In the middle...
- The LARPers aren't cooperating. They can't be convinced that there's something wrong. A couple of them think that this is all just a ploy so that someone can gain an In Game (IG) advantage. Others want to know what's happening In Character (IC) or Out Of Character (OOC).
- There's a RP purest who hasn't gone OOC at an event for three years and damn it, he's going to stay IC no matter what anyone says.
- the stoners (if you use them from It's My Birthday - they are the ones that Dresden almost fries) were smoking weed laced with "something" and are having problems telling what's real and what's not. They assume that any talk about real vampires isn't real.
- someone has his nose in a twist over the "special guests". A sort of "What makes you so special? I've been plotting for months and tonight I was going to dispatch my rival and become clan head, but since we have 'special guests' we're supposed to go light on the plot. Why are you ruining my big night?" type thing - or another sort of petty jealously that drove the birthday girl insane.
- a couple of the players sneak off for a private make out session / grope fest / or quickie. It happens all the time in horror movies and at some LARPs. When people realise that there are missing people do the PCs go after them? I'm thinking that if the PCs do they find the couple in a very embarrassing situation but if they don't they find the bodies some time later.
- a player buys into the truth - accepting that there are real vampires. Problem is, he really wants to be one. He'll try to search out the birthday girl and beg to be made a vampire. Of course she's not going to make him a vampire (maybe she'll make him a mindless one) but he'll never believe that she isn't going to make him her equal.
- someone has a wardrobe issue and needs to repair his/her costume.
- one (or more) of the players have a problem with authority. Tell him "Don't do that or the vampire will get you" will get him to do that because of his "because you aren't the boss of me" attitude.
- lights flicker, but is it the birthday girl or someone setting the mood for the game? Maybe the lights flickered in the first part of the game because good old Steve was working the lights - and in the middle when the lights flicker they go to tell good old Steve to knock it off - but Steve's not there. Or he's there with his throat ripped out. Making things more interesting, if they don't watch his body it disappears - either Steve has risen as a BCV or the birthday girl is messing with people's minds.
- the missing body works well for others. The PCs find a body, they go and tell others, but when the others insist on seeing the body it's gone. For added fun, the birthday girl has scattered some fake blood around and the NPCs recognise it as the type of fake blood they use. Some mock the PCs for doing such an obvious ploy while others commend the PCs for getting into the spirit of things but say that they should have ran things passed the StoryTellers (STs) first.
- The birthday girl decides to play with her food a bit. She plays with the lights, does some minor magics, runs through at super speed and grabs an IC item (the Prince's scepter, someone's tiara, the mystic book of the Unholy - whatever). The item is fake (scepter is wood spray painted gold, the tiara was from a Halloween costume, the book is a hard cover novel with a custom dust jacket) when the item disappears everyone notices. People get nervous and it's up to the PCs to calm things down - which isn't easy as someone thinks he (or she) is being sabotaged in the game.
- someone thinks that something a PC is carrying is an IC prop and innocently walks off with it. "You mean this is your staff? Are you sure, because Chris said he was bringing a spare one for me to use" type thing.
- as above, but the person is being sneaky because he thinks he's gaining something IC by snagging the item.
- as above, but the person has clued into the fact that the PCs are more than they seem. In this case the NPC wants to gain magic powers or protection (if he knows there is real danger).
- when they are identifying who the birthday girl is the PCs discover that one of the players is creep. The creep seduced her and when he was done he rolled off her and said that it was all IC - "You don't think I'd go with you OOC do you?". In short, a complete asshole. Do the PCs protect him or use him as bait?
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That's it off the top of my head.
Richard
(who LARPs at times)
