setting

The world

The larp is set in a reality inspired by the world of The Witcher, created by Andrzej Sapkowski and developed by CD PROJEKT RED games. 

It is a world close to the reality of the European 13th-century Middle Ages. The continent is divided into kingdoms and principalities ruled by feudal lords. Living conditions do not deviate from medieval standards. The cities are home to rich bourgeoisie and poor commoners, a crowd of artisans unite to form guilds, inns, brothels and bathhouses operate. The economy is not limited to direct trade and exchange - banks and exchange offices operate, bills of exchange and loans are used. In the villages live peasants who, as in the Middle Ages, are subject to their lord, working for him on the land and dying in battles in which they are commanded by knights and mighty men who are unfamiliar with firearms. Wars over land and influence are common, as are pestilences decimating the people. This is also the period of bards and troubadours, who extol in songs and ballads the wisdom of rulers, victorious battles and the beauty of ladies, but also convey legends, folk beliefs and current geopolitical information.

There are two important differences that make this world not the medieval one we know: the presence of magic, and the existence of rational races other than humans. 

Magic

Magic appeared on the Continent after the catastrophic event shrouded in legend, which was the Conjunction of the Realms. As a result of this magical catastrophe, many new species of creatures, usually unfriendly to humans, appeared in the world. Post-conjunction creatures are found all over the Continent, and each species has a specific place of existence. They pose a real and widespread threat.  Witchers - paid and effective monster killers - are called upon to protect against them. Their basic magical abilities, along with rigorously developed fighting skills, cause fear and loathing in ordinary people. On the other hand, those skilled in the use of magic and educated in the wielding of magic - sorcerers and magicians - inspire respect, influence rulers, shape international politics, and their motives are often incomprehensible to the uninitiated.

Nonhumans

Inhumans are a general term for all rational creatures that are not human. The term was coined after the Conjunction of the Realms. This group includes elves, dwarves, lowlanders, gnomes, driads, vrans and bobolaks.

In this grouping, humans are the youngest race, very expansive and aggressive towards the original inhabitants of the Continent, who were forced to withdraw from their habitats. Currently, both humans and non-humans live side by side, but their coexistence cannot be called friendly and peaceful. Numerous frictions are turning into open aggression. 

Place of action 

Przesieka is a small border village, passed by marching armies and stripped of supplies, but never truly important. That changed with the Nilfgaardian expansion.

Nilfgaard has occupied Temeria. Redania is not yet at war-yet. Many border settlements have vanished from the map. Bridges, warehouses, and tax records have been seized, and people have been displaced-Temerians by force, while Redanians living near the border were strongly advised to leave their homes willingly while they still could. Przesieka is one of the places where these displaced people have ended up.

This land is now under the rule of the Empire. It is governed by Aurelius var Vanhart, frontier governor and former tribune-a man who prefers order to slaughter, yet understands the weight of the duty resting on his shoulders. Nilfgaard establishes its rule here without unnecessary violence: land is surveyed, taxes imposed, offices established, and physicians and scholars are sent. Settlers brought from the South are meant to live alongside those from the North, and over time erase old divisions. Nilfgaardians are treated better. Nonhumans stand almost equal to humans in the eyes of the law. Ofir is treated as an important trading partner and retains its trade privileges, while Toussaint is welcomed warmly as a vassal state. The Empire can be very courteous when it suits its purposes.

Despite the turmoil of war, Przesieka lives on. People argue about land and prices, about whose grievance is older. Some want to come to terms with the new власти. Others wait for something to falter. Some cooperate without asking about banners. Others count their profit on another’s misfortune.

Officially, order prevails here. Hardly surprising-only a madman would raise a weapon against the well-armed and battle-hardened soldiers of the Blacks, and the fighters of the Scoia’tael. There may not be many of them in Przesieka itself, but appearances can be deceiving.

The Empire loves order, especially in such a volatile time-reports on the situation in the border town are sent at least once a week. A lack of information will result in a punitive expedition being dispatched from Chwosty/Flochburg, some fifteen miles away, now renamed Caudavaro.

Wider knowledge of the game world 

From the perspective of where the game will take place, precise knowledge of history, geography and politics is not necessary for most characters. If your group and your character are entangled more deeply in international plots, an excellent source of knowledge would be the History | The Witcher Wiki. However, if you don't have high-level state connections or intend to delve deeper into the political game, the basic knowledge you'll get below in condensed form will suffice. 

Calendar

Year 1267

It is 200 years since the Aelirenn Uprising and three years, with a cover, since the slaughter of Cintra. The Second Northern War is underway.

There is relative calm in Pontar Ostrów, home to a heavily mixed population. The mood is quite tense, as news comes from the front that a sizable number of non-humans have joined the Scoia'tael commandos and are siding with the Nilfgaard. On Ostrów, non-humans are a definite minority. They are tolerated here, but at the same time deprived of most rights and privileges. This causes a lot of discontent among them and attempts to change the unfavorable living conditions. Among the residents there are people who favor them and support their struggle for equal treatment, but the vast majority are indifferent or even opposed to change. The situation becomes dangerous when a series of tragic events occur in Ostrov, for which non-humans are accused. This leads to a riot that quickly escalates into a pogrom. Thanks to the intervention of the priestess Melitele, the massacre does not take place, but the non-human residents of Chwosty-Flochburg are forced to leave Ostrow.

Year 1268

The Second Northern War ends with the conclusion of the Peace of Cintria. Shortly after the end of the war, an epidemic of Catriona, a hemorrhagic fever also known as the Red Death, breaks out.

For Chwosty-Flochburg, the end of the war marks a return to normalcy. The situation stabilizes: crafts and trade revive, inns begin to bring in revenue. The priestesses of Melitele, with the financial support of an unknown donor, open a healing center in one of the houses abandoned by the non-humans. As time goes by, people begin to question whether expelling the non-humans on the basis of uncertain accusations was a wise move.

Year 1270

Time heals wounds and helps to forget. New non-humans have appeared and settled in the Ostrow area. They are accepted here, but are still treated with some distrust and do not have the same privileges as their human neighbors. The non-humans and semi-humans mix with the natives. At the same time, in the Northern Kingdoms, Scoia'teal commandos continue to wage an uphill war, not accepting the news that the war is over. 

Year 1271 (present time)

There are attacks on crowned heads. Their victims are King Aedirn, Demawend III and the ruler of Temeria - Foltest, which leads to general chaos. 

Assassinations target crowned heads. Among the victims are the King of Aedirn, Demavend III, and the ruler of Temeria, Foltest, plunging the region into widespread chaos.

In the autumn, the Third Nilfgaardian War breaks out: Nilfgaardian forces attack Temeria and Aedirn. The Second Temerian Army, under the command of Jan Natalis, was meant to halt the invaders along the Dol BlathannaCarbon line. They managed to do so for three days. Then they were defeated, and Natalis went missing in action.

Aedirn, once attacked, offered little resistance. After Demavend’s death, the war with Henselt, and the secession of the Free State, the kingdom was in complete chaos.

During these events, Redania remained neutral, and Radovid ignored the pleas for help from the Northern Kingdoms. Before the first snows fell, the Nilfgaardians had reached the Pontar.