​

State of World :

"It’s a hostile world after all..."

The World in the Ruins of the Post-Creator Age is not a pretty, understanding or forgiving. It is a hard, cold and cruel place, where you start with no one to trust. Your parents might be insane, or abuse you or be violent. The primary task of siblings is to survive and to care about a bond of blood is a luxury. Even your best friends might be forced by the circumstances to sell you, steal your belongings or leave you to the wolves, figuratively or literally. Everyone's primary goal in life is survival. It goes before ideology, religion, relationships, material wealth – everything, because when you die, all these things die with you. It is a rare person whose actions, words and thoughts continue living when the person dies, and one can not be sure of this until you stand witness to such an occasion.

Still, after all this, survival is alone is hard... and lonely. There is no one to watch your back and belongings, when you are passing water or wish to sleep for a bit. No one to help you when you are wounded or sick. No one to ponder the choice of travelling routes with, to bluff your way out of an ambush with or to drive game into open. And if nothing else, even if everyone dies alone, it is comforting and even encouraging to have someone to share your final breath with before the burning pain and endless darkness takes you. Indeed, humans long for the company of other humans and loneliness changes us.

To avoid loneliness and to procreate, the people who survived the Destruction of the World have gathered together into truly multicultural groups of varying sizes. And whatever holds them together, there is always trust, for without trust these bands of people disintegrate. There must be trust that you do not wake up naked in the morning, robbed and abandoned in the middle of the woods, tied up in a warmonger camp / sacrificial altar or whatever equally undesirable state. If you awaken at all. Everyone has these true confidants among his or her own, some lucky (or truly naive) have their whole group to trust. For most parts, the depth of trust inside a group varies, as self interest, stubborn argumentation of own opinions and avoiding compromise (as they represent losing) are parts of human nature. Luckily that one special trusted person can be enough and makes life more tolerable.

Trust is not given lightly or earned easily. Everyone understands and learns this early on in their lives, and if they don't, they rarely are there to pass on the trend to the future generations. Distrust towards strangers keeps you alive. You trade, you might help the sick and wounded, or in other ways be in temporal contact – often repeatedly with the same group of strangers. But to include someone new person or group as a part of your own tribe – It is always rare and special. It must be earned.

Even with the continous suspicion, it is clear that there is strength in groups, and greater strength in a greater group. Everyone benefits from allies, trading parties, non-hostile neighbours, storytellers, workers to change things, children to be the next generation. If your primary reaction is to kill every ”other”, you get to be all alone in a hostile world rather quickly.

The world left behind by the Creators is a world, where nothing is brand new and shining to begin with, there is not a lot of technical or complicated stuff compared to modern world. Availability, practicality, efficiency and replacability – those are the four standards you want to live with. And hope that the others let you live with.

 

 

 

State of Technology :

Higher than year 2013 technology exists. But it is rare. Any technology that won't survive a nuclear holocaust is rare. Any technology that won't survive a nuclear holocaust and decades of bad repair by amauters is really rare. Guns, ammo, that kind of stuff; those are more common; sometimes caches of almost brand new items are still found and when millions of soldiers died, they left millions of bullets. And some ammunition factories are kind of operational; many small ones were protected from the nukes. Gasoline? Very rare. Some methane and methanol/ethanol powered cars and whatnots (mostly makeshift or really really old, the ones you can repair yourself) are still running. Bows and arrows, swords and axes, they go hand in hand with the firearms.



​

 

State of People :

There are some settlements, few of them exceeding hundred people in size, typical ranging from thirty to fifty.  Distribution of water, food and in some rare places, electricity, are the main problems. Disease and sanitation are the next biggest issues. Some settlements are totally new, built from scratch by using whatever is available; old trucks, tires, sandbags, bricks (old and new), scavenged parts from old apartment buildings, raw timber, hides. Some are built on older foundations; old houses, community centers, prisons, factories – anything that can sustain a population is used. And some people, they just drift around like nomads.



Most people tend to view a ”tribe” as a basic unit. It usually consists of one settlement. Some tribes have few smaller settlements and a main base, some places like big ruined cities from the ages past have several tribes living in them.

 

Outside of the typical tribes are the Traders, who live on the road. They travel from tribe to tribe, gathering resources as they go, selling and buying goods and services. Some Trader groups might consist of only small family and few hired guns, the biggest ones operate several trucks and/or wagons and dozens of pack animals. Many wealthy traders also have professionals with them; doctors, mechanics, electricians, smiths, builders, even engineers and teachers. Some are also skilled entertainers; they set up shop, play, sing and dance for their upkeep and trade for the rest.

The second large group are the Pilgrims, who search for Goddess Europa and her technological relics. They are a separate group, speaking their own secret language, Aikean. They travel in the ruins of the Creators, scavenging old artifacts, repairing them and sometimes selling them to outsiders. They always pay well for technology. Some rumors state that the Pilgrims will attack a group that won't trade some precious artifact to them even for extravacant prices.



The third group are the Warmongers. Up to dozen warmonger groups are known to exist. Most of them are nomadic groups, moving from settlement to settlement, taking what they want and leaving.  Most travel the same route every year, collecting tribute from the same settlements. Some also do good, like remove smaller marauder bands, other warmongers and mutos from the area. And then there is the Warlord and his Dog of War. They are building an Empire, keeping control over the places they visit, leaving garrisons, recruiting new soldiers from each settlement and punishing those who oppose them.

 

Smaller groups of different nomads, marauders, scavengers, herders or mutos (mutated men) also exist. The World is vast and the people are few.

 

 

 

State of Humanity, Mutations and Procreation :

There has always been humans. According to legends, stories and ancient pictures, when the Creators where still were with you, the humanity was prosperous, eternally smiling and numbered beyond comprehension. It is said that every star in the sky is a light from the eyes of person who died in the War Untold, as they now watch down to the world that was once their home. And the stars, they are endless, as is the history of the humankind.

 

And as far as humankind knows there has always been mutants.

 

No one lives anymore, who would remember how the world was Created or how the humankind was born. Someone claim that the Creators made or built people from the mystical particles like those that make up some of the Relics of the Creators. Others claim that the Seasons from Winter to Spring combined to form a Mother who gave birth to the humankind. There are endless amounts of other myths, and all of them offer answers that are full of secrets of the Creators and thoughts beyond our understanding. The Where we came from is not relevant. It is in the past and there is no return. The Where we are now, is relevant.

 

It is said that nothing experienced in this life is comparable to the Horror and Terror what the War Untold brought to being; boiling seas, wind that could melt the skin off, Pillars of Fire rising from the Stone Fortresses of the Ancients. It is told, that the memory of that ancient destruction lives in our hearts and is inherited from the mothers to the children, causing the nightmares that people see. There is no knowledge how far the Creators fought, nor why they fought. We only know the results, the humanity lived on, but the world ended. And now the humanity fights for it's survival in the Ruins.

 

The story of the mutants is not so clear. Where did they come from? Did they exist during the times of Creators? Some say they did. They say that humans and mutos have co-existed peacefully since the dawn of time.Or that originally the mutos were the majority or the original race. Or that mutos only came to the world after the War, because before that the Power of Creators protected us from these subhumans. Or that the mutos are a punishment and a plauge, which must be purged before they taint the future generations. And of course, there are those who believe that mutos are the next step in the evolution of humans – a step that we must take to get closer to what the Creators once were.

 

Some things are known about the mutos. First of all, the number of variations is endless. If it is a question of physical attributes and you can imagine it, some mutant has it or has had it. It is a whole different question how long these mutants have lasted.

 

The most common type and usually the type that dies the youngest are the mutos, that have human-like physiology but … distorted one. Chinless, noseless, big headed, dwarf-like or with permanently closed eyelids. Twisted limbs, double jointism, mouths that open both horizontally and vertically. Extra toes and fingers, even (usually under developed) extra limbs. Those without ability to vocal communication. These mutos are usually slower, weaker and more prone to sickness than humans, and they are often less capable of getting sustenance from normal food. These mutant children are usually called the Flawed Ones, the Broken Ones or the Visitors depending on the speaker. All the names reflect the fact that because of their flaws they usually don't live longer than few years and often die unexplained deaths; they are only visiting this world. These mutos are usually born from human parents and are quite common.

 

The next most common and the type that most often makes it to adulthood is the mutos with different skin-changes; fur, scales, feathers, different patterns, thickened parts, transparency, nodules. The fingers and toes might have frog like folds. Tails, like those of the rodents, somewhat hairy, scaly, bald, long and short, are common. These mutos have been accepted more or less into the society, for not counting their mutations, they can be a lot like humans. Some mutations are so hard to notice that they can be kept secret , especially when dealing with strangers for a brief moment.

 

Bit more uncommon are horns and tusks, non-usable wings, gills, limbs that operate differently or have different joint-directions than normals (compare human and goat legs for example), hooves, different sort of eyes and ears with different capability for vision or hearing from the normal humans. These are not unknown, but most who are this far mutated are treated as a greater threat than the lesser mutos descriped before.

 

And then there are the true freaks and cursed ones. Those that have human features in minority and are truly closer to somekind of a beast than a man. Twisted bodies, unnatural coloring, claws, tumors. Many children of this type are just cast away when the tribe moves or left to wilderness if they are born to human parents.

 

It is not known why some mutos manifest their curse on a later age; some live just like humans for long time before they show their true colors. These ”hidden mutos” cause considerable anxiety in the tribe when they manifest their powers. Especially their potential children are under close scrutiny. No explanation is offered, this just happen, just like two totally healthy and pure humans can give birth to a horribly mutated child or two mutos can produce a pure human child; it is even likely if the parents do not share mutations. Mixed pairs often get muto children, even though the resulting mutation might be different than the one that the muto parent has. It is widely frowned upon for the mutos to have pure blooded mates, though. In some tribes it is a worst possible crime.

 

Together with the fear of mutations, the human breeding is overshadowed by the general difficulty of reproduction – infertility is common. So are miscarriage, premature birth and stillborn babies; all of which is followed by the very common ”birthbed fever”. On the top of this, many individuals just don't reach sexual maturity ever (no periods or semen) and those who do just don't get offsprings. Or if they do, it only happens with one partner, not with others later on. The mutos have the same problems. And especially rare is that strongly mutated freak and a human would succeed in making babies (and those who manage to get born are typically Flawed Ones, usually the most deformed of those, the ones who do not live past their first week). None of these things have any valid explanations.

 

All in all, the divide between men and mutos is deep. ”We” against ”the Others” mindset lives strong and both parties look badly upon newborns of the wrong race or mixed race couples. Some hide their hatred better than the rest and some even try to understand, try to see something in the Others, something that could be seen as part of ”We”, or at least similarity with ”We”. And then there are those who openly curse, ridicule and treat the Others like animals. Some humans encircle their camps with bodies of dead mutos or cut trophies to be carried with themselves. Some mutos eat humans and pile their skulls near their homes.

 

Humans call mutants ”mutos” , ”wrong races” and ”the Others” even at their best. Less amiacable names include freaks, creeps, horrors, gibberlings, abominations, intruders... Then again, the mutos don't discuss the humans with any more flowery languages with their peers; the names for the humans include weaklings, halfers, the unripe, rawlings, babykillers, stalkers, lackfleshs... The both sides share the hatred of the other and the fear that the ”Other” side will come and wipe away all that remains of the ”We”-side, taking possession of the little that remains of the world.





    • ♦ • ♦ •





​OFFGAME STUFF



To inform and comfort you all:

My fellow larpers; do not worry. This is a LARP with airsoft elements. This is not an airsoft scenario. Ammunition will be regulated by the gamemasters and while combat will most likely take place, there is no need to think that it will be the main interest of most characters. Shooting your way through this game will end up with your character all alone in a hostile world AND without ammo. Even the warmongers, who have more airsoft elements will have to remember this.

​

Consider this : Humans are the natural resource that is most scarce and vulnerable. The Warlord has no need for empty villages. He has need for slaves, subjects and followers. And it would be nice to have those precious few bullets left in case something really nasty shows up. So being trigger happy is not really a good idea.




Combat Simulation :
We will have airsoft guns, latex weapons and "slow fighting". Please, read and understand the page "Conflict rules".





Other simulation :
Technical skills and others will be simulated by solving puzzles. If you find a broken piece of machinery that you wish to use, it will have an offgame letter attached to it, containing several puzzles of between levels 0-3. You choose the one that corresponds to your skill level and after you solve the puzzle, you have fixed the machine.



 

Which languages I can use to play?
All the character and game information will be given out in English and it's also the common language in game. You can still use Latvian, Finnish, Russian or Swedish/Scandinavian ect... in the game. If there are great amounts of other nationalities in the game, they are also allowed to speak their native languages during the game. You know each supported language as well as you know it in real life.



So again: Your character is able to speak all the languages you know. Might not call them with the same names, but somehow he/she has learned them along the way. It's Europe, people talk with many different languages and dialects. Reading and writing is regulated though and that ability is given by the GM's during character creation. 





What and who will I play?
In sign up sheet, you can assign a numbers for different options, 1 being the one you MOST desire for your character and 3 being the one you would still be able to play even if you prefer others over it. You are required to use numbers 1,2 and 3 in the sign up. The organizers will try to put you in one of these factions or contact you if they have something else in mind for you.

 

After factions, you can specify the things you would like to experience in the game setting.

Some factions will have totally pre-written characters, in others you can opt for workshopped characters and it is not impossible to opt to write your own back story (which must be approved by the gamemasters before the game). You can always choose a pre-written character.



You can also use the forum of this game to talk with your contacts before the game. You know... create some memories, socialize, brainstorm, work on your factions inner hierarchy...





About sleeping and food and alcohol and other things I'm worried right now...

​No need to worry. First of all I want to point out that information about all of these (and some other) things will be provided in info mails you will get along the way. But I tell you this: Yes, there will be food, there will be shelter, you need your own sleeping gears, earplugs might be a good idea, we are planning to have one ingame night, and... (and this is important!) absolutely NO DRINKING REAL ALCOHOL DURING THE GAME. Seriously guys, that means you. Yeah, you! Even if you happen to be our very best friend in real life. We don't want to combine drunken people with guns. We have this hunch it might be a bad idea.



​

And please note this:

The GMs hold the right to choose their players. In the other words: if you know you're in a black list of any of the GMs don't bother signing up. (These people should know very well who they are, so if this doesn't ring any bell you're most likely fine.)