In a time before reason and order, before the forests were cut down, the lakes straightened and all of the soil farmed. In the shadows, in the corner of your eyes, beneath the earth we walked upon, dwelled something not human. Before the dawn of reason shredded the shadows of magic, it was the time of the Undergrounders. Magical creatures of the North that played, danced, and longed to be near humans.

Sometimes a young man or woman would venture into the forest on Midsummer’s Eve and catch the eyes of an undergrounder. They would be lured to the halls of the Mountain King, where they would forget time, love, loyalty and all that they left behind. There they would get lost for perhaps even hundreds of years before returning to a world changed.

This scenario is about Humans and Undergrounders, about luring and being lured, about losing yourself and remembering and about finding your way back home. And it’s about those things that bring you back home: Faith, Love & Hope.

In the scenario you play a night in the halls of the Mountain King, a night of seduction, ecstasy, memories, conflict and the possibility of returning back home, when dawn disturbs the magic of the underground.

I det här uppskattade scenariot skrivet av två danska speldesigners får du uppleva en intensiv natt i Bergakungens sal. Det handlar om människor och de underjordiska under en kväll av förförelse, extas, minnen, konflikter och en kamp för de trollbundna människorna att återvända hem. Ta med vita och/eller svarta kläder som du kan röra dig i.

♥ Nordisk mytologi - Dans - Magi - Ordlöst

In the shadows, in the corners of our eyes, beneath the earth we walk upon, dwells something inhuman: magical creatures of the North that play, dance, and long to be near humans. It is said that their influence is felt everywhere, from the deep woods to the royal court. Sometimes a young person travels to see their family for the High Holy Days and catches the eyes of an Undergrounder. They are lured to the halls of the Mountain King, where they forget time, love, loyalty, even keeping Shabbat. There, they are lost for perhaps even hundreds of years before returning to a world changed.

This larp is about humans and Undergrounders, about Jewish community in a vast and terrifying world, about luring and being lured, about losing yourself, remembering and about finding your way back home.

Bjergtaget (In the Halls of the Mountain King) is a four hour long nonverbal larp for 10-30 participants. The participants play either Renaissance-era Danish Jews or Scandinavian fae of the Underground. Through symbolic gestures and movement to music, a night in the world of the Undergrounders is played out. The humans are lured by an Undergrounder from their tight-knit Jewish community to the fae realm, and in a series of scenes, the relationship between the human and the Undergrounder is explored. The attraction, the conflict, and the memories of what is waiting at home for the human before the break of Dawn offers a possibility for a resolution: will the human and the Undergrounder stay together, or will the human return home?

Through workshops the participants learn the symbolic gestures and how to move to the music, before we all enter a world of magic and myth. The tone of the game is steered by the players: you can aim for any mood from hope to tragedy.

Note: There must be equal numbers of humans and fae to play this larp. If you have a strong preference for one role or the other, you may sign up with “I want to be Fae” or “I want to be Human”. Otherwise, be flexible so we can even out the numbers between the two groups.

Participant communications
I’m happy to communicate via email. There will be no casting forms or casting sheets. If you express a strong preference for one faction, you can choose in advance which human archetype (rabbi, matchmaker, moneylender, etc.) or which Scandinavian fae (lindworm, troll, etc.) from a list you would like to be, but you can also wait until the game to choose. There will be nothing to read beyond two paragraphs of character sheet.

Content warnings
Glamour/mind control, dubiously consensual intimacy/romance/telepathic bonding, implied/subtextual antisemitism.

Also note that the game involves vigorous physical activity — just as much as a boffer larp would, even though it is a theater larp.