Konklave

The Divine is dead. Long live the Divine!

For centuries, the One Faith has been at the heart of the State, protecting the bodies and souls of the masses from the insidious threat of Kaos.

Team

Authors: Alex Helm

Referee: Ben Cole

Players

This is a game for 10 players who can be portrayed as any gender.

Premise

After the unexpected demise of the Divine - the most blessed of God who rules both the church and the State, the Speakers of the One Faith must gather for a Konklave to choose which of them will become the next Divine. Until they decide, they will be locked away in the Small Chapel, with no contact with the rest of the world. Tensions will rise, skeletons will fall out of the closet (perhaps literally), and the agents of Kaos are everywhere - maybe even here. But somehow, they must decide. And what of the One Faith itself? A new Divine means a new era - should the Faith confront its wrongs of old, or should it seek to bury them?

This is a game of faith and big decisions. While the game is inspired by the Catholic papal conclave, the religion and nation in the game are completely fictional, with their own issues and problems (i.e. nothing related to sexual abuse or child abuse).

The characters are all the most senior priests of the Faith (called Speakers), and they can all be of any gender.

While the religion is the backdrop and setting for the larp, the gameplay is not about observing faith, and much more about scheming, plotting and backstabbing each other to become the supreme ruler, and tense discussions about controversial issues.

Player preparation

All characters are pre-written with interlinked goals and relations. There will be a casting form in advance, and all game materials will be sent by email before the event.

Character sheets are 5-6 pages long, and there are about 15 pages of background documents to read.

Costuming

This game has very basic costuming - just smart black clothing. Matching stoles (priest scarves) will be provided by the GM.

Content Notes

Fictional theocratic governance and oppression, religious persecution, religious terrorism, genocide, colonialism.

The setting does draw some inspiration from various real life events, both past and present. However it is completely fictional, and is in no way intended to represent or symbolise anything that happened or is happening in the real world.

AI Disclosure

AI has been used solely to create one slop image to phys-rep an actual AI slop image in the game!

Safety rules

We will use Traffic Light and the The OK Check-In systems to ensure all players have a fun experience. These systems will be explained at the game.

Referee Bios

Ben Cole (he/him)

Ben is the other half of the Bristol arm. He is a gamer and has been for as long as he cares to remember - computer games, board games, tabletop RPGs and LARPs. He runs and writes games — leaning towards the more character driven, romance and angsty games — which is apt as he is a self declared Angst-Bunny.