”We certainly do not forget you so soon as you forget us. It is perhaps our fate rather than our merit. We cannot help ourselves. We live at home, quiet, confined, and our feelings prey upon us. You are forced on exertion. You have always a profession, pursuits, business of some sort or other, to take you back into the world immediately; and continual occupation and change soon weaken impressions.”
– Persuasion
There are four types of characters at this larp – Heroines, Heroes, Company employees and Servants. Any type of character can be played by a person of any and no gender and by any body type or off-game appearance. In-game, if you wear historical trousers you’re a man and if you wear a historical skirt or dress you’re a woman. If you wear modern clothes your gender should not be automatically assumed, which we will workshop on-site.
Characters have been pre-written by our team of writers, and you will be cast according to your preferences after you have received a spot at the larp (more on this under Practical).
Female Heroines (20 Characters)
The Female Heroines are the protagonists of this larp. They are the paying customers who come to the park to have their romantic fantasies fulfilled. They are people who live most of their days in the real world, perhaps they work, have a family or are famous for something. The one thing they all have in common is that they love Austen, everything from die hard readers to someone who has seen a movie or two, and they want to experience her world.
The Heroines come in three categories:
The Gold package: The incredibly rich and most often famous. These people will have others at their beck and call, trying to railroad their experience in the best way possible. Very few of these are Austen superfans.
The Silver package: The majority of the Heroines at the theme park. These people will play eligible young women of good birth. They will be able to have more control over their story and more focus on immersing into the Austen lifestyle.
The Bronze package: Those who couldn’t afford a more expensive ticket. Often avid book readers who need an escape from the real world for one reason or another. They will get poorer characters and less pampering at the theme park, but have more opportunities to move around without the interference of the Company. And of course, they’ll get a happy-ish ending.
Male Heroes (20 Characters)
The Heroes are the eye-candy and pleasers of this larp. They are a group of Androids, new AI technology and two humans and have been trained or programmed to be the perfect Austen man, some of them learning speeches to recite to the ladies they woo, others spending a lot of time on personal grooming to achieve the perfect whiskers. They come in all types – officers, priests and gentlemen of considerable fortunes.
The Heroes are all playing men and will, in most cases, not just focus on one woman but instead try to give several guests a good experience.
The Heroes belong to one of three categories:
Androids: Not robots, instead they are just like humans in almost every way, except for the fact that they have a lifespan of four years, and are grown in a tank. They also have some enhanced attributes. Most of them are resentful of the AI units.
AI units: Artificial intelligence deposited into a human-like body. While in Park mode they act according to their romantic programming, and while in Compiler mode they instead analyse what has happened. They are very good at acting like they have real feelings or free will, but they do not. They are being developed to one day replace Androids.
Humans: Two members of the team. Humans can join for many reasons – some wish they were Androids, some get a kick out of pretending to be one, some may even be convinced they are one.
Company Employees (8 Characters)
Company employees are in-game GM:s trying to control the moving parts in the guests’ love stories. They host strategy meetings with the Heroes, “reprogram” faulty models and try to make sure the guests have a good time. The group is split into AI development, Android development, and Narrative.
The Company employees are fully-fledged characters, with conflicts and dreams. The Company team will also have pre-written relations within the group and towards the Heroes. Playing a Company Employee suits people who don’t mind being the bad guys, and enjoy low-key workplace drama and everyday annoyances. The Employees are after all essentially an office, where everyone also lives together.
Staff (11 Characters)
Staff are employed by the Company to keep the park running. They can work in the kitchen, do hair, write love letters, bring breakfast in bed and serve at the tables. They play servants and often have one or two things that are their specialty. Staff, just as all other groups, will receive pre-written characters with wants, needs and relations. Some of them are humans, some are Androids. They are also free to pursue plot lines during the game.
These characters are all played by helpers. A helper is expected to be flexible when it comes to tasks. You can of course state what you absolutely cannot do, but will be asked by the organizers to do off-game tasks, like going shopping or doing dishes. You can of course say no, and we expect you to if things get too much. You will also (most likely) not have as much time to actually larp.
This group comes in three categories:
Kitchen staff (led by Siri Sandquist): In charge of cooking, dishes and serving. 6 people.
GM staff (led by Simon Svensson): Behind the scenes company employees that do all the less interesting Company tasks and can step in to do other Company tasks when needed. 2 people.
Park staff (led by Petra Lindve): The grunts of the Park. They do things like decorations, carrying things and setting up different areas. 3 people.