PÅ SVENSKA * IN ENGLISH



The sharp beam of a flashlight cut like a knife through darkness that had rested for years. The room was a heap of rubble, ruined by a collapsed roof, its wooden planks now reaching out of the dark like legs of some grisly beast. In the entrance there was a figure clad in thick, patched clothing and a small bow slung over her shoulder. Her face was covered with protective goggles and a scarf that covered the mouth and nose. Her name was Anna and she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

She stepped carefully into the room, her eyes locked on to what remained on the roof. The house had fallen in on itself due to snow, and she certainly had no wish to be buried here along with old portraits and moldy furniture. Together with Roj and Håkan she had been sent out to salvage more nails for the camp, and this was their best bet without traveling far. Suddenly she felt a stinging, sour smell that made her skin crawl. Eastgas. Now? Here? Her filter would not last much longer. Just to be sure, she took her alarm whistle, blew it hard and pulled on her protective mask as fast as she could. Hopefully the others had heard it in time.

Wielding a big hammer, she started her work, pulling nails from wooden boards until she had a full bag. She didn't dare remove her mask yet in case the gas hadn't drifted off, so she put away her tools and started making her way out. That's when the flashlight caught something in the corner of the room. A bundle of a figure, hidden in the darkness. A chill went down her spine as she slowly approached it. A body. A human. Dead. She was used to death, it no longer scared her. But if the corpse had been infected... She took a piece of wood and pushed the corpse, which fell on its side. Then she saw the black cracks in its skin and the pointy eczema, and her heart stopped. The Hydra. How could she have been so careless, she had been unprotected in the same room as an infected corpse. She felt like she was going to throw up and a sharp pain cut through her chest. What the hell was she going to do now?


Winterwind

The year is 2102 in Ostrobothnia. 60 years ago our society collapsed when an unknown and violently lethal parasite started spreading. The chaos that the resulting mass death caused was made worse by wars and armed conflicts, which soon spelled total disaster. Humanity almost succumbed to extinction, but tenacity, cooperation and a whole lot of luck gave the survivors a new chance. Small settlements started taking shape and even though the old world is but a memory of a dying generation there is hope for a better future.

But in a small camp in Pörtom, its members are faced with a difficult change. For years they have lived together and fought for common survival. Now a big group wants to leave the camp, due to fear or because they dream about something more than just surviving. Another big group is adamant about staying, refusing to leave their comparatively safe home for vague promises and dreams. They are all heading for a painful farewell, the only question is how painful it will be...

A larp about farewells and endings

Winterwind is in essence a larp about togetherness and community, and what happens when they break. The larp will challenge players to really throw themselves into emotional play, where relationships between characters are central.

The biggest theme of the larp is what happens to human relationships when a group breaks up. What happens when someone near and dear to you is leaving and you cannot follow them? What happens to bonds of friendship when you have to divide resources like food, water, ammunition, weapons and other equipment that is integral to everyone's survival? What happens when vital knowledge disappears with one person?


Photos by Jacob Åberg

Larp design

When it comes to the design of the larp there are a few things worth mentioning:

- Almost all characters will know at the start of the larp whether they will leave or stay at the end of the larp. This doesn't mean that they need to think so the entire larp, but that is what the character has to play and develop towards. (40% stay, 40% leave, 20% undecided). This decision is to build a better foundation to play on and to try to ensure a gripping end to the larp.

- Total transparency. There will be no information that is hidden from the participants and everyone is encouraged to be open about their characters to better be able to create good play together with others.

- Even though the Hydra (the parasite) is a major element in the setting, no one will be infected during this larp. You can still play on the paranoia of someone having been infected, but it should not take over the focus of the larp.

- During the course of the LARP there will be a gas alarm, when players will need to be as quick as possible to put on breathing protection or otherwise get in cover. This can occur at any point, and the goal of this is to create a feeling of an insecure and dangerous environment. No one will die or be hurt because of this though, and the alarm will last for about 5-10 minutes of game time.

- The larp will be realized in three acts of varying length.

ACT I : During the first act, the camp will still be a solid group and this act will portray the moment when the first person says they will be leaving the camp.

ACT II : During the second act some time will have passed and more people have decided to leave. The mood in the camp is more tense and the first problems on how to split resources have caused conflicts.

ACT III : The evening/morning before the departure. Emotions and conflicts are running hot and everyone is stumbling between sentimentality, anger and sadness. The problems of how to divide things have still not been solved and many refuse to compromise, either due to fear for their own survival or because they can't cope with the situation. The act and the larp end with the departure of the leaving group.

Between each act there will be time for players to discuss between themselves how their relationships have developed in the time between the acts.

- The efficiency of the larp will largely build on players daring to engage in emotional play where you build towards dramatic conflict rather than comfortable solutions. Ask yourself which kind of emotional play you want with your co-players and go full out during the larp.

- The workshop will center on creating solid character relationships, power dynamics, camp culture and a shared history of the camp. It is strongly recommended that all players participate in the worskshop.

Contact & The team

If you have questions or need to contact us, mail zacharias.b.holmberg at gmail.

The Team:
Project Lead : Zacharias Holmberg
Assistant organiser : Pia Sjöberg
Food prep : Jo Granvik


Finlands Svenska Rollspelsförening Eloria r.f.
All content © Zacharias Holmberg unless stated otherwise.