Last year I wrote a review of the “last” Wyvern's Tales event. Well, it seems I was lying. It wasn't the last event. They've started running one day events again, and have a weekender planned for the spring. So, along I trotted, happy to be going back.

Wyvern's Tales is a local system. Many of the crew are inexperienced, and the NPC kit is just what they can carry with them through the woods – so it's no theatrical extraviganza. That's often a bad place to start. From there, I wouldn't usually expect anything special. But this was special!

Wyvern's Tales is one of the most effortlessly original systems around. By this I mean that it doesn't insist on forcing you to appreciate you how terribly original it is, it doesn't insist that you understand pages of self-indulgent background, it doesn't reinvent fantasy races just for the sake of it – on the surface, there's nothing mould-breaking here, and certainly nothing that's hard to understand. And yet...!

The setting is “Hollywood medieval” - it's history, but without having to go back to school and learn loads of stuff. If you've seen Robin of Sherwood or Cadfael or Ivanhoe or Kingdom of Heaven, then you know enough. Easy.

The game types are investigations. It's Call of Cthulhu. Lovecraft. Agatha Cristie with some supernatural menace. All those old Hammer movies with travellers stumbling across something weird in a dark forest. Again, easy.

But the result is really, really interesting. The “Cadfael meets Cthulhu” approach creates a game which feels quite unlike any other. Hence: effortlessly original.

The plot was a missing-persons case, effectively. Four lepers had vanished. It was up to the players where in the wood they went, who the tracked down, who they spoke to. The plot initially started to feel darkly supernatural, but with a bit more digging (and a couple of fights with mercenaries sent to prevent our investigations) we found that the whole thing was based on a scam – a confidence trick that had involved a murder.

Like all the best plots, it made perfect sense when you put all the pieces together, but it was not in any way predictable as you worked through it.

There was no sorcery, no demonic influence... or was there? As one of the players said afterwards, “I've played three of these events now, and I still don't know whether magic is real or not.” That struck me as the best recommendation that anyone could give it. Not only is each individual mystery really interesting to play, but the mystery persists through the campaign.

I am glad you enjoyed it, and for the opening of a shameless plug.

Wyvernstales is indeed running a weekend for FairyTales the 21st - 23rd of May at the wonderfull StockWood site. We are also of the understanding that the Crimson Moon is free, so we are in talks to get them there.

Now, if you are interested in this and would like to take part either as player or crew in what is quickly becoming a topnotch system then get over to www.wyvernstales.co.uk and book. We are only a small system, so support is needed to make this happen and anyone who went to the event in 07 will tell you its well worth it.

£40 for a fantastic plot, lovely site and (hopefully) one of the most entertaining bars in the larp system does not seem to be asking to much, and since we will have a base of operations and one of my refs is a re'enactor the standered of props/costume will be rising as well.

See you there?