Krystalium: The Winter Waltz

Political, dynastic, physical, emotional. The court is full of people who have it, who want it, and who are about to lose it. Arranged marriages are tools of political consolidation. Information is currency. Access to the Tzar is leverage. Every conversation at the ball is, in some way, about power.

Let's explore what people do with power, and what power does to people.

Political Drama

Think of the intrigue and social maneuvering of Panem's Capitol in The Hunger Games, or the morally layered complexity of Succession, filtered through an imperial court setting. It is not a game of heroism. It is a game of leverage, consequence, and the performance of power.

OBSESSION

Hidden within each character is something they want too much. It can be a person, a secret, a substance, a piece of information. The larp explores the aristocracy's relationship with desire and excess. What happens to people who have everything except what they actually need?

Let's see what lies beneath the glittering surface of aristocratic life.

Dark Temptations

Several activities in The Winter Waltz explore taboo themes explicitly: secret lodges, BDSM, addiction, and orgies. These are part of the game's exploration of aristocratic corruption and the hidden lives of the powerful.

Tonight, the Iron Tzar plans to announce his betrothal to all the Empire. Tonight, someone in this very ballroom plans to end his reign forever.

The Winter Waltz introduces the other side of the Revolution, governorates and nations that were not present in the Krystalium trillogy. The ones that are devoted to the Iron Throne, preserving the peace and values, that Republic is spitting on. You don’t need to know the other side of the story, as we all know, the winners write history.

You do not need to have played previous Krystalium events or have any prior knowledge of the universe to participate in The Winter Waltz.

Is it a larp for me?

It's for you if you enjoy

🡆 Dressing up. You appreciate the ritual of a well-constructed costume, the feeling of inhabiting a character through what you wear.

🡆 Balls, salons, and social performance. The game of conversation, the politics of a room, the choreography of a court.

🡆 Powerplay, politics, and intense emotion. You want to play a character who has genuine stakes - in relationships, in status, in survival.

🡆 Generating your own play from character motivation and relationships. You do not need a quest, a find, or a constant stream of NPC-driven tasks to feel engaged.

🡆 Exploring morally complex territory including themes of obsession, addiction, taboo desire, and political corruption. And you know where your own limits are.

🡆 Character whose values differ significantly from your own, including someone who benefits from a deeply unjust system.

🡆 Dancing. Even if you aren't a natural dancer, don't worry - our pre-game workshop will give you all the tools you need to perfectly fake it.

It's NOT for you if you don't enjoy:

🡆 Games driven by characters and relationships If you prefer games driven by quests, puzzle-solving, NPC-given missions, or external objectives, this may not be the right event.

🡆 Moral ambiguity. There are no clean heroes here. Most characters occupy a morally gray space. Choices have consequences that may be outside your control.

🡆 Physical formality. The ball requires sustained costuming, dancing, and social performance across more than one day.

🡆 Strong themes. This game engages explicitly with decadence, moral corruption, obsession, taboo sexuality, addiction, and political violence.

🡆 Explicit taboo content that might include scenes and activities exploring taboo territory: secret lodges and rituals, BDSM, addiction and substance use, masked orgies, trade in weapons and people, and hidden sexual and romantic plots.

These themes are consensual, calibrated, and handled with care, but cannot be avoided as part of the game's core design - not peripheral.

The echoes of war do not seem to reach Tzar’s winter residence, where scandals from the past resurface. Old debts come due. Secret alliances are tested. And underneath it all, the eternal question of power: who holds it, who wants it, and what they are willing to do to keep it - or take it.

larp guide

What you can expect

About the larp

SETTING: winter residence of Iron Tzar, dark Krystalium world driven by war

GENRE: political drama, dark temptations, court intrigue

ESTHETICS: glitz and glamour inspired by early XIX century Empire style

LANGUAGE: English

LOCATION: Rzucewo Castle, near Puck, POLAND

PLAYERS' NUMBER: 40-58

PLAYERS' AGE: 18+ (considered legal adults in the light of Polish law)

DATES: 29-31 January 2027

PRICE: 590 EUR (you can pay up to 4 installments)

The ticket price includes

an elaborate character with a background story, motivations and character connections;

taking part in plots, events and activities prepared by the organizers;

scenography, props and special effects, access to basic make-up materials;

logistics and technical service, background characters enhancing your play portrayed by Krystalium crew;

2 nights in a 1-4 person room that suits your character in Rzucewo Castle, which will be exclusively booked for the larp. Rooms are assigned based on characters - the type and size of your room will depend on the character you play;

6 meals prepared by the castle restaurant;

photos from the larp and in-game portrait of your character taken by a professional photographer.

We invite you to arrive a day early and take part in some extra dance workshops and a before party. Rzucewo Castle is a comfortable hotel by the sea. There’ll be plenty of space for long chats with friends in the castle library, and a billiards room, the open-air jacuzzi on the castle roof and sauna are available. For an additional fee, you can sample local liquors. The additional night includes: roleplaying dance workshops, a before party, off-game dinner on Thursday, off-game breakfast on Friday morning, and time to get to know each other. It costs additional 95 EUR.

The ticket price doesn’t cover the accident insurance and transportation to the larp location. Practical information will include details on how to get there by car and public transport. In case of interest, we will arrange the shuttle from Gdansk Airport for an additional fee.

buy a ticket

If you are interested in the Krystalium trillogy, you can find all the info about the upcoming run in Autumn 2027 by clicking the link.