in a time period where firearms already existed, or are even very important. Often, to make it clear that no real firearms are used, NERF guns are used. These NERF weapons are often painted to better fit the style of the LARP. Depending on the rules of the specific LARP, the foam darts may or may not be used. An advantage of these darts is that you can clearly indicate when you are shooting at someone, which is not always as clear when you have to convey this by shouting. A disadvantage of NERF darts is that it can be very difficult to shoot well with them, which may result in the darts hitting your victims in the eyes. For this reason, some LARPs will ask you not to actually shoot with your NERF gun, but to clearly aim and shout what happens.

In some LARPs, airsoft guns are also used. The ammunition of these types of guns hits much harder than, for example, a LARP dart. Strict rules are often set by the organization regarding this. If airsoft guns are used in a LARP you want to participate in, read the regulations concerning these weapons carefully and ensure you are well prepared.

In LARPs where shooting with firearms is not allowed at all, other imitation firearms are sometimes used. As with all other LARP weapons, the OC safety of the participants takes precedence with firearms. 

In the world of LARP, there are an incredible number of different objects and weapons that can be used as a throwing weapon. For instance, there are LARP throwing knives, LARP throwing axes, and LARP throwing stars, but also LARP bricks, hand grenades, sticks of dynamite, wrenches, skulls, or even barrels of drink and rolling pins to use as (throwing)weapon. Objects that are allowed to be used as throwing weapons have no hard core and are made of soft foam with the purpose of being used as throwing weapons. Throwing weapons must not be smaller than the eye socket to prevent projectiles from entering the eye.

The fun part about these unique weapons is that they can also be used to decorate your camp. For example, if you have an IC kitchen in your camp, you can place or lay down LARP beer mugs or rolling pins, which you can then use as weapon when your encampment is attacked.

LARP shields consist, like the weapons, usually of a core, a layer of foam, and a latex coating for protection. The edges should be rounded and equipped with soft parts. This way you do not directly break your LARP weapon, or if you are very brave, your fists, on a hard wooden or metal shield.

LARP shields are, also like the weapons, based on historical shields or shields from popular media. Thus, there are shields in all different sizes, styles, and shapes, from small round bucklers to large kite shields, from elegantly painted elven shields to dragon wings, but also manhole covers, planks, or even doors that you can use as a shield.

LARP shields may almost never be used as weapon. In some LARPs, it is allowed to apply shield bashes if you have obtained a certificate for this. This always happens under the supervision and approval of the game management. 

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