The secret project which has kept me in LA on for the last 3 months has been for Dungeons and Dragons with the crew from the Labyrinth Masquerade Ball.
They brought me on to work as an experience designer for an event called D&D Live: The Descent.
For this project I wrote around 40 characters, designed interconnecting factions and plots while basing it off of a 50 page Epic adventure written by Wizards of the Coast.
This was set in the first level of hell called Avernus, and had a vaguely Mad Max vibe.
Our participants engaged in trying to recover their soul coins hidden all around the interactive environment where we had staged many characters they could speak to, as well as vendors.
Some of the costumes were incredible. On the left we had Mark Meer playing a Reprobus, a vassal of the duke of the eight layer of hell and on the right is Arkhan.
At the event I played a character called Tact, Oracle of Bones who was an inhabitant of hell known as a Vrock.
This was taken by a patron, ‘Do you have any bones for me?’
As the Oracle, my role was to assist patrons by offering them advice. Instead of simply giving them this advice, I would have them exchange it for something. Usually this was for their bones, especially their teeth – which I ate as snacks.
Most of this I would usually communicate via miming, or whistling but I would always whisper in their ear “if you scream loud enough I will give you what you want” before ‘ripping out’ their tooth.
I would perch on the edge of barrels and whenever someone brought me a bone I would answer any question for them.
Here is a photo of the Oracle in action.
This was a dream come true for me because I’ve been playing D&D several times a month for over ten years now, and to get to build a mini LARP for them was such an honor. All the stress and late nights were worth it to get to see how much fun everyone had.
With Noxweiler Ignatius Berf and Alcuin Gersh.
With a corrupted Paladin, Angelique Rockwood.
Thanks Shawn Strider for taking a risk and trusting me with this. Thanks for making the amazing map and art we used to keep people oriented and engaged- you had so many incredible ideas. Thanks Jacquie Adorni for being so supportive, willing to communicate and dealing with so many logistical details. Thanks to Aoibhneas Bergher for keeping us fed and from going insane. Especially for the amazing hugs.
This Jackalope, Jacquie Adorni, is my favorite! (she tolerates and occasionally supports my spookiness)
MUCH gratitude towards Ash Minnick for solving so many problems and keeping us on track. Thanks to the amazing cosplayers we hired, the Court of Lords, Mad Maggie’s Marauders, and the Hellspawn.
The amazing Infernal Merchants at Roll 20, my spooky sweet friends in this plot.
Especially to Roger Fojas (pictured up top) for slaying his role crossdressing as Mad Maggie and being such a kind friend to me when things were a little frustrating and to Clinton Kyles for being a suave sultan and quick on his paws- for laughing at my ridiculous puns.
AHHHHHHH The Mountain Goats
Hearing The Mountain Goats performing at the concert on the last night, while sitting atop a blacksmith’s anvil in the hellish scene, still covered in the feathers I had glued to my face, my heart felt full.
This one is so thankful for the chance to flex their creative power.
Redcap shenanigans with great friend Garrett Hallows.
It is a success when I make a costume spooky enough to make Taliesin Jaffe proud. His bone collection is second to none.
[I also had no ideas what an amazing community D&D has, and am inspired to start a stream or podcast when I settle down somewhere.]
—carnelian king
Flommist Carnelian King is a performing artist, product designer, toy maker and nonbinary clown currently on break from living in Berlin. Copyright © 2019 Carnelian King.
PLEASE SUPPORT FLOMM
TIPS + DONATIONS DISCREETLY ACCEPTED