SCA vs LARPing

A lot of people mistake the SCA for LARPing. They are not the same

LARPing ins Live Action Role Playing. This is where a group takes a game like Dungeons and Dragons, a turn based game that uses dice and printed out characters with their stats on it, and they bring it to life.

They take bean bags and padded PVS piping and use them as weapons. They call out the damage that their weapon does and use a turn base strategy in hopes that they did enough damage to "kill" the other player. They stay in character the whole time and use fantasy rules and mythology to live like that character. Such as Dark elves and Tolkien style Dwarves. Pure fantasy

The SCA is a historical re-enactment group. Much like the "Revolutionary" or "Civil War" groups.

They recreate the middle ages to the best of their abilities to learn and teach about that time in history. They DO create a persona, like a character in LARP, but that character is based in history. Like King Henry. With their persona being someone that would have lived in the periods 600AD-1600AD. They do not recreate a specific person but someone that may have lived in that time.

They research the history of the time frame they choose. Such as clothing, food, jobs, and lifestyles. These are brought into the persona so as to have a chance at possibly bringing the age of chivalry to life once more.

In creating this persona they are alike but that is where the similarities pretty much end.

In the SCA you learn the historical significances of what life was like. They do Arts and Science demonstrations for schools as well as groups such as the "Boy Scouts of America".

The SCA also recreates the fighting styles that were used in the middle ages. They do not use real steel swords however. They use rattan with is a grass that looks like bamboo. However instead of being hollow, it is a fibrous and mostly solid. Used alot in the framing of wicker furniture.This is used instead to attack one another on the feild of honor. It leaves bruising but rarely causes any real damage because of the armor of the combatants.

The rattan is used to simulate the wooden swords that were used to train armies and squires so they would only earn bruises and not get cut before learning to use the real sword they would use in the field.

The armor used in the SCA is usable and mostly to historical standards with the acception of the use of some modern materials to simulate the looks of historical armor without the weight.

This differs again from the LARP where they use fantasy designs for the most part and a lot of these armors would never have stood up on a real battlefield where the SCA armor would have and, in some cases fared better that it's historical counterpart.

The helmets are a geat example of this. You must remember that the lower the gauge # for steel the stronger the metal. The SCA standard helm can run 12-14 gauge. This can be run over by  a small pick up truck and may not bend at all. Where the standard helm, if one is worn at all, for a LARPer is 18 gauge. I personally can push in on the sides of this and bend it in with my bare hands.

The actual fighting that is done in the SCA is classified as a form of martial art. The fights are not choreographed and the winner is the one that best the other on the field.

Then there is the living at an event. A LARPer will do what the person in charge tells them and spend the evening in character. Pretending that they are a wizard or rouge and attempt to finish a quest that is set upon them so as to win a game.

The average SCA person, or SCAian, takes what they have learned about there picked time and place and attempt to live in the style of that period. While talking to friends about everyday things like thier jobs and what the family is up to. Not playing at trying to finish a game but just enjoying friends.

I admit there are some simularities and they both have thier merit. However, The SCA is more about learning about history and sharing your knowledge. Where LARPing is a game based in fantasy. The SCA is a way of living with history and learning from it. LARPing is over at the end of the game and you did not learn more than the game wanted you to know.

Whichever you choose, have fun. Just remember that they are not the same.

I hope that you enjoyed the breakdown and maybe I have enlightened you a little. So the next time you see a group of SCA fighters in the local park practicing, remember that they are practicing and training a real martial art. Just like if you were kung fu dojo.

Not playing a game.

Thank you for letting me ramble.