(Part 2) Best products from r/LARP

Frankly, I'd always stray from ordering armor online.

I bought some "small" pauldrons online once and the dimensions were far from what was listed. Each plate is the size of a helmet and they run down to my elbows. I checked the listed printed size and the likes on them and the bag they shipped with, and they were indeed labeled as "small."

Prior to when I started doing leatherworking, I bought my bracers at a renn faire for $50. They fit perfectly with padding, are incredibly comfortable (I tried on a few sets), and held up immaculately for over three years of full-contact fighting every week.

If using black leather or steel, you can get away with these as padding:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0084IE8WQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They really do look good and the bracers will cover the logo nicely. If tied snug, nothing moves at all. I've done 14-hour full-speed combat sessions and had nothing slip once with these on. You could even still probably cover them with another color or find something similar if you get clever.

For any sort of makeup whether Dark Elf or tattoo'd, I use a barrier spray before applying to help keep from sweating through the makeup. You can use the same barrier spray as a seal after application, but I use Ben Nye Final Seal for areally nice matte sealer. I played a makeup heavy character (raccoon) and those two things helped tremendously to keep the makeup in place. Both are fairly inexpensive and most costume shops carry both or similar products. Good luck!

A half circle cloak is fairly easy to make yourself. I've followed this guide a few times and found it fairly easy to do, though it wastes a fair bit of fabric.

The easy way to do it is to make a sagum, a type of Roman cloak that is just a rectangle. u/notduddeman suggested buying an army surplus blanket and that's probably a good way to go. If you are going to go for the rectangular style, I recommend buying either a penannular brooch such as this one on Amazon.

I have a black version of this

I use a Bellator II from Calimacil and just removed the "blade cover" from the baldric and used the straps to keep the sword in.

I've used it in a few events and it works super well for running through the woods. If I'm in a hurry, I just shove it in the clip part and let it hang. It stays in there well enough, and it is easy to pull out quickly for fights.

If it helps at all, the style of character I have it like a witcher.

Save yourself the heartache of crafting. The pricing on these is very good, and the shipping is very quick (super quick in the Amazon case).

If your larp is light-touch, get Palnatoke off Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/PALNATOKE-LP0010-Palnatoke-Woodland-33-Inch/dp/B00IKHVK68/ref=sr_1_16?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1421759886&sr=1-16

If you are a battle-larp, go Warlord Sports.
http://www.warlordsports.com/

I have purchased both, and been very pleased with both.

Some simple ideas:

Find an empty bottle of pills, clear if you can. Print your own label for it. Fill it full of Tic-Tacs or other candy. When treating a patient you can give them "pills" for whatever ails them.

They sell large, needle-less syringes for alcoholic drinks at parties. Something like this..

Oh, hey. They do the same with IV bags.

A can of compressed air for "spray on" medicines.

All I can think of for now. Good luck.

There are a few "rifle" and pistol styles made by companies, but in all honestly they are far too small and silly looking for a man to carry around. They don't really have the shape and look of a flintlock or matchlock/wheel-lock firearm. I have made most of mine by hand. For a long rifle, I used a 2x12 and cut it to the shape I wanted (looked online to find a pattern that I liked then glued a plastic clothespin at the back of the barrel location. You'll have to order some larger heavy duty rubber bands or make your own with surgical tubing.

Here is a link for the type of bands I use for my musket.
http://www.amazon.com/Alliance-SuperSize-Resealable-Containing-Inches/dp/B0017D16PW/ref=sr_1_3?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1418397209&sr=1-3&keywords=rubber+bands+12

I'll post a picture of some pistols i'm working on later.

1. Wool and linen. NO COTTON! Socks, tunics, scarves, gloves, hats. Lots of wool, and linen underneath.
   
   
2. Use a product like Montana Pitch Blend or Sno-Seal to make your boots water-resistant. Reapply regularly.
   
   
3. Propane heaters for unheated buildings! We have eight of these, they're great: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002WRHE8
   
   
4. Pace yourself, make sure you eat and drink, and go indoors for a warming break BEFORE you need to.
   
   We gets lots of snow in upstate New York. :)
   
   http://i.imgur.com/sLqdgFc.jpg
   
   http://i.imgur.com/otc62rc.jpg

Get the one with brass rails. It has an aluminum body and the rails prevent wear.

I have 3. They are perfectly safe, even at point-blank range. The key is in making safe bolts.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NZ8O1AY/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_inactive_ship_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oh, sure, that's understandable. LARP can be an intimidating hobby - there's a lot of social stigma attached to it.

If you just want to get people used to the idea of playing characters in a live setting, murder mystery parties are a good training tool to consider. There are board games out there that give you instructions on how to run one.

You can also just consider coming out to NPC for an event. It's often less of a commitment than making your own character, and frequently an easier way to learn (depending on the specific game). Most local games allow you to NPC inexpensively or for free.

If you want some better looking fresh blood spatters I'll let you in on a secret:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TT856HG
That stuff is THE shit.

Any rivet that is assembled by squeezing a tool is going to be relatively weak. No offense to the armor booth lady, but typical fair-goer's costumes have little need for durability or strength.

If you don't mind replacing them when they pop out, or your armor is more decorative anyway, use these: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/home/1379-081.aspx
To set them, they usually come with a little cylinder post to tap them down onto the other one. These are better for attaching decoration, "studding" leather, anything that isn't load-bearing, or really thin leathers.

The cheapest way to attach quality rivets: aluminum roofing nails, washers, side-cutting pliers, and a ball-peen hammer. Aluminum nails and washer look utilitarian but functional, and more people use them for attaching leather to metal ( or plastic).

Slightly more expensive would be the copper rivet kits they sell at Tandy. Copper tends to not react with or stain leather, but it is known for tarnishing green. http://www.amazon.com/Tandy-Leather-Copper-Rivets-11282-00/dp/B0042QPSXW
You can buy a tool to mash it down, or just use a ball-peen hammer like a real man.

Here's a few hits I saw for peening on google:
http://www.forth-armoury.com/research/peen_rivets/how_to_peen_a_rivet.htm

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-peen-a-rivet/step2/preparing-to-rivet/

Eh, most people don't make it themselves, just buy a bottle. I imagine it's heated to steep the spices. That's how I've done it when I mulled my own. IMO this is one of the best spiced ciders available

Unfiltered apple juice is also called apple cider, even without spices. Here is an example of a bottle of that, which I recently bought. The top is squashed because the store apparently dropped the bottle, so I got it half price. I will probably ferment this unless I get lazy and just add the mulling spices and serve it hot.

Then there's sparkling cider, which is literally bubbly apple juice. It's delicious, crisp and refreshing, and traditional at holidays in my family.

If someone offers you cider in the US and there is no other context, the most likely thing they are talking about is hot, seasoned apple juice, often made from an instant powder packet (example) (which are mostly available in stores in the fall), however with all the options you can't necessarily be sure what you'll be handed if you don't clarify.
What you can be sure of is it will be non-alcoholic. You'll always see "hard cider" in the US to refer to the cider you're thinking of.

I use these. http://www.amazon.com/Beast-Satyr-Leggings-Costume-Accessory/dp/B001CJT60I

They're not digitigrade, but they give enough of a "goat" impression that I'm satisfied with them. Maybe one day I'll modify them to give more of a digitigrade look, but they work well enough that people see the horns and furry legs and people know that I'm a satyr.

As for hooves, I've never seen a design that works for a game with heavy combat like mine, so I just wear my regular boots.

To add to this people often have some kind of tick as well too when they lie, twirling their hair, scratching their nose, etc.

If you want to get really crazy and and event study some body language to further up your acting game, check out the excellent book "The Definitive Book of Body Language". It is very thorough, visual and even has tests at the end. Great read.

There is not much mre bombastic then a ventian mask.. like these:

example 1

example 2

or plain if you'd like to paint it yourself and save some dimes...

Worth noting that wd40 the non-aerosol variety. The aerosol changes property over time, the regular wd40 which can come in non-aerosol (https://www.amazon.com/WD-40-Multi-Use-Product-Multi-Purpose-Non-Aerosol/dp/B01F3NLH46/ref=sr_1_7?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1520255403&sr=1-7&keywords=wd-40) is much better for long-term care of steel products than their aerosol counterparts.

source: cleans and cares for steel weapons as a part time.

Great boots to add greaves or other boot covers to. Ive burned through at least 4 pairs of these over near a decade having worn pairs daily aside from my larp pairs (i am a mechanic by trade, stuff we use on the floors eats rubber). Great for the price and comes in all kinds of sizes

Skechers Men's Blaine Orsen Ankle Boot, Dark Brown, 6.5 M US https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050I8IHE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_m4KvDbV8ZAWHN

It's probably "King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine" by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette. Although that book seems to only talk about 4 and not seven archetypes.