Vampire Make-Up

Players of mortal characters are not required to apply any make-up effects at all besides those they would like to add for personal flavor (such as scars etc.). In fact, we would encourage you to stay as clearly human as possible. When such characters get embraced, you will get a make-over to reflect your changed nature. 

We would ask any vampire player who has no issue with wearing make-up to do so. Matters of health, safety and personal comfort always come first, of course.

While vampires are able to counterfeit a living appearance by expending blood to simulate bodily functions, at a gathering of the court, no such need exists and thus even the youngest of the undead will look different from all mortals.

To determine how much your character differs from a standard human appearance, have a look at the Blood Potency stated in your character brief. 

This abstract number between 1 and 5 represents the power accrued by age and generation, the kind of disciplines your character possesses and their personal experience with using their mystical power to strike out against and subdue others, it is a good indicator for how defined your characters' appearance is by the vampire side of their being.

With a low Blood Potency, your character will perhaps be a little paler than the average human and mortals would notice a difference given prolonged contact. The higher the number, the easire it should be to notice that one is dealing with a supernatural being.

You could choose the traditional corpse route, go feral, doll-like or even scarily, all-too-perfectly flawless. What you use to portray the difference between vampire and mortal is completely up to you. The difference just needs to noticeable.

Pale make-up is a good start, especially since the shade can be varied. Adding shadows under the eyes or the cheek-bones is a quick and practical solution. Subtly re-tracing your veins is another good and easily achievable effect. 

Custom-fitted fangs are always a plus. Those who would like to use colored contact lenses or artificial fingernails to add to the effect are encouraged to do so. 

These are all just suggestions. If you want your character to sparkle, go ahead and sparkle, which can actually be an amazing and eerie effect if applied subtly. The expressions of the Beast are many and quite varied. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

If you are not used to applying make-up to yourself, we have people on site who will stand by to assist you. Also, we heartily encourage everyone to help each other out. 

Gangrel & Nosferatu SFX

Scions of clans Gangrel and Nosferatu have special make-up requirements. The former show a bit of a wild, predatory animal in their appearance, while the latter look like nightmarish fairytale monsters. 

While we have focused on the mental and social aspects of their particular Banes in the descriptions of the clans, we would encourage some form of physical representation as well. 

Players are not required to go full Wolf-Man or Count Orlok at the event. People usually find the utterly bizarre merely curious or even involuntarily comical, while they fear what is familiar but just.... wrong in one or two aspects.

It is recommended that players of Gangrel and Nosferatu take a couple of details about their appearance and twist them into terrifying strangeness, either with an animal or a bogeyman motif, depending on their clan. 

This could both be in addition to or as a replacement of other marks of a vampire's outward strangeness, depending on how you would like to handle it.

Costumes

The game is set in an indeterminate European city in the modern day. 

When out among mortals, all Kindred and their ghouls practice the Masquerade, or the Silence of the Blood, pretending that they are nothing out of the ordinary, so expert at blending in with the crowd that none of the uninitiated would ever be able to turn the difference.

But when they gather at Elysium to be just among their own kind, vampires gleefully throw off the shackles of the lie they have to live with all the time. They strut their stuff, they show their true colours. They express who and what they are for everyone to see. 

Or rather, they construct the image that they want everyone to see them as. Yes, it's the next layer of the onion that is the Masquerade; the lies they tell each other. However, this layer is all about expressing their Kindred identity, projecting a message for everyone.

Some characters have been around for more than a millenium, some have been turned mere weeks prior to the events of the LARP. Most fall somewhere in between. Kindred can often be surprisingly anachronistic, longing for the time of their mortality, and their fashion choices can reflect that.

Some may pretend to angelic purity, others might turn up like they have stepped out of their personal abattoir. Some come along rich and ostentatious, some dress stylishly but severely, some are rugged. only caring about practical matters, some are dressed in rags, having nothing but the shirt on their back.

Characters at the game don't need to be fashion models and, certainly, there is no single trend that would somehow make them all Gothic paragons. But they should be extreme and push the limits of whatever direction you decide to develop the portrayal of your character.

We will be publishing mood boards for the various coteries to serve as inspiration for the style their members may share.

Gear

Sorcerers might want to bring a full ritual kit for that needful emergency summoning, visionaries might want to record their experiences in a dream journal, zealots might make use of scripture or objects of devotion. These are just a few examples. You may bring whatever you feel is needed to aid the protrayal of your character. 

However, every item you bring to the game must be safe to handle, having no sharp points or edges etc.. During the game, don't ever just hand people your things or push them on them. You may not know about allergies or the like that come into play.

You may bring LARP-safe foam weapons. They have no mechanical bonus as far as the rules are concerned but they add flavour. You will need to check them in with a storyteller upon arrival for vetting. Prop guns are not allowed.

Fake Blood

Our game portrays acts of terrible violence and lots of vampire feeding. Blood must and will flow.

Please, for reasons of safety and liability, do not bring your own fake blood!

Our home-made fake blood is vegan, non-allergenic, suitable for digestion, dries quickly, and can be easily washed out of most materials with cold water.

Each participant will be issued a supply of small vials full of fake blood by the storytellers for their personal use during the game. 

All members of staff also carry spray bottles of fake blood to assist with scenes of massive bloodshed. 

Fake blood may only be used in the attic playing area, in the hallways and outside. Please refrain from using it any other place, especially where there are carpets or wallpapers.

Also, only ever use fake blood on yourself, not another player. Ask their permission to touch them, if you have any fake blood on you. 

Playing Aids

Upon checking in, you will receive two small playing aids to assist your gameplay.

One will be a playing card, the front of which will contain a summary of your character traits and the back of which will feature a summary of our rules.

You can keep this on your person at all times without taking about any space, taking it out for quick reference if you ever forget something important or just want to check to make sure.

The second will be a button to pin to your outfit that will make all roles immediately recognizable and assist in creating the illusion that most of the characters at the event have known each other for many years.

The button will prominently feature your character's name and state of being (a blue background for ghouls and a red background for Kindred). Their clan will be represented by the relevant bloodline's symbol. Buttons of Kindred who hold important positions in regards to Camarilla etiquette will have a thick black rim around the centre.