Thanks to the magic genie that is Google, I stumbled on a blogger who plays a wemic in a live-action roleplay (LARP) game called Maelstrom. I asked Emily if she would mind answering a few questions. Her friend, Dan, was good enough to comment as well. Here's what they had to say about playing wemics.
In what ways do you play a wemic differently from how you play, say, a human?
Emily: I play an Amun-Sa wemic, Dan is from Tritoni. Having played a human and a wemic in the system, I'd say the differences in behaviour and attitude stem mainly from the country of origin in the system rather than the race. Saying that, Wemics always seem to come across as more friendly and often more tactile than humans, with more feline mannerisms.
Dan: My roleplay is largely dominated by his religious beliefs. He is very keen to follow the teachings of The Huntress. He is moderately quiet and very proud. Embarrassingly, at this point, Siber plays quite a lot like a furry human priest, which is something that I am quite keen to remove from my game.
Why did you choose to play a wemic rather than some other race?
Emily: I'd already played a human and wanted to try something new, and I'd always been taken with the idea of playing a cat really. The other races in the system (Gnolls, Avians etc) have never really held the same appeal.
Dan: I guess I am playing a wemic because I wanted to play a Tritoni, rather than I am playing a Tritoni because I wanted to play a Wemic.
Are there any special challenges playing a wemic in a live action game? I'm thinking costume, for example.
Emily: Yes the costume can be a challenge. I have full face makeup which can be a bigger to do first thing in the morning and rarely still looks good 10 or more hours later! However I never liked the idea of wearing a mask or prosthetics, though many do. Other aspects of costume depend on how cat-like one wishes to appear, with ears and tails and fur etc, and then on where the character is supposed to be from.
Dan: I haven't changed my accent, which is a curse as well as a blessing. I find myself dropping into Alexander's (his previous human character)"noble" voice far too frequently. Also, I don't know what others thought about my costume, but I didn't find it too arduous. Could do with a tail, and perhaps some paws (especially at night time :oD ) to cap the whole wemic look off.
How is wemic society in Maelstrom different from other societies?
Emily: With there being two main Wemic countries, there are two main societies which work on different priciples. The Amun-Sa are pround and religious and always come accross, to me anyway, as more demure and more sticklers for rules. There is certainly no one else like them when it comes to religion ... The Tritoni however are more warlike and run a matriarchal society that others find difficult to understand.
Dan: I agree strongly with what Em said about the roleplay being dominated by the characters society, rather than the race. Siber is very religious, and this has a big impact.
Thanks, Emily and Dan, for sharing your thoughts.
