"Parlour LARP"

[the_eggwhite]

So...

An idea that I've been messing around with for a while, and may look at doing from time to time. One off freeform/rules light LARPs, run in a house or other freely available space...

Obviously I plan to get UA up and running first, but I'm thinking of these as one-off "event" style things. Lots more prep than usual, set dressing, dirty tricks to creep people out, etc.

Characters would all be pregens after a fashion, but either tailored to the individual players or left broad enough for the players to put their own spin on it. In the latter case it'd be something like "You're a relatively high earner in a field where you get to find out a lot about important people. You know these things, and would give your eye-teeth to find out these other things. The rest is up to you."

I'm also wondering about the idea of multi-tiered games. Basically, two or three groups of players all sharing a gamespace, but with each of the groups having it's own distinct concerns. This would leave the way open for each group to have totally different power levels, or levels of knowledge, but still be playing in the same game...

I currently have an idea for such a game which would be set at a seance, taking place in a suburban house some time in the latter half of the 20th Century. PCs would be guests at the seance, and would all recieve a fairly loose brief... The intention would be that there is no PC/NPC divide, and that the GM (me) would only be there to handle disputes or help steer the direction of events if they're slowing down too much.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[eggwhite.livejournal.com]

Well, characters would be either pregens or halfway to pregens anyway. I'd provide goals, secrets, knowledge and some basic information (income bracket, type of stuff you're good at) and you basically wing it from that.

I'll probably provide some ideas along with the brief, which you could then use or ignore according to whim. to use the example I gave in my original post:

"You're a relatively high earner in a field where you get to find out a lot about important people. You know these things, and would give your eye-teeth to find out these other things. The rest is up to you."

You could chose to make that character a successful freelance photojournalist, out looking for dirt on a certain (currently whiter-than-white) Celebrity.

Or you could be a lawyer, who gets told all kinds of things by the important people they represent. You might have a client you think it lying to you, and you want to know why, or you might have an ex client who won't tell you why they let you go...

Basically, so long as you stay consistent in game time, character is likely to be prompted but very flexible.

[sea-cucumber.livejournal.com]

I shall have to think about it... At the moment I don't feel as if I could roleplay anyone remotely competent :'(

[eggwhite.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'm pretty sure you could. But if you'd prefer to roleplay somebody incompetent then that's a possibility too. You've roleplayed a girly pop-singer before... how about an inbred heiress or a gullible old woman?

Or have a crack at playing somebody utterly abhorrent? Roleplay your old manager. Playing her as she gets her comeuppance could even be cathartic!

[eggwhite.livejournal.com]

Of course, depending on who else is playing, I may have something a little stranger in mind for you anyway...

[sea-cucumber.livejournal.com]

Let me know if you do...

[sea-cucumber.livejournal.com]

hehehehehehhe *laughs*
someone really rubbish could be quite funny :)

[eggwhite.livejournal.com]

Well, as an example of how things can change over time, Jarvis was originally created to be Jarvis the Crap Nos. I worked with the system to try to create a well rounded but ultimately useless character who's only real advantages were knowing things that he couldn't tell anyone (he knew about the Niktuku, for example - you don't go round discussing them. Well, not twice, anyway).

When I stopped STing I started to make him more useful and easier to drag into things, but before that he really was a bit poo.

I also seriously considered playing a six or seven point character at the Gathering...

[sea-cucumber.livejournal.com]

awww, Jarvis was great. I just wanted to hug him! But he did get rather a lot better!
I liked my incompetent dilletante occultist character I played for a Cthulhu one off a while back, he was very fun :)