Style and Tone

Through a window, you can see Mrs. Murphy, recently widowed, holding a dried bouquet of flowers from her wedding. She is smiling, lost in memories of a happier time.

The eponymous “echoes” of the setting are externalisations of memory, making shared memory and community history physical and therefore a large part of the setting. A core theme of the game is exploring how communities understand themselves in connection to their histories, and how memory – both the presence and the absence of it – influence community and individual identity.

Echoes is intended to be part of the magical realism genre: which is to say, magic systems which are used to emphasise and explore real world concept, and which in the context of the story seem entirely mundane and normal. Echoes, though magical to us, are part of the everyday lives of the inhabitants of Little Avoning, and are seen as entirely normal. This game will explore the lines between the ordinary and the extraordinary and how we navigate those in our day to day lives.

This game is set at the beginning of the industrial revolution, at least as it is experienced by the inhabitants of Little Avoning. It will grapple with changes to the way of life and to new industries in the area, for better and for worse.

This game is intended to be a tragedy; please do not expect a happy ending, although bittersweet endings may be possible. We will be exploring the impacts of loss and tragedy on a community, and the community response to these events.

This game is for you if you enjoy roleplaying tragedy and intense emotion, as well as intense relationships – it is for the kind of people who like to make their characters suffer (but don't worry, we aim for all of the players to have a good time!). The game will be introspective and character-driven. You should not come into this game expecting to make large differences to the setting, to achieve great things, or to go on quests – the game is set over a very short time scale and the largest plot drivers will be out of the characters' hands, with the majority of the game play focused on player's reactions to events and cooperation or conflict in the face of tragedy. The game is relatively plot light, with a focus on emotions and personal narrative.

Echoes is set in a large town in an alternate 1810s England. Although much of history and setting will be the same, there will be a number of notable differences, primarily the existence of echoes and a significantly more inclusive society in terms of race and gender. The characters will be playing residents of a market town, and will be neither the poorest members of society nor the richest.

The conflict in Echoes is intended to be mainly PvE, although there will be some plots with PvP elements, primarily local feuds. This is strictly not a combat LARP – no physical fights in session will be permitted.

Please note that many of the works listed in inspiration contain themes banned in the Echoes CAT policy

• Magical realism, including the classical works such as those of Isabel Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Toni Morrison and more modern works such as Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
• Toxic Town (tv show)
• “Refusal to Mourn” by Andrea Cohen (poem)
• Hadestown (musical)
• Exandria Unlimited: Calamity (actual play)
• Middlemarch by George Eliot and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
• Lost in the Garden by Adam S Leslie
• The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
• Other LARPS, including That's All Folks!,Transference, Terminus, Threshold, and Anabasis.