The End of Days is over. Your Ark has survived a hundred years at sea, but now you must leave the safety of the great ship to explore and tame a weird and dangerous new world.
MUTANT: Year Zero - The Last ark was a Live Roleplaying Event series about building a home on an island of rust, ancient secrets and broken dreams. It was played between June and October 2020.
The Zone was home to a bittersweet series of experiences, friendships, heartbreaks and heroic efforts that we will never forget.
This site remains as a shrine of memory and a beacon of hope to those that feel called to continue the struggle to make the best and most heartfelt journeys into the wild, weird future.
We are currently working on a spiritual sequel, set later in the MUTANT timeline, to be played at Kuserud Gruva in 2022-2024. Stay tuned for more!
A huge thank you to all co-creators and to Kulturbryggan for their support of our post-apocalyptic performances in 2020.
Support "Real Fictional People" - a lavish photo- book about the faces of The Zone and their transformations. Get you copy and support the Kickstarter here:
"...this might be the biggest adventure I have ever been on! It is one to be remembered. A bit of chaos, a lot of incredible larping, and the most amazing of venues."
"Touchingly faithful to the Mutant legacy!"
"Älskade den vackra miljön och alla fantastiska mutantvänner/fiender/vänner igen/gröna monster. Tack allihopa, alla kreativa hårt arbetande arrangörer och fantastiska medmutanter."
"The most special location i ever been to. I’ll give it 5 cans of food out of 5."
introduction to mutant larp
CRASH V2.0 and all MUTANT: The Last Ark events were co-created live action roleplaying games (often called LARP, or Lajv in Swedish) where you take on and physically play the role of a cool freaky Mutant in a bleak but often humorous post-apocalyptic world.
Each event is a stand-alone experience with its own unique focus, but share the setting, style and overarching story of other events in the MUTANT setting.
All events are designed to be accessible to newcomers as well as international guests and are played in a mix of English (all material in English) and Scandinavian languages.
The production and design- team consists of veteran organizers with decades of experience from legendary LARP events like the Battlestar Galactica game "Monitor Celestra", the Shakespeare adaptation "Hamlet", the internationally acclaimed "College of Wizardry" series and many others.
Our events are officially licensed and take place in the world of MUTANT: Year Zero, known from the tabletop RPG game and the computer game "Road to Eden".
We have had the pleasure of being joined by Mutant celebrities like Tomas Härenstam (Fria Ligan), Anders Blixt (Äventyrsspel, Lancelot, Saga etc.) and have props and a robot designed by Anders Muammar (Filmmaker behind "Kunskapens Pris") at the event.
Simple but cool gear. Making your post-apocalyptic Mutant costume is fun and easy! We don't have any hard and fast "costume quality" demands. But we love worn fabrics and dirt. Costumes can be as simple (and filthy) or elaborate (and filthy) as you like and you can even choose to buy a ticket that includes borrowing a finished (filthy) costume if designing a cosplay outfit for the game is not your thing.
Our events never focus on "winning" but on experiencing a thrilling adventure together. There are rules, but most of the time you will simply act as your Mutant would, moving, talking and thinking like your character while working together with your co-players to create a great experience for everyone!
Sneak past enemy sentries, fish, betray a Mutant friend for half a gallon of gasoline, dive for treasure, cook cans of looted food over a slow fire, duel with your rival Mutants, collect scraps of knowledge from the old world, figure out how to cross a minefield, make deals with your enemies, meet strange beings in the hills, sleep inside old industrial structures, and have a lukewarm beer while watching the sun set over The Forbidden Zone.
Simple dramatic rules techniques for fighting, mutations, radiation, ancient technology and more are designed to let you feel the danger (your character can be captured, mind-controlled, poisoned or betrayed for instance) while keeping you and your co-players involved in the drama and reasonably safe.
These rules include using protective gear when entering the "forbidden zone", helping making such journeys feel dangerous and cool, while keeping you a bit safer from Covid as you come into close contact with each other and the dwellers of the zone.
For fighting, CRASH uses padded latex melee- weapons and guns that make a loud bang but fires no projectiles.
All players get a written Mutant character, complete with a background, contacts in the Ark, rumors of the old world, unique Mutation-powers and roleplaying tips. The pre-written character gallery ensures tension and personal drama.
All players take part in a fun and useful workshop before the game begins. Here you will get to know your fellow players, perform exercises to find your inner Mutant and test the event rules in practice.
Read more about the event, it's rules and the world of the Ark below and make sure you look at our constantly updating ARTICLES section
THE "MUTANT" SETTING
Mutant was launched in 1984 and has much in common with settings like Fallout, Gamma World and Metro 2033, but is set in Scandinavia. It's darkly humorous post-apocalyptic world, where the surface of the earth is inhabited by mutated people, monsters and speaking animals.
You can read more about it here.
the story of OUR 2021 EVENT: CRASH V2.0
The Ark has CRASHED on a strange island after a terrible storm. The tradition-bound and land-fearing crew must gather the courage to explore the strange island they find themselves on. Will peace hold under the pressure of what they find or will straight out war break out?
For as long as you can remember, your reality has been shaped by life in the belly of the Ark – her cramped quarters, the movements and moods of the ocean, the cult-like hierarchies of the crew and the constant hum of the reactors and the double salt cleaners. Now you must prepare to leave it all behind.
Soon the Silver Ark will land on a mysterious island in the Muskö Zone. The ancient Captain is approaching death and his control is slipping. The Mutants, who until recently made up the crew of the Ark, will be forced to adapt.
To survive and thrive, the Ark crew must choose between staying true to the traditions of the Ark and try to escape, or to create society anew, conquer or make peace with the dangers of the Zone and build a permanent settlement by cannibalizing the great wreck of the Ark and its way of life.
However, the island also has a will of its own.
Beginning near (or in) the wreck of the old Ark, you will have to fight and negotiate for every inch of the island. The ground itself is poison, the vegetation frightening and alive, there are minefields, gas, acid rain, even zones where reality itself shift and bends. And something else.
No wonder the Arklanders have avoided dry land until now.
CRASH starts with the Ark-crash. How it ends is up to you.
PLAYING A MUTANT
"You are the spawn of humanity, but not quite human. You are twisted funhouse images, mutated freaks. Your bodies and minds have incredible powers, but you are unstable. Fragile."
Mutants are weird, fucked up, strange and quirky. Even if their mutations are not always visible, they move, speak and behave in unusual ways. This is one of the best things with the Mutant setting - you don’t have to play nice, sexy, polite, well-spoken or clean to fit in.
For the last few generations, the crew of the Silver Ark and many other mutants have struggled with infertility. It's been more than a decade since a Mutant child was born. As one of the consequences, gender has become highly irrelevant and romantic partnership is considered highly old-fashioned. Intimate bonds are more often built on having mutual enemies, being in the same cult or sharing a secret and comfortable hiding place. There's still prejudice and intolerance in the air, but it's never based on looks or gender.
All events will include workshops to help you find your inner Mutant through movement and mannerisms
mutation Examples
Resistance to rot (toxins, disease and radiation)
Direction glands (always knows where North is)
Pointy ears, coloured (often bluish or greenish) skin or other cosmetic changes that are all interpreted as signs of being Pure in the eyes of the Silverkrist Godhead.
PSI mutations, like the power to cause waking nightmares
GEAR
The Arklanders are dressed in the ragged remains of the life-vests, uniforms and civilian clothes worn by the original crew. Rust, dirt, fat and salt stain the fabrics, and clothing is patched, modified, armored and decorated to suit the needs of the cultures of the ark.
For inspiration, find our Pinterest here. Watch a few videos by the inimitable Nuclear Snail, the Youtube master of post-apocalypse fashion for the best and most fun methods to build and distress your gear to look awesome.
You can also get a costume ticket and we will design an outfit for you! Just bring your own (filthy) boots.
Read more about making a costume in our ARTICLES section!
ARKLANDERS
During CRASH you will play Mutants of the Silver Ark.
The Silver Ark mutants are divided into crew cults. Some have existed since the Ark set sail, others were created when groups of survivors joined the original crew and came to fulfill some function on board.
The Old Command has harshly ruled the Silver Ark and its smaller vessels since the maiden voyage generations ago. There has never been a time when the Captain was not in charge, and although rumors abound on lower decks that he must be weak and old by now, all Arklanders know that the Captain sits at the wheel both day and night, his power absolute. Even if he is rarely seen, and only from afar.
The Chosen of Silverkrist adhere to a bizarre form of Christianity adapted from Laestadianism blended with Anthroposophy.
They see mutations as the blessing of the fish-god, their leaders are preachers, and singing, dancing and ecstatic prayer is at the heart of their highly communal lifestyle. According to their belief, the Ark will sail until all members of the crew are “pure” and ascend into Heaven carried by metal angels. Touching dry land is supposed to be forbidden and stranding on the island is a great blow to the power of the preachers.
The Wave-Stalkers are the last remnants of an elite military unit incorporated with the Ark several generations ago. They are allowed to roam far from the Ark in their small armed vessels and often raid other ships or go on extended exploration trips to dry land in order to supply the Ark with reserve-parts, grub, artifacts and captives.
The Golem are baseline (unmutated) human children that Arklanders found floating around on a makeshift raft 10 years ago. The Chosen surmised that they were soulless lesser creatures, sent to them as a gift by the fish-god as servants.
N55 is a semi-secret resistance group opposing the power of the preachers by encouraging settlement on land. They are the keepers of the forbidden Manuals; text files and images preserved from a long forgotten arts collective of the same name. Stranding on the island and rebuilding society in a new way is exactly what they have prepared for. Find the Manuals here: http://www.n55.dk/
zone-dwellers
The people of the Ark have encountered many strange tribes and cultures on their century-long voyage. The Muskö Zone is known to hold many threats to the sacred Ark. Here are a few of the threats your Mutant knows about.
The Witches of Röya channel the powers of the Motherzone through rites older than the ancients. With painted faces, braided hair, rune-encrusted guns and psionic powers rivalling those of the Nova sect, they see the Arklanders as ignorant children.
The Zone-Ghouls are a close-knit, nomadic and violently xenophobic tribe of nocturnal mutants, clad in masks and ragged dark cloaks to hide their deformities. They are descendants of the humans who survived the Apocalypse, but over the centuries, they have lost all memory of their origin.
The Nova Sect are a procession of seemingly non-mutated humans in makeshift vessels, clad in long dark robes, and have been slowly making their way across the waters of the zone. Perhaps they are on a pilgrimage. For some reason, they settle on or near the Island. When approached, they treat strangers like they were the ghosts of the dead or spirits of the old age. They have strange powers and understand the Old World in ways that are simultaneously threatening and enticing.
The Helldivers of Scrap Island: Wave-stalkers talk about an artificial junk island slowly drifting along the coast. Dangerously close to the Island. Settlements are attacked, boats stolen and mutants captured and sold into slavery to the masters of this terrible floating city of rust and blood.
SAFETY
All MUTANT events are inclusive and co-created (we help each other both in- and outside of the fiction).
Lend a hand when you can, trust your fellow players to know what they're doing and keep a clear head.
Be attentive and never afraid to discreetly check in with other players. It's always cool to break character (by saying "RED") or gently slowing down a scene (by saying “YELLOW”). It's also encouraged to signal that you want fellow players to go harder (by saying “GREEN).
The event will use the same rules for distancing, suspicion, wearing masks and protective gear in the Zone as we did last summer. These rules are partially to lessen risk of spreading Covid but are also there to make the Forbidden Zone feel as dangerous as possible.
Since we're on an island, we'll have at least one licensed and trained EMT on site at all times. There will also be a small off-game medbay equipped with first aid-gear and emergency transport on standby for players in need of serious medical care.
For comfort and rest breaks, we'll have a small "off-game" area.
PRACTICAL INFO
crash 2.0
WHEN
8th - 11th of JULY 2021
WHERE
The Last Ark series takes place at Stora Höggarn. This place has been home to a 17th century inn, summerhouses for turn-of-the-century tourists, a massive oil-tanking station used during the war. And now us.
As it isn't possible to access the island without a boat, transport to location from land will be included in any event ticket.
What you get
With your ticket, you get a pre-written character, boat transport to and from the island, access to a dry place to sleep (you may have to find it in game), food to eat, even if it is sometimes from cans you loot from the island (vegetarian options will be available) and access to toilets and water.
With costume ticket you also get to rent (and buy if you like) a full Arklander outfit, sleeping roll, drinking and eating gear, a weapon, lots of dirt.
LANGUAGES
The main languages of the Last Ark will be Swedish and English. But the mutants have different forefathers, and you may speak several more languages among each other during the events.
TICKETS
This game is designed for 30 players, with a max capacity of 50 players.
CRASH TICKET 1250 SEK
CRASH TICKET WITH COMPLETE COSTUME 1750 SEK
Tickets can be resold and transferred, as long as you let us know.
Age requirement: 18+ or 15-17 with written permission from a caregiver.
This event is financed wholly through ticket prices and are made on a non-profit basis.
BECOME A zone-critter
Would you like to join our horde of Zone creatures? Perhaps you prefer playing a non-verbal monster or you just like the idea of giving players an exciting / scary experience? If you want to help making the island a strange and scary place with us we will feed you, transport you to and from the island and help you with extra clothing, makeup etc.
Just write a mail to us on the address below if you would like to become a Helper. If you want you can also help us build, transport things to and from the island and other volunteer helper tasks.
Contact
Reach us at organizers@mutantzone.com or write us on our Facebok group "Mutant: The Last Ark"
SkärgårdsZonen Living Arts Island
The structures we build on the island will (we hope) become the foundation of a permanent center of living arts.
You can rent the area when MUTANT events are not running. Contact us for more information.
KEEP ME POSTED
