Jumping Right In

The LARP at Otakon 2010 is open for signup!

If you already know what a LARP is, and want to play in this year's game, please go to our signup form and select three characters you would like to play. (You'll only be playing one character. You'll be choosing three just in case someone else registers for your top choice before you do.)

The deadline to sign up for the LARP before the convention is April 30, 2010. If you can't (or don't want to) sign up before the convention, signups for the LARP are also open in person on Friday afternoon at the convention itself.

What's a LARP?

If you've ever played a pencil-and-paper role-playing game (RPG) such as D&D, GURPS, or a U.S. Presidential election, then Live Action Role-Playing, or LARP, is easy to explain. It is, in effect, an RPG played live with special rules to allow interaction between the characters in real time and space.

If you've never played a pencil-and-paper RPG, you can think of a LARP as a game of "make believe" with rules. The LARP is played within the boundaries of the entire convention center (within reasonable limits to keep the players from getting in the way of other convention attendees).

Membership Has Its Rewards

You must be a registered member of Otakon in order to play in the Otakon LARP. Be sure to pick up your convention badge before coming to the LARP to sign up.

Whether you sign up pre-con or you sign up at the door, you can pick up your character at the LARP Room (Room 336) on Friday afternoon at the convention. The times will be listed in the convention's Program Guide and on a poster outside the LARP Room.

Some Boring History!

The Otakon LARP has been running since the second Otakon in 1995. In that decade and a half, we've grown to host 250 players, the largest anime LARP in the world. The plot of the game has ranged from magic to science fiction to mystery, and everything in between. The game has been set in Baltimore, Neo-Baltimore, Mega-Baltimore...you get the idea.

Criminals and cops, corporate overlords and rabble-rousers; anyone from Monkey D. Luffy to Motoko Kusanagi could be stalking the streets looking for money to make or criminals to catch. In the LARP, you're invited to become a part of it all: Whether it's just for a few hours or all weekend long, join hundreds of your fellow otaku and step into the shoes of your favorite anime character in real time. If this sounds good to you, signup is available via our online signup page or in person at the convention. Don't delay, because if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem!