LARPers rejoice! A new Kickstarter project, called Sabertron, will allow you and your fellow followers of the great goddess of the Whispering Eye to fight to the death using wirelessly connected foam swords. The swords, which cost $99 for a two-weapon set, have rings of colored lights around the hilt that note when you’ve been hit by other players. Once the lights go out, you become one of the the Eaten Ones, forced to roam the World of the Undead in the Nevermere for all eternity until the kiss of Princess Mooncake brings you back to life or you just have to sit out the round and drink a Capri Sun over by the backpacks.
Created in Austin by a team of three former AMD engineers, the group is looking for $195,000 to complete the swords, which contain an accelerometer and NFC system to tell if two swords hit or they hit a player. They are also working on a special LARPing mode with a bright, bold chest plate that displays your current health. One of founders, Tim Reichard, said “LARPing refers to Live Action Role Playing and is mostly associated with medieval renaissance enactments… think of guys and gals in the park or woods doing sword fights and medieval activities.”
“Kind of geeky, I know,” he added. “Nowadays, LARPers create Boffers (home made wooden swords) to use. Our product isn’t only for LARPers, it is also for anybody who wants to play sword fight and have a detection system that lets the participants know who won. Our Sabertron is also littered with LEDs and has some impressive sound.”
“I came up with this idea when playing in the back yard with my kids about five years ago,” said CEO David Lynch. “I created a few swords from PVC pipe and foam, and it was a lot of fun, but the kids lost interest because it wasn’t interactive. I am a computer engineer and I can do anything I set my mind to do. I finally set my mind to do this and built this system to allow the swords keep score electronically.”
The swords have an on-board display that shows stats and allows you to set game play modes including “One Hit To Win It” and “Eternal Struggle” in which “each hit depletes one to three bars of health, depending on the strength of the hit and the sensitivity setting in the options menu. Ranges from two hard hits, to six small glancing blows will win the game.”
So slash away, Paladins Of The Ancient Order Of The Three-Eyed Sloth! Your LARPing will be improved tenfold by these exciting swords and as you wade through the marshes of Darkwood, on the hunt for the evil Surgoron, keep your weapon at the ready and your wits about you for, as you know, Paul from your wargaming group likes to bop you in the nards.
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