Is Otherworld a LARP?

Otherworld has similarities to LARPs (live-action role-playing) and TTRPGs (tabletop role-playing games.) There are also important differences we want to explain. Here's why:

If you come to Otherworld when what you actually want is a LARP, you’ll either spend the weekend frustrated or else try to make Otherworld into a LARP, which ends up frustrating everyone around you.

Characters

In most LARPs and TTRPGs, you create a character and act as that character.

Although there are plenty of "pretend" elements at Otherworld, we discourage people from making up a persona different from their own. Instead, we talk about spending the weekend as a "heroic version of yourself" -- your true personality with certain positive traits amplified.

An Adventure Weekend is an environment where each participant can learn more about themselves and expand what they’re capable of. In our experience, someone who’s playing a role misses out on a huge part of what Otherworld offers.

"Bleed"

Some LARPers talk about “bleed”, when emotions within the game spill over into your real self and vice-versa. For some gamers, this is negative, a thing to be avoided.

At Otherworld, bleed is the whole point. As noted, Otherworld participants aren’t playing characters; they’re heroic versions of their real selves. There may be parts of the story that make you sad or angry, and we’re confident there’ll be parts that bring you joy.

Some people tell us they left Otherworld with the impetus to better something in their real lives and that this happened because they were emotionally impacted by their adventure. If that level of emotional investment isn’t a good fit for you, maybe this isn’t your year to adventure with us.

Advancement

In many games, your character gets better over time. After achieving goals, you might gain additional spells or better weapons, or be awarded a title or given a badge, something that signifies you’re progressing.

Otherworld doesn’t do that. You’ll finish your adventure with the same skills and the same swag you started with. We don’t know which parts of the adventure will come easily to you and which will be more of a stretch. We hope you’ll try something you find challenging and scary, and after you do it, the reward is an increased sense of self.

One participant said it better than we could: "At a LARP, your character gets better. At Otherworld, you do."

Flexibility

In TTRPGs, you can take any action, limited only by your character’s skills and your powers of description. Most LARPs are more constrained but remain open-ended.

There’s flexibility at Otherworld as well. Your actions can and will impact the story unfolding around you. But there are certain limitations we impose that it’s good to be aware of.

In the same way we won’t allow participants to be hurtful to other participants, groups cannot harm other groups or make things harder for them. Your group will have goals to meet, but those goals won't put you in competition with other participants. It’s not unusual to see parties spend their own coins to buy dinner for a group that doesn't have money.

At the same time, there are ways we limit how much you can assist another group. After all, just as we want you to have the satisfaction of completing your mission, we want those other groups to feel that same pride when they achieve their own goals.

If you're looking for the kind of experience Otherworld provides, we'd love to have you join us!

Convinced Otherworld is for you? Visit our Registration page to sign up now!

Have questions or concerns? Please contact us!