LARP stands for Live Action Role Play, essentially it is the act of dressing up as a unique character of your own invention and interacting with others in an imagined fantasy environment.
Whether this means taking part in epic battles or intense one on one duels, using politics and subterfuge to out manoeuvre your opponents and uncover secret plots or simply having a drink and spinning a yarn in the local tavern. How you engage with the world is entirely up to you.
Some of our members are keen role players, others just want to swing a sword, Some simply like to dress up and observe the madness around them.
Whatever your preferred style of play LARP is about fun and escapism. You turn up, dress up, turn off your phone, forget about work, bills and the ‘real’ world and imagine that you’re somewhere else or someone else until it’s time to go home.
There are two ways to join Chaosgate, as a player or as part of our Monster Crew.
As a player-character you can invent your own character right down to their backstory, motivations, costume and weapons and you’re free to navigate the world however you see fit.
Joining the monster crew is free but instead of playing your own character you will be performing different predetermined rolls across the duration of the event (bandits, monsters, town guards etc…) with all costumes and weapons provided.
Chaosgate is Cornwall’s biggest Live Action Roleplay experience.
Founded in 2015 by 3 experienced LARPers who wanted to bring Larping to their back door, Chaosgate has since grown from a few friends to a few hundred members.
Taking place in an alternate version of Cornwall, the magical world of Kernow has all the tropes of a typical fantasy environment with a unique Cornish twist.
Whether you’re defending the farmers of Heyl from marauding bandits or uniting with piskies and pirates to fend off the demonic hordes of the underworld, Chaosgate is a unique world of fantasy adventure, swords and sorcerers, and the occasional Turnip.
Chaosgate aims to be a fully immersive role playing experience whilst also providing a fully inclusive environment for players of all backgrounds.
If you’re an experienced role player, a first timer looking for a new hobby, fancy yourself with a sword, or just looking for some pure escapism, Chaosgate has something for everyone.
If you’re curious what combat’s like at Chaosgate, take a look at the rules page.
Chaosgate was the original idea of our founding member John Stoddern, following many discussions while rolling dice he graciously accepted the help of Ricky Barker and Martin Bray to help him bring the idea of Chaosgate to life!
Below is a little on their experience that they bring to running chaosgate
Martin BrayJoin me in the tavern for a tale or twoI have been Larping for over 20 years, as a player an npc and as one of the founders of CG. My passion for our total immersion hobby has never diminished and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for it. If you would like to hear more join me for a tankard or two in the tavern and I will spin you a tale. (Editor’s note: Don’t Mention Turnips!) |
John “Chaosgate” Stodderndo my teeth need a clean?Growing up in the late 80’s, I became obsessed with the cartoon, “Dungeons and “Dragons”, (I didn’t even realise it was based on the famous roleplaying game ’til my late teens). The other cartoon of my era was “Masters of the universe” with it’s main character, “He-man”, a fur loin clothed, muscle bound, magic sword swinging, kickass barbarian type fella who could bitch slap. |
Ricky Barkeri’m gonna split you in twoWhile no longer a part of the admin team, Ricky played a key part in the creation of Chaosgate’s Original rules, daily encounters and overall story direction. During events he also brought the fearsome “Sage” to life. |
Zoe Lawercrafty, thieving librarianGreetings fellow adventurers! Ok, so I dread this bit but here we go. I’m a fairly all round dork who loves all kinds of fantasy, horror and science fiction whether that comes in the form of books, table top, computer games or film. Love a bit of weird crafting and definitely hoard far too much fabric, foam and beads for my own good. Will always pick being a wizard over a fighter. Pew pew! |
Harrison Hayward-Goretech support & numbers guyI’m here because no one else wanted to write code or take the meeting minutes. |
Robert Shirleybrobarian StorytellerI’m Rob, I’m 35 and I am a Media Teacher currently working for Cornwall College. I was introduced to LARP through friends and quickly fell in love with the community and creativity that it inspires. I can usually be found looking ridiculous and making a fool of myself in the Tavern. |
Robert Oldsmonster crew eliteI was introduced to table top role-play at a young age which introduced to people like Ricky, Martin and John. From there I was introduced to the world of LARPing and started off monster crewing for their events but then slowly moved on to actually playing a character when I was a bit more confident with it. Now I’m always terrorising the local tavern so you don’t know what could happen. (Photo by C Sixmum) |
Amber McCallisterbattlefield photographerI’m Amber, I used to be a player until health reasons dictated otherwise so now I help out and take photos! You’ll always be able to find me because I always have brightly coloured hair 🌈 https://www.instagram.com/iamziahanlon/ |
Ellen Stringerkeeper of books and lootI grew up watching sci-fi and fantasy, playing Zelda and Pokémon. I was introduced to tabletop games in my teens and here I am today, Geek, Dungeon master, weirdo and now LARPer? |