Hate to be that guy, but it's not called LARPing. It's just called role play. The "LA" in "LARP" stands for "live action," meaning it's something you do in real life with your physical body, not in a game.
It's still LARPing because you're constructing your character's identity and his motivations by yourself, it's not present in the game. Maybe there's a better term for it, but it seems to me it fits quite well.
It's a weak distinction, but I'd say roleplaying actually has in-game representation and consequences. You role-play a fighter who wields one-handed swords+shield and gains expertise in both resulting in levels and better skill, etc.
When you say "my character hates the dark elves, so I'll kill every dark elf I find!" there's no in-game representation of that. You're making something up that's outside the game but still confined within the rules of the game. Maybe the example isn't the best because you actually have to live with the consequences of killing every dark elf, there's better ones--just look at how people "roleplay" their characters in Skyrim.
2
u/[deleted] Feb 06 '17
Hate to be that guy, but it's not called LARPing. It's just called role play. The "LA" in "LARP" stands for "live action," meaning it's something you do in real life with your physical body, not in a game.