Monsters, or crew as they're sometimes known, unsurprisingly provide the essential element for any player-versus-monster LARP system.

Unlike the players who are always in-character, monsters are only in-character for the times when they appear in front of the players.  Behind the scenes, monsters can talk about whatever they like between encounters.

On a typical Heroquest event, a monster would expect to mainly play a different non-player-character (NPC) for each encounter he/she participates in.  Monsters have the advantage that they can play a mixture of characters during the larp event. 

A monster would not have to be in every encounter: a referee may only need one person to talk with the party while setting the next encounter. 

A monster's event might combine aspects of:

• fighting the party as a number of different people
• a role-playing part where he/she could impart interesting information to the party if they probe deep enough
• carrying monster kit bags between encounters while out on an overland
• donning a mask or having a make-up artist paint him to look the part
• relaxing and chatting with other monsters (probably frothing about previous LARP events, but occasionally the conversation does stray to the real world!)

Thinking of Monstering?

If you're thinking of monstering, all you need is a:

• base black layer (i.e. black top, black trousers)
• belt
• pair of gloves
• and most importantly, enthusiasm
• Outdoor footwear - no trainers please

and the referees will provide you all the kit and larp weapons you need so you can get stuck right in and fight/talk to the party.

There will be a mixture of fighting and role-playing parts on any one dungeon (skewed towards more battles), and referees will endeavour to take into consideration your preferences so that you get to do what you enjoy most. What's more, if you are thinking of starting a character, over the adventure you'll get lots of chances to try out different character types: warriors, priests, scouts and mages amongst others, so you can find out which you find most appealing.

As HeroQuest values our valiant crew, when monstering you can earn yourself points or in-character money to put towards a character of your choice. Come along, and have fun!