The Dreaming LARP

[Cramulus]

I'm writing a live game, called The Dreaming. In some ways, it's part LARP and part ARG. I was yammering about it a little last week.

This is meant to be a game that any of you can play - you don't need to drive to some campsite in connecticut, you can play it wherever you are. There will be a game community on the internet as well as wherever you make one. In part, it will involve snooking friends to game with you. Your actions in your respective towns and cities can impact the game world as a whole.

This has been brewing for a while ... I wrote / ran a game called Tales of the Dreaming back in college. I ran it for two years, and it continued without me for several years after I graduated, sustained on its own energy. I had given life to a community, an organism. Something that would grow up and out of my control. I thought that was beautiful -- But I digress! We carried a little of that energy into the discussions about projects codenamed ARGGASM and LARPGASM. But my mind keeps coming back to the Dreaming... It became the setting for my new game..

I've kept some of the goals we had during the LARPGASM discussion:



To create a game which is ....

-a mindfuck to both players and nonplayers
-scales well. It can be played with 2 people or 2000 people with no extra work on the admin's part
-content generated / aggregated by other players
-playing the game also advertises the game



So my game is a LARP which could take place at any time, in any place, without the need for game masters.  I think it's finally at the stage where I can show it to people and it might make some semblance of sense.

I don't want to spend too much time explaining it, because I'm curious to see if the website is self-explanatory.

I'm curious to see if it makes sense to everybody, especially people who have never played a LARP before. Can you visualize it? Does it sound interesting? Does it sound like fun?



http://dreamings.ning.com

[Cramulus]

QUESTION ONE

Can you tell me what it needs in terms of explanations? Aside from pictures/video, what would help you visualize what playing the Dreaming is like?


QUESTION TWO

Wanna play?

In a few weeks, once all the blank spots in the rulebook are filled out, we'll do an ALPHA TEST - a one-week-long game. Based on how it goes, the rules will be modified to prepare for a larger beta test. (you can make a character before the alpha test, there just won't be a lot of game content yet)

Playing will involve gathering up some people in meatspace, for real, and playing with them. You'll post pictures or blog entries to the website. You will be one of the people who has a big say in the overall direction of the game.

I will probably host a kick-off event at my house in Connecticut, where we will drink beers and assassinate one another.


at some point, we'll be recruiting people for NPC roles.

[Idem]

QUESTION ONE

Can you tell me what it needs in terms of explanations? Aside from pictures/video, what would help you visualize what playing the Dreaming is like?

I think it just needs a little more literature, perhaps surrounding past events or past characters, to help flesh it out.  I've never LARPd before but it just seems like this would help the universe feel more "real".

It could be as simple as some petty rivalry a Vision and an Old God had - not earth-shaking like Creation, continents torn asunder, eras of strife, etc.  It could even be text-within-text - the popular fiction of the universe surrounding important past figures and their twisted romance life or something.

QUESTION TWO

Wanna play?

I'll see if anybody around here is interested.

[the last yatto]

 The Dreaming
(206) 525-9394
5226 University Way NE
Seattle 98105

hey cram i found my first location

[LMNO]

I am very close to trying this out, but there's one problem: .ning sites are blocked at work.

I'll see what happens why I try using my iPhone.

____________________

Well, it's giving me status updates, and a forum of sorts... Pretty clever that it's got a Mobile setting.  However, it looks like I need to be in the Regular version to figure out what's going on.

Keep in mind that I'm coming into this with absolutely zero knowlegde of how these things are run.

Hey!  You linked to the Sandbox, which I can access at work!  Ok, I'll read up on this, and get back to you.

[Richter]

1.  The rules and such that you have up so far make plenty of sense, though I do need to take a crawl back through to get the timing of (ecounter?) skills, and look over the classes again. 

Pics would be cool.  Is a compeltely plainclothed sort of thing?

2.  I'd def. play.  I know a few local game - inclined, LARP inclined folks locally who I'm  sure would be into it once a bit of momentum is started.  Now to squeeze in the tiem to do so. 

[LMNO]

Well, I like the concept, Cram.  Very well thought out, and the universe in which it is played is very clever.

What I was hoping for, as you might have guessed, is a way to tie in the intraweb in a more active way... for purely selfish reasons, i.e. it's 99% likely I will never have the opportinity nor the inclination to LARP proper.

But I'm not here to harsh on your game.  I think it's really cool, and if I were 20 years younger I'd be on this like flies on shit.

But I would be interested in helping out or playing over the net, if possible.  Perhaps a CYOM-based adventure that not only leads to increased stats, but expands and morphs as well?  A way to go through an adventure, and then change the text if you choose, leaving something behind for the next player, or picking up items by erasing the text?

If this sounds compatible, I'll give it some more thought.


One last thing: What if someone wants to create and play as a character from the Void?

[Cain]

I'll be an NPC.

Once I sign up and familiarise myself with the setting.

[Cainad (dec.)]

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have a ready and willing test group here on my campus. One thing you might want to put together is a character sheet or character creation walkthrough.

[Cramulus]

1.  The rules and such that you have up so far make plenty of sense, though I do need to take a crawl back through to get the timing of (ecounter?) skills, and look over the classes again. 

Pics would be cool.  Is a compeltely plainclothed sort of thing?

Yeah, plain clothes unless you want to ham it up.

You're a dream, so you're allowed to look however you want. Most people will probably dress in regular clothes. But hey, most of the people in the dream world look like regular people. (until you get to know 'em, at least)


encounter skills recharge whenever you take a five minute rest. Basically, you have to sit still for 5 min without using any skills, and then you get your basic combat stuff back.

daily skills recharge at 6 AM realtime.

2.  I'd def. play.  I know a few local game - inclined, LARP inclined folks locally who I'm  sure would be into it once a bit of momentum is started.  Now to squeeze in the tiem to do so. 

awesome!

But I would be interested in helping out or playing over the net, if possible.  Perhaps a CYOM-based adventure that not only leads to increased stats, but expands and morphs as well?  A way to go through an adventure, and then change the text if you choose, leaving something behind for the next player, or picking up items by erasing the text?

If this sounds compatible, I'll give it some more thought.

That's an interesting idea. The game will already have a significant web component - you'll be playing in the real world and then foruming/blogging with characters in different regions. One thing that I had considered was a creative online game element in which players write lore about the Dreaming. Basically a wiki where people can post material for the game world, whether it's encyclopedia entries, fiction, art, or whatever.

I'm trying to hunt it down, but there are already a few worldbuilding wiki games out there - I'm wondering if there's anything we can learn from those.

One last thing: What if someone wants to create and play as a character from the Void?

If you'd like to help the void, there are things you can do which will help the void's cause. You might try to destroy and divide the Dreaming culture. And there are rituals which draw danger to an area. There will eventually be a ritual you can do to draw an area into the void, corrupting and cursing it. Sort of akin to irradiating a place. There's also currently a "haunted" location you can create, where players will frequently be able to be monsters.

I'm also toying with an idea about Shapers-- those are the elected Dream Kings. I think Shapers might have limited abilities to be a game master. This will let them run their own Dream Walk storylines, and create NPCs which can hang out in territories which support that Shaper. These recurring NPCs could potentially be monsters or demons or creatures from the void. But most characters won't have the opportunity to play one.

   More on that later.

The Void also needs to be fleshed out a bit. The way it was developed in the last game didn't taste quite right, and I have to think more about what kind of antagonist opposes dreams and dreaming.


one idea is that the adversary are actually aliens who are trying to invade earth through our unconscious minds.

another idea is that they are part of the force which pulls the universe towards its end.

or something else wacky like that

I'll be an NPC.

cool - is there a race or element of the game which appeals to you?

One thing you might want to put together is a character sheet or character creation walkthrough.

good idea!

[Cain]

I'm thinking someone needs to shoulder the burden of being a Dead God, and I am highly willing to play the role of Tezcatlipoca (Aztec God of the night sky, the night winds, hurricanes, the north, the earth, obsidian, enmity, discord, rulership, divination, temptation, jaguars, sorcery, beauty, war and strife.  Specialization is for insects).

I'm also thinking, given my geographic islolation, I could probably work best at writing lore and possibly introducing elements like the Void which have yet to be fully fleshed out.  Also, as the divine enemy of Quetzalcoatl (who still has a small cult following, and thus isn't dead.  Hell, he even has a Prophet), we have character motivation for attempting to gather information on, and return, from the Dreaming.

[LMNO]

I'm PM-ing you so as not to threadjack.

[President Television]

This sounds both incredibly lame and incredibly awesome. I'm still undecided on whether I'll be joining or not, as even my nerdiest friends are above LARPing. Also, it is fucking cold in Fredericton at this time of year.

[Fredfredly ⊂(◉‿◉)つ]

yeah so i dont want to play, but im bored, so....need any pictures 

[BabylonHoruv]

It might be a good idea to include a link to a site that outlines Boff design and building, as well as safety testing them.

I play Dagorhir with a nearby group now and then, they have a lot of really good info on boff weapons and very rigourous standards, I don't know if you want to be as strict as they are but some sort of formal standards to make sure that people coming from different areas involved in a larger event together would have the same standards on weapons safety and whatnot would be good.

Hit light is a good basic rule but it's still a good idea to make sure that a weapon hitting hard isn't going to cause any injuries.

The only site I know offhand is the one for Dagorhir, which as i said is probably more strict than you want, but i am sure ther are quite a few out there so you wouldn't have to actually design one, just decide which set of standards would be most appropriate.