Player fatigue

Player fatigue refers to players being exhausted because of the larp. Specifically designing for player fatigue (e.g designing a larp where you deliberately mess with participants sense of time, physical comfort or ability to rest etc) can be a valid design choice, as done by for instance Delirium, Hinterland, Utumno and others.

Common causes

Player fatigue usually originates from violence, intimacy, hunger, thirst, lack of sleep, lack of shelter or lack of sanitation. Replacement rules are often use to shield the players from fatigue in larps where the characters are likely to suffer from fatigue.

Impact on roleplaying

Fatigue can reduce the players capacity to play a larp in a way that contributes to a good experience for themselves and others. However, if the players play characters suffering from fatigue, the player fatigue can also be useful for a stronger immersive experience and more realistic roleplay.

Impact on player safety

Insufficient shielding from fatigue can influence the player safety of a larp, both because the players ability to make wise decisions on safety issues may be impaired and because the fatigue can be dangerous in itself.

External links

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-cPmM2bDcU "Emotional and physical safety" by Johana Koljonen at the Larpwriter Summer School 2014.