The information below is intended to be used to get a feel for the atmosphere of the nation and provide inspiration about what kinds of clothes, weapons and armour are common. Costume is aspirational, and attendees are not expected to have perfect kit from the start – instead we encourage everyone to put effort into improving their kit over time, starting with basics and adding to it bit by bit, and not criticise others costume. Advice should only be given when asked for.

The “Key Costume” for each nation is intended to be elements of national dress that help to identify the difference between nations, with pieces of clothing or themes which highlight that difference. A basic LARP shirt or tunic and trousers or skirt is all that is needed as base layers for every nation, plus some element of the Key Costume for the nation chosen as where that character is from. Everything else is a bonus – but it improves the look of the whole setting when everyone buys in to the world being played out and endeavour to look on brief for their own nation.

More information on the minimum costume standards and items which should be avoided in all nations is available here.

Nation Overview

The people of The Wonder are a people who survive and thrive in a magical forest, living symbiotically with nature and the magical forces that are part of it.

In The Wonder, the people are fiercely independent and creative. They do not depend on outside imports to show them the latest fashions – instead they rely on the natural world around them and the sheer variety of colour on offer. “Camouflage” greens and browns would make no sense in this forest, full of abundant megaflora where every colour of the rainbow is on offer.

We’re influenced by historical cuts where fabric is precious – Iron-Age style chitons to early medieval T-tunics that are dyed brightly and embellished by the owner to show their skills or that of their relations. Diamond-shaped viking hoods are most commonly worn, along with apron-dresses and fibre crafts of all kinds, and amber, the “blood of the trees” is enormously valued. This is a nation with some Viking and Celtic elements to its aesthetic, but not the grim aesthetic of some media – colour and creativity is everything!

Colour Palette

Vibrant colours, reflecting all of nature’s dyeing potential.

Natural fabrics – cottons, linens, wools etc, with as much customisation as possible, built up over time.

Themes And Key Words

“Woodland”, “Ethereal”, “Zero Waste Society”, “Found Materials”, “Foraging”, this nation leans into the homemade and customised, in cuts that are simple to learn for beginner sewists.

The most important thing about The Wonder’s clothing is colour – the vibrant and brightly dyed are treasured over anything black or white. This colour is taken from the world around them, with flowers, leaves, roots and mushrooms all offering a wide variety of colours to choose from.

People of The Wonder don’t see why practicality can’t also be beautiful, and strive to embellish their clothing as much as possible. Some embroider or stitch on decorative trims, some use paints made from the same pigments used to dye their cloth, others weave, knit and crochet decorations and accessories. Where there is little variation in cuts of garments, colour and individual flair show off the personality of the wearer.

All fibres are harvested from the forest itself, or from the insect and bird life available to them. Materials from the outside world has a tendency to break down more quickly than it should, due to the strong magical influence of the forest Biomes.

Fantasy Inspiration

The Wonder is heavily inspired by the fantastical woodlands from fairytales and British mythology, full of Dryads, Green Men, walking trees and the fae creatures who seek to trap unwary travellers within.

They also have elements of druids and rangers, and the mythology that inspired those tropes.

Historical Inspiration

The Wonder’s costume brief has some of the earliest historical influences. Because cloth is hard to make and precious, the cut and style is informed by the way historic European societies have dealt with these limitations, and the creativity they used to overcome them, using as little waste as possible by tailoring garments from squares, triangles and rectangles.

Iron Age and Norse-inspired clothing is made of simple shapes and doesn’t need sewing in some cases, or can be a good project for a beginner sewist.

• chitons and other simple dresses made from a single piece of fabric and pins
• T-tunics, simple to make and easy to layer
• accessories such as V-shaped Skjoldehamn hoods and beadwork
• apron dresses
• an emphasis on handmade (IC) clothing, made from the natural world around the characters
• sturdy fabrics in bright colours, layered for practicality and to show off colour
• metal items as rare and precious – brooches, decorative clasps, beads, all worth keeping and respecting the crafts that made them
• brightly-coloured contrast trims, embroidery and other decorative motifs – designed to look handmade and to embellish treasured items of clothing

Headwear in The Wonder

Hats are commonly worn in the Wonder, and are often made from the scraps of another garment to make sure nothing is wasted. Round beanie-style hats can be knitted or made of 4 or 6 trianglesto form a round domed shape. Other styles of soft hat are also worn, such as pillbox hats and conical V-shaped hats that fold over one ear, and even phrygian caps.

Hoods are also very popular – see key costume item below.

Key Costume Items for The Wonder

Key Costume Items are elements of the Look and Feel of each nation that are a cultural part of what makes up that nation, informed by their history and societal norms. Ideally, an outfit for any nation should aim to incorporate at least one of the Key Costume Items to ensure that characters are recognisably from their nation at a distance!

Key Costume Item – Diamond-Shaped Hoods

A diagonal hood base made from one long rectangle and two squares of fabric. Very beginner friendly and very customisable.

Provides a nice diagonal square of space to paint/embroider/decorate in many ways.

Key Costume Item – Hangerok

Excellent layering option, easy to make from rectangles and triangles with little tailoring can be used as a support garment for fighting outfits and provide a great surface for showing off customisation such as trim, embroidery and painted designs.

One closure common historically are brooches, but these could be replaced with other styles. They can be decorated with strings of amber beads and necklaces.

Masculine style versions also work, adding the top part and straps to trousers or embellishing modern “boho” styles of dungarees.

Armour For The Wonder

Armour for The Wonder is broadly inspired by Celtic, Romano-British and Norse armour, with fantasy druidic themes mixed in.

Light and Medium Armour

• Padded tunics and cloth armour – aketons and gambesons.
• These are best mid or long-sleeved, not sleeveless.
• some wood-effect lamellar may also work
• Leather is best dyed to colours other than black and brown, to give the impression that it is made from plants and flowers rather than animals, or decorated in some way.

Heavy Armour

• Hoods can be worn over chainmail to add colour to a martial outfit.
• Scale mail, both historical types of scale and colourful pieces interlinked with chainmail.
• More fantasy-style types of armour such as poly-plate made to look from organic materials can also work really well for this nation and evoke their relationship alongside the forests.

Helmets

Spangenhelms – ideally with cheekplates and some sort of aventail or neck covering.

Spectacle helms are less ideal (with pieces that surround the eyes completely) but also work.

Weapons In The Wonder

• Blunt weapons – Staves and staffs
• Cudgels and Maces, weapons that can be easily made by hand from materials available to the people of The Wonder.
• Spears and greataxes.
• Sickles and other tools that can be used as weapons.
• Daggers, seax and handaxes are worn by most for practicality more so than swords, as they can be used for working and pathfinding if needed.
• Shields – Celtic styles are the ideal, made in irregular oval or figure-of-eight shapes, otherwise round Viking-style shields can also work.
• Longbows and shortbows, crossbows much less common.

Archetypes In The Wonder

Archetypes are particular types of character in each nation, which offer a framework of the default types of mage, priest, warrior, artisan etc within that culture, and a way to think about designing a character who fits into the nation as a starting point, in order to encourage a cohesive nation that can make choices about individuality from that point.

These are by no means exhaustive, but the examples below depict some flavours of common character types and the costume elements that are often worn by them.

Bloomtenders

The nation’s primary warriors, named as such because the nation’s strength of arms comes from Sylvans. The Bloomtenders not only perform the usual military duties of strategy and training, but tend to their soldiers with the same kindness any gardener would give to their daffodils. They are usually support fighters – warriors who also have physician or apothecary skills. When away from their trees, they often fight alongside Verdants to best utilise their skills.

Becoming a Bloomtender is a long process, either tending an Sylvans from saplinghood, or being chosen by an established Sylvans, who could be hundreds of years old. The bond is for life, with some of the oldest Sylvans having been bonded to dozens of Bloomtenders over their long years.

These warriors are never without a keepsake from the Sylvan they are bonded to – usually a leaf or seed kept in a pouch.
They usually incorporate motifs of this type of tree into their clothing; oak or ash, olive or chestnut, whatever the arboreal variety.

Grovehearts

In the Wonder those who have learnt to wield magic are commonly thought of as the tenders of the land. They walk the luscious forests and mangrove swamplands tending all life that blooms, through a mixture of using magic to help bolster that vegetation that needs encouragement and snipping others that grow beyond their bounds. Seen as an important part of society and the cycle of life itself, they protect the sanctuaries where human and sylvans live, and ensure that all those that grow within the boundaries of the Wonder are supported in fulfilling their full potential.

Grovehearts are primarily elemental-focused mages, wary of fable magic because of how dangerous it is in various parts of the nation, but there are those that make such studies their speciality – if only to better understand the dangers. Others, particularly those who call Gloomgard their home have a particular interest in the Athria Sphere, so as to better serve their ecosystem there.

Grovehearts aim to create networks of “balance” by linking up with other elemental weavers with complimentary skills and areas of elemental knowledge. As they are fond of saying – “if you don’t do it right the land will eat you”. By reading the humours of the forest and balancing the scales together, they can ensure the land is one that accepts them and allows them to thrive.

Leafwright

In the Wonder is widely accepted that the greatest of all life takes time and preparation to grow and to thrive. Leafwrights are the people of this land who focus the skills in ensuring that all life can grow and are correctly equipped for the trials that may face it. Most are craftspeople of some kind, but what creations they specialise in are as varied as the trees in the forest. There are shops throughout the Wonder run by Leafwrights, connected not by the items they make but by a shared passion for using the gifts of the forest in the best way they can, everything from fletchers and carpenters to makers of the finest tea blends. Some make use of the Forge Sphere of magic to further aid their creativity, while others enjoy the simplicity of the mundane and using simple enchanting to bolster what they make.

This activity may be in laying down a beautifully made stake for a growing sapling or making oils that ward off parasites, or crafting the foraging of the forest into items of beauty. As the War has taken over the Wonder, many of these people have retained their craft and turned that art into skills of war. The old parasite repelling oil is now a lacquer that a Bloomtender might apply to the tip of their blade. The stake now a Groveheart’s Stave used to enhance the fury of life.

It is a common misconception that a Leafwright is only there to support others – many a corrupted creature has been slain after underestimating a sower’s ‘bag of tricks’. But there are many more who prefer a life of peace, making what they specialise in as they have for generations.

How To Put Together A The Wonder Outfit

Clothes in The Wonder is more of a pick-and-mix from a common pool of items than most nations – the various layers come in all colours and sizes, but follow simply tailored shapes that can be customised for personal preference:

• Multiple layers of tunics, simply cut in a T-shape. Natural fabrics such as cottons, linens and wools are best for warmth, or synthetic equivalents if preferred.
• Trousers in all shapes and sizes, from tight straight-leg to very baggy Rus styles.
• Dungarees in plain natural fabrics and bright colours can work too – see key costume.
• Apron dresses, which can be a full dress layer or just two rectangles of fabric with lacing at the side, providing an excellent canvas for embellishments. These garments can also be made to form a support layer for the bust which is perfect for wearing in combat situations.
• Iron Age mid layers such as the peplos, a sleeveless layer made by pinning a straight length of cloth at the shoulders with pins.
• A Skjoldehamn-style V-shaped hood, with plenty of space on the front for decoration.
• Coats made similarly to tunics, which can be short sleeved to show off the sleeves on layers below.
• Cloaks, which can be simply a length of cloth that is pinned at the throat or shoulder, or more conventionally tailored with a tie or buckle.
• Poncho-like layers, which can be made by cutting a head-sized hole in a blanket or length of fabric.
• Bright colours – the forest provides, and bright tones are better camouflage amongst the flora than greens.
• Lots of embellishments – woven trims, embroidery, appliqué, all to show the creativity of the wearer or their family’s skills – showing pride in themselves and the craftspeople around them.
• Different biomes require different clothing – some pockets of the forest are tropical, others temperate, others are in flux depending on magical climate effects, so there can be a lot of variation on a group’s choices for what is common in their section of the forest.