Review of Avalon LARP

Since the disintegration of TALAN, I’d been searching for a new LARP to join. It wasn’t an easy search, either. LARPing groups, it seems, form and dissolve with some regularity, so much of the information out there is dated. Still, there’s enough interest for a few of the better games to persist. After some very thorough searching, I managed to find Avalon.

I decided to give this LARP a go primarily due to proximity. One of the local chapters holds games in a park right down the road from where I live, keeping my driving time to a minimum. Since this was also the park in which I played TALAN, I had some familiarity with the layout as well. Deciding that convenience was more important to me than other factors, I sent an email asking for more information.

Generally speaking, I was very pleased with the response I received. It was a breath of fresh air to get my questions answered in a thorough and prompt manner. This was definitely a deviation from the unresponsiveness and neglect to which I had become accustomed from TALAN. I was somewhat dismayed that more information wasn’t available about the game system itself, but my interest was certainly piqued. I decided to take the next step and actually attend the event being held that weekend. Here are the details of my experience.

Action (2/5)

Not to begin the review on a sour note, but the action was sparse and scattered. There were perhaps a half dozen encounters throughout the entire weekend. I had heard my friends stating that Avalon wasn’t very focused on combat, and that seems to hold true. Rather than rotating player duty as random monsters and NPCs, Avalon features dedicated NPCs and player volunteerism. Granted, I’m not one to think that fighting is all that LARPing is about, but this seemed on the light side to me. Point in fact, the worst thing you can ever do in a game like this is keep your players bored.

Cinematics (4/5)

What Avalon lacked in action it made up for in cinematics. These people love their costuming. On my second go as an NPC, I was smeared in black body paint, decorated with red eye designs, and tied to two other players with the same appearance. While the encounters were sparse, they were quite interesting and memorable. There were horrific narratives and interesting plot twists to satisfy a literary critic’s appetite. If you don’t mind the wait, the staff at Avalon definitely put a lot of thought into their stories.

Organization (3/5)

My first impression was that the game was very well organized. There was paperwork to fill out, new player training, and even dedicated staff personnel with uniforms and headsets. I couldn’t help but get the impression that I was on a big movie set.

Unfortunately, all of this organization broke down at several points throughout the game. The weekend was, unfortunately, quite rainy and exceedingly muddy, making the decision to close the main lodge for several hours on Saturday afternoon an unfortunate one, especially when it didn’t appear that any work was actually being done on the inside. As a new player, I was kept waiting at length for a module (i.e. mini-adventure) because my fellow players were not properly informed to attend. The main encounter of Saturday night didn’t even get going until well after everyone had gone to sleep, leading to ineffective attempts at waking people up. This is to say nothing of the two-hour wait for everyone to check in on Friday night.

Still, Avalon’s organization is leaps and bounds ahead of every other LARP I’ve attended. Despite these setbacks, I’d say they handled their large player base quite well. There’s definitely room for improvement, especially where efficiency and timing are concerned, but all in all the game ran fairly smoothly.

Roleplaying (5/5)

If you go to Avalon for anything, go for the roleplaying. The staff and players alike seem to care deeply for what, in many LARPs, is something of a lost art form. Even as a new character, I had some of the most enriching and memorable roleplaying experiences of my life at Avalon. Despite its drawbacks, the game does a fantastic job of promoting in-game play and really immersing you in your character. If you care more about the fun of being someone else and less about beating down random monsters, this is the game for you.

Game System (3/5)

It is unfortunate that the game system was kept a complete mystery from me up until the moment I got to make my character. Why they have this level of obfuscation, I really couldn’t say, but it makes the experience of being a new player all the more difficult.

Once engaged in the system itself, I found it to be dauntingly complex. Every special combat maneuver or spell requires two- or three-word declarations that I didn’t find to be at all intuitive. According to several players, the game itself features over 1,500 spells, and the fighting systems are equally as detailed. It is obvious that this game has been around for awhile, and that it has added features to accommodate its large and varied audience.

Of course, I don’t necessarily see this as a very bad thing. Most of the game systems in which I play are quite complex at first. This is, naturally, very intimidating to new players, but very liberating to those who have a handle on things. If I were to get into it further, I’m sure I would find that to be the case.

Overall Gameplay (3/5)

Over all, Avalon struck me as a slightly above-average LARP. Like most, it has issues dealing with logistics en masse. My largest criticism would be the long waits for something to happen. When you look around the main lodge and see a dozen players falling asleep, you know the wait for action is too long.

Perhaps the most negative experience I had, however, was getting killed by players at my first game. I don’t blame the game staff for this, of course, but I found it to be a big drain on my fun. Thankfully the death system is very forgiving, or else I probably would have left on the spot. As I’ve said before, I hate PvP, and I was very dismayed to see that it was such an active element in Avalon. That there were actually in-play ramifications was nice, but it would have been nicer if they had actually seen resolution.

The game had its merits, of course. When something did happen, it played out like a movie, complete with heavy plot and cinematics. Between those instances, I had fun getting to know the other characters, many of whom were roleplayed like pros. Still, even the best roleplaying in the world can’t keep one’s attention for hours, and the lack of much else to do made for long stretches of boredom.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh and the perfect LARP simply doesn’t exist. All in all, I would recommend this LARP over my previous one, as Avalon does a much better job in almost every respect. I don’t see myself getting into it, though, partly due to real-life considerations and partly due to personal preferences. I still count it as a worthwhile experience, however, and may return to play at some later date.

Not a bad reviwew. My first event I wasn’t that impressed but the system does get easier as you go along.
Combat is a random thing, some events are combat heavy and some aren’t. Just how it goes.
I can tell you why the system is kept so closely guarded. There was an occurrence where another LARP company coughs sounding like NERO stole the entire system and based their system off of Avalon’s. In fact NERO’s current system is still the old Avalon system.
There is always room for improvement in any organization as to how its run. I’m in the Army, I know this for a fact.
As for action and adventure, the best advice I can give to you or anyone coming into game is to go looking for it. There are a million and one plot strands threaded through Verose, talk to the players gather information and then run with it. If you can come up with a crazy scheme go with it, maybe it’ll work. This coming from the guy who played a level one character that, along with two friends, murdered three players and set an entire town on its head, not to mention Game Staff.

I hope you will come back, it only gets better as the play goes on.
-Will aka Matthias

A very nice review. Its nice to hear the opinion of one from another LARP. We really do look forward to you continuing to play with us, and if not we hope that you’ll send other wayward LARPers our way.

However, I’d like to say a few things.

The system of our LARP is VERY complicated, I agree, but after playing for a short time, players’ slowly grasp the system and we ALWAYS take time to explain any effects or abilities to new players if they just ask.

I know you said you “hate” PvP. But in order to make a world realistic and keep it interesting, it must be an element. It encourages characters to make friends and work together. Also on the PvP note, if you’re looking for a bit more action, I would suggest trying out one of our “One-Day” Warchylde Events that we hold in North Carolina and Virginia every month. These PvP events are team based combat, requiring; tactics, bravery and skill. They are the MOST action filled events I have been to besides our yearly convention PvP event called Dark Future.

As Will did say, there are MANY plot threads just waiting for players to latch onto, they are just up to you to find. We do pride ourselves in our role-playing, costumes, and scenery. In our eyes it is what makes the game come to life. Our game has an ever evolving story that is affected by every chapter and event. Alliances are made and broken, deciding the futures of kings and nations, and EVERY player has the power to make the decision of what happens.

I can not speak for all of Avalon’s community, but I believe I do speak for most in saying that your review is very kind to us. We hope that you will return and encourage others to come our way.

Thank you for sharing the Avalon Experience,
Jimmy J.

Will, please do not spread rumors that are unfounded and false. Avalon 1.0 was founded based on NERO combat rules, simply because nothing else was known. Over the past several years we’ve grown into a unique system that we firmly command as ours.

One possible explanation for the secrecy is that quite a few of the “underground” LARPs without much of funding or a playerbase seek to borrow other LARPs ideas, which is a very big infringement on both legal and intellectual copyright.

It is not fair for you, in any case, to write a review of a LARP after a single event. It simply is not possible to come into your full realization of what Avalon is and is not until you are completely immersed into the world. It’s for this reason that character histories are reccommended to be submitted only AFTER the third event.

Also, keep in mind that this is but a single chapter of Avalon. There’s one in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Each has their own distinct flavor, and you cannot possibly lump them all into a single review.

Just to clarify, Michael, this review is not intended to be a complete review of “what Avalon is and is not.” Rather, it is intended as one player’s first impressions. I apologize if you feel that my opinions are somehow invalid because of this, but I made no illusions that my experience with Avalon was comprehensive or, for that matter, typical. Much like a critic in any other medium, I have taken a portioned sampling and provided my feedback. These are opinions, not facts, to be heeded or disregarded as the reader sees fit.