The Bacchanalia Affair is an erotic high-ritual intrigue LARP, inspired by the suppression of the Bacchanalia during the height of the Roman Republic, reclaiming the narratives by pulling in inspiration from The Bacchae. 

This LARP will utilize mechanics that are associated with entering an altered state, such as hypnosis, trance states, and ritualized behavior; these mechanics may result in unfamiliar mental states and intense emotional bleed.

This is the first full run of the LARP.

Premise: 

• It’s a few years prior to the Bacchanalia Affair of 186 BCE, in the Roman countryside not too far from the city 

• The Roman government is starting to look into limiting or fully blocking Bacchic rituals, supplanting them with the more conservative cult of Liber Pater

• Most of you are either an existing Bacchantes (Maenads) or aspiring initiates 

• Some of you are recently-inducted priests of Liber Pater, controversially assimilated into the mystery cult of Bacchus  

• Some people here are undercover state spies 

• Others are believing that the cult is not radical enough in terms of societal subversion

• Bacchus himself is there in disguise. Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.  

Themes: 

• Divine madness and ecstatic states 

• The role of ritual in community and life as a whole 

• Religious infighting 

• Encroachment into radical movements by neoliberalism and patriarchy 

• State-led religious and cultural persecution 

• Suppression of free expression and queerness in increasingly conservative society 

• Toxic masculinity and gender as performance 

• Popularity and recruitment versus authenticity and vision 

Gameplay: 

• Afternoon workshops begin around 2pm 

  • Safety trainings 

  • Ecstatic dance introduction

  • Sex mechanics practice 

  • Player calibration

• Gameplay begins around 6pm, after an OOC dinner 

  • Leaders/priestesses gather in private as people mingle IC 

  • Initiates are initiated 

  • Bacchanal begins, starting with ecstatic dance and chanting

  • Ritual continues in multiple stages, each marked by a sacrifice that players can help or sabotage

  • Political intrigue and social deduction come to a head  

  • Revelry must continue at all costs 

  • Public executions occur amidst the revelry

  • Divine madness fades, characters see through any illusions they may have been under 

• Gameplay ends around midnight (after around 6 hours)

  • Out-of-character dance party and mingling kick off in main room

  • Guided meditations and de-roleing exercises are led in a separate space

  • Cozy herbal tea, hot chocolate, and snacks are served, blankets are provided, people are encouraged to rest and relax