Larp Event "Fallout" 2019

Fallout 2019 - diary of a bandit

My short report about the event „Fallout“ from Gotschspielfeld Nord. It was the first time that I participated in a larp event and I am thrilled.

Many thanks to the organizers and all involved.

Hats off for what you have put up here – it was unique! In the 3 days so much happened, there were so many impressions and weird situations that make it an unforgettable experience.

Paintball was clearly in the background here, but you became part of an epic story that offered many surprises, unexpected twists and great role-playing. The end time atmosphere, the lack of ammunition/money, the great costumes and the fight with the larp weapons were a completely new world for me.

Below I report on my experiences, but they reflect only a small part of what took place:

day 1 - the arrival

For several weeks now, I wander eastward through the wastelands. My pockets are empty, the sun is burning, my body is bruised and these irradiated caterpillars give me the rest. My skin itches and burns , it is coming to an end. But my life clings to me, does not let me free. One thing is clear: I can’t get through alone, I must seek help.

Today I met „Satan“ – a crazed bandit who thinks about murder and death all day long. He told me that there are 4 communities in the area:

A desolate village where there is nothing to get. However, they have a capable doctor there whom I should see urgently. Also a weapons dealer should be able to do repairs there. For a few crown corks there is food and supposedly even cold drinks. Unfortunately, I have nothing of value to pay the people.

Further west there is a military base. Satan said that the soldiers immediately shoot at everything and everyone – going there would be suicide.

Deep in the forest there are said to live the people of the red wolf. The shamans there perform powerful rituals and supposedly can even cure radiation sickness. They might be able to help me, but the way there is hard to find and dangerous.

Satan belongs to the Jackals, a bandit group that is in the process of setting up camp in the sand hills. If I prove myself, I could join the Jackals. Clearly the best option for me, so I followed him to the bandit camp….

Arrived at the bandits, I had to notice that from the „camp“ is not yet much to see. There was only a tent, some stretched tarpaulins and wooden scaffolding. But the construction was in full swing. Everybody was setting up, especially the construction crew was motivated to work on it. I am curious how the camp will develop.

I was lucky, today was payday and the loot of the last days was divided. All jackals got 5 crown corks. But we had to give one cork back to the boss.

Satan wanted to know if I was serious and planned me for a raid on the military base. So we went with about 10 people to carry out the attack. The midday sun was burning and we were armed only with knives, axes and clubs. When we snuck up to the military base, we encountered two patrolling soldiers. We grabbed them, but unfortunately you didn’t have any loot with you.

The timing of the attack was well chosen. The soldiers were on their lunch break or working on their base. It was a huge stone bunker with several floors – a fortress. We took out the guards silently, then the slaughter began. Screaming we stormed the bunker and hit everything that moved, it was a massacre. Many of the soldiers retreated to the upper floor, we couldn’t reach them. In the end we killed over 20 soldiers – what a success. We had proven ourselves and now we are real jackals.

In the afternoon, two of us wanted to visit the village. To make a good impression, we went without weapons. This was a big mistake. Right in front of the village gate, a bullet hit me in the leg – without warning. My colleague was hit even worse. It was a shock troop of the military. They treated our wounds and dragged us to their fortress. After several searches and interrogations in prison, they decided to sell us as slaves to the village. There they received a can of gasoline from the mayor, to whom we were now at their mercy.

Fortunately, there was another jackal in the village. He had managed to smuggle a knife into the village. The mayor said, „You belong to me now,“ and already he felt the blade at his throat. Our colleague forced him to let us go, but wanted to use the opportunity to extort more loot. Finally, the situation escalated and the shaman rammed his dagger into our friend’s back. In the process, the mayor was also seriously injured. There was a huge commotion, which we used to sneak to the bar. Finally a cool beer, so the trip took a good end after all.

In the afternoon our squad managed to loot a loot box under heavy fire. However, the contents were not worth the 4 dead. In the box were only a few crown corks, water and a voucher for the doctor.

During the night our camp was attacked by mutants. These creatures can hardly be stopped by gunfire. However, they move very sluggishly which makes it easier to attack them with axe and sword. They glow in the dark and their loud moans can be heard from far away. One of our guards reacted quickly and blew up most of them with a grenade. The rest was chopped into small pieces by the guard squad. We even found some crown corks among the critters.

day 2 - Thunderdome

This morning, two of us were assigned to guard the village. A boring task, but it gave us time to regenerate. Later, one of our raiding parties came back with a prisoner. Finally we had something to pass the time. These soldiers are some strange guys. He didn’t smoke, drink beer or speak a word. After a few hours of torture and interrogation, we left him in the corner….

Meanwhile, our construction crew was busy expanding our camp. We now already had a large shelter, a bulletproof fence, a battle arena – the „Thunderdome“ and a hut for the boss. Wow, if they continue at this pace our camp will soon be bigger and nicer than the village.

At lunchtime there was a fight between our boss and the sniper. His mouth was once again faster than his head. BigDick“ couldn’t take an insult and he challenged the sniper to a duel in the thunderdome. He had better not have done that. Our boss is absolutely not in training. Years of drinking and whoring have made him soft. He had to take 3 serious injuries in the fight. Luckily we had a doctor in the camp. Despite everything, a good preparation for the Thunderdome Festival, which is to take place tonight.

In the afternoon we had the task to visit and protect the shaman. Supposedly, an attack of the soldiers should take place there.

The red wolf people were hard to find. Their camp was located in the middle of the forest, surrounded by irradiated zones and protected by dangerous pillars on acidic soil. At the shaman’s we could buy medicine against radiation – useful to search for prey in the contaminated areas. They also had a delicious drink called „NukaCola“.

We stayed in our positions for some time, but the feared attack did not happen. So we decided to look for loot on the way back. However, except for an empty crate, we found nothing.

In the evening, the big „Thunderdome Festival“ took place in our camp. For this, a truce was negotiated with the other factions and we received visitors from the village and even from the military. The motto was “ 2 men go in, one comes out“. The rules are simple : each fighter is free to choose his weapons , there were pipes, axes, katanas, frying pans, clubs and knives. Fighting was to the death.

We saw great fights that night, e.g. „The Doctor’s Punishment“, „The Great Cooking Duel“, „Military vs. Jackals“. Even our chief wanted to prove himself again and competed in alcohol intoxication against the smallest of the jackals. Oha, he lost again and was very lucky that he was spared.

During the night we received information from Satan that the village was unguarded. So we decided to plunder it. In fact, there was hardly any resistance, we quietly killed the guard at the entrance and the rest of the villagers surrendered voluntarily. Unfortunately, the loot was not forthcoming, the citizens had spent all their crown corks at the Thunderdome Festival. We made up with each other and drank the finest liquor together.

And as we sat around the fire, a strange thing happened. Some zombies came out of the doctor’s office and bit us – we didn’t stand a chance and turned into zombies as well. As a horde we now walked back to the bandit camp. After the feast, the guard was completely unprepared and almost weaponless. In a „zombie frenzy“ we slaughtered all the jackals present. We then strolled to the military base, where a scouting party spotted us ahead of time. The rest of the soldiers were now forewarned. As we approached the base, we experienced an indescribable hail of bullets. No zombie can withstand such a thing, completely shattered we fell to the ground.

day 3 - we go to war

This morning a call for help reached us over the local radio. The military has occupied the village and is mistreating the villagers. Some are even said to have had body parts chopped off. Our chief called all the jackals together for liberation and we launched a full-scale attack on the village. There was a fierce battle, but outnumbered, we were able to liberate the village without any casualties. It was a glorious victory.

The mayor and the shamans were extremely grateful and decided to ally with us against the military. As a reward, we were given two prisoner soldiers.

Our new mission was to bring the prisoners to the bandit camp. We were also accompanied by an injured villager. She urgently needed help from the doctor, because her hand was chopped off. The doctor had left the boring village in the meantime to live out his gambling addiction and alcoholism in the bandit camp.

Arriving in the village, we tied up the prisoner and interrogated her. Unfortunately for the villager, the doctor was nowhere to be found. She did not find this funny at all and began to complain loudly. She had managed to get on some jackals‘ nerves so much that we decided to put an end to her suffering. We buried her in the sandhills – the red wolf had gone sinewy….

Our boss then decided to sacrifice a soldier to the shaman. We were ordered to take him there and participate in the ritual.

The shaman was happy about the sacrifice and began the preparation for his ritual. What followed will give me nightmares for years to come. He tied his victim to the stake, danced around and sang gruesome chants. After bleeding his victim, he drew runes on our bodies with their blood. It was a cruel kind of magic. My heart raced, blood boiled in my veins, my field of vision like a tunnel – I was in a bloodlust.

I wandered alone in the forest for some time as the effects of the ritual slowly wore off. Just outside our camp, I encountered a scientist running away from me. Fortunately, another jackal was on the spot and ran after it like lightning.

We took the scientist to the camp. He told us he could build a big boom. For this he only needs a few materials and his laboratory. The other troops immediately started searching and were successful until the evening. We found the needed uranium in the contaminated zones, the heavy water we got from the shaman and our boss got the needed tools from the weapons dealer. Our fighters also successfully defended the laboratory against the military.

Now we were sufficiently prepared for the war. We decided to build the bomb the next day and destroy the military with a last attack. In the evening, some more battles took place in the Thunderdome and we prepared for the night. It was rumored that a big attack of the military on our camp was imminent.

But everything turned out differently than planned…

At night we sat on the sand hills and waited for the attack. Then it began to flash all over the sky and the wind became stronger. We decided to go back to the camp. Once there, it began to rain heavily and the wind turned into a storm. Our tent threatened to collapse and chaos broke out in the camp. Everyone tried to save their belongings from the rain. Some fled into the village to find shelter. Others ran around like hysterical chickens and some fled into the forest never to be seen again. With few bandits left, we decided to spend the night in the shelter and brave the weather.

In the morning there was a rude awakening. When I opened my eyes, the military general was standing in our camp and soldiers were pointing their guns at us. They stole all the remaining supplies and the material for the bomb. Laughing, they left, knowing that they could blackmail us forever with the bomb.

The camp was completely destroyed, there was no hope for me here. Without ammunition and only 5 crown corks in my pocket I decided to move on. I want to go in search of my missing comrades….