Closer look at the First Chapter – Calm before the storm

97 Poets of Revachol are divided into two chapters, separated by an intermezzo. And while the meat of the game will stay the same during these parts, every chunk of the larp will have its own little specifics regarding public events, levels of tension, and atmosphere. Let’s take a closer look at the First Chapter.

The Atmosphere

While the start of the game will be rather action-packed, the overall atmosphere of the first half of the game will be mostly civil and mundane. Sure, the tension of upcoming big changes is in the air, but people are just starting to notice it and mostly everybody is focused on their personal day-to-day life, joys, and problems – like where to get enough reáls for the rent, how to get along with the family or what exactly are the proper rules for petanque. This is the time to slowly slide into the civil side of life in Revachol, play up on your various relationships, and often also simply enjoy being there and alive, making it through another week.

And while the cracks in the status quo will arise and there will be conflicts to worry about, they will be more personal rather than public, and it will be important for characters to cling to stick to normality and try to de-escalate the tension. After all, the good people of La Cage somehow got to get along, despite being such a diverse bunch, right?

The Failed Ambush

The players of half-time characters will in the First Chapter take on the roles of two opposite forces – the battle-sharpened Wild Pines mercenaries (and prisoners) from a convoy passing through the La Cage and the local gangsters, the real overlords of the tenement masking under the guise of Local Union Branch. The event that will signal the start of the game for all the players will be the failed ambush of the convoy, with smoke, gunfire, and a clear sound signal for everyone to hear. Both armed groups will retreat back to the apparent safety of the decrepit tenement and set in motion the first ripples of the conflicts to come. This event will take place approximately on Thursday at 16:00.

To help you ease into your roles, each group of characters will have a cinematic lightly pre-scripted scene to start the game with. For some groups, it could mean a tragic family revelation, for another a heated argument about stolen savings or a fresh arrival of newcomers into La Cage. Players will be distributed all around the decrepit hospital, meaning that not everybody will experience the failed ambush first hand. These introductory scenes can take place in the first hour or two of the game and will help you set the stage for the whole 97 Poets of Revachol experience.

The Nervous Calm

The main part of the First Chapter will take place through the rest of Thursday until late Friday afternoon. During this time the tenement will be trying to get along with the newcomers (not only mercenaries, but for example also the Moralintern mission) a continue with their day-to-day activities, be it the more mundane or more bizarre ones (including taxidermy, rights of the dead or a roleplaying game). 

To help your character out with navigating through their story and game structure, there will be set events to attend, both common and public (for example time when dinner is served or blocks set for work in the sweatshops), as well as smaller meetings focused on the character’s secondary groups (e.g. meeting of the Block Council or training in stick fighting dojo). Some of these events regarding the secondary groups will also be optional for all, so for example, your character can stop by to chat at the picnic of the Petanque Club or attend the mass of the Church of La Cage. Do not worry, your character will have even with these set events a lot of freedom, but the structure helps us ensure that every player will get a chance to experience the personal story of their character. Each player will also receive a timetable to have on them during the game, so they can always check out what is the next event requiring their presence.

The Shootout

The chapter will end in the same vein as it started – with a standoff between the mercenaries and the gang on the square of La Cage, this time with most of the tenement curiously watching from the sides. This will take place approximately at 16:30 on Friday, this sudden outburst of violence is a foreshadowing of what the La Cage can expect in the second half of the game when people will be slowly resigning on peaceful means. This High Afternoon scripted event will include staged violence in a stand off that can both end with everybody just leaving La Cage (unlikely) or with eight bodies on the ground and one survivor running away.

Every player knows, that the half-game characters will leave the game during this event (one way or another) and that when the music starts playing, they should gather on the square. Both armed groups in the conflict are intent on leaving, but who will truly manage to escape will be decided by a special scene, accompanied by an atmospheric soundtrack. There are two truths – A) everything besides talking will happen very much slowed, and B) there is a highlighted circle in front of the tunnel and way out of the tenement, where everything important will happen.

1. In the first stage, the music will be mostly calm, and the gang and the mercenaries will circle each other, knowing they have been set up by other people to get the other group. In this phase, other characters with guns might come in the circle, clearly indicating who they are pointing at and saying some tough words. This establishes who will be taking part in the violence.
2. In the second stage, the music will be a bit more intense and the people in the circle might talk it out. At the end of this 4-minute stage (once the music ends), everybody will need to decide who are they aiming at and who they want to possibly protect with their lives, standing in front of them.
3. The characters involved will have to make a simple choice – shoot or walk. If they all walk and nobody shoots, all mercenaries and gang members walk away. If anybody shoots, everybody shoots. The music will change to gunshots and outcome is quickly decided (if character is aimed at nobody is in front of them, they die). 
4. The ending of the scene will be accompanied by one last music track, during which other characters have their final chance to say goodbye and play over the dead bodies of those, who have not survived the confrontation, or to save the ones who are hurt but stayed in La Cage.

With the finish of the last song, the scene will be ended and there will be a little off-game break for changing and calibration before moving into the Intermezzo – The power vacuum created by the demise or departure of the gang will have to be sorted out later, first it is time for a surreal disco and anodic party. You will have a chance to read about it more in the upcoming blogpost!