The flickering light of a torch dances around above the heads of four adventurers as they move through a tight, winding passageway. Shadows are cast in myriad dancing forms, given the briefest of lives by the dancing of the flame. The adventurers hold their breath and move sideways to fit through one narrow passage, and then find themselves crawling forwards through the pitch black with a half-inch of air above the water for another.
And then all of a sudden, the dark gives. Up ahead, just around a corner, there comes a soft, steady light. The adventurers move forwards and hurry through to see the cave expand a thousandfold before their eyes into a vast, vaulted chamber. Before them sits a valley, acres of farmland, and a small walled town.
The party takes a moment to look around, to take in the sudden rush of sight the chamber has to offer. Then, they glance at one another. Nods are exchanged, and feet fall on mud and grass as they proceed.
There is much to be done if the Empress is to claim the Labyrinth's prize.
Labyrinth is a combination parlour LARP and action-writeup game organised by the Oxford Larp Society, running in ten sessions from the 28th of January to the 10th of June, with an earlier session dedicated to character creation on the 14th of January and a later session to serve as a campaign debrief on the 24th of June.
Eight hundred years after it sank into the earth, the titular Labyrinth has resurfaced. A few short months after its rediscovery by the knightly order of the isle it lies beneath, expeditions from all the powers of the known world have arrived to explore its depths. The Labyrinth has been many things to many people: perhaps the holiest of holy sites to many of the world's faithful, a home to those who settled its halls before its initial disappearance, and, to just about everyone, a place of opportunity.
Meanwhile, tensions are rising in the known world around. The Northern and Southern Empires each draw closer to the other's throats, with new skirmishes and border disputes almost every month. The knights, and the church under whose auspices they operate, have used the Labyrinth as the opportunity to mediate, organising quarterly summits to which the expeditions' leaders are invited. Even so, the Labyrinth hides its greatest treasure within its depths: a crown, whose wielder will have the potential to shape the world's future.
Labyrinth is set in a world of high, but grounded, fantasy. It is inspired substantially by the classic 'dungeon crawl', hoping to use the Labyrinth as a focal point while serving as a sort of sandbox for players to explore the setting and its themes. It is a game that seeks to fit player characters into this world, and emphasise how that place affects how they relate to others and to ongoing events. While the game might often display tragic events or tend towards a less heroic portrayal of life, it is our intent to tell a story that is, overall, hopeful: people suffer and die in inequity and the world turns on, but the labour of our hands might yet give way to a brighter tomorrow.
While Labyrinth's wiki is particularly large, a prospective player only needs to read a few pages in order to submit their character. It is suggested that players should first read Style and Tone to help decide whether or not they would like to play this game. Second, The Labyrinth provides an introduction to the most important parts of the setting and Archetypes provides an overview of the choices made at character creation. Third, the Character Creation page takes you through the steps of creating a character. Finally, all players are required to read our Conduct and Themes Policy before participating in Labyrinth.
If you are completely new to these games and the wiki system, you may wish to read the introduction to parlour LARPs and, if you would like to play the game, our guide on how the wiki works.
Labyrinth will take place every other Wednesday in the larger, upstairs hall at the Asian Cultural Centre on Manzil Way (OX4 1GH). An in-person session for character creation will be held on the 14th of January, though the deadline for character creation is 23:59 on Monday the 19th of January. Further information about deadlines and balloting are available on Ticketing, When, and Where.
If you have any questions about any aspect of the game or need to get in touch for another reason, you can contact the GM Team via gm@labyrinth.oxfordlarp.com.