The NPC Project - Mirima

Name: Mirima
Origin: woodland elf (LotR-like background), nowadays Barhan (Eastern Sigil, Mythodea)
System: Mythodea LARP
Played: March 2014 till today (Happy Anniversary, yay!)
Status: hopefully home to recover, most likely out in the field working
Occupation/Class/etc.: scout, messenger
Background: Mirima was the very first character I ever played. She was planned as a one-time NPC which basically should act as “décor” as the players were invented to the court of an elven mage and our GM wanted some people to live and work there to make it believable.
Instead, a bad wave of cold and flu got a lot of the already registered players. Two friends of mine frantically asked around trying to fill those holes. The first ten times I was like “LARPing? Whoah, never!” but I finally gave in and yeah… I’m doomed now.
So just like me, Mirima stumbled into Mythodea at the side of her way older and more experienced uncle (played by one of aforementioned friends). He was the classical woodland elf – cautious, grim, no love for the humans he was suddenly confronted with but an amazing marksman and tracker. Mirima was just too young to keep a stern face for too long and her immense curiosity took over after the first day had passed. Both got a lot of appreciation in-game and afterwards so the GM decided to keep them as fixed characters for the rest of the campaign.
Mirima has made many friends since then and is now acting as a messenger between the elves and the rest of the province. Due to her young age, she is commonly seen as easier to talk to and eager to learn new things. My role normally involves being around at the beginning of the game and during critical points in the plot to enable an in-game flow of information from the GM  to the players (how many enemies live here, what’s the situation like etc) and the other way round (giving a quick sign when the players are going to advance to a certain point in the area so the GMs can delegate some NPCs over there and so on).

But it’s not a happy campaign so Mirima is growing up faster than anyone would ask for. She lost her mentor and her uncle to the Void, lost the very first friend she ever made that was not of her own people, saw her (legal) guardians being killed and leaving the continent for good. She has bargained with fey to at least mourn them properly, collected some nasty scars and lost a good portion of her naïve self. Also, she is more or less constantly working now, trying to fill in her uncle’s place, all the time on ground that belongs to the Void and therefore has slow but long-lasting influence on your mental health. She is still the purest and most goodly NPC I have, but if people don’t start caring for her I’m not sure how she will end.
Difference from in-game look: I referenced heavily on the photos made during the events, so this is actually me in the actual clothing worn during the weekends
Best part: Odd as it sounds, Mirima is the only character of mine who has in-game friends. My own player-character doesn’t and I never played any of the others long enough to develop relationships beyond what was written in the script. I also enjoy confusing people with acting “elfy” from time to time. You know, just throw in some real words of wisdom and some actual deep knowledge of how magic works, then go back to dancing in the rain and hugging trees She is also the only character of mine who ever got in-game "screentime" on horseback. Yes, my elf got a pretty white Arabian mare to ride while delivering some messages <3
Worst part: At the event where she lost both her uncle and guardian, realized her friend wasn’t coming because she had died a few months before, it was the first time Mirima fell to her knees and cried. At least ten people passed me, nobody seemed to notice. Some dark elves did, but had great fun mocking her. She eventually was scratched off the forest floor by an elderly Red Cap (yes, Red Cap!) who at least offered her some tea of do-not-ask origin and a short hug. I, as a player, was simply annoyed that I was obviously treated “second class” because most people knew I was an NPC and not a regular player. Mirima was just really, really confused and disappointed. The trend continued – her work is constantly overlooked and underappreciated or when official statements are published her name won’t show up and whatever she did is normally attributed to some random player. Mirima never sees these reports as she never actually stays in a town for more than a night, but it’s starting to annoy me as the person behind the NPC. Guys, I read 40 pages of philosophical discussion for you, so I could interpret a riddle I had to translate from four different languages beforehand. This-took-me-days! Pfff…
Original scan: schneemaehne.deviantart.com/ar…


Drawing belongs to myself. Character created and envisioned by my GM.
All rights to the Mythodea LARP belongs to Live Adventure, respectively. Just playing in their sandbox.

Black marker and white gel liner on Kraft paper. Colour added in Photoshop.