Welcome to Whisper Bay

RPG system: LARP
Participants: 50-60 players

Description

“Diane…
“6.18am, room 4, Dingly Dell Bed and Breakfast, down here in Whisper Bay. Slept pretty well. Non-smoking room, no tobacco smell. A hint of sea salt in the air.

“The proprietress here at Dingly Dell serves a mean cup of Earl Grey, and let me tell you, last night she fed me the best slice of rhubarb pie I’ve ever tasted. Diane, if you ever get up this way, that rhubarb pie is worth a stop.

“Diane, it struck me again earlier this morning; there are two things that continue to trouble me, and I’m not just speaking as an inspector of the CID but also as a human being: was there a connection between Jack the Ripper and the royal family? And what really happened in the Berwyn Mountains back in ‘74?”

- DI Dave Cooper


Welcome to Whisper Bay is a Nordic-style larp about mysteries in a village community in the early 1990s. It is strongly inspired by Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Stranger Things, Fargo, and stories from the quaint British countryside.

The larp is set in the small Cornish village of Whisper Bay in the early 1990s, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The village was a prosperous tin mining settlement but the local mine has closed operations three years prior. The village now survives mostly through tourism. A local landowner has applied for planning permission to build a holiday park adjacent to the village and its sandy beach, and has invited potential investors to experience the village’s summer fête for the weekend. The settlement is also home to a GCHQ Listening Station, a government facility for monitoring communications.

Shortly before the start of the larp, one of the local teenagers has gone missing, prompting an investigation by the local constabulary and the Criminal Investigation Department of the Devon and Cornwall Police. Also, a series of mysterious messages have been intercepted by the Listening Station which seem to indicate an impending major event. However, where these messages have come from and what exactly they mean have been interpreted differently by the various parts of the community.

Whisper Bay - a Cornish idyll. All sand, surf, village fêtes and cricket matches.

Here you can walk atop the cliffs to drink in the vastness and depth of the Atlantic.

Here you can walk atop the cliffs where countless smugglers have brought ashore their contraband, or perished trying.

Here you can walk atop the cliffs towards that forest of satellite dishes and antennae. Government Communications Headquarters - the GCHQ listening station. But what are they listening for? Who are they listening to?

Ostensibly the listening station is monitoring transatlantic communications - listening for threats to the state and its allies. But what else does it hear? Does it serve a darker purpose?

Is it listening to our relationships, our histories? Charting the networks that make our lives?

Is it listening beyond this world? Seeking a voice among the stars?

Or is it listening within? To the very core of the Earth itself?

Myths permeate the cliffs here, the forests, the very stones and timbers of the houses. Dark forces are moving through Whisper Bay. But are they human? Natural? Or something beyond?

The tone of the larp is character-driven soap opera style melodrama, with dark surreal elements.

The intention of the larp is psychological immersion rather than narrativism or simulationism. There is no prescripted plot; the players are free to take their character stories in any direction which feels right. However, we will provide story arc suggestions for each character, and there there will be optional activities and events to provide some structure and creative input, if needed.

You should NOT expect jump scares, NPC "creatures", escape room style puzzles, combat, nor "official" explanations of the mysterious elements of the setting.

The larp is mostly transparent: the characters' personal secrets are known to all the players involved. Some information will be privileged to the GCHQ characters to facilitate their play. The players will be encouraged to discuss their needs and expectations with the organisers and co-players before and during the larp.

There are some mature themes in the larp (e.g. mental illness, addiction, domestic abuse). While these will be played on in a melodramatic, soap opera style, players are encouraged to take these themes seriously, reflecting on the effects and consequences for their characters. See Safety for more details about how we handle mature themes.

Most characters belong to more than one group, e.g. a crooked cop will be both part of the law enforcement group and the gang group. This will lead to internal conflict, tensions within the group, and antagonism between the groups.

The larp will have between 50 and 60 player characters. We will do our best to match the character to your preferences.

​Click through the slideshow to learn more about the different groups.

Runs

Links

• Website