Falnorian runs several types of events throughout the year; while most of our events are the regular weekly or monthly events, there also are a variety of special events held during certain times of year. Some events are held only for specific leagues, whereas others are open to all. Leagues are groups of players who meet on a set schedule and generally split by age groups; each league is set in its own game location with its own story, although sometimes several leagues’ stories may all tie in together. See further down for descriptions of the leagues!
The game is scheduled in year-long seasons which run from September through August; each year features its own story, in-world location, and set of characters. When a new season begins in September, we introduce new locations and stories for each league and players make brand-new characters for the year; this is partly to allow new players to join easily. While new players are welcome to join any time, the easiest time to join is generally during the first few months of the season – September through November – or during a summer day camp.
Events
Regular Events
Regular events include both the weekly and weekend events. During these events we meet on the field at a park or school and run for several hours; weekly events generally meet for just a couple hours, whereas weekend events run for a full day. These are the events that follow a given league’s story: players make characters, play out their choice of quests from the mission board, and work through adventures to solve the storyline of their location and year. These stories all run in the Falnorian game world, and contribute to the shared history of the game. There are regular events run both for junior league and adult league – the schedules for each league respectively can be found on the calendar.
Day Camps
Day Camps are one of the summer events we run each year. In general, day camps are set somewhere other than where any of the leagues are playing that year – often someplace where the course of the story has taken a surprising turn and a situation has emerged in the world. Because it is a new location, players make new characters; this makes day camps an excellent way to join the game later in the year when the regular leagues have reached the zenith of their complexity. Day camps run the full day for an entire week, generally Monday through Friday. Most day camps are junior league events, but we have occasionally run adult league day camps in the past. Day camps are usually scheduled midway through the season, and are listed under the special events on the calendar.
Campouts
Campouts are another of the summer-exclusive events we run, and probably the most memorable of all the events we run- players look forward to campouts all year, and some of the best stories and memories come from these events. Campouts are generally an extension of the story of a regular league rather than a separate story; as the name suggests, we spend several days camping together and running LARP in the woods. Campouts include not just regular daytime missions but also nighttime missions during which we take advantage of the darkness to run much spookier missions and quests. Campouts are typically when a league reaches the most dramatic beats of its story. Like day camps, campouts are scheduled midway through the season and are listed under the special events section of the calendar.
GM Campout
The GM Campout is a yearly event that gives players a chance to try their hand at GMing and to develop their skills at running the game. It is a campout-style event and typically held in the north bay. GM Campouts are very intensive: prospective GMs spend half of their time on lectures and activities themed to a variety of GMing topics, and half of their time practicing running missions directly. The topics covered at GM campout change every year depending on what prospective GMs want to study: it is tailored to the experience and interests of a given batch of GMs. Regular players are also welcome at GM campout – GMs need players to practice with, and players get an opportunity to hang out and relax in ways that can be hard to find time for at regular events! GM Campouts are geared primarily towards adult league players, with occasional exceptions made for older junior league players.
Legacy League
Throughout the year, we hold several special legacy league events. Like the regular events, we meet at a park and play in the Falnorian game world. Unlike regular events, however, players take on the role of an entire region rather than playing individual characters; and rather than running intensive missions we run shorter objectives. Each region has its own set “build” of abilities rather than advancing in classes; as players complete quests and objectives, they gain or lose things for this build and slowly shift the character of that region. The choices made in legacy league, like regular leagues, directly impact the game world and alter its history. Legacy league is open to both junior league and adult league players, and run in a hybrid junior-adult mechanical system.
Build Days
Build days are days set aside for mending and making the boffers and other LARP gear. We hold two kinds of builds throughout the year: repair builds and new gear builds. Repair builds are scheduled throughout the year as-needed; they typically include tasks for a wide range of skillsets, and involve going through the existing gear and doing repair and upkeep. Repair builds are often combined with legacy days and held at the park. New gear builds are usually done during the summer, and hosted somewhere with access to electrical outlets and tools; during these builds we make new batches of gear for the game to fill in for gear that has been retired.
Rules Day
Once a year, during the turnover between seasons, we hold a rules day event. During this event we resolve the rules questions and proposed changes that have accumulated by players over the year, and consider any restructuring to game mechanics or new rules proposed by the GM. These events are nearly all discussion with only occasional running around to test out how a proposed mechanic plays on the field; we generally meet at a park to facilitate this. Rules day events are notoriously grueling, and tend to run longer than normal events; they are primarily attended by adult league players, but open to particularly tenacious junior league players as well.
Location Day
Location Day is generally only run for adult league; it is scheduled for the beginning of the season, and is the event at which the game location for the upcoming is announced. We spend the day going over the timejump, introducing the location, and doing a variety of activities on theme with the location to get acquainted with its particular cultural quirks. Location day generally includes dinner with a menu also themed to the location, cooked together by players. Where we meet varies widely depending on the year’s location; sometimes we meet at a park, a campground, at a player’s house, or some combination of the above.
Leagues
Junior League
Age Range: 7-14. Content Rating: PG
Junior League events are intended for a younger audience. They use a simplified rules system that is more accessible to younger players, and include explicit teaching and support to help players learn how to participate in a collaborative story and navigate the rules of the game. Parents at these events are required to stay for the duration of the event in order to support their child as needed.
For more information on junior league events, see the junior league page.
Adult League
Age Range: 14+. Content Rating: PG-13 to R.
Adult League events are intended both for junior league players who have grown out of the younger league, as well as new players who are in an older age range. It uses a more complex rules system to add nuance and variation to the game, and follows a more demanding story meant to challenge older players. Adult League players are expected to be independent when attending the event, able to advocate for themselves as needed, and be self-sufficient when navigating all elements of the game.
For more information on adult league events, see the adult league page.
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