WHAT IS THIS LARP ?
What do we play ?
Key themes: Fear and hate of difference, religious indoctrination and religion-based oppression, psychological horror
Other themes: Isolation and loneliness, fictional racism (against elves), class injustices, body horror (abominations)
In Dragon Age’s world, Thédas, mages can destroy cities with their powers and turn into abominations through demonic possession. They are feared by the common folk and treated like potential heretics by the religious powers; the Chantry. They can either accept to live in towers, Circles of Magi - away from society and their loved ones - or have to be “apostates” forever hunted by the Order of Templars, the armed hand of the Chantry.
At the end of Dragon Age 2, a massive rebellion starts after an apostate lands on attack on an important city’s Chantry. These events will cause many deaths but will reshape how mages live in Thédas.
This larp is focused on a small part of this tale, one could even say the personal stories within the grand narrative. It takes place in the White Spire, a Circle of Magi that has often been considered the most prestigious Circle of Thédas and is located near Val Royaux, the capital-city of Orlais and the Chantry’s historic home.
The Knight Commander of the tower has just been replaced on suspicions that the former one was hiding a Maleficar, a blood mage. On top of repeatedly interrogating every mage, they have started to reform The White Spire, which used to be known for the many liberties its mages enjoyed - some say, thanks to the noble upbringing of their First Enchanter.
Are there silver linings to this story ?
Yes, we will do our best to also create opportunities for happy moments and strong connections between characters. While this larp doesn’t depict a successful moment of the rebellion, revolt is still an important note of its melody and hope for a better future is a strong drive for many of the characters we wrote.
This larp is about the chains breaking and the change happening, though it’s also about the cost of these changes and the uncertainty of what might come after the storm.
There will always be a good justification to every use of violence, every right taken away. Brick by brick, the tower’s fragile balance will tip. Word of the rebellion will spread. Bonds will be put to test and everyone will have to pick a side.
Finally, on the very last night, the Knight Commander will use the Right of Annulment to purge the Circle of its mages - as they should, when all hope is lost.
Dyadic play - The Pairs
Mages and templars form pairs; the templar is responsible for the mage’s behavior and supposed to watch over them, to question them regularly and to inform their hierarchy if they notice anything suspicious. Depending on Circles, the pair is more or less forced to stay constantly together. In the White Spire, that pressure will be high, which means that you will spend a lot of time with one co-player in particular.
A workshop will help players figure out how they want to play on this.
While we don’t allow people to request to be paired with one specific player, you will have the occasion to inform us of the eventual players you would rather not play this with during the flagging process.
Another important element: almost all of the pairs will be changed during the larp. As a player, you can choose to remain ignorant of your second pair or to be informed of it, at any time before and during the larp. There will be time slots reserved for calibration during the larp.
Who do we play ?
Mages
Mages are born with their magical abilities. Most of them have been living in a Circle since they were a child. They often become scholars, dedicating their lives to the study of magic but also of other fields. Mages’ living conditions vary greatly from one Circle to another, and so does their opinion on Circle life. Some consider the tower as their home and would never think about leaving it, while others suffer and crave a freedom the Chantry refuses to give them. Most mages keep their head down around templars, knowing too well the fate they could face if they misconduct.
All mages must face their Harrowing at some point or become Tranquil, an existence cut from magic and emotions that is sometimes called worse than death. The Harrowing is a test meant to prove that the mage is trained well enough to resist the demons’ attempts at possessing them.
It is said that emotions and their control are key to a mage’s aptitude at resisting possession. That is the reason why a Circle is often lost quickly after its first demonic possession, as emotions spread faster than a wildfire.
What to expect from playing a mage ?
(general experience, could vary)
You have very little freedom and your life conditions are slowly worsening. You’re being watched every second of every day, your actions are constantly questioned and you may be accused for no good reason. You are at risk of being punished, humiliated, beat up and locked in a cell. People will use religious justifications to mistreat you. You might watch your loved ones experience the same situation and be powerless to help them. You might lose your sanity and eventually turn into an abomination. Rebellion might be the only path you see by the end of it all - or you might prefer death to apostasy.
Templars
Templars have chosen their path and though their motives can vary, most of them have a strong faith and a desire to serve the Chantry. People see them as saviors, holy warriors, protectors of the innocent, and champions of all that is good. Most are convinced they are doing the right thing by keeping the mages in a Circle - but not all of them have the same vision of how a Circle should be operated and how its mages should be treated. Some have spent years hunting apostates and now live with scars, visible and invisible. Many wake up at night screaming, after one more lyrium induced nightmare.
In the White Spire, the rules will become harsher every day and even the most merciful templars will be pushed by their hierarchy to mistreat mages.
While it is forbidden to fraternize with fellow templars and with mages, that sort of life can quickly turn lonely and many form bonds, even when they don’t want to. These bonds are constantly put to test.
Templars use lyrium daily, a magical substance that grants them their ability to deflect magic but is highly addictive and has lasting effects on the templars’ minds.
What to expect from playing a templar ?
(general experience, could vary)
You are part of something greater and you have sacrificed a lot by taking your vows. You will likely find an excuse for every mistreatment and convince yourself that this is for Thédas’ protection - though eventually, on the last day, you could start to wonder if the Order is indeed on the good side of history. Your mind will be toyed with by your deeply ingrained fear of the mages, the orders you receive, your addiction to lyrium and its exhilarating effects, and maybe by the slow realization that you are the heart of the problem; you are the one turning the mages into monsters. Yet you will be forced to keep pressuring and mistreating them until they snap. Deciding to oppose orders could lead you to be treated as a pariah, a traitor as vile as the mages themselves.
MAGES
VS
TEMPLARS
Character sheets and character attribution
Character sheets are 6 to 8 pages long, including relationships. All players can access all character sheets but can decide to read them or not. We have tried to create fully fleshed out characters with engaging relationships. To know more about semi transparency, see Playstyle.
You are free to make the characters your own, encouraged to calibrate with your co-players before the larp and allowed to slightly change personal plots (with our agreement or if you have read all characters’ sheets involved, so it doesn’t make a mess). During the larp, we will be providing very little additional play outside of what is planned in the Game structure.
Your character will be attributed depending on the way you fill out the form, but if you feel like something in your character’s sheet doesn’t work for you, please inform us, we will happily try to find a solution.
Do I need to know the lore ?
No, you don’t! You can sign up with zero knowledge of Dragon Age’s lore. Players will be provided with all the information they need to play their character - and while we hope to keep these documents short and accessible, we do ask of players with little to no knowledge that they make the extra effort of becoming familiar with the lore that we will provide. We don’t care that much about the lore, but we do care about creating a shared view of what the larp is about and of the atmosphere inside the tower.
