Slack Channel

A fairly minor announcement:

I very rarely use Discord but am on Slack all the time for work. I miss a lot of messages on Discord but appreciate that it gives people a forum space disconnected from this one.

We will continue to use Facebook and our website for major announcements, but I’ve created a Slack channel for our games. I’m going to keep the Discord channel open because there are some people who use it heavily, but I personally will be shifting over to Slack.

Come join if Slack is your thing! It takes a slight learning curve but is pretty simple.

Link will expire in 30 days:

https://join.slack.com/t/witchtowerslarps/shared_invite/zt-29fgxuhzr-~Pr389o9YnIT7T9VwcRg5A

Zealot Event 2 Registration

Hello everyone!

Thank you for a wonderful Event 1–and it’s already time for Event 2!

We really need to know who is coming so that we can plan sleeping arrangements.

The registration link is here:
https://forms.gle/mtgoPZSbdDRWdVJY7

Event 2 will occur at Camp Denison in Georgetown, MA. There are a few differences between Denison and Middlesex–namely, the sleeping space. Denison has in-cabin sleeping space for 30 individual PCs and tenting space for many more. Additionally, you need to provide your own bedding for Denison, as the campsite beds do not provide mattresses. (When we PC at Denison, we are generally fine bringing a foam mat and a sleeping bag.) The cabins themselves are very spacious and generally nicer than those at Middlesex–you can easily just bring a cot.

When you register, please indicate what sleeping arrangement you intend to do. Between cots, those planning on offsite sleeping, and tenting, we think we are able to accommodate every PC on site.

In order to play Event 2, you must register by November 1 2023. If you register and pay by October 25, you will have a free magic item draw at check-in.

More logistics below:

The event will run November 17-19 2023 at Camp Denison in Georgetown, MA. (84 Nelson St, Georgetown, MA 01833)
The event is $100 with the option of a $35 meal plan.
Check-in will be on Friday from 8:30pm-10:00pm. Out of Game opening is from 10:30pm-11pm. Game runs until roughly 3pm on Sunday. There will be a two hour dinner break from 7:30-9:30pm.
Compared to Middlesex, there is less space for PC food. There is one cabin in the sleeping area where PCs will have access to a refrigerator, a sink, and a microwave. PCs will need to provide their own cutlery and flatware if they are not on the meal plan.
The in-game explanation for the difference in campsites will be forthcoming later this week.

Meal Plan Menu

Brunch 11am
Baked beans, oatmeal, fruit, bread, cheese, coffee, and juice

Dinner 7:30
Beef stew, roasted vegetables, rice and beans, bread, salad

Snacks (late night and throughout the day)
Assorted desserts, crackers and cheese, fruit, beverages

Event 1: Gods Road Edict and Announcements

(Please see the bottom of this post for Out of Game announcements.)

Plain text below.

Plain text below.

Gods Road Edict (full text)

To Current Residents of Gods Road:

As you may have heard, a new cohort of Devout will soon be taking up the Highgate Barracks of Gods Road. They will be arriving in a little under a month and joining our township as the attending Devout.

We the High Clergy have personally called these Devout to replace those lost to the Abyssal Incursion of the last year. They are individually revered for their talent, determination, and unique service to their Patron Gods. To those of you who are not yet caught up on the current events and the necessity of Devout presence, a brief reminder:

The Abyssal Scar nearest Gods Road has been increasingly active and deadly. The Devout lives lost to it are not insignificant, and it has started to directly threaten the layfolk of Gods Road. It needs to be guarded and maintained.
With the guidance of the Rakes family, the High Clergy has convened and decided to formally reinvigorate exploration of the Abyss. Paladin Pilar Rakes of Beodhen and Nepheris will lead expeditions but has mandated that only Devout be allowed to pursue such endeavors.
Criminal activities have increased in Gods Road and surrounding areas. These need to be marshaled effectively.

Which leads us to the most immediate matter at hand.

We approach the Day of Negotiation, the Highest of Holy Days of Nepheris. As is longstanding tradition, the Old Laws of Circadia will be committed to the realm of Shadows and Truth but erased from formal practice. The laws of all Circadia will be written by the attending Devout of Highgate with guidance from the High Clergy and lay representatives. These laws will govern Circadia until the next Day of Negotiation, at which point they too will be overturned.

This is both a great honor and burden. The attending Devout will need to come together to imagine how the legal proceedings of the next year will work.

This is an especially difficult responsibility for the Devout new to this area: indeed, the large influx of newcomers makes this a complex process. However, we the High Clergy will invite them to make their perspectives known, and we will ask them to invite a new year based on their experiences.

The current laws of Circadia have been in effect for decades, but they no longer serve our needs. We are soundly out of the Blood War, and new threats and opportunities emerge.

As always, we invite any layfolk interested in contributing their ideas to submit them in writing or by verbal report. Sébastien Silverschloss, the innkeeper of Highgate Barracks, will mediate your contributions.

Every non-heretical voice, Devout or not, will be heard.

The formal Negotiations will begin at the start of the 14th Day of the Tenth Month; they will continue until the dinner hours, at which point a representative will arrive to draft the proposed rules. Immediately at the end of the dinner hour, the rules will be read aloud and submitted for formal codification and circulation.

I trust you will offer this new group of Devout a warm welcome and the respect they are due. While they may be new to our area, they are seasoned veterans in many walks of life.

In Service,

The High Clergy

Petra Lionhardt, High Priestess of Beodhen

Myr’naianesa, High Priestess of Nepheris

Duncan of Fairchild, High Priest of Steramestei

Cyrus and Milot Aspera, High Priests of Kasamei

Sympathy Called Sincerity, High Priest of T’Zyri

Out of Game Announcements

Please register! We will start sending out individualized in-game materials in the next few weeks. We need your sign-up and character history to do so.

The Registration Link is here.

The Donations List is now available. Contact us if you have any questions. (Zealot.larp@gmail.com.)

Click here for Donations List.

We would like people to start signing up for In-Game spaces that they will take responsibility for. I’ve heard specific interest from three players, but I’d like you all to formally sign-up.

As we discussed, we are providing the opportunity for PCs to earn CP by taking responsibility for a PC space in order to earn CP. Anyone involved in adopting a space will receive 1 CP per event they decorate the space. This CP does not count to your overall CP cap. (You can go over cap.)

Your responsibilities would include:

Setting up the space and cleaning it up at game-off.
Providing props. (One exception.)
Storing the props and bringing them to site. (We are flexible on this if storage and transport would prevent a person from adopting a space.)

PC Tavern Spaces

Table 1: Shrine to Beodhen, Open

Table 2: Shrine to Nepheris, Open

Table 3: Shrine to T’Zyri, Open

Table 4: Open Concept, Open

Table 5: Open Concept, Open

Other Spaces

Outdoor Pavilion: Shrine to the Sisters, Open (props are provides for this, including the pavilion; we will store this)

Mac’s Shack: Auxiliary PC space, Claimed

If you have other suggestions, we are open to hearing them. Multiple players will be welcome to collaborate on a space. We also know that some people who may be interested in setting up a space regularly may not be able to make it to game–we know life happens and will work with you should that arise.

Playtest Logistics

Hello players!

We’re gearing up for the playtest and wanted to give you a sense of what to expect.

Firstly, logistics:

August 12, 2pm-9:30pm, social space reserved for after the playtest.
Sturbridge Host Hotel and Conference Center
Sturbridge, MA

Please feel free to arrive/leave at any point during the event. We’ll have light refreshments and beverages, but you’ll be on your own for dinner. (The area has a lot of good nearby restaurants, and the in-hotel restaurant is usually open. You’re of course more than welcome to bring your own food, but there are no accessible microwaves/fridges.)

The event is divided into three parts: out-of-game discussion, in-game playtest, and character consultations throughout the day.

Costuming
Costuming is as you feel comfortable! Staff will be fully costumed for the in-game portion. “Renfaire lite” is perfectly ok! We don’t expect people to have fully formed characters, let alone costumes. If you don’t have a costume, we suggest a minimum of NPC blacks to build immersion, but this isn’t a hard and fast rule.

Tavern
The PC “tavern” area will be divided into two spaces. An in-game space and an out-of-game space for talk and character consultations. We’ll have a copy or two of the rules for perusal. (We won’t be making any edits until after the playtest.)

Theme
The playtest takes place during pivotal battles during the Blood War. These aren’t the major moments, such as the fall of Hyrnedhna, but instead important turning points in the war. While the war has an outcome, PC actions will shape the nuances!
Read about the Blood War here:
https://zealotlarp.com/lore-and-mythology/the-blood-war/

Your character may have strong feelings about the Blood War, but, for the purpose of the playtest, all players are on the side of Beodhen against T’rer and Hyrnedhna. If this is not how your character might act, you should feel free to be conflicted. Roleplay as is fun for you, but remember that this decision is a pragmatic one for playtest purposes!

In particular, we will be emphasizing how the current High Priests came into power through action in the Blood War. This will give you a good sense of the themes of the game from a lower political level.

A refresher on political structure:
https://zealotlarp.com/2023/07/24/circadian-political-structures-in-detail/

As you know, you have the option of playing either your intended PC or a prewritten character. If you are playing your PC, you will experience the event as a vision and will retain the knowledge in the game world. If you are playing a prewritten PC, you are a canonical part of the history. If you like, you may build these prewritten characters into your own history for game. Roleplay as is fun for you.

You can still register at this link:
https://forms.gle/JzXVcyM9KFMC7M2VA

The schedule is below.

See you soon!
Zoe, Scott, Michael, Crystal, Cardin, and Ezra

Out-of-Game Playtest

2-3:30pm, Game Philosophy and Discussion
American Grille/PC Tavern

In-Game Playtest
Note: The designation of the Gods refers to the general themes of the encounters, not the appearance of the Gods themselves.

3:30pm-4:30pm, Beodhen and Nepheris
Brazen Paladin of Beodhen and daughter of the esteemed Lionhardt family, Petra Lionhardt leads Beodhen’s army on an important mission. While the God Nepheris has proclaimed his own neutrality, he has nevertheless supplied his brother Beodhen with ample supply routes. In order to buoy wartime supply lines, Beodhen’s followers, led by Petra, must establish emergency silos along the routes. They are sure to encounter belligerent forces from T’rer’s followers and the Hyrnedhnai.

4:30pm-5:30pm Steramestei and Kasamei
War has taken its toll on the populace, and Kasamei and her followers have found themselves overwhelmed with shepherding the dead to their final rest. Indeed, in addition to her High Priest Cyrus Aspera, Kasamei has welcomed his younger brought Milot Aspera as a secondary High Priest.

However, taking pause from their normal work, High Priests Cyrus and Milot are performing work on behalf both Steramestei and Kasamei. Followers of Steramestei have been besieged by disturbing visions, and they need assistance from the Seers of Kasamei to make sense of such things.

5:30pm-6:30pm The Abyss
Up and coming Paladin of Steramestei, Duncan of Fairchild, comes to lead interested parties towards what he believes is an Abyssal Scar. Heinous Corrupted forces are spewing forth from it, and Duncan–momentarily removing himself from the Blood War proper–wants to assuage it before it harms the nearby towns and villages.

6:30-7:30pm Mynair and Hyrnedhna
High Priestess of the dead Goddess Mynair, Myr’naianesa, reluctantly joins to fray to protect the Mynaira: the Hyrnedhnai have began establishing forts closer and closer to the coastline, threatening the Mynaira in hiding. Using what little of Mynair’s magic remaining, Myr’naianesa has agreed to deliver one final flood. It will surely be a horrific battle: Hyrnedhna’s High Priest Amik–destroyer of Fairchild–marches chief among the ranks.

7:30pm-8:30pm Verine, Opix, and T’rer
The time has come for the most dangerous assault against T’rer’s elite forces. This is a decisive battle and will surely be deadly for all sides. As anticipation mounts, however, Verine has quietly entered the fray: while Beodhen’s armies launch an assault against T’rer, Verine has a special task for her followers–something she’s assured will win the war, even if the battle is lost. She has sent her favored Paladin, Cyriaque Beausejour, to rally followers on her behalf.

8:30pm-9:30pm Gu’labir and T’Zyri
With the fate of the battle against T’rer’s elite decided, there is one more (surprising) matter of business: T’Zyri has sent a Worship Leader, Sympathy, to request the aid of Beodhen’s allies–including her own followers. She has also requested the favor of Gu’labir’s chosen–an odd choice for the Goddess currently committed to becoming a reigning Pantheon member. Sympathy has assured that, while a matter of ritual, it will likely be dangerous and perhaps even…unseemly.

You are not expected to participate in every mod, though no one will be turned away. We do encourage you to attend the ones that most interest you! Please anticipate time to roleplay in-between encounters–much of the “lore” will come out through conversation with staff and other players. (Particularly prewritten characters! You’re playing important members of the war effort.)

Character consultations will occur throughout the day.

We’re very, very excited!