Starting Plots of a Potential Vampire Season

A game of occult mystery and investigation....

While the goals which become important will depend on player interests and character actions, I thought it might still be nice for potential players to know the sort of game they can expect, which can also guide them in character creation.  The last thing anyone wants is to wind up at a LARP with nothing to do.  So here are some potential goals for the twelve month vampire season.

Likely Plots for the First Season

Goals may include:

• Escape to the Ordo Dracul Chapter House with no casualties.
• Reinforce Chapter House defences and build new ones, where possible.
• Determine that no Kindred within the court are possessed by a Strix.
• Embrace new members of the Ordo Dracul or send messages to other cities for reinforcements.
• Locate any surviving courtiers from the other covenants.
• Transport resources (i.e. library dots) from other havens to the shared havens.
• Determine who among the Ordo Dracul will be prince, sheriff and temporary harpy.
• Determine mentor - student arrangements as necessary coils become all important.
• Determine access to resources, including declaration of what rooms are used for what.
• The true harpy will be revealed as the one other Kindred are willing to record their boons with.
• Obtain relics that might provide protection against the perils of the city.
• Send out foray teams to determine what said perils may actually be.
• Throw off an assault on the Chapter House.
• Locate valuable humans to ghoul to fulfil functions not yet met.
• Determine the rights and responsibilities of non-OD (without exiling their players from the game).
• Entrap a shadow entity and research banes upon it.

12 Months of Vampire: the Requiem

You're not safe in the shadows...

In 2011, I ran a two-year Vampire: the Requiem campaign called "The Dark Before Dawn".  I am now considering re-launching it with a one-shot that will lead to a twelve-month campaign with the option for further seasons should it remain popular.  This campaign will focus on the unlives of the Ordo Dracul and those few vampires who survived the shadow-ridden purge of the 2014 "praxis seizure" struck the vampire court a hideous blow and unleashed an onslaught of strange light-sensitive entities into Adelaide.  To make matters worse, the rules behind being a Kindred within Adelaide have changed (i.e. the God Machine rules are now in effect).

The campaign will be set shortly after that point where the local Kindred have to start picking up the pieces, having retreated to the Ordo Dracul stronghold on Quarantine Island.  All new characters need to be members of the Ordo Dracul though players of existing characters from the earlier campaign can retain their characters so long as they're willing to be under Ordo Dracul administration.  All non-Ordo Dracul NPCs will be cut off from the rest of the court until rediscovered and then will likely continue focusing on their own business.

The game will be set firmly in the occult mystery genre though there will still be political positions and benefits to encourage a reasonable amount of politics within the game.  Bear in mind, though, that in such dangerous times there will likely be PC-generated backlash against those who play the political game too overtly viciously (though a lot can be done with subtlety) and the Ordo Dracul punish those who kill their covenant-members without going through proper procedures.

If you have never played Vampire: the Requiem before or simply haven't read that deeply into the Ordo Dracul before, don't worry.  Presuming we have enough interest for this to go ahead, there will be a pre-game workshop where we will determine the basics of the covenant together, including the shared haven, character ties, boons, etc.

Feel free to register your interest or discuss possible character concepts on facebook.com/groups/Thedarkbeforedawn

A Whimsical Tale of Cunning and Derring-Do

Whimsy, colour and costuming can be oh so much fun...

We're currently considering another LARP in a different style to the vampire LARP you can see over on the Current Game Schedule Page in the bar above.  Where The Dark Before Dawn is a game of horrifying intrigue, this game will be playful and adventurous.  Where The Dark Before Dawn is a game using the admittedly complex Vampire: the Requiem rules (with simplified rules on the character sheet, but still), this game will give players only a couple skills or abilities to use.  Where The Dark Before Dawn is a carefully plotted game with cunningly defined connections and antagonisms between the characters, in this game of whimsy the players will draw their character goals from one of six hats.

While much of this game of whimsy is still in the very early developmental stages, I can tell you this.  Each player will be placed in a faction determined by their costuming in this Changeling-esque game with humans in regular streetwear; spring courtiers in vintage (1920s - 1950s); summer courtiers in medieval wear; winter courtiers in gothic or emo clothing; and autumn courtiers in steampunk wear.  Each hat is tied to one faction and each hat will have themed goals on slips of paper within it.

This should make for a suitably fun, chaotic and entertaining game for all involved.

National ABC Radio Presentation on LARP in Adelaide

All journeys start with a single step forward....

I will be speaking on ABC National Radio about LARPs in general and this LARP organisation in particular at 2.45PM today.  It's a great opportunity to let people know more about this little known hobby and the wide range of different genres and styles that are possible within it.  After all, LARPs can range from murder mysteries to social experiments, historical re-enactments to fantasy games with boffer combat, social experiments to political contests between fictional groups.

LARPs can give people the opportunity to get active when they're staged outdoors, especially with boffer combat.  They let people sneak a peek behind another person's eyes as they live a few hours as somebody else and experiment with a different personality, different choices, and different ways of being treated.  They can be intellectual exercises involving mysteries and puzzles.  They can also be a fun way to pass the time with friends, giving people the opportunity to dress up in classy or intriguing outfits and strut their stuff as both actor and audience in their own imaginary play.

It will be great to get the chance to tell people about what LARP can be and hopefully attract a few more people to our hobby.