LIFE IN THE TOWER :
player pressure
Player-pressure is the amount of harsh conditions a player shares with their character. We have decided to use player-pressure to increase immersion and to add to the intensity of the experience.
This has nothing to do with competition of any kind. There will be no comparison between players regarding the level of player-pressure they wish to experience. There will be no judgment on players who decide they need less of it during the larp, on players who use the safe room, etc. Players’ safety will always be the team’s priority and it should also be each of the player’s priority. Pressuring another player, questioning them or making fun of their need for more comfort will not be tolerated.
However, by signing up to this larp, you commit to try to experience player-pressure in the forms of:
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Being locked up in a tower, every window covered with curtains,
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Receiving and/or inflicting fake physical violence and psychological violence (with the possibility to lower intensity or say stop at any time),
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Sleeping with other people, possibly in the same bed (gendered preferences will be taken into account, but you won’t be able to say “I want to sleep with that player”),
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Every night is fully in game. Others can wake you up at any hour of the night (but you will have a tool to avoid it if you need to and safe rooms to rest in),
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Having your sleeping situation moved from one room to another in the middle of the larp,
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Eating tasteless food (but plenty and nourishing).
Going crazy: play on psychosis
Yes, this larp invites you to delve into the potential loss of sanity of your character. While we encourage you to let it happen if it does, we ask that you do it slowly, with caution and that you check-in with yourself from time to time. You don’t need to go as far as you can, you don’t need to feel your lowest to “really experience this larp”.
It is a long larp, be mindful of your boundaries and of the potential effects this sort of play can have on your brain. It has been shown that larp can create traumatic memories.
We also acknowledge that most people have no idea what “crazy” means and tend to use it in a careless way, or might use offensive words to discuss it. We ask players to be mindful and to avoid jokes about mental health.
We request that you use psychosis as the most extreme symptom of your character’s loss of sanity. It can show in different ways:
- Hallucinations: seeing, hearing or feelings that don't exist outside of the mind (for example, seeing demons and abominations).
- Delusions: strong, false beliefs that are not based on reality, like believing someone is trying to harm you.
- Disorganized thinking: confused speech, trouble concentrating, jumping quickly between unrelated topics.
- Isolation: withdrawing from loved ones.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Going from strong emotions to a complete lack of emotions.
Please keep these kinds of symptoms for a short crisis, don’t play on it for hours. Paranoia, however, already exists in most of the characters’ minds and will slowly escalate until characters are convinced the other group, or a specific individual, wants them dead.
Mages' experience
Nights : Most of the mages will be sleeping in a large dormitory, with a maximum of 8 other players. The dormitory only has single beds. A templar will be guarding the door. If a mage gets woken up during the night, it is likely for a violent scene.
Violence : Mages will receive the most violence. They might also inflict it, mostly on templars.
Other : Most mages will experience the harshest aspects of the larp. "Opt in" possible mistreatments include: being tortured, forced into silence, locked up in a small cave in the dark, publicly humiliated, beat up, (not an exhaustive list).
Templars' experience
Nights : Templars will be sleeping in rooms of 5 to 6 beds. They will stay up at night in shifts of 1 to 2 hours to watch over the mages’ dormitories.
Violence : Templars will mostly be inflicting the violence, but will also receive it, both from fellow templars and from mages.
Other : Templars will experience aspects of military life: standing in a line, being yelled at, going through intense training, etc. They suffer from addiction and may also experience PTSDs.