Physrep

Physrep is a Live-Action Roleplaying term. It is a shortened form of Physical Representation and refers to objects that are standing in for other things.

As an example a silver dagger might be indicated by tying a white ribbon round a normal Latex Weapon. This is referred to as physreping a silver dagger.

Similarly cigarette lighters may physrep tinder boxes, pen knives; thieves picks and tools and I have heard of an instance of a card with "camel" written on it being used as a physrep (although those present doubted whether a camel could actually be carried in someone's pocket).

A number of games prefer the term prop to physrep. Some even specify a difference. A prop is like an item of costume, for instance it seems silly to refer to a ring with a jewel in it as a physrep of a ring with a jewel in it since it actually is a ring with a jewel in it. Sometimes latex weapons are also referred to as props and physrep, as a term, is reserved for things that are really very dissimilar to the object they represent e.g. water pistols or cardboard cutouts for guns and index cards for camels.

A general rule in many live roleplaying games is "you can't have the item unless you have a physrep" and they may have rules or guidelines specifying what may be used to physrep what, e.g. in Fools and Heroes a strip of white (or otherwise) cloth may only physrep a bandage if it is two inches wide (or more) and will go round the injured location twice. It is worth bearing this in mind when creating a character for one of these games. Even if this rule isn't enforced you will get more kudos if you have decent physreps for your character's possessions.