Table top horror stories #001

Dogs and shotguns.

Although this took place in the late 90s, I still remember it as if it were just a few days ago. Oh yes, the college years. Full of DnD and more importantly for this story Vampire the Masquerade. This contains one more important, tragic element that all tragic stories of this caliber have in common, we were Larping. The story should in end there in complete embarrassment, but let’s continue.

We we’re playing late at night near the university at one of the famous monuments. It was a local hangout for university students who would get drunk, do terrible things, and crimes, or even worse, larp. If you don’t know already LARP stands for live action role-play. We weren’t dressed in costumes and at least spared ourselves that embarrassment. However, we did act out scenes and forgo the dice for a makeshift rock paper scissors version of the game. I have to admit I had a lot of fun. Of course things went sideways one night.

We were doing our part and acting out one of the scenes on the staircase leading up to the monument when all of a sudden in the distance we saw a police squad car. We thought it was odd, but what came next, shocked us even more. Flanking us from both sides of the staircase were two police officers with dogs and shotguns. Then from behind us came another police officer. I have to admit that the situation eased in intensity quite a bit when they realize that they were not facing criminal masterminds, but a group of 20 something college students embarrassing themselves publicly by playing a live action role-play game late at night. Instead of shooting us and putting us out of our misery, thankfully, they immediately lowered their weapons and began to negotiate with us peacefully.

They told us that they there had been reports of a fight outbreak at the monument and that it was suspected gang activity from some of the locals. To my surprise, they ask a lot of questions about vampire the masquerade, and after chuckling to themselves and enjoying our squirming, they disappeared just as quickly as they came.

That was the first time we’ve ever had the police called on our little Larping group, but strangely it wasn’t the last.

What is it about pretending to be the undead fighting amongst themselves in a territory battle that makes the police so nervous? I guess we’ll never know.