Larp House Presents: Beyond Boffers Workshop

The padded foam sword, called a boffer, has an honored place in larp as a safer way to simulate combat with weapons. For weaponless combat, such as wrestling or martial arts, other larp traditions have developed their own styles to fill the void. The Beyond Boffers workshop will teach these “boffer martial arts” techniques in a friendly learning environment.

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Larp House Presents: ’Terps

‘Terps is a live action role-playing game about combat interpreters – people who volunteer for extremely dangerous duty in the service of a foreign power, motivated by a desire to improve both their war-torn nation and their own lot in life. It is about commitments made and ignored, and brave allies abandoned. It is inspired by the ongoing tragedy of America’s withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan.

A freeform larp for 2-4 players
Written by Jason Morningstar
Organized by Arnold Cassell, Jon Cole, and Kelley Vanda

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Larp House Presents: Orthodoxy

A larp about the politics of rewriting a religion and reconstructing a city, to be played this January 2015.
Orthodoxy will be full of intrigue, bribery, compromise, and maybe even murder. Players will be grouped into ancient religious sects consisting of up to 5 people, including the sect’s Lector and their closest followers. Throughout the course of the game, these characters will contribute to writing a text that will unify the land under a single religious ideology.
The larp will cycle between two phases, one in which each sect will narrate chapters of the text in order to make their virtues the most prominent and another phase of bribery, spying, rabble-rousing, and possibly assassinations!

WHAT:
a larp for 9-20 players
Written by Ezra Studios
Organized by Arnold Cassell and the Larp House
WHEN:
The larp will be held from 1pm-5pm on Saturday January 31st  2015.
If you choose to attend the optional lunch potluck, come at noon on the 31st with something to share.
For Lectors (players who sign-up for a role with more responsibilities during the larp) there will be an additional required workshop from 1-3pm on Saturday January 24th  2015.
WHERE:
The larp will be held at in a private home in Shakopee, MN  USA. Please sign up to receive the exact address. There will be some rides available for people without vehicles.
The lector workshop will be held at the Caribou Coffee on Selling and Grand in Saint Paul, MN  USA.
WHAT GENRE:
political scheming, high-stakes business meeting
Orthodoxy is a competitive game. Players are each other’s opponents vying for religious and secular power in a crumbling city-state. Use of deception and skulduggery is expected and encouraged. However player elimination is not expected. Any assassinated character will definitely be dead, but the player will take on other interesting duties.
HOW DO I SIGN UP:
Tickets are assigned via a lottery of all interested people. Enter the lottery by sending an e-mail to [email protected] before 11:59PM Wednesday, December 31st. You should know if you are in or out of the larp by Friday January 2nd.
In your email, please also indicate what type of role you would like for the larp: Lector or Devotee. By selecting Lector, you are required to come to an additional workshop one week before the larp to learn about this special role.
If you have a vehicle and would be willing to offer folks rides out to Shakopee, please mention that in your email of sign-up here.
Finally, Arnold would like to host an optional potluck lunch before the larp. If you interested in that, you can indicate it in your sign up email.
Anyone is welcome to sign up to play in Orthodoxy, feel free to invite people and forward this email widely.
WHAT ROLES ARE THERE:
There are two types of player roles in Orthodoxy, Lectors and Devotees. Devotees will portray members of different religious sects. They will engage in behaviors such as scheme for personal power, have personal conflicts with members of their sect, complain about other sects, and carry out secret missions for their sect.
Lectors will portray leaders of the religious sects that Devotees are a part of. There will be 2 to 4 Devotees per sect. Lector characters will have the benefit and burden of representing their sect during parts of the negotiation.  Lectors will engage in such behaviors as scheme for the power of the sect, have personal conflicts with other sect leaders, complain about their Devotees, and cut deals with other sects.
COSTUMING:
To the extent that you are excited about this, get your ancient Roman religious leader on. At the Lector workshop, some distinctive markings and symbols for each sect will be created. Be ready to accessorize and represent your sect!
ACCESSIBILITY:
The play venue is a split-level home, stair access only. The venue is accessible only by car. A limited number of rides to and from the event are available for people without access to a vehicle, organized here. Climate controlled building. Plenty of seating available. Potluck meal will be provided at noon. A minimally appointed off-game decompression space will be available. If you have an accessibility question or request please email [email protected].
CONTENT WARNING:
Devotees will be assigned to sects created by Lectors. Play will include callous political power-grabs, content and reasoning inspired by real-world religions. Play may include assassination, unequal power dynamics between characters. Play will center around creating a new religious canon. If you have an question about this content warning please email [email protected].
CONTACT THE ORGANIZERS:
For more information about Orthodoxy email [email protected]. Your inquiry will be forwarded to the organizer best suited to answer it.

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Larp House Presents: Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

Played in the summertime, when the sky stays lit well into the night and the air is stiflingly humid, Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai is a simple storytelling parlor game with an evocation ritual reminiscent of “Bloody Mary.” In a mythic imagining of Edo period Japan, a gracious host has invited villagers to improvise stories. The host lights a dozen candles, and characters take turns telling strange and grotesque stories, folktales, and ghost stories. 

At the end of each story, the teller of the tale extinguishes a candle. The room darkens at the conclusion of each story, the fading light calls upon the spirits and creatures of the stories. When the final candle goes out, something monstrous may fill the darkness.

WHAT GENRE: telling ghost stories, Japanese folk tale, creepy ritual

HOW MANY: 6 – 12 players.

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