What larps have been run in the past?

[IdiotSavant]

As part of working out what might be available to rerun at Hydra (or at future Chimeras, or independently), I’m trying to compile a list of theatreform / standalone games run in the past. The focus is on bigger games (10+ players), because that’s what the cons need.

Here’s what I’ve got for Auckland:

• The Great Exhibition (Chimera 2009)
• A Town Called Refuge (Chiera 2010)
• Masquerade on Fleet Street (40; Battlecry 2009, Auckland 2009/2010, Wellington 2010)
• Exodus (50; Battlecry 2006)
• Scummit (19; 2010)
• Midsummer Eve (30; Battlecry 2011)
• The Summers Crisis, 2034 (18; 2003, Battlecry 2009, Chimera 2009)
• The Show Must Go On! (Battlecry 2008)
• Bad Dreams: The Dead Dreams of Spring (20; Battlecry 2011)
• The Congress of Vienna (23; written for America’s Cup 2010 but cancelled - never run?)
• Mystery on the Continental Express (America’s Cup 2009)
• One Night in Heaven (31; Auckland 2010)
• Spy Hard (20; Chimera 2009; BattleCry 2010)
• Everything is not as it seems (America’s Cup 2008 - Muppet)
• Black Hart of Camelot (24; Chimera 2009; Wellington 2010; available)
• The Discarded (14; Chimera 2010)
• Bad Dreams: Murder Ballads (16; Chimera 2010)
• Bad Dreams: The Hidden (12; Chimera 2009)
• A Feast of Crows (19; Chimera 2010)
• Truth, Justice and Spandex! (18; Chimera 2010)
• Tryst: Illumination (21; Chimera 2008)
• For the Honour of the Family (14; ConFusion 2007; Chimera 2008)
• Down and Out in Middenburg (12; Chimera 2009)
• But No-one loses an Eye (Chimera 2009; Chimera 2010; Wellington 2010)
• Super-Sparkle Action Princess GX! (Chimera 2010; Wellington 2010)
• Betrothals & Betrayals (13; Chimera 2010, Wellington 2010)
• The 1930s Larp (Auckland 2002)
• The Return of the 1930s Larp (Auckland 2005)
• Friday the Thirteenth (20; Auckland 2009)

Christchurch

• Las Cruces (BoD 2011)
• Funeral for a Don (BoD 2010)
• Southern Seas (27; BoD 2009; available)
• Pirates (BoD 2006)
• Blood and Honour (BoD 2005)
• Asterix and the Big Trip (BoD 2004)
• Eternal Service (BoD 2003)
• “A game of modern politics, corruption, and diplomacy” (BoD 2002)
• Carthago Delenda Est (BoD 2001)

Dunedin

• Spaghetti Western (Big Con 2008)
• Deadlands (Dunedin 2003)
• Convention of Thorns (Dunedin 2003)
• The Prophesied King (Dunedin 2002)
• The Werewolf Larp (34; Dunedin 2002)

Wellington

• Breakout Day (KapCon 2001; BattleCry 2010; online)
• The Golden Future Society (KapCon 2002)
• Twelfth Night (KapCon 2003)
• Highschool reunion (KapCon 2004)
• Post-apocalyptic truckstop (KapCon 2005)
• Rule Britannia (KapCon 2006)
• Flight of the Hindenburg (KapCon 2007; available)
• Sanctuary (KapCon 2008; online)
• Mafia 2071 (KapCon 2009)
• Reunion (KapCon 2010)
• Al Shir-ma (KapCon 2011; online)
• Beanstalk (2004?)
• Once Upon A Time… (2005?)
• Guild Council (34; 2006)
• Superhero wedding (2011)
• Supervillain (2011)

If you can add to this list, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Anna_K]

For Auckland:

• We ran a heavily revised version of Breakout Day for Battlecry 2010
• America also ran “The 1930s Larp”, not sure for how many people, I think in 2002. It ran a sequel three years later, in October 2005, called “The Return of the 1930s Larp” which was for about 30-40 people. They were both written by Danielle van Rossum.
• Daniel Edman’s “Friday the Thirteenth” larp was run November 2009, for about 20 people.
• I understand “The Congress of Vienna” was never run because not enough people signed up. The author was Meredith Lalande.

And I think “But Nobody Loses An Eye!” got a rerun in Dunedin by Daphne, if memory serves.

I’m sure there’ve been more theatreforms written for Auckland. I’ll try and talk to some of the older America people.

[Adrexia]

Okay, so Larps I remember from Dunedin (2002/2003) are probably not that useful as I don’t remember names and details are fussy outside the specifics of the characters I played… Many of these larps had multiple GM/Writers, but it’s been a long time…

Werewolf Larp (2002) Run by umm…Meg, Cameron McLean et al
Edwardian-esque Larp (2002?) Run by Ian Bayard
Mafia Larp (March 2003) Run by Bryan, Nick Garden et al
Western Larp (2003) Run by Angus and… others? (I didn’t play in this one, but I understand it referenced The Jack of Hearts by Bob Dylan )
A Fantasy Larp with 4 competing cultures on an island. The premise was the election of the first King in centuries. Run by John Machin. Was almost a pseudo-Grand strategy game (2003)
Vampire Larp (2003) Run by Bruce et al

[IdiotSavant]

[quote=“Adrexia”]Okay, so Larps I remember from Dunedin (2002/2003) are probably not that useful as I don’t remember names and details are fussy outside the specifics of the characters I played… Many of these larps had multiple GM/Writers, but it’s been a long time…

Werewolf Larp (2002) Run by umm…Meg, Cameron McLean et al
Edwardian-esque Larp (2002?) Run by Ian Bayard
Mafia Larp (March 2003) Run by Bryan, Nick Garden et al
Western Larp (2003) Run by Angus and… others? (I didn’t play in this one, but I understand it referenced The Jack of Hearts by Bob Dylan )
A Fantasy Larp with 4 competing cultures on an island. The premise was the election of the first King in centuries. Run by John Machin. Was almost a pseudo-Grand strategy game (2003)
Vampire Larp (2003) Run by Bruce et al[/quote]

Do you have proper titles for any of these?

[Adrexia]

Do you have proper titles for any of these?

I wasn’t sure any of them had proper names, but at least one of them did. I love internet archives.

The Werewolf Larp (seems to be what it was called) 34 players

[quote]The story behind this game is somewhat simple, yet vitally important. A large Sept located in Eastern France has recently discovered a “lost” Caern. They have so many numbers that they have been able to send a good sized group of Garou and Kinfolk to this location to re-open this Caern, defend it, and re-inhabit it. You are those people.

The lost Caern itself is now located underneath a large industrial complex which was acquired by the local Bone Gnawer and Glass Walker population, who have now joined your group. It is semi-urban, meaning that there are people around, and because it is relatively new Garou
territory, full security measures are in place. As such, every person here has been asked to be only in Homid form, unless absolutely necessary.

The purpose of this particular meeting is to discuss who will receive Sept positions and to re-open the Caern fully, thereby creating a new Sept. This is EVERYONE’S primary goal.[/quote]

The Prophesied King - John Machin’s Larp, run December 2002

Setting notes are here:
kallisti.net.nz/wikifiles/Ou … -Notes.txt

Mobster Larp - (also remained unnamed) - Bryan, Nick Garden
No synopsis

Ian’s Larp (no name, run in May 2003, it turns out)

Let it be known to those who receive this invitation that they are cordially invited to Northcoat Manor, home of Lord Richard Fullworth, on the evening of the winter solstice in the year of our Lord eighteen-hundred and something-something to celebrate the recent birthday of his cherished daughter. In honour of Northcoat’s history the ball will be a traditional costumed affair, much like the balls of old that were once held in its hallowed halls.

Convention of Thorns - Bruce (July 2003)
No synopsis. This was the Vampire Larp.

Deadlands - Angus Dingwall (Late 2003)

I have just been given the great pleasure/horror of running the next (and final for this year) LARP it will be a Western LARP (yes as in the b-grade movie cowboys etc.) Run on the Deadlands system (and those people out there who’ve played/heard of deadlands yes there might be some of “That” stuff too).

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The OURS Larps were often fairly ad hoc. From the emails it looks a lot like characters were written as people signed up to play. I remember many of them being extremely fun. The ones that would be the most re-runable would probably be John Machin or Ian’s games, assuming the documents still exist somewhere.