It’s a cold snap in November, so I must be in a thin-walled caravan in West Sussex. Ah, yes, I’m starting this post at 2025’s “Radical” Consequences, the UK’s main freeform larp convention. (It feels very British to have our premier freeform larp convention held in a cold, rainy holiday park!)
I’ve written about Consequences before, so let’s get on with the larps. I played four, ran two and facilitated two games of Fiasco. Phew!
Thursday
Consequences started at 7 pm, so after a happily uneventful drive, I arrived ready to play my first game.
4
4 is an eight-player game set in 2013(ish) written by Graham Charles, Natalie Curd, Nick Curd and Tony Mitton.
I played Charlie, who had been committed to St Agnes’ mental health facility for his obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The game itself was structured into three acts.
- The first is a short exercise set in St Agnes’ to reinforce our names and why we are at St Agnes’. (“I am Charlie. I am here because…. This is Bobbi; they are here because…”) It was surprisingly effective.
- The second act is set a few weeks after a tragedy, with us exploring our feelings about what had happened.
- The bulk of the game is contained in the third act, which is a reunion on the site of the tragedy – where things happen, secrets are revealed, and dilemmas must be grappled with.
It’s a lovely game, and I enjoyed it a lot. (My favourite bit was arranging the wine glasses neatly and turning around to see everyone looking at me, and then someone saying “Oh, he’s just being Charlie.”)
It’s probably not for everyone as it includes mental health issues (OCD, paranoia, hallucinations and more). But if you’re up for that, I definitely recommend it.
And with 4 over, I went to bed.
Friday
Friday was cold, but dry. A lovely day with clear blue skies.
The Omega Delivery
The Omega Delivery is a 14-player science fiction game by Tony Mitton and AJ Smith. It’s part of their series of SF games inspired by Firefly, where their design premise was to write a series of episodic games with a cast of core characters (the crew of the Kestrel, in this case) and guest stars.
Last year, I played one of the core characters (Alex Orban, captain of the Kestrel); this year, I played Wye Oliver, a prisoner aboard the secure facility Omega Station, which is suffering from a huge radiation leak. Into this situation came the crew of the Kestrel…
It was nice to play a guest star this time. Last time, as Captain Orban, I was thrown into a situation without really knowing what was going on. This time, as one of the guest stars, I had a much better idea of what was going on, and that was a really nice change of pace.
Again, recommended. Particularly if you can arrange to play all of them – there are six in the series, and this was episode #3, the season 1 cliffhanger.
To Reign in Hentzau
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| Photo by TsiJon |
To Reign in Hentzau is a 25-player game written by David Townsend and John Golden and set in Hentzau, a tiny Eastern European country in the mid-1930s. Hentzau’s Lord Protector has just been assassinated, throwing the country into disarray…
I played Prince Reinhart, heir to the assassinated Lord Protector, so of course I was never going to rule… Amid numerous scheming ministers, corrupt generals, foreign agitators, and my overbearing mother, I never stood a chance…
It was lovely to play a sprawling, complicated political freeform larp, even if I really was a puppet. I had no real leverage – what I wanted was whatever was “best for Hentzau.” But I’m not sure I ever really knew what that was…
Anyway, I had a lovely time.
I had nothing planned for Friday evening, so I had an early night.
So that’s three games so far, and my character has died in two of them. I’m not saying which, but I am keeping count.
Saturday
Saturday was very wet, and it rained and rained. Walking around the site in the dark became particularly tricky without wellies. (Something to consider if the forecast isn’t good.)
All Flesh is Grass and Aurora Horizon
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| All Flesh is Grass photo by TsiJon |
On Saturday, I ran All Flesh is Grass and Aurora Horizon in quick succession. These are both parts of my long-running saga of first-contact science fiction games. All Flesh is Grass is episode 2, and Aurora Horizon is episode 6.
All Flesh is Grass is set in 1965 and involves a mysterious barrier that appears around a small Wisconsin village. Aurora Horizon is set in 2010 and involves a space mission to explore an abandoned spaceship on Callisto. Both are for 13 players.
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| Aurora Horizon photo by TsiJon |
Both went really well. Aurora Horizon is the more ambitious of the two, and fortunately, Abi K was helping me GM – I really needed it. (Kevin J helped me GM All Flesh is Grass, but that’s easier to run, and we spent much of the game chatting.)
My favourite quotes:
- “Do you WANT to destroy the insurance industry?” (All Flesh is Grass, on the promise of tailored plant-based medicine.)
- “I am not going to change the laws of physics for you!” (Aurora Horizon – Commander Archer arguing with one of the Tau.)
I’ve got a few edits to make for both games. Luckily, they aren’t too significant. I’ll do them now while they are fresh in my mind and while I am still enthusiastic. That way, I can put the games away, knowing I can pick them up and run them later.
Next year, I plan to run Children of the Stars (episode #3) and episode #7 (currently unwritten).
Fiasco: The Ice
On Saturday evening, I facilitated a game of Fiasco with Graham, Alli, Kris Alice, and Clare. It was glorious, and I don’t think I laughed as much all weekend.
I hadn’t planned to facilitate Fiasco twice. I originally pitched it for Sunday morning, but after a couple of people had signed up, Kris Alice asked if I could run it on Saturday evening, as we were both free.
As is usual with Fiasco, we spent the first few scenes figuring out how the game was going to go, but once we had an idea, it was pedal to the metal.
I find Fiasco is a great way to hone my improvisational skills. Graham completely shafted my character in his second scene, and with that one call, I became a murderer. I killed my character in my epilogue, which seemed to be the right thing to do.
Sunday
Sunday was cloudy, but at least the rain held off, and the puddles started to dry out.
Fiasco: Dragon Slayers
So this was my original slot for Fiasco. I didn’t pitch Fiasco until after I’d worked out which freeforms I wanted to play. As I had a gap on Sunday morning (and I am an early bird, so mornings don’t frighten me as much as the all-night parties), I pitched Fiasco.
Joining me were Sarah, Julie, Sophie and Kath, and they chose Dragon Slayers, the fantasy-themed set.
I was slightly anxious, as I had only known Kath for any length of time, but I needn’t have worried. Everyone embraced Fiasco’s darkness, and we had a tale of a necromancer and her apprentice, twin sisters, a bounty hunter and his henchmen. Things didn’t go well for me (again), but at least I didn’t die this time.
LDRBRD
And finally, Ldrbrd, a 12-player game set in a video arcade where we played video game characters. I played Sword Guy from a fantasy video game.
While I enjoyed Ldrbrd (although I completely failed to save Princess – and arguably was responsible for her doom), I found the three mini-games dragged on a bit. They were a nice idea, but given the keenly competitive gamers in the group, I felt they dragged on a bit.
Ldrbrd had the best-formatted A5 booklet of the con with text large enough that my 60-year-old eyes could read it even in the dim arcade lighting.
The after-con socials
Consequences is known for its after-game parties. They normally start late (after the evening games, which don’t finish until midnight), which isn’t great for me as I’m an early bird (as already mentioned).
Sunday, though, doesn’t have an evening game, which gave me a chance to socialise before it got too late.
Monday
And on Monday, I had an uneventful drive home.
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