Devia

Welcome to Devia!

Devia is a Live Action Roleplaying Game (LARP) run in the northwestern United States, with most of its players from the Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon areas. It centers around exploration and colonization, with a unique rules system that combines the best of US and European LARPs.

The game is set on a newly colonized continent, where nations compete over land, resources, and alliances. Ancient knowledge lies in wait to be discovered or researched anew. When playing Devia, you'll help craft a story which involves dozens of other players. Players can - and will - determine the future of the game world. While the Devia staff supplies parts of the story, the players determine how the world will progress.

Devia's next game will be January 8-10, 2010.

What is Devia?

When you attend a Devia event, you'll be immersed in a medieval world where your character has access to fantastical abilities above and beyond those of ordinary people. Players wear costumes and props to become the characters they choose to play. Combat happens through use of padded latex weapons - if you want to damage an enemy with your sword, you'll need to actually connect with a strike. When you cast a spell, you'll need to hit your enemy with a 'spell packet' and affect them with your magics. It's a roleplaying game without dice; a new way to experience fantasy.

Devia is an extraordinary experience where dozens of people get into such a world and work together to create the game. You'll get the chance to become anything your character can imagine. Each colony is desperately in need of all adventurers, whether they are politicians who work to create and maintain alliances or warriors to defend the colony's holdings. Scouts are constantly looking for new paths into the wilderness by which to expand the colony's boundaries. Healers and armorers are always in demand to keep the colony equipped and healthy.

How does the game work?

Your first source of information about Devia should be the rulebook. This will give you all the information you need to play the game while being easy to learn. After that, you should read the New World Atlas. It tells about the background of Devia and why the colonies are expanding throughout the New World.

When you have an idea on what kind of character you want to play, contact a Devia staff member and they will work with you on getting ready to come into game for the first time. Everyone begins the game affiliated with a colony; you'll work with this colony to accomplish your goals, both individual and colony-wide. Characters will be sent on dangerous missions into the wilderness to help their colony succeed in any number of ways. These missions might range from negotiating a trade agreement with a hostile native tribe to a nighttime raid on another colony's mine, with your objective to leave before anyone knows you were there.

Back at home, new spells and theories are always needing to be researched. The strength of a colony's weapons and equipment rests on the progress of its scientists and smiths; any colony which falls too far behind is at risk of becoming obsolete.

You can find a sample of what your Devia experience might be like by reading about the Devia Experience. More information about the world can be found in the New World Atlas.

Is Devia safe?

Like any outdoor sport, care must be taken on the part of participants to ensure everyone has a safe game. Weapons are checked before each event to ensure they meet certain safety standards, and the rules prohibit some blatantly unsafe acts - for instance, you are not allowed to kick other people's shields out of the way, as this would cross the line between an exciting combat and an unsafe encounter.

Devia is written to encourage immersiveness and physical immediacy by allowing real archery with padded arrows, combat using foam-sculpted weapons, and as much freedom as possible in chasing down pursuers or escaping from threats. This makes the game far more exciting than if physical dangers were solved using dice or comparing numbers on a sheet. This requires all players to be aware of potential dangers, however, and while Devia maintains sports organization insurance, all participants will be required to sign a release (or if under 18, to bring a release signed by a parent or legal guardian).

The Devia organization does its best to keep the game safe without taking too much away from the excitement of live-action combat. The game is limited to players 17 years of age and older. While we understand that many younger players are capable of conducting themselves safely, Devia is a game where emotional adult situations can happen - for instance, your character can be slain in live-action combat - and we feel that ensuring a minimum age of 17 will help everyone behave in a mature and safe manner.