Horde: Goblin Mode, Overkill Festival, Enschede, NL, 2023

Live Action Role Playing Game | 16.11.2023 - 18.11.2023

The Horde: Goblin Mode LARP - Unleash Your Wild Spirit!

Embrace the chaos and embark on an unforgettable journey in the "Horde: Goblin Mode", a one-of-a-kind LARP experience that fuses environmental sensibilities, immersive storytelling, and thrilling gameplay. Are you ready to discover a world where fantasy meets reality, and your actions shape the fate of a goblin-infused realm?

The "Horde: Goblin Mode" LARP, by Kostis Stafylakis & Theo Triantafyllidis, creators of the Readiness Saga, took place at the Sickhouse headquarters of the Overkill Festival 2023, Enschede, The Netherlands and ran from Thursday 16 to Saturday 18 November 2023.

From the open call for Players:

Welcome to a Climate-Shifting World: Step into a post-climate change realm, where a once-neoliberal dystopia has given rise to pandemics, mass extinction, and social unrest. Prepare to navigate the eternal gray skies caused by large-scale solar radiation management gone awry, as sulphuric mist clouds the horizon. It's a realm where the failure of green capitalism has left a power vacuum, paving the way for new factions to rise and claim their destiny.

Discover the Horde Factions: Align yourself with the Malthusian Elves, advocating for green pacifism in a hedonistic forest vegan glamping retreat. Or join the Swamp Goons, delving into primordial fossil fuel goop and exploring crypto mining and energy practices. Alternatively, become a bold Knight, mastering geoengineering and renewable energy while envisioning humanity's future beyond Earth. Or embrace the raw force of Gaia with the anarchist Goblins, who seek to rewild and disrupt with unbridled chaos. Avoid their jets of green slime or get muddy in the Goblins’ lair.

Unravel Secrets and Forge Alliances: As you construct faction-specific ritualistic structures, unveil forgotten prophecies, and engage in frenzied trade deals, you'll realize that every choice matters. The General Assembly calls, where factions present their findings and unexpected alliances form, revealing the intricate web of interconnectedness.

Embrace Pascale's Guidance: Seek wisdom from Pascale, the enigmatic AI housed in a biotechnological mycorrhizal hybrid supercomputer. Ask questions, decipher enigmatic quotes predicting the future, and gain insight that can turn the tide in your faction's favor. Participate in the collective coding of the realm you envision.

Prepare for the Final Confrontation: As the veil lifts, a shocking revelation exposes the true puppet master manipulating events from the shadows. Thwart the manipulator's schemes, confront inner conflicts, and navigate the delicate web of alliances and betrayals. The outcome of the final confrontation will determine the realm's fate and the future of the goblin-infused world.

Join us in this LARP adventure that defies conventions, immerses you in a world of enthralling possibilities, and sparks your wild spirit. Experience the synergy of environmental consciousness and thrilling gameplay as you journey through "The Horde: Goblin Mode." Are you ready to rewrite the fate of the realm?

Credits:

LARP Artists and Game Designers: 

Kostis Stafylakis & Theo Triantafyllidis

With P.A.S.C.A.L.E. AI

Photography (LARP REPORT) by Woody Bos

Photography (KOTZ LIMBO) by KOTZ

Photography (Volksrant) by Simon Lenskens

Photography (Overkill Festival) by Tessa Wiegerinck

Elf Dreamcatcher and Fabrics: Bety Krňanská

LARP Costumes: Semina Milarokosta & Artemis Sartzetaki

LARP 3D Printed and Laser Cut Props: Christos Fousekis


Horde Assembly 

Hosted by KOTZ

At their installation LIMBO IN THE LIMBUS EN EL LIMBO 

P.A.S.C.A.L.E. Interface 

by Samuel Capps

P.A.S.C.A.L.E. Mainframe 

by Jelle de Graaf

R U Dead Yet?

Video Installation by Most Dismal Swamp

A tale for seven voices (Sorgin Pastorala)

Installation & Performance by Juliette Lizotte with Noah Cohen

Xiu’s story

Video by Plague pro, Virtue Village, Halo, Ian Bruner

The Horde: Doomer Mode

Parallel Sister LARP by Studio 11 Athens School of Fine Arts

Partially Successful Starship Rocket Launch 

by SpaceX


LARP Players: 

Carl Brandi

Jazia Hammoudi

Samuel Capps

Audrey Belaud

Nikolaos Voyiazoglou

Jana Romanova

Siem Buijsse

Anja Jansen

Louisa Teichmann 

Matthijs van Staalduine

Charlotte vd Veen

Lorena Weder Muñiz


LARP Guest Appearances:

BCAA System

Clara Odenthal

HORDE: GOBLIN MODE LARP was Produced by Sickhouse and Hosted by The Overkill Festival 2023: The Outburst of the Digital Swamp in Enschede, NL, on 16-18 November 2023.

The Festival was curated by Aike Lütkemöller & Marie Janin with guest curator Kostis Stafylakis, playful curator Zuraida Buter and artist researcher Erik Peters.