What’s the Difference between Extreme Role-playing and a Ren Faire?
A Renaissance faire is a large production, which most people go to watch. At an extreme roleplaying event is much smaller and there are no spectators (though see “Watchers” below), and everyone is involved in the action. Another difference is that Ren Fairs stage choreographed battles between professionals, using steel weapons, while LARP combat is unchoreographed, with NO steel weapons allowed. Everyone at a larp is “in game”, and you are a direct participant in the action, not a spectator. You don’t watch the goodly knight thwart the evil sheriff – you do it yourself, or try to anyway. There is no script, so success or failure depends on your skill, cunning, teamwork, and luck. There also aren’t large numbers of people trying to sell you stuff.
