LARP hand signal for "My character thoughts are :"?

#1

Hello,
I can’t find anywhere LARPs silent signal for talking one’s character’s thoughts outloud. Does something similar even exist ? What do you know of it ?
I could use reflect from French Sign Language : crooked index on your forehead, then make a circle. Or Mull over from American SL : thumb along the temple, flutter the other fingers. They are distinctive enough. But if something is already in use for games, I’d rather take it.

#2

Several larps use a monologue mechanic - the most obvious example is New Voices in Art. They don’t use a hand signal, but instead every player holds a glass; tap someone’s glass, and they monologue briefly.

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#3

That to me means : blend it with the theme. Very good. I am in the process of specifying the theme, so I understand I can pick the exact signal at a later stage. Great ! Thank you for fixing my Gantt chart !

#4

There is a convention in some larp circles where having a hand on your head means your speech is out-of-character. I’ve seen some variants of this, where it might be the hand palm flat on your head (forehead or side of head usually) or it might be the thumb touching and fingers spread out, like a pretend moose antler.

Typically, this means out of character speech, not internal character thoughts. So talking about rules or game logistics or just out of character chat. But I’ve seen it used a bit to talk about what characters are thinking.

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#5

Thank you ! I chose precisely this as a placeholder : fist on head, open hand = begin ooC / fist on head, close hand = end ooC.
But you see how it’s not as satisfying as a monologue signal, because the mere existence of a monologue signal signals to players that monologues are a thing.
Some very good games use a theatrical “throne of thoughts”, but I want a game that can be played standing up. And the throne is a bit of a Godot’s Lucky hat device anyway : too challenging and taxing for a family audience.

If there’s no well known LARP hand signal, writing the word “theatrical” made me think about the “aside” hand gesture : one hand hiding the mouth on the side where the other players are. It’s perfect if the theme as some theater in it.

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