Seraph - a J&T Larp Production

VISION FOR THE EXPERIENCE

At Seraph, we are portraying individuals who have a singular goal they are desperate to achieve. They’ve sought the occult as a last act to get what they want, and now need to find out if their heart’s desire is worth what they will need to do and the price they will need to pay to earn it.

Through tight and transparent design, as well as extensive and thoughtful workshops, we will create a level of trust and confidence between the participants that will allow them to create very impactful and emotional roleplay throughout the weekend. The play style is immersive and heavily focuses on each character’s personal journey. We want our participants to engage in close relationships and in safe exploration of boundaries, thoughts, and philosophies.

Throughout the game, our participants will have the calibration systems and trust to delve into hard, emotional play. All character sheets will have heavy themes, such as deceit, honesty, manipulation, romantic feelings and lack thereof. Characters will need to confront these topics and explore how these themes affect themselves and the people around them in order to prove themselves worthy of achieving the key to receive what they want.

The occult setting is a backdrop to drive the story forward, and we will use rituals and like activities to evoke a mood and create impactful play. It is a setting piece and underlying guiding thread more than a mechanic or a system to be engaged with. Seraph is not about magic or using powers. Similarly it's not trying to emulate being in a cult, or dealing with those dynmaic. And if it isn't clear, it's also not a larp about summoning demons and using their cool powers.

Additionally, we aim to create a story where some characters will fail in their quest to acquire a key from Sedael for one reason or another. The ultimate decision on the story of the characters will lie with the players, but our goal is to make it possible to create a storyline where the tragic outcome may sometimes be a better choice than the happy one.

SAFETY AND CALIBRATION MECHANICS

Journeys and Tales have a safety system with calibration mechanics in place to ensure players know what to expect at the larp, how to have calibrations with fellow players when a scene is taking place, and if necessary, how to leave the scene and be taken care of afterward.

For Seraph, our safety system is different from our other games, so please read this in detail. It is built around informed consent before the game, which includes: pre-game information with themes and ingredients, baselines for interaction, expectations for personal responsibility and enthusiastic consent, and how to use slow escalation and tap-out mechanics.

We’ve chosen this system as we believe it will allow for the most immersive and intense roleplay at this event and create a very unobtrusive system for calibration and interactions. You can read the full details in our Safety and Calibration Mechanics Document.

Baselines for Interaction.
Players should be comfortable with the following actions as a general part of the larp: shouting, pushing, general altercations, psychological manipulation, yelling and arguing, crying, hugging, general touching, romantic play. In addition there will be sexual situations in the game. The exceptions to this are that we expect everyone not to grab people from behind and also not grab the “beach body,” i.e., the area covered by a bikini.

The complete system is written out in more detail in our Safety Document, but you can find the highlights below. We will do extensive workshops on the system before the larp starts.

Personal Resonsibility. We expect you to have self-knowledge of your own limits and be responsible for all actions that happen to you and your character. You are responsible for your boundaries and safety and communicating these clearly to other players and organizers.

Off-game Discussion. We expect everyone to calibrate their play through off-game discussions. These can happen during the workshops, off-game periods, before big scenes, or even from interactions outside this larp.

Slow Escalation. Slow escalation means clearly communicating your intentions in character and getting a clear, enthusiastic response before you proceed. Essentially we’re talking about dropping not-so-subtle hints about your intentions.

Enthusiastic Consent. We want everyone to feel safe and secure, and we expect players to show enthusiastic consent to help calibrate scenes and interactions. Players will demonstrate this by clearly communicating their consent during slow escalation in how they respond to fellow players. If a player does not give a clear “yes” for interaction, it should be considered a “no,” and further slow escalation should continue. No action should happen to a character without it having been calibrated via the mechanics in play.

Tap Out. If you find yourself in a situation where you would like to de-escalate or leave a scene, you will tap your co-player’s arm or another convenient part of their body twice at which point you can end, change the scene or leave as required without any questions or repercussions. We encourage players to use tap-out as a part of the collaboration so all participants can have a fantastic and safe larp without feeling ashamed or embarrassed.

CONTENT

Main Themes

There will be many themes in Seraph that people may find challenging to play on. These include, but are not limited to, deceit, abuse, manipulation, romantic feelings or lack thereof, and mental illness. People who sign up to play will be given the opportunity to list which themes and topics they prefer not to engage with in their own character, but those themes and topics may still be present in the game.
Participants must be comfortable leaning into these and other topics that are often difficult or challenging to discuss in real life; avoiding them or refusing to engage with these topics will affect the integrity of the larp and affect others’ experiences.

Keywords are: Drama, supernatural, occult, type 2, loss, angels, rituals, sensual and romantic play, shouting, pushing, altercations, psychological manipulation, flirting, heartbreak, betrayal, toxic relationships, yelling and arguing, crying, hugging, touching, trust between players, unhappy endings.

What the game is not about

Possession by supernatural beings or similar madness mechanics.
Killing/tricking the angel and stealing the keys.
Winning or solving a plot.
Real-life sexual acts.
Characters dying.
Being in a cult.
External slasher horror, demon possessions, or violence.
Mechanics or using powers and magic.

COSTUMING

As the larp takes place in September 2021 at Gabriel’s rural retreat, players should bring modern-day clothes that they feel would fit their character. For those that enjoy sewing and costuming, we do welcome more elaborate pieces if people feel like it. After all, it’s not every day that you summon an angel, and it’s perfectly acceptable to embrace that. That being said, there are two significant costuming requirements.

Weather permitting, a large part of the play will occur outside, so players should bring clothing and footwear that is good for short walks through grass or fields. Though the ranch is large, we will primarily be playing in an area with no more than 5 min walk between the different houses.

Additionally, all participants are required to bring a robe for rituals. We will supply you with a pattern and acceptable colors if you wish to make one yourself and also provide a link to several options if you would prefer to purchase one. We're not look at anything elaborate and expect something in the 20-30 USD range if purchased.