Colony Wars: Nerfed Up Larp Interview

Rob spent some time talking the Ram. The man behind the Colony Wars SF Larp games. This is what he found out.

Question: What is Colony Wars?

Answer:

It is a SF Larp Nerf System. That borrows from SF action films and TV from the 1980’s onwards. You’ll find inspirations from the Aliens, Terminator, Predator, RoboCop, Resident Evil, and others. It refers to the famous corporations from these worlds. Expect to see Weyland Yutani, Umbrella, OCP, etc all up their usual tricks. So far there have been 3 games in the Colony Wars Sequence Games 1 and 2 were both Bug Hunts. A team has to deal with a difficult situation. This boils down to dodgy dealings with bioweaponery. In Game 3 the emphasis shifted to the Colony Wars concept. Now a team landing on a world has to work with a world inspired by SF. In the first Colony Wars this was the apes from planet of the Apes.

Question: What About The Next Game?

Answer:

The next event is Colony Wars: Wargames. Delos (Westworld) and CyberDyne (Terminator) have created a training ground. Teams from different SF backgrounds are invited to compete to see who is the best.

Question: When and Where?

Answer:

When is the weekend of June 21st. Arrivals will be on the Friday. This will include some social time. A chance for the players to get to know each other. The game starts on the morning of June 22nd and plays on until mid afternoon June 23rd The location is Priory Wood Scout Camp, Takeley, Bishops Storford, CM22 7 TD It’s close to Stansted Airport.

Question: What SF Genres

Answer:

You’re going to have quite a choice. At the moment we are thinking of

Colonial Marines (Aliens)
Mobile Infantry (Starship Troopers)
Marine Corps Space Aviators (Space Above and Beyond)
Robocops (via the OCP corporation from Robocop)
Judges (as in 2000AD’s Judge Dredd)

By way of example. The game is open to most SF genres especially if they can fit into the action adventure style. We are open to ideas.

Question: Nerf Gun Mods?

Answer:

We’re looking for all Nerf guns (or similar) to be painted. So they do not look like toys but instead look more like guns. Cosmetic modifications are fine. This includes body panels, new stocks, lights and so on. The idea is that if the guns look more like their SF counter parts then so much the better. We are not allowing alterations to guns that increase their rate of fire or the speed of darts. So nothing to increase the power of the guns themselves. We are also not allowing dart modifications. These all need to be stock darts.

Question: What are the rules like?

Answer:

Very lightweight. All the characters will have the skills to do complete tasks that match their roles. We do ask that skills are all roleplayed out. Combat is more theatrical than points based. You will know when you’ve taken hits and these need to be role-played. Wounds and healing should also be role-played. We are not aiming to kill characters off. Be warned, if a character gets caught in an untenable situation; then we won’t shy from the outcome.

Question: What About Player Support?

Answer:

We are putting together resources to help players create their characters. If someone comes to us with a good idea then we’ll try and make that happen From our point of view then we are putting together props to make this a fun game. All players have to do is remember to talk to us.