Four Gods and a Funeral

RPG system: LARP
Participants: 18 players

By

Mythic Consequences (2019), Naish Holiday Village, Christchurch, Dorset, United Kingdom

	Helen Jones
	Megan Jones

Continuum (2022), John Foster Hall at the University of Leicester. Oadby, Leicester, United Kingdom

	Helen Jones
	Megan Jones

Description

For as long as anyone can remember, Chalion and Roknar have fought. So when the Queen of the neutral Island of Arin invited delegations from both states to negotiate a peace treaty, it seemed like an unmissable chance to end the bloodshed, at least for a while.

But all is not well in Arin. The royal family have been dying fast, amidst rumours of a curse. Now, only young Queen Ellen remains. Forced to consider an heir outside her own family, she has offered to make someone from Chalion or Roknar her heir … if she believes they will honour the treaty and Arin’s neutrality.

With such a prize at stake, the rival factions have been painfully polite. But decades of war leave their scars, and the delegates bear many grudges and secrets, some of which threaten to destroy the negotiations entirely. Particularly after the Roknari Prince’s sudden death, and the scandalous events of his funeral this morning …

Four Gods and a Funeral is an angsty, political fantasy game set in the world of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Five Gods books: a world reminiscent of 15th/16th-century Spain.

Players be aware: This game is quite reading-heavy, with roughly 10 A4 pages of background (a players’ guide including theology, politics, game schedule etc.: I’ve tried not to make it too painful, honest!) and about 5 – 10 pages for the character sheets. A very few characters may also have some extra reading to do in-game.

This game does have some mature and potentially difficult themes, including stillbirth/infant mortality, religious persecution, drug addiction, child neglect and the death of (adult/teen) children. As such, this game is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18.

Although this game is set in Bujold’s World of the Five Gods, and involves a lot of magic based in the rules of this universe, anyone can play this who hasn’t read the books. Costuming is not mandatory, but is encouraged, and should be renaissance fantasy style. Any combat will be resolved by GM fiat.

Played at