What is this larp about?
Shadows in time is a larp about mortality and immortality. It is an intense family and relationship drama about things worth living and dying. About choices we make and the mistakes we can not undo.
In the distant future, two scientists manage to harness the energy of a material called the Time stone for their own use. They manage to create an artifact which, when attached to a human body, makes the wearer immortal and grands them the ability to travel through time and shape the world as they wish. The artifact's energy lasts for 68 years at the time and when the energy fades, the artifact's power draws its wearers to the time and place where the material first came to earth. During this time - called a Reset - the bearers of the artifacts are bound in one place and can’t do anything but wait. After the artifact's energy is recharged, the world has reset and the bearers have returned to the timeline where the artifacts were originally created. Every change, every moment lived in the previous cycle, every friendship formed is gone, as if none of it had ever existed. An endless number of different futures and pasts live only in the memories of travelers.
The game is set in the time of the Reset, where the bearers of the artifacts are forced to face each other every 68 years. The family of travelers consists of the two scientists who originally created the artifacts (Cevnos and Nione) and four of their remaining children (Ateus, Adesis, Amren, and Altris). The artifacts of the other four original siblings have each passed on in their own way and are now carried by people related to the family through various ties (Dharen, Elone, Theas, and Saltrev).
The endless turn of cycles starting over and over again has shaped each traveler in their own way, and time has inevitably eroded the foundations on which this family was originally built. Differences and old grudges surface time and again as the family has to face each other and their own past mistakes again and again as the cycles change.
The main themes of the game are dealing with immortality and mortality, eternal love, family and community. The game consists of:
In the distant future, two scientists manage to harness the energy of a material called the Time stone for their own use. They manage to create an artifact which, when attached to a human body, makes the wearer immortal and grands them the ability to travel through time and shape the world as they wish. The artifact's energy lasts for 68 years at the time and when the energy fades, the artifact's power draws its wearers to the time and place where the material first came to earth. During this time - called a Reset - the bearers of the artifacts are bound in one place and can’t do anything but wait. After the artifact's energy is recharged, the world has reset and the bearers have returned to the timeline where the artifacts were originally created. Every change, every moment lived in the previous cycle, every friendship formed is gone, as if none of it had ever existed. An endless number of different futures and pasts live only in the memories of travelers.
The game is set in the time of the Reset, where the bearers of the artifacts are forced to face each other every 68 years. The family of travelers consists of the two scientists who originally created the artifacts (Cevnos and Nione) and four of their remaining children (Ateus, Adesis, Amren, and Altris). The artifacts of the other four original siblings have each passed on in their own way and are now carried by people related to the family through various ties (Dharen, Elone, Theas, and Saltrev).
The endless turn of cycles starting over and over again has shaped each traveler in their own way, and time has inevitably eroded the foundations on which this family was originally built. Differences and old grudges surface time and again as the family has to face each other and their own past mistakes again and again as the cycles change.
The main themes of the game are dealing with immortality and mortality, eternal love, family and community. The game consists of:
- Conversations between the entire family, the secrets they have kept and the lies they have told. It can be both disagreements about the sharply different views about what their existence means to them. But also about togetherness with those who are the only ones in the world who understand what they have seen and experienced.
- Intense drama between individual characters. Different variations of larger-than-life emotions - love, hate, bitterness, friendship, brotherhood. What does happily ever after mean when your after is an eternity. Holding on and letting go of those you love.
- Re-evaluating your stance towards your life, your family and yourself. Being forced to face the choices you’ve made and mistakes you can’t undo. Pondering the meaning of life, death and immortality.
GENERAL INFO
In this section you can find general information about the larp. More detailed information regarding future runs can be found on each runs own page which can be found here!
The larp was played for the first time in the summer of 2021. Since then it has been played over ten times. There will be more runs with an open sign up in the future and I can also travel to run this for groups of 10 people in your city/country. I’m also happy to discuss organizing the larp in co-operation with local groups or associations both in Finland and abroad.
Location (requirements)
The larp is played both in a hotel as well as in a normal house. The larp can basically be played anywhere. The requirements for the location are accommodation for 11-12 people (or possibility for participants to sleep in their homes), a kitchen or possibility to order food and a table that can seat 10 players (or possibility to eat in a nearby restaurant). The larp itself requires at least one bigger room with comfortable seating places (like a sofa) and possibility to move around to have discussions in smaller groups. There should also be 4 other rooms/spaces available for more private discussions/scenes.
I aim to organize both hotel runs as well as more closed location runs in the future. The larp fits nicely in both environments.
Duration
Optimally the duration of the larp is 10 to 12 hours, shorter than that and it easily starts to feel too rushed. It would also be possible to play it in two acts and divide the play time for two nights and thus increase the duration a little more. Addition to the larp itself there will be 4 to 6 hours of briefings/workshops.
Pricing
Each run is priced individually based on the cost to run it. In hotel runs at the Helsinki area the price per participant has varied from ~120€ to 200€ (depending if they share a room or not and the price of meal options at the restaurant). Closed location runs (eg. private house or rented venue) the price has been around 35-60€. For runs abroad the price would be higher in both cases since it needs to cover organiser travel expenses, but participant save on their travel.
Themes and suitability
You can find more information about the larps themes and suitability, as well as the privacy statement at the sign up page. There you can also find the sign up form if there are any open sign ups available.
Sign up
You can find information about the sign up regarding each of the future runs from their own info pages. Players are encouraged to sign up for the larp together with another player and choose which of the five mirror contact dynamics they want to play together. In this way, the probability that the most important contacts will work out is maximized. However, you can also sign up for the larp alone. Almost all characters have some form of connection with all the other characters in the larp, but each character has one or a few contact dynamics that play a bigger role than others.
The mirror contact dynamics available are as follows:
Casting
Since the larp is so small and all the relations between the characters are quite intense it is particularly important to have a balance both in terms of playstyle and compatibility between the players. Therefore the casting is done based on both the casting questionnaire as well as the co-player questionnaire. Casting questionnaire is filled as a part of sign up process and after the sign up is closed I will send another questionnaire to all who signed up and ask their preferences regarding co-players amongst those who signed up. During the casting I aim to find a good match between the player's character wishes and contact player wishes as well as creating a well-balanced group in terms of play styles and overall expectations.
In the casting of future runs I aim to give priority to players who have previously registered, but left without a character and lowest priority to players who have already played this larp in the past. But for balancing reasons it is possible that I can’t hold these priorities in all the runs.
The questions
I'll be happy to answer any questions! You can send them to the larps email [email protected] or PM me at Facebook. There will probably also be English interest group available at some point.
Code of Conduct
The larp follows local law and good manners. The larp has zero tolerance for harassment, racism, discrimination and disrespectful behavior. The larp deals with heavy and intimate themes, due which respecting other players and following mutually agreed boundaries is of the utmost importance. The use of alcohol in the game is not prohibited, but alcohol should be consumed in moderation so that it does not affect your own or your fellow players' experience. For the time being the larp has an age limit of 18.
Since there is only one person running the larp, there most likely won't be separate support and safety person, however such a person may be named in some of the future runs especially if run in cooperation with local associations.
Rules
The larp operates with very light rules/metatechniques. Players are expected to be comfortable with basic interactions such as non-intimate touch (hand-shake, hug, comforting hand on a shoulder etc.) with all other participants. There might be exceptions for this which are communicated run by run bases.
Violence is played theatrical style in slow-motion with more flashy scenes being negotiated beforehand off-game. More intimate touch between eg. lovers are negotiated beforehand with players involved with such themes. There is no need for ingame sex happening during the larp. However if these kind of themes are something you want to explore, it is possible to agree beforehand with your co-player(s) what metatechnique you wish to use for sexual content. However it is important to note that sexual content does not play any significant role in the design and it shouldn't take focus away from other themes.
The larp was played for the first time in the summer of 2021. Since then it has been played over ten times. There will be more runs with an open sign up in the future and I can also travel to run this for groups of 10 people in your city/country. I’m also happy to discuss organizing the larp in co-operation with local groups or associations both in Finland and abroad.
Location (requirements)
The larp is played both in a hotel as well as in a normal house. The larp can basically be played anywhere. The requirements for the location are accommodation for 11-12 people (or possibility for participants to sleep in their homes), a kitchen or possibility to order food and a table that can seat 10 players (or possibility to eat in a nearby restaurant). The larp itself requires at least one bigger room with comfortable seating places (like a sofa) and possibility to move around to have discussions in smaller groups. There should also be 4 other rooms/spaces available for more private discussions/scenes.
I aim to organize both hotel runs as well as more closed location runs in the future. The larp fits nicely in both environments.
Duration
Optimally the duration of the larp is 10 to 12 hours, shorter than that and it easily starts to feel too rushed. It would also be possible to play it in two acts and divide the play time for two nights and thus increase the duration a little more. Addition to the larp itself there will be 4 to 6 hours of briefings/workshops.
Pricing
Each run is priced individually based on the cost to run it. In hotel runs at the Helsinki area the price per participant has varied from ~120€ to 200€ (depending if they share a room or not and the price of meal options at the restaurant). Closed location runs (eg. private house or rented venue) the price has been around 35-60€. For runs abroad the price would be higher in both cases since it needs to cover organiser travel expenses, but participant save on their travel.
Themes and suitability
You can find more information about the larps themes and suitability, as well as the privacy statement at the sign up page. There you can also find the sign up form if there are any open sign ups available.
Sign up
You can find information about the sign up regarding each of the future runs from their own info pages. Players are encouraged to sign up for the larp together with another player and choose which of the five mirror contact dynamics they want to play together. In this way, the probability that the most important contacts will work out is maximized. However, you can also sign up for the larp alone. Almost all characters have some form of connection with all the other characters in the larp, but each character has one or a few contact dynamics that play a bigger role than others.
The mirror contact dynamics available are as follows:
- Ex-lovers with centuries of resentment and rivalry with a faint memory of the love and unity they once shared. Parents and leaders of this family.
- A friendship that has stood the test of time, the chosen family for each other. One constant in an everchanging chaos and riptides of drama.
- Lovers with connection and trust built up over thousands of years. Love story of a lifetime that is at risk of falling apart.
- On/off-lovers caught in a stormy romance, where they can neither be together nor apart, now facing a turning point.
- New/potential lovers on the doorsteps of a brighter future struggling to face the shadows of the past.
Casting
Since the larp is so small and all the relations between the characters are quite intense it is particularly important to have a balance both in terms of playstyle and compatibility between the players. Therefore the casting is done based on both the casting questionnaire as well as the co-player questionnaire. Casting questionnaire is filled as a part of sign up process and after the sign up is closed I will send another questionnaire to all who signed up and ask their preferences regarding co-players amongst those who signed up. During the casting I aim to find a good match between the player's character wishes and contact player wishes as well as creating a well-balanced group in terms of play styles and overall expectations.
In the casting of future runs I aim to give priority to players who have previously registered, but left without a character and lowest priority to players who have already played this larp in the past. But for balancing reasons it is possible that I can’t hold these priorities in all the runs.
The questions
I'll be happy to answer any questions! You can send them to the larps email [email protected] or PM me at Facebook. There will probably also be English interest group available at some point.
Code of Conduct
The larp follows local law and good manners. The larp has zero tolerance for harassment, racism, discrimination and disrespectful behavior. The larp deals with heavy and intimate themes, due which respecting other players and following mutually agreed boundaries is of the utmost importance. The use of alcohol in the game is not prohibited, but alcohol should be consumed in moderation so that it does not affect your own or your fellow players' experience. For the time being the larp has an age limit of 18.
Since there is only one person running the larp, there most likely won't be separate support and safety person, however such a person may be named in some of the future runs especially if run in cooperation with local associations.
Rules
The larp operates with very light rules/metatechniques. Players are expected to be comfortable with basic interactions such as non-intimate touch (hand-shake, hug, comforting hand on a shoulder etc.) with all other participants. There might be exceptions for this which are communicated run by run bases.
Violence is played theatrical style in slow-motion with more flashy scenes being negotiated beforehand off-game. More intimate touch between eg. lovers are negotiated beforehand with players involved with such themes. There is no need for ingame sex happening during the larp. However if these kind of themes are something you want to explore, it is possible to agree beforehand with your co-player(s) what metatechnique you wish to use for sexual content. However it is important to note that sexual content does not play any significant role in the design and it shouldn't take focus away from other themes.
Organiser
Laura KrögerDesign, writing and production of this larp is done by me. My previous projects include being the main producer and writing coordinator of the international success larp Odysseus and being the main organizer in the Finnish larps such as Heirs of Saint Hill (Pyhävuoren perilliset), which was played seven times and Calbourne -campaign.
Picture: Kaj Wallin (Pyhävuoren perilliset - Heirs of Saint Hill, sixth run) |