Location-Based Game, Mixing RL with Fantasy Setting

[Mithras]

Hi. I do some rping with my two sons, usually homebrew fantasy or basic D&D. I live in Yorkshire England, and I'm very into history. My boys go to lots of castles and ruins with me, and we also vist moors, forests, mountains, cave systems, waterfalls etc. We have a great time! I often tie to tie in a real life location into the game, with some success, but not as immediate as I hoped.

I'm wondering if I can go beyond simply, "the forest looks just like Dalby Forest we visted on Sunday, remember that stretch where all those pine trees had blown down...?" and go into: "Hey guys, we went to Great Gable (mountain) last week, it was a hard climb. Now we are going to revisit it the lace, but with a fantasy kick. Actually using wilderness location as adventure hook/idea/setting. Well, more than just a setting, but a raison d'etre - something more fundamental, primal. Perhaps akin to the location-based McGuffins of Feng Shui? There certain locations are fought over, as having vast magical power throughout the ages.

Era wise, I shy away from modern. My love is for pre-Roman Britain, or for Dark Ages (dragons, chainmail clad warriors, axes, dark skies, etc).

Can any good come of this? Does anyone have any experiences that might add to the concept?

Best,

Paul

[lighthouse]

Yes, why not?

When I taught something I proposed to kids was to turn a familiar setting into a fantasy one, turning the school into a castle or sending it into another time or dimension, and it worked. A lot of the best south-American literature is built with something called "realismo fantástico" (which I don't think I need to translate) in which the writers start in a real world setting to which elements of fantasy are thrown in.

[Mithras]

From modern to fantastical? Like Bridge to Terrabithia (sp?) The young girl creates a wonderland from the mundane... The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Alan Garner) where there really are gblins in the mine workings, witches and dwarves, 'elf roads' and elves in the otherwise inoccuous woods ...

When on these trips I tell the boys of 'goblin holes', water spirites and dragons ontop of mountains, stone slabs are doorways into the fairie realm, dragonflies are being ridden by faeries etc. Now I'd hate to actually RP at that location, but after the fact I don't see why not. But I need a reason for all these diverese locations to be important, and I need to work out a way to create a workable plot based at that one location involving 'moderns children' breaking through to the unseen fantasy world.

[Caesar_X]

I think this is a great idea.  It sounds like you are trying to bring your RL walks into your table top games?

Have you considered bringing some role-playing into your RL walks?  You could let your sons play their game character while you are on your walks.

"So whose going to check out that dark hole?  There could be goblins in there!"
"Uh..not me, I'm the wizard.  I cast a Light spell on the warrior's sword."
(Hands flashlight to the warrior)
"Ok, I'm going in.  Watch my back, wizard!"

You'd probably want a *very* slimmed down combat resolution system (maybe use the change in your pocket?) so you don't have to break out the DM's screen and dice while you are out there.

But you could probably have some fun metaplay and really connect your table game to your fun walks in the country.  Maybe give them XP/treasure for the "battles" they fight and the treasures they find.

Just an idea.  I'm jealous!!

[contracycle]

Is your interest "ways to use settings" or "bringing in fantastic elements"?

As a child I read a fascinating book about a tree; that is it described the life span of a long lived oak tree and all the historical stuff that was alleged to have, or could be imagined to have, happened around it.  It also discussed the life cycle of the tree,and changes as it aged.

This was quite a clever duel role, using the tree as a character and anchor for surrounding events.  And given that this was for children, served a didactic purpose.  I think games oriented around exploring something like a location would need to take a similar approach, showing a place or building "in use" rather than as a ruin.  Probably the moving time is also needed to contextualise the setting, but there are few mechanics dedicated to such problems.

[Mithras]

Well, ideally I want to soak in the surroundings rather than roleplay there, and I've never been attracted to any sort of LARP.  If I was exceedingly clever I would run Table Top games set in modern day or in some ancient time, just before we go on a walk or a climb, with that location providing cucial answers or objectives that the boys can actually find while they are there. I'd have to have been there before, perhaps, or run an internet search if its a ruin or a castle or something.

I'm open to running parallel games, one at the location in some previous era, then some real world follow up investigation/searching while we are there. Can they find what looks like a secret door into the mountain?Can they find a very deep rabbit hole that leads to a series of 'tunnels', can they find a red toadstool to make a herb from, and so on. But actually being there, thee needs to be some 'payoff' rather than yes my son has found McGuffin #3... now what? Wait till next session? It needs wrapping up there, in the forest, on the mountain ... OR, it needs to be wrapped up in a big RP session that is the meat of the game afterwards.

But beyond that ... ?? I need to think!

[Mithras]

How about 'metagame mediation'. Players play themselves in 2007. They dream of the Dark Ages, when Morgana used dragons and an undead army to gain power of the Dark Age kingdoms. Merlin, trapped in ice by her, sends dreams forward to 2007 to the two brothers. They are compelled to return to the sites of dramatic events, to find clues or carry out simple magic rituals that will turn the course of events in the Dark Ages and stop her rise to power.

Eg. One place we are going as a family in a few weeks is north Wales, and to the hill called Dinas Emrys, where Vortigern tried to build his fort, except for the two dragons at war within it. Young Merlin foresaw the problem for Vortigern. The hill is craggy, very wooded and sits by the road in a valley. Last time we were there wild goats were grazing at its base. There are remains of a Dark Age fort at the summit, but I don't think they are visible.

For example,....perhaps ... besides playing themselves, the boys also play young heroes in the Dark Ages - their counterparts. In this scenario they accompany Merlin to find out why Vortigern's castle keeps collapsing. Vortigern hates Merlin, refuses him access. The heroes carry out an investigation at the half-built fort, then a mini-dungeon-crawl complete with dragons to tackle. They must retreat and get out alive. They make their report to Merlin ....he cannot get into the fort to stop the proble, so he sends a dream forwards in time to 2007.

The boys in 2007 must travel to overgrown Dinas Emrys, climb to the summit and using twigs from trees found there, write the word DRAGON.

To do so releases the dragons from their caverns, allowing Vortigern to build his fort and free the land from the turmoil of the warring dragons.

Something like that??

[Caesar_X]

The boys in 2007 must travel to overgrown Dinas Emrys, climb to the summit and using twigs from trees found there, write the word DRAGON.

To do so releases the dragons from their caverns, allowing Vortigern to build his fort and free the land from the turmoil of the warring dragons.

Yeah, I am digging that.  The things that they do as present time boys affect their heroes in the fantasy tabletop world.

Rock on.

[Mithras]

I suppose it IS LARP (something alien to me) but subtle and not too overt. No rules or costumes needed.

I might try it as we approach this holidy in Wales. I've got four locations to think up RPGs for the top of Snowdon (or lake Glaslyn near the summit, supposed haunt of the avanc, water monster that caused the Deluge), Dinas Emrys, the grave of Gelert the hound, killed by his master; and Bedgelert forest.

[lighthouse]

I'd suggest that you should have some rules, only they don't need to be overt, just reveal them to the kids bit by bit, just as kids invent new games.

[Mithras]

Do you mean in the rp sessions, or in the real-world adventures in the wilderness? I can use anything from homebrew to Basic D&D to well ... anything for the Dark Age part. For the on-site 'gaming' I just thought I'd let the boys go ahead and 'do their stuff' as 9 and 12 year old boys do....

[Vulpinoid]

I know that in my LARP experience (whether modern setting or fantasy) we would have killed to get acess to a ruined castle or strecth of forest with more than a century or two of history. In Australia we just don't have that, you're lucky.

If you were to play a system that relied on a non-dice mechanic, and you knew the area fairly well there would be no problem playing games within those environments for the full immersive experience.

V 

[Mithras]

I am lucky, and I know that...I tell my boys the same thing... !

Because I don't want too much game-stuff to intrude on our family day's out, I was thinking of giving the boys real-world objectives (such as the DRAGON script), or find something in a castle, or skim a stone 6 times on a very special lake or something. That is the trigger that Merlin needs to change the event in the past - so there would be no rules, as it were. Its just a physical thing, or some item I want them to find or discover .... will it work?

[ChrisLane]

Maybe just a hair off topic, but...

I lived in Harrogate, North Yorkshire for a little over a year.  You're not just lucky for the age / depth of history - that area just plain rocks for what you're describing.  I would love to take people to Bolton Abbey or White Scar cavern for first hand experience, and then run a fantasy version of the place.

I would stay away from any of the LARP'y options, I'd be afraid they'd detract from the trip.  If you could get some local history to go over with them on your trips, and then 'twist' the real local history for your game, I think that would add to the game.  It also reinforces the educational value.

I was starting to get jealous thinking about it...  Need to think about the weather.  Out of cold, wet, and windy we only get at most 2 at a time here in Georgia.  And I laugh when people complain about the price of gasoline / petrol here.

[contracycle]

I once had an English teacher who introduced his class to Shakespeare by staging McBeth as a kinda murder mystery using the "changing hats" technique.  The class could call witnesses forward to be interrogated, and he would represent these different characters by putting on a different hat, and doing some body language and accent etc.  You could do a similar thing where different characters are only accessible in different locations, so they can only speak to this person in the dungeons and that person in the south tower or what have you.  I have Warwick Castle in mind as I write this as it has quite a number of named locations, and convenient maps that you could use beforehand to plan your itinerary.