What is LRP?
Live Action Role Play is a interactive theatre experience, which allows the participants to choose a character, what that characters skills are, what their backstory would be. On the event, they act as that character for the full event, fighting with LRP weapons and shooting realistically painted NERF guns at the enemy, talking to anyone with information and interacting with other participants to achieve personal or group goals, as well as the goals set in the event by the ref team.
Costume
The nice thing about Wasteland UK, and the setting, is that costume should be easy and cheap to assemble. Wasteland UK is set in a post nuclear wasteland that is now Britain 80 years after a 2 hour war between many countries (see the setting page for more information). Because of the war effort, popular culture and fashion became less of a priority, fashion has to an extent stayed the same since the 1940’s/1950’s, although there have been some changes to make clothes last longer and protect the wearer. You can see some examples of costumes in the Gallery section of this website.
Most players raid their wardrobe for old or tired looking clothes they no longer wear. Topping these up with cheap purchases from charity shops. Props are very much the same in terms of making or buying them. Most towns have charity shops with some old looking items that can be repurposed!
This means Wasteland UK is a great place to start your LRP hobby, or to try for the first time if it is outside of your usual LRP genre, no need for expensive new kit. Unless you want to, of course!
Weapons
Wasteland UK uses two different types of weapons, LRP safe melee weapons and NERF guns.
LRP safe Melee weapons have a rod core running through the centre, this is then surrounded by foam and painted to look realistic with latex. Our players use anything from daggers and maces to “Bricks on sticks”. It really is what you are comfortable using.
NERF guns are ideal, reasonably priced, physical representations of the kinds of guns now available and used in a post-apocalyptic world.
These can be easily modified from the standard colours available on the market, by filling down the logos and painting them with model and acrylic paints bought from any art or model shop.
There are many photo’s in our gallery that will give you some good ideas of the kinds of things our players and crew already use.
Never LRP’d before? Don’t worry!
We have a diverse range of players and crew, that includes the kinds of experience they have within LRP. From players who have never been to an event before to those with years of experience. Everyone is welcome, and all of our participants are more than happy to help with any questions you have outside of an event (as well as quietly on event).
We also have a team of refs who are available via email, phone or our Facebook page ready to help with any questions you have before you come for the first time. The refs are always on hand to have a chat and help with anything you need to know, don’t understand or just are curious about on event too. No question will be laughed at, or will be seen as silly. We promise.
Player Numbers
Our events usually have between 30 and 35 players. This is a great number for plenty of time with refs, and excellent roleplay opportunities, as well as allowing our refs to be able to write plot based on your character as well as “world plot” that everyone can get involved in.
How can you get involved?
Check out our bookings and events pages for information on up-coming events. Then decide if you want to play, or crew.
Players buy a ticket, submit their booking form with their personal details, as well as a character background and list of skills, you can find full details of game mechanics, rules and character generation on our Rules page.
On event, you will play your character at all times from Friday, Time In (start of game) to Sunday, Time Out (end of game). Facing everything the crew, and the other players, say and do. Reacting the way your character would and facing the consequences of those actions.
During the weekend crew members will play parts with vital information for the players, once that information has been delivered, the players then have free choice as to how they deal with it as a group, or individual!
Crew volunteer their time to “play the other side” for the players. The Ref Team write a plot document for the event, which details the parts they will play, and a Ref will be briefing them and guiding them throughout the event.
These parts could be anything from non-intelligent Feral Ghouls to very intelligent “real” people with important information. So there is a good mix of fighting and talkative roleplay to be had as a crew member. We also try to have a part of each of the crew, that is in some way interesting or “special”. This means that most crew members get a special part that they can make their own – almost like being a player for a length of time.