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Is This For Me?
The core vision for this LARP is experiencing how it is to play two parts of the same character with someone else and be in symbiosis with them. Together, you are a whole human being. This also means that it is physically impossible to be too far away from each other at all times during the LARP. There is no exception from this off game, so be aware that you sign up with someone where you feel comfortable that you will need the same amount of breaks. If one party needs a nap – the other one will have to be out of the game as well. Energy level is an important calibration topic when choosing a partner.
In the fiction, separation will bring you both excruciating pain. The specific distance in practice is something we will try out in the workshops, but it is approximately 2 meters. How to be aware of each other at all times is also something we will practice in the workshops before the game.
You will play characters that have or are trying to come to terms with the fact that they have been lied to for all their life, but many are still unsure of how they want to shape their life after the church.
The characters are former Magisterium people, experimental theologists (physicists in our world), witches, nobility, nomads, soldiers, writers, adventurers, students at the university, politicians, natural philosophers and the like. The characters more or less know each other before the game starts – some only superficially.
You have in common a great curiosity about what this state of things will mean for you personally and how the view possibilities of understanding have and will affect your understanding of your Daemon. Scientific experiments might help you learn more about your connection to your Daemon and thereby – the world.
The playstyle is collaborative in the Nordic LARP style with no stats and a few, central mechanics to enhance the experience. Concepts such as “Dinner Warfare” and “Playing an engaging victim” will be used as design tools.
Playstyle and pacing
The playstyle will be Nordic in origin and focus on “Play to lift”. More about this in the workshops.
There will be options for short off game calibrations during scenes, but there will be no off game comments in in game areas and no longer off game conversations outside off game areas. The GM will be playing a character in the LARP.
Daemon is what I call a “Frontloaded” LARP. There are a lot of complicated relations in the character backgrounds as well as a dramatic intro scene to start of the LARP. Frontloading also means that there are more planned events in the beginning of the LARPas well as a high intensity beginning of the game. Later, most of the time will be free play, but there are some collective activities that all characters will participate in: Meals and scientific experiments are the most prominent of those.
However, these collective activities will not be time consuming compared to the time to play freely.
We will start the larp together in a collective scene and then we do directly into a three course dinner designed around “Dinner Warfare”. You can read more about that concept here:
That means that pacing wise, we are jumping right into the core of the LARPinstead of walking around and saying “hello” for ages. The three acts are between four an six hours, all designed for high intensity with breaks in between.
The character sheets are 5-8 pre-written pages. They contain all relations, back-stories and what you need to know about your character. No co-creation is expected regarding the basis of the characters and relations but there are open questions of things to think about and something your might discuss with your partner. The only thing expected is calibration with co-players in the workshops and deciding how you want to play it.
Another core concept of the larp is practising the skill of “Playing an engaging victim”. We will lift each others’ play – especially when we are playing oppression play, and you can read more about the concept here:
What to Expect
What you can do at the LARP
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Nordic-style game. No mechanics, but rather negotiation based play
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Experiment with the symbiotic relationship between human and Daemon
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Have a passionate romantic interest where the Daemons show the true feelings while the humans aren’t allowed to show them
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Have fun by making great toasts to science which has won the war
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Have an existential crisis over losing your deity and seemingly gaining free will
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Question the nature of the human soul
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Explore what place desire can have in your life
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Relive traumas from the war through your Daemon to heal
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Dine and dance in a way you have never been allowed to before when The Magisterium had a firm grasp over morality in this world
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Threaten a former friend who was on the other side of the war
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Be shocked and horrified by radical experiments taking place between Humans and Daemons
What you should NOT expect
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A ‘His Dark Materials’ reenactment. There will be no dangerous adventures in this or other worlds like the ones the main characters in the books experience. No known characters will be in the LARP or be known personally to the characters. This in only a world inspired by the novels.
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What exists in the fiction outside of the setting and location we will be playing at is not important. Yes, armored bears exist, and some might have seen one in the war, but they are not relevant to the story. The same goes for specters and other elements of the original material that are not on this website.
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Daemons eating, sleeping like animals and being in full body costumes to look the part. Actually, in His Dark Materials, Daemons don’t eat at all. But as players, we need to eat, can’t fly and can’t be as small as a moth, so we will never be able to do a 1:1 representation of the animals anyway. Thus, the Daemon players will also eat at the table and sleep in a bed like their human counterparts and merely represent the animal form they have with body language and some costume/make-up parts.
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A sexual or nudity filled experience. Some of the important themes are definitely desire, the meaning of loss of innocence and newly won free will. Even sensuality or eroticism can be a part of this experience for some. However, the death of “The church” is not only about sexual liberation and there are many kinds of desire other than sexual desire. Therefore players are advised to interpret ‘desire’ as broadly as possible. Sexual violence is not a theme you can encounter in this LARP.
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A strict plotline for the overall LARP. There will be plenty of character relation options and possible storylines for the individual and there will be much time to play this out to experience the bond between human and Daemon. All players are invited to create stories in game and create play for each other.
Characters
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The character sheets are 5-8 pre-written pages. They contain all relations, back-stories and what you need to know about your character. No co-creation is expected regarding the basis of the characters and relations but there are open questions of things to think about and something your might discuss with your partner. The only thing expected is calibration with co-players in the workshops and deciding how you want to play it.
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You will get the same character sheet as your partner. For each character, there will be three options as to which animal the Daemon can be. The options will all fit the background and personality of the character.
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All characters are public to read before the larp. There are no secrets offgame. There are some events during the larp runtime that you won’t be told the content of but there are no secrets between players.
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You are not expected to plan scenes.
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Pre-play is discouraged. You just read your character. You are more than welcome to talk to relations beforehand but you don’t have to and no pre-play will happen. This is to make sure that you can just show up to the larp with a costume, knowing the setting and having read your character to play – nothing else.
Pacing and Logistics
There will be a strict time management policy at this LARP. This means that workshops and play will start on time, and we are not waiting for anyone. This also applies for break times. So please plan your trip thoroughly so that you can be there in time and preferably wear an in game appropriate watch. I completely understand that this is not a preferred style for many people, but I will rather have clear expectation management if this is something that makes you want to participate to a lesser degree.
The pacing of the LARP is “front loaded”. That means that there is more planned events in the beginning of the LARP as well as a high intensity beginning of the game. Later, most of the time will be free play, but there are some collective activities that all characters will participate in: Meals and scientific experiments are the most prominent of those.
However, these collective activities will not be time consuming compared to the time to play freely. Also, we will start and end the LARP together in collective scenes. The GM will be playing a character in the LARP.
Character Potrayals
Gender and Background
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We highly encourage all genders and backgrounds to join this LARP.
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Please note that there are some human binary roles in game while others can be rewritten with regards to gender. All Daemons can be all genders (he/she/they). All off game genders are welcome to play all characters – both human and Daemon. In the casting form you will be asked if you have a gender preference for your character, but this has nothing to do with your off game gender, which you will not be asked about in the sign-up.
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This is a redesign from the source material where there are (almost) only opposite binary genders in the human-Daemon couples, but this is different in the LARP. You are still very welcome to play opposite binary genders if you prefer. It is just not a requirement.
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Sexism, racism, body shaming, non-consensual sexual behavior and bullying based on off game traits are strictly forbidden at this LARP.
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Please note that this will be an international LARP, and we probably all have different LARP cultures. Be observant and empathetic.
Safety
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There will be workshops of how to escalate slowly, leave situations and calibrate with the word “offgame”. Please note that the larp will feature physical interactions, and a good baseline of what you should be okay with could be e.g. a stranger touching your arm, shouting at you, holding your hand or kissing you on the cheek. If you are not comfortable with this, Daemon is probably not a larp for you.
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For sensual play, touching each other on non-genitals and embrace of any kind is okay (if calibrated of course!). If you get to the point where you want your characters to actually have sex, then you will have to go to a private space and fade to black (go offgame). Here, you can talk about what happened in the scene. No offgame sex is allowed at any time during the larp and nudity is not allowed while in play. Careful stuntfighting will be opt-in as an option for all but especially Daemon-players who wish to engage in this kind of play, but it is not required at all to have a good experience. There will be a workshop element for those who wish it.
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Players can choose that their characters act in violent or sensual ways, experience dramatic breakdowns or suffer from mortifying humiliations. Daemon is a larp containing both light and dark themes, and it can include triggering subjects such as violence, oppression, abandonment, gaslighting, controlling behaviour, sexual violence and war crimes. You will NEVER be forced into this kind of play, if you don’t want to. You can always leave a situation and you are always in control of your own body! But you have to be okay with the themes being part of the larp, and the fact that they might be played out while you are present.
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The philosophy of Narrators Inc. and Mooney Bin Events is that self-care comes first. We expect you to take responsibility for your own experience and well-being. To help you with this, we will provide a designated safety person on location if you need to talk to someone during the LARP.
Serenity
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There is an offgame room available where you can take breaks from the game. Here you can also have a talk with the organizers if you feel that your game has got stuck. Furthermore, there will be a designated safety person that is not part of the organization in general. They will also host a voluntary debrief after the game.
LARP Schedule
Day One (26th or 29th)
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12.00-12.30: Show up, put on your provided name tag and make sure you have eaten your own lunch. No lunch will be provided on Friday.
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12.30: Presentation of the setting and room for questions (briefing)
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13.00: First part of the workshop without costumes
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14:00: Structured time to speak with your relations
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15.00: Get afternoon coffee and cake. Dress up and get into costumes. More time to calibrate if you are done with costumes
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17:00: Last workshops in costumes
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17.30: Act 1. Starting the game together
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18.00: Ingame dinner together with everybody
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22.00: Memorial ceremony for Lord Edward Blackett
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23:00: Public, political debate
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Midnight: Game pauses for the night. Please don’t party this night. Take some time to talk to your relations or decompress – whatever you need.
Day 2 (27th or 30th)
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08:00-10.00: Offgame breakfast. Time to get into costume again
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10.00-11.00: Continued time to put on costume as well as photo options before the game starts
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11:00: Act 2. Game starts again with a short talk on how things developed during the night and what everybody needs
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13:00: Ingame lunch
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15.00:16.30: Offgame break. Taking a rest in your rooms is highly advised
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16.30-17.00: Calibration time
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17.00: Act 3: Game starts again
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18:00: Ingame dinner
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22:00: Game ends. Socialize for as long as you like. There is a voluntary debrief for those who want to hosted by the safety person
Day 3 (28th or 1st)
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08:00-10.00: Off game breakfast
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10.00-11.00: Saying goodbye and and packing your things. You have to be out of the rooms by 11.00.