Civilian play
This is a larpwright’s love letter to the civilian play in Odysseus. Jae, who was in the writer team for both 2019 and 2024 runs, talks about the three major narrative pillars in the background of all characters: dynasties, politics and religion. In between these pillars run the criminal plots, police forces, justice systems, journalists and terrorist groups with their secret radio transmissions.
There are 17 civilian characters in Odysseus. Being a civilian means that these characters do not at the start of the larp have a place in the military shifts onboard the ship. All of them can step into an apprentice role that has been pre-assigned and will give them the opportunity to play the clockwork of flying the ship and keeping the passengers alive. This is a choice we leave to players, but you can rest assured that there is more than enough content to play within the realms outside military sci-fi.
So what do the civilians get to play with? To understand that we need to take a look at the EOC society.
Dynasties
The dynasties are power structures that lurk behind all seats of power, funding and shaping the agendas of parties, religions and corporations alike. They hold an economic stranglehold over the EOC nations and have their fingers in everything: think of clans, mafia, cults and corporations you can be born into or join if you fulfill the requirements. Dynasties provide security, wealth and opportunities to their members, but they come with strings attached. For some of the characters they can mean life or death, for some simply a community to belong to. Anyone can get involved in the drama they contain, and it shall not be lacking! Dynasties are widely respected and opposing the wishes of your dynasty isn’t done lightly. The support and protection of the dynasties is paramount, especially in a civilization on the brink of destruction. The more delicious the rebellion, right? Within the dynasties the players have free agency to play as they see best for their character!
The characters belong to six different dynasties, four of these being major Dynasties that hold significant power in EOC (Purity, Strength, Hope and Wisdom) and two are medium size Dynasties with somewhat less power (Mercy, Defiance). Some characters are without a dynasty, like floaters. Not being a member of any dynasty automatically makes you a less valuable member of the society – and society may be less of a value to you.
Purity is one of the biggest, oldest and most powerful Dynasties. Traditional values, a strong hierarchy, and a lot of its members hold high positions in society. Although the dynasty is quite large, nowadays it is difficult to join and as a community it has turned inwards. Purity has strong ties with the centrist/conservative party.
Wisdom has a strong merit-based hierarchy, and places science above everything else. Quite a few of the latest big scientific discoveries originated from this dynasty, including android technology. The dynasty has strong ties with the science political party, and with the Faith of the High Science.
Hope is a business empire stretched over Ellarion and the colonies and is heavily involved in different industries and corporations. Hope has strong ties with the democratic/environmental party and values equal rights among humans – but not androids. Robots shouldn't rob humans of their jobs.
Strength is a big and powerful dynasty strongly associated with the military and heavily invested in various businesses. The dynasty has a strict, ambitious, competitive and traditional culture. They are not as involved with politics or religions, but they have ties to weapon technology. Joining the dynasty requires strong recommendations, obviously the military kind.
Mercy is a family-/community-based dynasty with a strong focus on spirituality and the traditions of the Old Ways religion that may hold keys to survival. One of the oldest Dynasties but never one with great power. The dynasty is very welcoming and easy to join but the succession in leadership positions is only inherited. They undertake many charitable endeavors.
Defiance is a modern dynasty associated with lower social classes. It doesn't have strong affiliations with any political parties but is still connected with individual senators. There are rumors about the dynasty using questionable means in politics and of connections to organized crime. Defiance mainly operates in the colonies, striving to better their status. It is easy to join this loose structure - but harder to leave.
Picture: Tuomas Puikkonen
Politics in play
The political system in Odysseus was reformed between the ’19 and ‘24 runs and it has gotten a lot of love from its writers. Our aim was to provide the best tools and frameworks we could and then let the players run with it. For this, we needed a believable but simplified system. Here’s a brief look into it.
EOC is led by a symbolic leader: the Emperor, whose title is inherited through a special bloodline from the days of the colonization. The Emperor is a loved and respected leader but has very little concrete power.
True power resides in the Planetary Senate and local provinces, with citizens voting for their representatives. The Senate makes the laws and the Emperor signs them into effect. The government structure relevant to the game play is as follows:
The Emperor can appoint members to the Imperial Council to act as their personal advisors. These advisors have no direct power but the Senate must hear them in all major decisions. Could they run over the Senate? Never in history, at least.
Senate is led by the Prime minister (usually the leader of the party with the most seats in the senate), Security and Science being major ministries. There are 200 Senators elected by citizens of Ellarion and the colonies. The colonies have a maximum of 10 senators, usually 1-2 from Osiris and 8-9 from Caelena. Fair, right?
Supreme Court is not under the Senate’s direct power and can help keep the senate in check. Will have opinions on the civilian police force & handling of criminal activity. Should have.
How is this relevant in the larp? Glad you asked!
The machines have just erased almost all of this beautiful structure, and it is in the hands of the players to organize an election, form the new streamlined government, and appoint ministers and judges. There are characters who are career politicians, heavily involved behind the political scenes or active in their party. Some are actual senators or would have wanted to be, but anyone can decide to run in the elections. All characters are eligible to vote, so political campaigns have a great effect on the result. The players will be supported by NPC characters (and voters), who can be contacted through the communication system, and the elections will take place online as well, officiated behind the scenes by the game runners. No, there’s no risk for fraud or coercion, why do you ask? Hackers!? Impossible. Our public workstations are very safe.
There are three relevant political parties in the game:
The Blues are a party of science. They have very strong ties to the Wisdom dynasty, and to the Faith of the High Science (FotHS). The Blues believe in a stratified society with the dynasties, and the most learned on top. They want to put scientific professionals (preferably appointed by officials of the FotHS) and artificial intelligence in charge of decision making. They are against scientific regulation by the government, believing that regulation kills innovation. One of their recent agendas was to loosen the restrictions regarding androids.
The Purples are a conservative party with strong ties to the Purity dynasty. They believe in a stratified society with the dynasties on top, where everyone has their own place in the system. For them moderation, heritage and common sense are the cornerstones of national stability. The Purples are somewhat divided between a more radical wing that wants to consolidate more power to the rich and influential, some of them also wanting to increase the power of the Emperor and a more moderate wing that believes strongly in a constitutional system and at least the image of equality in the eyes of the law. The Purples believe in strong leaders. There are some anti-android sentiments within the party. Their recent agenda proposed more funding to the military as well as more power to dynasties regarding law enforcement.
The Yellows believe in direct democracy and equality. They represent the working class and the colonies. They have strong ties to the Hope dynasty, yet they advocate for the abolishment of the dynasties and the unequal colonial system. No nobles, curtailed capitalism and sustainable development - and the economy is planned by specialists with the wellbeing of all humanity being their first priority. The party has strong anti-android sentiments. They are mostly pacifistic but there are minor more radical elements. Their recent agenda included removing the restrictions for colonial senators and more strict regulations on android technologies.
Now, the moral-ethical worldviews in EOC are not vastly different from ours, but there are few things worth noticing: 1. The position of the Emperor is almost unanimously supported, and the family is highly respected among the population. Having an Emperor is a great asset. 2. Citizens of colonies (Caelena and Osiris) are legally and often practically considered second class citizens. 3. The death sentence is not common, but it has been used when talking about high crime – or treason. These all can become relevant to the political game. Just saying.
Picture: Ami Koiranen
Law and order
A lot of characters have secrets they would rather leave in the rubble of the levelled cities. Criminals especially may have gotten their chance to escape consequences, because martial law is now being followed and while hindering the survival of the fleet becomes a very serious crime, in less heinous crimes the trial and punishment may be postponed for future. During the larp if someone gets caught of criminal activity, they should be arrested and interrogated. They can be held in the brig for a while, but it might get crowded so even those facing serious charges can be released back to their jobs especially if they do not possess immediate risk to the mission or other passengers. They can not escape and there will be a time for them to face consequences of their actions. So at minimum the marines and characters who are part of law enforcement get to work to get a confession or to collect evidence. It is also possible to issue sentences either by civilian or military court during the larp, if the players so choose. Punishments can vary eg. from being discharged from the army, losing possessions, forced labor up to capital punishment. Oh, speaking about punishment: in addition to commonly known punishments there used to be some experimental programs for rehabilitation with various results, including experiments with memory wipe technology. It’s very rare, so you can rest assured it will be hidden in the game.
Not so hidden is the sorely under-resourced police who will be doing its best to figure out the criminal activity YOUR character has gotten tangled in. An excellent but very spoiler-y account of this part of the game can be found in the excellent video of Mara Holmes, who played detective in 2024. (link)
Enemies of the state?
To make it all more fun, we have some anti-governmental forces that are willing to go to extreme lengths to further their goals. The foremost agendas are anti-surveillance, anti-capitalism, protection of minorities and opposition to “inhumane” forces like artificial intelligence as well as opposing military funding, arms industry and basically everything that is not done to the benefit of the working people – not necessarily a popular stance now. There have been numerous violent attacks by these forces in the past – and how many more could be radicalized in the cataclysmic event that has all but shattered the civilized society? There are rumors of hidden radio broadcasts revealing things the state would not want you to know.
Less dramatic, but often far more harmful are the numerous criminal syndicates who poison the society especially from the Osiris colony. Especially one called Zodiac Web has been linked to high profile crimes but very few convictions. The organization operates in cells and only a few members know the infamous leader personally. Zodiac Web has several operations like money laundering, drug distribution, extortions, kidnappings and other shenanigans but majority of their business comes from taking care of shady businesses of their customers ranging from fake IDs to robberies and all the way to contract kills and terrorist attacks. They may have some useful connections too, and who can be too picky in these troubled times?
Picture: Ami Koiranen
Religions
At least the religion is open to everyone, no matter what your background! There are two religions in the EOC, the Faith of the High Science and The Old Ways. Almost all characters have been brought up to follow one of them, but not all have found them too meaningful in the middle of their busy everyday lives, unless they work with science or belong in a more spiritual community. The devastating attack and fight for survival may well change that. Regardless of their background all characters can turn to the clergy for answers, consolation or guidance. The religions may even hold some clues to survival.
Faith of the High Science is the dominant religion, with a majority of the upper and middle classes in the EOC following its teachings. It is most influential on Ellarion and has strong ties to the Wisdom dynasty, as well as the Senate, where the leaders of FotHS hold considerable sway over the Senate’s decisions on science and education. It is a hybrid of religion, philosophy and science: it does not worship supernatural entities as gods or creators, instead the main tenet of FotHS is the belief in a universe which seeks to understand itself through intelligent life. FotHS sees science and the advancing of human knowledge as the highest purpose of humanity. It generally supports developing androids, as creating immortal artificial intelligence can be seen as furthering the goal of humanity rising to a higher level of consciousness.
Old Ways is the smaller of the two religions. It is most practiced in Caelena but has many followers also in Ellarion and Osiris. Old ways have strong ties to the Mercy dynasty but have practically no political influence. Old Ways is very community oriented, centering around the belief in the Spirit of the Universe, which will guide those who seek its help, as well as the notion of Earth as the birthplace and destined paradise of all humans. It is a hybrid of several old beliefs inherited from the Genesis era humans, who first colonized the Arati system, as well as new traditions developed both during the long journey and later on EOC. Old Ways is somewhat mistrustful of androids and AI. They are seen as unnatural, taking people further away from the Spirit and the invaluable core of humanity.
Both religions have their origins in the beliefs of the people in the Genesis ships that originally colonized Ellarion and the moons, but they have since grown into two distinct belief systems with different interpretations on the Genesis journey and the origin and fate of humanity. These are part of the underlying greater themes of the larp and engaging with the philosophical discussions and finding out what your character thinks is true will be highly meaningful in experiencing the story as a whole.
To draw all these elements together: almost all characters have a religion they are acquainted with, a political party they have favored and a dynasty they belong to (or very pointedly don’t). To the civilian characters these themes are much more focused and highlighted. They are mixed with personal histories and spiced with crime, terror, love, pain and justice. You wouldn’t believe the sheer amount of meticulously written backstories and materials, including but not limited to old crime investigation materials, articles, receipts, historical documents, religious posters and news items. They are all there to create meaningful and heart wrenching stories to be lived by those on the ship who can’t hide behind their work. They are there for you, if we just get the chance to tell all these stories together again.
Header picture: Tuomas Puikkonen
Picture: Viima Strengell