Thank you beforehand for even considering reading this guide. LARP has been my creative outlet for a long time and seeing how many people loved this mini adventure I had to write it down.

Some of the things written here may not make sense to you or your techniques or the way you want to play your game. Feel free to remove or change them. All games are made to be changed, altered and modified to the mould we find fit.

I did not write this alone. No writer has the privilege to not be influenced by other people’s creations and advice. I want to deeply thank my best friend Belladonna, she was my muse, my Flower. Without her this quest would not exist and you would have an adventure about robots, pirates and death on your hands.

Last but not least, special thanks to the people that helped correct mistakes, fill up holes, and loopholes, and the grammar lunatics that did not let me sleep some nights: Giwta Androutsopoulou, Odysseas Dallas, Sinisa Jovanovic, Galina Tajhmeister and John Tzevelekos. Guys this would not be real without you.

Last but not least I want to thank myself for being awesome and not giving up on this difficult task. Yes, I am this majestic.

Have the time that you deserve,

Anastasya

PREMISE

A Fae creature named Flower is trapped in our world and lives among us. It wishes to stay with us forever, but one day it starts to fade out of existence. The PCs, who know Flower, learn from a Shaman that there is an Isthmus Anchor* that pulls the creature back to the Fae world, their horns. So the PCs are sent on a mission to the Seelie and Unseelie court to make bargains, trade, deceive and persuade, in order to retrieve the horns. The PCs may choose to aid Flower, granting the Fae creature permanent stay in the mortal realm by returning the horns or to sabotage the mission, forcing Flower to return to the Fae wild.

To do that they will need to gather tangible tokens of their progress in finding what they are seeking.

No. of Participants: A mission of 8-12 PCs, 4-6 NPCs.

Location: Closed-up environment with >2 rooms

Time: 4 hours that are separated as: 30m briefing, 2 hours play of act 1, 30m of act 2, 30m debriefing.

*Isthmus Anchor: An item that connects 2 dimensions together, in this case the Faewild and the world that the PCs live in. It can be any item, body part or memorabilia that belongs to someone and is left in the other dimension by accident, stolen or on purpose. The item can be used as a focal point, an “Anchor” for people to travel to that place with the intent to give it back to the original owner. After the retrieval of the Isthmus Anchor, there is a short amount of time where the dimensions are still connected and the PCs need to decide if they wish to leave or stay.

SET UP

The in-game area is divided in 2 rooms, one for each court (Seelie and Unseelie).

Room A is the room for the Seelie court. It is brighter, with warm colours, with a table and chairs for the NPCs. On the table there must be : a deck of cards, “success stones” and extra papers with “rules” and “weaknesses”. The players are not allowed to sit. The Seelie court is known for gold, red and green colours. Their room should also include 2-3 pots of plants/trees (fake or not) and the “Pendant of Desire”.

Room B is the room for the Unseelie court. It is darker, with cooler colours, a table and chairs for the NPCs. On the table there must be a deck of cards, “success stones”, extra papers with “rules” and “weaknesses” and the “Goblet of Whispers”. The players are not allowed to sit. The Unseelie court is known for silver, blue and grey colours.

Each NPC needs to designate one part of their costume as an in-game item using the special ribbon and then hide it in the opposite room before the game begins.

Each NPC needs to have a hand-out with the “riddles”, “bargains”, and “quests” according to their court.

There is no need for any extra in-game locations. Any additional rooms are considered off-game areas. The off game areas are advised to be further away from the in game areas as the players should not be able to hear what is happening in rooms A or B.

The briefing will be held at the off-game areas while the debriefing can be held at either in-game or off-game areas. It is advised for the off-game area to have available: napkins, first aid-kit, blankets, water and snacks.

THE GAME

BRIEFING

The GM (Game Master) will assemble the PCs in the off-game area. The briefing should last approx. 30 minutes.

The following topics needs to be addressed:

● If this is a one-shot, the GM needs to introduce the off-screen character of Flower to the PCs.

● The objective (to get back the horns by getting “success stones”).

● The in-game and off-game areas.

● The NPCs are room bound (cannot get out of their assigned rooms) and what the PCs should expect from them (ex. no combat). The PCs must follow the NPCs commands at any given point. It is impossible to ignore them.

● The mechanics of the game (papers of “rules” and “weaknesses”, deck of cards, “success stones”, riddles, bargains, quests, pranks etc.).

● In-game items differentiation (ribbons).

● Any additional rules (rules of conduct, safety mechanics).

● The time frame of the larp (how many hours, acts etc.).

● Especially important are connections to the PCs and Flower; if not preexisting (e.g. in a one-shot LARP), then they should be encouraged to create their own connections.

● At the end of the briefing each PC randomly picks a piece of paper from the pile of “rules” and “weaknesses”. They can choose to share the information with the other PCs or keep it a secret.

After the briefing is concluded, including questions, the GM should lead an enroling process during which PCs can interact with each other for 5 to 10 minutes, right before they enter the in-game area. After this time has passed, the GM should open the portal (door) for the PCs to enter the in-game area.

GAMEPLAY:

The game is divided into 2 acts. 1st act is before the appearance of the Fae King and the 2nd act starts with him entering the room or calling at the PCs.

The players enter through the portal to the Fae realm. They have the option to go to room A or room B. The NPCs will not accept more than half of the players in each room, so they need to split.

Players can go from one room to another at any point and interact with all NPCs and the environment. However, the NPCs will refuse to interact with anyone until the number of players are balanced in each room. The PCs can communicate freely among themselves and exchange information with no interruption by the NPCs and each PC can assist each other at riddles and quests.

For the next 2 hours, the PCs need to earn “success stones” equal to the 50% of their number rounded down plus one. They do this by interacting with the NPCs and answering riddles correctly, completing quests given to them and/or accepting bargains with the fae. If a player fails any of the above, they gain a flaw from the “bargain list” chosen by the Fae creature they last interacted with.

Each player can acquire only one "success stone", but they may try once per court.

While playing, the PCs must play out all consequences of bargains and/or failures. Some of them might not be applicable within the scope of this LARP (especially if it is a one-shot), but players should be encouraged to roleplay them regardless (e.g. pretend they are actual consequences for the character, obsess over them, ask for "help" etc.).

At the last 30 minutes, the Fae King will announce himself and call out the PCs to bring the success stones to him. At this point, all NPCs will attend to the King and cease interacting with the PCs. All the PCs will be together in one room and interact with each other deciding what to do with the success stones and the King. They also may choose to do one last bargain or favour with the King for one last “success stone”. Then, the PCs will have to present the stones and the King will decide if they succeeded or not. The Fae King can also decide to allow someone to remain in the realm if they wish to. Either way, they are not disturbed by the Fae or the King on their way back.

The game ends when all the players that do not wish to remain (or were not allowed to) are out of the portal.

DEBRIEFING:

Once the game is considered finished the GM leads the PCs & NPCs through a deroling process and then assembles all of them to begin the debriefing which should last about 30 minutes.

The following topics needs to be addressed:

● The success or failure of the mission.

● What will happen after this, including any in game items, flaws, and bargains the PCs acquired. If this was a one-shot ask each PC what happened to their character a day after the adventure and a year after the adventure.

● Give one minute to each PC and NPC to say a few words about the experience. It is suggested to use a talking stick or an equivalent item.

● Address any immediate concerns raised (safety, confusions etc.).

At the end, the GM closes the game and thanks all the participants.

FOR THE NPCS

NPCs are immune to any effect the players try to do to them, including being killed.

At any point they can command the PCs to do anything, and they must follow these commands without hesitation. NPCs should only use this when Fae rules are broken, or they are threatened or heavily insulted. The NPCs should not abuse this mechanic. No PC should be allowed to curse a fae creature, call them ugly, unjust, liars etc. and not be punished.

When assigning the riddles, quests etc. the NPCs should consult their hand-outs and match the card drawn with the respective entry. It is possible to choose a different one if the NPC deems it more appropriate for the player.

The hand-out must never be shown to a player.

The same riddle and quest cannot be solved twice. Pranks and bargains may be repeated if it seems appropriate.

S indicates the Seelie court.

U indicates the Unseelie court.

Fae Riddles in the game:

● S: Tall I am young, short I am old, while with life I glow, wind is my foe. What am I? (candle)

● S: What's at the beginning of eternity and at the end of time and space? (the letter e)

● S: What runs around a city but never moves? (the city wall)

● S: It holds most knowledge that has ever been said, but is not the brain, is not the head. To feathers and their masters, ’tis both bane and boon. . . One empty, and one full. (paper)

● U: What loses its head in the morning but gets it back at night? (pillow)

● U: When brightest, I am darkest. When darkest, I am gone. When I am gone forever, so are you. (Shadow)

● U: The maker doesn't want it. The buyer doesn't need it. The user doesn't realise they are using it. (coffin)

Bargains used in the game:

● S: You are physically incapable of looking anyone directly in the eyes for the remainder of the game.

● S: You can speak to the trees and plants. They only talk about boring topics such as politics and the weather but will not listen to anything you have to say. You need to answer to at least 3 of them.

● S: Your sneezes produce sparkling dust. You are part of the Fae now and have your own Isthmus Anchor.

● S: You are unable to fall asleep anywhere except outside, at night, in a place where the stars are visible. You are considered blessed by Fae.

● S: You always smell strongly of flowers - it's a little overwhelming. You are considered blessed by Fae. (The NPC sprays PC with a cologne)

● U: Anytime you see a potion or poison, you get a great urge to down the whole bottle.

● U: You can't use your eyes and ears at the same time anymore. One must be covered to use the other. Trying to use both eyes and ears will result in audio or visual hallucinations.

● U: A talking flea now lives in your nose. You are part of the Faewild now and have your own Isthmus Anchor. You need to answer to it at least 3 times.

● U: You lose your most treasured memory.

● U: You must marry the Fae you are bargaining with.

● S/U: You lose 1 to 4 letters of your name. (The NPC asks the character to say a number from 1 to 4)

● S/U: You shall conceive a full family but lose one of them on their 11th birthday to the Fae.

● S/U: Once every year on the night of the summer/winter solstice you are magically summoned to a place far beyond your recognition. There you will be given one task that you have until the next solstice to complete.

● S/U: The character can no longer go to sleep without making a stone circle around themselves. You are part of the Faewild now and have your own Isthmus Anchor.

Pranks used in the game:

● S/U: Steal something important then hide it on their closest friend.

● S/U: For those rogue types, blackguards, anyone else who wears all black and takes themselves too seriously, give them the hot pink scarf to wear or else they will be teleported back. They are allowed to reenter the portal at any point... only while wearing the hot pink scarf, otherwise they teleport back out again immediately.

● U: Frozen and put waterproof makeup on.

● U: All the water the party is carrying is instantly transformed into wine (strawberry juice).

● U: A party member needs to owe a favour to the person on their left.

● S: Fill their helmet or hat with flowers.

● S/U: Items suddenly grow (googly) eyes. Now they are mimics with personality until the PCs get out of the Faewild.

● U: Add small signs to people’s back (paper) with safety pins. “Frog kisser” “Twig fighter” “I have a lot of gold” “My wife is Ben the bard” etc.

● S/U: You cannot speak with more than 1 syllable words.

PROPS:

● The lost horns.

● A map torn in 5 pieces (scattered parts of a map in both rooms).

● 1 lost item from each NPC hidden in the opposite room.

● A goblet (optional) for the PCs that can transfer them back to the Faewild for 1 hour but only if there are at least half of the group +1 included.

● A pendant (optional) that allows you 1 wish from a Fae creature except for the King. This is the “Pendant of Desire”.

● Stones of “success” equal to the number of PCs required + 4.

● Strawberry juice (or any kind of red juice).

● Pieces of paper with tape with written insults on them.

● A pink scarf.

● Googly eyes.

● Fake or real flowers.

● A strong flowery cologne.

● A waterproof lipstick.

● Potted plants, fake or real.

● A tarot deck of cards or a simple deck of cards.

● Papers with printed “rules” and “weaknesses”

● NPC hand-outs equal to the number of NPCs.

THE FAEWILD:

The two courts:

“Seelie'' and “Unseelie” are classifications in the Faewild that refer to the way that they treat outsiders.

Seelie will tend to be warm and welcoming to outsiders and are known to play games with mortals but appreciate them as a source of unending curiosity.

Unseelie will tend to be distrustful towards outsiders, and the games that they play with mortals are usually malicious.

Faewild rules:

Do not give away your name.
Do not try to kill anything that doesn't try to kill you first.
Do not make a deal unless the conditions are incredibly specific. Don't deal in favours, names, people, or souls. Fae will try their hardest to be vague or exploit loopholes, so they come out on top.
Always pay your debts and do not return more than you borrowed.
Time is relative and works differently than the Mortal Realms. Some places in the Faewild exist in a fixed point in time, and the time in others may change depending on how far one is to the east. Regardless, all Fae agree that there is no universal rule of what the time is at any given moment.
Do not split the party. Because time in the Faewild operates differently than on other planes, travellers are wise to take precautions to ensure that they enter and exit at the same time.
Do not accept gifts and never thank the Fae.
Not everything is as it seems.
Do not mention newborns or speak the names of children.
Do not touch or eat things unless you are positive about what they are.
Do not step into a faery ring.
Fae creatures rarely accept gold or metals for favours. Expect to bargain or exchange acts of service for their assistance.
Write everything down. When leaving the Faewild, people often forget they were there in the first place, especially if they are not native to the plane.

Fae weaknesses:

Speak no falsehoods. A Fae cannot tell lies. Words have power in the Faewild, and for a Fae creature to lie about the nature of a thing would be akin to insulting the thing itself. However, this does not mean that Fae will not engage in falsehoods. Instead, they will tend to tell incomplete truths and rely on the listener's willingness to deceive themself. To circumvent this, a fairy can be asked the same question three times in succession. This will bind the fairy to answer earnestly but will often provoke their ire and cause them to manipulate their answer by changing the circumstances.
Keep all promises. Breaking a promise would be akin to speaking a falsehood. Promises are sacred pacts among Fae that must be followed, though Fae will often manipulate the circumstances to ensure that they do not have to abide by the promise's intent.
No harm, except if harmed.
Cold Iron & Thresholds. "Cold Iron" typically refers to iron that has been forged into a weapon, but all non-magical pure iron has a supernatural effect against Fae creatures. In the Prime Material Plane, it is common in some villages to nail horseshoes above doors and windows to repel malevolent Fae that may attempt to enter the house. A Fae cannot broach another's threshold without leaving a portion of their power behind. Thresholds are physical boundaries that define magical borders within the Fae wild’s internal logic.
Running water. Running water creates a natural threshold in the Faewild. It is for this reason that many courts use the path of rivers to define the boundaries between their lands.

MECHANICS

Stones:

The PCs need to acquire stones to get out of the Faewild together. Half of the PCs rounded down +1 must succeed a bargain, prank, mini quest, or riddle. Each PC must choose one of the 2 courts and they will assign them a mission. Then they get a stone when they succeed or a flaw if they fail.

A PC cannot take a stone by force. It must be handed to them by a Fae. The stones cannot be given to other PCs either.

When the PCs acquire the stones, they can present them to the “Fae King” who will show them where the horns are and keep the stones. If the stones are not enough the PCs cannot take the horns.

Bargains, Pranks, Quests, or Riddles:

Each NPC makes a player choose a card to be flipped from the ones in front of them. This way they pick the task for each PC. If the PC is a good fighter, a good riddle-solver or has a disability, the NPC can secretly also choose the appropriate task. We are not playing against the characters but with them. *

*If you do not trust the PC with the deck of cards, the NPC picks for them.

Knowledge:

The PCs are coming into the Faewild with knowledge written on paper.

Every PC picks a paper randomly that has written a “rule” or “weakness” of the Fae. They can keep it secret or share it with the team to assist them in their tasks. With every “success stone” they receive they also get a papernote that has a written “rule” or “weakness” of the Fae.

Items:

All in-game quest items and important items have a ribbon tied to them to avoid confusion. The colour/type of the ribbon will be shown to the players at the pre-game phase.

Each NPC has an item/part of their costume hidden in the opposite room.

EXTRA RULES:

The PCs can move freely from one room to the other, but they must always have equal numbers.

Each PC can gain one “success stone” or fail once with each court. If either happens they cannot try again. The only way a PC can get a stone after a failed try with each court is either by finding all the pieces of the map or by giving a missing item to one of the NPCs.

All PCs must follow NPC commands at all times.

APPENDIX I

SEELIE COURT

ENCHANTER

Tall I am young, short I am old, while with life I glow, wind is my foe. What am I? (candle)

CONJURER

What's at the beginning of eternity and at the end of time and space? (letter e)

DRUID

What runs around a city but never moves? (city wall)

DIVINER

It holds most knowledge that has ever been said, but is not the brain, is not the head. To feathers and their masters, ’tis both bane and boon. . . One empty, and one full. (paper)

PALADIN

You are physically incapable of looking anyone directly in the eyes for the remainder of the game.

AVENGER

You can speak to the trees and plants. They only talk about boring topics such as politics and the weather but will not listen to anything you have to say. You need to answer to at least 3 of them.

HEALER

Your sneezes produce sparkling dust. You are part of the Fae now and have your own Isthmus Anchor.

MONK

You are unable to fall asleep anywhere except outside, at night, in a place where the stars are visible. You are considered blessed by Fae.

MISSIONARY

You lose 1 to 4 letters of your name. (The NPC asks the character to say a number from 1 to 4)

SOLDIER

You always smell strongly of flowers - it's a little overwhelming. You are considered blessed by Fae. (The NPC sprays PC with a cologne)

WIZARD

You shall conceive a full family but lose one of them on their 11th birthday to the Fae.

HORSEMAN

Once every year on the night of the summer/winter solstice you are magically summoned to a place far beyond your recognition. There you will be given one task that you have until the next solstice to complete.

PHILANTHROPIST

The character can no longer go to sleep without making a stone circle around themselves. You are part of the Faewild now and have your own Isthmus Anchor.

ABJURER

Steal something important then hide it on their closest friend.

BISHOP

For those rogue types, blackguards, anyone else who wears all black and takes themselves too seriously, give them the hot pink scarf to wear or else they will be teleported back.

INNOCENT

Fill their helmet or hat with flowers.

PRIEST

Items suddenly grow (googly) eyes. Now they are mimics with personalities until the PCs get out of the Faewild.

SHEPHERD

You cannot speak with more than 1 syllable words.

If a PC approaches you with a torn map and all its 5 pieces, you may give them a “success stone” in exchange for the map. If they already possess one, they cannot take it for themselves, and they need to find a PC without one to take the stone.

If a PC approaches you with YOUR lost item, you may give them a “success stone” in exchange for the item. If they already possess one, they cannot take it for themselves, and they need to find a PC without one to take the stone.

UNSEELIE COURT

ILLUSIONIST

What loses its head in the morning but gets it back at night? (pillow)

DONJON

When brightest, I am darkest. When darkest, I am gone. When I am gone forever, so are you. (Shadow)

MERCENARY

The maker doesn't want it. The buyer doesn't need it. The user doesn't realise they are using it. (coffin)

THIEF

Anytime you see a potion or poison, you get a great urge to down the whole bottle.

MARIONETTE

You can't use your eyes and ears at the same time anymore. One must be covered to use the other. Trying to use both eyes and ears will result in audio or visual hallucinations.

GHOST

A talking flea now lives in your nose. You are part of the Faewild now and have your own Isthmus Anchor. You need to answer to it at least 3 times.

BROKEN ONE

You lose 1 to 4 letters of your name. (The NPC asks the character to say a number from 1 to 4)

TAX COLLECTOR

You lose your most treasured memory.

MISER

You shall conceive a full family but lose one of them on their 11th birthday to the Fae.

ANARCHIST

TEMPTER

You must marry the Fae you are bargaining with.

DARKLORD

The character can no longer go to sleep without making a stone circle around themselves. You are part of the Faewild now and have your own Isthmus Anchor.

EXECUTIONER

Make someone laugh maniacally until they exit the realm.

TRAITOR

Steal something important then hide it on their closest friend.

BEAST

For those rogue types, blackguards, anyone else who wears all black and takes themselves too seriously, give them the hot pink scarf to wear or else they will be teleported back.

ROGUE

Frozen and put waterproof makeup on.

CHARLATAN

All the water the party is carrying is instantly transformed into wine (strawberry juice).

NECROMANCER

A party member now owes a favour to the person on their left.

BERSERKER

Items suddenly grow (googly) eyes. Now they are mimics with personality until the PCs get out of the Faewild.

DICTATOR

Add small signs to people’s backs (paper) with safety pins. “Frog kisser” “Twig fighter” “I have a lot of gold” “My wife is Ben the bard” etc.

TORTURER