LARPix

Yoshida Picnic 2008

2008-07-07T13:36:18Z

Ever since January 2004 the Yoshida have been a Dutch roleplaying group focused on portraying feudal Japanese at the German event Drachenfest. One Daimyo, his samurai and his household are called to the Dragon's world to serve the Green Dragon to gain domination over the world for one year.
Clan Yoshida was present at Drachenfest 2004, 2006, 2007 and will return in 2008.

The Yoshida also organise small events, under the name "Picnic", to roleplay together, meet new members, and to focus on our own family.
I stopped roleplaying with the Yoshida after Drachenfest 2006, and left the group in February 2007. I was welcomed back for this one picnic, and took the opportunity to abuse my camera to shoot some pictures.

Our daimyo, Yoshida Kasumi in his golden haori and hakema. Next to him is Yoshida Amaya.

Yoshida Ichiro, han and brother to Amaya.

The weather wasn't as good in the morning, but as the day progressed the sun broke through. At this time the men (and women) samurai went into the field to practice their kata.

Yoshida Shiro, sensei of the Yoshida and brother to the daimyo, practices his kata no naginata (iirc). He is a keen practicioner of iaido when he is not roleplaying.

Yoshida Jishin, sempei, practicing her kata. She is a OC practicioner of jiu-jitsu.

While the samurai are performing kata, the ladies watch.
From left to right: (I don't know the IC name of the woman in blue) - Yoshida Yuri, miko - Nanami Koyuki, first concubine of the daimyo and mother to his first son - Sonoda Akemi, geisha.

Sakamoto Kiyoshi is very eager to join the others and show off his skill...

...while Sanjuro Jojimbo watches on patiently.

The ladies can no longer resist the temptation of the lush grass, littered with flowers, and start picking flowers. Koyuki is a vision among them.

Yoshida Yasuo (in blue), hatamoto, practices some unarmed combat with Yoshida Garou, who tossed all proprietary senses and his kosode aside because of the temperature. He does not realise that the women only fan themselves a little harder and watch them with a keen eye while they gossip about his manners.
Yasuo practices bujinkan taijutsu, Garou practices jiu-jitsu.
-----
All pictures are licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial Creative Commons.

More about Drachenfest here -- More about the Yoshida here

Black Box

2008-07-07T11:45:54Z

or: Battle of the Bastards

Game: Black Box
Where: Auberge 't Oude Tolhuys, Utrecht, The Netherlands
When: Saturday the 5th of July 2008
What: Modern Age Jetset tryout (Dress code: white tie, black tie and cocktail)
Who: Evolution Events, a small Dutch larping foundation
Background: the first in a series of one-shots that we want to do in the years to come, mainly aimed at exploring various experimental concepts and methods. Players took the roles of members, guests and participants of a secret rich people's club where dirt-poor participants are invited to play Russian Roulette for the chance to win a great deal of money (Similar idea to the movie "Live!", which came out last year as a mockumentary). As the evening progressed the rounds got more and more dangerous, and there were several goings on amongst the rich people, too. The authorities caught wind of their depraved games and placed no less then three moles in amongst their members of guests. Up to those present to figure out who...

X-posted in my own LJ as well

A few of the characters populating Black Box, just outside the location.

As we wait on the parkinglot for time in to be called Mark deploys the material component for both the "Rain Sanctuary" and "Charm Female" spells...

Peter, practising his "rich TV Host" look (he was, coincidentally, one of the 'moles' the authorities had placed to apprehend the ingame organiser and members of Black Box).

'Old Money' - rich and bored, a deadly combination.

'Nouveau riche' soap actor Heiko and his tatoo artist girlfriend Jezebel, stretching the definition of 'black tie'.

The respectable Mr. and Ms. Clingendael.

Several of the present guests.

Juliëtte van den Marekamp and Anna ter Haven, owners and partners of a company specializing in Genetic Engineering.

One of the participants, down-on-his-luck Ben, who used to be rich but met the reality of gambling and drinking head on.

Joost, who played Handy Hans, former participant of Black Box and returned to riches after he won the Russian Roulette...

'Oude jongens krentebrood' - the Old Boy's Network.

Baleful glare, with in the background the 'black box', which hold both the guns and the prize money.

The first round of Russian Roulette (I am the participant who is turning away).

Katinka has got the 'bored trophee wife' look down.

The ingame organiser pacing worriedly after learning that the authorities are closing in...

As it becomes public knowledge that the police might be on to the illegal practices of Black Box, tension risis amongst the members.

George & Sharon Verhagen, very wealthy, and, as the evening progresses, very drunk and high (ingame *grin*). Even amongst a group of bored, filthy rich people they managed to stand out as the most obnoxius. Brilliantly played by both of them.

After Heiko was wounded for attacking the (armed) security and taken away while heavily bleeding, Jezebel almost gets shot herself while she attacks the ingame organiser.

phalar_reign, who was one of the 'moles' on Black Box who called in the police, posing triumphant with a police hat after Black Box ends with the arrest of most of its membership.

Mr. 'Diplomatic Immunity' Richard (playing of all things, the American Ambassadeur) and Judith, posing after the game is called time-out.

The Anarquendor

2008-06-23T18:52:20Z

Larp Event: Omen 5
30 May to 1 June 2008
Uden, The Netherlands

These pictures are exclusively about a small group (9 players) who went to Omen 5 as the Anarquendor, a regiment of elven archers who were sent to aid the humans in their battle against the undead horde.

This is Beriadanwen Namiemelda, the regiment's captain

Sulein Tauremenor, the Pengyll

Sairahiniel Onvolonda, the regiment's healer and Beriadanwen's sister

Arevalo Onvolonda, her husband and the herbalist druid

Aren't they cute together?

Nessa Amandil, also a healer, and the youngest of the Anarquendor

Eltha'rin "Wolfclaw" Athiel, with Graljnir the forest spirit

Sumolan Elefel, the beastmaster druid

Balamaethor Erynion and Amras Dirdholan refused to pose for the camera...

The elves meet up before time-in

Relaxing at their camp

After battle

This weekend is WickedFaire!!!

2008-06-23T03:59:23Z

The Totally Normal Event is happening this Saturday, June 28th at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany , New Jersey . Brought to you by Jeff Mach's WickedEventsTeam, we are a gothic-renaissance convention for 'totally normal' people! Our performers include The Dresden Dolls' Brian Viglione, Voltaire, Freezepop, The White Elephant Burlesque Society, Mary Cyn, Isaac Bonewits, and many more. Come and check out the vendors, who sell everything from Sculptoons, to leather goods, crystals to corsets, musical instruments to jewelry, and everything in between. Come and enjoy a plethora of events, including Zombie Movie Showings, demonstrations of all sorts, Human Bingo, a Pony Stable, whipping shows, human statues, auctions, swap meets, Henchman Championships, and more. Get your hair braided or a henna tattoo. Take part in all the events that our four Tribes, the Hedonists, Mad Scientists, Evil Overlords, and Talesenders have to offer. Find out more at http://wickedfaire.com/TNE/index.html and join our networking site at http://thetotallynormalworld.ning.com/.

Cross-posted like mad!!!
Gotta get the word out!

Exodus IV

2008-06-09T15:22:58Z

Game: Exodus IV - Banish
Where: Het Kruithuis, Delft, The Netherlands
When: Friday the 21st till Sunday the 23rd of March 2008
What: Fantasy with a twist
Who: Evolution Events, a small Dutch larping foundation

Okay, okay, a few months late in the posting... lets just say that I have larped a lot lately. Heh.

The Kruithuis main gate with the flanking buildings, our location for this event.

The NPC's are busily construction 'the dollhouse'. Nice contrast with the previous time we used this hall.

The players just before Time-in I.

The players just before Time-in II.

While the players walked into the city tavern, staffed with other NPC's, they had no idea that in the main hall we were preparing the dollhouse scene, and as the trap snapped closed we had a lot of fun with the players as they suddenly found themselves in a situation none of of them had anticipated - a prison in the form of a doll-house, to both pacify them and keep them from causing any more trouble. With several players also turning into dolls they had no idea who their opponents were, and how to get out..

The Mayor of Doll-town with his pet 'Oehoe' (Yes, in-joke for all you Symbols peeps).

First thing the players saw: the Wooden Dolls, overseen by the professor, greeted everyone warmly.

One of the "What the F...!"-looks we had been hoping for in the players, while in the background the toy soldiers with their harmless ballon swords welcome the new arrivals.

Cuteness double plus!

Drinking tea with the dolls

Ide, one of the players, is quickly turning into one of the dolls as well...

... and more players start manifesting 'doll-like' qualities, prompting them to hurry their escape.

In the Dollhouse the players encounter Kartesha, a player character they lost on their journey several events ago. Puzzled, they try to find out what happened.

No problem that cannot be solved with cuddles!

Luckily the players managed their escape, freeing their friends and several other 'dolls'... and then they find out that some of them really were animated dolls, and some simply so not want to go back to 'reality'. Both funny and ironic considering that the players are fleeing from a person who wants to do that exact same thing to them.

Just before time-in JW takes a chance to hang out on the chilly grounds. The shot also shows the wonderful location and its style.

The next day dawns, and the players have the chance to interact with the city of Banish for the first time, also meeting the librarian and his good friend bureaucracy for the first time. Brilliant part by maglok

Shopping! The location had several smaller rooms stuck in every nook and cranny, as old buildings generally have. They were used to house all kinds of small stores so our players could 'shop', for lack of a better word.

Introduction to Kabul, richest man in the city; he is flanked by his two daughters, servants and his scribe. Yet another use for the wonderfully flexible main hall *grin*

Formal Dinner in Kabul's Palace - the media magnate Kabul found the players interesting, and invited him to his palatial estate.

The Elf Ireth fiercely clutches the small bookshaped box to which she is ritually linked and which started the whole dollhouse episode. Now it might be the only thing that will allow some of the dolls to return to their home...

The snow lends the location an even more romantic look.

Marcus the Alchemist, doing his 'thing'.

Awww, how cute!

Sometimes you just have to admit this is a weird hobby and not take yourself too seriously. The city in which the players find themselves is very cosmopolitan and very advanced magic allows printing presses to keep up with a rabid media conglomorate; one of the results: the in-character 'Play-Elf' Magazine. And there was much rejoicing.

Well since you asked for more pics :)

2008-06-08T19:37:04Z

Because it's not always crazy high-budget Shadowrun larps...

What: A Divinis, an oWoD Vampire larp, not using MET but a custom system (no Traits, virtually no challenges, no hit/blood/willpower points).
When: 14.05.08, subsequent games may be monthly depending upon our busy schedules
Where: around Lausanne, Switzerland. First game was in the GM's appartment, second game was moving through the city (pics later).
Who: la Torche from le Four Fantastique (the other organizers finally got to be players :), yay! ).

Plot summary: Western Switzerland is in chaos as the current Prince disappeared and no one is powerful enough to claim Praxis. The Prince of Bern (capital of Switzerland) orders his Ravnos operative to arrange a Praxis without a bloodshed. So said Ravnos decides to organize a Texas Hold'em Poker tournament, in one of the old Prince's appartments. The winner will become the Prince and will chose his Seneschal on the same night.

The various clans send their representatives, most of which are actually outcasts or suspicious individuals. Before the poker game starts, the Malkavian representative disappears and is later found finally dead (the organizers played the NPC at the beginning of the gamer and we later found his body -same clothes, same wig- in the restroom).

As people investigate and find clues, they realize several of their elders are involved in a fucked-up ritual. For the record the Brujah won, became the Prince and the Ventrue maneuvered to be designated as Seneschal.

Alma de Rossi, a weird Toreador who spent a good chunk of the evening performing rituals and becoming crazy.

The Ventrue (right) and other Toreador (from Bern, left) chillin'. OOC I think he's an Assamite, but no IC proof :)

The Gangrel who nearly won, and as such was the center of a *lot* of politicking:

The rumor was that the Tremere was a professional poker player embraced recently just for the purpose of the tournament:

His magic was very well handled by the organizer, who'd switch with a different deck to give him things like:

The Bernese Toreador who had 4 queens didn't see that one coming!

Bald guy in the back is the Brujah, guy with the vest officially a Caitiff:

Nosferatu ways playing in the background:

larpix @ 2008-06-08T11:40:00

2008-06-08T15:41:09Z

You guys totally need to post more pictures. Like Srsly! :D

I have a bajillion contributions to give. Here are a bunch of links to pictures from the 16 year lifespan of the Atlanta-based LARPing group SOLAR.

My personal ones are here:

And here are links to two archives.
http://keef.luna.tk/Solar-hoard and http://keef.luna.tk/General-Solar
http://www.solarinc.org/gallery/

(in Devon, England)

2008-06-08T13:22:50Z

One of the local larp clubs (the Brixham Berzerkers ) that I belong to, was out for the local town Fun Day and Carnival yesterday .... it was pretty much a washout due to a long thunderstorm for most of the day, but it cleared up for the parade, and we won first prize for costumes in the parade!

,
The Dwarf has got his hat on, hip hip hip horaaaaay, the dwarf has got his hat on and he's coming out today...

so, what could we get up to, as rain poured down and lightening tore the sky apart? we took loads and loads of photos of each other.

Once the rain eased, some of us legged it out to have a battle:

The elf ranger (me) shoots the Orc full of arrows... while bemused humans walk by....

The orc is rather pincushioned with arrows......

And then the falconry stand caught our attention and we wandered off

An orc with a falcon.........

The elf with a falcon...

And then it was time for Tug Of War..... five teams - two teams of local squaddies, a pub team, a Police team and the Berserkers.

The Berserkers, consisting of an ogre, two orcs, a dwarf and an elf, compete against the squaddies.

Then we got frantic getting ready for the carnival parade, as another thunderstorm approached...

Almost instantly, a passing Buddhist priest came over to take our photos....
(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

and we all got ready for the costume judging:

And we won First Prize!

Shadowrun

2008-05-12T16:50:36Z

What: A larp inspired by the tabletop game Shadowrun. We changed several things but also used some of the great European setting material
When: Saturday, May 3rd 2008, from 9PM to 2AM
Where: Lausanne, Switzerland
Who: Le Four Fantastique, my larp group, i.e. 4 organizers, 1 security officer/medic/DJ and 16 players.

Highlights: LazerTag Team Ops infra-red weapons, badass game site (a skatepark in a warehouse in a shady neighborhood, north side pic, south side pic), awesome costuming, laptops with a 3D "matrix" with clues in them,mood music thanks to the skateparks' awesome sound system (violent for fights, loungy for breaks, tragic for the end).

Overall, best WYSIWIG experience I've ever had in Switzerland. I was really *inside* Shadowrun for the night.

The game had been announced by the following trailer:

Plot summary: Shadowrunners from around the world are contacted to do a simple job in Lausanne, Switzerland. Each group had a heavy (rifle), rigger (healer/techie, gun with the lock-on goggles), hacker (could use the 3D software, normal pistol) and magic-user (could use the guns's shields, plus some special powers, normal pistol). The larp opened with the four teams trying get past the guards

to enter the dark warehouse, follow the fluorescent floor marking to meet Mrs- Johnson. Once inside, they learned that they'd be tested throughout the night to select the best team for a very, very, lucrative job.

The warehouse was the HQ of the Lausanne Hacking Club (a joke with the Lausanne Hockey Club, replacing their lion mascot with a Linux penguin), who rented its very special facilities to run the tests.

The rest of the night alternated between test missions involving fighting but not-only

and our usual scheming-roleplaying-investigating, as each PC had his own agenda, plot etc.

The final scene was a shootout as Mrs Johnson declared she was only interested in the best 4 runners, not necessarily from the same team. The winners got the job: finding one of great dragon Lofwyr's eggs. Except the egg was hidden in the warehouse for reasons that'd take too much space to explain, found by a group of runners and destroyed. The sequel promises to be interesting :)

The teams

Raeghsa Tiserulos

A group of 3 celtic elf nobles and their ork "nanny" (name means Lords of Machismo in the Elven language of the Shadowrun universe).

Baron SA

A group a death-related shadowrunners (SA means ", Inc." in French-speaking Switzerland, so it's a joke with voodoo god Baron Samedi)

Uranium Communist Zombies

A group of anti-corporations terrorists under the control of their gasmask-wearing shaman.

Heimat Immer Verliebt

A group playing on many Swiss-German stereotypes

Fred by Night- Vampire LARP

2008-03-28T05:32:22Z

Game: Fred-By-Night
Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba; in our Game Location The University of Manitoba
When: Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
What: World of Darkness, OWbN
Who: OWbN Game set in Gimli, Manitoba. The character is mine, a Gangrel in the middle of a scene with two Malkavians who are busy Spirit's Touching some articles of clothing that once belonged to a bum that was possessed with a Hunger Spirit. No, I am not actually a blond. It's a wig I styled myself.

Lextalionis V

2008-02-11T11:28:49Z

Game: Lextalionis V - Sign of the Times
Where: Ons Thuis, Ommel, the Netherlands. A converted farmhouse far from any neighbours.
When: Friday the 1st till Sunday the 3rd of February 2008
What: Old World of Darkness
Who: Evolution Events, a small Dutch larping foundation

The location, in the middle of nowhere in a beautiful bit of the Netherlands: "Ons Thuis" in Ommel. Just after time-in it started snowing, and together with the one streetlight created a rather surrealistic feel...

Pictures courtesy of Tineke, Matthijs, Ivo and various friends with my own cam.

Friday - IC date Tuesday the 22nd of June 1999
It was not a normal day when our Kindred woke up from their daysleep, hastily awoken by servants, friends or frantic phonecalls: all evidence pointed to a city-wide attack from forces unknown, and all were needed. An emergence shelter "Noodplan 8" (trans. Contingency Eight) was activated with its attending Ghoul teams, and within hours a grim picture painted itself on the whiteboards and map as various Kindred came in and recon teams came back from stories ranging from widespread civil disobidience to plain out attacks. The power grid was down, mobile phones on the fritz and the traffic-computer appeared to be hacked, as well as riots and several fires. While a few Kindred muttered something like "Sabbat" the Prince forbade the use of that word, instead referring consistantly to "the enemy". Gotta love the Cammies.

Pre-game briefing

Ghouls and early rising Kindred were sent through the city to fetch their Clanmates and compatriots. Not all Kindred arrive in style, though, as this Caitiff experiences...

The General's Table, where the Kindred try to create some overview of what is happening

Alex, Brujah Ghoul, is severely wounded, and with his Domitor missing in action it is up to the Brujah Primogen Tom and Malkavian Ghoul Nurse Arlette to patch him up.

The Whiteboard is filled with information as the evening progresses: missing Kindred, prisoners taken, hostile encounters, and what teams are out at that particular moment in time...

A close-up detail of the important whiteboard information system.

Gangrel and Ventrue Primogen check their information before adding it to the map after hearing the reports from the assembled Kindred.

The Prince gazes down on her Domain, armed with her family blade and surrounded with the Prince-Regent and various Ghouls reporting on the status of the city.

A hefty discussion involves a small notepad found on the body of an enemy, with details on the Dorestad Kindred. Is this an inside job?

Post-game chilling as Clan Malkavian relaxes when the first night nears its end

Saturday - IC date Wednesday the 23rd of June
The night started less tense but still firmly on the side of danger. With most problems of the first night solved several more attacks and problems arose, but it was clear that the initiative of the assault was shifting to the Cammies. Early in the evening Toreador Primogen Antoinette used her abilities to good effect to turn an ambush in one dead and two captive mortals, a conscripted gang blood bound and Dominated to do the enemy's bidding. Later the hack attacks were traced back to a farmhouse near where the Cammies already suspected there was trouble; one Auspex trip later a strike team led by Brujah Primogen Tom destroyed three Kindred and took a single prisoner. It was clear, however, that the leadership had fled, and a wild chase through half the country resulted in the badguys holed up in a fortress and the Cammies holding it shut until enough Kindred can be readied to hammer them out.

During the day we chill; this time a Wii and Super Mario Galaxy provide much of the entertainment

Kelly and Judith, two NPC's waiting to go ingame, practice their haugthy look before entering the fray.

The massive security suite of Foresight, a security company explicitly created to safeguard the Prince. Its many cameras and hours of videotape kept the location safe until the very end. Staffed by Ghouls they consumed the necessary energy-drinks to get through the long night...

The sisters Petra and Paula, captured trying to ambush the Toreador Primogen, freak out once they realize how deep the rabbit hole really is... Later in the evening they were imprisoned in the Tremere Chantry, added to the growing list of missing the mortal authorities had to deal with.

Paula van Zetten, unwitting pawn of the enemy, is patched up so she can be questioned.

Steve Martel, Tremere Primogen, puts his expertise in the powers of Dominate to good use gathering information from the prisoner. Her sister in the background is being held in check by the Charlotte, local Gangrel scout.

Emilia, Tom and Mr. Ravenstein spinning theories.

Salimah van Tongeren, Tremere Ghoul and Moslim, joins the Foresight crew on the second night as computer expert.

A possibly intruder is swifty downed and later killed... Turned out to be a police-officer, undoubtedly giving the clean-up team a few worries.

The second night ends with a rushed evacuation as the emergency headquarters is suspected to be comprimized.

As dawn closes on this Lextalionis, players tend to get a little wacky with our props.

With the Camarilla preparing to flush the last badguys out of the fortress the Masquerade team of the Prince and Primogen earned their keep by directing news crews and molding the popular opinion in a way benificial to the scions of the Camarilla. The news mostly focused on the heroics of the emergency crews involved and the police officers. The deaths and multiple cases of arson were blamed on an already killed mortal who actually commited several of the crimes already and was known to the police. Some creative editing of newspaper clippings secured the Masquerade and allowed the Kindred of Dorestad to rest easy. Read them here (two pages in Dutch, one page in English).

Lextalionis IV

2008-01-21T12:53:19Z

Game:Lextalionis IV - Method to the Madness
Where: Villa Eikhold, Heerlen, the Netherlands a large mansion in a very posh neighbourhood, all ours for the weekend.
When: Friday the 23rd till Sunday the 25th of November 2007
What: Old World of Darkness
Who: Evolution Events, a small Dutch larping foundation

Thought it might be smart to post last event's pics now that we are two weeks away from the next event *grin*

The location: Villa Eikhold, temporarily transformed to Arcadia, a mental healthcare institute ran by *surprise surprise* Clan Malkavian.

Friday

Several Brujah look suspeciously down to the underground library as several Tremere are performing a ritual behind closed doors...

Our 'ghost-nurse' Judith, posing in front of an old painting of the location. The combination of the uniform and the white-washed walls made it quite eerie.

Renée Alette de l'Ange, newly arrived member of Clan Ventrue, is keen on starting a fashion empire

Nimrod of Clan Malkavian, standing to attention.

Michael Ravenstein, Primogen of Clan Malkavian and one of the hosts of the evening, speaking to Arlette van Koten, headnurse.

While Dr. Korensteijn is talking to the Brujah protector of the Prince-Regent two Ventrue do business at the same table.

Later in the evening it is revealed that the headnurse Arlette is actually...

... longtime Malkavian ghoul Sophie, favored 'doll' of Diane Ravenstein. In her previous appearence on Lextalionis II she was in 'doll'-mode from the start, her true identity unknown.

Three Kindred discussing whether or not they should use "The Spirit's Touch" on the Electro Convulsion Therapie kit (commonly known as Electroshock Treatment) in order to find out more of the ghosts in Arcadia.

Saturday out-game

During the day there is once again a little room for reading or playing some quitar...

... or painting your favorite ritual tools (silly Tremere!)

And despite what some may think, the players need to eat even if their characters don't *grin*

Prince, Keeper and PA sharing an out-character joke before time-in.

Saturday in-game

Florentina, Elder of Clan Toreador from Amsterdam, visits Dorestad on the second night with her protoge.

The Elysium fills up as the guests continue to arrive.

The Tremere and Toreador tables see a few very serious faces as a few recently unearthed texts are discussed.

Just beyond the Elysium the ghouls and Gangrel hold their own council.

No Elysium is complete without heavily armed Brujah.

Tom, Brujah Primogen and Sheriff, on guardduty outside and looked paranoid as ever.

All rise as the Prince enters.

Her Majesty the Prince of Dorestad Laurentia van Haeften, Elder of the Clan of Kings.

Later in the evening Eric Peel has difficulty maintaining control as he realizes who he is talking to... (a possible Sabbat operative who he used to know in her mortal years).

Security concerns for the Sheriff and the Keeper.

A newly arrived Gangrel explains his presence to the Primogen Council, heavily scrutinized by the security.

Clan Malkavian takes possession of the hallway to discuss a few... concerns.

Two ghouls and Dorestad's only resident Ravnos, enjoying the relative quiet as the Elysium winds down.

Null Echo: Cthulhu Live Sci-Fi LARP

2008-01-07T23:25:40Z

What: A Cthulhu Live Sci-Fi LARP
When: October 20th, 2007
Where: Manassas, VA - USA
Who: KTD Productions, with assistance by PST Productions

The basic storyline involved a rescue mission that went horribly, horribly wrong and ended up stranding both ships in space for the benefit of the world.
The above picture is of the Crew and Passengers of the Sojourner, the ship that needed rescuing.

Engineer, ENS Phillip Evans, Navigation, LT Nadja Koljenko, and Pilot, CAPT Wallace Pike

Evans: "Well, here's our problem right here."
Koljenko: "So it would seem."
Pike: "Damn those non-disclosure policies!"

Evans reporting with spacecraft stuff in the background. Pay no attention to the open bottle of alcohol in the bottom left foreground.

The engine gets the captain's approval!

Avatar of the King in Yellow: "TO EARTH, WHERE MY LORD MAY RULE ALL!"

I played the Captain of the Sojourner, Wallace Pike. He was an experienced pilot who didn't like company execs to fly on his ships, as they tend to get in the way. He kept the journalist in line, and eventually shot and killed him, jetisoning him into space. My costume consisted of a slightly altered (thank you Wifey) WWII Tropical Luftwaffe Jacket, with assorted patches and pins from NASA, over top of a set of khaki coveralls. I used a WWII ammo belt and attached some odds and ends to make a properly outfitted utility belt. You can't see them in any of the pictures, but I have a pair of boots that match the color of the fingerless gloves, which I dyed myself, because they both were originally a shade of desert camo tan. The gun prop is an old airsoft gun, that I hot glued a bunch of hardware onto, and then painted to make it look well-used.

The game was copious amounts of fun, as are all of KTD's LARPs. babylonthegreat, one of the guys behind KTD, hosts more pictures to this LARP, and others they have done here.

Nuit du Huis Clos

2007-11-18T20:22:09Z

What: la Nuit du Huis Clos, i.e. "Night of the one-shots", a LARP con. It featured workshops during the day, aimed at LARP organizers from France, Belgium and Switzerland. 15 different one-shots were run in parallel during the night. Newbies were encouraged to sign-up and try LARP for the first time in a convenient location, for the measly price of 15 euros (dinner included). LARPs are run in a 22-storey building, in classrooms, so the site sucks in terms of mood: more decoration work for the organizers ;).
Where: Sorbonne University (Tolbiac campus), Paris, France

All the pics are here, sorted by LARP (click on "Les Photos")

Halloween event pictures

2007-11-06T02:41:47Z

these are pictures from the halloween event from my Vampire LARP.

I am the queen of hearts.- it was not an Alice in wonderland theme- we just happened to make group costumes.

I made my dress and the Lemmy from Motor head "Ace of spades" costume as well.

In Cauda Venenum - Parisian Edition

2007-10-31T11:47:06Z

What: the first rerun of In Cauda Venenum, our Roman murder mystery
When: this past week-end, from 8-ish to 1-ish
Where: Sorbonne University (Tolbiac campus), Paris, France
Who: Le Four Fantastique, my Swiss LARP group ran the game, players were all unknown to us, with some complete newbies and some veteran French LARPers.

The event was part of la Nuit du Huis Clos, i.e. "Night of the one-shots", a LARP con. It features workshops during the day, aimed at LARP organizers from France, Belgium and Switzerland. 15 different one-shots are run in parallel during the night. Newbies are encouraged to sign-up and try LARP for the first time in a convenient location, for the measly price of 15 euros (dinner included). LARPs are run in a 22-storey building, in classrooms, so the site sucks in terms of mood: more decoration work for the organizers ;).

The event was very tiring (we carried 3 bags of props and costumes each through trains and subways) but a lot of fun, and we were featured in the main Parisian daily, so an excellent week-end overall!

More pics from In Cauda Venenum here, pics from other LARPs will follow.

larpix @ 2007-10-24T15:09:00

2007-10-24T19:09:34Z

These are from Brassy's Men and the Secret of Atlantis which was run at the end of September in COSI in Columbus, Ohio.

Pictures taken by Paul Wayner

More here.

Exodus

2007-10-24T10:19:29Z

Game: Exodus III - Handel & Wandel (roughly translates as "Travelling & Trading")
Where: Wilhelminaoord, Drenthe, the Netherlands in a large mansion with its own forest and prehistoric village. We used the village (obviously) and parts of the Mansion for in-character affairs due to the cold and threatening rain.
When: Friday the 19th till Sunday the 21st of October 2007
What: The story of a small group of travellers trying to escape forced happiness at the hands of... something...
Who: Evolution Events, a small Dutch larping foundation

Location

The mansion

The huntingbird

The boars

The village

The village II

Friday

The incheck... why do I have a deja-vu?

Around the fire in the village our weary travellers relax...

... and shop.

The village has two musicians who entertain the fire-crowd...

... and freshly made sugared apples keep them well fed.

Saturday

Awww, how cute... having fallen asleep in the village the day before the players are in for a rough wake-up the morning after, finding the village gone and themselves enslaved for sleeping in a graveyard (long story).

The room of Madeline-Josephine Pagiel, or 'Princess Pagiel'

Madeline-Josephine being groomed by her dresser

Of course, my kitchen was taken completely in-character, equipped with the most modern of Elf Astony Technology... Fresh bread, stew and munchies rolled out of the kitchen with frightening regularity

Marcus, doing a passable impression of a Roman Senator

Alchemical action in the mansion

Mood shot of the Mansion, with the many NPC's that filled it standing on or around the main entrance to the dining hall

Hunting for Wild Boar in the forest, also known as 'catching dinner'

Vassilly gets carried back to the mansion, wounded in a hunting accident.

The ever-caring healer patches him back to a semblance of health

Detail of the Surgery

Anash finding a quiet moment to read in the massive mansion. Notice the 'ball' as in 'ball and chain', as she was found out to be a Mage. Sucks to have a ball o' metal on your leg if you try to cast a spell...

Autopsy on a body found earlier that day in the village garden (this one even got an 'eeeeew!' out of Kelly *grin*). It was determined that it was the body of Dietske, former nanny of the Pagiel Children, and the murder investigation began...

Anash-by-Night

Sunday

Scary Yukata-Mage

The Elven Mage Ireth of House Telrùnya

CSI Dostan Ylas gathering to review the evidence

CSI Dostan Ylas thinks hard after they've solved the murder: how DO you tell the Lord of the Mansion Timodor Pagiel that his trusted doctor Liowulf killed his mistress Dietske?

In the village not far from the mansion, the players seek a moment to discuss their options

A grim Ide after a short battle with mercenaries hired to protect a ritual to bind the group...

All Exodus III galleries are on: http://ninni.student.utwente.nl/evolution/gallery/index.php?pg=exodus/ExodusIII

Pictures!

2007-08-29T13:03:52Z

Game: Triumph Larp
Where: Dayton, Ohio
When: Once a month, usually 10 - 11 months a year
What: Medieval/Fantasy Foam/Latex Weapons

Bit of background - we were missing two photographers (we usually have three at weekend events) so there isn't a lot of pictures, but these are combined from the July overnighter and the August day event. I tried to put a mini-commentary under each pic, and put in some costume-pictures and two action shots. Please look and give feedback if you wish!

Starting off with an early morning Saturday action shot from the July game - this is after our group gained some powerful items to help us against the threats to all of our world. This picture takes place as the calvary arrived to help our small group against the Brigands and the Dracos Cultists that came after us. (the group facing the camera are the PCs)

My cleric Ilana waiting for the NPCs that she “summoned” to her to show up - she had been given a way to summon an old King and his people to gain items from them to help against the Dracos Cult. She's waiting here. This picture wasn't posed, and I had no idea there was even a camera there with us.

Said NPCs. Now my char has to find a way to free them from their "prison" - a bubble of sorts that keeps them out of time and space.

Marcus, our resident drunkard. And he’s a fire mage, nicknamed "Crater Factory". This can never be good. (The game is very heavily RP oriented.)

Meersa’am, a Gre'shal (cat person) cleric trying to heal a sick woman. I just love the sun in this picture and how it fell on her face.

Action pic – Demon attacking people, trying to get to my PC as she is on the ground, being shielded and healed. Demon showed up Sunday morning, and the use of smoke bombs were very effective to have him "rise" from the ground.

Garon, Barbarian Ranger, facing off with the demon as the demon used magics to call him into a one on one duel.

August game – My character and her “sister”. Again, I loved how the sun fell in this picture, mostly because my character worships the Sun God.

This is for the costuming – the gal in the back is a raccoon changeling and the gal with the red over her arms is a salamander changeling (Creatures that are part human/part animal. August game again. The amount of time spent on makeup for PCs in this game (and NPCs) is always incredible. Changelings are supposed to be rare, but on occassion there will be two in the game every so often.

Cuddle Zombies! Funniest use of summon zombie spell by a necro *ever*. Most of the game had been affected by a “love curse” of sorts, where they fell in love with random people for an unspecified amount of time. The necromancer fell in love with the fey cleric, and since he didn’t know how to talk to “girls” he summoned zombies to go and tell her that he loved her. Funniest moment hands down.

Another action shot. I am not sure which fight this was, as it was one my PC was not in the area for.

Behind the scenes with larpers at a carnival..

2007-07-26T11:36:25Z

(pasted from my LJ) The regular larp group I belong to is the Brixham Beserkers (we are a small fantasy larp group based in the Southwest of England), and this year we have taken to being in a few local carnivals. Yesterday was the big one. I play Elwing, an elf scout/ ranger.

Well so I escaped work at 3.30. I finished at 3.15 but then had to spend some time faffing in the staff ~~room~~ cage changing from capitalist uniform into sensible comfy Elf Ranger attire. Emerged at 3.30 though the busy shop, complete with cloak and pointy ears, to the extreme befwizzlement of other staff, and capitalist supplicants alike. but at the carnival meeting place there is no place to change, so it was most sensible to change at work. Then went to meet the other Beserkies. We all gathered by the road into the Green, waiting for Casey, who was late thanks to problems with the float which had imbibed too much rain. Gave him a big cheer when he arrived.
We then all got ready for the carnival parade.
About an hour and a half of fun. As we marched past the live broadcast van for the local radio station, we gave a huge roar of BESERKERS! brandishing our swords. The poor presenter stopped mid-spiel for a second in suprise. The ogres scared the kids, and would be restrained by the 2 elves, fairy and mage, who would instruct them loudly that "the children are not for eating".
We fought each other, and also hunted this other poor bloke in the parade who was dressed as a porcupine, bestowed elvish blessings (from me) and ogre curses (from Get Here) on the crowd, ... I had especial fun bestowing elvish blessings on a group of bikers, and also confusing some girls who were fascinated by my ears. First of all they wanted to know if they were real, and then I wasnt allowed to move until they had photographed them on thier mobile phones!!! Mortals, you know. They cant help themselves. As I sighed loftily to the fairy, in full stuck-up elf style.
We went down VERY well with the crowd and have several invites to other carnivals. We also recruited several people who are likely to be joining us later in the year.
We all got back to Paignton Green, and having cheerily ambushed the Gemini FM live broadcast bus on the seafront road, some people got out of costume, and went home. There was however a small contingent of Beserkers who had no intention of getting out of costume, or going home. We decided to go off to kareoke. In costume, but sans swords, of course. .

</a></b></a>totnesmartin does air guitar on a mace.

Now gets his makeup done by an obliging fairy.

Interesting conversation in the road.

Look out, Elwing has a camera!

The ninja and the other elf have a friendly sparring match with the King

Elwing poses for the camera

Two mortals and thier beers, post parade, just before going spinning...

And two tipsy elves.

French Revolution LARP

2007-07-16T09:40:56Z

What? "Le bleu vous va si bien" (Blue suits you so well) a LARP set in 1793 Brittany. This celtic region on the west coast of France was famous for its anti-revolutionary activity, so players could play either side (historically, "blues" were the revolutionaries, "whites" the royalists).

When? A few weeks ago, near perfect timing for Bastille Day :)

Where? near Quimper, Finistère, Brittany

Who? In Nomine Ludis, a Breton LARP group

And they had a cannon!

A traditional Breton outfit. I just love the pants.

Even more pics over there

Shadowlands..

2007-07-13T12:24:44Z

pre-larping pictures from the small but great Shadowlands larp group in Torbay, Devon, UK... July 2007, all pictures taken by me, other than the one of me, where someone else held my camera, hehe. We arent exactly the highest budget group around, hehe.

In Shadowlands, which takes place approximatly every second sunday near Torquay, various people of different races (humans, elves, ogres, orcs, dwarves, etc) have ended up in this magical world having falled through portals. There they encounter all kinds of demons, natives, magicians etc... each adventure is self-contained.

The (evil) High Priest Of Set

a dwarf..... and a dog... :D

me - the Elf scout...

another warrior.....

Masquerade pictures 2007- midsummer night's dream.

2007-06-06T00:36:16Z

http://picasaweb.google.com/archangel.toni/EmeraldCityChroniclesMasqueradeBall2007

these pictures are from the Vampire: The Masquerade LARP I belong too. Taken at a dance studio we were able to rent out.

Most of the masks and costumes were handmade- mine is the peacock. My husband is the skull faced fairy hunter. I actually made the unicorn skull that is on the stick, many of the masks at the ball and my own dress, mask and fan as well as my husband's cloak and mask.

I hope you enjoy some of these are really well done.

They are taken by my friend Jason.

Murder, Absinthe, Intrigue, Adventure!

2007-06-05T22:28:26Z

What: 1930's Murder Mystery Dinner Party
When: August 13, 2005
Where: Fredericksberg, VA - USA

I guess the best way to describe the event is to link you to the live journal created for the party, maudsley_farm. There you can see a list of characters and the letter all of the players received as the in character and out of character invitation.

For those who want the quick run-down:
A bitter, old antiquarian, Mr. Rothschild, has invited several guests to his house to play a game against each other. The prize will earn the players their deepest desires. Fame, fortune, and acceptance could be theirs if they win the game.

The prizes for winning:
1. The Staff of Moses
2. The Sum of Mr. Rothschild's Estate
3. The Elixer of Life
4. 5 Million Dollars
5. Evidence About a Politically and Racialy Motivated Slaying
6. The Components and Spell to Summon Cerberus

Unfortunately all of the pictures were taken after the event, so people's make-up and costumes are a bit disheveled (August is hot in Virginia).

This is me as my character, Dr. Marcus L. Jameson. He was the quintessential Indiana Jones-esque pulp character. He was part British and part Egyptian, but mostly awesome. My wife made the costume (I helped with a lot of the hand sewing); it is based off of patterns for a 1930's suit called the "Palm Beach Suit". It was a three piece suit and included a matching pith helmet I purchased on line, but since it was the end of July/early August, I took those off. It got pretty hot chasing after Nazis and Cerberus! With the help of Austin Skelly and Belladora Giuseppe, he was able to secure the Staff of Moses from the Nazi, Berend Waggoner, and use the find to gain access into the secret organization, the Order of Horus.

This is Belladora Giuseppe, undercover nun workering for the Pope (never would have guessed, would you). She's as dangerous as she is lusty and quick with both her wit and Marcus's gun. She was invaluable in killing Cerberus, once it had been summoned, and in protecting the Staff of Moses from the Nazis.

The Col. Charles Denton of His Majesties Royal Army. A hunting enthusiast, who came to the party in the hopes of hunting and killing Cerberus. Once the beast was summoned by the gypsy witch, Isabella Durriken, he took point in the hunting and slaying of the dangerous guardian of the under-world.

This is a picture of my extraordinarily talented wife. She was playing Phyllis Allen, a formerly popular theatre actress who was slowly going into debt with her director/husband. She made this "Monte Carlo" dress from a pattern. This picture doesn't do it justice and does not include the shoulder wrap which her character used to hide her mischievous activities. She won the challenge and received all of Rothschild's estate. Needless to say, she and her director husband are happy to have their fortune restored.

This is Adriana Derosea, wife of a wealthy and powerful shiping magnate who kept her locked up inside their Spanish Mansion. She was trying to win the Rothschild Estate so she could divorce (perhaps even kill) her adulterous husband and live a life of luxury without him. Alas she arrived to the party late and Phyllis had nearly all but won the estate at that point.

She is Vela Anastasia Romanovs, or at least claims to be. She was after the 5 million dollars so she could stay afloat in the aristocratic circles and find herself a suitor suitable of a Tsar's daughter. Truth-in-point, she was a liar and was unable to win the money.

Ah, the notorious opium dealer Ming Lo Po. She was perfect. My wife and I helped her sew the costume from a pattern. I found the hat she's wearing at Claire's for like 4 bucks while I was looking for cheapo period sunglasses. She succeeded in winning money and getting high. Notorious. Actually, Marcus found the golden idol she needed to retreive the money and, since Madame Voltz was eaten by Cerberus, gave the idol to Po on the condition that she return the idol to him so that it may be properly documented and placed on display in a museum. She made good on her part of the agreement and used the money to buy her way to the top of her family's patriarchic opium trading company.

Those are all of the pictures, and I hope to post more of more recent LARPing events my friends and I have done. If you have any questions, please comment with them.

Space Hulk LARP

2007-06-01T17:50:02Z

What: Space Hulk mini-LARPs, based on the famous boardgame
When: April 14-15 during Orc'Idée, a Swiss gaming con
Where: Lausanne, Switzerland
Who: Association SIDH

While the con was going on upstairs, players who had signed-up at the org's booth would get down to the basement to attend an OOC briefing. Each player had a specific role, i.e. Squad Leader, Priest, Flamer, Scout, Radio, Engineer etc.

Our Flamer Lady checking out her future weapon (the only one with unlimited ammo).

An organizer demonstrating how the aliens would kill us (by ripping off respirator tubes from their velcro plugs).

Once the roles had been assigned, IC briefing started. The organizers gave great performances, and everyone was encouraged to roleplay a lot during briefing and during game.

No pics of the actual mission, as it was played in the dark (guns had small lights on the side), sometimes with strobes. Cool sounds effects all around too. So sorry if the pics aren't really evocative.

Armors were chemical suits from the Swiss army surplus, customized with foam mats and other things. Once you started sweating in those you couldn't see much through the window. And boy did we sweat. We were not allowed to walk faster than slow heavy steps to represent the weight of the armor, except for the Scout, who could run.

Weapons were IR pistols and boffer swords, maces etc.

Genestealers were played by people dressed in black with socks on their hands :) to prevent them from grabbing respirator tubes too easily. They were wearing IR receptors to get killed by the pistols.

The engineer was given a map of the Hulk and was supposed to guide the team according to the info transmitted by the radio guy. They adapted the official college floor plans and I just couldn't recognize this place with the atmosphere they managed to create (getting charged by aliens in the dark helps with forgetting you're next to the computer lab).

Missions varied with every game. Ours started as a recon mission, then we found some explosives and were told to blow up the Hulk. Through great teamwork, we managed to kill all genestealers that kept appearing out of nowhere (elevator doors, trash containers, restroom stalls etc) we met, but we took too much time to find the exit... and exploded with the Hulk, for the Emperor's Eternal Glory!

Overall, intense physical experience, very nice "Aliens" feel, a great way to expose tabletop gamers to LARP: good stuff!