Gateways is a weekend long freeform roleplaying game for 79 players, set in the far future. The game will be based on Threshold Station. Players will assume the identities of inhabitants of, and vistors to, the station. A mixture of Humans and aliens, containing politicians, traders, academics, entertainers, spies, pirates and more.

 

Main Themes

The list below is intended to give a feel for the themes we cover in Gateways, but is not an exhaustive list.

Memory and Identity Aging, Mortality and Immortality Alien Biology and How It Forms Alien Culture Alien Mindsets Culture Clashes and the Evolution of Societies Genocide and its Consequences Isolation and Reunion Colonisation and Colonialism The Challenges of War and of Peace

Divided Loyalties Political Negotiations, Treaties and Trade Redemption and Retribution Covert Operations Ecology and Environmental Use/Misuse Comparative Morality and Ethics The Rule of Law Family: Biological and Found

 

What kind of LARP is Gateways?

Gateways is broadly in the tradition of UK Freeforms weekend-long games. This means:

• Characters are pre-written and supplied to players after a casting process, rather than player written.
• Character backgrounds will reference a number of pre-prepared unresolved plot elements, which may be resolved in-game.
• This is not an 'open' game; there are secrets, and spoilers are to be avoided—pre-gaming is discouraged.
• This is a single event, designed to stand alone, rather than being part of an ongoing series of games.
• There are several scheduled events, and event arcs through the game; not all players will interact with all of these arcs.
• Game play is more often 'busy and fun' than traumatic, though emotional play, including tears and raised voices should also be expected.
• There will be very little pre-game workshopping.
• Immersivity though desirable, is likely to be moderate at best (this is run at a hotel—we do not have the ability, or budget to convincingly make it feel like an alien artifact/space-station.)
• Character appropriate costuming is encouraged, but everyone should accept that some people will invest more effort into costuming than others.
• Game breaks are scheduled where players (and GMs) have the opportunity to eat and sleep out of character, and organisers will be unavailable.
• There are mechanics for conflict resolution, relationship evolution, and game specific mini-games. These rules are often optional, and are provided to allow resolution where there is no obvious agreed resolution. They also allow for moments of 'serendipity'.
• Conflict is expected between characters, as some characters will have diametrically opposing goals to others. However no player can be removed from the game by another player’s actions before the closing scenes of the game. (This usually means characters can’t die until the final act).

 

Game Suitability

This game is unsuitable for anyone below the age of 15 - it contains darker themes including, but not restricted to; criminal & gang activities, war crimes, forced labour, murder, substance use and addiction, reproductive freedom (in the context of alien biologies), meat eating, and cannibalism. We will ask in advance that players inform us if they are sensitive to any particular topics and will do our best to try to cast you as a character not directly involed in that area. However this is not always possible; if we feel this is the case, we will endeavour to let you know in advance.

This game will require pre-game reading to understand the setting. Gateways is set in a fictional future, created entirely for this game. In order for you to play a character in this setting you will not just need to understand your character, but you will also need to read and digest information explaining the setting. This may include briefings on future history, societies, technologies, and generally 'How this universe works'.

The alien biology in this game is almost as weird as what you’ll find here on Earth. This is not a central feature for all characters, and we will ask about this in casting, but you should consider whether you are bothered by others around you discussing unusual and potentially disturbing (or as some of us call it ‘interesting’) biology.

 

Character Gender and Sex

The characters in this game are mix of sexes, including some non-human sexes which have no direct human analogue. Many characters will have no pre-written gender or sex; players should play these as best fits them. Some characters will be seen as either male or female, however players are welcome to play their character as they see fit. It would be entirely appropriate for a person to present as androgynous or consider themselves non-binary, or for characters to be romantically drawn to characters of the same gender, or even of another species (though no viable offspring would result from interspecies liaisons without techological intervention). Casting will offer you the chance to make us aware of any preferences that we should take into account when selecting your character.

 

Your Character

All players will be required to complete a casting form in order to communicate your character preferences. Once all casting forms have been completed, players will be assigned their characters and given a short character hint. It is important that you express any concerns you may have at this time as there may be a possibility of altering the characters. Your full character sheet will be sent to you closer to the game.

Your character sheet will give you all the information regarding your character. It will include your character’s name and any titles, some general information and stats, an overview of how people see you, some background about your characters, various areas of interest, a summary of goals, any skills, abilities, or items you have, and who you know. All the information on your character sheet is from the point of view of that character and is subjective based on that character's knowledge and opinions.

The information provided will give you a baseline for your character however as the game progresses your character may change and grow depending on the interactions you have. There is no right or wrong way to play but we ask you to try and step into your characters shoes for a while and connect with what they might feel, think the way they do, and behave how they would. Allow yourself to make decisions based on what your character would do.

Each character has a list of goals which may help you get started with the character. You may decide to pursue certain goals and abandon others. Sometimes you may find you have contradictory goals and you will need to decide which is the most important to your character.

There will be secrets that will be revealed in game. For this reason we ask that you are careful about what you share with other players prior to the game. Different characters will have different levels of knowledge regarding different plots and discussing plots prior to the game may spoil the experience for another player.

Your character sheet will give you everything you need to get started. We suggest you read it carefully to begin with and after that it is yours to study, transform, cry on and play. The character is yours to interpret however you wish. Feel free to ask any questions to the GMs if you are unsure of something.

 

Costuming

The different societies present on Threshold station have visibly distinct costuming styles; however within each society there is a wide range of clothing styles which would be suitable for the game, many of which can be sourced from charity shops. Once casting is complete, suggestions for suitable attire will be provided (though these will be only suggestions and you are welcome to costume as much or as little as you wish—we only ask that you try to wear something that looks vaguely suitable).

Please note the cultural backgrounds of Humans in 2491 are do not correlate well to any specific ethnicities of today. We ask that players do not try to recreate any form of ethnicity through the use of make-up e.g. black face, as this can be considered of a racially insensitive nature.

 

Influences

Inspiration for the game has been taken from various science fiction novels, films and television series. Although this game and its characters may have been influenced by specific fictional characters or settings, extensive liberties will have been taken in adapting this to our universe. Many characters will not be what they appear to be. The following are some of the influences which have helped shape the game.

Books The works of C.J. Cherryh inc. 'Downbelow Station', 'Merchanter's Luck', '40000 in Gehenna', and others The 'Ender's Game' trilogy by Orson Scott Card The 'Vorkosiverse' novels by Lois Mcmaster Bujold The 'Xenogenesis' Trilogy by Octavia Butler The 'Known Space' novels by Larry Niven The 'Heechee novels' by Frederick Pohl The 'Ancillary Justice' novels by Ann Leckie The Novels of Vernor Vinge

Films and TV 'Babylon 5', TV, 1994-1998 'Firefly', TV, 2002-2003 'Stargate', Film 1994 and TV, 1997-2007 'The Expanse', TV, 2015-2022 'Dollhouse', TV, 2009-2010 'The Matrix', Film, 1999 'Farscape', TV, 1999-2003 'Avatar', Film, 2009