Crying Foul
So, that was the first horror LARP weekend I've helped on to any notable extent, and a very weird one from my perspective. Even setting aside the usual propping and considering just being David Bradbury, I did more to facilitate the appearance of Bradbury-turned-monster the Bloated Man before the event than once the players encountered me. I think it works out thusly:
You can set the video aside as that was essentially a different thing, but that still adds up to just shy of two hours for three minutes, which I will admit is not on a level with Alan Cumming playing Nightcrawler but is still quite a thing. I wasn't convinced it had been worth the effort until I saw the photos, but holy fuck, did the entry of the Bloated Man WORK.
Way back a year ago when I was approached about playing Bradbury the idea of making sure nobody saw me before that moment seemed a great one, and I think it DID work out for the best, but I admit that during the 16 hours I was effectively trapped in the ref bunker, I was less convinced. Still, I had some William Gibson, some Agatha Christie, and some very good people to keep me company. And I learned that experiencing an event from a single room elsewhere on the property is fascinating.
Firsthand, I experienced the approach of the Bloated Man toward the group and his death at the hands of his host's foster daughter. I heard the screams of the returning thief, infected by the cult and sent back as a warning. Everything else I got second-hand. The maid, actually a cultist, burst into the ref bunker in maid outfit and cult robe, covered in blood and brandishing a rifle and a shotgun with the same mad grin she wore for everything else announcing gleefully "I killed Mish and she killed Andrew!" The three dead sat around dissecting their deaths in detail. One of the Black Swan radios was often in the room and would crackle into life occasionally.
"Have they even noticed Mish is gone? Does anyone CARE?"
"If you want to see Connor do the rain dance, come down here. They're using pans for drums."
"Josh fell on his arse chasing the big black cock."
*the sound of pans being rhythmically beaten*
"Why will no one eat the goddamn mouse?"
I saw E prepped for her summoning. I saw Charlotte don her surgical facemask. I saw Mike overcome the technical issue with Charlotte's message that was people missing an iPad's volume control. We told Jacob he had a bit of red on him.
I actually think this was a fun way to experience an event, but at the same time, there are things I really wish I'd seen.
I really wish I'd watched the auction.
I really wish I'd seen the players start to work out that everyone was infected.
I really wish I'd seen the women in Bradbury's life argue over who got to stab him.
I really wish I'd seen the videos. I still haven't, for one thing.
I really wish I'd seen the woman behind Verity make a certain deal.
I really wish I'd seen the rain dance, I admit.
Still, here's the priorities. Thus far, everyone seems to have liked it. I think we got some good stuff done. We tested the use of video in these events, and we tested the use of coloured smoke grenades, and they both worked. The players got a good ending, so somewhere in there, they worked out what was going on and how to solve it, which had been a concern.
The characters closest to Bradbury got a good emotional reaction to the event. The characters I wrote worked well for their players.
Next time, though, I think I can do better.
- Two hours spent filming the hour of video
- Half an hour getting a plaster mould made of my face
- Half an hour getting plaster dust out of my eyes and plaster out of my hair
- Fifty minutes getting into costume, having a latex face applied, being stuffed with fluff for bloating, having snazz and fake blood poured over me
- Five minutes waiting for my cue
- Three minutes 'on screen' - and literally on screen, at that, as Eric was filming the approach in character.
You can set the video aside as that was essentially a different thing, but that still adds up to just shy of two hours for three minutes, which I will admit is not on a level with Alan Cumming playing Nightcrawler but is still quite a thing. I wasn't convinced it had been worth the effort until I saw the photos, but holy fuck, did the entry of the Bloated Man WORK.
Way back a year ago when I was approached about playing Bradbury the idea of making sure nobody saw me before that moment seemed a great one, and I think it DID work out for the best, but I admit that during the 16 hours I was effectively trapped in the ref bunker, I was less convinced. Still, I had some William Gibson, some Agatha Christie, and some very good people to keep me company. And I learned that experiencing an event from a single room elsewhere on the property is fascinating.
Firsthand, I experienced the approach of the Bloated Man toward the group and his death at the hands of his host's foster daughter. I heard the screams of the returning thief, infected by the cult and sent back as a warning. Everything else I got second-hand. The maid, actually a cultist, burst into the ref bunker in maid outfit and cult robe, covered in blood and brandishing a rifle and a shotgun with the same mad grin she wore for everything else announcing gleefully "I killed Mish and she killed Andrew!" The three dead sat around dissecting their deaths in detail. One of the Black Swan radios was often in the room and would crackle into life occasionally.
"Have they even noticed Mish is gone? Does anyone CARE?"
"If you want to see Connor do the rain dance, come down here. They're using pans for drums."
"Josh fell on his arse chasing the big black cock."
*the sound of pans being rhythmically beaten*
"Why will no one eat the goddamn mouse?"
I saw E prepped for her summoning. I saw Charlotte don her surgical facemask. I saw Mike overcome the technical issue with Charlotte's message that was people missing an iPad's volume control. We told Jacob he had a bit of red on him.
I actually think this was a fun way to experience an event, but at the same time, there are things I really wish I'd seen.
I really wish I'd watched the auction.
I really wish I'd seen the players start to work out that everyone was infected.
I really wish I'd seen the women in Bradbury's life argue over who got to stab him.
I really wish I'd seen the videos. I still haven't, for one thing.
I really wish I'd seen the woman behind Verity make a certain deal.
I really wish I'd seen the rain dance, I admit.
Still, here's the priorities. Thus far, everyone seems to have liked it. I think we got some good stuff done. We tested the use of video in these events, and we tested the use of coloured smoke grenades, and they both worked. The players got a good ending, so somewhere in there, they worked out what was going on and how to solve it, which had been a concern.
The characters closest to Bradbury got a good emotional reaction to the event. The characters I wrote worked well for their players.
Next time, though, I think I can do better.