I mentioned the upcoming UK larp campaign Empire to a few people at Mike’s party the other week. It’s an international game that I’m keeping an eye on and really looking forward to hearing more about. It’s due to have its first event at the end of March next year, running four times a year.
It’s from Profound Decisions, a larp company run by Matt Pennington. He seems to have a real vision for running larp games - I went to their campaign Maelstrom once and was impressed with not just the scale but how much of the game was in the hands of the players. It looks like he’s fixed his mind on incrementally improving the larps he runs too.
They haven’t released their rules yet, just an overview of the game:
profounddecisions.co.uk/empi … oduction?0
I reckon the basis of the setting is excellent, all the PCs are part of an empire beset on all side by hordes of orcs and barbarians. This will give a sense of the players all being in it together, while still allowing room for political maneuvers. It’s also a great setup for military strategising and massive battles, based on PC decisions.
One of their most exciting innovations is that they’re creating big buildings that can be moved around the field of play. They’re built over steel frames the size of a container, so that they can be picked up by a hook loader. Here’s a picture of a partly-completed tavern:
facebook.com/photo.php?fbid … =3&theater
And here’s a video of a hook loader picking up a container.
youtube.com/watch?v=BU6HQmtX5_E
There’s more about how they’re building the sets here:
profounddecisions.co.uk/empi … nTheCity?5
I love that they’re planning to build a Senate set where the players can debate what the empire should do, perfect for people who love political play.
Another nice thing they’re doing is releasing videos of their design process. Gives a sense of the professionalism of the company, and I get the impression it’s inspired by Peter Jackson’s behind-the-scenes teaser videos. Check out the “meet the artists” and “Meet the writers” pages on the first link I posted.
I guess the reason I love Matt’s stuff is that it feels so designed-to-purpose. There are bigger events out there (I guess this is likely to be around 1000-2000 players), but very few with such a specific vision for the setting, the rules, and the style of play as the ones that Profound Decisions produce. I love that kind of consistency in a game.
Inspiring stuff!