So I'm back, baby! But this time I'm LARPing with some friends in a zombie apocalypse, gritty survival adventure. I'm a biomedical engineer who's been trying to develop some kind of implant/drug that can slow/cure the infection. I'm thinking if I "invent" something out of found items that FUNCTIONS as a magic trick in real life, but we all ROLEPLAY that it functions as described, then I'll be able to use that invention in-game.

Tricks would need to be:
-portable
-reset-able
-close-up/parlor distance

Effects would need to be:
-practical for survival
-can involve blood
-reasonable for someone like, say, Tony Stark to develop in a storage container with a generator, salvaged items, and no outside help

Y'all got any ideas? Does anyone do apocalypse/mad science themed shows? I don't know, like... could I try to ... reanimate a body part? To what end though? I'm drawing a blank but I feel like I'm on the verge of an idea...

Not sure what the vector for infection is, but being able to detect infection is a very important thing. A spike trick provides the method for knowing which of several samples (isolated in or under containers) is the infected sample. Or the only safe one. A which hand routine can be varied to determine which of two people is secretly infected. You can change methods and use the same prop to apparently do both of these.

I assume the needs in the game are for identifying the zombies, finding shelter, deterring or killing the zombies, avoiding infection, finding safe food and water, and so on. I don’t do zombie LARP, so perhaps you have other in-game needs. I would start with the list of what you want to do, then generalize. (One item is dangerous, gotta find it; one person is safe, identify him.) Then modify a trick to simulate that situation.

This could add a lot of fun to a LARP.

Patrick

Secret Fire's "color changing crystals" could detect a bloodborne or otherwise transmittable disease.

Fingertip Blood tests done on a small card (like a business card) could be "punched into" a tiny gizmo of your making, and, upon removal, display any thing or any info you want using the "Out to Lunch" principal.

Or, a small mirror box dressed up approximately could be used to hold a specimen that becomes an antidote. Twoidentical.test tube could be used, one with dark red blood, and the second with a lime green edible liquid like apple juice!

Don't know why you chose that character. The hero in all apocalyptic movies die.lol good luck.

A crystal pendulum to detect infected ones before they show any signs? Circle safe, back and forth infected (or vice versa)?

Different colors to detect different strains? It works because, after much experimenting, Element X was infused into the molten glass when making the crystal?

Simple and all available at your local New Age store!

Nice work, Dr B and all!

How about resurrecting [pun intended] the old classic ‘Pharoah’s Finger’? Many names for this: it’s the disembodied finger in a [match]box effect.

You open the box to reveal a nasty-looking digit. A drop of your special serum, which can be administered via a pipette by a ‘helper’, after a suspenseful delay, causes the finger to stir… You close the box again, to sounds of scraping and clicking. When you open the box again, the necrotic finger now looks as fresh as the day it was severed.

A nice display of zombie reversal technology, neatly encapsulated…. Hope for all humanity in a small box!

Could you fashion a finger from a haunted key? Bloody finger stump laying in palm of your hand, then it begins to move.

Harry Anderson's needle through the arm. You could say there's no blood tubes for testing in the post-apocalyptic world, so have to get blood samples the old fashion way...

In Harry Anderson's book "Hello Sucker" he talks about time he used stale loaf of french bread with fake hand and turkey baster filled with stage blood; and the then "chopped" his hand off. This could be done with a "volunteer" as an example of what needs to be done if somebody gets infected in the hand, and needs to cut it off before infection spreads. (Didn't that happen in World War Z?). Not able to reset, so no sure if something you could use.

Finger Chopper. Could use as an example of how those infected develop super healing powers...can be done walk around, easy reset, and could add stuff to make it look homemade/steampunk/post-apocalyptic.

Have fun!