La Madrina is a mafia larp inspired by well-known movies like The Godfather, GoodFellas and Road to Perdition. The plot is roughly based on a real incident that has already occurred several times in a similar fashion in the history of organized crime.
We take on the roles of three competing mafia families in 1930s New York. The Italian mob rules the city’s streets, but the chaos of the economic crisis and the approaching end of the prohibition forces the families to break new ground and cooperate with each other in the process.
Personal goals and the shared past of the three Italian immigrant families will have a significant impact on the course of negotiations and matchmaking among them.
Themes
- Intrigue and power games
- Negotiations and matchmaking
- Family drama and relationship conflicts
- Secrets and scandals
- Wishes vs expectations
- Modernity vs tradition
Story
New York, 1931. Herbert Hoover is president, the Great Depression has reached its lowest point yet, and the economic crisis and prohibition have brutally increased the crime rate. The struggle for bare survival stirs up distrust, avarice and greed among the city’s citizens. To make matters worse, criminal gangs are sprouting up on every corner and bloody street wars for power over individual city districts occur almost daily. Hopelessness and desperation make citizens vulnerable to all forms of oppression and exploitation. The three largest clans of the Mafia see their influence waning, and rumors are swirling about the end of prohibition and the establishment of an FBI forensic lab.
A civil war would be the death of the mafia: destroyed livelihoods no longer pay protection money; where there is no money, none can be laundered; those who can’t even afford bread won’t buy narcotics and if the economic crisis continues like this, debtors will never become solvent. What can save the families is structure and order. Therefore, Gaetano La Rosa, the most influential Mafioso in New York, invites the most important representatives of organized crime to his country house to discuss a potential joint action. Specifically, it will be a meeting between the Famiglia La Rosa (a Cosa Nostra with a lot of political influence and roots in Sicily, controlling mainly Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn), the Cosca Conti (a ‘Ndrangheta with roots in Calabria, controlling mainly Queens and the Bronx), and the Bel Sito Clan (an up-and-coming Camorra with roots in Naples, controlling parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island, sustaining itself mainly through speakeasys and gambling).
Nobody knows what to expect yet, but Gaetano is an upstanding man as well as loyal to Cosa Nostra tradition, so there’s a possibility that he would have the new head of the family democratically elected as a result of any merger. If he were to put himself up for election, there would be no doubt about his victory, since not only is his family the largest, but he is also accorded the greatest respect by the other families. However, should he not run for any reason, each family would naturally want to see a person from their ranks at the head of the alliance – and then everything would depend on who could rally the most supporters.
If this should actually happen, it will reveal everyone’s true colours.
Location
What to expect
- Pre-written characters
- Characters have secrets
- Cooperative play style (play to lift)
- Safety mechanics
- Self-preparation and workshop on site
- Pre-game hype and communication on Discord
- Organizers play full characters at the larp
- In-game entertainment (horse racing, gambling, Lindy Hop)
What NOT to expect
- Absolute historical correctness
- Reenactment
- Point-based system
- Achieving your character’s goals (play to win)
- Transparent game
- Play on racism
- Play on antisemitism
- Gunfights
- Servant characters that serve food & drinks and help with getting dressed
Content Warning
- Murder/manslaughter
- Violence (physical and emotional)
- Homophobia
- Sexism
- Fake blood
- Open fire
- Incest
- Sexual violence
In order not to reveal too much about each character, only family relationships and characters quotes are listed.
When filling out the registration form, you can indicate three characters you would like to play the most, as well as your general preferences for character traits and game content. Since our game is partly intransparent, and some characters have facets that the short descriptions do not reflect, we will assign characters largely based on your preferences. We therefore ask you to fill out the registration form as accurately as possible, so that we can make the most suitable selection possible.
Gender
We welcome all non-binary, genderqueer, etc. persons at our events and will strive to provide you with a character that you feel comfortable with. Regardless of what your gender identity is outside of the game, you can play either gender. However, since we strive for visual authenticity, we ask that all players adjust their appearance to represent the gender they are playing as convincingly as possible.
While you will receive a fleshed-out description of your character after casting, including backstory, their closest relationships, and possible play impulses, it is up to you to bring the character to life, deal with their key issues, and ultimately shape the outcome of their story. Although some secrets will inevitably come to light during the game, overall you will have great autonomy and responsibility over how your character reacts to events and interacts with those around them.
We don’t expect you to read up material on your own and become history experts on the fly; reading the Player Handbook will be enough to provide you with all the relevant information about the game and setting. We simply ask you to give your character’s stance on certain issues some thought to establish easy points of reference and interaction in the game, and strongly recommend that you contact your fellow players to develop a shared understanding of character relationships.
The price includes:
- Three-night stay in an old mansion with historic flair
- One (shared double) bed in a 2- to 5-bed room, washrooms in the corridor
- Full board (mainly vegan)
- Dinner on the day of arrival
- Four meals per game day
- Breakfast on departure day
- Possible props depending on the character
Sponsor and solidarity tickets
If you have the financial means, you can choose to pay 50€ more for the sponsor ticket and sponsor a solidarity ticket for another player. There offer as many solidarity tickets as there are sponsors. We do not check for actual need and trust that these discounted contributions will only benefit financially weaker players.
- Not wheelchair accessible (several floors)
- Poor visibility in one of the staircases
- Partially uneven floor (old floorboards, paving stones)
- Sagging mattresses
- Some players are given written information to read during the game.
- Name tags will only be worn on the night of the workshop (and optionally at the afterparty) and will be taken off for the game.
If there are not enough sign-ups by August 15, 2022, we unfortunately have to postpone or cancel the larp. In the latter case, you will receive a full refund of your registration fee up to September 15, 2022.
Your spot at the game is not freely transferable. If you wish to cancel of your own accord, please contact us immediately so that we can find a suitable replacement. We have to charge you a cancellation fee of 20,00 €. If you cancel after August 15, 2022, we ask for your understanding that we can only refund your participation fee (minus the cancellation fee of 20,00 €) if we find a replacement for you.
Gallery
A picture is worth a thousand words: Photographer The Kelric View has accompanied Run 1 and captured the best moments with his camera.
Characters
We have up to 29 playable characters (including three NPC) for you to choose from.
Credits
Story and characters: Marik
Sign-up and finances: Nick
Production: Marik, Nick
Props: Marik, Nick
Kitchen: Marik, Anna
Support: Diana, Theresa, Monika