Plot Overview

In a quiet kingdom on a distant plane, Queen Seraphina is celebrating the 50th year of her reign. You have been invited to represent your respective nations for this auspicious ceremony; by all accounts, a pleasant diversion and a fine excuse to leave your home plane and its many complexities behind for a few days.

However, all is not as it seems. Dark magic, consipracy, power struggles and assassination attempts are all afoot in this tiny, murky corner of the world. Who will survive the night? And will the plots and backstabbings be unravelled before the weekend is out? Only time will tell...

What kind of event is it?

A Court of Lies is a low/no combat, rules lite, drama/content heavy weekend of mystery, puzzles, roleplay, murder and intrigue. 

Attend as your existing LARP character or try something new. 

What are the timings?

The event runs from Friday 24 January to Sunday 26 January 2025.

• Arrival from 4pm on Friday. Please ensure to be onsite and in kit by 6pm at the latest.

• All-player briefing and buffet dinner at 6pm.

• Hard time in at 7pm on Friday.

• Soft time out at 11pm on Saturday (you are welcome to continue social RP from this time, but there will be no more plot/encounters).

• Vacate bunk rooms by 10am on Sunday, for breakfast and debrief.

• Everyone offsite by 12pm on Sunday.

What is the accommodation?

Onsite tickets include accommodation in onsite bunk rooms. 

Holders of discounted offsite tickets must be offsite by 11pm and return no earlier than 8am in order to meet the venue's risk assessment requirements.

What is the catering?

Catering is included in the ticket price and includes all meals during the event times, plus snacks and refreshments. 

See details below.

There is a small self-catering kitchen on site; access to this will be extremely limited in order to facilitate preparation of group meals.

Where is it?

The event takes place at YHA Wilderhope Manor in Shropshire (postcode: TF13 6EG). See map below.

All meals have vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. 

Tea, coffee, squash, fruit and biscuits will be available throughout the event.

Friday

• Dinner: Pizza, dessert

Saturday

• Breakfast: Cereals, pastries, juice

• High tea: A selection of sandwiches, scones and clotted cream, cakes and desserts

• Dinner: Lasagne, salads and sides, dessert

Sunday

• Breakfast: Cereals, pastries, juice

Bring any other snacks and drinks you might want - there is no onsite bar at this event.

• Costume - what your character would wear to a courtly gathering

  • Please note that some activities will be taking place outdoors (weather permitting) so please ensure your attire is practical and not too precious; this is ultimately still a LARP!

• Any personal props or accessories you want to bring to this gathering - remember you are representing your Nation!

• A notebook and pencil if you want to keep track of any observations or events

• Cloak or other outerwear to keep warm and dryish outdoors

• Sturdy outdoor shoes with a good grip e.g. walking boots

• INDOOR ONLY shoes, slippers (or be prepared to be shoeless). 

  • We don't want lots of slippy mud/water coming into the living areas, so we ask that you have separate shoes for going out into the grounds. Remember LARP costumes start at the ankle upwards. ;)

• Personal toiletries, towels, underwear, socks, etc.

• Personal medications

• Sleepwear for out-of-character dormitories

• Casual wear for travel 

• LARP-safe weapons are OPTIONAL and CEREMONIAL ONLY; this is a no-combat event.

Note that bedding is provided (duvet & pillow) by the venue!

Please see here for the venue's access information.

The majority of activities will take place on the ground floor areas, however, some encounters will take place outside or up/downstairs.

There are toilets on the ground floor, but these are accessed from outside of the building. There are more toilets in the OOC accommodation areas upstairs.

The onsite accommodation is on the first and second floors of the building, which can only be accessed by stairs, therefore onsite tickets are not suitable for anyone with severe mobility impairments.

Due to the 17th century nature of the building, stairs and floors may be uneven in places. We are asking participants to bring separate indoor/outdoor footwear to minimise the risk.

Please contact the team if you have any specific access needs or want to discuss any details around access.

Bunk rooms are strictly Out of Character areas at all time, so can be used by participants needing downtime without any threat of IC encounters.