Today we’d like to present a piece from our head of game, Tadhg (who’s also the model you’ll be seeing trying on the Bruid costume). While we’ve previously put out a post on costume requirements and starting points, we’d like to draw attention to the Realms and their unique styles, starting with Bruid.
Larp kit can be expensive especially when you’re just starting out and don’t have any old kit you can reuse. Inspired by some of the cheap kit challenges that came out when Empire was just starting, I decided to put together a guide for some of our Realms- Starting with Bruid. I figured that the £35 or euro equivalent limit that the old challenges used probably wouldn’t cut it in this economy so I decided to aim for the cheapest I could get, while still having something that would be hardwearing and suitable for the weather (and hopefully a bit cool looking)
I also decided that while I couldn’t resist a bit of crafting, I wasn’t going to use any special equipment or skills you couldn’t pick up from a short youtube video, because I know not everyone has a pyrography tool or sewing machine lying around.
Inspired by our recent event in Bruid, I decided I’d try to make something to fit the Realm. The realm primer describes costume in Bruid like this:
“Costume-wise, Bruidigh are likely to favour practical, warm, hard-wearing clothing over anything showy or flimsy. Attracting attention is generally a bad thing in Bruid, where you are as likely to be prey as you are the hunter. Greens and browns in dark shades are common, or other colours that allow the Bruidigh to blend in with their surroundings.”
So I started off with Penney’s finest base layer (Shirt €14 euro, Trousers €19). They’re both made with natural fibers; the shirt is cotton, the trousers are a cotton/linen mix. This should make them cool and breathable, which could be important at a July event. Choosing natural fibers means I can also dye them if I want a darker colour. A packet of black dylon would turn this into ideal base kit for Uasa instantly
This layer is perfectly acceptable for sunny day kit or a base layer for monstering, and at €33 isn’t too bad, but unfortunately larp events frequently have all 4 seasons in a day, and being too cold to play after nightfall is no fun, so let’s add some layers
This is a fleece blanket (€2, charity shop), cut into a ruana as suggested in the costume standards document. I’ve stitched around the edge with some green embroidery thread (€2, Dealz), but that’s optional if you’re using fleece because the fabric doesn’t unravel. The belt was also 2 euro in the same charity shop.
This version of the kit, at €39, is wearable in cool, but not cold conditions. Wearing a thermal top and leggings under it would improve it, but it needs a couple more layers to make it really work for cold nights.
This waistcoat (€12, kilo store) probably wasn’t technically the top priority to add next if I’m thinking purely practically, but it’s light armour, it’s got impeccable Bruid vibes, and it breaks up the green if it’s too warm to wear the ruana.
So at €51, we’ve got some reasonably workable kit. You might want to borrow a cloak if it gets cold, but it should take you from warm to chilly pretty well, and if you asked someone to guess what realm it was from, they probably wouldn’t need too many guesses. It even has some options for changing your silhouette by wearing the ruana differently, like so:
So, what’s the next level? On a practical level, it’s definitely the top layer, but while I worked on finding one, I looked at small things that could make the kit look a bit more interesting and personalised,
I wasn’t a big fan of the white buttons, they stand out a bit too much and look modern, so I thought about replacing them with some wooden ones. But then I saw this tutorial and the crafting bug bit. I bought three packets of stone effect fimo for €7.50 total. This was a bit splurgy and I could have got by with one, but there was some method in my madness as I could also use the fimo to make some trinkets and a cloak pin for later. For those who haven’t come across it, fimo is like marla/plasticine that you might have played with at school, only you can bake it in your oven and it sets to hard plastic. Here’s a guide on how to make some marble-look jewellery. I made the designs by pressing the clay with a biro, and I added some acrylic paint once they were baked. I had some metallic paint lying around, but you can pick it up on amazon for €2
The cloak pin is made in the same way, but with a brooch pin glued to the back. You’ll want to get as big a pin as you can to support the weight of a cloak, biggest I could find was 4cm (€5 for a pack of 50 on Amazon), and attach it with superglue (€2 on Dealz)
I looked around for a cheap cloak option and came up empty at the charity shop. Then I spotted this military wool blanket on Amazon (€28). While it’s not the cheapest option, I chose it to make the kit more functional in cold conditions. Wool is a great material because it’s good at trapping your body heat and will keep light rain off, and takes this to where I’d be happy to consider it all-weather kit (your body’s need for heat may vary).
At the last moment, I spotted a light scarf in a charity shop (€4.50). This can be worn as a hood and soaked in water to keep cool on hot days
So, what did it cost?
If you wanted this whole outfit and didn’t have any craft materials before you started, this whole outfit would cost you €100
If you dropped the stuff that’s mostly there for the aesthetic (waistcoat, buttons, pendants, brooch pin) and added a kilt pin to keep the cloak together (€1.50, Yellow Brick Road), this would set you back about €70.
Where to go from here?
If this was my kit and I was looking to improve it over time, I might add some pouches to keep IC money or resources in, a warmer set of trousers for nights or colder days, and a change of shirt to stay fresh over a full weekend game (or if I get caught in the rain).