Legion : Siberian Story – Run 36

Legion: Siberian Story deals with the topic of civil war and the meaning of words such as heroism, home, and humanity in a time of turmoil. A volunteer army of an emerging democratic state is trying to get home from Siberia during the Russian Civil War and must face many struggles and difficult choices in the process.

The game is set around Christmas 1918 when the war in Europe had already ended. The characters in the game do not portray any real historical figures.

Legion: Siberian Story is a Czech content larp which ties it to a specific design tradition. We will now highlight the most important features of its design and play culture, but if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask us at our email: legion@rolling.cz.

Legion: Siberian Story combines role-playing as characters in a crisis, a long winter hike under uncomfortable conditions, and some military action. We want to tell a story of ordinary people in a tough situation, and we want you to feel like you were there. We want strong emotions, big conflicts, and intense relationships. We do not aim for a perfect military or historical simulation; both are merely props for telling your story.

The march itself is primarily an atmospheric tool, but the game requires the players to be reasonably physically fit and willing to endure discomfort. During the game (most of Friday and all of Saturday), the players will march around 25 kilometres through woods and hills, with regular stops. Different characters come with different demands on physical activity; the registration form will allow you to choose how physically demanding you want your game to be. While soldiers will fight and shoot and Red Cross nurses will run around to save the wounded under fire, civilians can expect fewer physically demanding activities – but they will have more relationship play and often more connection to the area.

When creating the game, we adapted historical reality to allow for a stronger and more inclusive story. The game is not a faithful reconstruction of what happened but a collage of stories, fates, and situations from this period.

You do not have to study complex historical facts to be able to play the game – we will provide you with a character sheet, historical documents, and workshops. However, you have to be willing to read long texts and listen to some talking about history.

What we want from the game is to create strong stories together and for each other in a setting simulating Siberia and the civil war. The game cannot be won, and we will ask players to embrace a civil style of play rather than looking for cool, flashy scenes. We encourage each player to create a coherent and powerful story for themselves and other players.

The players will be given pre-written characters with backgrounds, relationships, and goals. Each player will have several key choices and be free to interpret their character—but they will not be able to change or add significant content.