About

I'm Nicholas. I've been LARPing for about twenty years, and for a good part of that I was organising events rather than playing them. Somewhere along the way I noticed that the part I enjoyed most was making props that do something when you touch them.

Where it started

Then I played a wizard. Wizards need a light spell, and I wanted a staff I could tap twice, dramatically, and have it light up. So I built one. People at events kept asking where they could get one, so I started building them for other people too.

The first staff: a purple and red wooden ring around a white crystal, with metal rings hanging from it — The first staff.

Test-fitting the wooden rings of the first topper onto a pale shaft in the workshop — Test-fitting the first topper, in 2023.

Two cut and sanded wooden rings, one purple and one orange — Rings for the first topper.

The end of a glued-up wooden shaft with a channel through the middle — The first shaft, glued up around a channel for the wiring.

Since then

I've spent a few years improving the electronics, the firmware and the way the staves are put together. Along the way I got properly into woodworking, which turned out to be a good match. I work in IT, and code is great, but you can't hold it. A staff you can.

All the wood I use is ethically sourced. The workshop is near Zwolle.

A topper on the workbench with test probes clipped to its electronics — Testing the electronics of a one-off staff.

Two lanterns on a cluttered workbench — Lanterns on the workbench, built from leftover staff parts.

Get in touch

I build custom staves on commission, and finished pieces show up under In Stock when I have them, along with other props.

Email info@mythotechnica.com or find me on Discord as Senonu.