larp Party 2026
High Ground
Three factions. One sanctuary.
No weapons inside the walls.
No safety outside them.
The world ended—not with a bang, but with hunger, betrayal, and the agony of decay. It's been two generations since the end of the world, and few alive remember much of the world that was. In the high ridges of the Appalachians, one isolated Sanctuary has endured, guarding ancient knowledge and a fragile peace. But now, on the eve of a cataclysmic storm sweeping in from the west, two desperate factions arrive seeking shelter: fractured raiders fleeing a violent past, and weary refugees from a collapsed alliance that once stood for unity.
Tensions run deep. The raiders were once the enemy; the refugees carry the ghosts of a broken ideal. The Sanctuary must choose: stay hidden and safe, or open its gates and risk everything. With old wounds, secret agendas, and a final storm approaching, alliances will form—and fracture—in the span of a single weekend.
What Is LARP Party 2026?
Hi! I'm Ceridwen. I like LARP, but only really a very specific kind of LARP, and it's difficult for me to find it. So, I've decided to throw myself a party where I run the kind of LARP I like.
What kind is that?
Plot driven. Low Mechanics. High Role-Play. Character connections. Stakes. Consequences. Intrigue. Low/no magic. A sprinkling of existential dread.
If that sounds like fun to you, fill out the Interest Survey and let me know!
Logistics
This is not a formal event organized by a group or company, just friends hanging out and having fun because I like LARP. As such there are not tickets or fees or anything, I'm just renting a place and doing a thing with my friends.
Date: Planning for sometime in late summer or early fall in 2026.
Duration: The event will likely start on a Friday evening and wrap by the following Sunday morning.
Location: I'm hoping to reserve Camp Round Meadow in the Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, Maryland.
Accommodations: Four dorms with 30 twin beds and two bathrooms. There is also a green area for camping if that's more your style.
Accessibility: All buildings are wheelchair accessible. Bunks near outlets are available for CPAP folks. Each bunk house has a wheelchair accessible shower. Water bottle filling stations in just about every building. Paved walkways between buildings. No building more than a couple minute walk from any other. Limited cell coverage and no wifi
Food: I will be providing Friday night dinner, Saturday self-serve breakfast options, Saturday lunch, and Saturday dinner. Sunday breakfast will be whatever is left over. There is a full commercial kitchen at the site I'm hoping to reserve, so folks can bring their own food and store it safely in the fridge. Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, and Halal food options will be available based on the survey responses.
If you are interested in helping with food, let me know in the survey.
Players: I don't know how many people will want to come, but I imagine it'll be between 15 and 20 players. (Though the site can hold way more, and I'm happy to write more characters and plots if we have more people interested. I know more people is more exposure risk, so I will communicate with interested parties if that number is expected to increase.)
Costumes: It's the apocalypse, babeeee! Wear whatever. :)
Characters: Each attendee will get a "character seed" which has some basic information like faction, archetype, and backstory highlights. The seeds will also have suggested character goals, character connections, and some "fill in the blank" style sections to allow party-goers to customize their characters.
Event Structure: The event will start Friday afternoon (3-4pm). We will then go over safety mechanics and do some light workshops to make sure everyone meets their faction and establishes their faction culture. Once that wraps, we will have an in-character meal followed by a few hours of play. Saturday will be open play, with self-serve breakfast items in the dining hall. There will be exciting plot things, then Lunch, then more plot things, then dinner, and we will end with a dance. Because parties should have dances. Sunday morning will be clean up, debrief, pack up, etc.
Covid Policy
I'm pretty sure all my friends are the vaccinated types, and I don't want to invade anyone's privacy, but I am requiring that folks who want to attend be vaccinated and have a negative covid test within 48 hours of the party.
I will have test kits on-site for anyone who cannot easily access their own.
If someone has a positive test result on-site, I'll do my best to support travel arrangements home.
If someone tests positive within 14 days of the end of the party, I am to be notified so that I can communicate with the party attendees.
⚠️Trigger / Content Warnings⚠️
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Violence & Threat of Violence (e.g., past raids, combat history, factional conflict)
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Death & Grief (e.g., lost children, grieving parents, mass casualties, trauma)
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Child Endangerment / Loss (e.g., kidnapped children, orphans, protective parental themes)
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Psychological Trauma & PTSD (e.g., war survivors, raiders with haunted pasts, breakdowns)
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Abuse of Power / Authority (e.g., betrayal by leaders, coercion, corrupt deals)
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Isolation & Imprisonment Themes (e.g., enclosed environments, surveillance, exclusion from safety)
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Medical Themes (e.g., illness, chronic conditions, limited access to care)
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Addiction & Substance Use (Implied) (can be alluded to in backstories or secrets)
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Religious Themes & Zealotry (e.g., charismatic spiritual leaders, prophetic visions, divine judgment)
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Desperation & Scarcity (e.g., starvation, rationing, hoarding supplies)
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Moral Dilemmas / Shades of Gray (e.g., mercy killings, sacrifice, protecting the guilty)
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War Crimes / Atrocities (Referred to in Past) (never enacted in-game, but referenced in backstories)
