Play Experience
Bonds Unbroken is an international style larp that focuses on both interpersonal drama and an unfolding narrative that every character will have a chance to get involved with.
What will the larp be like?
A mix of triumph and tragedy
This isn’t a misery larp, or a larp where you should expect everything to go your character’s way – the tone should be dramatic, rather than either grimdark or silly. You’ll get a chance to be a hero, but you’ll also have to face tough situations and choices.
A collaborative ethos where we lift each other
While there will be antagonism between the characters and with the NPCs, all the players, crew and organisers are on the same side and want everyone to be able to tell a compelling story.
Pre-written characters and relationships
All the characters are prewritten and form an interwoven network of relationships that is a core part of the larp design. You’ll spend a significant portion of your larp navigating those relationships, with the bonded pairs taking centre stage.
Constrained narrative freedom
There’s a trajectory to the plot that you’ll be asked to help unfold, including events that some or all of the characters will be encouraged to take part in. But how you play your character within that framework, the decisions you make, and the direction of your personal play are all entirely up to you.
Mixed transparency
All of the character sheets will be available to all of the players, and there will be offgame visibility of some things the characters wouldn’t know such as when unexpected events might take place. There will also be hidden story elements that you will discover through play – but if you have concerns about triggers or information flow before or during play, the organisers will be happy to have an open conversation with you.
Theatre style action
There will be combat both mundane and magical, but the outcomes will be calibrated in advance rather than determined by numerical systems. Action scenes will be played out in dramatic slow motion, with each side taking turns in a conversational style so there’s plenty of time for character moments and no requirement for offgame combat skill.
Calibration and metatechniques
Bonds Unbroken puts understanding and safety ahead of 100% immersion, so while we don’t expect people to be dropping out of character or planning full scenes in advance, we do expect players to calibrate ahead of violent, intimate or otherwise risky scenes. There will also be a small set of metatechniques to help you quickly communicate things that are important to the larp design or safety.
Workshops and debriefs
There will be mandatory workshops to make sure everyone is on the same page before play starts, show you how certain aspects of the larp works, and let you meet and talk to your relations. There will also be both a small mandatory and a larger optional debrief after play to connect with your fellow players offgame.
What will I be doing?
Playing with your bond partner
Your partner might be your ride or die best friend, the most complicated relationship you have, or anything in between, but they’ll always be there to face everything else that’s going on side by side with you. That’s why we recommend you sign up with someone you know you enjoy playing with.
Navigating your relationships
Things can get complicated in the Hall of Light when your ex is now your boss or your sibling wants to bond someone who hates you or you have to join forces with your rival to save the world, and you’ll have to find your way through that tangled web.
Working with the Circles
For Lightspinners and Wardens, the others in your Circle are supposedly your allies while other Circles may be at odds with you, though things are rarely simple. You’ll deal with your internal politics and decide what face to show the rest of the Hall of Light, all while performing your Circle’s rituals and fulfilling your individual roles to keep the place running.
Attending lessons
Initiates and Squires will attend lessons run by NPC teachers, where you will will gain more exposure to how things work at the Hall of Light and perhaps learn some things that the Lightspinners and Wardens have long forgotten.
Uncovering the truth
Through interacting with other characters, NPCs, documents and props, you’ll learn what’s going on in the world and start to understand your options for the future and the consequences of those choices. Then you and your Circle will have to decide what to do about it.
Protecting the Hall of Light
While everything else is going on, the Hall of Light will be in serious danger, magical, martial, and political, and everyone will be expected to do their part to protect it, with each Circle, along with any Initiates or Squires they find promising, having the opportunity to show off their unique skills.
Safety, conduct and welfare
Safety is top priority at Bonds Unbroken, and we want to build a play community where everyone feels safe and supported both in and offgame.
The safety team is there for everyone
The dedicated safety team will be available during play hours and at the afterparty, and will give workshops on safety techniques as well as different styles of debriefs. They aren’t mental health professionals, but they are there to support players, volunteers and organisers who need someone to talk to.
The safety team are also there to step in if any situations or participants become unsafe, and may take action from talking to the people involved, asking people to step offgame for a while, requiring that someone leave the event, or involving law enforcement if necessary. Everyone involved in the larp should respect them and follow their instructions to keep Bonds Unbroken as safe as possible.
If you do need to speak to the safety team about safety or welfare during the event or afterparty, remember it doesn’t have to be a “crisis” situation, we’re happy to chat about it with you. Please don’t ever think that a concern you have might be “too small”.
Take care of yourself
Safety is our top priority, but no one can look after you better than you. Drink water, eat food, get rest, and generally keep an eye on your own wellbeing. If you know there are things that help you or things you need support with, tell the people around you.
Know your own boundaries and state them clearly to your coplayers, especially if you play on content or scenes that are close to your limits. Remember that the people around you will be grateful that you told them how to play safely rather than risking doing something that might hurt you because they weren’t aware.
Always get consent
Consent is king, ingame and offgame. The safest way to obtain consent is to ask explicitly, but it is also acceptable to get implicit consent by escalating interactions slowly, ensuring everyone has time to opt out or stop the escalation using safety techniques. Everyone can opt out of any interaction at any time for any reason, and this should always be respected.
There is a baseline of consent that you indicate by being present in the play space: you are open to verbal play with others, and to being touched on the hands and arms as long as you see the contact coming and have time to back away if you prefer. Safety techniques will exist to allow you to revoke this consent at any time.
Be inclusive, respectful and compassionate
Offgame harassment of any kind towards anyone involved in the larp will not be tolerated. That means there will be no offgame verbal or physical abuse, no harassment or intentionally causing offgame upset to other participants, and no disparagement of anyone’s ethnicity, age, sexuality, religion or belief, body shape, disability, neurotype, or any other characteristic. There may be negative ingame comments about characters’ gender, but these should not be replicated offgame.
There will be a diverse mix of people from different cultures at the larp so there’s a possibility for misunderstanding. You should correct people who make genuine mistakes gently, and accept any corrections with gratitude and make a good faith attempt not to repeat the mistake.
What topics might come up at the larp?
Content that you will encounter
This content is baked into the larp’s premise and it will be present to some extent in every character’s experience. If you don’t want to play on these themes at all, this larp isn’t for you.
- Sexism against all genders from different people
- War, violence and imperialism
- Power and control of others
- Political and interpersonal struggles and betrayal
Content that you might encounter
This content will be present in the larp somewhere, either in character backstories or in play. You can ask for it to not be present in your character and can opt out of scenes if it comes up during play.
- Consensual romance / intimacy
- Toxic or abusive relationships with friends, family or partners
- Discrimination against coreland / ringland characters
- Death of loved ones
- Suicide
- Inability or impending inability to continue your way of life due to age, illness or disability
- Realising you have been complicit in doing harm without your knowledge
- Inquisition or torture
Content that you shouldn’t encounter
This content won’t be written into the larp and players must not adlib it in.
- Sexual violence
- Racism
- LGBTQ+ phobia
- Bodyshaming