LARP Archery – A Passion and a Hobby

The beauty of LARPs is that every player can create a character exactly according to their own ideas, preferences, and skills. Whether you participate in a LARP focused primarily on roleplay or prefer events centered around epic battles, you will always come across someone whose costume is adorned not just with an axe or sword, but also with a bow and a quiver of arrows. After all, a LARP wouldn't feel quite complete without archers. We managed to conduct a short interview with one of these fearless sharpshooters, hardened in many battles and skirmishes, Jan Němec. We hope it offers experienced LARPers some fun insights and perhaps gives newcomers the motivation to start with LARP archery. You'll also get a few tips on how to shoot accurately and safely.

What came first for you? LARP or archery?

It's been a few years now, but I think I started shooting a bow first. It wasn't exactly high-quality shooting—I was still a kid—but I definitely got a taste for archery before LARP itself.

So, how did you eventually get into LARP?

Well… I've enjoyed fantasy and been interested in the Middle Ages since I was a kid. Since there were more people in our village with similar interests, my friends and I organized various duels, and you could say it was a bit like a LARP. Back then, of course, we didn't know that something like LARP existed, nor did we suspect it had already taken off in a big way here. We didn't shoot bows at these village events because we didn't know how to pad the arrows. It wasn't until later, in several articles—for example, in Pevnost magazine—that we read not only how to pad weapons but also that there was a fairly large and active LARP community in our country.

Besides archery, have you tried melee combat in any of the LARPs you've attended?

If I exclude the events we organized with the guys in the village, the very first major battle I participated in was without bows. Consequently, we all fought man-to-man, like it or not.

Since you have experience with both, which one suits you better?

That's a tough question… I dare say that after all these years, I'm an experienced fighter. Back in the day, my friends and I used to hit various arenas and similar events focused more on combat. The funny thing is, I'm better at melee combat than I am at shooting, but I shoot more than I fight in melee. Moreover, at a LARP, it's usually the case that archers aren't very good at fighting and are more like "fodder for the flankers," as they say. But it's quite fun to watch said flanker when they realize that the archer not only starts defending themselves but actually defends successfully. We get a kick out of situations like that. We have a whole group of people who are capable of fighting very well, yet they mostly shoot. To sum it up, even though I primarily shoot, I enjoy combat and definitely won't miss out on it.

If I wanted to start with LARP as a complete beginner, could I go straight into archery, or is it better to get some experience in melee combat first?

Look, it's definitely not a bad idea for beginners to go into archery if they don't feel comfortable with melee combat. However, there is one big BUT for me. Unfortunately, in recent years, it's becoming more common for inexperienced shooters to cause more and more injuries at LARPs. For example, I recently got hit in the eye with an arrow by an archer who probably didn't really know what she was doing, and that was at full draw. Consequently, I had to take a trip to the hospital, and it wasn't pleasant. From my perspective, a bow is a good choice for a beginner, but such a person should know how to handle it properly and have at least some practice.

It's no shame if someone doesn't want to jump into the front line right away. It's no wonder, especially when there are big guys in full plate armor standing there looking terrifying (and I'm personally about 165 cm tall, so I'm a bit of a dwarf compared to them). In any case, it's important to realize that a bow can often be more dangerous than the vast majority of other weapons. Even with a well-padded arrow, you can cause harm. Every beginner should first assess their own capabilities and strength. Above all, consider whether they are capable of shooting safely. An inexperienced archer is dangerous, and secondly, if they can't shoot accurately, they won't be of much help to their team. When you're standing with a bow behind shields in a line during a battle, you can't shoot very accurately, and it often ends up with archers shooting over shoulders. The arrows then hit people in the head, which would be a benefit in a real battle, of course, but in a LARP, you should try to hit limbs or the body. Not the head. Even experienced archers sometimes happen to aim for the legs, but at the last moment, the opponent bends down for something and gets hit in the face with an arrow. But we try to minimize that.

Learning to handle such a bow takes time. How long does it take before a person can at least hit the target?

I'll take an example from my own practice here. At our LARP club, for instance, I don't let kids use a bow until they've practiced a bit on a target. Even though children aren't as motorically developed as teenagers and adults, they are still capable of shooting in the right direction after one two-hour training session. Most of them hit the target without any problem after about two or three two-hour shooting lessons. Another thing we try to instill in them is that they must keep in mind not to shoot at full draw from close range. At LARPs, the problem is often not in the aiming, but in the fact that some individuals are capable of sending an arrow at full force from two meters away. Then such an injury is practically guaranteed.

But to return to the question, with proper guidance, a person learns to shoot more or less in two to three days. At the very least, they are capable of handling a bow and hitting the target from time to time. You can practice solo, too. But then the problem is figuring out how to actually use the bow correctly, and of course, that takes longer. However, most skills only come with practice.

Do you get to the front line as an archer at an event, or do you provide support from a bit further back?

Honestly, I'm in the front line more often than in the back, but I'm probably a bit of a weird case. Because we are well-coordinated as a group, we often reach the front line and shoot from the first row, hidden behind the shields of others. It doesn't make much sense to shoot from a distance at a LARP because your shots would drop and hit opponents in the head, which we obviously don't want for safety reasons. Another trick we like to use is simply releasing arrows directly under the feet of those holding the line in front of us. We enjoy it especially because no one ever expects it. We operate in the front lines also because a bow at a LARP works differently than in reality. In medieval battles, you shot as the opponent approached, and at close range, bows were usually useless. But in a LARP, it's different. You can't really shoot from a distance there because a bow has a range of about thirty meters, and at that distance, you simply won't hit anything with a padded arrow. If someone manages to do it, it's more luck than skill. Reasonable accuracy is roughly around fifteen meters, but I'd guess even less. That's why archers must advance to the front line. From the second row, you won't hit anything. Less experienced shooters make the mistake of often standing in the back. When they do hit, it's in the head. Fortunately, recently, there has been awareness-raising for archers directly at events, in the sense that the more experienced ones take the newcomers aside before the battle and tell them, or even show them, what and how. Even so, ambulances are a common sight at LARPs, and archers quite unfairly have the reputation of being responsible for the vast majority of injuries.

What should such an archer take with them into the field? What gear and equipment is recommended?

It mainly depends on what position the archer wants to take in the field. If they just want to stand in the back and shoot, a basic costume is enough so they don't stand out. Furthermore, practically any bow and arrows will do. Personally, I would recommend fiberglass arrows. But they must not be hollow, because you only need to step on hollow fiberglass arrows and they break. Splinters from them can also be quite dangerous. Solid fiberglass arrows, however, almost never break. At most, you need to change worn-out nocks. A controversial point is wooden arrows. They can be used, but inspection before use is necessary. Recently, it happened to us that one of the archers had a splintered arrow, didn't notice it, and upon firing, it went through the hand holding the bow. Since then, we've abandoned wooden arrows completely, not to mention that in their case, a person often goes to an event with a supply of fifteen and returns with eight.

As for the bow, it's up to the shooter's preferences. I personally recommend a longbow. This is also because the draw weight of the bow is not the only parameter. It's also about the weight of the limbs, because a LARP arrow is heavier than a sharp one. The bow, or rather its limbs, must therefore have some weight so that the archer is capable of shooting the arrow. Then it depends on whether the archer also wants to fight or if they just want to stand in the back. A sidearm is definitely needed, for example, against the aforementioned flankers. But what is important and what not many newcomers realize is that it's good to have a holster for the sidearm. In other words, it's not good to carry it behind your belt, because when you want to defend yourself, you need to have it ready as quickly as possible, and you can't draw a weapon from behind your belt fast enough if needed. If an archer wants to get more involved in the actual combat, some armor is also good to increase their longevity. My group and I also carry shields so we can actively participate in the fight.

Which bow do you prefer for LARP, and what is your view on using more expensive wooden ones?

We mostly make our own bows in the group. We call them "idiot-proof." We make them in such a way that if one breaks, you can simply replace the limb. When the fray comes, it's no problem to simply throw the bow away and continue shooting boldly after repelling the enemy. That's quite a benefit, because I obviously wouldn't do that with a store-bought bow for four thousand.

As for wood, it's clear that a yew or ash bow isn't entirely suitable. Wooden bows are great, in my opinion. I myself had a very strong longbow of about a hundred pounds, but unfortunately, it went to the happy hunting grounds some time ago. Besides that, I also have a sixty-pound longbow, which is a joy to shoot with, but I would simply be afraid to take it to a LARP.

Although there are so-called flatbows, and I even know a bowyer who makes bows from a combination of ash and bamboo and makes them weaker, i.e., under thirty pounds, specifically for battle reenactments and wood-based LARPs. But I wouldn't buy such a bow if I wanted to fight as well. It can happen that it breaks or splinters, and it also requires regular maintenance. At the moment when I'm resigned to the fact that I will purely just shoot, such a bow is good, but for LARP, bows made of wood covered with fiberglass are more suitable. Fiberglass increases durability and is again quite idiot-proof.

Just as an aside, friends of mine once even used bows made of water pipes.

You've been involved in LARP for a long time, right? What keeps attracting you to it?

Definitely the feeling that you can experience something that a person wouldn't experience in normal life. To be honest, I haven't enjoyed battles as much lately. Now I much prefer to play a story-driven LARP, even though I like to fight there too. Lately, I tell myself that the more talking, the better. Of course, the community keeps me at it, and since we organize some events with the group ourselves, there's also the feeling of self-realization and the joy of the players. Those are, in my opinion, the things that are the main driving force for most LARPers and the reason to stay with LARP.

author Kryštof Halfar