No Murder

Game: No Murder, Please, We're British
Type: LARP (Tavern scene)
Author: Quinn Milton
Date: 1/2009

Teaser: Dear most prominent, pretentious, and preposterously prosperous person,

It is with pleasure that we invite you to a party of most impressive proportions, an invitation presented to only the most prestigiously wealthy lords of His Prince's England. We have prepared only the most perfect platters for you to partake. If you think this alliteration is good, you should try our imported truffles! HAHAHA. But really, each piece is packaged in panther skins so as to preserve its pungent flavor.

So, preferred patron, please join us on the 24th of January for a positively pleasurable evening of paramount personae and proliferation of only the most preeminent teas.

Preregistration (delivered by post in a prior preceding parcel) is a prerequisite for your presence. Preferably reply as soon as possible.

With profoundest pleasure,

The Prestigious Palace of Lord Abarenthy

World Background: None was really provided, but c'mon. It's Victorian Britain at its most preposterous.

Group Background: Again, none given, most of this was established at game by character development with others; I was a member of the aristocracy, basically.

Author's Note: This is just provided to show what kind of game it was: I have for everyone a brief outline for your character for the tavern scene. This is in no way a complete character, so please develop your character and make them shiny and full of life! There will be plenty of time for character development on the 24th as well. If your character is male, please dress with tophats, nice shirts and fancy pants. If your character is female, please wear girly frills and a skirt or dress. The year is 1919, but feel free to dress up in Victorian style because this is essentially a tea party! Costuming will have some items, but if you can bring your own costuming please do!

Character: Alice-Rose Watson: You are the spoiled, bimbo, pretty, dainty, demanding daughter of Beatrice Watson and Carlson Watson. However… you have a grave secret! You secretly like to drink coffee! You absolutely HATE tea with a passion, but cannot confront anyone about this because they would shun you… You secretly take your parents money and buy some under-the-counter coffee from the TOWN. You never thought you would have to go into the TOWN for anything, since you could get your servants to do it. You have to dress up like a common-person. But coffee is worth it!

How Game Went: While I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have at the time... that was partially my fault. First, other considerations were bothering me, second I wasn't as clear on my survey what kind of character I'd like (I put yes for a lot of the archetypes, and even though I put "no" on bratty kid and bimbo wife, I think the "yes" on snooty mcsnooterson and rich aristocrat carried me over to fill a character written that I didn't really like. No-one's fault but mine), and third, I was caught up in my disappointment at the time. IN RETROSPECT however, it was a good time. There was someone playing an animated lamp, so I got it into my character's head that the lamp was following her, and had a good hissy fit about that.

Oh, right, I should talk about the plot. So, not surprisingly enough, as the patriarch of the family (who was NOT GAY with another very well-dressed guy) got up to give a speech... he toppled over, murdered. To say the least, we were all in a tizzy, and good, old-fashioned investigating went on, somewhat hindered by my uppityness and hysterical shrilling about how we could all be next (even if I don't particularly like a character, I will damn well play it well). Eventually there was a hullabaloo about a vampire living in the basement, and he and his servants dashed off with his coffin right as the detective with the permanent five-o-clock shadow (constantly trailed by another dressed the same, with the same drawn-on five-o-clock shadow playing his inner monologue and making it REALLY HARD for the rest of us not to laugh at what we were supposed to not be able to hear) was giving his conclusions.

Basically, it was a hilarious game. I wish I'd been more experienced, but it's still a fun memory, and I think we should have another game like this at some point. I suppose we can't exactly without the Mansion, but we can try.

Epic'd

Game: Epic'd
Type: LARP
Author: Roy Norvell Graham
Date: 11/2008

Teaser: Patrick O'Harrris watched the city glow underneath from behind the dull glass wall of the elevator, rising towards the 36th floor to bring him to his business meeting that might potentially, if he got very, very lucky, bring him a level up on the corporate ladder. He fixed his tie and took a deep breath of the recycled air running through the typical city building. The numbing drone of elevator music existed in the back of his mind, the front of his brain focused on the sweet kids he would come home to late at night, tucked away under their sheets.

Patrick watched the lights beneath each number light up as the elevator steadily glided upward. 22, 23, 24…. It's just sometimes he got sick of it all. The rat race. The
corporate game. All the competition… but little Neil and Anna made it all worthwhile. 26, 27, 28…. The world was messed up, here, it really was. But those little beauties that filled the world seemed to really show it's true colors, Patrick mused.

31, 32, 33… Patrick lifted his briefcase off the elevator floor and checked his watch. Only 3 minutes late, and this presentation would more than make up for those.

34, 35, and finally 36. Patrick stepped out of the elevator and into the marble hallway just as a force beyond all reason struck against the very fabric of reality. The hallway shattered into infinite shards of space- not the stone and paint, but the very existence of the thing. The world morphed into something entirely different, fitting back together like a scattered jigsaw puzzle.

Artpick spread his paint-brushed wings and soared through the skies, sweeping over the gleaming city of the Kingdom. No longer was he madly in love with his wife, Alice- their paths had never crossed. Now the 33 year old angel, his back filled with feathers of every color, perched upon the marble tower looked down on the bright white, beautiful buildings of the Magic Kingdom.

World Background: Sound Recording

Group Background: The Rebellion: For many years, the Magic Kingdom, the current governing power, ruled without question; and for good reason, too! They helped those in need, and acted with the best interests of mankind. They were the greatest ruling power to ever grace the land. But The Scientist has shown you the truth- he has shown you what will happen if the Magic Kingdom is allowed to continue.
As a soldier of the rebellion, you know the reason the world is like this- why unexplainable magic exists, why the laws of the universe are no longer consistent and uniform. Reality is cracked, and if magic continues to be used in the amount that the Kingdom is using it, reality will… break. To be perfectly clear, if magic use is continued, the cracks in reality will grow. Since magic is the bending and breaking of physics, the more it's used, the closer the universe gets to shattering entirely. But not while you still draw breath! The Rebellion has science on its side, and is armed to the teeth with technology such as steamguns, airships, and a select few even use the laws of physics in their most primal form to take down all who stand in your way. You have to stop this, by any means necessary- even if it means tearing down the one thing bettering mankind. The universe is counting on you.

Character: Neri, the Puppeteer- Every army needs a strategist. Satesbain may be the genius in charge of the Rebellion, and Voden might be a great tactical commander, but if it wasn't for you the Rebellion wouldn't be doing half as well as it is now. You're more behind the scenes than Satesbain, who is the face and leader of the Rebellion, or Voden, who is the battle-hardened and acclaimed general, but you are just as influential as either of them.
Your motives are well known throughout the Rebellion, as you don't truly make any effort to hide them. Your strategies often involve the quickest victory with the least number of lives lost- on the Rebellion, in any case. After watching your friends killed by the Magic Kingdom in combat, you lost your pity for them. However, you are warm and kind to your fellow members of the Rebellion.
Over your years facing down the Magic Kingdom over and over, you seem to have developed a kind of rival. Haronnin the Eclipse, the advisor to the High Sorceress and in a similar position to yourself, has engaged your troops many a time with a force of her own. She has often matched you move for move… something you're not used to. You wish to see the Rebellion succeed, but it is also a personal wish to see Haronnin defeated.

How Game Went: I really don't remember much of this game at all. I know we went up to meet the Magic Kingdom, and I tried to suppress hostilities which I guess wasn't supposed to happen... Haronnin and I exchanged a few appraising/"I'll beat you" glances and exchanges, and then there was the magic bomb. It was a cool premise, but it just didn't stick in my mind.



(From left to right: Naroj (possibly), Jyreme, [unknown kid], Voden, Me, Satesbain, assorted others. Faces blurred on those I couldn't contact for permission.)

Caedre

Game: Caedre
Type: LARP
Author: Dominic D'Andrea
Date: 10/2008

Teaser: Lit and heated by cheery but dignified firelight, the room seemed smaller than it actually was. The heavy curtains were drawn firmly shut, denying the white world without and adding to the feeling of cloying closeness within.
Seven or eight men and women perched excitedly on an assortment of couches, sipping wine and arguing.
"No, no, you have it all wrong," one man was saying as he gesticulated wildly with his wine glass. "We need to humor them! As distasteful as it may be, there is no denying their, ahem, abilities. Clearly, we have no choice in the matter! Otherwise we shall all be overrun and murdered in our beds, I shouldn't wonder." He glanced around furtively, as if they were all about to be ambushed that very instant.
Immediately there was an outburst of voices, some expressing hearty agreement, some shouting their disapproval. Finally one voice rose above the chaos, and the others paused to refill their lungs and prepare themselves to resume the outcry.
"They'll kill us all in any case! We should strike first, while we still can; how long do you think until our own people rise up against us? The world is on the edge of disaster, and we sit about twiddling our thumbs! We need to act, decisively, immediately, not attempt to reason with them. Do you hear me? They mean to kill us! It is my opinion — "
But no one quite felt like listening to what his opinion was just then. Having sufficiently regained their breath, everyone launched straight back into proclaiming their own take on the issue at hand, for the most part completely ignoring the people around them or listening only when it pleased them. They talked and talked, right up until breakfast was announced, at which point they hurriedly broke off and rushed off to a warm and elegant meal quite removed from talk of death and politics, as was only civilized.
~~~

Kana lifted her head to the wind, flaring her nostrils slightly. She breathed deeply of the dry air, sifting through the various scents, searching for that taint of metal, sweat, fear. The smell she sought was distinctly out-of-place in this wild land.
Nine people watched her from short distance away, leather packs slung across their shoulders. They all carried weapons, mainly knives, and were watching her intently. The seconds stumbled by. Finally she lowered her head and turned back to the others to answer their unasked question.
"Nothing. I don't smell them."
A tangible ripple of relief spread through the group, and everyone relaxed and turned to their leader, a lean and scarred man with an aura of dignity and power resonating in his every move. He nodded, and immediately the group sprang into action, adjusting pack straps, covering the smoldering remains of last night's fire. In a surprisingly short amount of time, they had erased all evidence of their passing.
The ragged group departed nearly silently, maintaining a steady pace until they had left the site far behind, hurried along their way by nightmarish visions of returning to find their village slaughtered, their homes pillaged and burned to the ground. With each step an anxious knot formed in each of their stomachs, a twisted lump of dread, which could only be relieved by the sight of their home, safe.
It began to snow.



World Background(s):
HELL BACKGROUND
Most demons don’t actually live in Hell anymore. It’s not a very nice place to be — there’s rather too much fighting and disorganization and not enough fun. There’s no central authority to stop them from leaving, so Hell is empty except for some stubborn demonic gangs and the da’Kua (basically the demonic Mafia). Nowadays, most demons prefer to live among humans in secret or stay on the move, often living as mercenaries.
It’s a hazardous occupation. It’s easy to get killed, or caught by the angels. The angels have spy systems and police all over the universe, keeping tabs on demonic criminals. If a demon gets caught, the angelic police tattoo the angelic symbol on a knuckle, starting with the right index finger. Five tattoos and they kill you. The tattoos disappear after precisely one hundred years after they were placed, and cannot be removed or covered (magically or with paint).
Demons are not, as humans and angels seem to think, inherently evil. They are in fact not very different from the angels, except that they are less organized and regulated. Some are cruel, malevolent, or greedy; some are kind, gentle, or generous. They are diverse in everything from looks to behavior. The major difference between demons and angels is that angels grow up being taught to be ‘good’, whereas demons grow up being taught to survive.

HEAVENLY BACKGROUND
The angels are on a massive half-crusade half-inquisition, and they have taken it upon themselves to destroy any planet or civilization they declare unworthy, so the entire population of Caedre is damned in their eyes. There's a glory of angels going to eliminate them. Additionally, an unspoken reason for the war is that Heaven is getting crowded. Heaven is an actual place (technically a dimension), and only angels live there...but since angels rarely die, the population is increasing beyond sustainable limits.
God is no longer actually the political leader, he is a puppet king. There are three Archangels: Casta, Eversio, and Volentes. The power lies in the hands of these three Archangels. In general there is great unrest in Heaven and masses of angels are being drafted into the army, some of whom have never fought within conscious memory.
There is also a Grand Military Commander called Pheonix, who leads the main body of the Angelic Army. The Archangels have sent a glory of angels, headed by Pheonix himself, to reduce the planet to rubble.
Since angels are creatures of the spiritual, their physical bodies are not terribly important. Most of their essence lies on the astral plane. If the body of an angel or demon is killed, s/he comes back as him/herself after a few minutes, often disoriented and with slightly fuzzy memories. The only way to truly kill an angel is by destroying their soul as well as their body, simultaneously; thus, it generally requires two people and quite a lot of strength. Pheonix’s strategies often call for group magical attacks, because in pooling their strength they can maximize their efficiency and effectiveness.
When they are not using combat magic, angels fight mostly with Sendings (with the result that the angels do less physical fighting themselves). Sendings are creatures or beings they create from energy to fight for them. They don't have the capability to disobey their angel’s orders, but they are intelligent and have personalities.

WORLD BACKGROUND: CAEDRE
Caedre is not a very hospitable planet. It's going through an ice age, and everyplace except the equator is getting too cold for comfort. There’s not enough food production anymore due to crop failure, and previous food supplies are shrinking rapidly. Deep-seated racism and squabbles over land, money, resources, and everything else possible to fight over have left the world torn and the land soaked in blood.
Technologically, think early 1700s; for some perspective, things like bifocal glasses, flush toilets, and thermometers have very recently been invented. There is very little metal ore and not enough arable land to truly support development of advanced technology and scientific research. A single country (Sarria) with a government made up of aristocrats and wealthy land-owners controls most of the world, with various less powerful governments of smaller countries owing allegiance and/or tribute to the more powerful country. In the crisis imposed by the ice age, the Sarrian government seized political control of almost the entire world and supposedly has jurisdiction over migration/resources/etc.. However, in reality the Ladarians (any race other than Banai is collectively called ‘Ladarian’) are shifting towards the equator regardless of restrictions and laws against such things. The impending ice age has caused mass immigration towards the equator of the planet in a desperate race for hospitable land, crowding the native Banai out of their land as the Ladarians flee the cold. The Sarrian government is sending a group of ambassadors down to try and negotiate with the Banai.
Around the equator, where the Banai live, the ruling system is pretty much tribal, with a Shaman Council that usually meets every two years to deal with issues ranging across the tribes or to settle intertribal disputes. However, the Shaman Council has set out in order to parley with the Sarrian Ambassadors, taking with them with several hand-picked Banai.
Because of fear of change, experience with bad treatment by Ladarians, and because there just isn't enough food, the Banai are resisting the entry of the Ladarians into their lands. Oftentimes, the Banai are simply overwhelmed by sheer numbers and superior technology and killed or just overrun and treated horribly. However, the Ladarians cannot, as a general rule, do magic, so the Banai have a certain advantage. This is the only real reason the Ladarians haven’t simply elbowed their way in and also why the Sarrians are aiming for a peaceful, albeit unfair, method of assimilation.

Group Background:
The group of demons that you belong to is a band of roving mercenaries, led by Anatorius. Anatorius has been the leader of this little band for ten years. He was second in command to the last leader, Cratha, but Cratha was caught and killed by the da’Kua for owing them money.
You guys go from dimension to dimension in search of jobs. They aren’t always illegal; they don’t always involve fighting. You have done a fair bit of smuggling and carrying messages across dimensions. However, your most common type of job is assassination, and right now you have a target: the Archangels. Your employer is Pheonix, the angelic commander. He’s offered you, not money, but forgiveness for all previous crimes (and removal of any knuckle tattoos).

Character:
Desynth
You are a tough but caring demon, and very old (although it doesn’t show on your body, of course). You were part of Cratha’s group before any of the current members joined, and you were sad to see him go. You are an almost maternal figure in the group, but that doesn’t mean you’re soft and cuddly. You loathe bullies, and are very strong and quick.
Before you were part of the group, you were part of the da’Kua. A messenger, to be precise. You still have the skill of exact recitation: you can perfectly mimic anybody’s voice, intonation, and wording when you want to. However, you got sick of the constant power games and ran away one night two hundred fifty years ago.
Unfortunately several group members have been killed or caught recently, and things have been going downhill.
Your main friends in the group are Malakyte and Cintus.

(Props to Dom on this, btw. Probably the character I've had that's closest to my personality. ...Except more so now than then... Dom can see into the future! O.O)

Interesting Game Convention(s): Sheep. Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

How Game Went: Unfortunately, the guy who was to play Anatorius, the group leader, didn't show up that day. Which means I got a promotion, of sorts! I think that for my first time playing a rather important character, and my second game, it went fairly well. We walked up, saw the angels tell the people of the planet that they were doomed, and took it from there, some of us trying to deal with the panic, some of us going off to assassinate the archangels. A lot of this is foggy, again, it was a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure we saw that Pheonix was going to kill us, too, and booked it. Lot of stuff I don't remember, but I do remember that near the end, when game should have been called, the gamewriter was too into character to do so (we'd been opening a portal to get the inhabitants of the planet away to somewhere safe). Struggling, I said, "Well, how about that last place we were?"
Malakyte responded, "No, they chased us right through there."
"Hm..."
"How about the planet with the sheep?"
"Okay..." So we took them to the planet with the sheep. The guy who'd been playing Pheonix (and was now recast, as he'd been overcome) decided to show up as a shepherd... who had no concept of a LOT of things (oh Sol, you dork. Sometime I'll have to track all my interactions with him). We asked him if there were any cities around, and he didn't know what those were, and somehow we got into a discussion of if he knew anything, and apparently he'd read some books that he happened to have in his cottage...
It got to the point of us asking what was around and him pointing in a direction and saying, "A very very very very long way that way there're some sheep. A very very very very very very very very very long way that way there's a hill." Finally someone called game.
That ending's since been redlined, but the moral of the story is, if you're the gamewriter, don't get TOO into character. Or have someone else willing to call game? Or... something? Hell if I know. But it was hilarious.
(Also, the posh British guys. If you know what I mean, you know. I don't know how anyone ever kept a straight face around him.)



(From left to right: Cintus, Djanus with the badass axe monster weapon, me with the derp face, and Malakyte with the Mjolnir-weapon.)

Black Honor

Game: Black Honor

Type: LARP

Author: Bryan Ransil

Date: 9/2008

Teaser: The long stone hall leading to the terrace was cold, but bedecked with tapestries. Full of color and life, they first depicted epic deeds which had been performed hundreds of years ago; the glorious warriors and sorcerers of noble lineage, maintaining the world order until their dying gasps. As Ithinil walked down the hall, these glorious illustrations gave way to the times of darkness: usurpers and mighty barbarian hordes conquering and reconquering the world, endlessly juggling rule, and the demons who wished to usher the world into darkness. But then, above the entrance to the terrace, the epic of Fasadon was depicted. The Giver of Law, a merciful god, who returned from the worlds beyond only to sacrifice himself and return the world to proper order.

Ithinil gazed for a long time upon the tapestry, meditating on the magnitude of the god's sacrifice; on the many more ages that he could have lived, attempting to give the law back to men, only to see his laws crushed into dust.

It was a frigid winter's night, the snow falling upon the terrace in dark night.
"Ithinil of the Umber House! How good to see you!"

Ithinil turned to see one of his fellow dukes, Versh of the Fiery House, a temporary friend in the ever shifting court politics. Putting on a merry smile, Ithinil replied, "May the Guardians always watch over you. Have you had any word from your brother?"

"All is calm. Tornash will have served his duty, guarding Fasadon's Grave, and I will be sent in his place."

"Are you scared?"

"No. As they say, 'The Black Knights scattered, the Grave Guarded, the world is filled with peace.' What I'm thinking about most is actually being near the place where Fasadon died, and actually seeing the Guardians: the Warrior, the Warlock, and the Worshiper. What are they like?"

Ithinil looked into the stars for a long while, thinking... "They are like world, and not. Being bound to Fasadon, who is bound to the world, they make you think of everything at once. They make you feel that all of the world's history is contained within their bodies, and that their very will forms the Universe. You feel that if they died, the world would die, or be turned upside
down."

Group Background:
The Demons
You are beings of great power, beings that could rule the world from North to South, save for that “God” Fasadon.
He was never a God, but a human with major issues, and extremely unobtrusive. He was almost never talked about, despite adventuring with a half-dragon warrior, a sly rogue, and a powerful necromancer. Even as the world seemed to collapse around you, your mutual hatred of this party led you to combine your forces: Death Knight, Lady of the Night, and Prince of Darkness. You learned that they were performing a ritual, and found your chance to kill them all.
You rushed to the site, in the middle of a forest, and saw a light. You burst into the glade, and got this close to killing them all. But the light became too strong, and threw you miles away. With this explosion of light, shards of darkness stuck into your souls, empowering you. Fasadon’s three companions (the Three "Wussies" as you some times call them: Warrior, Warlock, and Worshiper) have defended the site ever since.
Meanwhile, you've recouped your forces, schemed, and even gained power. The Lady of the Night has found a minion for herself, the Verevolf Fivara, while the Prince of Darkness has numerous minions. However, for this expedition, he has brought Telvos. The Death Knight sees no need for minions, especially since it is much more fun to kill them yourself.
Normally you are barred from Fasadon's Grave, but the Black Knights have pierced the site's mystical fortifications. From your research, you know that your power shall be drained when you are around the three Wussies, making your endurance and strength almost equal to a mortal, but you feel that this raid will be successful. Those that were rejected by Fasadon's order are now trying to conquer Fasadon's Grave.
It is the perfect time to strike, and take what is rightfully yours: The World.

Character:
Fivara, the Verevolf
You don't quite know were you came from. Maybe you fell from a shooting star, or formed out of the forest's darkest shadows. Regardless, some of your first memories are of the Lady of the Night, formerly the heir of the Mother of All Wolves, Elcharna. She found you, and took you in. Though she has lost her wolf form, now appearing similar to a vampire, you are extremely close to her in spirit. Your heart is as black, and shadows just cling on to you (though you have not gotten a knack for forming it to conceal you, despite you mistress' attempts to teach you).
There are several others in your dysfunctional pack (no one seems to really be the leader, which is really confusing). You are most distant from the "Prince" of Darkness and his subordinate Telvos. Then there is the Death Knight, who (other than your mistress) you feel the closest to. He likes killing just as much as you do, and he affectionately calls you (when your lady isn't around) his "Hound of War".

Despite nearly constantly accompanying your lady, you have met one who you some how feel... more content around. There is this boy who you met once in the forest. You were romping around, when you found a comforting smell. It happened to be this boy, playing with the shadows. You two had a wonderful time together, playing in the shadows, but after that day you never saw him again...

Your Lady and the others constantly talk about killing three super-powerful humans, at a
place called "Fasadon's Grave". Fasadon was apparently a human who bound himself with the world to pervert the world order, making humans the most important species. You only know that when these beings are killed, your mistress shall (when she asserts her dominance over the others) turn the world into a forest, where there shall be great variety of amusing game.

Interesting Game Convention(s): Sort of a dramatic device, the last person in their line could not die. They would somehow escape, or there was some long-lost heir, but a family could not die out. Also, Fasodammit. That was amusing.

How Game Went: As this was my first game, and quite some time ago now, most of it has faded from my memory. I remember we went walking around, confronting groups, etc. When we came across the group with THE BOY, I went to meet him, but his group, frightened of me, kept trying to keep me away from him. He turned out to be a necromancer or something, but I guess he was with a group of goodies. Oh, well. Then, in the end, big boss battle, and something or other happened. Like I said, it was my first game. It was fun, though! And thus began my evil type-casting.