In Wild, Heart, Land you will...
…canoe through unbroken wilderness while grappling with a personal crisis
...infiltrate a robot liberation activist meeting as a bad faith actor
...reveal you’re not an Earthling to your stereotype-spouting space friends
...explore asexuality through interactive metaphors
...look for love frantically while swiping left and ghosting dozens of profiles
...reflect silently on spirituality at the shore of a serene lake
Wild, Heart, Land is an anthology of live action scenarios by a diverse group of six designers, commissioned for the 2019 Make a Scene scenario festival. These games will challenge how you think about roleplaying, society, and human relationships. Don't be surprised if you find yourself in some way transformed by play!
The scenarios are designed with complete and clearly written instructions so they are accessible to newcomers. They can be run anywhere, no costumes or complex sets are needed to play out powerful emotional experiences. The anthology contains two games suitable for remote play via video chat.
Fast Facts
6 games
3-16 people
2-5 hours
The Scenarios
Passing by Mo Holkar
Passing is a larp about what it's like to pass as a member of a dominant ethnicity. It's about life in our own world and time: but it's set in a 1950s-style science fiction future, to allow safer play around issues of prejudice. Join your colleagues around the table in the interplanetary diner, and share stereotypes about those Venusians. But one of you is, unknown to the others, part-Venusian. How does it feel to be part of this conversation? Will you stay quiet, and hope nobody notices? Or will you speak up, and risk social ostracism?
Boundary Waters by Katherine Shane
Boundary Waters is about wilderness travel as a tool and a metaphor for making transformative life choices. A group of six strong women travel through the lakes and portages of the Boundary Water Canoe Area. As they paddle, they contend with the inner voices of hope and fear, guilt and love. At portages, they carry heavy burdens over difficult terrain, just as they must carry the burdens of their past and future choices over many paths. At night they gather in the dark and liminal space of a campfire under the stars. As they travel, the beauty of wild places will hone who they are and what they value most. When they reach the border, each must make a choice.
I Don’t Get It by Quinn D
I Don't Get It is a scenario exploring parts of asexual experience through emotional analogies. It focuses on conveying feelings to help participants relate, rather than direct logical understanding or detailed characterization. Participants take turns as the soloist in scenes constructed around a number of emotional analogies while others take the part of a supporting chorus. The scenes vary, with each connected to common asexual experiences through the use of visual media by asexual creators. Participants will not directly play asexual characters, but instead use emotional analogy to better understand experiences common to many asexual people.
The ProSynthoid Liberation Society by Josh Krehbiel
This madcap game centers around a meeting of an activist group that has been completely compromised. Each player inhabits the role of a person with their own private and contradictory reasons for attending the group. They must contend with hiding their goals and shaping an agenda whose ultimate goal that they do not believe in, and also embracing the chaos that comes when personalities come in conflict.
Silenthearts by Shawn Roske
In Silenthearts players are committed spiritual seekers camping out at a lake for a four-day silent retreat with their guru. You are guided through each day to scenes of communal meals, chores, art, and free time. Each “night” the same three-minute guided meditation will play while you “sleep” and dream.Most play will be in silence with subdued interaction between players. The experience is introspective. It will challenge players who are used to dramatic player interactions; Silenthearts is the opposite.
Singles Day by Ross Cheung
Technology can solve everything, even romance! A group of adults take to the internet to fight loneliness and find love. Will they find the connection in an increasingly isolated world? Or will they give up, delete their apps, and seek solace in ice cream, friendship, or increasing bitterness? In this scenario, the players portray characters with a variety of reasons for going online to seek human connection. They will interact with other hopeful characters, and have the option to meet in person, or “swipe left” and avoid the unpleasantness of any encounter.
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