Monster's Last Request

CW: animal, sibling, & parental death; adoption; fatal injury; terminal illness

The Monster’s Last Request is an educational American freeform larp designed to promote empathy-based decision making (or ethics of care). Each group of players must decide how their six forest animals will handle a dying mother bear and her cub.  The game is mainly for an ethics or science class of 10-11 year olds, but it works well with older people also.

Its primary themes are stereotypes and prejudice; sustainability of ecosystems; and end-of-life care. This game was written as part of my first two classes in Uppsala University's graduate certificate program in Transformative Game Design, and is my first edu-larp for kids. The shorter version with the cover art came first. I will be running the short version with the cover art, not the all-day field trip.

The story begins in a secluded valley in the Allegheny National Forest, in the early 19th century. (All mountain lions and wolves in Pennsylvania were killed by about 1870, which has been affecting our ecosystems in unsavory ways ever since.)