Obscura

Still Under Construction

The rules are basically complete, but setting is still a work in progress.

Introduction

Cambridge LARP Society's game for 2019-2020 is Of Alchemy and Magic Obscura (or just Obscura), a fantasy game of discovery, intrigue and struggle against the odds when magic and science collide.

Legend has it that a thousand years ago, the world was a very different and darker place. Magic was a powerful force and mages ruled from twisted fortresses, aided by pacts with dark powers, while inhuman and monstrous magical beings known as “elementals” walked the world, terrorising humanity.

A group of adventurers changed the world and ended this tyranny by performing an epic feat known as the Sealing, largely cutting off the mortal realm from the elemental. Magic greatly faded, and science grew to fill the gap. As the new world was built, the world before became obscured in myth.

In the last few months, strange things have been happening. Thaumaturgy and alchemy have started misfiring in spectacular ways. Strange lights have been seen in forests, and odd creatures have been spotted in isolated locations. It seems that the Sealing is weakening and magic is getting stronger again. Are the dark times destined to return? Or can something be done to stop it?

The ruling Council of the city state of Clare has recruited adventurers to investigate what's going on, and you have answered the call. You may be here because you want to make a difference, for adventure and challenge, for knowledge and power, for coin, or maybe something else...

Major Themes

• Discovery: Finding out about magic and the true history of the world and the nature of the Sealing. As the Sealing becomes weaker, more things will become possible with magic and science, and pushing the boundaries will be important to match the increasing stakes.
• Intrigue: The major powers and factions within Clare will be at odds, and the task force will need to balance effectiveness against public relations. Plenty of political and social wrangling to be done.
• Struggle Against the Odds: There will be strong antagonists who wield abilities the PCs don’t (initially) have access to and who won’t be beaten easily.

How Do I Start?

If you're new to LARPing, you should start by reading our general FAQ.

After that, you should read the Quickstart rules. Then, when you're ready, create a character, or you can monster to see what it's like. See here for tips on starting kit.

If you have questions that aren't answered here, you can email the refs.

What Can I Play?

Quite a few things, but here are some ideas:

• Combat characters can fight belligerent enemies. The intention is that even in interactives, fights will be challenging, with scope for the PCs to lose, so fighty characters should find themselves valued, even outside of linears. If you want to be a Big Damn Hero then there are easily accessible ways to increase your power while increasing your risk of death.
• Scholarly characters can research elementals and the world. Not much is known about the elemental realm and elementals, since it’s been cut off for centuries. There's also plenty of magic and science research to do.
• The city of Clare has a number of factions that can help or hinder the task force, and wrangling them will be something those with social and political leanings can do.

Events

The campaign takes place in interactives each Friday, and on linears roughly every other Saturday. Interactives are the regular meetings of the Clare task force to plan, do research, and anything else they might like to do. Linears are excursions in to the wider world, usually with a specific objective.

For the dates of events, please see the main society website. Alternatively, email larp-exec@srcf.net to sign up to our mailing list.