My as-of-yet unnamed idea

I’ll try to explain this as well as I can without giving away too much of the plot I have in mind.

This would a medieval fantasy game based in a world where the religion has complete domination over the common people. The campaign starts two years after the Church offically declared that the people are at war and called for all who are capable must take up arms and defend themselves. Since then no army has been moved and no violence at all has occurred.

The peoples who inhabit this world are as follows:

Commoners: No matter what social class they may be, a human in this world has always been referred to as one of the ‘Common’ race. As the other races are so few, it’s a fitting enough name. The vast magority of players in this game would be commoners, assuming I end up making another race playable.

Gods: The Eight divine religious leaders of the Common people. They have ruled over them as far back as history remembers. No one knows anything of their age, but they appear to be mortal as they eat and sleep like anyone else. They are extremely powerful, yet rule justly for the most part.

Guardsmen: Little is known about what the Guardsmen are, except that they are not like common people. They are the heavily armoured elite soldiers who serve the Guards directly. No one knows what they look like, as they are forbidden to reveal their faces. What little of them is revealed (around the mouth when wearing a helmet and the eye-holes of the veal) shows they have dark red skin. I am considering making the guardsmen playable.

The game would be a similar system to Mordavia, as I think that’s a good way of keeping combat simple. There is no magic, and there would be far less combat than a Mordavia game as the game would be designed for those who want to dig through the vague clues and history to find out what’s going on.

Joy! that sounds like fun. uhm… no, i have no useful input besides that.

Ehm… I don’t quite follow. If the church has complete dominion, and has declared that everyone must take up arms, why is there no fighting? Has there been any declared enemy yet?

What about priests or members of the church - are they playable?

[quote=“theamazingcatherine”]Ehm… I don’t quite follow. If the church has complete dominion, and has declared that everyone must take up arms, why is there no fighting? Has there been any declared enemy yet?

What about priests or members of the church - are they playable?[/quote]

That’s part of the plot, there. Two years ago a state of panic suddenly came about in the church for unknown reasons, yet nothing came of it and the order to stand down is yet to be given. In the context of the setting, where talking to the gods you worship isn’t exactly a rare occurance, it’s as simple as when the church says you’re at war, you’re at war. A large part of the game would be the players getting a chance to find out the truth about the church and its history.

Clerics would be playable. Common people comes from all classes and backgrounds. Nobility, clerics, peasants, merchants, soldiers and what have you.

Count me in. I think being a noble with no power since it seems to be quite a theocracy might be amusing.

Just wondering . . . have you filled all the Gods positions? While I know of a few people with Egos less constrained than mine I can’t actualy think of 8 off the top of my head which means I’d suit one of those slots.

I haven’t filled any slots or even seriously started on this yet. My holiday times starts in a few weeks so I’m planning on putting some effort into it over the three weeks I have off work. Right now all I wanted to see is if there would be interest for this type of game.

If you think you could play a god I’ll keep you in mind, although by your screen name I can’t really figure out who you are, assuming we’ve met that is.

I second this, sounds really cool, you can count me in.
Are you planning on using XP?? (I hope so, I like rewards, XP etc)
Also don’t forget NZLARPS, if you want to join yuo can get any help that you think you need.

ps Being one of the Gods also like fun if you are taking names, through I do not have a large ego.

I think Andrew’s already a member, Adam.

Andrew, if you need web-space, a private organisation forum etc just let me know. The full list of what we can do to help isn’t really made yet, but you can expect that (with the approval of the committee) you’ll have all the LARPS gear (mostly Mordavia stuff at the moment) available, and some funding, and we’ll help promote your game when it’s going ahead.

Now, this is probably complete unfeasible but here is a more detailed explanation of the setting.

For as long as history remember, the Divine Eight have ruled the Mainland. The influence of the living gods is felt in almost every aspect of life. The church is unquestioned due to fear, but the Eight rule justly.

Two years before the start of the game, the church put out a call to arms declaring that all you can must arm themselves and prepare for war. Since then no army has moved and no there has been no fighting and known enemy. After two years with no war and no order to stand down, the god Kerelle declared an expected return to Chirema. Chirema is a small island overlooked by a volcano. The volcano is significant as it is the centre of the world. Chirema was once a place where everyone was expected to make a pilgrimage at least once every five years of their life, but for over four centuries has been forbidden to commoners. Only the mysterious Church Guardsmen has boats strong enough to drave the waters around Chirema, so the banning of the pilgrimage was easily enforced.

For a lot of people, the chance to start a new life on the holy island is gift although at the same time some are forced by the church to move. The game will begin with the first settlers arriving at Chirema.

As some of you have probably guessed, the setting is designed with Motutapu Island campsite in mind. This can push up the cost plus I don’t know how many people are keen on a camping LARP, but personally I like the idea of a LARP on an island campsite where is meant to be nothing. But anyway, that’s a basic setting for you. What do you think?