Over the weekend between WillyCon panels and events, a dozen people, including some WSC students and alumni, circled each other on the grassy field in front of the tennis courts and tried to stab and slice their way to glorious victory with foam weapons. LARP, live action role play, often involves some form of nonlethal combat. The games are generally thought of as medieval magical fantasy; however, they can range from the medieval period to the Civil War, to any host of eras, places or genres. Pictured above from left to right are Bishop Cavenee, Chance Beyer, Marcus Knight and Gabriel Flanagan. The Wayne LARP group meets every Saturday at 1 p.m., at Bressler Park. More information about locations can be found by going to Amtgard.com and using the “Find A Park” link that will generate a map of all Amtgard LARP locations in the world.

Students join in LARPing during WillyCon over the weekend. The weapons that are used are made of foam and a rigid core. Depending on how much a player wishes to spend on a weapon, foam materials range from a pool noodle to EVA foam (floor mat foam), and the cores range from PVC to kitespar (an ultra-light fiberglass pole with high strength). The other equipment follows similar rules of a rigid core padded with foam.