There is a story. It might be our oldest story: it has been told many times, though the names and places have often changed. This time, it’ll be told in the waning days of the year, in the City That Never Sleeps. We’re inviting you to be part of…
an urban fantasy
by Makers Dozen
December 7 - 12
New York City
$2,700 per 3 participants
The Descent is a live action role-play experience that explores ancient mythology in the streets of New York City. For six days, you’ll explore a fantastic version of Manhattan, where supernatural creatures stand unnoticed on street corners, performing rituals in plain sight. Together, you’ll go on a quest into the underworld to bring back something . . . or someone . . . long since lost.
The Descent is played pervasively in groups of three, called triads. One member of the triad will attend workshops and mini-larps for the first two days, the other two will start on the third day with a cold open (see Experience of Play, below). Once the triad is complete, play continues for four days with no interruptions, culminating in several rituals at a private venue. Join us by buying a triad ticket for $2,700 (see Sign-Ups for more information).
The Descent is...
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A larp. You play a character for at least 72 hours continuously in both public and private spaces.
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A quest. You’ll travel to both indoor and outdoor locations to complete tasks.
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An experience of belief, ritual, and how our myths change over time.
The Descent is NOT...
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Transparent. We have secrets about the narrative and what you’ll encounter.
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All-inclusive. We don’t provide food or lodging during your week in New York.
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A game. This is a work of art in which you’re invited to participate and within which you will create your own experience.
Thanks to the generosity of Wen Eberhardt, a DC area realtor , we are pleased to offer scholarships to The Descent. Wen has sponsored three full scholarships: learn more under Sign-Ups.
This larp is a playtest–we are presenting a work in progress. We will update you if any information included on this page changes after you purchase a ticket.
Experience of Play
When you play The Descent, you’ll play one of two types of characters: a mortal who has been called to a quest for something that they don’t understand, or a supernatural creature pledged to help the mortals in their journey. You’ll sign up in groups of three, called triads, composed of two mortals and one guide. While you’ll spend most of your time with your triad, you will be able to interact with everyone in the larp. Participants playing guides will attend two days of on-site workshopping and play before the larp starts; on Wednesday, all three of you will unite and begin your journey together. You’ll travel throughout Manhattan, performing subtle rituals in plain sight, gathering the relics needed to travel into the Underworld. Once prepared, you’ll join with the other triads at a private venue and descend into the final stages of your quest.
As you consider joining us to tell this story, we have few things to share about this larp.
Transparency
The Descent is a low-transparency larp. That means we’ll share little about the narrative and avoid answering questions about the world. If you play one of the guides, we’ll provide detailed information about the world prior to play, but if you’re playing a mortal on this quest, you won’t know anything about the world at the start of play.
We will provide details about the logistics of the larp; we want you, as participants, to have all the information you need to decide if The Descent is right for you. You can find this information under Practical Matters, and we welcome any questions you may have. This includes questions about content (and please see our Content Notice below), but we will only describe content in general terms, or address specific needs you bring up.
Pervasive Larp
This larp is pervasive–it will be played in public with non-participants around you. We’ll layer elements of the narrative on top of existing buildings, locations, and events in Manhattan to create a supernatural world that resembles our own, at least on the surface. If you play in The Descent, you will be larping in full view of anyone who happens to be in the area.
Pervasive play should not attract attention. The activities you do in public should not disturb the New Yorkers around you. Generally, we accomplish this by crafting stories and activities that don’t require disruptive actions, and the things you’ll be doing in-role are appropriate to the location. For example, you can talk to a bartender in-role if you’re ordering a drink, or look at a painting in a museum–there’s no real difference to a non-participant if you’re in or out-of-role when you do these things. We’ll also provide a reason why your characters don’t want to attract attention in order to give you a pretense for avoiding shouting, running or other activities inappropriate for pervasive play.
Several private locations will be used during the larp, including one that is persistent: it will be open whenever we’re facilitating role-play. In these locations, you can let loose with your role-play. We also use these locations to provide “opt-in” zones for sexuality and violence.
Triad Play
During this larp, you’ll play in a group of three people called a triad–you’ll spend most (but not all) of your time in this group. By default, you’ll be expected to sign up together, although we do have a limited ability to match up individual participants. The reason we want you to sign up with each other is so you can curate your own play experience: as a triad, you get to decide the sort of relationships you want to have with each other.
The triad consists of one supernatural creature–called the guide–and two mortals who are on a quest. At the start of the larp, no one in the triad has met before: for the mortals, your first scenes will include meeting your guide, and then the other mortal. Once your triad has come together, we’ll work with you in-role to develop a shared narrative context. You’ll establish characters and what sort of relationships you have with each other through play. The best way to think of this is like characters meeting in a movie: they don’t know each other or have elaborate ties, but develop strong connections through their shared journey.
If you’re playing a guide, you’ll have a fully-developed backstory and connections to the other guides, as well as insight into what’s really going on (you’ll also have a supernatural “ban” that will prevent you from just telling your mortal companions what you know). If you’re playing a mortal, all you need to know at the start is that you’re playing a normal person, who suddenly felt an incredible–perhaps supernatural–urge to go to New York City and start this journey.
A Note on Playstyle
This is a larp about the sublime–ecstasy and agony, the sacred and the profane. Larp allows us to experience a full range of emotions within fictional contexts. Often, we use role-play to experience cathartic emotions, such as sadness or fear. But just as larp can make us cry, we believe larp offers us the chance for a more awe-inspiring experience. We're not trying to make you cry, we want to make you believe in something. This larp is about role-playing a spiritual awakening, and we hope that at some point you experience a feeling that you’d describe as sublime.
At this larp, every character has the same goal. We don’t intend to introduce explicit conflict, but rather to invite stress and uncertainty into play, assuming that conflict ensues due to differing reactions and can then be resolved collectively. This isn’t to say your characters will cooperate–or even get along–and you shouldn’t expect other people to necessarily support the group. However, all conflict in the larp will come from the participants, perhaps motivated by the challenges the larp presents.
Practical Matters
Content Notice
This larp includes role-play in public spaces, including but not limited to: bars, nightclubs, museums, parks and subways. You can expect at least one period of extended role-play in the presence of non-participants drinking alcohol.
Content for this larp is drawn from mythology, and you should expect that disturbing material from mythology may be referenced, but not necessarily realistically reenacted during this larp. The designers have some control over embodied content, but cannot account for participants bringing up disturbing references verbally during play.
You should expect to see full, non-sexual nudity at some point during this experience.
As The Descent is currently a playtest, we do not have a complete list of Content Notices or a full risk assessment at this time.
Sexuality
Sexuality is not essential to the experience of this larp, but may be encountered during role-play with other participants. You can also expect references to sexuality throughout the larp.
At certain points during this larp, there might be scenes of explicit sexuality, to include the depiction of sexual acts. Should this occur, it will be a private location (not pervasive) and will be opt-in content. When we present opt-in sexual content, we will always provide other opportunities for role-play at separate locations.
Violence
This is an explicitly non-violent larp: we don’t provide opportunities for depictions of violence or provide challenges that suggest violent solutions. However, participants might introduce violent elements through their own role-play, and you can expect references to violence throughout the larp. We will not provide any mechanics to simulate violence during this larp.
However, you can expect to see the effects of violence at various points during the larp, primarily through the depiction of physical injuries. At any point in the larp, you can expect to encounter characters enduring injuries, as well as the presence of stage blood. At certain points in this larp, we might include graphic displays of injuries (including fatal injuries) through the use of special effects (we refer to this as “gore”). Should this occur, it will be located in a private location (not pervasive) and will be opt-in content. When we present gore as opt-in content, we will always provide other opportunities for role-play at separate locations.
Schedule
A detailed schedule will be provided before the larp. You can expect your first day to start at noon (Monday for participants playing guides, Wednesday for participants playing mortals), and the larp ends at midnight on Saturday (Sunday morning).
Monday
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1200 - Workshops (guides only)
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1800 - Private Dinner with Facilitators (guides only)
Tuesday
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1200 - Workshops (guides only)
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1600 - One-on-ones with Facilitators (guides only)
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2000 - Prelude larp (guides only)
Wednesday
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1200 - The Protasis (the larp begins)
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2300 - Facilitated play ends
Thursday
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1200 - Facilitated play starts
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2300 - Facilitated play ends
Friday
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1200 - Facilitated play starts
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2000 - "The Descent" begins
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2300 - Facilitated play ends
Saturday
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1200 - Facilitated play starts
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2000 - The finale begins
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2359 - Facilitated play ends
Accessibility
We strive to make The Descent as accessible as possible, and we ask that you share any questions or concerns you may have with us–you’re the expert regarding your needs. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please let us know and we will accommodate you to the best of our ability.
Physical Activities
The Descent requires significant travel throughout New York City. You can expect to be travelling to various locations from around noon well into the evening; it might be twelve hours or more before you have a chance to return to your lodging each day. You can also expect to be outside for up to an hour at a time in non-inclement weather (we consider inclement weather this time of year to include precipitation, temperatures of 32°F or below, or the presence of weather hazards).
If you have specific mobility needs, we will seek to accommodate you with our design and will ensure you have areas to sit and rest if required. This includes making sure you are able to travel using accessible mass transit to the maximum extent possible; please note that we can’t confirm which subway stations we will be able to use until roughly a month before the larp due to regular city maintenance and construction.
At this point in the Playtest, The Descent is not fully wheelchair accessible. You can expect to use one flight of stairs twice a day (once going up, once going down) most days of the run. If this presents a barrier to play, please let us know and we will see if we can accommodate you in later playtests.
Food & Personal Hygiene
New York City has numerous opportunities for nutritious food at surprisingly affordable prices through our local grocery stores (such as our many bodegas). You can typically find a filling meal for less than $15. These stores typically do not provide a place to sit down and eat; you can expect to do so “on the go.”
While playing pervasively throughout New York City, you’ll have to use public restrooms for personal hygiene. While many establishments have restrooms reserved for customers, we’ll provide tips on how to find restrooms open to the public in our online workshop.
The Play Environment
New York City can be loud, chaotic and disorienting–these are qualities you will encounter at some point during the larp. We cannot offer you a quiet space to retreat during the larp due to the complexities of pervasive play, nor can we guarantee that there will always be opportunities for role-play in private spaces. However, our Participant Advocate will be available to support you and help you return to play if you find yourself in a situation where you can no longer engage with the city, and our facilitator team can help reintegrate you into play if you need a break.
Preparation
Depending upon whether you play a supernatural guide or a mortal, you’ll have varying degrees of preparation before the larp. In general, the guides will receive a great deal of information, and the mortals will have very little to do before they show up and play. If you’re a mortal, you can expect three things: an hour-long “three-on-one” with your triad and a facilitator, an online workshop consisting of a video and an open-book quiz, and a parcel you receive in the mail. If you’re a guide, you’ll also get pre-larp materials and attend two days of workshops and preludes. Then, at the beginning of the larp, you’ll play in the Protasis–the first part of the story, where we gather all the characters together.
Three-on-One
Soon after you sign-up, we’ll schedule you for an online hangout with the rest of your triad and a facilitator. This hangout is mostly for the mortals, so that you have a little bit of guidance and an opportunity to ask questions before you show up. It’ll also help you, as a group, figure out what sort of relationship dynamics you might enjoy. You don’t need to do any preparation for the three-on-one, and you won’t have any homework afterwards.
Online Workshop
To make sure you’re prepared for the risks of the larp (and to teach you our metatechnique), we’ll ask you to complete an online workshop. It consists of a video, less than an hour long, and an open-book quiz (correctable to 100%) that you complete while watching. The purpose of the online workshop is to ensure you have reviewed key information before play, particularly about playing in a pervasive environment. For participants playing mortals, this will be the only risk-related training you receive; for more information, see Risk Management. All participants must complete the online workshop no later than two weeks before the larp; once participants playing mortals complete it, we’ll mail them their parcel.
The Parcel
Each participant playing a mortal will receive a parcel in the mail once they complete their online workshop. The parcel is an in-role package containing materials your character would receive in the mail. Included in the parcel are your instructions for where to start the larp. If you’re playing a mortal, the only things you need to do before the larp are attend a three-on-one, complete the online workshop, and make sure you have everything from the parcel on your person at the start of the larp.
Pre-Larp Materials
Participants playing guides will receive significantly more written material before the larp; if you’re playing a guide, you should be prepared to read several pages about your character and the world of The Descent. At a minimum, you should expect a character sheet and a brief setting guide. In addition, you will receive access to a Discord channel where you can talk to the other participants playing guides, if you want to make connections prior to the start of the larp.
Workshops and Preludes
If you’re playing a supernatural guide, you’ll arrive two days before the other people in your triad for workshops and preludes. These include a mix of in-role and out-of-role facilitated experiences to prepare you for the larp. You can expect:
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Risk Management Training: We need to make sure that at least one member of the triad knows what to do in case of emergency.
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City Familiarization: If you’ve never rode the subway before, we’ll teach you how to navigate New York City.
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World-Building: By the end of the workshops and preludes, you’ll be experts in the setting of The Descent.
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Rehearsal: We’ll prepare you for the Protasis, so that your first in-role experience will go smoothly.
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Role-Play: You’ll have quite a bit of an opportunity to discover your character through role-play with both the other guides and the facilitators.
This period ends with a four-hour facilitated prelude with all seven guides, as you get to make decisions about how the larp will proceed in-role. The prelude will end at midnight, so you have all morning to get a good night sleep before the Protasis at the beginning of the larp at noon.
The Protasis
The first day of the larp is the Protasis–this is just a fancy word for “the beginning of the story.” If you’re a mortal, you’re going to start the larp in a public place that’s probably a transportation hub, like a train station or ferry terminal. Like your character, you’ll have little idea of what happens next.
Over the course of the next eleven hours, you’ll experience small, intimate scenes through which you’ll develop your character and we’ll introduce you to your supernatural guide, the other mortal in your triad, and the world of The Descent–all through role-play. By the end of the night, you’ll be role-playing in public, fully engaged in the story, and ready for the quests ahead of you.
Remember: when you show up, particularly if you’re playing a mortal, you won’t be prepared to play for the next four days–you’ll just be prepared to play for the first five minutes. And those five minutes will prepare you for the next hour; that hour will prepare you for the afternoon; and that afternoon will give you all the tools you need for the entire larp.
Other Resources
We will provide you with reference material to help you prepare for your experience: these will be written guides to assist with practical matters, such as a costuming guide and a packing list. If we have a resource we feel is essential to your experience, we’ll go over it during the three-on-one, but you can expect the reference material to be available online so you can find it whenever you need it.
Risk Management
The majority of the risk management for The Descent is behind the scenes, as we manage risk with controls that don’t require participant usage. Our philosophy is if a risk might impact the entire larp, it should be managed collectively whenever possible. However, some risks have to be managed individually, and you should also have tools to manage your personal risks during role-play. To accomplish this, we’ll train you on the following tools.
As The Descent is currently a playtest, we do not have a full risk assessment at this time. By signing up for this run, you acknowledge that a full risk assessment has not been completed, and may not be complete at the time of the larp.
Guide Training
One set of risks we can’t manage collectively are the travel risks associated with New York City: what happens if you get lost, what happens if there’s bad weather, etc. During the workshops and preludes, we will train all participants playing guides how to manage travel risks in New York City, and we will ensure they are able to navigate the city’s buses and subways. Since participants playing mortals will not receive this training, they should always travel with a guide during play.
Metatechnique–Really, Really
A metatechnique is an action participants take during role-play to transmit out-of-role information. For The Descent, we use the “Really, Really” technique to signal an out-of-role statement, and we’ll show you how to use this for a variety of purposes in the online workshop and during the protasis.
Facilitated Play
If we identify an elevated or specific risk that a participant might encounter during play, we’ll use a facilitator who has been properly trained to mitigate that risk during the larp. Most active risk controls associated with sexuality and gore will be used exclusively by facilitators.
Participant Advocacy
During the larp, you’ll have a Participant Advocate to support you and help you return to play when you need to take a break. The Participant Advocate is a key part of our risk management system, and you’ll all meet the Participant Advocate during the protasis. Our Participant Advocate (or their assistants) will be available throughout the larp, and will travel to where you are if you need them.
When you talk to the Participant Advocate, you have full confidentiality. They will not share anything you say with anyone else–including other members of the staff–without your permission. If you come to us with a problem, we will center you and your needs before we do anything else.
Please realize that for pervasive play, we have to be prepared to respond across the entire island of Manhattan. While the Participant Advocate will find private space to talk to you if needed, we do not have a quiet room or a private out-of-role space for you as participants. During the online workshop, we’ll provide guidance with regards to quiet spaces you can easily find in New York City.
A Note on Lodging
The Descent does not provide meals or lodging. If you’re playing a guide, expect to be in Manhattan for this larp starting Monday, December 7 at noon. If you’re playing a mortal, expect to be in Manhattan starting Wednesday, December 9 at noon. You’ll play until midnight on Saturday, December 12 (technically Sunday).
We recommend, even for locals, that you arrange lodging in Manhattan. Hostels are an excellent way to do this, and we can provide additional guidance on lodging as we get closer to the larp. If you do stay in an outer borough, we recommend staying near the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, A, C or E lines.
Sign-Ups
There are two ways to sign-up for The Descent: as a triad, or using the match list. In both cases, we have scholarship opportunities.
Note that The Descent is played by seven triads, for a total of 21 participants.
As a Triad
The standard way to apply for The Descent is as a triad. You and two other people buy a ticket, which costs $2,700, and are immediately added to the cast list.
The Match List
If you cannot find a triad, you can ask us to add you to the match list. This costs $100, non-refundable, which will be discounted from the cost of your ticket if you’re accepted. If you are on the match list, you’ll be notified when additional people join the list, and you can notify us if there’s anyone you do not want to play with. When we have a viable triad of three people, we’ll notify all of you, and you’ll have one week to purchase a ticket.
Some things to remember about the match list:
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We will not have more than five people on the match list at any given time. If we clear people from the match list, we’ll open up more spots.
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If the match list is full for more than a week and we can’t create any matches, we may remove people from the list without a refund.
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Remember, when you pay for the match list, you’re paying for our assistance, and we want to help. It does not obligate us to find you a spot, nor to spend multiple weeks trying to assist you.
If you join a triad without our assistance, we’ll credit the $100 towards your triad’s ticket.
Scholarships
Scholarships to The Descent are sponsored by Wen Eberhardt, a DC area realtor. As part of his support of the larp community, Wen is supporting three full-priced tickets to the larp, as described below. A queer and trans larper working in real estate, he also offers free support to people who need a realtor anywhere in the country, vetting them to make sure they're supportive of your needs. Learn more about Wen's offer here.
We have a limited number of scholarships for The Descent. Up to three people will be offered full scholarships. If offered a scholarship, we will discount your triad’s ticket by $900. In addition, if you do not have a triad when offered a scholarship, we’ll add you to the Match List for free. Note: a triad can contain multiple scholarships (so two scholarships in a triad would drop the price from $2700 to $900).
To apply for a scholarship, email us at makers12@sinkingshipcreations.com with the subject like: "Scholarship - The Descent". The only information we need from you is your name, pronouns and if you are Black, Indigenous and/or a Person of Color. Black, Indigenous and/or POC larpers will be given weighted preference for scholarships in a lottery-style selection process.
Refunds and Drops
You need to play this larp in a triad of three people. If a person drops, the triad is responsible for finding a replacement.
Due to this requirement, and the fact that you pay as a group, there are no refunds available–at all–after 48 hours from your initial purchase. The only exception is if we cancel the larp for circumstances under our control. Force majeure situations (such as severe inclement weather, global pandemics or similar events) will not result in a refund.
If an entire triad is unable to make the larp, we will replace them as we see fit. Due to workshop requirements you may not, as a triad, resell your ticket.
Payment Plans
Tickets for The Descent cost $2,700; payment plans are available. To use the payment plan, add a ticket to your cart in our online store, and then enter the code DESCENTPLAN during checkout. If you have a scholarship or other discount and intend to use a payment plan, we'll send you and updated code to use.
Payment plans consist of an initial payment of $300, and then $300 each month from April to November, due the last day of the month. Participation in a payment plan consents to automatic withdrawals each month (you can choose when to pay the invoice). If you join the larp having missed any payments, your initial payment will include the portion of the payments previously missed.
If your triad includes a scholarship, your initial payment and each monthly payment will be discounted $100 per person on a scholarship.
No payments as part of a payment plan are refundable.
Refusal of Service
We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone at any time. A refusal of service may be of a temporary duration or for the duration of the event, and we will inform you of the duration when we refuse service. If we refuse service, we may offer partial and complete refunds if you or your triad comply with specific requests; however, this does not imply any obligation on our part to do so (see our refund policy).
Social Justice
The Sinking Ship Creations Social Justice Policy, with associated support, is in full effect for The Descent.
Makers Dozen
The Descent is the work of Makers Dozen, twelve creators with a diversity of skills and love of larp. Not only is the experience conceptualized and designed by this collective, you'll also meet them as they facilitate during play. Makers Dozen includes:
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Amanda Rose Villarreal (they/them)
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Dann Lynch (they/them)
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Edward Mylechreest (he/him)
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Ericka Skirpan (she/her)
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Jason Burnett (he/him)
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Kaitlin Chin (she/her)
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Kat Schonheyder (they/she)
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Kate Conover (she/her)
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Lily Desmond (she/her)
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Orli Nativ (she/her)
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Ryan Hart (he/him)
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Shaheen Rogers (he/him)
The Descent is produced by Sinking Ship Creations, a New York City larp company.
