THE LARPS

Amnesia

By Nick Huggins. Facilitated by Joseph Outram.

In a metal room, lit only by fluorescent lamps, a group of people awake. Knowing nothing and suspecting everything they have no choice but to re-create the shattered memories of what brought them to this place before they are used up in whatever experiment spawned them.


Angels in the Fog

By Russ Kale

Fog City, as it's known to the locals, either loves you or grinds you to dust. In your case, it does both on alternating days. A city of failed writers, corrupt officials with broken social lives, amnesiac starlets, private eyes with shallow pockets, and businessmen with bank vaults where their hearts should be, and at the heart of the city, and your life, lies Pier Seventeen.

Pier Seventeen is a place to drink, to escape from it all, to rub shoulders, to rub out enemies, and to rub away memories. In Pier Seventeen's penthouse lives the 'designer' of Fog City, Levi Montgomery. This man is responsible for the systems that surround you, the picture houses and the utilities and the holograms. Slowly but surely, that man has stripped away the emotion, love and tactility from everyone in Fog City. Nobody reads or prays, or whispers secrets to another heart under the bedsheets. You've often wished someone would get rid of him.

And now someone has.


Boats Against the Current

By Anna Klein. Facilitated by James Cooper.

New York, in the throes of the roaring twenties. An age of defiance, rebellion, blazing forth into a bright future in a whirl of liquor and dancing. Recently, an eccentric but much talked about millionaire socialite has died under very questionable circumstances. Speculation abounds in the streets, and splashed across the papers - who was this man, really? Where did he come from? Who killed him? And why?

An introspective larp inspired by "The Great Gatsby"


Boffo's Birthday Bash

By Donna Giltrap. Facilitated by Malcolm Harbrow.

Cyril (Boffo) Boffingham is celebrating his birthday in style. He has invited an assortment of fellow members of the Drones Club and other good eggs to help him mark the occasion. Unfortunately a few blighters and an unavoidable Aunt or two always manage to make their way onto the guest list. There's also the small matter that Cyril needs to get married within the next 12 months in order to inherit the family fortune.


Brick and Water

By Sarah Daymond

Choleric, Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Melancholic: the four temperaments that define the societal divide in Valverde, the perfect city with the perfect system. The annual Testing Day has arrived, and all citizens are invited to mingle and celebrate as the next generation discovers their place in the world. You’re not a person until you know the path the city has chosen for you.


Carnival Arcane

By Gregory Nagler, Figments of your Imagination. Facilitated by Donna Giltrap.

Despite the success of the large circuses, several independent carnivals still tour the country in 1928. While many visitors simply want diversion and entertainment, a few seek something more, and the Lancaster Rigby Carnival is rumoured to offer what no other carnival can. The tents are up, the lights are strung, and the barker is ready to show you in….


Combat Zone

By Daniel Carleton and William McCartney

After a quick boot camp, you will be thrust into the heart of war. You will meet your squad, and you will learn to die for your squad. If you live, you will be diffusing bombs, rescuing hostages, recovering important documents and crying like a little girl through fast paced firefights. A live combat military simulation using nerf weapons.


Graduation Day

By Donna Giltrap. Facilitated by Jared Hansen.

The independent city-state of Tourmaline is ruled by the wizards of the White College. Prince Ambrose, the younger son of the king of neighbouring Arlandia, was sent to the White College to receive a gentleman's education. To the surprise of many he actually passed his final exams. Today Prince Ambrose is holding the traditional graduation feast to honour the College Masters.


The Marqués of Galatone

By Sypher Hawken

It is 1815 in the city of Naples, Italy and you have all received an invitation to attend a grand party hosted by the unheard of Marqués of Galatone. He has recently purchased a grand mansion in the country outside Naples where he will be hosting the party. But no matter how much you ask around, nobody has heard of the Marqués of Galatone. It's odd for a man to acquire so much wealth so suddenly.

The evening arrives and you enter the grand hall where, upon the stage, stands a heavily robed, jewelled and commanding man. The music ceases and attention is drawn to the stage where the man prepares to speak. "Good evening my friends and welcome. It is both a privilege and an honour to have you all here with me. Tonight I am your friend, servant and host. I am the Marqués of Galatone."


The Moor-stepper on Lloegyr

By Ryan Hart. Facilitated by Malcolm Harbrow.

For forty years, the good and honorable king Castus has ruled the Heorots, supported by his knights and vassals. That is, until the Moor Stepper began its unholy reign. From the outskirts of the kingdom came rumors of a vile monster, who strikes in the middle of the night, feasting upon the bowels of its victims. Little thought was given to this threat, until the Moor Stepper came to Castus’ fortress, and started attacking the women and children of Lloegyr.

His court in shambles, and his greatest champion unable to face the Moor Stepper, the desperate king turns to a foreign power, the Rolf, Lord of the Kraki, to bring his great champion Odvar to the fight.


The Morpho Project

By ???

You came across an interesting cryptography puzzle while browsing the internet early last year on a thread titled 'For highly intelligent people, try this- Blue Morpho 2485'. Solving it was hard but rather a fun challenge. Then you came across another puzzle about a month later, then another, and another, all of them addressed to 'highly intelligent people'. Some of the forums you visit started talking about 'The Morpho Project'; a search for someone or something. A couple of the threads even had responses from someone purporting to be 'Blue Morpho'. More puzzles crossed your path, taking you through the internet, the darknet and the real world to solve them, until two weeks ago an email appeared in your inbox...

Based on the Cicada Project, this is a game about solving riddles, testing determination and finding the answer to the final question...then surviving long enough to use it.


Multiverse: Unravelling the Skein of Fate

By Mike Curtis

Evil daemons from the nether planes have somehow gained control of the magikal Gates! Already, their advance forces have wrought havoc and disaster across the Isle of the Purple Towns, and without access to the Gates, there can be no hope of assistance, or of ascertaining the reach of this invasion. Clouds of smoke hang like an acrid pall across the island, signifying the deadliness of the daemon army. Against this dark background, some of the refugees are gathering themselves for a desperate resistance. It is time for the Guild of Purple Mages to take a stand, and to strike back at their enemies!

A high risk, live combat, fantasy roleplaying adventure.


Muppets! The Larp

By Prema Cottingham

"The most sensational, celebrational, muppetational!"

It's Friday night at The Muppet Show, 3 hours before curtain call when all our favourite cast of characters will hit the floorboards. Except all is not well backstage - some nefarious magic has fallen over the stars that has turned them all into the worst of worst...humans! They have three hours to get to the bottom of it before the curtain rises and chaos ensues!


Restricted Sector 17

By Dave Agnew, Claire Ahuriri, Sarah Daymond, Jordan Henare, Mark Wilson.

Somewhere in the depths of space, an ancient artifact has been discovered. Teams from each of the five supernations are racing towards their objective, each aiming to reach it before their rivals, and to claim it for their own. However, all is not as it seems. A Sci-Fi Action/Horror live combat (Nerf and boffer) game.


Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter

By Anna Klein

A swashbuckling comedy of daring, dashing, dastardliness, damsels and a bit with a dog. Bringing you the best thing about pirates, musketeers, merry men, wenches, damsels and Shakespearian comedy, drenched in improbable circumstances, mistaken identities, star-crossed lovers and non-stop witty sexual innuendo. Hey nonny-nonny.


The Salem Witch Trials

By Aidan Walsh. Facilitated by Mani Rogers

The events of this game are based on the tragedy in the village of Salem in 1692. Salem had been functioning as a village for nearly forty years until this tragedy struck. Most of the people in the village lived in fear in case one of the fellow villagers decided that they where a witch. Paranoia was rife throughout the town. Not even the village minister was safe. Salem was on the brink of destruction from these trails. Neighbours turned on neighbours, friends turned on friends, and even family turned on family. Nobody trusted anybody, and this was how life was. This was how they lived.


The Seven Deadly Virtues

By Daena Dixon and Sarah Daymond

King Arthur is holding a tournament to celebrate May Day, but joy is far from people's minds. Everyone in Camelot has a secret, some better known than others. While the rumour of Guinevere's indiscretions are widely known, and Morgan's distaste for the royal family is the subject of much debate, where does the truth lie? Can the hearts of Camelot ever be known? Fight for honour, for love, for freedom. On this day, nothing is set in stone.


Slash 3: Friendship is Slashfic

By Ellen Boucher and Anna Klein.

Someone has stolen the Power of Greyskull! But who? To what end? What does the Power of Greyskull really do, anyway? Can Friendship save us from all-out fantasy war? And do you really care when you're making it with a hot partner in chainmail underwear? An R18 game.


The Soap and the Opera

By Daniel Carleton, Saskia Rose, Jordan Henare and Serena Owen

Scandals, murdering ex-lovers, backstabbing, love triangles, coming out of the closet...all in days work for a soap opera star, or a person whose life is a soap opera. Join the cast of The Soap and the Opera, set in Sunshine Bay, where anything can and will happen for the poor individuals trapped to live a life of constant drama. Players will take the role of one of the main characters in the soap, but with no script who knows what will happen!


Sunset in the Silver City

By Dave Agnew and Martin Clyde

The Throne of God sits empty. The horns have sounded, the seals have been broken and the four horsemen have ridden across the sky. A lone figure walks towards the Gates of Heaven. Any who try to stop him fall in flames. As he reaches the gates, they crumble, and Lucifer once again enters heaven. An apocalyptic game of Celestial Politics for 18 Players, inspired by the works of Mike Carey, Neil Gaiman and John Milton.


Super Villains of 1929 - Auction in the Sky

By Brad Thompson and Glenn Patel

It is 1929, the very height of mad science and derring-do. A mysterious figure has invited a number of the most diabolical and dastardly dark deed doers to his private airship, the Bismarck, where the auction of the century is about to be held.


Taboo

By Mani Rogers

There is a bar on the outskirts of the Delta-5 galaxy called Taboo. It is said to be an old-Earth word that meant 'not allowed'. It dates back to a time when the world was without law and rules. Then the sanctioning happened, where all galaxies and planets were brought under the rule of what is now called the Sanctioned.

However once a year, this one little bar has no laws, all its patrons are free to do as they wish with no repercussions. Humanoids and non-humanoids alike to travel far and wide to this little bar to celebrate the event. In a bar where there are no rules, chaos can easily follow.


The Tournament of Champions

Facilitated by Reuben Strom

Hear yea, hear yea, hear yea! Be it known to all men and women who profess excellence in skill at arms, that on Saturday the 16th of August, at one hour past noon, there shall be a coming together of like-minded people. These stalwart warriors will compete on foot, with sword and shield, axes and maces, single sword and great weapons. They shall fight in the round and across the barrier until one of them clearly has held the field against all comers. That person shall have earned the title of "Tournament Champion, Chimera 2013."


Wands at the Ready!

By Walter Hamer

The Masters are off to a conference in Australia. Finally, Theodore's School of Sorcery is empty of grumpy, distant teachers. It's been bad enough without email, but so far you haven't even done any real magic! You, the students, have agreed to sneak out of the school, head to the seclusion of the forest, and give some of these theories a go. Enough lessons of 'meditating with silence' in the converted garage; enough boring yourself to death as you read through photocopied spellbooks in the library; enough waiting patiently for one of the Masters to so much as let you touch your wand.

You've read how to Duel, and rumour has it some students have stolen a ritual... or was it a secret?... or a powerful necklace? Regardless, now's your chance to put knowledge to the test, prove how good you are...and settle some scores.


When the End of the World Came

By Martin Clyde

Eighty years ago the apocalypse came... and went. Cities slowly emptied one-by-one as their lights shut down. There was no loud bang. There was no disease. There was no breaking point. Humanity just began to fade away. Some survivors remained, for a while, as the lands fell into decay but over the years they too simply slipped away. Huddled around a campfire are the last remaining humans. They don’t talk, and they avoid eye contact. They just listen to the emptiness surrounding them. They only have enough food for two more nights if they are lucky.

When the End of the World Came is intended as an emotionally intense game focused on character relationships over plot. It is intended for mature, experienced larpers


Secrets of the Deep

By Reuben Strom, Rowena Knill, Nikki Brown and Phillip Brown

The sunken Kingdom of Atlantis. Its name is whispered as a tale of woe and warning by the surface-folk, a lesson in humility. Yet the proud bloodlines did not perish when the city collapsed. They live still, beneath the waves, hidden from prying surface eyes. The question of how they came to survive the drowning of their great city has thus far gone unanswered. Tonight, it is the anniversary of Atlantis' fall into the depths, and as tradition dictates, the King has opened the doors to his royal halls for all the nobility to gather and feast.

'Secrets of the Deep' is an original 40-60 player LARP written for Chimera 2014 which takes inspiration from the story of Atlantis. Suitable for all player levels, it contains themes of myth and high adventure.


Dry Spell

By Scott Kelly, Ellen Boucher, Donna Giltrap, Malcolm Harbrow, Paul Wilson

It is 1930 and the signatories of the Unseelie Accords have gathered in the NeverNever not far from Chicago, USA for their annual meeting. But everyone has their own agenda, and the balance is fragile. Wizards, vampires, powerful Fae, mobsters, the Bureau of Prohibition- they're all here, along with a few unexpected visitors. Chicago may be dry, but by the end of tonight, the city could well be soaked with blood.

A game for 60 players, set in the world of Jim Butcher's 'Dresden Files' novels, but no knowledge of the books is needed to enjoy this game.


Party at the Paragon Institute

By Thomas Joychild and Stephanie Cybart

Life's pretty good at the Paragon Institute, a very exclusive boarding school for the orphans of extraordinary but very obscure humanitarians from all over the world. You've grown up together and become family (though some of you are dating, making it a slightly incestuous family). But last week, each of you found a folder on your laptops containing a message from the student who'd hacked the school's records, and your personal file- the REAL one. The one that tells you who you REALLY are. Or were. Or would be, if a team of time-travelling do-gooders hadn't kidnapped you from your homes as babies, altering history and making the world a better place through preventing you from becoming the warlords and dictators and corrupt CEOs that you otherwise would have been.


Photo from Chimera 2013