Announcements:
So, as Covid-19 is playing havoc with this LARP (and many other LARPs out there), we've postponed it once more, now hopefully for the last time. People who signed off last time we postponed but who can now that we postponed yet again are welcome to re-sign(on), and if you payed the fee, and didn't demand your money back, you will be guaranteed a spot on the run. We cannot promise your original character, however.
As we've had to change our email address, here's our current adress: [email protected]
Themes and practical info.
COC-69 is a larp in the COC Solgløtt series, and like the preceding larps it is a mixture of H.P.Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos with some comic relief, reality-inspired timepiece drama, and some flavour of army life. It will take place in Southern Norway 14th -17th July 2022.
Setting
A regular infantry troop of quite fresh recruits are tasked with a longer-than usual patrol that takes them into 'the bush'. The larp begins after the troop have been dropped off by the 'brown water navy', aka ''river rats'', and have walked the better part of the day to their present camp. The exact nature of the mission is not known to anyone, and speculations are rampant within the troop. They have met up with a small team of 'advisors'; people in paramilitary dress, and the question arises who are they and what are they up to?
Themes of the game
At start of the larp you will play the GI experience of having been uprooted from your familiar home, gone through training and been deployed to a distant part of the world to fight a cause you may not understand, or even care about. Over the days, as the troop moves into unknown territory, Lovecraftian horror will tear at the bonds of reason and unit cohesion, and the troop itself may begin to fragment as they approach their destination.
We recognise that at this time and in the setting of the Vietnam War there were many serious issues that could be addressed and we in no way wish to diminish these. Historically it was men who were the riflemen during the Vietnam war. Even though the Draft is in effect, the poor, the ill educated, and black men were statistically over represented, but these will not be themes of the larp. This is not a game about human rights and the civil rights movement, nor is it a game about women's rights - it is a game about being a military unit and it falling apart under supernatural pressure. It's not a game about winning. This is not a war-game, where your physical actions and positioning determine whether your character lives or dies. Combat is a part of the game, but it's more a theatrical event than a competitive test. This also not a game about physical endurance and hardship. This game will have Lovecraftian inspired magic. The magic is primarily a sanity-threatening thing but it is not a game about real life mental illness. The game has a system for handling (in)sanity which you can read about in the Rules section.
HP.Lovecraft, racism and COC-69
HP Lovecraft himself had some views that are repellent to us, the organisers. However this larp only draws on his literary themes of the Mythos horror We have chosen to not focus on themes of racism or women's rights in this particular game and we have put in place measures to ensure that the game is accessible to all. We will avoid the use of offensive racial slurs or stereotypes often encountered in this setting, e.g. the terms used by GIs to describe the Vietcong.
What knowledge is required to play?
None. Army service is not a prerequisite, and there is little advantage to being a veteran camper or a fitness enthusiast. All you need to play your character will be supplied in emails, on information on the website, and in workshops and team-building exercises before larp start. If you are going to play a commanding officer there are some more terms, expressions, and military drills you must know, but we will provide aid. We want women, non-binary and trans-people to play COs, and we will be able to help you find suitable equipment and costumes. More information is on the web page, or please feel free to just send us an email.
On Gender roles and Mansplaining
The COC series prides itself on having a good gender balance on previous larps, and within the organizing team. We want women, non-binary and trans-people to feel welcome to COC-69. We want an inclusive positive game experience for everyone where none feel marginalized for their gender, background, level of experience or sexual orientation. We want to strive towards gender representation in all levels at the larp; soldiery, commanding officers, and among us organizers.
To accomplish this we will have a dialogue with the players preceding the larp. We will have team building exercises and workshops preceding the larp to help people get a proximate boot camp experience and with attention of avoiding people with a lot of opinions about army life taking up too much room or dominating game-play with any real life knowledge and supposed skill. During the larp there will be calibration breaks with your squad leader to iron out misunderstandings and further the role-playing of everyone. The choice of American vocabulary of the Vietnam era is also to avoid people claiming relevant experience from army training. This is a great equalizer, there will be something new for everybody, and lack of familiarity with formations and drill commands is only appropriate since the rank and file of the players on this larp will be playing fresh ''green'' recruits.
We will not play on gender at COC-69, and so players should avoid having long conversations about how they're 'getting laid', hold long monologues about imagined conquests, comment on the physical attributes of other players, or use overt sexual analogues as a figure of speech. Everyone will be soldiers, privates, sergeants and officers. The characters will be written with rank and surname. Players can pick their own given names, we are happy to have a boy named Sue if that's what you would like. As proper army material, you address people with their rank and family name, or call-sign if one is given. Personal nouns are determined within the Squads before start, and in subsequent calibrations. Who Private Ryan is played by is not a focus on this larp. Women will not have to wear make up to look like men, we are all soldiers.
On physical requirements:
You are an American soldier, average draft recruit. The endurance and strength of the members of the troop will naturally vary. If you worry about your level of training, you should notify us in your registration, and we will make any adaptions, because we want your company. We can relieve the logistics with plausible explanations like malaria or the flu as a reason why your character can't haul as much.
This will not be a physically challenging larp. An estimated 90 minutes will be spent moving about 1 km with a minimal amount of luggage (clothing, hygiene articles, costume and weapon). The remainder of the time will be spent on game-play in the troop, some routine scouting and patrolling of the jungle, and encounters with 'Charlie', manifested by instructed players and Crunchies, that is, NPCs.
The nights will be spent in a field bed/hammock with canvas and mosquito nets. Toilet facilities will be constructed on each campsite. Some of the soldiery will be played by instructed players whom have the main responsibility to see to the sanitation, and to forward feedback to the GMs.
The fee covers basic food. We will strive to simulate the field rationing of the Vietnam war era, simple but nutritional. There will also be access to rice. If you have allergies or other food restrictions, make us aware of this, so we can assure everyone gets good provisioning. It is, however, never a bad idea to bring some snacks for private consumption, or for sharing!
Our expectations:
In addition to the players, there will be a need for 10+ NPCs and instructed players. They will get to play anything from civilians caught in the hell of war between the factions, and Vietcong soldiers, and various monstrous encounters. Some troops will be played by instructed players. They have responsibilities for the troop's sanitary facilities and logistics. When instructed characters die, their players must be ready and willing to join the growing pool of NPCs. NPCs will also be available to take characters of players that have dropped out of the larp on short notice. In these cases they will function like instructed players.
Practical
You need to be at the meeting point at 1400 hours on Thursday 14nd July, 2022 [address to exact meeting point to be inserted here]. That's when the brief and a final workshop starts. The larp will commence when we feel ready, estimated around 21.00. We will walk a short patrol and establish camp Thursday evening. The larp is slated to end the night to Sunday, July 17th 2022.
The larp will be non-alcoholic. Adults over 18 may bring alcohol for the consumption at the after-larp gathering. As regards to smoking, there will not be a smoking ban, but smokers will be expected be considerate of non-smokers, and take proper care of their waste. If the weather is dry, smoking will be restricted to designated areas. We expect participants not to litter.
During the larp all American characters will be speaking English. If you would like to play something other than a native-English speaker, the many nationalities that were involved in the Vietnam War, and the cultural diverseness of the USA offers something to choose from.
So, as Covid-19 is playing havoc with this LARP (and many other LARPs out there), we've postponed it once more, now hopefully for the last time. People who signed off last time we postponed but who can now that we postponed yet again are welcome to re-sign(on), and if you payed the fee, and didn't demand your money back, you will be guaranteed a spot on the run. We cannot promise your original character, however.
As we've had to change our email address, here's our current adress: [email protected]
Themes and practical info.
COC-69 is a larp in the COC Solgløtt series, and like the preceding larps it is a mixture of H.P.Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos with some comic relief, reality-inspired timepiece drama, and some flavour of army life. It will take place in Southern Norway 14th -17th July 2022.
Setting
A regular infantry troop of quite fresh recruits are tasked with a longer-than usual patrol that takes them into 'the bush'. The larp begins after the troop have been dropped off by the 'brown water navy', aka ''river rats'', and have walked the better part of the day to their present camp. The exact nature of the mission is not known to anyone, and speculations are rampant within the troop. They have met up with a small team of 'advisors'; people in paramilitary dress, and the question arises who are they and what are they up to?
Themes of the game
At start of the larp you will play the GI experience of having been uprooted from your familiar home, gone through training and been deployed to a distant part of the world to fight a cause you may not understand, or even care about. Over the days, as the troop moves into unknown territory, Lovecraftian horror will tear at the bonds of reason and unit cohesion, and the troop itself may begin to fragment as they approach their destination.
We recognise that at this time and in the setting of the Vietnam War there were many serious issues that could be addressed and we in no way wish to diminish these. Historically it was men who were the riflemen during the Vietnam war. Even though the Draft is in effect, the poor, the ill educated, and black men were statistically over represented, but these will not be themes of the larp. This is not a game about human rights and the civil rights movement, nor is it a game about women's rights - it is a game about being a military unit and it falling apart under supernatural pressure. It's not a game about winning. This is not a war-game, where your physical actions and positioning determine whether your character lives or dies. Combat is a part of the game, but it's more a theatrical event than a competitive test. This also not a game about physical endurance and hardship. This game will have Lovecraftian inspired magic. The magic is primarily a sanity-threatening thing but it is not a game about real life mental illness. The game has a system for handling (in)sanity which you can read about in the Rules section.
HP.Lovecraft, racism and COC-69
HP Lovecraft himself had some views that are repellent to us, the organisers. However this larp only draws on his literary themes of the Mythos horror We have chosen to not focus on themes of racism or women's rights in this particular game and we have put in place measures to ensure that the game is accessible to all. We will avoid the use of offensive racial slurs or stereotypes often encountered in this setting, e.g. the terms used by GIs to describe the Vietcong.
What knowledge is required to play?
None. Army service is not a prerequisite, and there is little advantage to being a veteran camper or a fitness enthusiast. All you need to play your character will be supplied in emails, on information on the website, and in workshops and team-building exercises before larp start. If you are going to play a commanding officer there are some more terms, expressions, and military drills you must know, but we will provide aid. We want women, non-binary and trans-people to play COs, and we will be able to help you find suitable equipment and costumes. More information is on the web page, or please feel free to just send us an email.
On Gender roles and Mansplaining
The COC series prides itself on having a good gender balance on previous larps, and within the organizing team. We want women, non-binary and trans-people to feel welcome to COC-69. We want an inclusive positive game experience for everyone where none feel marginalized for their gender, background, level of experience or sexual orientation. We want to strive towards gender representation in all levels at the larp; soldiery, commanding officers, and among us organizers.
To accomplish this we will have a dialogue with the players preceding the larp. We will have team building exercises and workshops preceding the larp to help people get a proximate boot camp experience and with attention of avoiding people with a lot of opinions about army life taking up too much room or dominating game-play with any real life knowledge and supposed skill. During the larp there will be calibration breaks with your squad leader to iron out misunderstandings and further the role-playing of everyone. The choice of American vocabulary of the Vietnam era is also to avoid people claiming relevant experience from army training. This is a great equalizer, there will be something new for everybody, and lack of familiarity with formations and drill commands is only appropriate since the rank and file of the players on this larp will be playing fresh ''green'' recruits.
We will not play on gender at COC-69, and so players should avoid having long conversations about how they're 'getting laid', hold long monologues about imagined conquests, comment on the physical attributes of other players, or use overt sexual analogues as a figure of speech. Everyone will be soldiers, privates, sergeants and officers. The characters will be written with rank and surname. Players can pick their own given names, we are happy to have a boy named Sue if that's what you would like. As proper army material, you address people with their rank and family name, or call-sign if one is given. Personal nouns are determined within the Squads before start, and in subsequent calibrations. Who Private Ryan is played by is not a focus on this larp. Women will not have to wear make up to look like men, we are all soldiers.
On physical requirements:
You are an American soldier, average draft recruit. The endurance and strength of the members of the troop will naturally vary. If you worry about your level of training, you should notify us in your registration, and we will make any adaptions, because we want your company. We can relieve the logistics with plausible explanations like malaria or the flu as a reason why your character can't haul as much.
This will not be a physically challenging larp. An estimated 90 minutes will be spent moving about 1 km with a minimal amount of luggage (clothing, hygiene articles, costume and weapon). The remainder of the time will be spent on game-play in the troop, some routine scouting and patrolling of the jungle, and encounters with 'Charlie', manifested by instructed players and Crunchies, that is, NPCs.
The nights will be spent in a field bed/hammock with canvas and mosquito nets. Toilet facilities will be constructed on each campsite. Some of the soldiery will be played by instructed players whom have the main responsibility to see to the sanitation, and to forward feedback to the GMs.
The fee covers basic food. We will strive to simulate the field rationing of the Vietnam war era, simple but nutritional. There will also be access to rice. If you have allergies or other food restrictions, make us aware of this, so we can assure everyone gets good provisioning. It is, however, never a bad idea to bring some snacks for private consumption, or for sharing!
Our expectations:
- We expect that you are willing to learn 14 orders for patrol, and that you orient yourself with the 11 combat orders, as well as the related signals.
- We expect that you don't undermine others' larp experience by embarrassing or domineering them with your superior knowledge of military fluff. Don't play on people making mistakes, rather be the change you want to see. Don't lecture people on technicalities they do wrong in the drill, set an example.
- We expect you can join the troop in the daily routine, so that you get a bearing on the rhythm of the larp and a feel for what is expected to happen and when.
In addition to the players, there will be a need for 10+ NPCs and instructed players. They will get to play anything from civilians caught in the hell of war between the factions, and Vietcong soldiers, and various monstrous encounters. Some troops will be played by instructed players. They have responsibilities for the troop's sanitary facilities and logistics. When instructed characters die, their players must be ready and willing to join the growing pool of NPCs. NPCs will also be available to take characters of players that have dropped out of the larp on short notice. In these cases they will function like instructed players.
Practical
You need to be at the meeting point at 1400 hours on Thursday 14nd July, 2022 [address to exact meeting point to be inserted here]. That's when the brief and a final workshop starts. The larp will commence when we feel ready, estimated around 21.00. We will walk a short patrol and establish camp Thursday evening. The larp is slated to end the night to Sunday, July 17th 2022.
The larp will be non-alcoholic. Adults over 18 may bring alcohol for the consumption at the after-larp gathering. As regards to smoking, there will not be a smoking ban, but smokers will be expected be considerate of non-smokers, and take proper care of their waste. If the weather is dry, smoking will be restricted to designated areas. We expect participants not to litter.
During the larp all American characters will be speaking English. If you would like to play something other than a native-English speaker, the many nationalities that were involved in the Vietnam War, and the cultural diverseness of the USA offers something to choose from.