Sophomore Chelsea Jolliffe takes out a foam dagger from her medieval clothing and rushes toward her opponent.
With a grunt and some quick hand-movements, she stabs Bowling Green resident Marshall Lamming in the stomach.
Lamming falls to the ground and within seconds, Jolliffe is ready to battle someone else.
It’s all in a day’s work for a Dagorhir player.
Jolliffe has been playing the Live Action Role Playing game since seeing others play in front of University Hall during opening weekend of her freshman year.
“Out of nowhere, we see this group of medieval people,” she said. “Fantasy has always been my thing and when I saw them, I was like ‘I need to be a part of them.’”
Jolliffe got a group of friends together to try to the game and said she fell in love with the acting and fighting aspect of it.
Learning the game was simple for the then-freshman, and that is typical for anyone wanting to learn.
Typically, two teams battle each other using make-shift foam daggers, swords or other forms of weaponry, said Lamming, who has been playing for several years and helps coordinate Dagorhir events.
“We basically hit each other with foam sticks,” he said. “Everyone looks out for each other.”
Looking out for each other and making new friends are Lamming’s favorite parts of the game.
Some Dagorhir players have been known to spend a great deal of money to get their outfits just right, but Lamming said that’s not his style.
“Down to the underwear they wear, they’re historically accurate,” he said. “You want to have a good time.”
Jolliffe said she always has a good time when she comes to the Saturday practices on campus, but said she cautions people about the sport.
“This isn’t a sport for the timid,” she said.
Participants have been known to receive ankle injuries and have to be willingly to sustain hits to the arm, leg, torso and head.
However, Lamming said it’s all in good fun.
“The people I trust the most are involved in this,” he said. “It’s a great community and great people.”
Bowling Green resident Matt Ducat said he got involved because of his interest in metal working.
“I make armor and now I get to wear armor,” he said.
Ducat not only gets to make his own creation for the sport, but he also created his own name to use while playing.
Ducat’s Dagorhir persona is “Burden,” while Lamming calls himself “Tiberius Scipio” and Jolliffe is known as “Rhiona the Hellion.”
Being someone, if just for a few hours, was a draw for Jolliffe and is what keeps her coming back to LARPing.
“You don’t really know how tough you can be until you’re facing a field full of armed men with the intent of fighting to stay alive,” she said. “It’s a real adrenaline rush.”
