Back in February, I went to a LARP.
More exactly, I went to a Witcher LARP… that wasn’t Witcher School!
Yes, the European LARPers are all about following in the footsteps of Geralt of Rivia, with “Something Ends, Something Begins” held in the mountains outside of Barcelona. Unlike Witcher School, however, at Something Ends the players got to play as a long range of different characters, not just witchers.
The concept of the game was that Nilfgaard had won the war and conquered all of the Northern Kingdoms, and Empress Ciri has called delegations from all her new vassal states to a diplomatic gathering at the old fortress of Hagge.
By the request of the organizers, I’ll not be posting any spoilers, since all characters are premade and they don’t want much to be known about them to keep players in the dark for future runs. It’s understandable, but I do admit I’m sad about not being able to do one of my in-depth write-ups of the game, because it really was exactly the kind of immersive character-driven Fantasy LARP that I’m crazy for.
What I can tell you is that I played Arnett von Weber, the youngest child of a Redanian noble family, who went to Hagge with her older sibling, Armine, and the rest of the Redanian delegation. The spoiler-free description of Arnett is that they’re the troublesome child that cares very little about politics or other highborn pursuits, being much more interested in fairy tales about witchers and dragons.
Let’s just say that I was not prepared for the rollercoaster of a game Arnett was going to have. Not only were the characters wonderfully written and tied together in ways that made you constantly discover new connections to others during the game, but my co-players were all really awesome as well. I hadn’t expected anyone to be able to break my heart with only 3 days to get to know their character, but I got an emotional gut punch by the end of the game. And – believe it or not, non-LARPers – that’s one of the greatest things that can happen at an immersive LARP!
Something Ends, Something Begins was organized by Efimeral and they have recently announced that they’re doing another international run in February 2024. I can warmly recommend it, and I might just sign up for a go as a different character myself if time allows.
Photos by A. Solana Larpgraphy
