— November 11–14, 2021 —
The Larp’s Feel
This larp is a deeply personal and emotional experience set in a world “adjacent” to our own where the characters are refugees from a country where they have long suffered under the yoke of fascism and have struggled to make meaning of their lives.
This is a science fiction larp in the sense that this world has had scientific and technological breakthroughs that we have not yet had (that we know of). But this larp is less about the science and more about the fiction, with a greater focus on relationships, trauma, and the persistence (or lack thereof) of memory in how we create identities for ourselves.
This event is not a mechanics heavy larp, a “boffer” larp, a supernatural larp, a post-apocalyptic larp, or a strategy game. This is not a scenario in which the characters are expected to come together to escape a terrible situation or where the characters make plans to go back and free those still under the effects of fascism. These are people who used everything they had to get away and are now eager to prove themselves in their new country so that they will be allowed to stay and to find, at last, some peace.
Topics and themes you will be dealing with in this larp include love, loss, family (both blood and found), fascism, service, memory, identity, fear, and trauma.
Design Transparency
This larp will include realistic depictions of violence, possibly including both torture and execution. This might involve loud noises such as sirens, machine gun fire, or explosions. It might also involve flashing and/or strobing lights, dim lighting, or too-bright lights.
The larp will mostly be held in the basement and on the first floor of the building, which are wheelchair accessible. The rest of the building is available for roleplay, but those with mobility issues may have difficulty accessing the upper floors.
This is not a luxury larp—it is a larp about deprivation and loss. Food will be plentiful and (hopefully) tasty, but it will not be gourmet, catered food. (We will have vegetarian and dairy free options, but cannot promise to have pure vegan, keto, or other options)
This is an old site. It is clean, it is safe, but it is also musty, and some places are dusty and/or closed off. We will do what we can, but if you have breathing issues, please keep this in mind.
All of the rooms will be shared rooms for between three and seven people. Beds are either bunk beds or queen-sized beds. In order to accommodate all players and staff, most people will be sharing beds, or staying in a bunk bed. If we run out of bunk bed spaces, we will then have to prioritize admittance for those who are able and willing to share a queen-sized bed with someone else.
Part of this event will involve working—people will be assigned “tasks” throughout the larp. These tasks will not be difficult, but they may involve things like light cooking, chopping vegetables, taking out trash, sweeping, etc. If there’s anything you cannot do, you will have an opportunity to let us know what those things are on the survey.
Most of the bathrooms are shared by people in multiple rooms. There are a large number of bathrooms, but they are not in the bedrooms. Think of this place more like a hostel than a hotel. There are, however, mirrors in every room for people to get ready.
Bedrooms and bathrooms at the event will be out-of-character spaces, but if you are not in one of these, you are subject to surveillance from staff members via camera or direct attention.
Here is the overall list of trigger warnings/content that you might experience. You will have an option on the survey to indicate if there are one or more of these you do not want in your backstory, but some of these will be unavoidable within the larp.
- Physical and emotional violence/abuse
- Torture
- Suicide
- Child abuse (only in backstory)
- Domestic abuse
- Sexuality
- Drug/alcohol abuse
- Racism
- Sexism
- Ableism
- Enforced heteronormativity
- Enforced eating, including taking medications
- War
- Transphobia
- Paranoia
Finally, this is what has become known in larp circles as a “Type 2 fun” event. Below is a link to the original understanding of the fun types, as they apply to outdoor sports/activities. This scale has been adopted (both seriously, and tongue-in-cheek) by many larp designers to reflect events that delve deeply into emotionally intense and/or traumatic subjects or that do not have happy endings. To summarize briefly:
- Type 1 – It’s fun to do, and fun to remember, and you’re sad when it’s over.
- Type 2 – It might be beautiful and meaningful, but it is not fun to do. You’re not necessarily sad when it’s over, although it is fun to remember or think back on.
- Type 3 – It’s not fun to do, and it’s not fun to remember or think about.
As a closing note, this larp isn’t a game—it’s an experience. It is not designed to be “fun” in the traditional sense, but to broaden horizons, explore feelings and situations not commonly encountered in modern life, and to make people think about and reflect on those feelings and situations. It will not be for everyone, but we hope that for those who are seeking this sort of experience, it will prove to be time and money well spent.
Video produced by Kaza Marie Ayersman.