The Citadel LRP

Long ago, The Citadel closed, the Tribes were formed, and the world Stopped. Now, hundreds of years later, The Citadel has opened once more, and the new world is about to change ...

Welcome

The Cambridge LARP Society game for 2018-19 is Citadel, a science fantasy game of exploration in the model of games like Breath of the Wild, Nier:Automata and Destiny, in which members of the tribes discover the secrets of an ancient advanced civilisation, and hope to apply this learning to a new way of life.

You play someone who lives in the Outlook, a temperate area that exists in a world where science, technology, and civilisation have been forgotten, after events that happened long ago. The world before declined into the state it is now - communication almost gone, machines beyond the most basic broken, and ancient cities devolved into ruins.

Humanity has adapted to survive, relying on their inherent mutations, and the remaining artificial intelligences (AIs), to thrive in this new landscape. Divided into Tribes, which are grouped by families and specialities, they have learnt to fight the mutated creatures that lurk in the woods and flat lands, as well as live off the land without the comforts of technology.

Outside of the Outlook is the Beyond, of which little is known, beyond the information brought by AIs and stragglers from these places. There is also danger, with raiders who will show little mercy to those who have found ways to thrive in the world after civilisation.

The Outlook surrounds the Citadel, a towering remnant of and testament to the old world. Long ago, the doors were closed, for reasons unknown, around the time of the Decline of society. As of the beginning of the game, the sealed gates opened yesterday. You are among the first who have been able to visit this strange place, and unlock its secrets - good or bad.

Events

For details on Citadel events, please see our main society website. Alternatively, email larp-exec@srcf.net to sign up to our mailing list.

I stand and stare up at it. I mean, it seems simple to say that. But it doesn’t quite capture how it works. Might as well say I am staring at the air in front of my face, or the ground beneath my feet. The Citadel is a constant, unchanging - you don’t stare at it. It is just there. Sometimes I even dream of the Citadel, the spinning lights and pieces of the World Before dancing endlessly across my eyelids. But always, first and foremost, I dream of those doors sealed shut, a bar for a wretched Gene Strain like me.

But now, they stand open. It seems impossible to process. It’s… open. There are even AI that have walked out from the newly revealed opening, beckoning me inside. ‘You are welcome’ They say, in a plain and clear voice, but one I never thought I would hear. That I would ever hear anything of The Citadel, besides the hum when you draw close, trying to will yourself inside.

I can tell I’m not the only one that has been drawn here, stunned by this change. Some are hiding in the bushes, arrows primed in case one of the legendary beasts of the Citadel springs out at them. Others are open mouthed, unable to process what is going on - I think one girl’s scales are practically standing on end. There are a few like me, also looking at those around them, listening to the voice in their Ka and the advice it is providing. I think I even see an AI, whose blank face is unreadable, staring into the softly glowing tunnel - maybe searching for something that we humans can’t understand.

And so, I stand and stare. I can feel it drawing me, the lights illuminating the deeper darkness. Secrets from the World before that we thought were gone forever. New wonders, or new horrors - they are open for us now. It feels silly to think it, but a part of me knows… this is the end of my old life. The time of the wilderness is ended. This is the age of The Citadel.