A medieval battle is probably not something you'd expect to see on your evening dog-walk in Perth's suburbs. But the increasing popularity of role play clubs has seen a growing number of Western Australians taking up fake arms in a bid for fun and connection.
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00:00An epic battle between good and evil, with everything at stake.
00:23And it's being fought every Wednesday night in a suburban Perth park.
00:28This is the training ground for a live-action role-playing, or LARP, group called Faith
00:32and Steel.
00:33There we go.
00:34So LARP is improvised theatre meets cosplay, meets camping, meets a medieval battle sport.
00:42Faith and Steel is one of around 60 registered groups in Australia, and organisers say interest
00:48is growing.
00:49Humans love telling stories, and I think that's really the root of it.
00:52And then once they come along and they get involved in, you know, the role-play in the
00:55community, I think they stay for the community.
00:58And I get to play a muck around with my friends, pretend to be a funny little guy with a weird
01:01accent.
01:02And it's just a good break from reality, you know?
01:05LARPing started 48 years ago in America, and has since spread around the globe.
01:11There are more than 400 players in Western Australia alone.
01:16People assume LARPers are a bunch of nerds that live in their mum's basement who are
01:20not very social, which really isn't very true at all.
01:24We have doctors, we've got lawyers, we have university students, tradies, all kinds of
01:29people in the community.
01:30Although, others say it is a little bit nerdy, and that's part of the appeal.
01:34Let's be honest, all the different nerd circles of Perth kind of intersect.
01:40Experts say fighting pretend battles can help players tackle challenges in the real world.
01:47Sometimes people will report having gotten over their social anxiety or, you know, been
01:53able to speak in front of others when they never felt comfortable doing that before,
01:58or stepping into leadership positions.
02:02It might have taken over my life a little bit, but I don't regret it.
02:05Everyone here is amazing, and I love it because it's freedom, and it's fun.
02:09A medieval realm providing real-life benefits.