Leaving Mundania Inside The Transformative World Of Live Action Roleplaying Games Lizzie Stark by Lizzie Stark 9781569766057, 1569766053 instant download after payment.

Exposing a subculture only beginning to enter the imagination of mainstream America, this is the story of live action role-playing (LARP) games. A hybrid of games—such as Dungeons & Dragons, historical reenactment, fandom, & good old-fashioned pretend—LARP games are thriving & this book explores its multifaceted culture & related phenomenon, including the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval reenactment group that boasts more than 32,000 members. The history of LARP is detailed & is shown to have arisen from the pageantry of Tudor England & is currently being used as a training tool for the U.S. military. Along the way, the author duels foes with foam-padded weapons, lets the great elder god Cthulhu destroy her parents’ beach house, & endures an existential awakening in the high-art LARP scene of Scandinavia.

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"Lizzie Stark isn't afraid to walk the goblin walk, talk the in-character talk, wear the make-up, & wield the boffer sword. With verve, wit & candor, Leaving Mundania provides an important contribution to the history of role-playing & gaming, & proves the cultural significance of this flourishing game/performance/medium." — Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks & Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, & Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms

"Lizzie Stark valiantly throws herself into the sword-swinging world of live-action role-playing games in Leaving Mundania." — Vanity Fair

“A fascinating trip through the looking glass & into the subculture of larp. Stark gives us both the magic & the humanity of live-action make-believe. And as a social historian, she incisively points to a pop-culture trend on its way from the fringe toward the mainstream.” — Samuel Freedman, author of The Inheritance & Letters to a Young Journalist