Omorka's Lair

Last Saturday, the Spouse volunteered to do a LARP 101 panel followed by a demo LARP and dance at a local game-and-comic shop. It's a nice space, but it's small, and he wanted to set up his usual wedding-gig DJ rig, so we had the panel in the shop's back room (it only has four non-storage, non-utility rooms, so this is a larger proportion of its space than that sounds like) and then the game in the back yard (after sunset).

I was skeptical that we'd get to run the game at all, but we wound up with exactly enough if I counted the shop owner, the VJ who was running the projector, and both NPCs being played by members of Mythos Houston's usual Keeper corps. Other than them, we had one of our regular Mythos player corps, and one new guy I didn't know at all. We soldiered on, and it ended up working out okay, despite a late start and me losing my chalk (which we were using as game props) twice. The new guy ended up solving most of the mystery, the shop owner stepped in to take on a pivotal plot point near the end, and the Keeper playing the NPC who was secretly the Bad Guy did a wonderful acting job, like he always does.

The game was based on the Phonogram comics, which I like very much and which the Spouse is near-fanatical about. The system is a loose adaptation of Play This Book and the FATE rules set, homebrewed by me into basic playability. I think I want to try running another game of it, ideally with a co-Producer or at least another floor Keeper; we'll have to see what comes up in terms of the availability of the space, though, since I don't want to try to run an outdoor game in Houston between the end of June and the end of September, even after dark. Maybe we could just use the three main rooms of the shop after closing time, if the owner trusts us not to knock stuff over, but I know me and I'm not sure I trust myself not to knock stuff over.

Anyway, I liked it and I hope it goes somewhere.

It's that time of year again, so here we go!

( Rest of letter Behind The Cut )

Anyway, to sum up, thanks for taking on one of these, and above all, write something you enjoy writing!

Okay, so I've been turning the idea over in my head for a LARP based on the Phonogram comics, to be run "under Masquerade," as it were, during the Spouse's DJ nights. Here's the basic idea:

Each phonomancer would have a schtick - the way s/he accumulates musimagickal energy; two tricks - the effects s/he can produce with the energy; and one ritual - a long procedure requiring preparation that produces a longer-term or more intense effect.

Examples:

Schtick - [Canonical] Kohl's is analyzing a song; Penny's is dancing. [Non-canonical] Singing (either along with a song or performing), Playing an instrument, Critiquing a song/piece, Writing music, Building a mixtape/CD/playlist

Tricks -
The Nudge - Implants a simple suggestion for someone to do something that is not outside their normal realm. Examples from the canon: Kohl and Penny both do this to get into clubs by suggesting that they're on the guest list. Won't make someone do something they wouldn't normally do, i.e. serve you a free drink. Phonomancers get to resist (if they win at rock-paper-scissors, they can ignore it).

Glamor - Makes the phonomancer appear more attractive/intelligent/assertive/etc. than they actually are. Pick one attribute to enhance; Glamor (appearance) and Glamor (trustworthy) are two different schticks. Penny has this one in spades; The Girl appears to also have it, and Kohl might.

Lay Down The Whammy - Hexes the target with minor bad luck, such as running into someone they dislike briefly, making their record skip, spilling their drink, etc. Seth does this to himself in the canon.

Blink - Makes the phonomancer unnoticeable to the target(s) for a few seconds. This is more of an SEP field than true invisibility, more useful for blending into a crowd or a quick slip out the door than picking someone's pocket or even stealing their drink.

Spirit-singing - Allows the phonomancer to speak with a spirit resident in a specific location. This does not summon a spirit that isn't already there. Note that if a spirit decides to speak with a phonomancer (as the memory-She does in the second book), they can do so whether the phonomancer has this trick or not; this is required for the phonomancer to initiate the contact.


Rituals have to be developed individually: the Memory Realm ritual, various grimoire-writing rituals, the self-rewriting ritual that Emily used on herself, the more potent version of the Nudge Kohl uses on the Kenickie fangirl in the first book, etc. It's unlikely that these will be used in-game, and they'll all require items of significance - the 45" with the pentacle on the back, the makeup for the Memory Realm ritual, etc.

Everyone starts with enough mojo for two tricks, and can gain back 1 mojo by performing their schtick for 10 minutes of game time.

Anyone interested? Hit me up with character ideas if you are, and I'll see about fleshing out something resembling an actual system.