Post-LARPiness
So we had our big one-shot LARP on Saturday. And it was full of awesome.
For those who weren't involved, and haven't done this before, the idea behind this sort of one-shot LARP is very different from a normal role playing game, or even a normal Camarilla-style LARP. The primary difference is that all the characters are pre-written by the GMs to have back-stories and motivations which specifically tie into and drive the plot, making it possible, in fact inevitable, for nearly the entire game to be completely player-driven. This kind of LARP requires a great deal more planning then any other type of RPG, but the results are worth it.
Saturday's game was set in 1935, in a cabin in the woods, for the reading of the will of Dr. Abraham Hackensaw, a rich, eccentric old art collector who had recently died. In attendance were not just his family and his lawyer, but a professor of esoteric mysticism, a Dominican friar, a museum curator, a secret service agent, a couple of nazis, etc. We had also intended to have William Randolf Hearst show up, but the player who was going to be running him had to bail. Dr. Hackensaw was more well traveled then most of the players realized.
I think nearly everybody had a great time, and it resolved as a massive victory for Team Evil.
Also, many lessons were learned about how to run this sort of LARP, which will be applied to the one that we'll be running next year. That one will be in a fantasy setting, as the nobility have gathered for their annual meeting, and the Emperor is mysteriously murdered, with no heirs. Now they must find the murderer, and choose a new Emperor. Hilarity ensues.
This LARP is in the VERY early planning stages, and is probably about a year away, but if anybody who wasn't involved in the last one would be interested in attending this one, drop me a line, and I'll add you to the list of people we'll contact when we start casting. If you WERE involved in the last one, don't worry, you're already on the list. :-)
For those who weren't involved, and haven't done this before, the idea behind this sort of one-shot LARP is very different from a normal role playing game, or even a normal Camarilla-style LARP. The primary difference is that all the characters are pre-written by the GMs to have back-stories and motivations which specifically tie into and drive the plot, making it possible, in fact inevitable, for nearly the entire game to be completely player-driven. This kind of LARP requires a great deal more planning then any other type of RPG, but the results are worth it.
Saturday's game was set in 1935, in a cabin in the woods, for the reading of the will of Dr. Abraham Hackensaw, a rich, eccentric old art collector who had recently died. In attendance were not just his family and his lawyer, but a professor of esoteric mysticism, a Dominican friar, a museum curator, a secret service agent, a couple of nazis, etc. We had also intended to have William Randolf Hearst show up, but the player who was going to be running him had to bail. Dr. Hackensaw was more well traveled then most of the players realized.
I think nearly everybody had a great time, and it resolved as a massive victory for Team Evil.
Also, many lessons were learned about how to run this sort of LARP, which will be applied to the one that we'll be running next year. That one will be in a fantasy setting, as the nobility have gathered for their annual meeting, and the Emperor is mysteriously murdered, with no heirs. Now they must find the murderer, and choose a new Emperor. Hilarity ensues.
This LARP is in the VERY early planning stages, and is probably about a year away, but if anybody who wasn't involved in the last one would be interested in attending this one, drop me a line, and I'll add you to the list of people we'll contact when we start casting. If you WERE involved in the last one, don't worry, you're already on the list. :-)