- The No-Fly List
- The ProSynthoid Liberation Society
- Midnight Run
- Too Polite
- Project Márohu
- Repro: A Make a Scene Preview
- Murder at Elm Hall
- Radio Silence
- Jewel Warriors
- Tales of the Future Vol. 1
- The Batcave
- Long Time Listener, Last Time Caller
General Information about LARPs
It is now possible to sign up for LARPs at Virtual Arisia 2021! It’s possible that many games will fill early, so check them out as soon as you can if you want a spot!
Be sure you have already registered for Virtual Arisia 2021 before signing up for any LARPs, as you need a badge number. To register for Virtual Arisia 2021, go here: https://reg.arisia.org.
You may sign up for as many LARPs as you’d like. But please be considerate of others and only sign up for those that you are actually planning to attend. The system doesn’t enforce this, so it is up to you to follow the rules. By signing up for a LARP, you are making a commitment to show up and play. If it turns out you cannot make it to your LARP after you sign up, please remove your sign up for it and also send an email to the signup contact to let them know. Several of these games require a specific number of players or have pre-game reading, so please be respectful.
If your GM needs additional information for pre-casting, they will contact players who have signed up via the signup links.
Some games may require specific technology, so please make sure you have access to that technology before the game runs.
The No-Fly List
GM: Jacqueline Bryk
Time Slot: Pervasive, begins at 6 PM EST on Friday, Jan. 15 and ends at 2 PM EST on Monday, Jan. 18.
Age Range: 18+
Content Advisory: Conspiracy theories. Uncertainty and possible gaslighting. Frustration. Feelings of being hunted/watched.
The No-Fly List is a Discord-based game centered on various online conspiracy theories. It is very strongly drawn from the experience of being a member of a conspiracy forum like Project Camelot or QAnon -- except with less egregious and dangerous bigotry. You will be given the pieces of the puzzle, and it’s your job to figure it out and help others (within the game space) do so as well.
You can play a more ARG-style game (playing as yourself in an alternate reality) or a LARP-style game (playing as someone else in a reality very similar to our own). The No-Fly List runs as a persistent game throughout the weekend of Virtual Arisia 2021, so you can play this game while playing any others!
Occasionally, you will receive "drops" in the main channel of the Discord server. These drops will come from the GM, a bot, or someone authorized to make a "drop". Drops will be clearly labeled with the text "{Drop #xxxxx}" and then text, pictures, cyphers, etc. We will not tell you what these text and and accompanying media mean -- your mission is to make a story out of the drops, much like real conspiracy theorists hunt and peck to put together their own theories.
And that's really the fun of conspiracy horror, isn't it? Getting to work together with other people to discover the secret knowledge?
This game is both a LARP and an ARG. A LARG if you like. Since the game is based on the actual tactics used by groups like QAnon, we wanted to distinguish this as a game that uses similar tools but is entirely fictional. All of the conspiracies we come up with may be based on real events (i.e. the existence of billionaires, the building of a surveillance state, popularity contest governments, etc.), but at the end of the day, we are playing for fun and fiction.
This is a game about: Narrative thinking, engaging with the process of radicalization, consensual reality, collaborative storybuilding, and storytelling.
This is not a game about: Proving Pizzagate/Wayfairgate are real, causing you to believe in QAnon, doxxing people, or hurting your fellow players or people around you.
This game does not have advanced signups. Information on how to join will be on the Arisia Discord #larps channel when the convention starts. All necessary information for play (rules doc, lines/veils/roads doc, about 10 pages) will be pinned to the OOC channel on the external server where the game takes place. Players will create their own characters before and during the LARG.
The ProSynthoid Liberation Society
GM: Josh Krehbiel
Time Slot: Friday, Jan. 15, 8:30 to 10:30 PM EST
Age Range: 18+ and teens only with a parent
Content Advisory: The material centers around the methodologies of activists, and potentially involves discussing all forms of protest, include political violence and terrorism. Issues of slavery, perversion, exploitation, and abortion may be facetiously raised based on some characters’ motivations.
The ProSynthoid Liberation Society meets for their bimonthly planning meeting, ready to prepare their agenda for the coming months.The previous campaign didn’t convince, well, anyone that those weird robots at the coffee shop are actually sentient creatures, so there’s a lot of work to do. Not all the members see eye to eye on the best solution to freeing their mechanical friends, and they only have the room for an hour before the folk dancing class, but the new president is confident they can work out their differences and lead the way to a human-Synthoid utopia!
Each player will be inhabiting the role of a participant in an activist meeting, who has personal reasons for being there. As their characters, players will participate in discussion about the best methods the activist group should use, as well as discuss the nature of their work, all while choosing how much to reveal about their individual motivations. The facilitator will participate in-character as the beleaguered moderator of the meeting.
Kickstarter link for a LARP anthology including this game and others: http://bit.ly/makeasceneks
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-prosynthoid
Midnight Run
GM: Alex Helm
Time Slot: Saturday, Jan. 16, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
Age Range: 18+
Content Advisory: extremism, religious fanaticism, genocide, xenophobia towards actual aliens, discrimination against corrupt or “impure” humans, murder, torture (including PC-on-PC psychic torture), violence.
In the grim far future, the forces of Chaos have made a significant strike against the Imperium in the sector. An ambitious Chaos warband has managed to capture a notorious Imperial inquisitor. All that remains is for them to transport their prisoner across the void of space to their daemonic master so that they can reap the rewards! What could possibly go wrong?
This is a Warhammer 40,000 based game in which the players take on the roles of a Chaos warband and their prisoner. It’s half-tabletop and half-LARP. Each character is highly detailed and has their own set of own personal goals which may well be at odds with the other members of the group. Gameplay is predominately based around the interaction of the group with each other as their secrets come to light and conspiracies are revealed, so expect heated discussions, plotting and backstabbing. How will their relationships and outlooks change, and what will it mean for the fate of the sector?
Information for players:
Although it follows a tabletop structure with the GM detailing events and locations as gameplay happens, it’s more like a LARP in many ways, with the focus being on character interaction. The game will run over Discord.
It is a systemless game without mechanics. Combats and other actions will be resolved narratively and by consensus. These are not intended to be the focus.
Some basic familiarity with the main concepts and tropes of Warhammer 40,000 is required. However, the GM can provide some simple background documents for newbies to read to get them up to speed with what they need to know.
Please be aware that comprising a Chaos warband, the characters are all morally dubious and somewhat villainous (albeit richly detailed and with motivations) and gameplay is intended to be very dark. Murder, torture, and violence are all going to happen but will not be detailed any more than the players are comfortable with. The game includes PC-on-PC psychic torture. There’s no sexual stuff. Cut and brake mechanics will be in use to halt or redirect scenes as required.
The Warhammer 40k setting contains elements of extremism, religious fanaticism, genocide, xenophobia towards actual aliens, and discrimination against corrupt or “impure” humans. However, there will be nothing in the game that wouldn’t reasonably be expected to occur in other 40k-related media.
Casting will be done in advance to suit player preference and each player will receive their character sheets a few days before the game so that they can read and absorb them at their leisure. Character sheets are 4-5 pages long. Signups will be done in advance via SignUpGenius.
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-midnightrun
Too Polite
GM: Ron Blechner
Run 1 Time Slot: Saturday, Jan. 16, 2:00 to 3:30 PM EST
Run 1 Age Range: 13+
Run 2 Time Slot: Saturday, Jan. 16, 3:30 to 5:00 PM EST
Run 2 Age Range: 18+
Content Advisory: potentially embarrassing situations.
You’re all here for a conference call. Different conference calls. You suspect at least one person is on the wrong call. Everyone is Canadian, and are thus Too Polite to point this out. You’re pretty sure it’s not you on the wrong call. However, this is a meeting where you don’t expect to know anyone else on the call, so you can’t be 100% certain.
Goal: Live up to Canada’s reputation for being the friendliest, most polite people. Also, don’t get caught in the wrong conference call. After all, if everyone else is called out as in the wrong call, that leaves only you. If only you remain, you must be on the right conference call!
NPC Slot: This one is a lot of fun to spectate. GM will reveal everyone’s secret role to spectators (who will be required to stay on mute)
SignUpGenius Link for 2:00-3:30: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-toopolite2
SignUpGenius Link for 3:30-5:00: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-toopolite330
Project Márohu
GMs: Alexis Moisand, Naomi Torres-Ortiz
Time Slot: Saturday, Jan. 16, 5:00 to 11:00 PM EST
Age Range: 18+
Content Advisory: Project Márohu includes backstory depictions of war, planetary genocide, deaths of loved ones, environmental destruction, subsistence poverty, collective and individual trauma, mild heterosexist bigotry. Playtime will NOT include active depictions of these themes, but they may be discussed by characters. There will be NO backstory or playtime depictions of sexual harassment, rape, incest, bestiality, or child abuse.
An ancient ship travels across the universe. Covered in foliage and plants that no longer have names, she comes to the rescue of planets on the verge of ecological destruction. Whoever can be saved, and the seeds they carry with them, become guests on her ship.
Little is revealed to these guests, of her origin or her power. She gives them all a chance to start over, to take their leave at the next bastion of humanity. Some guests choose to stay, and call themselves the crew. Supporting her with various and necessary tasks, they keep the ship strong and ready for what comes next.
Each planet visited is the start of a new cycle, to take the seeds of lost ecologies and sow them on new worlds where they might flourish again. The new crew learn from the old, while also sharing their own wisdom. Some stay for many cycles, while others only for a few. At the end of each cycle, there is always a choice - to continue with the mission, or to follow a new path.
They come and go, a family of countless generations. Through them all, one constant remains - the being they know only as Márohu.
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Project Márohu is a virtual, freeform LARP that seeks to capture the essence of space fantasy - in which emotional narrative is prioritized over rigorous science fiction. In the design, the LARP seeks to emulate the feeling of physical connection - to each other, and our surroundings - in a digital environment.
The experience takes place over six hours with 1 hour of workshops, 4.5 hours of playtime, and 30 minutes of structured debrief. An act structure sets the pace of the group narrative, while personal narratives advance from both character interactions and timed organizer inputs.
Design Pillars
Family. It’s a story about how we found each other, and the depth of what we mean to one another.
Regeneration. It’s a story about the mission we inherited, to plant seeds whose fruits we will not live to see.
Hope. It’s a story about our radical belief in a better tomorrow, and our burning drive to make that a reality.
Platforms for Play
Gather (https://gather.town/) is a browser-based platform for audio / video connections that are created when character icons are in proximity on a 2D map. Using a custom map built for Project Márohu, the design uses many interactable features to add immersive elements.
Google Meet (https://meet.google.com/) is a browser-based platform, with conventional A/V calls. Several active calls will be integrated into the Gather map for NPC interactions.
Physical restrictions:
The event relies on the Gather platform for most audio / video connections. That platform does not currently support automatic subtitles, and relies on visual cues for making spatial connections between participants.
The designers are explicitly open to working with interested participant(s) to overcome these platform limitations - we have ideas, but have not yet been able to playtest those approaches.
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-projectmarohu
Repro: A Make a Scene Preview
GM: Katherine Shane
Time Slot: Saturday, Jan. 16, 5:00 to 8:30 PM EST
Age Range: 18+
Content Advisory: fertility choices, difficult parent relationships.
Repro is about parenting in a post-capitalist, post-scarcity, and gender expansive world. Every human being is entitled to .75 biological children. Every human being, when born, is implanted with a fertility blocker. When or if a human being wishes to become a parent, whether in partnership, as an individual, or as part of a collective, they go to Reproductive Services, or Repro. This scenario is about family, parenting, and decision-making
Kickstarter link for a LARP anthology including this game and others: http://bit.ly/makeasceneks
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-repro
Murder at Elm Hall
GM: Tamasin Wohlers
Time Slot: Sunday, Jan. 17, 12:00 to 2:30 PM EST
Age Range: 18+ and teens only with a parent
Content Advisory: murder, being trapped
You and five others have been invited to spend the weekend at Elm Hall by the wealthy Lord Black, a famous socialite renowned for his parties. You were delighted to be invited – but now he seems to be dead! To make matters worse, a storm has cut off all communication with the outside world. You are on your own, with the killer among you. With no help from the outside world, it is up to you to be judge, jury, and executioner of one of your own peers.
Murder at Elm Hall is a murder mystery where the answer to the question “who did it” is less important than how six suspects who can’t rule each other out deal with being trapped with each other.
Characters are prewritten, and will be cast based upon a casting survey sent out after the game has filled. Expect a 2-4 page character sheet and a 2 page rules doc.
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-elmhall
Radio Silence
GM: Gerrit Reininghaus
Time Slot: Sunday, Jan. 17, 3:00 to 4:30 PM EST
Age Range: 18+
Radio Silence is a LAOG (Live-Action Online Game) for 2 people. Players will be playing in pairs. After facilitation we can group separately to play and meet again afterwards for a debrief. Safety mechanics: Content discussion with Lines & Veils, X-card. In Radio Silence we will communicate only via songs with each other. You can use YouTube, your private music collection, a Spotify premium account, or any other legal music sharing software. You will be playing missed connections who forgot to exchange contact info and now somehow found each other
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-radiosilence
Jewel Warriors
GM: Arike van de Water
Time Slot: Sunday, Jan. 17, 3:00 to 6:30 PM EST
Age Range: All Ages
You and the rest of the Jewel Warriors have been fighting against the Dark Power of the Ultra Soldiers Army and their plans to destroy your home. This is the 11th hour; you thought you had a plan, but then something went wrong. Think of this game like the last episode in the season of a magical girl anime. One by one, the warriors were separated from each other and can now only communicate via com link. Your plans are in disarray, victory seems to be slipping from your grasp, and the pressure is widening cracks in the team. Can you reconnect and save the day?
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-jewelwarriors
Tales of the Future Vol. 1
GMs: Jeff Diewald, Jordan Diewald
Time Slot: Sunday, Jan. 17, 7:00 PM to 12:00 AM EST
Age Range: 18+
Content Advisory: crime, murder, medical experimentation, abusive relationship, economic and social inequality, death
This is about a Future of wonder and discovery, from the time of the First Sentience in the Galaxy, to a time where the hills and valleys of hyperspace are filled with ships from thousands of sentient races. These sentiences are biological, of fluids and sinew, adapting to some surprising ecological niches. They are mechanical, with positronic robotic minds driving robotic bodies of all shapes and functionalities. They are also virtual, living software existing in one of the vast computational constructs of quantum entanglements and semiconductors.
And yet, they are all people, with hopes, ambitions, desires, quirks, and foibles. For all of the freedom a post-scarcity economy brings, problems remain. Communication between two groups of people with vastly different mindsets is always difficult, even under the best circumstances. Important decisions must be made, with incomplete information, and with no time to mull over the options. Accidents happen. Mistakes are made. And evil still exists.
These are Tales of some of those challenging moments. These Tales use classic science fiction themes and settings to pose interesting and difficult questions about the Future. Each Tale is a separate, small, independent, focused LARP.
Volume 1 consists of Tales about the times of the lives of people and civilizations in the Deep Dark. These are Tales about birth, the vigor of a growing and expanding culture, the grand times, the waning times, and their eventual transformation or disappearance. These Tales also touch on the legacies we leave behind.
After you sign up, go to the game website: http://www.vortexofchaos.net/tales_of_the_future/index.html
to fill out the casting questionnaire. Then you will be cast into one of the five tracks of roles in the game. We will send you a zip file containing PDF files for all of the Tales and roles you will be playing during the LARP, well in advance of the game. This is approximately 16-20 pages of material. There is additional game bluesheet information on the game website.
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-talesofthefuture
The Batcave
GM: Arike van de Water
Time Slot: Monday, Jan. 18, 2:30 to 4:00 PM EST
Age Range: All Ages
A 1.5 hour long lighthearted game for 2 to 5 players. In this game we play a family of bats looking for a new cave. We will move and make noises as if we were bats. We will be able to speak normally, though it is recommended to respond as much as possibly with bat gestures and noises. To intensify the feel that we are bats, we turn our camera view upside down using a Windows Zoom feature. That way we appear as if we are hanging from the ceiling.
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-batcave
Long Time Listener, Last Time Caller
GM: Peter Hagmann
Time Slot: Saturday, Jan. 16, 12:00 to 1:00 PM EST
Age Range: 18+ and teens only with a parent
Content Advisory: apocalyptic (non-Covid related) setting, possible descriptions of gore and violence
Long Time Listener, Last Time Caller is a game for 4-10 players and 30-60 minutes about a radio show at the end of the world. It is inspired by great moments of radio where a crisis has enabled broadcasters to transcend the constraints of the medium and help their audiences on a personal level.
As the game goes on, the host gradually abandons the artifice of broadcasting, until everything is stripped away and all that remains is two people talking to one another while the world listens. This game is designed to be a meditative experience where listening is as important as acting.
SignUpGenius Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/a21-listenercaller