LARP factions & playing outdoors

Form a faction, recruit members and give them in-character ranks — and find the parks, woods and public spaces other groups actually play in.

EveryoneUpdated August 28, 2026

A faction is your unit in the story — the warband, order or cartel your character belongs to. It is the LARP Realm's answer to “who am I with?”, and it is deliberately separate from a guild.

The LARP factions page showing a private faction the member belongs to and a browse list of other factions, each with its system, region and a line describing what it does in the story. — Factions you are in, above factions you could join. Private ones are invitation-only.

Faction or guild?

They look similar and do different jobs:

A guild is an out-of-character community — forums, events, a shared calendar, the people you organise with.
A faction is in-character. It has ranks that mean something in the story, and belonging to it can itself be a plot point.

Plenty of groups have both: a guild for organising the weekend and two rival factions inside it for the weekend itself.

Running a faction

Recruit members and keep the roster in one place.
Assign in-character ranks — the hierarchy is part of the fiction, not an admin detail.
Rally the group to sessions, so turnout is a faction decision rather than a group chat.
Set visibility — public factions appear in the browse list; private ones are invitation-only and do not advertise themselves.

Finding somewhere to play

The LARP outdoor and public spaces page listing campgrounds, parks and open fields with their type, location, whether they are rentable, and a line on what each is like to play in. — Sites other groups actually use, with the practical detail — parking, water, whether it books up a season ahead.

Outdoor & Public Spaces lists the parks, woods and open sites groups actually use, with what each is like to play in. It is separate from the venue map because a LARP field is not a game store — nobody books it, and what matters is terrain, parking and whether anyone will mind a foam sword fight.

Check the ground rules before you show up in armour

Public land usually has its own rules about groups, fires, alcohol and anything that looks like a weapon from a distance. Confirm what your site allows, and tell someone where you will be — see meeting in person safely.

Still stuck? Browse all help or contact us. To report someone or something, use the report action on the relevant profile, post, or session — it sends us the context automatically.