Mission
The mission of Living Action Inc. is to entertain the gaming community of central North Carolina and surrounding regions by providing them with opportunities for recreation and fellowship through live action roleplaying (LARP) activities.
There are plenty of LARPs out there. The largest, it seems, were only built with a limited scope of possibilities in mind, almost as if a couple of creative people got together and said, "Hey, let's start a game," all the while leaving systemic considerations by the wayside. These games were built quickly to accommodate small groups of players, and they worked well enough... until they got popular. With inflexible mechanics and tedious game content management systems, these older LARPs struggle to accommodate a gaming community that demands something more.
Living Action, Inc. is out to raise the bar. Players nowadays need games that can grow, where the rules can change, where the options can expand, where creative ideas can be given more than a passing glance. Players aren't satisfied with "live action" anymore; they crave, they yearn, for "Living Action," where the game can grow right along with the players who make it great. And that is exactly what we deliver.
Values
In our quest, we adhere to these guiding values:
- Safety. Nobody can have fun if the game poses an unreasonable safety risk. At Living Action, Inc., safety always comes first. We train and monitor all of our game participants for safe conduct, and revise our game system to address safety issues as they become known.
- Sustainability. There can be no game without the business that supports it. At Living Action, Inc., we're committed to sound business practices that give our games the stability they need to stand the test of time.
- Player-centrism. No system, no matter how revolutionary, can make a game great. Only players can do that. At Living Action, Inc., we value players as the lifeblood of our games, and player feedback as the impetus for growth.
- Innovation. Some game systems are little more than carbon copies of older systems with a few minor tweaks. At Living Action, Inc., we're out to break that mold and reinvent the art of LARPing from the ground up.
- Interactivity. The web has much to offer the LARPing community: Content distribution, participant collaboration, logistical automation, marketing opportunities... the list goes on. At Living Action, Inc., we use the internet to its full potential with cutting-edge game websites that give participants everything they need to make a game succeed and then some.
Finances
At Living Action, Inc., we take our fiscal responsibility to our players very seriously. Any questions regarding game funds should be directed toward our treasurer.
Where Your Money Goes
- Living Action, Inc. is a 501(c)(7) recreational club run by unpaid volunteers. Beyond reimbursements for game-related expenses, the game does not pay any individual out of game funds.
- Securing venues is our largest expense. It costs $500 to rent out Camp Lapihio for one event, for a total annual cost of $4,000.
- The game rents out storage space for game materials at an annual cost of $1,908.
- The game pays for specialty accident and liability insurance at an annual cost of $525.
- The game pays for web hosting and domain registration at an annual cost of $263.88.
- Umstead charges a $70 annual special activity fee to LARPs.
- It costs us $1.32 for the convenience of processing a $35 event admission payment through Paypal. This may not sound like much, but it can add up.
- The game often purchases costuming and props, such as tavern lighting, coinage, and costuming, to improve production values and make a more immersive experience.