Totally Normal Human Adult
A print-and-play by Hekla Björk Unnardóttir
ABOUT THIS LARP
Totally Normal Human Adult is a one-day live-ac-
tion roleplaying game for one player about being
– you guessed it – a Totally Normal Human Adult.
The larp takes place in your home, but in-crowd
gameplay is available as an opt-in feature. This
means you can play the game either purely on lo-
cation, or out in the ‘real world’ – or both!
THE CHARACTER
You will take on the role as a totally normal human
adult, who is totally able to live up to society’s total-
ly not-unreasonable standards and other people’s
expectations of them. They take their medicines at
the correct times, call family members to hear how
they’re doing, do the dishes, and all sorts of other
stuff other people can’t be bothered to do.
The player character is called whatever your name
is, they’re your exact age, and look exactly like
you. They have a tragic backstory where they nev-
er got stuff done, but then something unexpected
happened in their life that turned it around 180 de-
grees. What that unexpected thing is up to you to
decide. Maybe it was playing this totally not meta
game about being a Totally Normal Human Adult
that spurred the change, maybe it was something
else – who knows?
These pre-defined aspects are only the founda-
tion of your character. Your task is to flesh them
out. Just remember that you’re playing a Totally
Normal Human Adult, who gets things done when
they’re supposed to be done, and goes the extra
mile when they can manage it in their busy sched-
ules. Relevant questions to ask about your char-
acter could be:
What do they do?
What are their obligations to others?
What rituals and routines are important to
them?
THE EXPERIENCE
For a whole day, from the time you wake up ‘till the
time you go to bed, you must larp a Totally Normal
Human Adult. What that means, depends on how
you made your character. Maybe it involves work-
ing out, taking their meds, or going to work. This is
a so-called sandbox larp; where you are free to do
as you want (within the limits of reason, of course).
The decisions you make during play have conse-
quences in the game world.
TASKS AND BREAKS
This larp uses a game mechanic called tasks.
These are small things you- erm, your charac-
ter, needs to accomplish during the course of the
game. Don’t worry, there is no win or lose condi-
tion in this game – it’s a larp not a competition –
so you don’t have to complete all your tasks, but
doing some of them will ensure that you have
something to do. Before the game starts, plan your
character’s tasks for the day you plan on playing. A
task can be anything your character feels like they
need to do that day. Your character can have 4, 6,
8, 10, or 12 tasks for the day, depending on how
much play you want.
SAFETY MECHANICS
Larping a Totally Normal Human Adult is hard
work. So here are three things you can do if you’re
feeling overwhelmed or if you’re just bored.
Ask the Audience Eliminate Two Tasks
When you’re bored When it’s too much
Create a poll on your so- Roll two dice equivalent to
cial media platform of you number of tasks, and
choice where you ask your cross off the numbers that
audience what you can do correspond to the tasks on
in the larp. your task list.
Call a Friend When you need it
Call a friend to help you figure out how to com-
plete the task. Or if you just need to vent or
cry or complain, calling a friend is always an
option.They will listen and be supportive.