Practical
Event overview
Dates
Run 9: Saturday morning, 16th of January 2027, to Sunday night, 17th of January 2027.
Run 10: Saturday morning, 13th of February 2027, to Sunday night, 14th of February 2027.
Workshops start on Saturday at noon.
The larp ends on Sunday before midnight, followed by an after party.
Two hotel nights are included: Saturday to Sunday and Sunday to Monday.
Sign-up
To be announced.
Price
To be announced. Installments possible.
Number of players
29
Organisation
Narrators Inc. is behind this not-for-profit larp. It has been designed by Maria Pettersson and Katrine Wind. Helicon Sweden 2027 is produced by Christer Edvadsson.
Language
English
Age limit
18+
Contact email
heliconsweden2027@gmail.com
Location
Frimurarsalongerna, Södra hamngatan 31, Gothenburg, Sweden
aesthetics and Costumes
The larp is set in the “vintage era”, which encompasses any time from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th century.
Those playing Inspired are asked to find a suitable costume which will portray their character. They can be modest or outrageous according to the character’s personality and taste, but should aesthetically fit the vintage era. Historical accuracy is not important. Inspired can use any colour apart from white and gold. A white shirt under a set of other colors is okay but the white should be toned down.
The Muses will dress in white and gold. Their clothes can contain influences of the fashions of ancient Greece, or they can be from the vintage era. Ingame, the Inspired will choose what clothes they give to their Muses; off-game the costume should be up to the player of the Muse.
All gamemaster-generated content will take place inside. You can play outside if you want to, in which case we encourage you to bring a suitable coat, as Denmark in winter can be cold.
You can see pictures by our wonderful friend Kai Simon Frederiksen from previous runs here:
Pictures from run 3
Pictures from run 4
Location
The venue is a beautiful early 19th century building owned by the local Freemason Lodge.
You will be accommodated at Hotel Royal (a short walk from the venue, ca 500 m) and share a room with your Muse/Inspired partner. Most of the beds are double beds, but you can ask for separate beds to be set up. If you have special needs regarding sleeping arrangements, please let us know in the sign up form. Sleeping is off-game.
If you have any questions about the venue or the accommodations, feel free to email the organizers at heliconsweden2027@gmail.com.
Travel
The venue and the hotel are easily accessible by a 5-10 min walk from Gothenburg’s main train station (Centralen) or by bus or tram (Brunnsparken). The closest airport is Landvetter (code GOT or ESGG) from which there are buses going directly to Centralen. If you arrive by car you will have to find suitable parking for both days, as there will be very little opportunity to leave the venue between the acts.
ACCESSIBILITY
You will be asked about your special needs in the sign-up form. If you want to discuss accessibility before sign-up, please write us an email.
The venue is an old building with broad doors and large halls accessible through a set of stairs to the 1st floor or an elevator. We will only use the 1st floor for the duration of the game. This means hard floors and potentially lukewarm indoor temperatures, depending on the weather on Jan-Feb. Plan your costumes accordingly. During much of the larp you will be able to sit down on comfortable chairs or couches. Lights in some of the rooms might be dim in the evening.
Language
Food and drinks
All food and drinks are included in the price.
For all meals, most dietary requirements can be met as the hotel is used to handling special dietary needs. You will be asked about your dietary needs in the sign-up form.
The venue will be serving both alcoholic- and non-alcoholic drinks. Some alcohol will be served as part of the game on special occasions.
We will have reserved a room for the afterparty at the pub downstairs.
At the venue:
Saturday lunch: No lunch will be provided on Friday
Saturday afternoon: Afternoon fika with coffee, tea, & fruits
Saturday evening: One course dinner including drinks & dessert
Sunday lunch: One course lunch
Sunday evening: One course dinner including drinks & dessert
At the hotel:
Hotel breakfast is included in the accommodations Sunday and Monday morning.
Photos
Nikoline Krogh Gilså (Urnesfoto) will join us as a photographer to document the larp. There will be time allocated for a group photo and portraits.
You can request not to be featured before the final photos are published and you will get access to the photos beforehand.
The organisers may use the approved photos to document the larp or use as promotion material.
A photographer’s policy will be available for you to review through the application form.
Schedule
There will be a strict time-management policy at this larp. This means that workshops and play will start on time, and we will not be waiting for anyone. This also applies to break times. So please plan your trip thoroughly so that you can be at the venue on time, and preferably wear an in-game appropriate watch.
We completely understand that this is not a preferred style for many people, but we would rather provide clear expectation management.
Ingame, a lot of the time will be spent in free play, but there are some collective activities that all characters will participate in: meals, rituals and fake-showings of art are the most prominent of these. However, these collective activities will not be time-consuming compared to the time available to play freely. So please contribute any and all ideas for relationships, scenes, plots, etc, that you want to play with your co-players during the larp. It is a co-creation experience.
This is an approximate schedule for the larp. The final schedule will be sent out in a practical information letter after sign up closes.
Saturday
10:00-12:00: Show up and put on the name tag with your character’s name, which we will provide upon arrival. Make sure you have eaten your lunch beforehand. No lunch will be provided on Saturday.
12:30-13:00: Presentation of the setting and opportunity for questions (briefing)
13:00-15:10: First part of the workshop, without costumes
15:10-16:50: Check into the rooms and get afternoon coffee and cake. Dress up and get into costumes. More time to calibrate if you are done with costumes
16:50-18:00: Last workshops, in costumes
18:00: Act 1. The larp starts with the failed escape and punishment ritual
19:00: In-game dinner
~23.00: Muse ritual/flashback scene for Inspired
~23:45 End of act 1 and everybody offgame.
Please, don’t party on Saturday night. Take some time to talk to your relations or to decompress. Your experience will benefit from being well rested on Sundday.
Sunday
10:00: Arrive at the venue and get into costume.
10.00-10:30: Group photo, calibration off-game, info on Act 2
10:30-11 Act 2 starts with a flashback scene
13.00-14.00: Lunch
14:30: In-game party and complete draining of the Muses. Some Inspired will show what they have achieved during the previous year.
15:30-16:30: Off-game break
16:30: Off-game calibration time
17:00: Act 3 starts
18:30: In-game dinner
20:30: Binding ritual
21:45-22:30: At some point during the time, the Finale happens with all characters present. Helicon ends. Short common debrief and a voluntary longer debrief hosted by the safety person as well as the afterparty.
Monday
Breakfast and goodbyes before you check out from the hotel.
Safety mechanics and self-care
A safety person will be at your service during the larp. There will be workshops about how to escalate slowly, leave situations and calibrate using the word “offgame”.
Please note that the larp will feature physical interactions, and a good baseline of what you should be okay with could be, a stranger touching your arm, shouting at you, holding your hand or kissing you on the cheek. If you are not comfortable with this, Helicon is probably not a larp for you.
For sensual play, touching each other on non-genital and front torso areas and embracing of any kind is okay (if calibrated of course!).
Calibration means that players discuss offgame and decide what their characters do ingame. We encourage players to calibrate in order to get an optimal experience. Some things like simulated violence or intimate touch should always be calibrated.
If you get to the point where you want your characters to actually have sex, you will have to go to a private space and to play it out or to “fade to black” (go off-game). No nudity is allowed during play.
Careful stunt fighting will be opt-in as an option but not required.
Players can decide that their characters act in violent or sensual ways, experience dramatic breakdowns or suffer from mortifying humiliations. Helicon is a larp containing both light and dark themes, and it can include triggering subjects, such as violence, oppression, abandonment, gaslighting, controlling behaviour, sexual violence and mental-health issues.
You can always leave a situation, and you are always in control of your own body! But, it is important that you are okay with these themes being part of the larp, and the fact that they might be played out while you are present.
Our philosophy is that self-care comes first. We expect you to take responsibility for your own experience and well-being. To help you with this, we will provide a designated safety person on location, in case you need to talk to someone during the larp.
No off-game discrimination
Gender and background
We highly encourage people of all genders and backgrounds to join this larp.
There are male, female and non-binary mortal characters in the larp. In mythology, muses are usually female gendered, but in this larp, muses can be of any gender (he/she/they/other/none).
Players of all off-game genders are welcome to play all characters – both humans and muses. In the casting form you will be asked if you have a gender preference for your character, but this has nothing to do with your off-game gender, which you will not be asked about in the sign-up. Within a pair, the Inspired and the Muse can be of either the same or different genders.