Hendrik: “You and I, everyone else on this planet, has already won King of the Nerds.”

Here’s the thing about marketing: It can completely alienate an audience before a product has a chance to win them over, so bear with us as we say “OK. WE TAKE IT BACK.” Geeky reality show King of the Nerds is actually quite likeable. Spoilers for the first episode.

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Even though it isn’t brand new, we were still appalled to return from the holidays to discover TBS’ new reality show King of the Nerds. The plot: Eleven self-described “nerds” live in a house together a la MTV’s The Real World and compete in a series of challenges until one of them is deemed the ruler of them all.

We can’t actually figure out what the winner’s reward is, or how they’re defining “best nerd,” which reveals an inherent flaw: The show doesn’t seem to be about the competition at all. Instead, the trailer sets the tone of “let’s point and laugh at all these socially awkward weirdos.”

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I’ve put myself in quite the predicament, folks! As detailed in my last post, I’ve got a handful of live action roleplaying characters already in use, with more yet unrealized.

Just as I was starting to get the hang of divvying up weekends evenly between each role, Dana — my headstrong, stubborn, militarily active character — had to go and get noticed by her superiors! “What’s that? You want me to prepare for a potential leadership role? You’re going to be watching my every move to suss out my weaknesses? Me?”

There go all my other characters for the next 6 months.

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Above: A Business Admin, a Graphic Designer, and a Philosophy Grad Student dress as Half-Orcs at LAIRE, NJ.

Ok, so we’ve got what is larping covered, and we’ve got the pesky downsides — now what?

Let’s delve a little deeper into the creation of — and ultimately the enjoyment of — a LARP character. From the costume to the personality and mannerisms, there is a lot a player has to decide in order to get started. What happens moving forward, though, is anyone’s guess!

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If you read my first article, To LARP or not to LARP? What The Hell Is Larping?, you may have concluded that Live Action Role Playing is a reality-free haven chock full of frothy Dwarven Ale and jovial jousting bouts. Or perhaps you didn’t buy it — no such game can be just innocent fun.

Both perspectives are correct. Truth is, pesky reality often pops its head into our fun fantasy — because, as you can imagine, not everyone plays the same way, or in some cases, fairly, and certain issues you’d think couldn’t ruin “playtime” do.

Here are 7 things you might not know about LARPing from the brochure.

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Everyone’s into something. Fantasy football. Scaling rock walls on weekends. Collecting action figures, comics, or rare Fabergé eggs. Me? In my free time I dress up as a green-skinned half-orc and run around bashing friends with modified plumbing equipment.

That’s right. I’m a lady who LARPs and I love it. LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) has a “weirdo” rep that’s kept it relatively below the radar since its inception in the 1970s. Now, as comics, gaming, anime, and other “nerdy” pursuits have become commonplace, and even sexy, LARPing is crossing over.

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