Introduction to CHARIOT: Embarkation

Content warnings: deceit

Before the launch of CHARIOT: Prime in 1963, the genesis of the program began with the United States government. Known only to President Kennedy and a select few officials, the initial foray into space to save humanity…. wasn’t, exactly. It was a deception of almost all participants. Top minds and other would-be explorers boarded a spaceship called CHARIOT at the personal invitation of the president. The launch, little did they know, was staged. Their space travel: simulated.

Throughout the journey, these crew members invented by necessity. They advanced the efficacy of the birth control pill, developed creative ways to survive in small spaces, and embraced more community-centered living than they had prior to the CHARIOT project.

This is their story.

Players will begin the digital larp knowing that the entire project is taking place on Earth. However, most characters will not know, and will experience a major deception when they find out. No previous knowledge of CHARIOT lore is required because this takes place prior to all other CHARIOT games. If you’ve played before, you will need to assume a new character. All players must be 18 years or older, and will portray only adults.

This larp is in English. International participants are welcome. While this digital larp takes place in Virginia Beach, Virginia, US, players and characters can certainly come from any country. 

Potential themes of CHARIOT: Embarkation digital larp include:

  • Betrayal
  • Romance
  • Trust
  • Deception
  • Invention
  • Community
  • Innovation
  • Off-screen violence/harm (to NPCs in your backstory)

Sexual assault and child abuse will not exist in this larp.

What is a Digital Larp?

In this experience, participants connect via Zoom and portray characters in a guided collaborative story. There is a somewhat structured plot, though the interactions are largely freeform. This is non-narrative: players do not describe what their characters do: they do and say it. Learn more by watching this video.

What is the Structure and Schedule of This Larp?

CHARIOT: Generations takes place in three sessions, each representing an act:

Session I

  • Introduction
  • Safety, Consent, & Steering Workshop
  • Formal Meeting: Name the Ship
  • Brief/Socialization (Having been in outer space–or so the characters think–for about a month, they are able to get their first rest and relaxation time)
  • Shop Talk (discussion about job responsibilities)
  • A Mystery to Solve

Session II

  • Message From the President to Direct the Session
  • Technical Problems
  • Suspicion or Revelation of Being on Earth (Scripted reveal)
  • Guest Appearances (optional)

Session III

  • Reactions to Revelation/Decisions
  • Guest Appearances (optional)
  • Closure (or not)
  • What Next?
  • Debrief

There is only ONE run of this larp and it is limited to 8 players plus the GM. PLEASE BOOKMARK THIS PAGE TO REFERENCE THE DATES. While you will receive Zoom links with calendar reminder options, we strongly recommend you add these dates to your calendar ASAP. All times listed are in Eastern. This is a Friday, Saturday, Sunday run with structured times.

  • March 26, 8-11 PM
  • March 27, 2-5 PM
  • March 28, 2-6 PM (we may or may not use the final hour; debrief is important for some players!)

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What You Get

  • In Character Workbook – PDF
  • Bespoke Character, Created Just For You (Based off of survey)
  • 9-10 Hours of Professionally Facilitated Play

The cost of this larp is $49 per ticket.

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What Kind of Space Explorer Can You Play?

You can play any person you might have feasibly been in 1962. From a scientist to a janitor, your character can have a place on CHARIOT. The GM will play an advisor from the president, meaning any player can apply to be the captain. Do not feel limited by gender, race, or sexuality when considering your character’s role–after all, this is a progressive mission. You can choose what you want or select from some suggestions on the character survey.

Safety and Consent

All participants must watch a safety video and agree to TGI’s Safety, Consent, & Inclusion Policies. While larp sessions remain ephemeral and unrecorded, those willing may consent to photography (screen capture). All safety instruction will be gone over again at the beginning of the larp. Those violating our policies may be ejected with no refund. We take the safety of our players very seriously, especially in “close to home” experiences such as this.

  • Costuming restrictions: No skin darkening or black face. Regardless of your skin tone, making your skin unnatural colored (according to your preferences and what you feel like you would look like as a fairy or a human who has lived in their realm) is welcomed, but no one is required to lighten their face to play this game or portray a fairy, nor does “lighter skin” represent improved power or status in any way. Please focus on what makes you comfortable and what is accessible to you.
  • We require sensitivity in portrayal. Note that this larp is designed to empower players and characters by portraying someone who was once ostracized but now faces truth. As a result, we’re creating characters together – characters who may have experienced racism, homophobia, sexism, or a feeling of powerlessness or loss of control due to how others treated them. We ask for sensitivity and understanding in that many players are playing close to home here. We encourage players to consider exploring their own feelings of marginalization and othering. Those wishing to explore struggles other than their own must think hard about this decision, perform precise research, and proceed with extreme empathy. You will not need to justify anything you want to play, but playing another’s experience is extremely sensitive subject matter when it comes to marginalization. Participation means understanding and acknowledging this point.
  • Verbal and symbolic restrictions: Derogatory language and symbols of any kind are prohibited. You cannot ‘play an anti-Semitic character who wears a swastika.’ You will be immediately ejected and banned with no refund. Marginalized players wishing to play empowerment scenes may do so, but some scenes may require a content warning for other players. An example: two players have consented to playing out a competitive brother-sister relationship in which sexism was involved. They decide that the woman fairy is more powerful than the male, and the player wishes to play out her empowerment arc through the exploration of this in reaction to a sexist comment from her brother, changing the power dynamic in their family. In this case, all participants would receive a content warning about potential sexist language, and as a group we would determine limits on this language.

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Credits

  • Tara M. Clapper, Game Designer, Game Organizer, Larp Marketer, Game Master, Character Creation

Talent

Inspiration

The Geek Initiative compensates talent, paying a competitive, living wage.