LARP : Witch Hunter

[Gaius Marius]

Hi there, playgrounders! I decided to get some sunlight during the summer with LARPing, and I wentto a shop yesterday with a fellow nerd-aborator to buy these fancy new polyester foam weapons.

The sword that felt the best into my hand was the Katana. Plus the company that manufacture them is having a sale on oriental-themed weapons and will donate a % of their profit to Red Cross for the Japanese, so might as well buy now, no?

My main reluctance is the presence of a Japanese weapon in a western medieval setting. The best way I found around that problem was playing a Witch Hunter. Since these warriors seem to use exotic weapons from all the lands, a Katana would both fit perfectly and be cool as hell.

Plus, I look good in a longcoat.

So, I am trying to track down the main costume elements for a bona-fide Witch Hunter anybody can identify with a glance. I'll go with the proven Van Helsing style, with brown high Puritan hat. For the coat, I fallen in love with my Father's aussie oilskin coat. Resistant to rain, wind, dust and used by cowboys? Perfect for an action costume!!!

Now, I need to find and buy one such coat. Plus, I also need to find a rainproof hat that is a dead ringer for Witch Hunter hat. Any suggestions? The hatter shop I went to suggested a Tri-hat wore the way the English did during the late 1780's. But I want the classic High hat..

Anybody have further suggestions of costume elements? Or how or where to buy what I need? Maybe somebody needs to sell such costume parts?

[Ogremindes]

Sounds like the specific coat you like is a drizabone riding coat, which would make for a poor prop unless you're also getting it for general use, as they're not cheap and are damn heavy. Good coats, though. Capable of lasting multiple lifetimes if cared for (I probably should clean the dust and mildew off mine once the weather clears up again).

[warty goblin]

If you feel an urge to go for something a bit more normally medieval, you could always say your foam katana is in fact a foam version of something like this (http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/albion/nextgen/knecht-mark-II-photos.htm). Although weird, that's about as medieval as you are gonna get. The guard will obviously be wrong, but otherwise should look about right, to the degree anything made out of foam looks like a real sword.

If you want to stick with your original concept, do you mean a coat like this (http://www.countryewe.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=3278&Category=15)? I own one very much like that which I got used for about $60, and have been very pleased with. I'm not sure you would want to LARP in the summer wearing one though, as it's much warmer than it looks. I got through the entire winter - including the subzero bits - using it as my main outdoor coat with only an extra shirt or two underneath, and never got cold even when the wind was up. Doing something as energetic as hand to hand fighting (or even much walking) in it on a hot day in the summer would be an invitation to a serious heat headache and possibly heatstroke.

[Gaius Marius]

I want to know what would the Australian Cowboys be wearing in the middle of the very hot desert of Australia, then? :smalltongue:

But thanks for the feedback. If it's really as warm as you say (which I don't doubt a second), I wonder if I will be able to pull it off. I don't want to go for a cheap knock-off :smallfrown: Are there oilskin coats much less warm? Lighter?

Also, is your coat grey? brown? Green?

[warty goblin]

Mine's sort of a dark blue grey denim. I suppose if you wore it open it wouldn't be that bad heatwise. It'd be an absolute pain to move in unbuttoned though, since it would pull at the shoulders. Using a two handed weapon you do not want that, even swinging from the elbows and wrists your shoulders still move quite a bit.

[Ogremindes]

I want to know what would the Australian Cowboys be wearing in the middle of the very hot desert of Australia, then? :smalltongue:

Deserts are only really hot about half the time (well, probably more but you get the point) and up north there's the wet season. Rest of the time? Normal work clothes and Akubras.

[Gaius Marius]

Deserts are only really hot about half the time (well, probably more but you get the point) and up north there's the wet season. Rest of the time? Normal work clothes and Akubras.

I understand that not torridly hot all the time, but they still have to weather the horrible heat of the desert, no?

Would they keep their duster, take it off, ...?