That's ...hmmm...kind of....retarded.
QFT
Always hated the fact that conflict resolution in what was supposed to be a horror genre game is most often mastered before 2nd grade.
As a point of interest, some LARPs DO use some dice rolling to determine randomness, but its rarely involved in anything "fast-paced".
Another point is there are two main "styles" of LARP:
1. "Boffer LARPs" - I hit you with a padded weapon (generally in the woods) and we're dressed and living as our characters for the duration of the game. Almost everyone is "in play" though everywhere may not be.
2. "Salon-Style LARPs" - I tell you what I'm doing in a manner similar to what tabletop RPGers would see as standard role-playing. There are GMs who spend time OOP moderating or doing GMish things, but most interaction is between PCs. Conflict resolution is generally done via some sort of randomizing element (R/S/P, dice, coin-toss, etc) or occassionally on a point-system basis.
"Salon-style" LARPs have been, in my experience, less time consuming, require a less "active" player base, less about costuming and more PvP heavy. Where as "Boffer" LARPs tend to be involve a longer time commitment (usually a full day at least, more often a whole weekend), generally involve more makeup/costuming/ props, more PVE centric and require a more active player base.
~KF
