Treasure Trap

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Treasure Trap

Location
Peckforton Castle, Cheshire, UK
Genre
Fantasy
Conflict resolution system
Boffer combat
Established
1982
Credits
Peter Carey, John Carey, Robert Donaldson


Treasure Trap was the first live-combat campaign larp in the UK. It ran from 1982 to 1984 and has had a significant influence on the development of UK larp.[1]

Treasure Trap first advertised in White Dwarf in Dec/Jan 1981/82, using the slogan of "You've Fantasy Role Played on the Table... NOW PLAY FOR REAL!"[2] and began running in April 1982. It received a positive review in White Dwarf later that year.[3] The adventures were short linear adventures, lasting two to three hours, in which the player characters would pursue a set goal such as rescuing a princess. Mechanically, the game used live combat and boffer weapons, with a location-based system of hit points and armour based on Runequest. Monsters "would fall down 'dead' if they felt a weapon hit any critical part of their bodies,"[3] while monster weapons and claws were marked with dye, allowing hits to be counted after each fight (battleboarding). Spells were represented with thrown tennis-balls or dye-filled eggshells.

At its height Treasure Trap had 5,000 members.[1] It ended in 1984 when the castle was sold, but spawned a host of successors, including Durham University Treasure Trap and Labyrinthe.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Nathan Hook, "The Children of Treasure Trap: History and Trends of British Live Action Role-Play". In Playground Worlds: Creating and Evaluating Experiences of Role-Playing Games, Solmukohta (2008), p 70.
  2. White Dwarf, #28, p. 6.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Ian Livingstone, "Treasure Trap". White Dwarf #31, p. 25.

External links