Ardent Spacers is a PvE camp-and-linear style camping LARP, where players join the spaceship AES Ardent in one of her four divisions, working together to explore our galaxy and research the emerging threats against the Alliance.
What This Game Is
- An outdoor camping event, where you can camp in-character or out-of-character.
- A PvE (Player vs Environment) game. There is scope for social PvP (Player vs Player), but resorting to violence against other players has steep consequences.
- A camp and linear game, based on different planets each event. You’ll find NPCs wandering into camp, and have missions to go on around the venue.
- A foam blaster and LARP melee combat game. There will be violent threats at each event, and you won’t be able to talk down every potential fight. There will not be huge battles where half the players are expected to monster.
- A mission-oriented game. Everyone has a common overall goal, and must succeed at a certain number of tasks for the event’s mission to be considered complete. It is possible to fail objectives.
What This Game Isn’t
- A high-immersion, high-production game. This LARP is more in line with average UK LARPs, and although we are working on creating high quality props and encourage and love to see high-end costumes, do not expect this from everyone.
- A space station simulation. While the game is about the adventures of a space ship, events will focus on its planetary missions.
- An assigned character game. You make your own character, using the setting to create a backstory. The game’s story revolves around the mission planet and the AES Ardent overall, and personalised plots are more likely to be based on groups than individuals.
Combat Content
We are aiming for content to be evenly balanced between combat, science & medicine, engineering, and diplomacy. There may be large skirmishes at events, but we will not have the fest-style “morning battles” that include the whole playerbase.
Combat may occur both in Mission Zones and the Mission Base (player camp), but is not permitted in any tents or covered communal areas, to make it easier to opt-out while in camp.
PvE and PvP
This is designed to be a PvE game. Players are working together to complete their overall mission, with each team’s actions adding to the total progress. The four Divisions – Mattock, Kenolab, Taskminders, Diplo – are designed to focus on one of the four gameplay areas of combat, science, engineering, and diplomacy, each with their own smaller tasks to complete. Some missions will be Division-only, forcing players to problem solve with limited tools, while others will be more balanced task forces put together from the entire playerbase. Social PvP may of course be present, and the origin planets are designed to ensure player characters have different opinions on how to address the problems faced during events, as well as there being competition for Division leadership.
We are looking into options to add in more PvP that does not undermine the overall goal of players working together, or always result in escalating to combat.
Camping
Players have the option of bringing IC communal tents and camping tents to form the Ardent’s temporary Mission Base, or camping OC in a separate area. Modern and historical tents are permitted, but some are definitely more preferred for certain planets than others, for example cream canvas bell tents are ideal for Sultonians!
Players may camp with their IC groups or friends, even if they are in different Divisions or from different planets.