Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess, and things didn’t go so well for her. She had to make sacrifices, you know? That’s just how the world works. Eventually she had to sacrifice her heart.

This is not her story. This is yours. Unless of course it isn't…

There is a world beyond the world.

Not another reality. Thousands upon thousands of other realities, all pressed together, like the torn pages of a million storybooks wadded into a giant ball. It is a world where, somewhere, everything is true and everything is permitted. It is a world where, somewhere, the magic in your soul can work wonders.

So if you close your eyes, and you wish hard enough to leave the world behind…well, you might find yourself beyond the world, with your own heart’s desiring forming around you, into the power you’ll learn to call an Auspice.

But you need more than that. Your little power won’t grow into a proper dreamland unless you find another dreamer to share it with, one with her own Auspice, her own vision, her own needs. It takes two people to make the magic happen.

Unless of course it doesn’t…

If you don’t want to share, if you don’t want to play, if you want your little dream pure and perfect – if nobody’s good enough for you, or you’re not good enough for anybody – you can always embrace the Nightmare, and just be you, at the cost of being terrible.

And she’s a beautiful princess, don’t you know. Unless of course she isn't…

The Princess of the Thirteenth Hour, Honored in the Courts of Horror, has invited you to a Ball. You, and twelve other master-dreamers with their own half-dreams. Because your time is running out, and she seems to think it might befit her to be there when the clock strikes midnight…

The Dreamlands Waltz is a thirteen-player three-hour mechanics-light game. Pregame reading is slightly under ten pages including rules and context. The game takes place within the setting and metaphysics of the larps Dreamlands by Kristen Hendricks and Warren Tusk and Dreamlands: Heart and Shadow by Tony Vila, but no previous knowledge of the canon is necessary to play the game.

The Dreamlands Waltz is a “speed-dating game”, which in this context means that the bulk of gameplay consists of one-on-one conversations between players, and the default ending of the game is for twelve of the thirteen players present to have separated out into six pairs who will form new dreamlands together. These relationships need not be romantic. Unlike other major speed-dating games, this larp does not feature a notion of True Love or canonical correct pairings; many different results are possible.

The gameplay of The Dreamlands Waltz requires that every player dance with every other player according to a set schedule of partners, with fairly quick transitions between partners. (This means, in particular, that players should come prepared to dance with partners of any gender.) If you have a mobility issue that interferes with dancing or moving around quickly, something can be worked out, but please let us know in advance so that we can plan appropriately.

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess, and things didn’t go so well for her. She had to make sacrifices, you know? That’s just how the world works. Eventually she had to sacrifice her heart.

This is not her story. This is yours. Unless of course it isn't…

++++

There is a world beyond the world.

Not another reality. Thousands upon thousands of other realities, all pressed together, like the torn pages of a million storybooks wadded into a giant ball. It is a world where, somewhere, everything is true and everything is permitted. It is a world where, somewhere, the magic in your soul can work wonders.

So if you close your eyes, and you wish hard enough to leave the world behind…well, you might find yourself beyond the world, with your own heart’s desiring forming around you, into the power you’ll learn to call an Auspice.

But you need more than that. Your little power won’t grow into a proper dreamland unless you find another dreamer to share it with, one with her own Auspice, her own vision, her own needs. It takes two people to make the magic happen.

Unless of course it doesn’t…

If you don’t want to share, if you don’t want to play, if you want your little dream pure and perfect – if nobody’s good enough for you, or you’re not good enough for anybody – you can always embrace the Nightmare, and just be you, at the cost of being terrible.

And she’s a beautiful princess, don’t you know. Unless of course she isn't…

+++

The Princess of the Thirteenth Hour, Honored in the Courts of Horror, has invited you to a Ball. You, and twelve other master-dreamers with their own half-dreams. Because your time is running out, and she seems to think it might befit her to be there when the clock strikes midnight…