About Shadows & Light

Shadows & Light is a mature, R rated narrative experience intended for players 21 and older. It explores the darker corners of society and the psyche, where monsters wear human faces and morality is a currency easily spent. Violence, addiction, manipulation, and existential horror are not just present, they are foundational. This game pushes social and polite boundaries, inviting players to confront uncomfortable truths, explore taboo desires, and wrestle with the beast within. You do not play a vampire to be good. You play one to see how far you will fall.

The name Shadows & Light comes from a LARP I ran in Texas during my time in the Army. I have revived it to dig deeper into its themes. In this world, players exist on the fringes of Kindred society, close enough to feel its weight but far from its inner sanctum. Elders and high ranking Kindred are distant and indifferent, viewing neonates as disposable tools. Regular interaction with these creatures is rare, and when it happens, it is rarely pleasant. You are not the hero. You are a flicker in the dark, trying not to be extinguished.

All art is manipulation. It is the shaping of shadows and light, the bending of perception and truth. Painters use light to evoke emotion. Writers cast shadow to deepen mystery. Performers shift between brightness and darkness to provoke, seduce, or unsettle. In the World of Darkness, beauty becomes a weapon, illusion becomes survival, and every artistic expression becomes a ritual of control. To create is to shape perception, and in doing so, to shape power. Truth here is subjective. Monsters will lie to you. Staff will only confirm what your character knows. What you believe depends entirely on who you have spoken to, what you have seen, and how well you have survived. Do not treat World of Darkness sourcebooks as gospel. They are reference points, not scripture. This is not a world where plucky young heroes win with friendship and good vibes. That kind of character does not get a redemption arc. They get devoured.

If someone like Harry Potter wandered into Shadows & Light, the power of love would not save him. It might buy him a moment of hope before a boot from the dark lord’s lieutenant crushed him into the carpet.

This is a setting where monsters rule, and you are just trying not to be noticed until you are ready to become one. Secrets are currency. Sharing them is a liability. Keep your dark truths close, even from your friends. The safest secret is the one buried with its keeper. If your character strays into recklessness, you will get a subtle warning. Something like, “Are you sure that is what you want to do?” If you double down, do not be surprised if your story ends off screen, a cautionary tale whispered to other neonates about what happens when you provoke monsters who barely acknowledge your existence.

This is not my story. It is ours. I may shape the environment, but Shadows & Light is a sandbox, not a railroad. The narrative is not a grand epic. It is a mosaic of personal stories, each fragile and deeply individual. If you think you have hooked into a world ending meta plot, someone is probably lying to you. We will not confirm your delusions. We will let you build your own downfall, brick by beautifully mistaken brick.

When Blood on Satin, our long running New Jersey LARP, ended, most players realized the story they had been living was theirs alone. Others had no idea what was happening in their corner of the dark. That is the point. Get wrapped up in your own narrative. Embrace it. Play it into the grave. That is the kind of storytelling we reward.