Johnny, What'll Happen To You?

March 1776. Nearly a year ago, Colonists in Lexington and Concord took arms against the British army, and His Majesty's troops fled before the sons of farmers. Caught up in the fervor of Revolution, you joined the Continental Army - and now, a year later, you are wandering half-starved in the Canadian wilderness and cursing the folly which caused you to ever undertake this woeful business. As your commanding officer has gotten you more and more hopelessly lost, the thoughts of the company have turned to mutiny...but it is one thing to rebel against a king 3000 miles away, and quite another to rebel against an officer here.

Johnny, What'll Happen To you is a historical fiction LARP about a mutiny on the Quebec campaign of the American Revolution, based on accounts of soldier's experiences during the Revolutionary War.

Long Description

March, 1776.

Nearly a year ago, a decade of simmering rage, political unrest, and revolutionary optimism came to a head with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Colonists in the Massachusetts countryside dared to raise their muskets against His Majesty’s troops - and to the great astonishment of all of the eyes of Europe and America alike, the Recoat soldiers turned tail and ran before the sons of farmers. Thousands of men from throughout the colonies flocked to Massachusetts to join the siege on Boston. The Thirteen Colonies in rebellion have hastily assembled a congress and called to recruit a Continental Army. In the cities and towns, the unquenchable spirit of revolution in the air, and recruiting sergeants on every corner promise glory and riches for men who will answer their country’s call to fight for freedom.

Two months ago, you marched out from Cambridge with your regiment. Your mission was to bring supplies and artillery to aid General Arnold’s troops with their siege of British forces in Quebec City. Many of you left Boston full of fervor: to conquer more land for American farmers, to drive those Sons of Belial from this continent, to strike a blow against the British administration which has been far too lenient with the papist canadiens, or simply for honor, glory, and plunder. But it has been a long, arduous journey on foot, through the swampy wilderness of northern Maine. Your canoes, food, and gunpowder have been destroyed in botched crossings on the region’s white-water rivers, and smallpox has made its way into your camp. The men are becoming insubordinate, and the officers harsh and cruel. Out of the thousand men who set out from Boston, only 600 of you have not died, turned back, or deserted - and those of you who remain damn the folly that led you to undertake this woeful business in the first place.

Your Captain has sent a scouting party of ten of you ahead, under command of your Second Lieutenant. You are a motley group of New England Congregationalists, Anglicans, and Irish Catholics, frightened teenage runaway apprentices, and world-weary French and Indian war veterans from across all the Northeast Colonies -- and as your supplies dwindle, every one of those tensions is beginning to grate. For days, you have stumbled through barely-charted wilderness. As your commanding officer has gotten you more and more hopelessly lost, the thoughts of the company have turned to mutiny. Whatever cursed reason it was that caused you to first enlist, none of you want to die here, of exposure or illness, far from home in some rotten river valley. But it is one thing to rise up against a king 3000 miles away - and another to commit mutiny against an officer here.

Johnny, What’ll Happen To You? is a historical fiction LARP about a mutiny on a disastrous scouting mission during the Continental Amry's 1775-1776 invasion of Quebec. It is a look at the American Revolutionary War from a different side: from the perspective of everyday soldiers and infantrymen. It’s a game about how a group of eleven people, temporarily separated from all outside social pressures, use reason and violence to negotiate governance, against the backdrop of the debates over liberty and egalitarianism going on in their society at large. Many of the character relationships and plot points in this game explore tensions between soldiers of different religious, political, and cultural backgrounds present in America in 1776.

No knowledge of the American Revolution is required to play Johnny, What'll Happen To You; all necessary historical background will be provided in the sheets and game documents, and I very much encourage people to play this game as a way to learn more about the historical period (in my day job, I am a history museum educator!). Historical costuming is welcome, but not at all required. For those interested in a little more background reading, this game is influenced heavily by the scholarship of T.H. Breen and Ray Raphael on the experience of soldiers during the American Revolution - in particular, The People's History of The American Revolution and American Patriots, American Insurgents. Most characters are based on an assemblage of anecdotes and stories from the letters and diaries of actual Revolutionary War soldiers. If you enjoy exploring how different historical political ideologies feel from the inside or attempting to connect with the humanity of people from the past through roleplay, this is a great game for you!

This game will be mostly conducted through freeform roleplay. Outcomes of conflict and violence will be negotiated by players.

All of the characters in this game are male-presenting and use he/him pronouns - to make casting possible, please only sign up for this game if you are comfortable playing a male character.