Bad Dog!
In the Super Reception LARP my character Jack Reynolds was a superhero empowered by the Thunderbird, a Native American spirit of tremendous power. The character was basically Superman, possessing incredible power but guided by a strong moral compass.
However, what is a superhero without an arch nemesis? Pitted against me was Coyote, a trickster god (also of Native American origin) who had dogged me for years. From my character background I imagined the relationship as analogous to that of Thor and Loki; two brothers, one the heroic ideal, the other a manipulative scoundrel. Yet despite their differences they are intrinsically linked, two sides of the same coin; equal and opposite.
The background made clear that I had thwarted him in direct physical conflict. That meant like any good trickster he'd be coming at me sideways rather than risk a head on confrontation. Again as antitheses, brains vs brawn. He could 'assume human form' which I understood to mean he had shapeshifting abilities as in the legends, so he could be anyone else attending the reception.
The first salvo came earlier than expected. A week out from the LARP Coyote embarked on smear campaign to tarnish my good name, fabricating tabloid news stories implicating me in an organ theft ring. The organ theft was so ridiculous I didn't feel it need much attention and responded with a newscast of my own (written as a Family Guy Channel 5 news bulletin). The next attack was a story where I was labelled a serial womaniser. A more plausible ruse but one I felt was still easily defended against; Jack had only ever been intimate with his fiancee Kelly due both to his straight-laced moral code and the fact that his powers made a physical relationship with a regular woman impossible (Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex).
As the night began I really had no idea whom Coyote was disguised as. A number of letters began circulating claiming that Coyote had possessed either myself or Kelly in order to cause murder and mayhem on our wedding night. Of course when they decided to test me for possession it showed positive as the spirit of the Thunderbird was inside me. Once I explained this to my family the fuss mostly died down and I dismissed the rest of the letters as a clever red herring on the trickster's part.
There were some embarrassing photos from the stag night that threw me at first as I had no information of the evening. Once it was explained what they showed (Like a Virgin? Really?) I took them with good humour as being made to look like an idiot is what a stag night is about!
The chaos ramped up as the building manager Lew (later revealed to be another Chaos god Loki aided by Coyote) decided to free the Devourer Wolf Fenris from imprisonment within one of the guests. This would apparently bring about Ragnarok unless it could be rebound but that would require a human sacrifice. As a stalwart hero I wasn't about to stand for that and set about finding another way.
As the evening drew to a close Coyote was revealed to have been possessing my best man Justin Malone. He'd decided to run while he could when the other Chaos gods started to fall leaving behind a very disorientated Justin. Suddenly his actions throughout the evening took on a new light. His off colour speech as best man, that I had rationalised away as a soldier's blokey sense of humour and hasty improvisation by the player, was actually a pointed attack on my character. What I had assumed was him being a good best man was actually him keeping tabs and stoking the fires under the chaos he'd created. A masterful display of skullduggery on his part.
I was kept off balance all evening by the continual barrage of anarchy. Yet despite all of the chaos I realised that this was just Coyote's way of showing me that he cared. Given he was one of the most important people in my life, I actually found it strangely comforting. While I was glad that Coyote avoided the fate of the other two Chaos gods in attendance, my biggest regret of the evening was that we didn't get to trade a few barbs back and forth before he scarpered.
Looking back, I don't think I could have uncovered Coyote's identity, even though it made perfect sense that he would be there as my closest friend given how I viewed the relationship. I had assumed he had shifted form to resemble one of the guests rather than possessing one. There was no in character behaviour upon which which to judge out of character behaviour and not enough background between them to pick any slip ups on his part (we'd chatted at the start of the evening to establish some details for the friendship). In the end, I don't think it matters. For superheroes, enmity is best when it's eternal.
However, what is a superhero without an arch nemesis? Pitted against me was Coyote, a trickster god (also of Native American origin) who had dogged me for years. From my character background I imagined the relationship as analogous to that of Thor and Loki; two brothers, one the heroic ideal, the other a manipulative scoundrel. Yet despite their differences they are intrinsically linked, two sides of the same coin; equal and opposite.
The background made clear that I had thwarted him in direct physical conflict. That meant like any good trickster he'd be coming at me sideways rather than risk a head on confrontation. Again as antitheses, brains vs brawn. He could 'assume human form' which I understood to mean he had shapeshifting abilities as in the legends, so he could be anyone else attending the reception.
The first salvo came earlier than expected. A week out from the LARP Coyote embarked on smear campaign to tarnish my good name, fabricating tabloid news stories implicating me in an organ theft ring. The organ theft was so ridiculous I didn't feel it need much attention and responded with a newscast of my own (written as a Family Guy Channel 5 news bulletin). The next attack was a story where I was labelled a serial womaniser. A more plausible ruse but one I felt was still easily defended against; Jack had only ever been intimate with his fiancee Kelly due both to his straight-laced moral code and the fact that his powers made a physical relationship with a regular woman impossible (Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex).
As the night began I really had no idea whom Coyote was disguised as. A number of letters began circulating claiming that Coyote had possessed either myself or Kelly in order to cause murder and mayhem on our wedding night. Of course when they decided to test me for possession it showed positive as the spirit of the Thunderbird was inside me. Once I explained this to my family the fuss mostly died down and I dismissed the rest of the letters as a clever red herring on the trickster's part.
There were some embarrassing photos from the stag night that threw me at first as I had no information of the evening. Once it was explained what they showed (Like a Virgin? Really?) I took them with good humour as being made to look like an idiot is what a stag night is about!
The chaos ramped up as the building manager Lew (later revealed to be another Chaos god Loki aided by Coyote) decided to free the Devourer Wolf Fenris from imprisonment within one of the guests. This would apparently bring about Ragnarok unless it could be rebound but that would require a human sacrifice. As a stalwart hero I wasn't about to stand for that and set about finding another way.
As the evening drew to a close Coyote was revealed to have been possessing my best man Justin Malone. He'd decided to run while he could when the other Chaos gods started to fall leaving behind a very disorientated Justin. Suddenly his actions throughout the evening took on a new light. His off colour speech as best man, that I had rationalised away as a soldier's blokey sense of humour and hasty improvisation by the player, was actually a pointed attack on my character. What I had assumed was him being a good best man was actually him keeping tabs and stoking the fires under the chaos he'd created. A masterful display of skullduggery on his part.
I was kept off balance all evening by the continual barrage of anarchy. Yet despite all of the chaos I realised that this was just Coyote's way of showing me that he cared. Given he was one of the most important people in my life, I actually found it strangely comforting. While I was glad that Coyote avoided the fate of the other two Chaos gods in attendance, my biggest regret of the evening was that we didn't get to trade a few barbs back and forth before he scarpered.
Looking back, I don't think I could have uncovered Coyote's identity, even though it made perfect sense that he would be there as my closest friend given how I viewed the relationship. I had assumed he had shifted form to resemble one of the guests rather than possessing one. There was no in character behaviour upon which which to judge out of character behaviour and not enough background between them to pick any slip ups on his part (we'd chatted at the start of the evening to establish some details for the friendship). In the end, I don't think it matters. For superheroes, enmity is best when it's eternal.