Vision

Indenture is a larp:

About modern indenture, a way to write away ten years of a character’s life to another human being as a contract of hard work, loyalty and few conditions.
About gambling with very high stakes. Indenture will be played through games of Texas Hold’Em, but with modified bidding rules designed for this larp experience
About what kind of circumstances can make people go to these lengths, whether it is for money, for the thrill, because they can, because they have to or something else entirely.
About truly desperate, twisted, loving or otherwise extreme power dynamics between two individuals.
About acceptance of your fate, but also trying to do anything you can do to circumvent it or to buy yourself free through other means – or to inspire others to do the same, should you suddenly hold them in your hands.
With a lot of downtime without organized activities, where character dynamics has space to grow, be changed and be influenced by others.
Where the gambling is designed in such a way that it will hopefully be equally interesting to be a winner or a loser at the games, and where there are many actions you can take in order to influence the outcomes outside of the gambling tables.
Set in the modern world in the year 2025. All electronic devices, however, will be left at the gates in the fiction.
Where Participants will sign up in couples or as singles to be paired up by the organizers.

Indenture is not:

A larp about sex or eroticism
A larp about external oppression
A larp with big flashy scenes, public violence
A larp about resisting the system and breaking free from the rules
A larp where you have to know poker in order to play
A bdsm larp. Only a few of the dynamics between characters have a clear controlling party and a subject, and the larp in general is not about those kinds of aesthetics or themes.

However, depending on the couple you sign up as, it might include elements of some of the above. Some couples will include sexual themes, others themes of oppression and abuse, others that are explicitly kinky in their nature.

But at Indenture, such things are private.

Just like they would be in the real world.

On the surface, everyone is there voluntarily. The veneer of a nice dinner party with high stakes poker will be kept up. People will pretend that they are all having a nice time, as absurd as it might seem as the stakes get higher and higher and people start losing at the poker tables.

The dirty, awful or desperate elements will only be seen in public in subtle ways: A long look, the tight flexing of someone’s hand or a tear wiped away by a napkin. As time passes, they will start showing more and more but control will never be lost in public.

In private, however, the situation might be very different.

Is this larp for me?

First: You do not have to know poker in order to play the game. It is perfectly fine to go to the larp without knowing anything at all, but we recommend at least watching one video of how to play Texas Hold’Em.

So, is this larp for me? If you:

Want to deeply explore a dynamic with one other person, especially when placed under duress or tension.
Would enjoy discovering and navigate the motivations of others in relation to the games.
Are not dependent on plots, secrets or constant activities in order to have fun. Playing in your relation, exploring it on its own and dealing with the outcomes of the games is what the larp is about.
Like the elements of gambling when well-designed, constrained to certain time slots and incorporating real, impactful choices without having to be great at the game in real life.
Enjoy uninterrupted play with nights, breakfasts and all being in character.

Then, yes.

If you:

Do not enjoy the gambling aspects at all.
Need to play out wild, violent or otherwise disruptive big scenes in public.
Want plots, surprises, constant activities and clearly signposted choices.
Need to end up in trouble or be a loser at the games in order to enjoy the dynamics of your relation.
Think the idea of playing around the concept of modern indentured servitude is reprehensible and should not exist in larps.

Then no.

Final consideration:

We recommend everyone to consider that if you are not playing a card-playing character you will have some hours of downtime while the card games are going on. We want this time to be filled with personal interactions, reactions at the card table, intense emotional looks, whispered gossip, attempts at helping your player by looking at the others and more. Not just waiting for the games to finish. If you do not think you can have fun with this slower play, then we do not recommend signing up as one of the non-playing parts.