Dagorhir Battle Games (Roleplay)



Dagorhir Battle Games is a full-contact medieval fighting game that may or may not be considered a LARP, but despite the objection of many of its participants is typically categorized as one. It is a boffer weapon game, in which the participants construct "safe" weapons with which to enact combat. These weapons made mostly of PVC pipes and camping foam, although more expensive (but lighter and more durable) fiberglass is becoming more common as a weapon core. It can be distinguished from the SCA by the fact that there is a presence of high fantasy elements (goblins and orks, elves, demons), and also by the fact that the weapons are designed to be safe without armor. On the flip side, it can be distinguished from more "theatrical" LARPs such as Knight Realms by its relatively high level of full-contact violence (body checks, shield kicks, grappling, and the like), made possible by its high standards of weapon safety.

The game is played on an "honor system" of limb loss, wherein a "solid" hit to the arm or leg results in the loss of that arm or leg, and losing two limbs or being hit in the torso results in death. There is frequent and vehement argument about what constitutes a "solid" hit, and the consensus is usually "hard enough that it hurts but not hard enough to bruise." There are always certified medics on site (often they're participating, if there's more than one), in case of things like inadvertent head trauma by contact with the ground or the handle of a polearm or sprained limbs or heat exhaustion, but serious injuries are rare and can typically be avoided by not being a jerk to the people around you (for example, shield-bashing someone who is on a knee is considered bad form, as you can break peoples' ankles that way).

Dagorhir tends to appeal to the subset of LOTR and gamer nerds who find the SCA too expensive, too difficult, and/or too stringently realistic, but find more theatrical LARPing to be "too silly" and/or insufficiently physically demanding. It has the distinct advantage of being very inexpensive for the casual participant, and even for the dedicated participant it is often less expensive than other LARP systems.

Dagorhir holds a number of national events (both single-day and weekend-long) throughout the year, but the biggest is Ragnarok. This large event is the week-long annual gathering of all "Dagorhirrim" in central Pennsylvania, at the same campground where the SCA holds Pennsic. At Ragnarok one can expect to find campsites surrounded by everything from rope fences to wooden walls, hung with banners and decorations that tell you what group is camped there. Merchants will sell you medieval garb ranging from the fanciful to the extremely period-accurate, both Dagorhir-legal and live steel weapons, feast gear, jewelry, and an array of other things (in 2011 there was a photographer offering to "paint portraits"). Daily fighting takes place in which groups participate in varying battles ranging from simple two-team deathmatch battles to capture-the-flag or "conquer the castle" type scenarios. At nighttime there is drinking, dancing, and an abundance of parties ranging from the Undead Rave to the Gypsy Hafla to Mardi Gras. This fight-then-shop-then-party setup is common at weekend events as well.

Geographic areas are organized into chapters called "realms", which hold smaller events in their area. Separate from these are groups called "units", which are groups of people that camp together and/or fight together on the field, and often are made up of a number of people from the same realm. Units tend to have distinctive color schemes, characterization, and style, but each unit is often wildly different from the next. Because there is no definitive time period set for "Dagorhir", characters and units come from a wide range of time periods. This results in extreme anachronisms and oddities like watching thirteenth-century Vikings team up with goblins to fight Roman legions, or Narnia getting in a fight with Mordor.

Participants run the gamut of ages, although a person has to be sixteen before they are allowed on the combat field, and typically no one under eighteen is allowed to attend large national events without a parent or guardian present. Women remain a minority, but this is mostly visible on the field, since most Dagorhir women are noncombatants, and the combatants are predominantly archers. Off the field the ratio levels somewhat, as noncombatant dancers, merchants, "slaves," campsite mother-figures, and the like are common. The term "Dagorwhore" has arisen (a portmanteau of "Dagorhir" and "whore") to describe the girls and women who show up at events mainly to get drunk and sleep around. Although somewhat less than feminist-friendly in nature, this is often used as a draw to entice young (high school and college age) men to come out to events - "boobs and booze" being a typical description of Dagorhir nightlife.

Consequently, Dagorhirrim like to think they are "cooler" than other LARPs.