The World

The world in which the players live is called Elandra. Populated by the Nine Nations much of Elandra is currently surrounded by the twisted magic of the Fading which produces a corrupting fog and steals their memories. Elandra has existed for many centuries before the current crisis but due to the severe pressure they have been put under they have agreed to an international treaty of cooperation called the Pact of the Nine.

• The Fading
• The Pact of the Nine
• Elandra/World History Timeline

A Closed World

A Closed World Setting is a fictional setting in a game or other medium where the boundaries of the world are set and can’t be expanded upon except through engaging with the game and plot. There is an established canon of history and events, and players cannot change these.

The design reason for this is because it gives a strong foundation for the whole game to be built upon - there is a common understanding of the world for all participants to be able to shape their backstory and their sphere of knowledge within the game.

Exploration is a key part of the game design. Elandra is a world that has lost a significant amount in the last century of the game, and rediscovering the lost history of the Nations and what lies beyond the current national boundaries makes up a significant amount of the long term direction of the game.

Character Creation within a Closed World

This means that you can create a character that fits into this world freely, but you cannot play a character from another fictional setting. Characters taken wholesale from another LARP setting, or from another fictional world do not make sense in the setting of Menhirs Fate.

Equally characters who claim to be from beyond the currently known boundaries of Elandra outside the nine nations do not make sense in the setting. The effects of the “Fading” have stripped knowledge of everywhere beyond the current maps. Any people or creatures beyond there can be investigated through the game levers, but are intentionally a mystery until those areas can be uncorrupted and investigated.

Though we have taken inspiration from a wide variety of eras in our look and feel guides for the nations, this is also a fantasy world, not a historical one. There are no historical gender roles or historical attitudes to sexuality and gender identity, and using such as an excuse to push the boundaries of the conduct policy is not acceptable.

As a minimum, characters in the setting need to be from one of the nine nations, follow the costume guides for the nation, have a name that suits that nation under the recommended naming conventions. This ensures that the world remains cohesive, and creativity can span from a solid foundation of the world of Elandra.

The Nations

The Look and Feel Guides

The Abstraction Layer

The setting being a closed world does not mean we do not want people to develop their backstories and their character’s story, just that we expect and require all characters to exist within the world we have set out.

Every nation’s geography and groups pages lay out the standard makeup of what smaller settlements or households look like. These are quite diverse, from village-style “Cantrefs” and “Courts” in Valdraeth to the city-state business households of each “Coterie” in Hammerstadt, “Vassal Families” in Morvalis and co-living “Domus” in Syradonia.

As long as these fit the setting of the nation, there is a lot of free reign to write your group and individual character’s backstory and what your character’s life looks like between events.

In LARP, this level of canon controlled by the game and individual contribution to the world is sometimes described as the “Abstraction Layer”. Beyond a certain point, the game is not defined or micromanaged by the game writing team.

Playable Races

Humans are the only playable species in the world of Menhirs Fate.

Some humans are affected by the magical spheres, in a way that alters their physical appearance and encourages certain emotions and behaviours to come to the fore. These roleplay effects are designed with storytelling in mind, putting emphasis on a character’s stubbornness or creative spirit, among others. These are opt-in, and the Weavemarks only last as long as the player wearing them wants to keep them. People with Weavemarks are still human.

More can be found on Weavemarks here.

Magic

The world of Elandra is inherently magical, with rifts to the spheres occurring randomly in some regions, and magical creatures making temporary homes in areas in every nation. People in the world have innate magical ability - in the same way that anyone could learn martial skills through time and energy, any person in the world can learn magic. There is no genetic or selective reason for magical ability, though like any skill, some have a natural aptitude to it.

Rifts

Rifts are natural phenomena that occur in the world of Menhirs Fate. Outside of Haven they are generally quite unstable and aren't relied on as major transport network but can provide opportunities for those who brave them.

Rifts will generally grow stronger and weaker over time and link to one of the Spheres of magic, allowing for passage for denizens of Elandra into the sphere but also the reverse. This flow of magic exists everywhere in the world of Menhirs but is slightly stronger in the Sanctuaries (Kairos, Syradonia, Morvalis) and so it is a little more common to find Rifts there, for better or worse. Rifts can close completely and new Rifts open around the world but this is hard to predict and impossible to control.

Haven attracts a much larger amount of Rifts but these are much more short lived and usually dissipate relatively quickly compared to other Rifts.

The only exception to the normal rules of travel are Spirit Rifts. Aspects appear in Elandra from these but no one has ever returned on the few occasions they have managed to get through a Spirit Rift

Faith and Religion

There are twelve Gods in the world, who manifest sometimes to the mortals of the world in the form of Aspects; versions of themself distilled into a human form. These are sometimes described as being like one facet of a crystal - only one face of a greater whole. Different aspects of the same God can appear at the same time, and sometimes have differing opinions, though some prefer to remain undetected to view their followers on a mortal level.

The Four Corrupted Gods are also worshipped as deities in the setting, but following them is a crime in Haven and the wider Nine Nations, with severe penalties.

Gods from other fictional or historical settings are not part of this game - Thor or Athena are not alternative Gods to follow, nor are Glorificus or Cthulu! There are ways to investigate theology in the game, but including Gods from outside the setting will never be allowed under the Closed World rules.

World history timeline

While the Fading has caused massive damage to the ability of most nations to stably track facts from their history some things persist. A few key dates that anyone may know are available to give some perspective to the world of Elandra and the nations that inhabit it.

The full timeline can be found here

The Fading

The Fading is a magical problem affecting everyone on Elandra. At first believed to be contained to the corrupted mists it has intensified in recent years and causes knowledge and memory to be lost.

More information on the Fading can be found here

The Pact

The Pact is a pan-nation document signed by by all the nations at a time when the corruption crisis was only getting worse. It covers a series of agreements that all the nation have agreed to across only reclaiming their own land, interaction with the guilds, respecting the Gods and standing against the corruption itself.

More information on the Pact of the Nine can be found here

Technology in Elandra

At Menhirs Fate, Elandra is a world that’s been designed to be inspired by medieval fantasy, but also drawing from some European Enlightenment-era cultures. This section offers some guidance on what is and what isn’t a part of the technology of the world, to avoid doubt.

We have actively designed Menhirs Fate to avoid technology from more modern eras; tech-trees and rapid development are not themes of the game.

The main reason for this is magic!

In a world where magic forms the basis of many daily functions of the nine societies who interact under the Pact, some real world “progress” cannot and will not work.

The world is broadly set around the time of the real-world 17th century enlightenment, which is also the most modern influence on the Look and Feel*

The Printing Press

In game there are thriving printing companies around the known world, especially in Hammerstadt, but also throughout the other nations. When replicating hand-printed written documents, try to choose fonts that imitate pre-20th century typefaces - it can be immersion-breaking to read a poster in Ariel or Verdana, not just Comic Sans! Some fonts that can look good on documents in-field are Garamond, IM Fell, Playfair and Copperplate or Gothic style fonts.

Alternatively, handwriting fonts are good for substituting actual hand-written documents, but attempts should be made to ensure they’re legible for as many people as possible to be able to read; some handwriting fonts can be tricky for those participants with dyslexia.

Gender Affirming Care

This is a trans-inclusive world, and so in-world the properties of hormone replacement therapy were distilled from plants to create the effects of modern estrogen and testosterone in simple potions and salves, often known as “Aqua Nostos” - “Water of Homecoming”.

If you are transgender in real life, you are welcome to play a character who is trans in the game or not - this setting element is simply for inclusion and to offer that choice to our trans and non-binary players while fitting into the fantasy world.

Medicine and surgery is more advanced in Elandra than in the real world in many ways, due to the proliferation of magical healing. Gender-affirming surgeries are part of the world, done by scar-smiths, bloomtenders and other physicians throughout the lands.

Clockwork

Mechanical clocks, watches and other basic clockwork machinery is commonly used for timekeeping devices. Larger-scale clockwork pieces are rarer, and usually powered in some part by Forge Magic. They are not common or used for martial means, due to the sheer number of delicate moving parts that could easily be damaged.

Digital watches should be subtle, and covered up or kept in a pocket if unable to easily blend with clothing.

Mobility devices

Mobility devices are always considered acceptably in-character, regardless of material, colour and power needs. Wheelchair users are free to roleplay that these are powered by Forge Magic, clockwork or any other in-character power source for flavour if they wish.

Lighting

In the world of Elandra there are many light sources that can be physically represented (phys-repped) by 3D printing, resin, LED lighting, glow-in-the-dark materials, LED candles and other creative sources.

• Glowstones, naturally glowing crystals, are mined from Syradonia and shipped throughout the land.
• Phosphorescent mushrooms are common throughout the Crownlands.
• Some Hammerstadt forges swear by lamps made with Fire Magic, which burn more steadily and for longer. Candles are made throughout the world from many sources (LED candles are safer than real candles in many applications and fires should not be left unattended).
• Some Valdrae keep wisps in lanterns for a time, though they have a tendency to disappear when other things take their fancy.
• Some Syradonians keep phosphorescent jellyfish known as Chasmfish as pets, which give off a soft glow of light that many find soothing.

Glasses and Spyglasses

Although a mobility aid so counted above, it should be explicitly stated that glasses are perfectly valid as IC items. Some people in the hobby like to use glasses with more historic or vintage styles, but there is no need to do this, it is entirely on the wearer to decide their personal preferences.

Spyglasses/telescopes are also a valid part of the world, as a 17th century invention.

In-game, many Portavans use them on a daily basis for navigation and practicality.

Compasses and Navigational Tools

Though many Portavans and Urdrevani prefer to use the stars to navigate by, compasses are also available in the world to aid in determining the cardinal directions.

Steam Power

Steam power has not been invented in Elandra, and industrial revolution themes stemming from it are not part of the themes of the game.

Similarly “Steampunk” style clothing and accessories are discouraged, they are thoroughly Victorian in inspiration.

Sustained Flight

Planes do not exist in this world - air travel is not developed as a mode of transport. Airships are said to exist in the Air Sphere, however sustained flight outside of the potent magical atmosphere of the spheres has never succeeded, and any past attempts at such are lost to the Fading. This includes planes, hot air balloons and zeppelins.

Artificial Intelligence

We discourage any use of AI at Menhirs Fate. There is no in-world analogue for it, and AI should not be used for IC documents or images.

Gunpowder

There are no guns or artillery at Menhirs Fate and we will not be pursuing any plot that creates them, by magical or mundane means. The only forms of artillery are catapults, trebuchet and other pre-gunpowder siege machinery.

*with some exceptions for 18th Century style stays in Avereaux, Neo-Classical dresses in Kairos and Soviet-kitsch jumpsuits in Syradonia.