Category: LARP (Live Action Role Play)

The dastardly Lord Maul struck almost instantly and split the fourteen into four unequal groups and used his evil magic to trick the adventurers into thinking the other squads were their enemies. The groups fled in different directions, and then they began to hunt each other down. A plan was hatched as one gang sought an alliance with another band of rogues. Together they managed to defeat the other two hapless factions but only at a terrible cost that is yet to be known!

Upon revival, the once-dead adventures were relieved of Lord Maul’s curse and decided to go to the Faraway Leaf Inn to huddle around the fire with some much-needed warm beverages.

Boreas attacked even before all the adventurers had arrived and with such brutal force that most everyone was defeated within 15 minutes and the few remaining hearty souls succumbed almost immediately afterward.

Fortunately, all were revived in the warmth of the Faraway Leaf Inn within the first 25 minutes of the LARP.

The Scribe was attacked by a Pesanta who attempted to steal her breath.

Ace dragged the limp body of the scribe to the Seneschal who transported the Scribe in a horseless carriage to a Technomage.

The Technomage used arcane magics to drive off the demon. This restored the Scribe but put Ace, the Scribe, and the Seneschal into a deep sleep from which they did not wake for an entire day.

The ancient Sumerians had seven gods who decree, seven domes of the sky, seven gates to Kur, seven gallu demons dragging unfortunate souls through those gates to their dreary afterlife, and seven days in a week. The LARP had seven adventurers. It seemed fitting and right.

When the adventurers exited the warmth of a local tavern, they found that not only did no one know who was to be their most honored Storyteller, but that Lord Maul had summoned a massive blizzard and set it upon them. Snow swirled around them. A biting wind cut into their bones. The nearby hills were obscured by blowing snow.

Thankfully, one of their number knew of a unicorn who had the power to control the weather and could redirect the blizzard back towards Lord Maul. Bundling themselves warmly against the evil cold of Lord Maul’s storm, the adventurers quickly set off in search of this powerful being.

Unbeknownst to them, Lord Maul had sent his minions to track and kill this unicorn. Knowing the adventurers would also be seeking it, these minions had obscured the path of the unicorn, making it difficult for the adventurers to track the beast. The adventurers followed multiple false trails, and along the way, they also found evidence of a bitter fight between the unicorn and two of Lord Maul’s Angels of Death. Worried about the safety of the beast, they pressed onward despite the biting wind and bone-chilling cold, eventually discovering the unicorn hiding among the White Oaks.

The unicorn, upon hearing that the storm was set upon the world by dark magic, agreed to use her own bright magic to redirect the storm back towards Lord Maul’s domain. Unfortunately, shifting the direction of such a powerful and magical storm would take a bit of time, so the unicorn advised the adventurers to seek shelter in the Faraway Leaf Inn to wait out the worst of the weather battle. There the adventurers stumbled upon a werewolf who slaughtered several villagers. After several battles, the adventurers eventually defeated the beast.

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It should be noted that the Scribe’s attempt to subcontract the writing of the synopsis for Winter LARP #2 was not handled professionally, with the result that the story was eventually lost to posterity. The Scribe regrets the error.

It should also be noted that evil pixies invaded the home of Ace and swiftly rendered him incapable of meeting his fellow adventurers for Winter LARP #3 and then, after a brief respite in which Ace and his fellow adventurers joyfully celebrated the shortest day of the year with wild revelry and downhill sledding, the pixies again set upon both Ace and the Scribe, rendering them too weak to attend to their duties for Winter LARP #4.

The Storyteller speaks

In the Land of the Silver Elves, there are two opposing parties. The larger of these has taken two hostages. The smaller group will set out to rescue the hostages, kill the opposing group’s leader, and then kill as many of the hostages takers as they can.

It is a good day to die … and be revived.

A Group of Ten had taken two hostages. A small 4-person strike force set out to attack with the goal of rescuing the hostages. Unfortunately, the strike force failed in their first attempt because an incredibly powerful weapon killed the entire strike force in a single blow. A great debate ensued. Decisions were made. The strike force retreated to strategize and decided to take out the leaders of the Group of Ten. Unfortunately, they were not swift enough and the Group of Ten vanished, secretly hiding inside the Faraway Leaf Inn. The strike force decided that since they couldn’t find the Group of Ten, they would consign the hostages to their fate and instead have fun playing winter games in the freshly fallen snow.

Ace called for 4 volunteers to assume the roles of Non-Player Characters (NPC):
1. The Field of Destiny’s Champion of Battle (SpiderJobs)
2. Phoenix Chaser, the swiftest warrior of Lifeblood Castle on the Mystical Isle (Doctor Scientist)
3. The Footloose Wizard of Vagabond Nest (Fairyboy)
4. The Ghost of Gardener Oakbeard of the Dire Garden (Ivan Exarch)

When not at their NPC’s base location, those playing NPCs played as their regular characters.

Ace then spoke, saying “The LARP will start on the Field of Destiny. We are seeking to gather covert intelligence on Lord Maul’s troop movements and we have heard that the Field of Destiny’s Champion of Battle holds the information we need. Joining the Champion of Battle on the Field of Destiny is the Army of Fifty Percent.”

The Army of Fifty Percent, consists of the other Non-Player Characters, but playing as warriors of the army not as their characters.

The Champion of Battle then spoke to the heroes, saying, “I am the Field of Destiny’s Champion of Battle. You must defeat me and my Army of Fifty Percent if you wish to receive any information from me. I count the number of challengers to be 16. Each member of my army can revive 4 times. Once you have defeated us all, I will consider telling you what I know, if I judge you to be brave and valiant warriors.”

As it turned out, the sixteen warriors were exceptionally brave and valiant. After much shouting and disagreement and misunderstanding and misdirection, the heroes got into formation with shields in front, swords behind, and Ace standing at the front to lead the charge. The heroes charged and quickly defeated the Champion of Battle and the Army of Fifty Percent handily and easily. Too easily. It seemed that half of the Army of Fifty Percent wasn’t really conscious to begin with. Bodies soon lay strewn about the Field of Destiny, not all of them dead.

A once-again revived Champion of Battle said, “Well done, brave warriors. The information you seek is known by Phoenix Chaser, the swiftest warrior of Lifeblood Castle. I will give you this map that shall guide you to Phoenix Chaser’s stronghold. I wish you courage and luck.”

The map was taken and read by the Unnamed. The heroes quickly set off, still in formation, toward the Mystical Isle. Once they arrived there, Doctor Scientist morphed into Phoenix Chaser. After some initial confusion and surprise, the heroes called upon Phoenix Chaser to reveal the vital information he knew about Lord Maul’s troop movements.

Phoenix Chaser said to the heroes, “I am Phoenix Chaser, the swiftest warrior of Lifeblood Castle. If you wish to know all that I know, you must prove yourself to me. What I value most in a warrior is fleetness of foot. You must defeat me in a race from Eastern Shore to the West Point of the Mystical Isle to prove you are worthy of gaining knowledge. Once you have defeated me, I will consider telling you what I know if I judge you to be swift and nimble warriors.”

The heroes gathered at the Eastern Shore, and Phoenix Chaser took the lead, then lost it to Ace, and then regained it — but only because Ace tripped. Having won the race, Phoenix Chaser offered a re-match from the West Point back to the Eastern Shore, gloatingly saying, “I will you give you heroes a two-second head start.” This proved a grievous error on Phoenix Chaser’s part as the heroes took advantage of that two-second lead. Ace arrived back at the Eastern Shore first, followed by Phoenix Chaser with Creepy Bird on his heel.

Phoenix Chaser accepted his defeat graciously saying, “Well done, swift warriors, the information you seek is known by the Footloose Wizard of Vagabond Nest. I will give you this map that shall guide you to the Wizard’s stronghold. I wish you fleetness of foot and luck.”

Lord Firestorm took the map and read it. He then led the heroes off the Mystical Isle, across the Somber Footbridge, up the Circling Path to the Vagabond Nest. Upon approaching the Vagabond Nest, the Footloose Wizard appeared and cried, “You shall not pass until you have answered my riddle.”

Some heroes taunted the Footloose Wizard and tried to pass, but the Footloose Wizard cast a spell on them forcing them back and causing them to be unable to speak or answer the riddle. The Footloose Wizard then spoke to the heroes, saying, “I am the Footloose Wizard of Vagabond Nest. If you seek knowledge, you must prove you are worthy of knowing. You must tell me the answer to my riddle.

“I breathe and things get hot,
Though my heart is light as wind,
The swordsman knows me not,
though I helped to make his friend,
I cannot do my job alone,
Though others make me sigh,
By their strength my job is done,
So tell me, what am I?

“Once you have proved your nimbleness of mind, I will consider telling you what I know if I judge you to be wise and clever warriors.”

As soon as the riddle was finished, one of the heroes shouted out an answer. And was wrong. Another four answers followed quickly. They were also incorrect. Finally one of the warriors shouted out the true answer, which neither Ace nor the Scribe shall not reveal as they do not wish to be cursed by the Footloose Wizard.

The Footloose Wizard then spoke to the heroes, saying, “Well done, wise warriors. The information you seek is known by the Gardener Oakbeard of the Dire Garden. I will give you this map that shall guide you to the Garden. I wish you wisdom, cleverness and luck.”

Gorn took the map and read it. He then led the group over the Circling Path to Werewolf Way and up the hill to the Dire Garden. There the heroes found not Gardener Oakbeard but his ghost! Gardener Oakbeard’s body lay slumped upon his garden bench with a great axe sliced through his neck and his spirit rose from it, saying, “ooooooooooooo … woe is me … woe is me … I was gathering the white nuggets of Dragon Nutmeg, the Spice of Knowledge, when I was waylaid from behind. The cowardly thieves took my basket of Dragon Nutmeg, but I was able to smite them with my dying breath. The basket of Dragon Nutmeg has failed somewhere within the Weeds of Wisdom. If you wish to know Lord Maul’s plany, you must find my basket of Dragon Nutmeg first. But beware, I have cursed the Dragon Nutmeg, so if you eat it, you will die a most painful death. My basket is made of unbreakable foggy glass and is the size of a small cantaloupe.”

The search was rather quick for a hunt for such a small container is such a large area. Ace found it amongst the tall grasses behind the garden beds of phoenix strawberries, which naturally drew his attention. Many heroes upon seeing the white nuggets clamored for a taste, heedless of the ghost’s warning. Thankfully, their fellows prevented them from eating the poisoned spice.

The Ghost of Gardener Oakbeard now spoke to the heroes, saying, “Well done, eagle-eyed warriors. Lord Maul’s troops have gathered at the Field of Destiny! I will give you this map that shall guide you to your final battle. I wish you foresight and luck.”

The heroes took the map and read it, surprised to find that it lead them back to the Field of Destiny. They raced down Warhorse Run, past the Iron Stables, past the Faraway Leaf Inn and arrived at the Field of Destiny where they were confronted by Lord Maul’s minion, possessed by Lord Maul himself! He spoke, “I have cursed you all so that where you should see friends, you will see only enemies! I will march upon your realm as you fight each other to the death.”

The adventurers then set upon each other, seeing only bitter enemies and no friends in an all-against-all melee battle. Q-Tip and Ace met in the field of battle, both giant heroes traded blows, shaking the earth for miles around. Lord Firestorm smacked Schmupai the Fire Mage in the rear which really annoyed Schmupai the Fire Mage who then set fire to the Field of Destiny, destroying all and bringing the battle to an end. Upon revival, the heroes found they were no longer under the power of Lord Maul’s curse. Lord Maul, sensing this reversal in the magical forces of the realm, called upon his troops to retreat, deciding to try again at a later point as the heroes rallied and set up defenses.

Finding the threat removed, the heroes headed for the Faraway Leaf Inn for warm beverages and good conversation.

Note: The Scribe failed to record the names of the valiant warriors present for this grand adventure, and thus they have been given the names of those known from the past. Corrections welcome. 

The Storyteller Speaks

There was a rift in time. People from different timelines clashed in a war. There were three sides. The Warriors of the North. The Soldiers of the East. And the Mercenaries who were paid in silver coins.

With the Warriors of the North were …

Kildrath, Dispenser of Vengeance, is the reincarnation of Cephalax Deathflame. Cephalax, in the service of Lord Maul, was assassinated by a group of rebels opposing him. His soul found its way into post-Imperial Star Wars and united with the ashes of Darth Vader. Kildrath is a barbaric chieftain who inherited Cephalax’s spellcasting powers and Darth Vader’s force abilities. He inherited Cephalax’s fear of death.

Spade is kind of like Ace, who is Spade’s half-brother. Spade is ¼Dragon, ¼Phoenix, ½Magic. Spade’s grandfather on his dragon-phoenix side is the first dragon, also known as the Lightning Dragon. The Dragon gives Spade iron-like skin. The Phoenix gives Spade the ability to come back to life. The Magic gives Spade the appearance of a human. Both the Phoenix and the dragon give Spade more power in fire. He has the appearance of a 13-year-old human but is 1,859 years old. Spade’s memory of the past 1,846 years has vanished aside from a few scattered memories of his grandfather. He was fortunate to retain his magical skills although he does not recall how he came by them. Spade enjoys tossing fireballs and releasing souls from undead bodies. He is susceptible to water and cold. Water burns him, while cold slows him down. Ice is most damaging. Spade is cautious around humans but more outgoing than his half-brother, Ace. He is most comfortable around other magical beings.

Lockpad the Warrior is from the future where there was a freshwater war (which was after the oil war and the metal war, but that stuff’s all gone now).

With the Soldiers of the East were

Lord Grimfang is a 400-year-old vampire and a powerful blood mage who can use his vampiric abilities, which include healing himself when he damages targets with some forms of blood magic. He can also assume a mist form at will and see auras. He does not like fire, stakes, and dwarves. He hails from Castle Volkihar, off the northwest coast of Haafingar. He is a hunter and taskmaster for Lord Harkon. Lord Grimfang is 6.66 feet tall with very pale skin and yellow snakelike eyes. His hair is long and fabulous. He is cold and does not seem to have a sense of humor.

Creepy Bird is a former accomplice of Batman with high athletic ability and a sword but no superpowers. Creepy Bird is a human. It’s just a mask. She fell through one of Barry Allen’s time portals. She took an instant dislike to Lord Maul and hopes to see his defeat.

The Assassin with No Name has come to win. The Assassin is a human from Earth and of this time.

Someone else who declined to be identified.

With the Mercenaries who were paid in silver coins were …

Layla the Ninja who is from back in time, when Layla was just a ninja, not a knight. Her strength is that she has ninja skills, but her weakness is that her skills are not that polished so she sometimes gets her nunchucks tangled.

Spider Jobs bears a striking resemblance to Steve Jobs, but he has a spider symbol. As the Son of Zaldar, he can summon the Demons of Zaldar.

The Wanderer is a seemingly ordinary enough human who is immune to gas weapons due to his superior technology.

The Storyteller who shared nothing more about himself.

The Warriors report

Spade observed that the Soldiers lied repeatedly about their actual location and thus successfully trolled the Warriors. Lockpad the Warrior spoke mournfully of a long cold journey in which the Soldiers walked across many island continents and during which many people starved of starvation and died of frostbite. Kildrath, Dispenser of Vengeance, reported that Zom Zom the Zombie didn’t get any kitties. In the end, no one won the war.

The Soldiers report

Lord Grimfang complained of the overuse of communications by the Warriors. Someone else noted that they a pretty good team as they successfully trolled the Warriors and never got caught. The Assassin with No Name reported that the soldiers didn’t succeed in actually killing anyone. Creepy Bird reported that she had reluctantly gone in the company of a group of trolls whose goal in life was to torment the Warriors to the extreme. These trolls figured that as long as the Warriors couldn’t find them, they had won. Creepy Bird was unconvinced, but they were trolls.

The Mercenaries report

Layla the Ninja observed that the Soldiers were sending mixed messages. And the Wanderer noted that they couldn’t find anyone to battle, and it was cold.

The LARP started on the Field of Destiny. The adventurers were under assault by Boreas, the frigid and cruel god of the north winds, yet still they had a mission. Huddled together in the freezing cold were the following brave souls:

Ace, a ¼ Dragon, ¼ Phoenix, ½ Human hybrid. The Dragon gives Ace wings, which he keeps hidden, and the ability to breathe within fire and to breath fire out as a weapon. The Phoenix allows Ace the power to come back to life, to change the size of his dragon wings and his height, and to ignite himself on fire. The Human gives Ace the appearance of a 14-year-old human, although he is 2,004 years old. Ace is damaged by ice, water and cold, and so avoids all three. Despite his dislike of these elements, Ace has traveled to the Realm of the Silver Elves with news of a great quest.

Alfred Punkerknackle, who said he would say who he was later.

Gorn, a very powerful gladiator with a very short temper. When he is angry, he will target you. He will shove anyone out of his way. He is really strong and has more health, but he flees from the cold.

The Outcast. No one knows who he is. He never shows his face. He only shoots when necessary.

The soldier Tosh. That is all.

Tank Master Rok with his rocket axe. Tank Master Rok thought that sticking rockets on an axe was a good idea. He has lots of health and shields but he cannot run fast.

Kildrath, Dispenser of Vengeance, is the reincarnation of Cephalax Deathflame. Cephalax, in the service of Lord Maul, was assassinated by a group of rebels opposing him. His soul found its way into post-Imperial Star Wars and united with the ashes of Darth Vader. Kildrath is a barbaric chieftain who inherited Cephalax’s spellcasting powers and Darth Vader’s force abilities. He inherited Cephalax’s fear of death.

Storyteller Ace Speaks

Ace had heard of the white nuggets of Dragon Nutmeg, a Magical Spice of Knowledge from which one could gain the knowledge needed to defeat Lord Maul’s army. Ace had a map showing where fields of Dragon Nutmeg might be found.

It is a good day to die and be revived.

One of those potential fields was the Field of Destiny which was searched in vain until fingers started to fall off. Ace found evidence of powerful magic at work, for snow remained on the ground where the sun beat against it with all its might and no possibility of shelter from its fiery blaze was near, while in the shadows, the cold snow had all melted away.

As Alfred Punkerknackle was unable to reattach the frozen appendages, a fingerless Gorn was dropped off at the Faraway Leaf Inn to be tended by the Wise Mothers of the Hot Chocolate. The adventurers, now one less in number, trekked down the Shimmering Alley and over the Somber Footbridge to the Mystical Isle. After a fruitless search for the magic spice, Alfred Punkerknackle cast a scrying spell and discovered that the map had misled them. The growing conditions on the Mystical Isle were not favorable for Dragon Nutmeg.

The Adventurers trekked across the Somber Footbridge, fending of multiple assaults by Boreas. On the other side, they found The Wanderer a seemingly ordinary enough human who is immune to gas weapons due to his superior technology. He joined their search.

The stopped at the Always Changing Structure to discover a Scrying Glass powered by Nature Magic. The each peered through. Some saw their friends, fractured, broken and multiplied. Others saw eagles and grasshoppers and leaves. Alfred Punkerknackle did not know what to make of any of it, so they continued to follow Ace’s map.

A long while later, they reached the Vagabond Nest. While they stopped to rest, an old gardener wandered past but no one thought anything of it at the time. Tank Master Rok fended off multiple ogre attacks while the other adventurers searched the area around Vagabond Nest for Dragon Nutmeg.

Suddenly, the Old Gardener returned, franticly shouting that Lord Maul’s minions had set upon her in her garden and stolen her basket of Dragon Nutmeg. However, she’d managed to strike the thieves as they fled the Dire Garden, and they had dropped the basket which was made of unbreakable foggy glass and the size of a very small cantaloupe. The Outcast warned the group that the Old Gardener could not be trusted, but she seemed such a kindly and frail old thing that no one paid him any mind. Besides she needed help, and they were heroes. And also, Dragon Nutmeg.

The adventurers charged off to find the dropped basket of Dragon Nutmeg. Upon reaching the Dire Garden, they scattered and began searching desperately. The Outcast continued to warn the others that the Old Gardener could not be trusted, but no one listened. The Old Gardener arrived to give advice, telling the adventurers which way the thieves had fled. They concentrated their search there and soon The Forgotten shouted, “I have it!” The group descended upon The Forgotten snatching up the white nuggets of Dragon Nutmeg and scarfing them down.

Suddenly they heard the Old Gardener laughing evilly. “You fools!” She cackled, “The Dragon Nutmeg has been cursed by my Lord Maul! No longer shall you see friends, but only enemies!”

Shocked to find themselves surrounded by enemies with no allies in sight, the adventurers set up each other and fought to the death, except for The Outcast who was used to being friendless. He hid and waited to ambush the others from the shadows.

Alfred Punkerknackle then revived himself and all the dead and was pleased to find that the curse was lifted upon revival.

Weary from dying and reviving, the adventurers trekked down to the Faraway Leaf Inn to brew over battle plans for the future.

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