Death and Denial features 29 characters that are fully pre-created by a team of passionate character writers.
They are intended to evoke a strong gothic atmosphere and different emotional themes to play on, as well as a web of secrets and relationships. The cast is a blend of Victorian archetypes, such as the obsessed scholar, the melancholic noble, and the disillusioned romantic – with copious inspiration taken from real historical figures like Mary Shelley or John Gardner Wilkinson.
Despite the many historical people used as inspiration for this event, no characters will be an existing historical figure and all will be their own original creations.
While the full characters will not be public, since trying to hold on to one’s secrets is such an important theme of the larp, players may share elements of their stories with others as they desire, and the organisers will support players using transparency to create intentional dramatic tension.
Players will be sent a questionnaire when drawn in the lottery to ask about preferred themes and stories. This way we can match them with the best-fitting character for their journey on the Esteban.
Every player can play any gender they like. Some characters will have a predetermined gender, while other characters can be played as any gender. These genders will be subject to the morals mores of the time period. Information on how gender can be represented during the event will follow in later briefs.
What kind of characters you can expect to play
These character concepts are meant as examples. These blurbs may differ from later blurbs or full characters you may receive.
The Cursed Poet
Tag words: Inspired, Obsessed, Melancholic, Addicted, Irresponsible.
He has always had a way with words, and he now makes his living writing short stories and poems with a macabre slant to them.
In his life he has loved and lost more times than many thought possible and he’s let it flow freely into his works. Fans praise his insights into the decrepit mind of man. Critics say his writings are those of a madman.
He believes that he bears a curse, that all those he loves, will fall to the inevitable conqueror worm. He wants to run from the shroud of grief that lies heavily upon his shoulders, but now he is stuck on a ship with nowhere left to run to. Will he succumb to grief, or rise to find a strength he never thought possible?
If he killed, it was not with his hands, but through his curse!
The Heretic Scientist
Tag Words: Brilliant · Obsessive · Decaying · Veiled · Transgressive
A lady of science with ink-stained gloves and equations behind her eyes, she boarded The Esteban seeking peace—but carries revolution in her mind. Her theories once reshaped men’s thoughts. One of them screamed until he died. Now, they call her discredited. Dangerous. Unwell. But her hands are steady, her logic sharp, and her gaze sharper still.
She speaks softly but thinks in spirals—of memory, morality, and madness. Some say she came to rest. Others say she came to finish what she started. After all, her theories were never disproven—just buried. And now one man is dead.
If she killed, she did it precisely. And for the greater good.
The Harrowed Adventurer
Tag Words: Charismatic, determined, curious, ruthless, restless
A man who has walked where maps end and brought back forbidden treasures from the world’s forgotten corners. He came to the sea as a boy and never left. From deserts to jungles, from temples to tombs, he traveled the world.
He thrives on danger, thrives on the chase, thrives on outwitting men who believe themselves cleverer.
Some say he came for honest work as the first mate of the Esteban. Others whisper he came to collect what he’s owed. After all, the desert listened to his prayers that night—and gods of sand and salt demand their due.
If he killed, it was to fulfill a promise. And the promise was not his alone.