g) Calibration and Energy Terra
Keywords: physicality, energy-drain
Focus: The Terra players are given the opportunity to calibrate the light intensity and are introduced to the rules of physicality and energy.
Target: Terra PCs
Place: Hall of Mirrors
Responsible: Caro
Description
Ask the Terra players to sit down quietly for now. They have just been subjected to an onslaught of light and noise and the outrage of the Oreans.
15 min
The bright light and the screaming of the Oreans must have been intense for all of you. It is unlikely to be that intense again during the larp, but it would be good to know how you cope with it. It will remain quite bright throughout the larp. The exception is the room that is currently your holding cell. Later it will serve as your recreation room. Please let us know at any time during the play if it gets too much for you. However, it should remain a bit exhausting for your characters and, thus, for you, if possible. But tell us briefly what it’s like for you.
Give everyone enough time to briefly comment on the intensity and sensory overload.
Physicality
Explain to the players what the weighted jackets are all about.
The Oreans have transformed the planet “New-Orea” for you and adapted its environment. However, this world offers you only a minimum of amenities: The air is breathable but stale, the light is too bright, and the gravity is slightly stronger than that of Earth. Therefore, after travelling through the wormhole, you have all been given weighted jackets to symbolise the not-quite-suitable environment.
5 min
Energiehaushalt
Explain to the players how the energy household is played out and let them practice using the necklaces.
10 min
Due to their different mental, spiritual, and physical composition, the interaction between Oreans and Terrans causes energy drain for both sides. A longer conversation will, at minimum, cause exhaustion. The Terrans furthermore need sleep and food to function. Thus, hunger and thirst will also impact your energy level.
Energy in-game is represented by coloured, weighted necklaces — or rather by their absence. A character without a necklace is full of creative energy, well-rested, and in the case of a Terran, well-fed. However, should characters engage one another and be of different species, they will “gift” each other with one or more weighted necklaces, which are provided as wall decorations throughout the location. It is up to the players to decide what kind of necklace and how many they will “bestow” on another character. The amount should be reasonable, and if the receiver feels another necklace would be too much, they can use the “By the Colours” technique to intervene. We suggest one necklace for five to ten minutes of a normal conversation and two for a heated screaming match. Terran players should try to put an equal amount of necklaces on the players of an Orean, alternating between the two players so that not only one bears all the weight.
The necklaces will bear heavier on some players than they do on others. Even if a player is not really encumbered by their weight, they should try to use the number of necklaces as a rough guide for the mental and physical exhaustion of their character. One or two necklaces may resemble the average level of tiredness most adults deal with every day. Three or four certainly represent an above-average level of fatigue. More necklaces may point to strong hunger or confused listlessness.
Types of Energy-Drain (Necklaces)
Blue
Spiritual and mental exhaustion, lack of creativity, confusion
Yellow
Hunger and thirst
Red
Physical exhaustion, tiredness
The necklaces and types of energy-drain are abstract representations. We encourage a use related to their types. For example, if Oreans make many inquiries about food, it would fit the situation to place a yellow necklace on the Terran being questioned — conversely, of course, Terrans should also choose the colour to match the situation or conversation.
Removal of Necklaces
As Terrans, you need to take the colour of the necklace into account. 20 minutes without any Orean contact spent either alone or in the company of other Terrans removes one blue necklace. The downtime lets the character regain their composure. If a Terran engages in any creative or artistic activity without direct interaction with Oreans (they may still be in the same room), they can remove a blue necklace after 10 minutes.
A character (their player) needs to eat and drink (in-game) to remove a yellow necklace. The player is free actually to eat the food provided by the organisers or to just act as if they were consuming nourishment (wax and other forms of fake food marked with a yellow dot). As a rule of thumb, 0,3l of liquid or the equivalent of one banana or a small sandwich, remove one yellow necklace.
Red necklaces are the most time-consuming to remove. It takes 30 minutes of played-out sleep in the Terrans’ quarters to remove one red necklace. After Episode 2, Scene 2, and again after Episode 3, Scene 1, players can remove all red necklaces if they declare that their character slept most of the time between this and the next scene.
Please have a heated conversation in groups of two and three for five minutes, for example, about food, war, or capitalism. Then put an appropriate necklace on each other.