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JoyCon!

A Weekend of Larps
September 8-10, 2023

At last, we've been able to coordinate with Alison Joy Schafer <3 to run two of her amazing larps at the Castle. She'll be running games on Friday and Saturday evenings, with other games on  Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Cost for playing in any one or all four larps is $10. The fee (and any donations, gratefully accepted) will be used to pay for Alison's travel expenses.

Registration will open July 6th.


The Games:

Friday night, 8p to midnight

Alison wants to run one of the following two games. Preference as indicated on registration forms by 7/16 will decide/inform which game will run.

Stars of Al-Ashtara

Just beyond the next dune on the Eastern horizon rises the gleaming city of Al-Ashtara, renowned for its exotic wares and exquisite tastes. There are whispers; however, that the Caliphate might be starting to unravel - a fact which has not escaped the notice of those who wish to take advantage of the weakening rule. Friend and foe alike cast their eyes towards the night skies, looking to read their destinies in the stars…and perhaps find the means to change their own fate.

Enter a world where allegiances shift like the desert sands; where the schemes are as intricate as the silks; and in the bustling marketplace, the only thing more elusive than the sweet smell of incense on the desert breeze is the band of thieves slipping between the merchants’ stalls. The Stars of Al-Ashtara illuminate the enchantment, mystery, and danger that await you in an Arabian bazaar-where everyone has a secret.

More details.

Dance of the Dragons

The realm of Westeros shakes as the Targaryen King dies, the long peace ripped apart by a clash of Queens. He leaves behind an unprecedented female heir, a castle filled with questions, and a family torn apart by intrigue. As word of the old King’s death spreads at court, pleasantries turn into whispered negotiations, negotiations turn into conspiracies, and conspiracies turn into civil war.

It is a war of green and black roses, being fought with marriage pacts and betrayals, ravens and swords, fire and blood. The dance begins in shadows and courtyards with bribes, whispers, and poison as would-be kings stake their claims. If diplomacy should fail, will it take to the skies, to be decided by dragonfire?

Dance of the Dragons blends plots from George R. R. Martin’s short stories of the Targaryen civil war with additional plots taken from England’s War of the Roses - part of the historical inspiration for the Game of Thrones series.

More details.


Saturday afternoon, 1-5p

Five Votes Out

Written and run by J.R. Cillian Green, Jim Leesch & Valerie Leesch

Return to the West Wing for a LARP based on the Bartlett Administration on the night of the State of the Union! Whether Representative or White House Staff…you will have to get ready for a night of negotiations and some air time on Capitol Beat!

[Note: many roles don't require any familiarity with the TV series.]



Saturday evening, 8p to midnight

Wicked Hearts

Written and run by Alison Joy Schafer <3 & Kristen McFadyen Patten

Wicked Hearts is a court intrigue game that combines historical Imperial Russian politics during the splendor of the final ball at the Winter Palace with dark Russian fairy tales (including fae elements), Russian plays such as Anna Karenina, Russian folklore, occult, and myths and legends from Siberia. It is a night for ballroom politics, social gambits, and scandalous secrets amidst the ever-watchful aristocracy in the opulence of the Winter Palace - but as you dance, revolution brews and darker things have emerged from the snow forests.

More details.


Sunday afternoon, 1-5p

Super-Villain Academy

Run by Marc Blumberg; written by Marc Blumberg & Friends

It’s Graduation Day - time for the annual cocktail reception, where the Headmaster schmoozes Alumni for donations, the faculty gets drunk and hostile, and the top students get to show off their graduation projects. This year the children of the legendary Future Villains of America are graduating, so their parents get to wreak havoc on their Alma Mater one last time. Will the staff be prepared? What a time for one of the Deathtraps to go missing…


More details.


 

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