11) People Focus on the Good, but Never Forget a Slight
I believe people genuinely want to see the good in others, but humanity is full of the pettiest grudge-holding bitches ever. We spend a lot of time discussing the virtues of honor and trying our best to live by them. We know what it means to live with knightly behavior. It means to move beyond petty squabbles and forgive people for their weaknesses when they try to do better in the future.
We don’t, though. It’s okay, we’re all human. Dwelling too long on the fact that we hold grudges is just as bad as holding grudges. We have to strive to focus on the good in people, because we all need the benefit of the doubt at times.
12) Everything Runs in Cycles
I’m very happy that we have a huge batch of brand new enthusiastic players. I watch them asking the same questions and learning the same lessons as every new group of people that comes in. It almost seems to run in generations. It’s actually kind of interesting how neatly things work out that way. If you pay enough attention to the past, you get a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen in the future. The details might be different, but the situations will always be the same.
13) Be Decisive
When you are on the battlefield, you don’t always have time to weigh out every option. You have to move with the momentum you’ve got and head in a single direction. Any second you spend second guessing a movement is a moment of hesitation that gets you killed. When you’re dealing with disputes between players, you get a little more time to think things through, but if you show even a moment of wishy washy behavior, it bring sup a whole new pile of drama.
You should always try to be fair, and of course it goes without saying that you should always try to do what is right, but when you are in a position to make the decision, it is your duty to make that decision and stand by it. You don’t have time to dwell, the consequences are on their way.
14) The Rules May Seem Arbitrary, They’re Not
You spend enough time doing anything, and you’ll probably figure out the seemingly stupid little tiny rules are in place for a reason. It’s hard to explain to a new person why certain rules are written the way they are, and some people won’t agree with them. One of the rules I hear argued over a lot is the requirement to wear closed toed shoes when fighting. You only have to see one person loose a toe nail before you understand why that rule exists.
Some rules just seem stupid, unnecessary, and maybe even a little petty. You might look at a rule and think it’s only mean to be followed by the dumbest of dumb people. That might be true, some rules are there to protect the perpetually stupid from themselves. Other rules might seem like their built around a pre-existing prejudice, like rules that say you can’t give yourself a title. Maybe they are a little, but those rules are there to protect the meaning of the title given. To show that its something to strive for and work at.
New situations always mean new rules. If you stick around long enough, you’ll figure out why they exist.
Then you can decided if you think they should be changed or not.
15) You Won’t Ever Need To Fight If You Have Friends
In a game that centers around the concept of war, it might seem silly to think that you wouldn’t want to fight. There are plenty of players that show up only for that reason. There are plenty of boffer games that cater exclusively to people who want to fight. In a LARP, though, there are times when you don’t want to fight for a cornucopia of reasons. I find that the more friends you have, the less often you actually have to worry about fighting. No one wants to mess with a big group. ]
If you really want to get ahead, networking is the key to that. The more people you have in your corner, the bigger the obstacles you can convince to get out of your way. It always helps to have some support.
There you go. That’s the end of my 15 life lessons from LARPing. I’ve learned a lot more from the people I play with, and there are some lessons that I’ve learned through role playing that have given me a pretty good leg up in life, but those are probably for another time.
What lessons have you learned from your favorite hobbies?
In Case you missed them, go back and check out Part 1 and Part 2