A rules-light live roleplaying event, in which we collaboratively explore humanity in a post-apocalyptic setting. There are horror elements to the game, and zombies will be present, however there will not be any combat.
Participants play pre-written civilian characters living in a Scottish Army Evacuation Camp, 7 years after the zombie virus outbreak of 2025 that ended civilisation as we know it. Food and medicine is becoming scarce as the stockpiles deplete, and corrupt soldiers make their own lives more comfortable at the expense of the civilians. Life is grim, but perhaps there is a way to improve your situation? Volunteer- they say- it will be life changing.
You have signed-up (perhaps unwillingly) for one of three training pathways: MEDICS, SCAVENGERS, and RECRUITS. These groups will explore different aspects of the Volunteer programme, and have different levels of physical activity.
practical
8th to 11th April 2027
Fordell Firs Scout Camp, Fife, Scotland UK. Less than 30mins from Edinburgh.
£380 : regular ticket (55 available)
£260 : understudy (5 available)
This includes accommodation and food from Thursday evening to Sunday morning.
Food will be nutritious, but bland. Caffeine and sugar are premium items that many will not have access to in-game. Some characters may have access to black market foods, or receive items as reward for achievement. Anyone wanting to bring their own off-game food is encouraged to do so. There is a full kitchen and dining area inside the off-game building for everyone to use.
UNDERSTUDY TICKETS: we are offing a limited number of cheaper tickets for players who are happy to accept a character with fewer vital connections, on the understanding that they may be asked to change character following last minute drop-outs.
medics
Perhaps by helping others, you can help yourself
You will be trained to provide such medical services as resources allow. Treating wounded scavengers, dissecting zombies, and assisting the inscrutable Professor Corbie in her 'experiments'.
Main game themes include body horror, medicine & surgery, infection, illness, inequality of care, injustice & systemic discrimination based on rank/status.
We will avoid ableism as far as is possible in this setting, but medical inequality is a core theme and this should be noted.
Accommodation is off-game indoor bunk beds with access to toilets, showers, and kitchen in the same building.
This group's activities are designed to be fully accessible. We will discuss any particular accessibility needs with participants and adjust our plans accordingly to ensure equal access for everyone. Seating will be available at all times.
Contact with zombies will be in controlled situations where quick evasion is not requried.
scavengers
The biggest risk brings the biggest rewards
You will be trained to venture out into the zombie-infested wilderness surrounding the Evacuation Camp.
Basic survival skills will be taught; making fire, finding water, setting up perimeter zombie alarms. There will be the opportunity to spend a night in the woods, putting your new knowledge to the test under the watchful eye of Captain Armstrong.
Main game themes include infection, discussion of abandoning team members, possibly being cold and wet out in the Scottish woods at night.
Accommodation is in-game bunk beds inside heated wooden huts, toilets are in a separate building.
This group's activities require the ability to walk up a large sloping field to woodland, and navigate uneven paths. Potentially in wet weather. Seating in the woods in on backless benches or logs (although participants could bring their own chair if required). Sleeping out in the woods is not compulsory.
Contact with zombies will be in controlled situations where quick evasion is not requried.
recruits
Can you change the system from within?
You will be put through basic training in order to get the chance to enlist in the Army. Thus raising yourself out of the squalor of the civilian area of the camp, and into a world of regular meals and relative comfort.
Main game themes include physical activity, obedience to authority, reliance on team members, public punishment, oppression of others.
This group's activities require the ability to run along uneven paths and on potentially slippery grass slopes. Physical exertion eg. press-ups and sit-ups. However, there will be a clear meta-technique employed to indicate if a character is falling short of the standard demanded. In other words: failure is strictly opt-in and not reliant on real-world fitness.
Accommodation is in-game indoor bunks beds with access to toilets, showers and in-game kitchen and dining room in the same building.
Opt-in activities include a 'midnight' wake-up call that will be clearly calibrated.
Contact with zombies may be in situations that require running and dodging as part of evasion.
We want to be very clear about the game we have designed: this is a horrible, unfair, unjust and thoroughly dystopian future that has undeniable similarities to our own world. The setting features inept and corrupt ruling systems that favour the privileged few at the expense of all others. Participants must be ready to engage with dark themes that may bring back memories of the COVID pandemic and current world affairs.
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However, this is the SETTING.
The GAME that we want to explore, to create together with our participants, is in defiance of these systems. We will build small interconnected communities that can resist the worst that comes their way. There will be blackmarket novel collections and a pirate radio station bringing the voice of hope to our characters. An illicit vegetable garden provides midnight snacking and characters do their best to entertain and lift spirits by acting out old movies as far as they can remember. Small acts of kindness against the backdrop of horror can bring us closer together as humans, and remind us that not everything has been lost.
Some characters will have a dark past, some may even be complicit in the exploitation and oppression of others. These characters will be carefully cast, and written with their redemption in mind.
Is this game for me?
yes, if you enjoy...
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collaborative roleplaying without a complicated system of rules
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exploring themes of community and hope in defiance of an oppressive system in a post apocalyptic world
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timetabled activities in a simulated training programme
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exploring character connections and leaning into emotional play
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secretly eating a tomato in a broom closet so that the guards don't see you and take it away
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medical / surgical roleplay (MEDICS)
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learning how to make a zombie alarm out in the woods (SCAVENGERS)
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taking part in physical workouts with a Drill Instructor shouting (opt-in) in your face (RECRUITS)
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facing the zombie evasion test...
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trying to remember all the words to ABBA songs from the Old Times
probably not, if you want...
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monster attacks and combat
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your character to be without fault and good at everything
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puzzles to solve
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a way to 'win' the game
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to be able to fight your way out of an argument
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to be able to mend the world and fix everything