New Players

Junior League: FanWar has a Battle League available (for kids 9 and up) as well as an Quest League and Advanced Leagues (for kids 9 and up who want more complexity and want to play in the ongoing storyline). These three type of events are held all over the Bay Area.  There is usually  a fee of $20 for a half day (about 3 hours). I supply all the equipment and train players in the rules at each event, so no experience is necessary to join, though new players must attend a Battle or Quest event before being evaluated for Advanced Leagues.

You can learn the Basic Rules by watching these three videos.

Here are some Sample Battles of what our LARP Battles look like.

For more information on the Leagues, check out the FantasyWarplay YouTube Channel and watch some sample adventures.  If you want to learn the rules, check out the videos below.

Introduction to the Game
What is Fanwar LARP?
In Live Action Role Playing (LARP), players pretend to be someone else, living in a different time or place, and acting out events that might happen in that world.
Many of these games involve battles, and so LARPers use safe, padded props that look like weapons to act out the combat. Unlike in a play where everyone has certain lines to say and the story is set, in LARP, the players each act out a certain person and make their own decisions for that person as the game evolves.
Live Action Role Playing is a combination of sports, drama, and table-top role playing games. It has many forms and settings all over the world, and has been a popular pastime for kids and adults for generations. Every child who plays at pretend has done LARP, although they didn’t know they were doing it. We are not the creators of LARP, but rather, those keeping the tradition of imaginative play alive in our culture.
Our LARP is specifically medieval fantasy based, with swords, spells, and dragons, but many other settings exist with other LARP groups and players. We have created a set of rules to keep everyone playing safely, fairly, and focused. That is what the FanWar LARP Rule Book is for. Our game has been continuously added onto by all the players, so that over time it has stayed fresh and exciting. The game world we use has also been affected by hundreds of players over time, so when you step into our story, you are entering a long history of adventures, mysteries and battles!
All the steps to learning to play the game have been clearly organized for you in this book, from the simplest and most important in the front, to the very complex and rare in the back. The book is broken up into chapters based on how complex of a game you are involved in. Simple battles can be done using just the first Chapters.
More complex stories can be told using character creation rules, and the most complex of adventures can be taken on using the entire set.
Welcome to our game. We love what we do, and hope you enjoy it as well.

“All the works of man have their origin in creative fantasy.
What right have we then to depreciate imagination.”
– Carl Jung –

Etiquette: The Three Rules of Life
Before we can play the game, we need to make sure we all know how to play fairly and safely. Below are three rules that will help you not just as a FanWar player, but in the rest of your life as well!
1. Take Care of the People – Never do anything that will hurt someone.
Kindness Always Wins. We are here to play and have fun. If someone is ever hurt or frustrated by the game, stop what you are doing, put your fist over your head (to show you are out of game) and ask them “ Are you ok? What do you need?” Look them in the eyes and be friendly! If you have injured or angered them, apologize and wait until they are ready to join the game again before you do. If you need help, get a Game Master or a referee to help you.
This rule also means take care of yourself! It’s important to take breaks, drink plenty of water and know your own limits.
2. Take Care of the Things – Never do anything that damages the materials.
The weapons are fragile. The FanWar equipment is expensive to make and if damaged can be dangerous. Do not be rough with the weapons or yank, smack, or step on the equipment. We spend hours of our time just making one sword. Take care of the things so that everyone can enjoy them.
3. Make it Work – Listen carefully and follow the directions. Use the procedures.
Fair Play makes for Good Gaming. FanWar is a game that takes a lot of honesty and trust. In order for a LARP to work, everyone has to play fairly and honestly, even if it means their character is going to die! If you play the game by the rules and accept when you are tagged, you will do great at FanWar.
You need to trust the Game Master and the game world to work. If you get wounded, it is not the end of the world, you can get healed by another player very quickly. But if you deny you were hit or argue about it, it wastes everyone’s time and ruins the game for everyone. You may have to admit that you were wrong, but that is part of life. When we all play fair and trust each other to do the same, the game is that much better!

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