Reminder:
This game is not aesthetically themed for Steampunk garb, deco, or props. Please do not bring them into game.
This game expressly disallows Civil War garb, deco, icons, props, related events, and history. Do not bring these things into game.
This game is not about colonization or cultural hegemony, these themes will not be explored in this game.
No cultural appropriation of Earth cultures is allowed in this game. There was a history in North America for white trappers and frontier-expanding colonizers to appropriated the dress of indigenous peoples. We do not support this being perpetuated in our game, so please be mindful of your costuming.
No appropriation of Earth religions is allowed in this game.
All aesthetics listed here fall within 1882-1893.
Please refrain from using glow in the dark items as personal items, unless required for an accessibility aid.
All Props and Deco must be LARP safe. We strongly recommend avoiding glass.
Please do not bring real weapons to LARP as this violates our policies set forth in the rulebook - regardless of whether they are props and will not be used in combat.
Please also do not bring real candles or lanterns that require a real flame.
In line with our Alcohol/Drug Policy from the rulebook, absolutely no drugs or alcohol are allowed on our sites or at our events. Possession or use of drugs or alcohol will result in a player being immediately dismissed from the game and being banned from our community.
That being said, Call of the Void encourages creative props from all of its players.
Pharmacology was in its early stages during this time period. Doctors and pharmacists embraced the new options of treatments opened to their patients. However, still little was known about controlled testing and proper dosage, though clinical trials had become common in the later 1800s.
Antibiotics as we know them today did not exist. The main treatments for infections largely revolved around folk medicine. While some folk medicine did indeed include treatments that had antibiotic properties, such as combinations of plants and molds, synthesized antibiotics weren’t even explored until the late 1880s. Folk medicine was still largely depended on in many ways during this time period, especially in rural areas. Those swept up in the industrial and technological boom, though, sought more “modern” cures for their ailments.
Painkillers became greatly important. Salicylic acid was created in the 1830s and was used as treatments in the 1870s, but caused some unfortunate side effects. Later it was used to create acetylsalicylic acid in 1853 and it was more widely used as its side effects were much less severe. This was a long time before the wide availability of acetaminophen (first tested on humans in 1887) or ibuprofen (not widely available until the 1950s).
There were many treatments that today seem ridiculously dangerous but were commonplace at the time for their perceived value. Cocaine was widely used clinically as anesthesia. Opium was derived into morphine, then diamorphine (more commonly known as heroin), and administered for pain. Quite popular was laudanum, a tincture composed of opium mixed with alcohol. Cocaine, opium, and opium’s derivatives were not regulated at the time, and could be purchased at any pharmacy. This caused a great deal of addictions and many deaths.
What was a great cause for concern were patent medicines. These “medicines” were often snake oil - mixtures of unregulated drugs and ingredients that may, possibly, give relief, but were also quite dangerous. They were marketed as either being for particular issues or as miracle panaceas. Without regulation, there was no way to tell for certain what was in them. This was extremely dangerous, but the public was desperate for medicines due to outbreaks of illnesses in densely populated cities.
Please refrain from any props that would look like real medicines or narcotics. This particularly means no white powder to simulate cocaine. No real medicine or drug containers, bottles, or paraphernalia should be brought to game. No real medicines should be administered.
Empty corked plastic test tubes and corked plastic or sturdy bottles are to be used to represent both Snake Oil and Chemistry ingestibles. For roleplay, if players would like to represent pills, tic tacs and other small candies work best. Likewise, in the case of injections, the syringe pens widely available from prop shops and online work well.
For this time period, sodas were quite popular. Colas, rootbeers, gingerbeers, and cream sodas were very commonplace in both urban and rural areas and would migrate to the frontier (as supplies or brewers were made available). Often these were in glass bottles.
Alcohol was greatly important during this time period. While most was enjoyed recreationally, some was prescribed medicinally. In cities and towns, some of the most widely imbibed alcohols were brandy, whiskey, wine and champagne, and, of course, beer.
Hard alcohol and beer became the staples of drinking life in the frontier - that is, anywhere that wasn’t considered a dry county. Particular favorites of the frontier were rye and bourbon, but the popular consumption of beer cannot be understated.
Cocktails were common in large cities and eventually migrated. Most bartenders were capable of making basic cocktails. Particularly popular were those made with gin and whiskey.
A corked empty sturdy or plastic bottle, plastic test tube, or a flask should be used to represent Moonshine, Rot Gut, or Whiskey ingestibles in this game.
If, however, a player wants to show more realistic drinking, not just of the game ingestibles but other types of alcohol that are for roleplay only purposes, they can use non-alcoholic drinks to represent “alcohol” in game. This is a common practice in many LARPs and works well for immersion.
To use drinks to represent alcohol, below are the guidelines for our game:
No real alcohol bottles or containers are accepted on site with labels. While we appreciate the realism this may bring to the game, this could be a risk with site rules. All bottles should be without labels.
No photographs may be taken of this fake alcohol on site. Taking pictures of people drinking from cups is fine, but please refrain from any photographs or videos of people with fake bottles of alcohol.
Staff can inspect drinks at any time to ensure that they are non-alcoholic. If a drink is suspected to contain alcohol, staff members have a right to examine the drink in question.
We strongly recommend not sharing drinks between players. This is due to hygiene and the risk of transmitting illnesses. Please consider only drinking from a personal cup, container, or bottle.
Here are some basic recipes that could be used as fake alcohol. It is not required that players follow these recipes, but they can be a creative way to represent alcohol’s bite more accurately if that is the goal.
Whiskey - concentrated barley tea or black tea
Gin - concentrated juniper tea (optional to add cardamom and lemon/orange zest while making the tea)
Vodka - flat tonic water with a hint of lemon or lime zest
Tequila - agave syrup mixed with flat lime soda water