What is Twin Mask?
Twin Mask is the largest live-action roleplaying (LARP) event on the West Coast. Imagine a D&D campaign with hundreds of people, but instead of rolling dice you physically fight your enemies with foam weapons or spells based on gestures and thrown bean-bags. Create your own character and attend our eight weekend-long events each year, with a persistent story and over 500 other players, all fully immersed in the world of Adelrune.
How does it work?
Twin Mask is very similar to a multiplayer fantasy video game, but in real life.
You'll go on quests alongside other players -- slaying monsters, encountering NPCs, and (if you're not careful) eventually experiencing the permanent death of your character. Your character has health points, skills, spells and weapons -- but instead of pressing a button or rolling a die to activate those abilities, there is usually a verbal "call" to represent damage or effects.
For example, if your (foam) sword deals 2 fire damage, you would simply hit someone and call out "2 fire!" Then, your opponent might call out "Parry!" or mentally subtract 2 from their HP/Armor total.
The game is run by Story Staff members who operate similar to Dungeon Masters in a game of D&D. If you're completely unfamiliar with roleplaying games or LARPs, you could imagine a Renaissance Fair combined with a weekend-long medieval "Scare Maze" or Escape Room, where you can actually fight back against the scare actors... or make friends with them.
Total Immersion
You are one of the Returned -- destined heroes (or villains) who have been mysteriously resurrected from death and drawn to the city of Frey, where the game takes place.
Once the event begins, everyone is in-character. The city of Frey has its own government, guilds, taverns, mercenary companies, economy, religions, and more -- all managed by players just like you. Everything you do will permanently affect the world of Adelrune, whether you're fighting in a war to decide the fate of a kingdom, praying to an ancient dragon-god, or merely picking someone's pocket.
Quests, often called modules or "mods," will often take you outside the city of Frey to make your mark on the many realms of Adelrune. Players can further influence the world by sending letters, inventing new spells, researching ancient secrets or using the 'influence' currency to become a political powerhouse, an underworld kingpin, a trade tycoon, or even the commander of a private army. You are only limited by your own imagination.
To make the world work, everyone also takes a turn filling the roles of the "NPCs" (non-player-characters), from monsters to peasants, under the direction of Story Staff during a several-hour, rotating "NPC shift" -- that way, the game never runs out of monsters and characters for you to interact with.
Twin Mask is usually focused on "PvE" (Players versus enemies/environment) conflicts, but "Player versus Player" conflict -- violent or not -- is also fully supported by the rules, with players participating in honorable duels, assassinating political enemies, or even stealing from each other.
Creating a Character
Creating your first Twin Mask character can be daunting, but don't worry! Before you dive headfirst into the rulebook, check out our "New Player Resources" guide for an easy, step-by-step guide.
We also have a team of volunteers called "New-Player Liasons" (NPLs) dedicated to helping new players get started and assist with writing their characters' backstories. Each NPL specializes in several of the dozens of cultures that your character can originate from, and we highly recommend you speak with your planned culture's NPL before submitting a new character by hitting the button below!
Also, between your first 3 Twin Mask events, you are free to fully 'respec' your new character, swapping that character's skills, background, or even racial heritage as you decide what will be most fun for you. And, once your character settles into a consistent identity, you will be able to learn any skills you want by asking other players' characters to teach you!
If a medical condition would prevent you from safely participating in foam-weapon combat, refer to the Rules section for accessibility info on creating a "Non-Combatant" character.
Also, if you are under the age of 18, refer to the Rules section for our parent/guardian waiver policy.