You've been playing Vampire: the Masquerade for a while. Maybe you've been a player in someone else's chronicle, maybe you've run tabletop campaigns, or maybe there's just nothing near you and you're tired of waiting. Whatever the reason, you're thinking about starting your own LARP.
Good news: it's more doable than you think. You don't need a huge budget, a perfect venue, or years of experience. You need a handful of players, a place to meet, and the willingness to figure things out as you go.
Here's how to get started.
Pick Your System
If you're reading this on citiesofdarkness.com, you're probably already leaning toward Laws of the Night V5 from By Night Studios. It's the current LARP ruleset for Vampire: the Masquerade, and it's built specifically for live-action play. The rock-paper-scissors challenge system keeps conflicts fast, and the character creation framework translates well to organized chronicle play.
You'll want a copy of the Laws of the Night book. There's also a free SRD at lawsofthenight.com that covers the core mechanics, which is helpful for getting players up to speed without asking everyone to buy the book on day one.
Find Your Players
You don't need twenty people to start a chronicle. You need four or five who are committed to showing up regularly. A small game with reliable players is better than a large game where half the cast is absent every session.
Where to find them:
Your existing tabletop group. If you already run or play in a Vampire tabletop game, some of those players may be interested in trying LARP. The transition from tabletop to live-action is smaller than people expect.
Local gaming stores and clubs. Post on bulletin boards, ask staff if they know anyone interested, or run a one-shot demo night to gauge interest.
Online communities. Post in r/larp, r/WhiteWolfRPG, Facebook LARP groups, and Discord servers. Be specific about your location and what you're planning. "Starting a Laws of the Night V5 chronicle in [your city], looking for players" will get more traction than a vague post.
Conventions. If there's a gaming convention in your area, run a demo session. Even a short two-hour one-shot can hook players who didn't know LARP was something they wanted to try.
Don't wait until you have a "full" cast. Start small, play well, and let word of mouth do the rest.
Secure a Venue
Your venue doesn't need to be fancy. It needs to be available on a regular schedule, large enough for your group to break into smaller conversations without shouting over each other, and ideally free or cheap.
Options that work well:
Community centers and church halls. Many rent rooms for very little, especially for recurring bookings. Some will let community groups use space for free.
Gaming stores. Some stores have event space and are happy to host if it brings people through the door.
Parks and public spaces. Outdoor games work in good weather, though you lose the atmosphere of an indoor space. Check whether your local parks require a permit for organized gatherings. Keep in mind that you'll be sharing the space with people who aren't part of the game. Be respectful, be ready to explain what you're doing if someone asks, and make sure your group isn't disrupting others who are there to enjoy the space.
Whatever you choose, consistency matters more than ambiance. Players need to know when and where the game happens without checking every month.
Build Your Setting
You don't need to write a novel. You need enough to give your players a world to react to. A few things to establish before your first session:
The city. Set your chronicle in a real city, ideally one your players know. Use real neighborhoods, landmarks, and geography. It makes the setting feel grounded and gives players a shared reference point. Your own city is the obvious choice because everyone already knows the map.
The political structure. Who runs the city? Is it Camarilla, Anarch, or contested? Who is the Prince or Baron? What's the court structure? You don't need every position filled by an SPC on day one, but players need to know who's in charge and what the rules are.
The tension. Every good chronicle has a central tension that drives play. Maybe the Camarilla is losing ground to the Anarchs. Maybe an external threat is forcing rival factions to cooperate. Maybe the Prince just died and everyone is scrambling for power. Give your players something to push against.
A few key SPCs. You need a handful of Storyteller Portrayed Characters who represent the power structure and give players someone to interact with. A Prince (or Baron), a Sheriff, a Keeper of Elysium, and one or two wildcards is plenty to start. Flesh them out as you go based on what your players engage with.
Keep your setting document short. A page or two is enough. You'll build more through play than you ever will through prep.
Handle the Logistics
Running a chronicle means handling some recurring administrative work. Character approval, XP tracking, rules adjudication, and scheduling all fall on the Storyteller team. The more of this you can systematize, the less it eats into your actual game time.
This is where joining an existing network can save you a lot of work. Cities of Darkness provides a full suite of chronicle tools through citiesofdarkness.com: character creation and approval workflows, XP tracking, coterie management, and a Discord bot that handles between-session mechanics like hunting. You don't have to build spreadsheets, design character sheet templates, or write your own tracking systems. The infrastructure is already there.
If you start your chronicle as part of the Cities of Darkness network, you also get the benefit of a shared community. Your players can interact with characters from other chronicles in the network, and you can lean on other Storytellers for advice, shared resources, and support. Running a LARP is a lot of work. It's easier when you're not doing it alone.
Set Expectations Early
Before your first session, have an honest conversation with your players about what kind of game you're running. A few things worth covering:
Tone. Is this a dark, serious political drama, or is there room for humor and lighter moments? Most Vampire chronicles land somewhere in the middle, but it helps to be on the same page.
Content boundaries. Talk about what topics are off-limits or require safety mechanics. Modern LARP has good tools for this. Establish them before you need them.
Commitment. How often do you play? What happens if someone misses a session? Is there between-session play through Discord or other channels? Set realistic expectations so people aren't surprised.
PvP. Vampire is a game where characters scheme against each other. Make sure everyone understands the difference between character conflict and player conflict, and that in-character betrayal is part of the game, not a personal attack.
Run Your First Session
Your first session will be messy. Accept that now.
Players will forget their characters' names. Rules questions will come up that nobody can answer on the spot. The big political scene you planned will fizzle because everyone spent the first hour introducing themselves in-character. That's all fine. The goal of session one is to get people in the room, playing their characters, and wanting to come back.
A few practical tips:
Start with a reason for everyone to be in the same place. An Elysium gathering, a court summons, or a crisis that demands a group response all work. Don't expect players to find each other organically on night one.
Have your key SPCs ready to engage with players who seem lost. A new player standing in the corner is a player your Sheriff should be approaching to ask what they're doing in the city.
Keep rules adjudication fast and loose. If you're not sure about a ruling, make a call, note it, and look it up later. Momentum matters more than precision in a first session.
End with a hook. Give players a reason to think about the game between sessions. An unanswered question, a looming threat, or a secret whispered to one character in the final minutes of the night will keep people talking until next time.
Keep Going
The hardest part of running a chronicle isn't starting it. It's sustaining it. Players will drift. Real life will interfere with your schedule. You'll have sessions that feel flat and wonder if it's worth the effort.
It is. The chronicles that survive the first few rough months build something special: a living, evolving story that belongs to everyone in the room. Your players will surprise you with schemes you never saw coming, form alliances that reshape your setting, and create moments that everyone talks about for years.
Start small. Stay consistent. Build from there.
Cities of Darkness is a fan-run chronicle network using Laws of the Night V5 by By Night Studios.
Cities of Darkness material is not official World of Darkness material. Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved. For more information please visit worldofdarkness.com.