Lotta's Fountain

RPG system: LARP

By

The Smoke (2026), Theatre Deli, 107 Leadenhall Street, EC3A 4AF London, United Kingdom

Silas Urwin

Description

In the immediate aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, the work of organising relief efforts, distributing medical aid, and arranging emergency evacuations has fallen to a small group, based near Lotta’s Fountain, where people in need post requests for help and search for missing loved ones.

You will be tasked with responding to, and prioritising, requests for medical aid and emergency evacuation, while also facing your own personal challenges in the aftermath of the disaster. The narrative of the game responds to the decisions the characters make. Everyone here has their own priorities, politics and biases. To what extent will they be able to look past their differences and work together for the good of the city?

The tone of the game is serious, and aims to simulate the confusion, stress, and competing demands for attention of a disaster relief project. There will be lots of documents and information, and decisions that must be made under time pressure. However, this is primarily in place to support opportunities for character based roleplaying, and the focus of the game is on how the characters personally respond to the situation they find themselves in. (That is to say you are not required to, or expected to, read everything that comes your way!)

While the characters are based on real historical figures, no knowledge of the history surrounding the characters or events is needed in order to play. The characters, and their relationships with one another, will be developed in a short pregame workshop.

Gameplay will be centred around spoken communication, there is likely to be conflict between the characters, but this will be resolved through discussion and debate rather than violence. No physical contact between players is required. Characters may optionally have romantic relationships with one another, this will be decided by players in the workshop.

Played at