Game Style- how do we play?

Finding a phrase that exactly sums up our approach to this LARP is difficult. Players come to LARP from a hundred different directions and backgrounds. We hope that the discussion below will give you an idea of what kind of experience that we hope to create together, but please do get in contact with any questions we have left unanswered!

Our LARP is systemless, non-combat, collaborative, and character-based.

The Mixing Desk of LARP is an excellent tool for communicating our vision for the game.

Mixing Desk

Active Game Themes

This game features the following active themes. These are core features of the game and will be freely explored:

Magic & Divination: the central theme of this game is the connection that our Wise Women have with an unknown power deep in the ocean. Our game includes acts of seeking out this power, using it to perform divination rituals, and ultimately seeking to make a bargain.

Singing: this is the way in which our characters connect to the power of the ocean, and the way in which we hope our participants will generate a feeling of social cohesion. A 'good voice' or any song learning prior to the event is not required. We are aiming for realistic experiences, rather than a skilled musical performance.

Historical Context: this game is set in the 1950s and will include appropriate food, costume, music. This also includes historical attitudes to the following topics:
- Sexism: a woman's place is believed to be the home, generally working hard to support her family.
- Homophobia: marriage is believed to be between one man and one woman, for the purpose of raising children. Please note that our game includes two characters who are in a same-sex relationship. We will use the pre-game workshops to discuss as a group how we should approach in-game homophobia.
- Xenophobia: this is a small island village, everything from the outside is thought of as 'other'
- Religion: the predominant religion is the Free Church of Scotland. Conservatism and adherence to strict social norms surrounds our characters in their everyday lives.
- World Wars: Most of our characters were alive during WW2, and several will recall WW1. Some will have backstory that includes losing loved ones during the fighting.

Freedom through The Talent: having defined the points above, our characters do have a certain amount of freedom during our event. Whilst their everyday lives are ruled by social norms and their menfolk, we are interacting with them during a special gathering: The Vigil. This is a setting in which our characters can reveal their true natures, and speak much more freely than usual. Although social structures should be respected, Wise Women have more in common with each other than any other members of the wider community.

Inequality and Unfairness: Several of the Wise Women differ in their social standing, and some are living in daily fear of poverty and destitution. Some of the Wise Women hold power directly over other characters: for example Morag MacLeod is married to the man who employs several of the husbands of other Wise Women, and Eilidh Cameron's husband is the local Church Minister and holds great social power over most of the Wise Women and their families.

Loss of loved ones: our game centres around the concept that our Wise Women can predict and act to change disasters at sea involving their loved ones. This means that discussion of drowning, injury and death will be a central part of our gameplay. There will be no danger to any young children.

Excluded Game Themes

We are excluding themes of transphobia, or discrimination based on any off-game characteristics. Our players may be of various genders, religions and ethnicities, however all of our characters are cis-gender white Scottish women.

Please do get in touch with us if anything above does not make sense, we are always delighted to discuss these tricky issues. We are always learning and refining our games- feedback and participant input is important to us.

Please also take a look at our general statement on accessibility & conduct

Accessibility & Conduct

Meta-Techniques

We are using several meta-techniques in this game. These are name badges, jewellery, and divination envelopes. These items are off-game indicators and so should not be commented upon or stolen.

Jewellery

We are using necklaces and brooches as an off-game indicator of in-game social status and Talent status. We can provide bead necklaces and brooches, or participants can bring their own if they prefer. For more information see the costume guide section.

* Alice Wilson and Rachel Stewart automatically have low social and Talent status because they are new to the group.

Name Badges

We will provide name badges for all participants, and ask they you wear them for the entirety of Friday. This will give everyone a good chance to memorise names. The badges will be colour-coded to indicate the generation that each character belongs to (older, middle or young)

Divination Envelopes

Each participant will be given three sealed envelopes, containing information they can glean from their divinations. Each will have a time frame within which it should be 'experienced'. Participants are free to open the envelopes whenever they choose (ideally in a moment alone or off-game), and incorporate the information into a divination ritual. They are then free to act on, or share the information they have discovered in-game as they choose. See the section on magic and divination for more information.

Pace of the Game

This is not a fast-faced frantic LARP. There is no ticking bomb that must be diffused, and no hostages to rescue. This is not the type of LARP in which you grab moments of roleplay between waves of action.

This is a game that is firmly grounded in emotion. We want you to feel your feelings. We want you sing together, sit alone by the fire, knit some lumpy socks. Perform your divination quickly and with distaste, or spend a relaxing hour looking out at the clouds on the horizon over the ocean. Take time to argue, to make-up, to cry and to laugh. Discover secrets and agonise over them before confronting your family over breakfast!

Acts: we will divide the game time into sections. This gives a rough framework which we can use to set participant expectations around tension, and pacing. This is not intended to be prescriptive, but rather a useful tool in building tension over the event. We will discuss this in pre-game briefing on Friday morning.

We accept that there is always a risk of boredom in an event with no 'action', but we are confident that the type of players who choose to play this game are capable of making game out of anything!

What is the Plot?

Premise

A group of women have gathered together to sit vigil for the men of the village, who are out deep sea fishing for the entire duration of the event (they will not be physically present as part of the game). All of the women possess The Talent- a deep connection to the sea which gives them powers of divination and bargaining. Our characters are aware of their Talent. There is a long shared history of using it to predict what will happen to their menfolk, and intervention when deemed appropriate.

The Vigil

It is usual for several Wise Women to sit vigil together whenever the men are out fishing. At this time of year, this is an almost constant occurrence. The usual practice is for 3-5 Wise Women to sit together and sing whilst they work on something that keeps their hands busy but leaves their minds free to roam- knitting, darning, whittling. Through singing, they connect with the power of the deep ocean. If there is a danger coming, they may seek to intervene in the form of a bargain. It is possible to change the outcome of danger, but never to avoid it completely. The Women can swap a broken piece of equipment for a broken arm, a lost catch in exchange for a life spared from drowning.

The Storm

Our game is set at a time when the Wise Women have gathered together in greater numbers than has been seen in many years. They have all been plagued by dreams and know that something truly disastrous is approaching their men at sea. Wise Women who have been absent for many years have heard the call to return, bringing old grudges and unfinished arguments with them. We are setting our game in 1953- the year of the North Sea Flood. This natural disaster severely impacted Scotland, England, the Netherlands, and Belgium claiming many lives and causing coastal destruction. We have changed history somewhat- by transposing it over the west coast instead.

The Bargain

Once the Wise Women have divined the potential impact of the storm, they will have to collectively decide what bargain they may make. This is likely to involve choosing some members of the fishing party who will lose their lives, in exchange for the salvation of the others. How will they choose who to sacrifice?

What will we actually do at the event?

The Wise Women have gathered together in the oldest cottages of the village. They will sit vigil together for the duration of the coming storm, using their powers of divination to discover what threatens their men out at sea, and how they might influence the outcome.

Social

This is primarily a game designed to explore the relationships of a group of women under pressure and time constraints. Old grudges and unfinished arguments will surface, some secrets may be revealed, strained relationships may reach breaking point, new understandings may be reached. All characters will have both positive and negative relationships with other characters. It is up to participants to decide how they will act out these relationships!

Singing

This is used as the primary method of communing with the power of the deep sea; the source of the Wise Women's Talent. Through song they are able to touch upon that power and use it later to perform divinations. Our characters also use singing during mundane tasks such as sewing or cooking food, as a way to entertain themselves and to bond as a group. We will learn several songs that can be used in this way.

Busy Work

It is common for women to have something to keep their hands busy at all times. Knitting, darning, whittling, embroidery etc. Participants are encouraged to bring something that they can work on during the event, or we can provide some partially completed knitting that you can pretend to be undertaking! No actual practical skills required.

Meal Preparation

As would be common in a gathering like this, preparing and consuming food takes up a lot of our time. Peeling and cutting, stirring the soup, making tea, or setting table are all activities that participants are very welcome to take part in. There is no requirement to be involved with food preparation, but it can form part of the game for those who would enjoy it. Sitting around a table chatting whilst others are working is also perfectly acceptable. Meals are taken as a group, and form the framework for our game.

Divination and Visions

Each of our Wise Women has their own way of divining the future. This might be by reading tea leaves, looking at patterns in the clouds, meditation, or casting sticks or dice. Many of these practices might lend themselves to solo roleplaying and there is opportunity to enjoy quiet moments alone. If you prefer, you can involve others in your divination techniques- asking them to roll dice or let your read their palm. This part of the game is very much open to interpretation by each participant.

Magic & Divination Info

Systemless LARP

Many players will be most familiar with the style of LARP that involves creating your own character within a defined system, with points to spend on skills. These skills then define which part of the game you can engage with. This is often essential in the type of game involving puzzles or combat. This is not that sort of game!

This game is influenced by Nordic, UK Freeform, and European International LARPs. The emphasis is on experiencing the setting and interacting with your fellow players. We want to give you space to feel your emotions and evolve your connections to others. There will be secrets to uncover, arguments to be had, and decisions to be made.

Character Generation

Characters are pre-written. This means they have several points of known history, along with established positive and negative relationships with other game characters. Participants can read a brief summary of the characters when they sign up, and will be offered a specific character before we ask them to pay us any money. We will then work with our participants to fine-tune their character, fleshing out their motivations and connections to other characters. Player input is essential to the character creation process and we will always aim to create the right character for the every participant.

Relationships are pre-defined. That doesn't mean that you can't find new friends and enemies during play, however we ask that you don't create additional connections before the start of the game.

Secrecy & Collaboration

Many of our characters will enter the game with secrets. These secrets might relate to dark deeds in their past, or to plans they have for the future. It should be a goal of all characters to share at least some of their hidden truths. We're not suggesting that you all open up to everyone about everything, but the entire point of the event is to see how the characters change over the course of the game. This is achieved by allowing discovery and reaction, and fostering an overall style of play that values experience above any form of 'winning'.

An example of this might be a character who was responsible for a Bargain that killed another character's father years ago. They might confess to a close friend during our event, and that friend can then struggle with the knowledge and decide what to do with it. It would be perfectly acceptable for the secret to go no further, and be used to cause tension in the relationship and inform character actions going forward. It would also be perfectly acceptable for the secret to be shared more widely- with potentially dire consequences! We expect participants to calibrate with each other regarding the type of play they would like to create with their secrets.

Through collaboration we tell the most fulfilling story together. This means that many characters will not achieve their in-game goals. This 'play to lose' style might be new to many players. If you are someone who values achievement above emotions and realism, then this might not be the game for you. If you are able to find fun in the drama of defeat and despair, then this definitely is the game for you!

Another important concept is that we 'play to lift'. This means that all players are expected to engage and react to others in a way that enhances their experience of the game. It means that the responsibility for ensuring everyone has a good game rests on all of our shoulders collectively. In practice this might mean; if a participant is playing a characters of high social status, it is appropriate to respect their instructions even if they do not have the most commanding voice. If a participant is playing a despised character they should be given the chance for a dramatic arguments and potential defeat, rather than simply be shunned and excluded from all game actions.

Calibration

It is not our intention to have any pre-planned scenes in this game. However, we highly recommend using calibration as a tool to ensure that you and your fellow players get the most from your game.

Calibration prior to the game:

This might be as simple as having a quick chat with your in-game nemesis before the event begins and deciding whether your rivalry is the kind that manifests in snide comments and dirty looks, or blows up into regular shouting matches.

Calibration during the game:

It might mean finding out something shocking about one of your friends, and finding a quiet moment to check-in with them about whether they would be happy for you to announce the news at dinner in front of everyone.

Calibration might be seen as creating spoilers. It is therefore perfectly valid for a player, when approached for this kind of chat, to state that they would rather everything happens organically. This is also a form of calibration!

Calibration without breaking character:

This is essential during highly emotional scenes. Using a simple set of hand signals or words allows us to check-in on our fellow participants to ensure that everyone is comfortable. We will go over these signals in the workshops on the Friday of the event.

THUMBS UP can be used as a question (is everything ok?) and also an answer (everything is ok). Any other response to a questioning thumbs up means that the scene needs to be adjusted or paused immediately.
GREEN / YELLOW / RED are excellent verbal signals that can be used to indicate comfort level in a scene. Green means that characters are fine with the escalating tension or emotion, yellow would mean that there needs to be a reduction in intensity, and red is used when a participant needs the current discussion topic or physical action to be stopped immediately.
HANDS SHADING EYES (as if protecting your eyes from bright sun) is an excellent way to indicate that you need to leave a scene without it being remarked upon. Other characters should not react to you leaving, or re-entering, the scene. This may be used if a scene is becoming too intense and you are not directly involved, and so do not want to use the colour system. Or there might be an off-game reason; for example, if you really need to use the toilet during a scene where it would be the height of rudeness for your character to leave the table. You can slip away and return, and the other players should act as if you never left.
"I NEED TO GET MORE FUEL FOR THE FIRE" is a code phrase specific to this game. It is used when a participant wishes to leave an area or conversation and not be followed. If it is used during a heated argument it could be interpreted as the character storming off. If it is used during a highly emotional conversation it might be that the player is overcome with emotion and needs some time to reflect. In any situation, the important thing is that the participant does not want anyone to follow them as they move away. This must be respected.

We are aware that several of these calibration mechanisms could be abused for in-game benefit. For example a player could use either the hands-shading-eyes motion, or the phrase "I need to get more fuel for the fire" as a way of avoiding in-game consequences for their actions. We are trusting our players to make sure that this does not happen, and if any player encounters this we hope that they inform one of the organisers and we can have a chat.