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PORT FREY, Adelrune (a.k.a. EASTVALE, Calif.) — It was dark in this mythical city as hundreds huddled together anxiously. They were human, yes, but also elf, demon and faerie.

A storm was on the horizon and the government known as Unity had just been overturned.

“Ready your declarations, your proposals, your blades and your umbrellas,” echoed a battle cry.

Soon, the full moon would be covered by clouds, rain would fall and anarchy would ensue.

The entire weekend — Friday night until Sunday morning — would be spent inside this elaborate fantasy realm with its many rules and intricate replicas.

Held at the site of the Koroneburg Renaissance Festival about an hour outside Los Angeles, the live-action role-playing (LARP) game Twin Mask stands out for its sheer size and lifespan. It’s far more elaborate than other games of its ilk, with anywhere from 400 to 600 players converging in character at events held every month and a half or so.

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Surrounded by a castle and jousting arena, they camp on-site in tents and wield painted latex swords and arrows as they battle.

“You eat food in character, you walk to the bathroom in character,” says its creator, John Basset, who started Twin Mask 14 years ago. “It really feels like you’re in another world.”

Given its proximity to Hollywood, it attracts a fair number of players whose day jobs are in the film industry. And they revel in making a next-level spectacle.

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“It’s such a vibrant atmosphere of costume designers and writers and actors and artsy people who all want to have the chance to tell stories,” says player Reuben Bresler, 38, who joined in 2019. A college instructor who teaches game design, he describes his character Sirocco as a “fantasy mob boss” or a “guy who knows a guy.”

In the dark world of Adelrune, characters share a unifying aspect — they each have been resurrected from death. Whether they’re a knight, a healer or a merchant, all the players, known collectively as “The Returned,” have detailed backstories.

To die in Adelrune doesn’t mean your character is finished. Your health points can deplete from a fight, and once you take enough damage, you “bleed out” and enter the afterlife. At that point, you’re expected to “play cards with death.” If you win, you’re reincarnated; if you lose, your character is permanently dead.

Twin Mask is run by a detailed system of unpaid volunteers and staff who take on everything from writing the story, to ensuring people (and mythical creatures) are hydrated and safe, to performing as non-player characters who help guide the storyline. Still, every player can influence the plot, which continues long after the weekend is over.

Basset describes it as “improvisational theater meets sport.”

“It’s one thing to be running in a video game,” he continues. “It’s another thing in real life to be running for your life, diving behind a tree, hoping that the monster doesn’t see you.”

A little over an hour into the game, no one is in charge and a criminal underworld is beginning to take hold. Much of the site is eerily quiet.

Not so at the tavern in the center of town where the single dusty road splits. The boisterous bar is filled with the chatter of players who never break character. Some are making deals while others are socializing. The crowd is soon silenced by the sound of a ringing bell. Players returning from death quietly shuffle in.

“I would consider myself to be a pretty shy person,” says player Riley Lucente, a creative who has worked backstage in the film industry. “But in game, I am able to be a lot more open and a lot more boisterous.” Their character, Doctor Mel Prektis (a play on “malpractice”), is a goofy and outgoing surgeon who is also quite terrible at their job.

Twin Mask, Lucente says, was the first place they felt safe as a queer person to test out a new gender identity and pronouns. “The game has helped me and others come out of their shells a lot,” Lucente continues. “There’s an open invitation to be your true self. Ironically, while wearing a mask.”

That sense of community and belonging is what drew Basset to LARP as a teenager. Growing up, Basset moved around a lot and had a hard time making friends. But the more he played, the more powerful his character got and the more confident he became in and out of the game.

“You’re constantly being challenged,” Basset says. “You get to take that confidence back with you into the real world. So in a very real way, LARP transformed my life.”

In LARP, the real world can also make its way into the fantasy. Every player brings with them their own experiences, ideas and beliefs. And just like in the real world, sometimes those can cause conflict.

When Toli Carter, 37, a technical artist who works in video game development started playing in 2019, he was surprised to discover that there were cultures in the game that had a history of slavery.

“I did not want to play a fantasy culture that had slavery,” says Carter, who intentionally created his character so that he would not have to actively engage in that type of role-play. Still, he said he was comfortable with others doing so.

“Twin Mask is a dark fantasy game, and some of the themes can be high stress,” Carter said. “If you try to take the whole game with you back to a desk job, you’re going to have a real rough week.”

Not all players shared Carter’s view. They didn’t want slavery being a part of the game at all. A group of them spoke up and the rule book was updated to remove any reference to slavery as if it never happened.

Last year, a player filed a complaint with Twin Mask alleging they were sexually assaulted by a staff member, according to multiple players and Discord and Facebook posts. The player had been in a relationship with the staffer when they claimed they were taken advantage of during an off-site meetup.

Staff issued a statement to players that they had investigated the incident and because law enforcement declined to file charges and it had allegedly occurred off-site, they would not take further action.

Turmoil ensued. Players described the response as a failure and they pushed back. More allegations of misconduct were uncovered and circulated in a petition signed by over 175 players calling for the staffer’s removal. Which Twin Mask eventually did.

As they do inside the fantasy, players drive the future of their game and the kind of community they wish to foster.

Back in Adelrune, the period of anarchy was coming to an end. Players, one by one, put gems into a vase to cast their vote to establish a new government. It marked a new era in a long saga to be continued.

Nick Kirkpatrick is a visual reporter at The Washington Post. They collaborate across the newsroom to report and produce visually driven stories told in interactive forms. 

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Inside Twin Mask, an elaborate fantasy world just miles from L.A. 

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Inside an elaborate fantasy world just miles from L.A.