Each local group in the Winding Path Initiative is called a Chapter. Each Chapter has a Chapter Owner, who oversees one or more Storytellers for the Chapter’s games. To start a WPI Chapter, read over the requirements here, and then check out the Forming a New Chapter page.
Chapter Site and Membership Fees
The Chapter games may be independent troupe games, or part of a larger networked game between WPI Chapters (or a chronicle WPI chapters are participating in). See the Game Support Types page for descriptions of Chapter Interest, Club Supported, and Club Directed games.
Benefits of Running a WPI Chapter
We understand game organizers have many options for how they run their games, and which group they partner with to run them, if any. At base, game organizers should consider the benefit of running games as part of an organization, as opposed to independently, and then consider the benefits that each organization has to offer.
- Networking. WPI Chapters have the advantage of being able to network with other Chapters, increasing the number of visitors and connections for your games. As a multi-genre club, game organizers will have the ability to promote their games to players who might have never considered trying their genre before, but are willing to try a game connected to the community they’re already apart of.
- Marketing. WPI Chapters benefit both from WPI’s marketing efforts, and, via networking, the efforts of other WPI Chapters.
- Support. We’ve been running games for a long time. If you’re new to organizing LARP games, our new Chapter process will help you spin up high quality, well organized games. If you’re old hat at LARP organization, we’ll be providing tech tools that help keep track of your player base and game attendance. If you’re promoting your games at local events and conventions, you’re promoting the WPI community, and we’re here to support you.
- Vetted Players. If traveling WPI Members visit your games, you have the reassurance that they’ve been vetted by a WPI Chapter Owner and WPI’s Club Manager, in a club that takes player safety and comfort seriously.
- Minimal Barriers for Participation. New players get the opportunity to try out games for 3 months before needing to decide if they wish to apply for membership. After that time, they just need to fill out a short application, to show that they’re interested in Parlor LARP and being part of the community. There’s no yearly fee for membership, which often acts as a large barrier for entry for new, troupe, or casual players. Instead, WPI games provide club membership fees as part of their attendance fees, supporting club infrastructure and marketing.
- Strong Local Autonomy. WPI Chapters decide which games they run, and WPI Chapter Owners decide which Storytellers run those games. Chapter Owners and Local Storytellers maintain the ability to decide who gets to play in their games. WPI is here to provide the support WPI Chapters need, to ensure Chapters maintain quality games, and then stay out of the way of game organizers working to run their best possible game.
Chapter Owner
Each Chapter has a Chapter Owner. When a Chapter is started, the Chapter Owner will be appointed by the WPI Board of Directors. The Club Manager will work with the Chapter Owner on starting up their Chapter, and either getting new games going or transitioning games into the club.
A Chapter Owner’s responsibilities are:
- Deciding which games will be run, likely with feedback from their player base.
- Hiring and managing Storytellers for their games.
- Managing finances for the chapter.
- Local Marketing and Recruitment for the Chapter.
- Handling Player Check-In and attendance fees at games.
- Organizing club membership attendance fees for the chapter’s games.
- Supporting Chapter members who have questions about WPI.
- Mediation Player concerns or issues, whether with the games, with Storytellers, or with other players.
- Investigating potential player or officer impropriety within their Chapter.
Some of these Chapter Owner responsibilities can be delegated to assistants or other Storytellers. A Chapter Owner could hire an assistant who handles game check-in and finances, and another assistant who handles local marketing. For groups moving from a traditional troupe setup, Storytellers may want to handle their own player check-in, and the Chapter Owner can work with them to delegate that authority. Regardless, all of these responsibilities rest on the Chapter Owner — delegated or not, the buck stops with them.
Interested in starting a WPI Chapter? Check out the Forming a New Chapter page.
