Vampires, storytellers in Brady Commons
Published Sept. 17, 2002
Vampires might be the last thing a student would expect to see in Brady Commons, but a group of them is inhabiting the building on a regular basis.
Columns in Darkness, a fantasy role-playing group, is not an official student organization, but it meets on a regular basis and includes students from MU, Stephens College and Columbia College. According to the group's Web site, www.darkcolumns.0catch.com, it's called a live action role-playing game, or LARP.
"We are definitely trying to become a student organization," group member Kat Lawson said. Lawson said the group is finding it difficult to do this because of enrollment and GPA requirements for group members.
At its weekly meetings, the group develops characters and acts out stories through improvisation. People known as "storytellers" help to create the story and establish and enforce rules of the game.
Others develop characters, which begin as vampires but can eventually become werewolves or changelings as well. Some of the members even wear costumes.
"You get to be weird," group member Joe Murphy said.
According to the Columns in Darkness Web site, the story is set in Columbia and focuses on "the kindred that live there." The kindred is made up of the personas of local participants. Columns in Darkness also uses newspapers as props and basis for plotlines.
Each member of the group enjoys playing for different reasons. Some said they merely like the social aspect, while others said they appreciate the escape from reality.
"Everybody has the dark side of their nature," group member Evanne Meier said. "You kind of get a chance to express that in a non-hurtful way."
The group meets in several sites throughout Columbia, including Stephens Library, Peace Park, Flatbranch Park and Brady Commons. The group began using Brady Commons as a meeting place in March 2001 and is using it again this school year.
The game has safety and courtesy rules that players must follow. One of these is that no touching is allowed. Drug use, drinking and the use of weapons, real or otherwise, are also not allowed. While players may occasionally be killed, killing is not allowed without a storyteller's permission. Players who violate these rules may be given warnings or asked to leave the game.
"Anything that could get even remotely violent does not happen," Lawson said.
In fact, the group uses paper-rock-scissors as their method of battle. Columns in Darkness is not battle-oriented. It focuses instead on strategy and structure. Another aspect that comes into play is moral debate.
"It's not so much good versus evil," Meier said. "It's not black and white. It's never black and white."
The group meets every Thursday in the basement of Brady Commons. New players can come in to create characters from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Actual gameplay begins at 5:30.
