The mechanics

Nordic Style | Letting Go | Off-Game | Escalating | Tapping Out | Lookdown | Cut | Feeding, Violence & Sex | Bullet Time | Character Powers

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What is collaborative LARP?

A loose example of a collaborative LARP might be choosing an improvised game - where everyone gets together to collaborate how a story could go over the weekend for what could create the most tension, drama or emotionally powerful narrative - over a traditional DnD ruleset or “boffer-style” game, commonly associated with hitting people with foam weapons in a forest or in a field, and where dice rolls and damage calls invite players to focus more on how their group wins/loses. In collaborative style games, conversely, you put on a different person not to see what that person can achieve, but to see what it’s like to be that person. It is a form of method acting. When you have an action between two people you try to visually display your roleplay in ways that mean others can see what you are doing, even from across the room.

Collaborative style games are rather about what your character can be.

The collaborative style is particularly popular in the Nordic countries, although many other countries have been doing much the same for millennia with improvised play, interactive theatre and various physical acting over human history. Modern LARP that is especially collaborative tends to be called the “Nordic style” due to being formalised there as a route into LARP mechanics for this hobby.

The collaborative ‘Nordic style’ seemed to stem from a want to focus on roleplaying emotional experiences, and trying to immerse and stay immersed. It’s been achieved increasingly with rules light systems where you could win duels by looking cooler - and people cheered on whoever died the prettiest, rather than who powergamed the rules. All of this and a hundred other things bled over when some people from the Nordic countries started to LARP with and organise LARP with people from the rest of Europe, and it started to be called Nordic LARPing. (The term was widely popularized by a 2010 book Nordic Larp, edited by Jaakko Stenros and Markus Montola.) It emerged from countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, but has since been adopted more widely. What the Nordic LARP style actually means has broadened and varied alot, but largely it refers to LARPs that put roleplay and theme first, rather then complex rules, sheets with lots of stats and so on.

Participants in collaborative games take the responsibility of negotiating the outcome of a scene into their own hands, rather than relying on any traditional set of statistics (“stats”) that define what their characters can or can’t do. They aim for outcomes that generate the most fun for everyone involved, or what might lead the participants into places of deeper emotional gravity.

Nordic styles tend towards fewer and simple rules (when the exist at all) and any rules are often designed to break immersion as little as possible, to keep you in the depth of the action, instead of coming out to check stats. You focus instead on the shared story between yoruself and others, so you raise the drama and try to create atmosphere by moving around the space more, by using your body and communicating your roleplay in a visually obvious way, as we did when we were children. It’s more playful.

You delve deeper into the character’s emotional landscape and mind, and you (try to!) offer ways for other players to do the same, so as to connect with your character and theirs more fully. Most off-game discussion is quick and used to facilitate roleplay in this sense, meaning rules are created more to ensure you can engage in contact roleplay in a safe, consensual way and to make the situation comfortable, kind and feel safe for people Out of Character.

The mind is a powerful tool and simulations can feel very real; it is easy for emotions to become engaged and carry that roleplayer into a similarly dark - but much safer - place than their character is faced with. As readers of novels we are most engaged when our most beloved characters are faced with trauma and their “dark night of the soul.” With LARP it is no different. Only, we are mouthing our character’s words, moving through their limbs, and offering them breath by which to exist.

Over time the catchphrase of “Nordic LARP” has warped and evolved, but largely it refers to a style of game where you try to plunge deeper into the emotional immersion of your character and focus more on their lived experience in this snapshot of time.

Many Nordic LARPs, in order to be highly immersive, have a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) approach. Greater emphasis on detailed costuming, kit and dramatic action help with this, or a pretty venue, but more obviously acting out your intentions as a character help people to feel like they’re in the fictional world. Nordic-style LARPs often strive towards realistic “360-degree settings”, at least when possible, and participants play try to play more intensively while they’re at it, sometimes being completely in-game for long periods, pausing only to check whether it is safe to touch someone, to grapple them, to dance, to flirt, etc.

It's an attempt to live one foot in our world, with one foot in another world, and to do so while maintaining safe boundaries and enough emotional distance to negotiate scenes that might contain difficult or tabboo topics for all the participants involved.

Exchange a Scene

If you really don’t want to lose a scene, you might consider the “Yes - but” rule of exchange.

"Off Game. I really want to win this fight, but if I lose can you instead help lift me in another scene tonight? I have a scene planned for tomorrow that you could help me with…”

Most gamers are very enthusiastic to help you in a scene, as it adds more roleplay for them too! Of course, if it’s so impactful to your entire weekend that losing in that instance would change the course negatively of what you’d love to do - just let the player know it, and negotiate off game for a result you both enjoy.

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Be present, be kind, cut loose

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Juhana Pettersson explained this best: "If we want the in-game world of darkness, we need the off-game world of kindness," and in fact working from this sort of place from the “Off Game” perspective really helps us plunge into the more intense, darker side of Vampire themes.

If you're dealing with themes that demand a lot from your players, safety becomes the priority in design choice; safety is an accelerator, it helps you go into darker places with characters, get there faster and deeper into these kind of imaginative spaces because people are more comfortable, they know each other’s limits and mechanics can propel roleplay deeper - through a defined route that people can expect.

For this reason our safety workshops and briefings are mandatory and you cannot play without attending them. To ensure that everyone is well rested and on site for this, we have taken the liberty of paying for an extra night before the game even starts. Everyone will fly in/travel in the day before and every participant will be able to actually meet their fellow players and get to know them as people independent of the (potentially) horrible vampires that they will be playing.

With clear boundaries for how participants can engage in themes of a sexual, feeding or violent nature, we can judge things better for ourselves and in the moment we know how to opt out of situations if we are feeling at all uncomfortable - or even if we are just too tired! Sometimes it’s scary to tell someone enthusiastic that we don’t want to roleplay with them in that moment, but we want every participant to feel a lack of pressure to perform in any scene. This is why we emphasise our pre-game workshop and briefing, and why we eat breakfast and lunch Off Game; this is as a LARP design choice to give every player opportunity to remind their subconscious that the horrible vampire character is not the same as the thinking, caring human being playing them, and that roleplay is here to be fun, not stressful. It gives us time to eat together and relax from the intensity of the previous night. It offers time for everybody to catch up onto the same page as one another emotionally, especially if they had a difficult night and want to check in with other players as to their experience. It also gives every time to plot and create ideas for scenes that may be engaged with that same day, or pre-plan intended roleplay and discuss more explicit boundaries with players whose character(s) you want to engage with in more dynamic, paced scenes.

We look out for each other first, and our characters second.

While you may be playing a deeply self-absorbed or an oblivious character, as the person behind the driving seat you should always be attentive to your fellow participants. Changing the story to suit everyone involved is always better than forcing an outcome, even if it’s less realistic for your character.

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benefit of the doubt

We are fortunate to have a large, friendly playerbase with experience working co-creatively together, and most players have good practice with respecting one another’s boundaries. We come from many different cultures and many different countries. Something considered a polite conversation in one culture, might be taken as offensive in the other. Please, mind that and be forgiving instead of judging and give others space for mistakes. Most players mean well and would be quite horrified to realise their actions have made anyone unhappy; thus it is first recommended to flag your concern to the relevant player(s) to confirm if any insult was just unintended - we take a benefit of the doubt approach. If you cannot resolve disagreements between yourself and any other participant(s) however and it is negatively impacting your weekend, find an organiser and come chat to us.

pausing roleplay

To pause roleplay simply say “Off Game” to the other participant(s). You may need to do this to:

• Negotiate a Scene

• Confirm some facts about a character or the world that you’ve forgotten

• Alert people to a hazard (furniture they are walking into; someone is behind them with a wine glass)

• Adjust yourself or make your situation more comfortable (you might be being carried onto the lawn but want to check if the ground is wet before your captor hauls you onto it, so you pause roleplay to ask them to feel the ground; or perhaps your costume has snagged or you are trapped in a door and want people to move out the way)

• You then say “Thank you - back in” or “Time in” or say any phrase that will telepgraph to them when you are done

checking in: are you ok?

If a participant is rocking themselves in a corner and crying genuine tears they may be really into their roleplay or they may be upset out of game and unable to remove themselves safely. You can check if they are ok by kneeling down near them - not crowding them or touching them just yet - and putting a thumbs up. If they cannot see or do not respond, you can tap them twice on the shoulder, arm or hand. Avoid neck and head.

If the participant is well, this is all intended or how they want it, they will give you a thumbs up in return.

If they are unsure they will wobble their hand a bit to say “I don’t know,” or wobble their thumb into a neutral position, sideways, pointing neither up nor down. They might be overwhelmed, or have not paused to consider yet whether they are genuinely okay. Your question might have given them the opportunity to recognise they are not comfortable and feeling safe or happy.

If they put thumbs down, they are not okay and might want assistance leaving the game space.

To anything that is not an enthusastic thumbs up please drop off game by saying “Off Game” and ask them if they would like to be escorted somewhere quieter.

You can use the thumbs up check in at any point, with anyone - standing up, sitting, laying down etc - during roleplay or outside of roleplay.

No blocking doorways

Do not roleplay in a doorway. Move out of them quickly please.

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You are always in control

“Goodness Gracious” and the “Oh Please” Rules

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Oh Please: Escalating the Scene

If you want to escalate the argument, the conflict, the romance, the intensity or otherwise engage more dramatically in the scene YOU MUST FIRST PAUSE for a gathering breath and then say "Oh, please," in whatever tone or inflection you want. Then watch for the response. You can be a human sobbing the phrase, a vampire snarling it, you can be whimpering, moaning, you can pitch it however you like. Just take a deep, signalling breath and then say “Oh, Please” clearly. You can scream it, if you like.

NOTE: Human characters may be mumbling and crying and they will accidentally say oh please in a string of rapid dialogue. Do not take this as an invite to more intensity. The participant must take a breath, and leave a beat or a second of silence first before saying “Oh please” very clearly, by itself. If you are unsure if someone is trying to escalate the scene with you, ask “Did you just say please?” in character in whatever tone you want. If you are the other participant, and you did indeed mean to escalate, this is your opportunity to repeat yourself and say: “Yes - Oh Please!”

.… Please?: Taking Up the Offer

If someone uses the above phrase with you, you can take them up on it by responding “Please?” before lunging in for the intensity. Raise your eyebrows, make a joke of it, do whatever you need but ensure you have used this word phrase in response.

Tapping Out: No thanks. This intensity is good, but no more

If someone uses the “Oh Please” phrase to try to ramp up the intensity but you like how it is currently, simply tap them twice - or if you are not in touching distance, tap your own thigh twice. They should already be focussing on you, waiting for your response. Tap twice again or as hard as is necessary if they are not. Alternatively if you want to reduce the intensity use the Goodness Gracious phrase to de-escalate. (See below.)

The tapping out mechanic acts as a warning. The most immediate meaning of the tap out is: “I don’t want more.”

If you feel that another participant is not playing safely please find an organiser (Orion, or Sable - our pictures are on the main brief page, but we’ll introduce ourselves) so we can determine if we need to remove them. We have contact security available.

Tapping out from one scene does not prevent you from engaging with that sort of scene again later, if you’d like then, even with the same participant(s)! You can use it on a scene-by-scene, case-by-case, moment-by-moment basis. Our moods and desires vary a lot over such a long game.

Goodness Gracious: De-escalating the Scene

Sometimes the play becomes too much or someone comes onto us too strongly. If you want to de-escalate and reduce the current intensity quickly say in whatever tone that suits you: “Goodness gracious.” If you are not enjoying a scene or situation you may either reduce its intensity in this way, or you can leave directly by using the "Look Down Mechanic" (see further below).

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Look Down: Stepping Out Entirely

Thanks to Nordiclarp.org

The Look Down Procedure:

1. Player 1 shields their eyes and walks away.

2. Player 2 (and all other players) continue play as usual.

The Look Down mechanic is a self-care tool for when someone realizes that a topic or scene isn’t going in a direction they want, is something they aren’t interested in playing, or is something that they may find triggering or troublesome. When using the Look Down, a player isn’t signalling that they need or require assistance, or is any distress. They are simply making a choice to opt-out of the scene at the moment for whatever in- or off-game reason. No explanation will be asked or given, and all other players must accept their departure. Players will be instructed, “If you see someone holding their hand over their eyes, ignore them.”

Why might you use the Look Down mechanic?

• You are desperate to piss

• The scene’s content is not something you want to engage with

• You don’t want people to talk to you, or interact with you

• You don’t want to be interrupted from reaching a destination

• You remembered you were meant to be somewhere else

• You’re hungry, need a top-up of your wine, or to hydrate properly

• You need a break

Cut: Emergency End or pause of Scene

I am frightened, I feel unsafe, please help me

Cut Procedure:

Participant 1 calls "Cut."

Participant 2 (or all players within hearing) immediately stop all role-play.

Participant 2 checks in with Player 1, focusing on their needs. No one asks for an explanation for why Cut was called, nor makes any comment whatsoever.

Player 1 makes the decision to either exit the scene, return to the scene at a lower intensity, or go to an off game space. They may want escorting or to go themselves. They can use the Look Down mechanic if they do not want to be interacted with on their way out, with or without another participant.

Play resumes among remaining players.

Never surprise people

Never jump at anyone without warning. Never come up behind someone who cannot see you. Do not enter into situations of contact without telepgraphing clearly to them what you are about to do (please see the below for this). It isn’t cool or fun to surprise people.

You are responsible for your boundaries

Step out if you need to, pause roleplay to take a few breaths and make sure you’re feeling okay. Get some fresh air or some food, have a drink of water or juice, it’s a really long game for the hours we spend timed in; you won’t miss anything that is worth your stress. You and your fellow participants are always more important than any character. No one can manage your boundaries for you however, or expect to be psychic; you must express them. You need to use the mechanics on this page to keep yourself safe - and help everyone else to feel safe roleplaying with you - especially to engage in themes of feeding, violence or sex (see below) and we will experience all these together in workshops to make it easier to put them into practice during roleplay.

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Feeding, Violence and Sex

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Some scenes require negotiation to make sure everyone is on the same page, particularly for: violence, feeding, and intimacy. Our verbal check-in system is going to be required of all participants on night one to help establish some trust in the playerbase and set the tone for the weekend. Even when we move onto using “bullet time” on night two and three, you may always go “Off Game” to pause roleplay and return to the verbal consent check-in system of night one. Don’t worry, we’ll practice this in the workshop.

Night One

On roleplay day/night one we use a verbal check-in consent mechanism to engage in themes of feeding, violence or sexual content. You may be familiar with it from Convention of Thorns, a different vampire game that ran some years ago and from whose safety document we have adapted the following. All roleplay is opt-in and requires the instigating player to receive an enthusiastic yes to the themes, but be aware they will be explored frequently in the game space around you.

To engage in simulated scenes of Feeding, Violence or Sex

      --- You step out of game briefly using the verbal cue “Off-game” then follow it with the type of action you wish to negotiate: intimacy, violence, or feeding. 

      --- You physically take a small step backward, so as not to loom over the player. Give them space. Check behind you quickly - don’t walk into someone else.

      --- The responses to the prompt of “Off-game: intimacy?” (or “violence” or “feeding”) from the other players in the negotiation are: “No thank you,” or “Yes, please.” Please stick to this script.

--- If a player responds “No, thank you,” your response to them is, “Thank you.” You are thanking them for setting a boundary. Boundaries make everyone feel more secure pushing the limits of play. This ends the negotiation. Do not ask anyone to explain themselves and do not push the issue.

--- If the player responds “Yes, please,” you may suggest to them what you would like to do for the scene. That player will then be able to edit, adjust and suggest alternatives or adaptions to your idea, and between you will come to a conclusion that suits both of you. In this larp, the recipient decides how a discipline or effect impacts them. No one can force you to do or say anything without your consent. This has been altered from the original iteration of CoT’s mechanics. It was reported that a lot of recipient participants felt anxious to be put on the spot, having no idea what to suggest - they were keen to engage in play and wanted to have the idea put forward to them, so they could decide whether they wanted that roleplay or not.

We’ll show you a few different ways you can engage in simulated sex or feeding during the workshop - such as for feeding with using your own hand placed on the skin of another player, and biting your own hand - and no one is obliged to try out the more extreme version of anything in the workshop (i.e. putting your actual mouth to another player’s skin, if it is invited).

It is important to say when you do not want to engage in something. You never have to justify or explain why. All participants are responsible for their own boundaries and are to respect the boundaries of others.

Hakuna Matata

“It’s not about you.” If someone does not want to play a certain scene or theme, they are not required to explain why. Their boundaries have nothing to do with you, so don’t take them personally. The last principle is “Every encounter requires negotiation.” People’s boundaries may change over the course of the larp and that’s fine.

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Bullet Time

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Night Two and Three

On night two we expand on the above to introduce an optional use of a “bullet-time” slow motion consent mechanism to flag our intentions for engaging in physical roleplay that features themes of feeding, violence or sexual simulations. We have a workshop prior to timing in on this afternoon to practice this and calibrate ourselves as a group. The roleplay from this point on (roleplay day/night 2 and 3) will be mostly bullet time for instigating contact roleplay but if uncertain players can go off game for the more formal verbal check-in of night one.

For Example: to flag to a player you are about to feed on them using your hand you might say “You look delicious,” while baring your teeth and dragging your teeth against the back of your own hand, moving towards them in slow motion. If you do not make your hand a part of the signal, but are instead yawn-snarling your way slowly to their neck, the participant will presume you are indeed going to put your actual mouth on their skin.

Watch out for the response: if the player shys away to avoid your mouth or angles their body, it means not that, don’t do it - they may offer their wrist instead, or might shake their head to indicate no feeding. If in doubt, drop off game and ask.

Telegraph clearly and slowly. 

If players are at all unsure what is intended by someone approaching them in slow-motion, we ask them to stand (or sit straight, if sitting) upright and say “Off Game” to the other player, and this flags to the person in slow-motion roleplay that they should pause their roleplay and instead clarify what they mean to do, and if necessary return to the verbal consent check-in system as explored the night before (the CoT one). You are able to define boundaries with players in advance of scenes, too, and provide one another advance consent for scenes that you want to be more dynamic (just please ensure that others around you are aware if you are going to suddenly engage in very space-consuming violence, so they can move out the way).

Violence

Acts should never cause physical harm to another player; our insurance does not cover you physically hurting one another. Violence should be played out theatre-style. For example, mime punches without putting any force into the strike - or better yet go for open-palm slaps and pull your force back - and make it theatrical. The victim of the strike will respond as if they've been struck at full force.

Sex

You should not have actual sex involving genital stimulation or penetration when you are roleplaying during the game hours of this LARP. There is to be no nudity during the game. Players are asked to delve into some difficult themes during this LARP and it is not a small playerbase; we anticipate a range of roleplay experiences. We made the decision to forbid nudity to make calibration easier for the whole, as without nudity a greater number people tend to feel comfortable pushing for more intense scenes and mutual contact.

• Simulated sexual acts are performed in full clothing or, if you choose, down to underwear that covers genitals, the majority of your buttocks and chest area (e.g. vest tops and pants) for all genders, so that no nipples are out.

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Powers

Human Powers

Humans are special in Giovanni: The Last Supper and have powers unique to them. The full list can be found here:

Their mechanics can be found on each individual power’s page (there’s a button to each on the summary of the power). Not all have mechanics; the ones that do however, have two levels. A “minor” or lesser version of the power, and an “extreme” use.

The game is divided into three phases for the limit of how many times you can use an extreme power. Lesser powers have their own restrictions and the mechanics for that power will state it. To prevent the poor vampires getting tired of the powers, from having multiple uses of extreme power going off all the time (there are thirty humans remember, many of which have extreme powers) we limit the amount human characters can use their extreme power - it’s a showy, clever or desperate last resort to influence roleplay and direct a scene, not to be spammed.

On night one you can use an extreme power just once.

Night one is anytime from time in to time out, so from 3pm to 3am. It is a long game - pace when you use the extreme power. Some human characters may benefit from their player organising such a scene in advance of when they intend to activate their power, to better draw in as many people who want to engage with it. Pick a location in the manor, let people know over lunch, and work out how to make it as big as you want. Remember not everyone wants to join in - but some certainly will.

On night two you can use an extreme power twice.

On night three you can use an extreme power twice, too.

This is a total of five uses of the extreme power over the course of the game.

We may change this to three times on night three depending on what the consensus is with the playerbase on the morning of the third game night. We are fortunate to be able to playtest this with around 40 or so players in England, but 90 is still a different beast entirely and so we have decided to opt for caution - with room to expand. Some human characters don’t have any mechanics, because ultimately a lot of the roleplay will not come from the powers being blatantly exercised; they are a living, breathing part of that human - like being frightening is to Clan Tzimisce, whether they are fleshcrafting you or not! We have cultivated the human powers with a lot of love, and will be emphasising their individual strengths without needing to rely on powers activating. However, saying that…

Why might you want to activate your power?

• There is pressure from a clan group who are intending on bidding on your character, who want a demonstration.

• Your character is afraid and stressed.

• Your character is aroused, or even looking to cause trouble.

• You as the player have seen that a situation would be good for roleplay if it activated, so you have your character lose control and it occur accidentally

• You and other players have already preemptively agreed on using the power for a scene you have planned

• Your character wants to save another human (or vampire!) from a difficult situation.

• Your character wants to escape a difficult situation (please note that you can escape at any time using the Lookdown mechanic, or if you are feeling unsafe and want help, the cut mechanic; your character is also taken from the scene organically)

To provide an excuse for you, as a player, why you may not want to activate a power - your powers have been written as mostly uncontrolled, they come in fits and starts and you cannot always “show it off”. It might also be traumatising for you to use it, as in the case of The Cleric. What’s more, blood loss could affect you; if you have been fed upon and don’t want to use a power just roleplay being too drained, or being literally unable to use it in the stress. Alternatively just say “Off-game, I don’t want to use it yet”. Vampire and humans will be reminded in the brief that the response to this is only: Thank you.

We have developed the very large “area of effect” powers carefully, so those like The Celebrant or The Fury will put on a sash when their power activates and it will take up to ten minutes for that power to really be active - and when it’s live it cannot really be stopped by easy means. This gives players a chance to move out of the area naturally without being bombarded by something they might not want to engage in. There are also certain humans who can dampen or outright remove another human’s power for a time - but doing so costs them their extreme power use, too.

We go through in detail in the brief any human powers that all players need to be aware of.

Vampire Powers

Thanks to the team of The Convention of Thorns LARP for their “Really, Really” mechanic.

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Disciplines are the supernatural powers granted to vampires by the Embrace. Vampires cultivate these powers and bring them to bear against foes and prey. Fueled by blood and will, disciplines provide an incomparable, mystical edge and are the hallmarks of a vampire’s clan or bloodline.

By using her disciplines, a vampire can exert the strength of a dozen humans; trick an enemy into submission; force her way into someone else’s mind; take the shape of a wolf, bat, or hideous monstrosity — or numerous other things. A recently Embraced vampire might have only a few such powers at her command, while an ancient may have mastered a fearsome breadth of potent feats. Elders can learn awesome powers, fueled by the potency of their blood. Neonates and Ancillae use the flexibility of their thinner blood to combine two or more disciplines and create new techniques that are a mélange of powers.

Each vampiric clan possesses innate powers of the blood: disciplines that are native to that clan. A vampire can learn those powers easily through experimentation and personal study; this process requires you to spend 1 downtime action between game sessions. Learning other clans’ disciplines is more difficult; it requires having a knowledgeable teacher and drinking blood from a vampire who innately possesses those disciplines. As drinking blood causes a vampire to become partially bound to the donor, learning disciplines from another vampire requires a great deal of trust.

Disciplines are a way of describing the powers that all vampires possess, to a lesser or greater degree. The idea of Discplines comes from the Vampire: the Masquerade storytelling game, and have existed for as long as the World of Darkness universe. Characters with certain Disciplines are able to accomplish things in the larp that the players can not do on their own. Convincing someone by good arguments or social pressure doesn’t require any special unnatural powers, but using inhuman charm to do it is hard for our mortal players. To simulate vampire abilities, we use a simple and intuitive system of rules.

How Disciplines function in the LARP

Each character has a Power Level in each Discipline; None/Weak/Strong/Exceptional. A higher Power Level makes the vampire able to do more impressive actions. It should be noted that the Power Levels are also dependent on the night of the LARP. On night one, all powers are capped at being of a weak level, even if that vampire should ordinarily have an exceptional version of that power. This is to ensure that powerful vampires are not able to completely crush their lesser opponents early in the game, and also to make sure that no player spends the entire LARP under somebody else’s command.

Speaking of…

Vampiric blood is addictive

Vampiric blood is more potent than human blood, and even to the vampire, it is addictive. Vampires usually avoid other vampires’ blood at all costs, because it can create in them an artificial feeling of good will to the vampire whose blood they have supped, it can make them put aside their own ambitions and boundaries for the other vampire and after enough of it - especially if consumed over several nights - it can create a fixed, lasting obsession that sees the vampire become all but a total slave to the other. Blood gained through sexual ejaculation is not enough blood to create a blood bond; you usually need to have consumed enough to nourish yourself, a half pint or more.

The first consumption of a vampire’s blood creates in a victim (be they human or vampire) the desire to be close to that individual. It creates feelings of meaningful friendship, even arousal and attraction. The drinker may experience lucid fever dreams related to the vampire. The second drink, if it is on a different night than the first, creates a desire in the drinker to protect the vampire with a fierce passion, even going so far as to put themselves in harm’s way for them as one might a spouse or very close friend. There are three stages of the “Blood Bond” and this third is the most dangerous. It takes the victim consuming the blood of the same vampire over a period of at least three night in the same year. It can subjugate a vampire or a human to another’s will entirely, and turns even the most independent and strong-willed of people into mindless slaves, bent only on achieving the attention of their “Domitor” and doing what they want.

Given the limitations to this in roleplay, it is not recommended that players engage in any “third level” Blood Bond, unless they are strictly certain they wish this roleplay for themselves.

Don’t know what we’re going on about here? Check out this page on our website:

Phases for Power use

Night One

All powers are capped at being Weak. This means that while characters may use powers (to influence each other, to win fights, etc.) the results are rather mild. Using the Dominate power to control another vampire yields only a single command to be followed, using Fortitude to resist pain will still not be able to completely ignore it, etc. Similarly, injuries sustained (via combat or otherwise) are quickly healed using vampiric powers, and do not hinder play. Even vampires who have Disciplines at Strong or Exceptional levels can only use them at the Weak level during the first night.

Exception to this rule

If you are keen to be the victim of a Discipline or character, you can always negotiate suffering a more extreme version of the offender’s arsenal at any point, no matter the night. This is always decided by the victim if greater strengths of powers are to be used on them. At which point just negotiate your own roleplay for whatever will satisfy all participants for their scene(s).

Night Two

Powers are capped at being Strong. Wrestling another vampire to the ground using Potence causes the weaker character to crash to be knocked down, using Auspex to read the mind of another vampire makes the other reveal feelings and thoughts, etc. During this phase, injuries are not fatal, but can be serious, and will be a nuisance for the rest of the Phase. Broken arms, a blind eye, etc. Vampires with Exceptional level powers can still only use them at Strong levels. Of course, if you have a Discipline at Weak level, it doesn’t suddenly become Strong just because it’s night two.

Exception to this rule

If you are keen to be the victim of a Discipline or character, you can always negotiate suffering a more extreme version of the offender’s arsenal at any point, no matter the night. This is always decided by the victim if greater strengths of powers are to be used on them. At which point just negotiate your own roleplay for whatever will satisfy all participants for their scene(s).

Night Three

All power levels are uncapped and can become Exceptional. A vampire with the appropriate power level can use her Presence to sway even the most stubborn argument. Death (and vampiric astral projection) is still not possible due to the active ritual that prevents souls from permanently parting with their body.

Disciplines

With all that in mind, here is a list of Disciplines and what they can be used for. During the Briefings just before the larp starts, we will explain how Disciplines work and show how to use them. In general, having a Discipline of the same Power Level as the vampire trying to use it on you means you can ignore it. The two Disciplines effectively cancel each other out, in LARP terms. Or you can take the effect anyway - which usually leads to better roleplay!

Auspex: The power of sensing motives, powers and thoughts of others. A vampire using Auspex can use it to probe into the minds of others, using the “Really, really” mechanic to discreetly ask questions.

Dominate: The power to control others, and make them bend to your will. A vampire using Dominate can issue commands that must be obeyed by lesser vampires, using the “Really, really” mechanic.

Fortitude: The power of physical toughness, immunity to pain, torture, and so on. A vampire using Fortitude may ignore the most brutal of punishment, using the ““Really, really” mechanic.

Obfuscate: The power to fade into the background, or simply stand unnoticed in plain sight. A vampire using Obfuscate can make other vampires ignore her, using the “Ignore me” mechanic.

Potence: The power of sheer strength and brute force, and the ability to win contests of strength. A vampire using Potence can escape from capture or use an iron grip, using the “Really, really” mechanic.

Presence: The power to inspire awe, loyalty and attraction in others, by sheer charisma. A vampire using Presence can persuade, seduce or charm others using the “Really, really” mechanic.

“Really, Really”

The most versatile mechanic is the “Really, really” mechanic. Whenever a character lays a hand on another character and says something that uses the words “really, really” in a sentence, it’s to let the other players (but not necessarily characters!) know that a Discipline is being used. Here are some examples:

• Dominate (“You really, really should leave now.”)
• Presence (“You really, really need to listen to me.”)
• Auspex (“You really, really want to tell me what’s going on.”)
• Potence (“You really, really don’t want to run away right now.”)In each case, it’s up to the victim (the character the Discipline is being used on) to figure out exactly
how to play this out, but the general idea should be clear.

Since there are three Power Levels the way of showing your Power Level is by adding an extra Really for Strong and two extra for Exceptional. You start with two Really’s for the base weak level (“You really, really want to come in and close the door.”) This means that if someone says “I really, really, really want you to tell me what happened.” that’s a Vampire using a Discipline at Strong power level, one up from weak. And yes, we know that this means that those who have powers at Exceptional level will be saying “You really, really, really, really like me” when using the Discipline at that level. However, this will only occur during the final Phase, and only for a very limited amount of players, and in practice a lot of newer LARPers really enjoyed the building tension of hearing the “Really”’s coming out. We ask Vampire veterans to consider this, and help punctuate the reveal of stronger powers dramatically with adding depth to their tone :) It’s a more intuitive system for when we have a range of roleplay abilities, and want to welcome in new blood to the hobby. Also, “really, really, really, really” should warn others that here’s a Vampire who’s powerful in the extreme!

“Ignore me”

Another mechanic is the “Ignore me” mechanic, used by Vampires using the Obfuscate Discipline.

This is shown by a Vampire crossing her arms over their chest and touching both her shoulders, as if they were a vampire bat sleeping upside down. A Vampire using the Obfuscate Discipline on Weak power level, must do so in the shadows and without moving. Using the Discipline on Strong power level gives the ability to stand in the open, and still being ignored. A
Vampire with Exceptional power level in Obfuscate can freely walk around rooms while remaining
unnoticed (while still keeping the arms crossed and hands touching shoulders).

Inspiration & Guidelines

There are six Vampiric Disciplines that are used beyond the narrative or fluffy sense (because of course you can negotiate Fleshcrafting or other such powers for use in scenes with keen players, if you are playing a Tzimisce character, for example - and do weird occult magic as a Tremere). Below is an attempt to give some guidelines as to what can be accomplished on what Power Level, using the Discipline in question. Remember that these are just guidelines, and that - in the end - it’s the victim player who decides what will happen in the given scene. Here are some examples of Discipline use:

Auspex

Weak: Getting to know the victim’s mood (“I really, really think you should tell me how you feel.”)
Strong: Learning the victim’s desires (“I really, really, really think you should tell me what you want right now.”)
Exceptional: Uncovering the victim’s secrets (“I really, really, really, really want to know what happened.”)

Presence

Weak: Making someone like you better (“You really, really like me, don’t you?”)
Strong: Causing a conflict between friends (“I really, really, really believe that makes you mad, doesn’t it?”)
Exceptional: Turning an enemy into a friend (“I really, really, really, really value our new-found friendship.”)

Potence

Weak: Keeping someone from leaving a room (“I really, really can’t let you pass.”)
Strong: Establishing physical dominance (“You really, really, really don’t want to wrestle me.”)
Exceptional: Having the victim at your mercy (“You really, really, really, really can’t move a muscle now.”)

Fortitude

Weak: Ignoring pain and hardship (“You really, really think I can’t take a little beating?”)
Strong: Being tortured without breaking (“I really, really, really won’t break, no matter what you do.”)
Exceptional: Rising after a fight, almost unharmed (“That really, really, really, really didn’t do much, did it?”)

Dominate

Weak: Influencing another to act (“I really, really believe you should come with me.”)
Strong: Commanding someone (“I really, really, really must not be hindered in entering this room.”)
Exceptional: Controlling the victim (“I really, really, really, really order you to do this for me.”)

Obfuscate

Works anywhere at any time, if nobody sees you enter Obfuscate. If they do, they will continue to see you until you step out of their line of sight.

Auspexers are the only vampires able to penetrate Obfuscate (and any very rare human!). If you have Auspex and see (off game) someone Obfuscated, you can get their attention and hold up to them as many fingers as you have levels in Auspex. They will do the same for their Obfuscate. You need as many as they do - or more - to see them. Seeing them does not break their Obfuscate for other people.

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