Marrow To Thy Bones is an intimate LARP of tragic horror set at the end of the world. It takes place within the universe of Tamsyn Muir's The Locked Tomb books.
The LARP takes place on a colonised but neglected planet, on the far edge of an Empire that is constantly cannibalising the planets it conquers. In the sky hangs a Resurrection Beast - a devourer of planets. On the radio you hear that cities all across the planet are falling to this inevitable end. Within your shelter, a fragile truce holds together Imperial necromancers and their cavaliers, and the rebels and civilians of this planet. These are not the people you would have chosen to share your final hours with, yet here you are.
Marrow To Thy Bones is not a game about winning. History has already happened. The violence is done, the systems of power are entrenched, and no matter the efforts on both sides of the war, the world is ending anyway. This LARP explores what remains when there is no future to fight for anymore.
Marrow To Thy Bones is about grief that never healed, convictions ossified into dogma, compromises made in a desperate effort to survive, and love that persists beyond death. It is about imperialism beyond the abstract, as something that lives in every breath: in the lines for meagre rations, in the childhoods stolen, in careers built on obedience and never ever questioning your superiors, in rebellions that cost more than they save. It is also a LARP about faith (in institutions, in God, in other people), and what happens when that faith is tested to its breaking point.
The LARP is built around slow, character-driven play focused on emotional intimacy, moral tensions and quiet devastation. Conversations matter more than combat. Confessions matter more than victories. The most impactful moments of the game may be meals shared, arguments that never quite resolve or secrets finally spoken out loud.
The LARP offers room for the full breadth of human experience and emotion to exist in the same breath: for tenderness and cruelty, for solidarity and betrayal, for hope and surrender. You may cling to your beliefs until the last second... or you may let them go. You may try to atone, to forgive, to manipulate, to protect, or simply to endure.
The Resurrection Beast cannot and will not be stopped. Its Heralds will come. The only thing certain is death.
What is not predetermined is who you will be in the face of it.
Marrow To Thy Bones is a LARP: a live-action role-playing game. You will embody a character and act out their story through interactions with other players, NPCs (non-player characters) and solo play.
While the stories in this LARP are meant to be intense, it is still a game. You cannot win or lose this game; all that matters is that you had a good experience playing it. If you need a break or if the game becomes overwhelming, you can always retreat to an off-game space. Your wellness is more important than the LARP.
Interactions between players are also part of the game. There will be a variety of relationships in this game: familial, romantic, hatred, devotion, subjugation, consuming, toxic, friendship, etc. Playing out these relationships does not, and should not, reflect on who you and other players are out of game and how you feel about each other. You will have a chance to calibrate some of your more important relationships beforehand so you can discuss boundaries both in and out of game.
Imperialism
This LARP explores what it means to live under the rule of an empire that has already won. Some characters resist this rule. Others adapt, collaborate, or find ways to survive within this system. The game also explores complicity in oppression not as a moral failure, but as a lived reality shaped by exhaustion, fear, and the need to survive.
Rebellion
Revolution within the world of Marrow To Thy Bones is not without the very real cost of human lives, both literal and metaphorical. Characters may be driven to rebel by conviction, vengeance, true faith or desperation. The game examines what happens when this ideology meets the reality of empire, and how belief in a better world has to be held onto with blood, sweat and tears.
Grief
The world of the Locked Tomb and therefore of Marrow To Thy Bones is one where death isn't just inevitable, but is a real and tangible part of everyday life. Almost every character in the LARP carries something with them that they never properly grieved: a planet lost, a relationship broken, a faith betrayed, a life that could have been. With the reality of their own deaths looming over them, these unresolved losses take center stage. The game revolves around what happens when you cannot run from your grief anymore, and what you do with it at the end of all things.
Faith
Faith in the world of Marrow To Thy Bones isn't exclusively the domain of religion. It is also political ideology, personal loyalty and love. Characters may clings to their faith, question it or abandon it entirely. The LARP asks what gives life meaning when the future is gone, and what remains to live for when death is certain.
Power
Marrow To Thy Bones examines the many forms that people can hold power over others: imperial authority, emotional dependency, mentorship, protection and even love. It explores how people seek safety and a feeling of control: by submitting, dominating, becoming subservient to others, or trying to become indispensable. When everything else is stripped away, who really has power?
Intimacy
While trapped together in the bunker, characters in the LARP are forced into proximity with their enemies, former lovers, ideological opposites and total strangers. Marrow To Thy Bones centers quiet, intense interactions: conversations, confessions, fights, moments of care and moments of cruelty.
Inevitability
Players know that every character will die when the game ends. This certainty refrains the question of choice within the LARP. The question is not 'how will you impact the world?' but 'what will you do when you know how it all ends?'. The game explores your player agency within this inevability, and what kind of person you will choose to be when consequences are immediate and the future is set in stone.
You will be present on site for two nights. A rough schedule is as follows:
Day 1
18:00 - Arrival
19:00 - Dinner
20:00 - Workshops and preparation
00:00 - Sleep
Day 2:
08:00 - Breakfast
09:00 - Game start
12:00 - Lunch
18:00 - Dinner
01:00 - Game ends
Day 3
09:00 - Breakfast
10:00 - Debrief en deroling
11:00 - Cleanup
13:00 - Exit
In this LARP we will be working with several LARP safety techniques. We will practise those in a pre-game workshop.
There are (possibly) triggering themes that come up in several storylines or are an underlying theme in the LARP in general. These themes will be unavoidable. If you cannot handle these themes, it is best to not apply for this LARP.
General triggers
Abuse of power
Codependency
Colonialism/imperialism
Death (of yourself and/or a loved one)
Grief
Hallucinations
Madness
Some triggering themes are written into certain storylines. It is not always 100% guaranteed that these themes will come up. The player's handbook will detail which storylines deal with specific triggering themes, such as:
Cannibalism, genocide, incest, religious zealotry and (attempted) forced conversion, sexual coercion and institutional abuse (backstory only, not in-game), terminal illness.
All characters have a unique storyline with different perspectives on the world and the people around them. Within each group there are ‘true believers’ who are set in their ideological ways, and ‘doubters’ who could change sides in the conflict around the Empire’s aggressive expansion. However, the different factions do all share some common themes.
Play a Necromancer if…
…you want to play to lose.
Marrow To Thy Bones isn’t a power fantasy for anyone. However, the necromancers have it just a bit more difficult than most. Because of the Resurrection Beast, necromancers do not have access to their magic and are affected by the 'Blue Madness', a form of psychic mental decay which causes hallucinations. But the necromancers still hold a lot of power over their cavaliers. Playing a necromancer means playing with a loss of power, increasingly little grip on your mental faculties, and coming to terms with your inevitable death.
Play a Cavalier if…
…you want to play with power dynamics and intense personal bonds.
Necromancers hold a great amount of respect for their cavaliers and know they are dependent on them. However, the necromancer is still the one issuing orders. This can give interesting play in whether the goals and methods of cavalier and necromancer are aligned and what happens when they’re not.
Cavaliers feel devotion towards their necromancer. This can take many different forms. You can lean into and play with this - what does this relationship mean when there’s an inherent power imbalance?
Play a Rebel if…
…you want to be an instigator.
Normally a Blood of Eden rebel wouldn’t stand a chance when face-to-face with a necromancer. But with the truce they hold more power than ever. Will you try to undermine the Houses even at the end of the world, through sabotage, intelligence gathering or by taking direct action? Will you hear out what the House representatives have to say? Can you convince the civilians to join up with your cause?
The rebels hold a lot of power in interaction with the necromancers and cavaliers. Don’t be afraid to use it.
Play a Civilian if…
…you want freedom of choice.
The civilians have little power in the fictional world, but a great amount of power in the LARP. Though each faction has doubters who might switch sides, the civilians are the only ones who are all neutral on of House vs rebellion loyalty at the start of the game. Rebels and House representatives might try to strong arm you in expressing your loyalty to them, but you as a player are the one who ultimately decides who your character wants to support.
Marrow To Thy Bones IS…
…an experience of tragic existentialist horror.
… a LARP focused on emotions, characters and relationships.
…canon-divergent with events that branch off from the books.
…in a similar tone to the books: edgy without being grimdark.
Marrow To Thy Bones IS NOT…
…a power fantasy.
…a game you can win.
…a reenactment of the Locked Tomb books.
…a game with a happy ending.