This is not a larp with a lot of fiction. Everything you need to know about the world and setting will be at this homepage, and we won't send out more information about the world at a later stage. Some things are left unclear or unexplained, because they are not important. For example, it is not important why Aniara can't return and therefore there is no explanation. What is important is that Aniara is incapable of returning. First is a very brief history of what has happened and then a presentation of the religions that exist on Aniara at the start of the larp.
The larp takes place in a not so distant future, with the difference of space technology being significantly more advanced than what we have today. But all problems of today still exist, and climate change has gone out of control. The globally changed weather led to wars and massive immigration around the world. But for most people in the West it wasn't so bad. You heard news about more extreme weather, wars and immigrants at the borders, but that had been going on for years, so you didn't care. Not until you heard you had to move to Mars. Things were a lot worse than you thought. The government promised the transition to Mars would be smooth and you would get a place to live and work to do when you got to the colony there.
You got a ticket to Aniara, one of many spaceships transporting refugees from Earth to Mars. The trip was supposed to take three weeks, but halfway there something happened. The captain gave a lengthy explanation of what happened, but you didn't understand any of it. The point was that Aniara had gotten out off her course and instead of going to Mars you were now heading towards the Lyre constellation. And you could not turn around. There was nothing that could be done. You were doomed.
Of course that led to chaos. A lot of people took their lives. Chronically ill people died after their medication had run out. Many partied. Others fucked. Did more and more extreme things to forget. Some people got pregnant and some died giving birth. Someone broke a leg during a stunt and was disabled for life. People tried to live in denial, or struggled with depression or psychotic episodes. No-one knows how long it's been. Most agree it has to be more than five, but less than ten years. People have tried to pick themselves up. Have tried to find something meaningful in all the meaninglessness, be it relations, poetry, exploring who you are when the norms of society don't hold you back as much any more, but nothing that lasted. Lately religions have appeared on Aniara, groups of people offering comfort or meaning, and more and more individuals are attracted to them.
Not only people, but also the spaceship Aniara itself has seen better days. First all consumables run out. All fresh food, alcohol, medicine ran out. Then paper to write and draw on. Peoples' electronic devices stopped working. The board games lost vital parts. Life started to get really, really boring. Worst still is the ship has slowly started to break down, so to be able to keep everyone still living alive, new living areas have haphazardly been put together further inside the ship, closer to the engines and life supporting systems. All sectors look pretty much the same, with a few rooms to sleep and be in, tables where you can eat, a dance floor, and a few low level crew members tasked to make sure no-one starves to death.
The sectors are not so much the place you live, as the place you currently happen to be in. Most of the time people are free to move between sectors and can stay where they want to. This means it is relatively easy to avoid people you don't want to see by just making sure to be in another sector than the one they are in. Sectors have been closed off before, mostly due to outbreaks of diseases. There has been a time of free roaming between sectors, and most characters have not spent much time in the sector the larp takes place in. However, a new quarantine has just been issued and the sector has been closed off, meaning the characters will be "trapped" together in the sector for, most likely, a long time.
One major theme for this larp is existentialism and the search for meaning in a hopeless situation. In this larp we want religious beliefs to be something that gives people comfort, gives meaning and answers. Much like religions do in our world during a crisis. In this larp having religious beliefs or searching for something to believe in is seen as good and healthy. We want the larp to be filled with talks about the meaning of life, of the purpose of Aniara, rituals, discussions about different beliefs and characters trying to find their truth.
Religion and religious beliefs are not something that is cause for any kind of ridicule, abuse or oppression. We will not play on real world religions on Aniara. All religious expressions, rituals and discussions at the larp have to be about fictional religions (though they can be inspired by real religions).
To create an environment where characters can talk to each other about religion, spirituality and existential questions we will be using the concept of Doris. Doris is everything religious and spiritual. But different people have different opinions and beliefs about what Doris is and what it wants. Some say Doris is a god, some say Doris is like a spirit or a force in the universe or in ourselves. Some say you can talk to Doris, that she can hear you, others say he talks to them in different ways. Some say Doris is all around us and knows everything, others say Doris is distant and ignorant. What Doris wants and if they can influence our lives also differ depending on who you ask. Since there are different views of Doris we encourage heated debates and arguments, as well as quiet talks, about the true nature of Doris. The concept of Doris is something that has grown to be on Aniara due to the ship going off into space. Doris does not exist as a concept outside of Aniara, meaning that no characters have believed in Doris before entering the spaceship. When the larp starts three religions will exist on Aniara, and each of them have their own beliefs about Doris, as outlined below.
The three religions have a few things in common. None of them has a leader or founder at the larp, the beliefs have traveled to this part of Aniara from other sectors. That means no character is right or wrong about the religions, all characters' ideas are just as valid. Every character has the possibility to change the religions in a way they think is interesting.
The religions are a starting point for the religious play at the larp, but everyone is allowed to change them, divide them into several smaller religions with almost the same beliefs, merge religions together to something more uniform, or invent new religions.
It is also possible for characters to find meaning outside of religions, for example in everyday routines, rituals or in art, philosophy and the like.
Here is a very short summary of the core beliefs of the three religions on Aniara. During workshops before the larp players will have time to flesh out the religions and how the rituals and worship might be practiced.
Keywords: Animistic religion, dichotomy between Light and Darkness, rituals
The religion gives members a feeling of being able to influence their hopeless situation
Doris is Light. Where there is light there is Doris, but space and the universe is filled with Darkness. No matter how far away from the sun and light we travel, Aniara is always caught by Light and Doris. Aniara is surrounded by billions of stars who's light catches the ship. Doris the Light always triumphs over Darkness, no matter how weak light is, or how infinite Darkness can feel. In the eternal battle between Light and Darkness, Doris the Light will always win. The Light around Aniara is weak, and therefore we must strengthen it. We are soldiers in service of Doris the Light, fighting to overcome Darkness. When Doris has finally defeated Darkness around Aniara, she will become a star, and we will become one with Doris and Light.
Keywords: Monotheistic religion, mother earth creator of the universe, angered god, punishment, penance
The religion gives meaning to the fate of Aniara
The goddess Doris created the world, and made Earth a paradise for humankind to live in. But humans not only mistreated, but destroyed Doris' creation. As punishment for humankind's sins against her creation, Doris sent Aniara off her course and made Aniara travel through space further and further away. The inhabitants of Aniara are both being punished, and the ones to save humankind. Through repentance and penance we can save, not only ourselves, but all of humankind! We must repent so Doris will forgive us and let us return to her creation. By renouncing everything that makes life worth living, we are showing our remorse. When Doris has been appeased she will turn Aniara around and let us return.
Keywords: Life, inherent godly power in every living being, humans are both creators and destroyers
The religion gives its members hope for a better future, as well as something to strive for.
Doris is life and life is holy.
Humankind has, for all of its existence, changed its world, because of the godly power of Doris. Humankind has used the power to both create and to destroy, especially recently when destroying earth. That killed Doris, and thus we killed Doris. But Doris lives on. Inside all of us is a piece of Doris, which gives us the power to change our world, our Aniara. Together we can create the world we want to live in. Aniara is our chance to start over and to create a new paradise. By creating a new place for life on Aniara we are re-creating Doris and bringing them back to life.
Since Doris is life, we must preserve life in all its shapes and forms, and we must enrich Aniara and space around us with life and Doris. We take care of, and make use of life that exists on Aniara, and do things that make us feel more alive. And we create new life.
There are two types of characters in this larp: refugees from earth and Aniara's crew. The characters are pre-written, and long (about 10 pages) with a focus on relationships to other characters. After you have received a spot at the larp you will be cast to a character according to your preferences (more on this in Practicalities).
The characters consist of all genders and sexualities, including both cis, and trans, binary and non-binary, monogamous and polyamorous, straight, gay or bisexual. On Aniara gender norms have started to dissolve but it can still be an important part of a person's identity or history. Any player can play any character of any gender and sexuality, regardless of the player's off-game gender, sexuality or how their body looks. In the sign up you will be asked what gender and sexuality you prefer playing.
The refugees are normal people who had normal jobs on earth and got a ticket to go to Mars. You boarded Aniara with sadness of leaving earth behind, but with hope of a new life on Mars. That didn't happen, and so you have spent the last years of your life on Aniara, trying to cope with losing everything you had. Playing a refugee is the default player experience on Aniara.
It was supposed to be a routine trip to Mars, then back to earth and get more people bound for Mars on board. That didn't happen. Sure, life has gotten worse, but it wasn't so glamorous before. Working long hours as a cleaner, janitor or washing dishes as one of the lowest level employees onboard. You still do that, so not much has changed. Mostly you're happy just to have a job to do at Aniara. Otherwise you would go crazy, like the refugees have.
Crew members will be played by helpers who participate in the larp for free. As crew you will have scheduled times when you are on duty, and time you are free to larp or rest as you please. Most of the time the crew will be able to larp while working, but must be ready to go off game if needed. When working your duties will be refilling food and water, toilet paper and soap, washing dishes, changing broken light bulbs, directing players to organizers, emergency shopping, helping other players get food from the kitchen, and other similar duties. You will be scheduled to be on duty approximately 16 hours in total during the larp, some of these hours will be scheduled during the night. You will get a pre-written character with relations to the other crew characters. You are permitted to come up with relations to the refugee characters on your own. You are expected to arrange transport to and from the larp by yourself.
