Calendar » Next and Last Game Ever May 31st, 8pm.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you guys Vampires/Vampyres? Do you drink blood?

We are normal folk having fun. We aren't vampires. Or vampyres. We don't drink blood. Vampires aren't real, and we don't believe in them. Nor are we a vampire fetish club. We also aren't satanists, cultists, or murderers. Perhaps the best way to describe us is as improvizational theatre enthusiasts.

What is a Larp?

LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing. It's one common way to describe what we do. LARPing has roots in roleplaying games, but in many ways it's like acting in a play. You act out the role of a character in a story.

Unlike a play, there is no script and no director, and no actors. We don't memorize and recite lines, we improvise based on our characters. Instead of a Director there is a Storyteller (Or Storytellers) and instead of actors, there are players. As a player, you design a character (with the aid and suggestions of the Storyteller) and act as them in the game. The Storyteller is responsible for everything else: creating a setting for your characters, introduces other Non-Player Characters (NPCs) for you to interact with, and generally provides a backdrop in order for stories to be told, and events to shape the actions of your character. They also handle rules questions. Because there is no script, characters are free to act against either NPCs or even other Player Characters (PCs). The rules provide a means of representing actions in the story that you can't act out in real life, such as combat, or the use of special powers. They also provide a way to fairly adjucate disputes over what characters do, when the players don't agree on what happens.

So wait, what does that have to do with Vampires?

The above was a basic description of a LARP. You can have wild west Larps, you can have cyberpunk larps, basically anything you'd ever want to dress up and pretend to be, can be a larp. In our case, we are playing off of White Wolf's (an RPG company) Vampire:the Masquerade. The players take on the role of vampires, creatures cursed with a hunger for human blood, struggling to maintain hold of their humanity, and to survive.

What is World of Darkness?

The World of Darkness is a name for the setting for Santa Cruz by Night. The World of Darkness is much like our own contemporary world. The President is the same as in our world. History has recorded the same events. The World of Darkness however is not the same. It is the dark, twisted reflection of our world. The cities are larger, the buildings taller, and the streets dirtier. The rich are richer, and the poor are poorer. Crime, corruption, and violence are more common while faith, hope, and innocence are more rare.

There is one final difference: The Supernatural is real. Vampires, and worse exist in secret, preying on humanity. Creatures out of myth and legend, Vampires sleep by day and hunt by night. And unlike the solitary vampires of myth and legend, they congregate in vast groups that conspire to manipulate humanity for their own purposes, even as they struggle to for supremacy and political control over each other.

In Santa Cruz By Night, you take on the role of one of those vampires, or Kindred, as they call themselves. You are members of a group called the Camarilla, a global organization of vampires, founded during the time of the Inquistition to hide the existence of Kindred from humanity.

Why would anybody do this?

Because it's fun. We have a great time doing it, and you might too. If you don't want to try it because you don't think it's cool, it's ok, we'll be fine without you. If you are scared, or worried about being embarrassed, remember you'll have a bunch of fellow people doing it with you who will support you. In any case, you're free to play or not.

Where can I find the rulebook for the game?

The main rulebook is Laws of the Night, Revised, ISBN 1-56504-589-0. It is out of print, so the best ways to get a copy are below. There are other books that provide additional setting materials, but the main rulebook is all you really need.