For those who are unfamiliar with the game, World of Darkness (WoD) is a game that takes place in our own, yet darker world. The shadows are deeper, and hide more sinister concepts for those that go looking. You can play the game as a Mortal Human exploring this hidden world, or as a Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, Changeling, and other things just as dark. White Wolf, the creators behind World of Darkness, have also released a system to adapt the World of Darkness to a L.A.R.P. called Mind's Eye Theater (MET).
As one might guess from the name, MET is a theater L.A.R.P. So while one still dons a costume and otherworldly persona, there is no physical combat like one might find at a boffer L.A.R.P. Instead every thing is acted out and at least in the case of Vampire: the Requiem, there is only combat if one goes looking for it. Now I have been familiar with the WoD for quite some time, particularly that of Vampire: The Masquerade (VtM), Changeling: The Lost (CtL), Vampire: the Requiem (VtR). At the same time, I have been an active member in adventure oriented boffer L.A.R.P.s for several years. Finally, I have finally had the chance to take part in a VtR L.A.R.P. run by a friend of mine.
My character is a Mekhet Carthian. I had thought Carthians was one of the least popular Vampire Covenants, and I would have to deal with looking out for myself and generally just staying on the ruling Covenant's good side. Boy was I wrong. To be completely honest, I felt completely out of my depth. My experience in VtR has mainly focused on the Coterie level. A small group of Vampires with different backgrounds banded together by a similar cause. Never before have I had to deal with this level of politics in any game I have played. This was the first session of this new Vampire Chapter, and the ongoing plot line seems to be dealing with a group of hunters that have been ruthlessly cutting our numbers. With many members of Vampire society meeting their Final Death, only one Vampire was able to hold onto his position was the Prince, the head of authority in the city. For a functioning Vampire city, the their roles would have to be filled, ranging from Covenant Representatives, referred to as Primogen, to the Social Delegate Harpies, down to the Hounds, foot soldiers of the night. With so few Kindred left (comparatively) and so many positions to fill, my character gained not one, but two positions in the City. My character Marcus represents the Mekhet at a Clan level (the position is called Priscus), and the Carthian Movement at the Covenant Level (a position I referred to earlier as Primogen).
So now I have to do battle in two political arenas. With a character, when I originally conceived him, that didn't want to get into politics. The quote, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them," certainly comes to mind, with my position falling into the latter.
As the night continued, more elements developed. The reigning Prince was quickly overthrown (within 20 minutes of the game starting), and later that evening a hunter was caught. After some interrogation, he revealed that the Prince that we had already over thrown, was the one that informed the government of Vampire's existence, thus bringing the hunters down upon us. There were a few curious glances exchanged, and I am sure that more than just I thought, "Well... good thing he's not around no more." In fact, the Kindred that formed the coup wasn't aware of the plot twist either. It all just played out as a happy coincidence.
All in all, I had a good, but intimidating experience. There were several moments when I was put on spot and I could have preformed better, for the sake of the Movement, but overall a very pleasurable experience. I look forward to not only the plot developments, but also curious about how my character will grow into his new role.
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