Northamptonshire to launch 8,000 years into the future for new role-playing game inspired by climate change

An experienced artist is calling for the creative people of Northamptonshire to help build a fantasy roleplaying game based in the county some 8,000 years in the future, where little of the world we knew remains.

The project, named Lost Eons: Land of Iron, is looking to reimagine Northampton 8,000 years from now, following a cataclysm brought on by climate change.

It will take the form of a tabletop roleplaying game, reminiscent of the game Dungeons and Dragons. Each session sees a 'guide and mentor' set the scene, describing places, things, people and events, much like a narrator in traditional fiction.

Players create their own characters with established backstories and personalities. They are then confronted by trials and puzzles within the game world that they must battle to overcome.

The creator David Blandy, has worked with video games and virtual reality for more than 20 years.

Blandy says he still sees the potential of these more traditional role-playing games first introduced in 1974. He believes that his latest addition to the genre will bring more people in on the fun.

Blandy said: "The game is collective storytelling, with particular moments of uncertainty and risk decided by rolling dice.

"I devised my own system for Lost Eons, alongside Table-top Roleplay Game designer Laurie O’Connell, which is simple to pickup and play, uses all the 'funny dice' (four-sided. eight-sided. twelve-sided etc) but requires no maths at the table.

"This keeps everything very quick and smooth, and makes it extremely accessible for new players, while having enough depth for those who are experienced.

"It’s also an incredibly accessible artform, only needing your imagination, with things like pencils and dice just helping create a sense of an outside world reacting to you and things not always going the way you wish. It helps you to embody a different life, and I’ve forged some incredible friendships around the table, and an array of shared memories."

The artist envisions a game world stricken by a climate catastrophe.

He added: "It’s an inversion of fantasy’s common idea of 'a long time ago', and is a vision of life surviving despite everything, to help people really embody what climate change might feel like. With sea-rise, Northampton would be part of a much smaller island than what we call Great Britain.

"Most human-made structures will have eroded and fallen into ruin over that time scale, but remnants of some things, particularly concrete structures would still be around.

"That’s what inspired the initial image for the project, Northampton’s Lift Tower looking out over the deep forest."

This grand vision will not be created by one man alone. Blandy has put out an open call for the people of Northamptonshire to join his creative team, .

He said: "I want to build the details of this new Northampton with all the participants. bringing their local knowledge of folklore, myths, flora, fauna and landmarks to imagine new societies, radically different ways of living, and a space rife for adventure and discovery.

"I’m really excited to work with the people of Northampton to imagine a new future, where everything has changed.

"Will we build a sustainable, egalitarian community of mushroom-people, or a society of miners and metalworkers, using magic to bing automatons to life? There is a rich history of local folklore, and it would be great to weave that into the world that we create, alongside specific places that inspire the group’s imagination."

Visit the NN Contemporary website to find out more and apply. Applications close at 9am on Friday November 5.