Cottington Woods: Tales from the Cotting House Events 2024 Schedule of Events *weekend events held at Camp Frank A Day, East Brookfield,
MA 2025 Schedule of Events *weekend events held at Camp Frank A Day, East Brookfield,
MA 2026 Schedule of Events (Final Year!) *weekend events held at Camp Frank A Day, East Brookfield,
MA
Past Events 2021 Schedule of Events 2022 Schedule of Events 2023 Schedule of Events *weekend events held at Camp Frank A Day, East Brookfield,
MA
For information on Playing Cottington Woods, please go here. For information on NPCing, please go here. [ PC Pregistration | NPC Preregistration | Event Overview | Event Campsite | Other Campsites ] Registering for an EventWe strongly encourage all Players to preregister to attend an event. This lets Plot Staff know that you are attending, and thus can prepare plot for your character! If we don't know you are coming, we can't write plot for you. It is much better to Preregister early and then cancel if you cannot attend last minute, than it is to preregister last minute (as it's much easier to bump plot to the following event than it is to write plot and add it in last minute). We will announce on our Google Group when Preregistration for a given Event will open. Typically, this will be at least 6 weeks or more prior to the event, and at least one week prior to the actual Preregistration Open Date to give every player a chance to prepare and preregister at the same time. Once Preregistration opens:
Waitlist. Housing. Registering as an NPC / Cast Member Please let us know if you are going to NPC an event for us!
You may preregister as an NPC at any time through LARP
Portal, Also, if you have not already, please take a moment to fill out our NPC Survey. This lets us know what kinds of roles you like, as well as things like what food you like to have in Monster Camp. For information on NPCing, please go here. Event
Overview: How Events Will Run Tales from the Cotting House events run from Friday night to Sunday afternoon, but will follow a format we pioneered during the original Cottington Woods campaign. We hope that this format will cause less stress on Friday evenings, but also allow for more sleep throughout the event. Friday Night Format: Introduction at the Tavern: Game is intended to begin at 10pm on Friday Nights with Out of Game Opening Ceremonies, followed closely by Game On. But Friday nights will be "Tavern Only" (and the area immediately around it) In-Game Only, and "Full Game" will start on Saturday at 10am. What does this mean for arrival and game play? Friday Night "sets the scene" for the Event, and will reveal important Plot information. Plot will occur, but only within the Tavern, and will end by 1am. Combat, if any, will be minimal. the intent here is to allow people to come into game as they arrive, roleplay with themselves and major NPCs, and get a jump on the plotlines of the weekend. The remainder of the campsite will be Out of Game. This means you can drive up to your cabins no matter the hour you arrive and settle in. It gives Monster Camp/Staff/NPCs a chance to set up for the weekend. It also means that if you are tired on Friday night and want to sleep, you can do so without feeling you've missed the main plot of the weekend. There will be plot relevant things happening on Friday night (so we encourage everyone to arrive on Firday), but our goal is to make this a "head start" and anyone who waits to show up on Saturday morning should be able to jump right in without feeling like they are not a part of the story of the weekend. Friday night will also provide a forum for PCs to talk to Plot Relevant NPCs to ask questions, gain information, and roleplay. These NPCs may choose to stay out past the 1am mark if they choose or PCs wish it, but note that we encourage everyone to get a decent night sleep on Friday night. For players returning to Cottington, this will follow the format of our "Neverland" Event. This format was so well liked and received, we decided to make it the format of Tales events going forward. The exception to this is the First Tales event, where you WILL miss important starting plot if you do not arrive on Friday night. Main Event will run from Saturday 10am to Sunday 2pm: The "main event" will begun at 10am on Saturday morning. We encourage players to have breakfast before then, and be ready to go, as our goal is to jump right into the main stories of the event. If you missed Friday night, no worries: your fellow players can fill you on what was missed, but most importantly, NPCs will fill you in on any gaps. The main event is designed so you can begin on Saturday without needing to be at the event Friday. You just might have some clues that only come out on Friday evening. To Bed: The Town Crier In Cottington Woods, Vigo or another NPC would often announce in the Tavern when it was "safe" to go to bed. By "safe" we mean that major plots were done, and if anything occurred, it was purely roleplay or a targeted encounter. In Tales, we will be introducing the "Ghost of the Town Crier" who will come through town with a large bell, and leave notice on the doors and walls of the Tavern (in case you happen to not be around when the Crier arrives) to let everyone know the sleeping hour has come. Generally speaking, this will be 1am on Friday night and by 2-3am on Saturday night. We aim to allow everyone the chance of a decent night sleep, and not reach Sunday evening in fear of their safety when driving home from the event. Generally speaking, we aim for main plots to run 10pm-1am Friday, 10am-2/3am Saturday, and 10am-2pm Sunday. You are certainly welcome to stay up late and roleplay amongst yourselves. It is possible that NPCs may choose to stay out after encounters end to answer questions and roleplay as well. But you should not expect major plots to run past 3am. Please help us ensure reasonable sleep for all! Do understand that sometimes the best laid plans go awry and games run late. But we promise, we will do everything in our power to allow people to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. CampsiteAll Cottington Woods 2weekend events are currently planned to be held at YMCA
Camp Frank A. Day (also on Facebook)
in East Brookfield, MA. The campsite is conveniently located 55 miles west of
Boston, not far off the intersection of the Mass Pike and I-84. To see some photos we took of Camp Frank A. Day, go
here. Camp Frank A Day is a large, modern campsite with very nice facilities - including clean, modern bathrooms with hot showers. It has three main clusters of cabins. Many LARPs use the Juniors Cluster of Cabins for PC area - these cabins have 5 bunks/10 beds, and there are 10 cabins in this area. The Midgets ring of cabins, with 4 bunks/8 beds in the 6 cabins, is often used for NPC sleeping quarters. A two-sided bathhouse separates the area. The Senior Cabins (3, with 5 bunks/10 beds) are slightly larger, and circle an area with a "motel" - a long cabin with many bunk beds that Cottington used as module space. This area also has 2 cabins directly across the Dining Hall. The Dining Hall has a working kitchen that may be used, though you must clean the kitchen at the end of the event if utilizing it. The Hangar - a large hangar-like building with a stage located at the far end of the camp - works well for large module space. You can hang tarps to sub-divide the area into module areas, and there are a few small rooms behind the stage. There is an Arts and Crafts building next door that can be used for module space, and there is a bathroom in the area. Throughout the camp, there are a number of "Staff Buildings" that
can also be rented and used for smaller module space. The campsite has three
large fields, as well as a tennis court (we often used this for outdoor module
space), a few smaller fields, and numerous trails. It has an outdoor theatre
area (that they call the Chapel) that has outdoor plugs and benches, as well
as a ropes course. We personally found the campsite had tons of space which
could be used creatively to run a large number of encounters. Parking is available near the Hanger.
While Cottington Woods 2 will be run at Camp Frank A Day, we thought we'd include information on campsites we've used in the past so that LARPs looking for Campsites in MA can find information on other LARP-friendly locations. Eagle Pass Camp | Ye Olde Commons | Camp Woodstock YMCA Previous Primary Campsite: Eagle Pass Camp Tales from the Cotting House, which ran from May 2017 to October 2019, was held at Eagle Pass Camp in Wales, MA. This is a brand new LARP campsite with modern amenities built by LARPers for LARPers. This brand-new campsite is being constructed solely for larping, with high standards of quality. It combines high levels of comfort with a very larp-friendly design, as well as a great location. We’re very excited about this camp! The Monster Camp building has both Heat and AC, as well as a mini-kitchen, toilets, and a shower in the building, allowing space for Staff Desk, relaxing when not in roles, but also has NPC sleeping quarters so you don't need to leave to get your costuming and equipment, or even to eat or shower. The Bath house has two sides with toilets and showers, and is heated. It is located between the Staff Building/Monster Camp and the PC Cabin area. PC Cabins consist of three large buildings that have 10 bunks (20 beds) and a common area, as well as porch. These buildings are winterized and heated. There are also 3 smaller cabins with 8 bunks (16 beds), with modern wiring to support space heaters, but are not heated. These are located in a common area near a large field, but spaced out enough to not feel clustered together. The Tavern has a kitchen, as well as several bathrooms and showers. It is heated and has AC, as well as a main common area and several side buildings. The camp has two module buildings, one of which has custom built crawl space for rogue modules. It also has several trails and lots of wooded area in which to run outdoor encounters. Photos of the Tavern building can be seen here.
Directions to Eagle Pass Camp: 38 Walker Road, Wales, MA 01081 From MA, RI, NH:
View Larger Map Secondary Campsite: Ye Olde Commons The January 2016 Cottington Woods weekend event will be held at Ye Olde Commons in Charlton, MA. The campsite is located 55 miles west of Boston, not far off the Mass Pike. Click here for a map of the main area
of the campsite Photos from a Walk-through in November 2015 can be found here. The Dining Hall is an eating facility featuring a large function hall, a kitchen, restrooms, and a shower house. This will be the main gathering location of PCs during the event - it will be the equivalent of the Cotting House, but will be a changing IG location as the PCs experience what Neverland offers. Their five new cabins are one-room rustic camp cabins with double-bunks. Their capacity is 5-6 bunks (10-12 beds). They feature electricity and heating, and are insulated. Restroom and shower facilities are provided in the Dining Hall in conjunction with its use. The utility building, often referred to as the module building, can be used as storage facility, or as indoor setting by LARPs or re-enactment groups renting the camp facilities. The barn features 10'x10' stalls which may be utilized for storage between events by LARPs and re-enactment clubs or similar groups that rent the camp on a multi-use basis. It also features some areas that can be used for indoor settings by LARPS and re-enactment groups. Various small outbuildings can serve as storage or as settings for LARPs and re-enactment groups renting the camp facilities. The woods of the camp feature numerous trails over ca. 40 acres, some of which are served by electrical outlets which may be used for special outdoors settings. Parking will be available in the large open field before the House. Directions to Ye Olde Commons: 120 Northside Rd, Charlton, MA 01507 Coming from Boston:
Coming from New Hampshire and Maine:
Coming from western Massachusetts, Vermont, upstate New York
Coming from Rhode Island (Providence)
Other Campsite: YMCA Camp Woodstock The March 2014 Cottington Woods weekend event will be held at YMCA
Camp Woodstock in Woodstock, CT. The campsite is conveniently located
73 miles southwest of Boston, not far off I-84 in Connecticut, reachable by
the Mass Pike. We are still finalizing locations on the site, so these may change. Presently:
Please note that there will be a college group utilizing Roskin Lodge and the Dining Hall during our stay. We will have use of the Barn for module space all weekend, and "The Cube" (the activity space) for part of the weekend. Cabins 1-11, 18-19, and Buckingham will be used for module space. Camp Woodstock is a large modern campsite. The cabins are solidily built and in excellent repair; each has electricity, screened windows, built-in wooden bunks, and sleep between twelve and sixteen people each (depending on the cabin layout). Unlike at Camp Frank A Day, cabins can support space heaters and crock pots being utilized, though we encourage as always for players to eat dinner communily at the Cotting House. Parking on the campsite is somewhat limited; main parking is located behind and to the left of the cafeteria (the second driveway from the entrance), and there is limited parking space available by the main office (first driveway from the entrance, up a small hill). As always, please try not to park anyone in, or park in such a way that an emergency vehicle cannot get through. Cars must be moved from the main campsite by no later than 10PM on Friday night. The campsite is on a very pretty lake, but unfortunately our rental agreement does not grant us access to swim. Please do not do so! Directions to YMCA Camp Woodstock: 42 Camp Road, Woodstock Valley, CT 06282
From Boston, Massachusetts:
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