Expedition Asphodel

A group of explorers

consisting of competent officers, educated scientists, hard-working crewmen, hopeful settlers and brave soldiers, sets off onto an unexplored island in Northern Canada. In the name of the British Empire and by order of the Admiralty, they are hoping to claim, charter and settle those wild lands.

Soon they will discover that something strange is afoot.


Theme

We are telling the story of a group of British explorers, sailors and settlers who get lost on an expedition, encounter unexplainable things in an unknown land, run out of supplies and in the end

destroy themselves, succumbing to their own hubris.

Make no mistake: we are playing on the bad side of history here. The game will not be an off-game glorification of these themes but allow us to explore them in a safe space and enable us to reflect critically. The story will not have a happy end.


The themes we explore are:

Imperialism

It is our God-given duty and right to claim possession of the world and save it from its natural primitiveness

Colonialism

Our efforts in exploration will lead to profit and flourishing new settlements

Hubris

We will be successful whatever the odds, because we are the peak of evolution in science and faith

Oppression

There is a natural order within society and this hierarchy must be upheld to prevent chaos

Patriotism

It is an honor to make sacrifices for queen and country, because we’re allowed to be part of something bigger than ourselves and our insignificant lives get relevance

Repression

Emotions and temptations are primitive, and succumbing to them is a sin

Play Philosophy

Participants will come from different parts of the world and bring different cultures to our game. To ensure everyone’s emotional and physical safety, we will use a few basic sentiments as the foundation for our play together.

Co-Creative Play

While this larp builds on a strong foundation for organizer-written plot, we expect players to take initiative to enhance their own game, both before and during the event. We can assist you but you are just as much part of making this experience as we are. We need you to be responsible for your own well-being and fun and actively speak up, seek help and put in the effort to make this experience good for yourself.

Play to Drama

The stories we wish to tell are driven by narrative first, by logic second. This order is very important to us as we prefer a story to be beautifully told rather than for it to make 100% sense. That’s why we would like our participants to let their in-game decisions be driven by the questions “What creates the most play?” if they are in doubt.

Play to Lift

The stage of this larp is a shared one and as such needs a certain empathetic recognition of where your own bit of stage ends and that of another begins. We want our players to play each other up, highlight each others’ characters’ strong suits and thus be able to trust in each other to respect everyone’s bit of stage.

That way, we can tell the story together, rather than have it be a one-person-show.

“Yes, and…” & Bullshitting

We won’t be releasing a gap-less world-building in which the workings and structures of this world are 100% set and explained - we would much rather leave room here and there for you to fill. That means that we expect all participants to accept each others’ ideas and conform to a certain amount of “bullshitting” when gaps are being filled. Get used to saying “Yes, and…” and weaving your own thoughts into an idea that someone else presents you with during the game.

Gameplay


What happens most of the time

These are the foundation of the larp and will be harder to opt out of or avoid.

  • Actively playing on and enforcing an oppressive system (all characters will be perpetrators to some degree)
  • Getting desperate by not finding an escape
  • Pushing the limits of human morality
  • Being superstitious
  • Trying to explain unexplainable things
  • Exploring an unnamed “Canadian” island
  • Fighting an invisible enemy in the land and surroundings
  • Getting sick, mentally and physically
  • Protecting your reputation
  • Forming deep friendship and camaraderie in a society with strict rules
  • Fulfilling a chain of command and playing on strict hierarchy
  • Having disagreements about how things are being done properly

What happens some of the time

These are just a few examples of smaller events or interactions that may happen but can possibly be avoided.

Please talk to us if any of these concern you.

Naming discovered thing | Raising flags | Walking through the forest exploring and gathering resources | Witnessing or being involved in violent conflicts | Cannibalism | Playing on punishments e.g. chores, physical harm, up to execution | Cleaning things | Building things | Making music | Following bad plans | Kissing your lover in secret | Exploring sexuality in a suppressed environment | Holding a Sunday service | Experiencing visions, spirits or delirium | Getting addicted to substances | Playing football | Celebrating | Encountering horror elements | etc.


What is expected of players

  • Going on hikes through the forest, both during the day and during the night (can be opted out of)
  • Playing bad people
  • Enduring the eerie and gritty atmosphere
  • Sharing a room with a lot of people or sleeping in tents
  • Willing to play on oppression. Some characters suffer under the system, but even those enforce it. If you only want to play a victim this is not the game for you - we want to explore how in an oppressive system you are part of it, even if you suffer under it
  • Being outside a lot. We will have some inside rooms and an outside area with a roof, but expect to be outside in the forest a lot with European October weather
  • Being aware that we deal with a historical topic that has dealt a lot of harm. This is a thing we want to address, which leads to the larp not only being a fun reality escape.
  • Accepting that we might not get everything right when dealing with difficult historical topics and being willing to give feedback, so we can do better next time.
  • Being okay with an ingame cast of characters existing in the Victorian perception of gender, with the majority of them being male. However you are encouraged to play any ingame gender no matter what offgame gender you identify with.
  • Staying in game a lot, not planning every scene and trusting the mechanics
  • Being ok with playing in a violent setting

What not to expect

These are activities or playstyles we do not wish to appear within this larp.

Impersonation of people affected by racism:

we will not be depicting any racially-marginalised groups ourselves as these are not our stories to tell. We will, however, be informed by members of affected cultures.

Finding all the answers & solving all the mysteries
A happy ending
Successful rebellion against the hierarchy
Play to win
Play on sexual abuse
Characters commiting suicide

Possible Triggers

If you are worried about less-common triggers that you have, please do not hesitate to ask us about it. We are also open to questions about if/how those triggers can be avoided but we cannot promise it’s possible. Most of the situations will be designed in an opt-out way rather than an opt-in experience.

Fake Blood
Loud Noises
Darkness
Occultism, Supernatural Elements
Death
Talk about suicide
Flashing Lights, Smoke
Drugs & Alcohol
Implied Sexual Activities
Partial Nudity
Mental Illness
Discrimination based on Gender, Sexuality, Class or Nationality
Ableism

Note: We do not expect ableism to be a major theme or point of oppression but with playing on mental and physical illnesses, it is something that may come up occasionally. We leave it up to the players how much you want to engage with this.