Several generations of Mainers explore and fight their way through fantasy worlds

The Cog Boys, a band of sun-bezeled intruders, stormed into the village center and disrupted the Bounty Hunters Guild's unofficial meeting around the fire pit. They raised their Nerf guns and opened fire.

The guild's half-dozen or so members – including a droid, a mutant, a medic, and a mad scientist – rushed to self-defense, pointing toy weapons at the guild. The fight spread throughout the village center.

Thad Bailey, playing a feathered mutant who is half raptor, half human, rushed to a two-story gray plywood tower. From the second floor, Bailey had the perfect vantage point to aim a small brown Nerf gun at the intruders.

Meanwhile, Bailey's twin Atticus, who plays a reptilian creature with a leg-length green tail, exchanged gunfire – and foam bullets – with a black-clad assassin.

This was just one fight scene in Star Hunter II, a live-action role-playing game set in Burgundar, an 11-acre forested area with a village of eight permanent buildings in Harrison.

WHAT IS LARPING?

Live-action role-playing, or “larping,” is imaginative outdoor play that combines acting, improvisation, and collaborative storytelling.

“Imagine playing Dungeons and Dragons, but instead of having a sheet of paper and dice in front of you at a table, you're standing outside, wearing a costume, doing the things you would do in a game,” said Garrett Leavitt, president of Burgundar, one of two venues in the state designed specifically to promote the hobby.

Owen Williams (left), 25, of Winslow, engages in hand-to-hand combat with Dave Cormier, 51, of Bath, while playing Star Hunter II. Live role-playing games are imaginative outdoor games that combine acting, improvisation and collaborative storytelling. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Leavitt estimates there are between 400 and 500 live roleplayers across the state. The scene in Maine, he said, has really taken off in the last 10 years.

There are two main styles of live role-playing, One-shots and campaigns, and both can be found in the state. While one-shots have a short time frame, campaigns play out over many gatherings, sometimes years. Maine's largest campaign, MystWood, has been running for more than a decade, and its players are immersed in all elements of life in the Middle Ages.

In live role-playing, each player has the option to either attend the event as a staff member or to take on the role of their character. Staff members or non-player characters take on their roles multiple times during a meeting to advance the story.

In this particular cyberpunk game at Burgundar, players defended the last remaining piece of natural land from greedy actors on the hive planet Corrovant.

Family matter

Thad and Atticus Bailey, who turns 18 in August, believe that live role-playing is in their blood. Their father, Joel Bailey, who played mad scientist Dr. Meiloorum in Star Hunter II, raised them with stories of his escapades during the 1990s at the New England Roleplaying Organization in Massachusetts and taught them the game Dungeons and Dragons.

Two years ago, the trio decided to explore the live role-playing scene in Maine and discovered a supportive community with events nearly year-round—what Thad describes as “an instant family.”

Leavitt said the games are kept alive by a “core group of people who have the courage to do it” and their families. The Baileys, who live in Biddeford, play live role-playing games almost every other weekend during the summer and love getting into their characters. Joel Bailey, who works as an insurance salesman, said his twins have autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and live role-playing games are a healthy outlet that “helps them express themselves when other things are hard.”

Thad Bailey, who uses “they”/“them” pronouns, said the community has supported her journey with her sexuality and gender.

Atticus Bailey wears costumed feet while playing a reptilian alien character named Lenti Charris. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Like the Baileys, the McFarlands are multi-generational live role players. Truax McFarland, 53 and a physics teacher at Hall-Dale High School, founded the Maine Adventure Society Incorporate, the state's oldest live role-playing venue, 30 years ago in Jefferson. After a road trip to Massachusetts to attend live role-playing events associated with NERO, he decided to do it himself.

“That's how live role-playing grows,” McFarland said. “Everyone has ideas on how to make it better.”

McFarland's son Connor, 20, has inherited his father's passion for the hobby. Donning foam Roman battle armor and draping a trench coat over his shoulders for his power-hungry role in Star Hunter II, he joked that he's been playing live role-playing games since he was born. Now he films, collects and posts videos of his adventures.

Connor, who played at both Maine venues growing up, said games at MASI require more exploration because the grounds are so large. The wild and green 80-acre site features multiple battlefields and 10 temporary structures made of cloth and tarp that can be swapped out depending on the game's theme; the venue typically hosts nine games per year.

COMMUNITY

The two venues in Maine inspire each other. Noah Hersom, one of Burgundar's founders, said playing at MASI motivated him to purchase Burgundar's property. Today, it hosts about 20 games a year, even in the winter.

It takes a lot of effort to maintain the large areas of forest, and neither place has a big budget. Burgundar hosts volunteer weekends several times a year, usually during the off-season, Leavitt said. The Baileys have come to help.

Heather Guerin (left), 27, of Waterville, plays a battle droid and competes against Bob Dunham (43) of Lewiston, who plays a “space raccoon.” Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Many dedicated live roleplayers play at both venues. Ty Guerin, the self-proclaimed owner of the state's largest Nerf gun collection (more than 250, he says), organized Star Hunter II. He plays live roleplay every weekend with his wife, Heather, and the hobby is the center of their relationship. They've been playing live roleplay together for 11 years.

They were high school sweethearts and lived a town apart: he in Winslow and she across the bridge in Waterville. Ty introduced Heather to the world of live roleplay shortly after they started dating at 17.

He proposed to her at MASI and they were married at Burgundar, the first wedding held on the grounds. It was medieval-themed so they could “play prince and princess for a day,” she said. They wore crowns and cut their wedding cake with a sword. Since their wedding, there have been three more at Burgundar, and Heather Guerin sees their wedding as “the prototype.”

The hobby is also open to newcomers, and Leavitt offers them the following advice: Read the rulebook to get up to speed, go to a local thrift store to put together a starting character kit, and bring an extra pair of socks to your first game to prepare for the elements.

Copy the story link