The Rules System
One of the hardest decisions you will have to make when setting up your system is what rules to use. It’s the hardest decision because it is the one that is based on personal opinion. And as personal opinions differ, the rules are going to be one of the most hotly disputed topics. There are several schools of thought on rules, and there are a number or questions that you need to ask your self
Question 1 Contact or abstract, a.k.a. “the biggie”
The main question is how do you want to resolve your physical actions such as combat. You can either have the players doing it physically using latex weapons / bb guns etc, or you can have an abstract system for resolving challenges, such as scissors-paper-stone / drawing a card etc. This decision should be affected by 3 main factors:-
1) What Genre are you playing?
Fantasy LRP will suffer if you use an abstract system, as for most people, combat is a major part of the game. Although you may want to focus on other aspects of the game, the fact that there is a (reasonably) safe method of representing combat, then why not utilise it
2) Where are you playing?
A game using BB guns or paintball guns or any other weapon where there is an element of danger, cannot be used in public areas. The safety implications don’t even bear thinking about. If you are in an enclosed area, and wearing suitable safety equipment, then this is a good method of representing firearms combat. Be aware though that everyone MUST be wearing safety gear and this can detract from the game. You will need to call a time freeze and get everyone to don goggles etc anytime a weapon is drawn
3) What is your budget?
LRP weapons can cost from £20 to over a hundred pounds, likewise for BB guns. You will have to request that your players supply these themselves or you, as the game organiser will have to arrange a supply of usable weaponry. If potential players need to shell out £50 on weapons / costume etc, then this may discourage many,. Remember a lot of LRP’ers are students who have other things to spend their money on (booze, drugs and CD’s)
Full contact combat is good for certain styles of play. The major drawback is the need for weaponry, the safety aspects, and that some people do not like to get hit
Abstract combat is easy cheap and safe, however it detracts from the flow of the game and certainly if you are trying to build up a tense atmosphere, it can be broken by having to stop and play counting games to decide who wins the fight. It can also be very slow to resolve, especially when larger numbers of people are involved in any one action
Question 2
Buy a game or write your own?
There are some commercial LRP games already on the market, most notably Minds Eye Theatre from White Wolf. It uses an abstract combat system, and hand symbols etc for the LRP version of the World of Darkness tabletop games. There are other “shareware” LRP systems on the internet, or alternatively you could contact another group and request if they are happy for you to use their system with accreditation to them.
This saves time, and energy, but requires that everyone goes out and purchases a copy or borrows from other people. It’s also an advantage if you want to play outside of your own groups. For instance there are probably about 20 or so LRP groups around the UK that use the Minds Eye Theatre system. As they’re using the same systems and their characters are compatible they can move between games.
This can be very useful when starting out. If you can find another local group, you can trade players. Players can come from their game to help boost numbers in your game and vice versa.
You can also buy a commercial game and adapt it to your own preference if there are aspects of the game you don’t like.
Alternatively you could write your own LRP system. Be warned this can be a very time consuming process, and is not as easy as it sounds (voice of experience here). The amount of effort required is based mostly upon the question below
Question 3
How many rules?
How complicated do you want your rules system. This can be broken down into 2 main sections which are combat and “skills”. The principal purpose of LRP is to enable you the real person to portray actions as your character that you would not be able to perform in real life, whether this is shooting someone dead or turning into a bat.
Combat and the skills / powers probably take up a sizeable proportion of any LRP rulebook.
Does the combat have a simple 1 hit per location, or a more complex battle-board style game (where the hit system is more detailed and at the end of each encounter a referee calculates how much damage everyone has taken). This should be primarily determined by the style of play you are proposing. If a referee is not going to be present at all times then a battle board system is not going to work. Vice versa, you might want something a little more “heroic” where players can take a number of hits in which case a system where players must keep track of their own hits would be difficult.
Likewise for Skills. You need to find some way of representing certain feats and advantages that a character has. Do you want a list of skills as long as your arm in order to cover every eventuality, or have no skills at all and that only those actions that can be performed are permitted ? The reality is that something in the middle is probably the best. How far in each direction you want to go is up to you. A lengthy list of skills does mean that there is variety and that most situations have defined rules to back them up, however long lists can be cumbersome, especially if all the players and monsters need to memorise the effects of each one
Some games have no rules at all. These are called Freeforms and work in a similar way to “murder mystery evenings”. These work well in games where there is no need to resolve any combats or conflicts, or with a sufficiently mature team of players and “monsters”. This style of play is not particularly recommended for less experienced groups
RULES DISPUTES
The most important thing to remember is that the overall flow and spirit of the game should take precedence over any ruling dispute. Ensure that you know your own rules back to front and inside out. If you can have a copy on you whilst playing then even better. Even referees get it wrong sometimes
If there is a dispute over the interpretation of a rule, then either the organiser or a referee should make a decision based on the circumstances that are relevant at the time. This does not mean a permanent change in rules, just that they referee is deciding upon each case on its merits. Allow each person involved in the dispute to put their point across, but explain clearly that the referees decision is final
Question 1 Contact or abstract, a.k.a. “the biggie”
The main question is how do you want to resolve your physical actions such as combat. You can either have the players doing it physically using latex weapons / bb guns etc, or you can have an abstract system for resolving challenges, such as scissors-paper-stone / drawing a card etc. This decision should be affected by 3 main factors:-
1) What Genre are you playing?
Fantasy LRP will suffer if you use an abstract system, as for most people, combat is a major part of the game. Although you may want to focus on other aspects of the game, the fact that there is a (reasonably) safe method of representing combat, then why not utilise it
2) Where are you playing?
A game using BB guns or paintball guns or any other weapon where there is an element of danger, cannot be used in public areas. The safety implications don’t even bear thinking about. If you are in an enclosed area, and wearing suitable safety equipment, then this is a good method of representing firearms combat. Be aware though that everyone MUST be wearing safety gear and this can detract from the game. You will need to call a time freeze and get everyone to don goggles etc anytime a weapon is drawn
3) What is your budget?
LRP weapons can cost from £20 to over a hundred pounds, likewise for BB guns. You will have to request that your players supply these themselves or you, as the game organiser will have to arrange a supply of usable weaponry. If potential players need to shell out £50 on weapons / costume etc, then this may discourage many,. Remember a lot of LRP’ers are students who have other things to spend their money on (booze, drugs and CD’s)
Full contact combat is good for certain styles of play. The major drawback is the need for weaponry, the safety aspects, and that some people do not like to get hit
Abstract combat is easy cheap and safe, however it detracts from the flow of the game and certainly if you are trying to build up a tense atmosphere, it can be broken by having to stop and play counting games to decide who wins the fight. It can also be very slow to resolve, especially when larger numbers of people are involved in any one action
Question 2
Buy a game or write your own?
There are some commercial LRP games already on the market, most notably Minds Eye Theatre from White Wolf. It uses an abstract combat system, and hand symbols etc for the LRP version of the World of Darkness tabletop games. There are other “shareware” LRP systems on the internet, or alternatively you could contact another group and request if they are happy for you to use their system with accreditation to them.
This saves time, and energy, but requires that everyone goes out and purchases a copy or borrows from other people. It’s also an advantage if you want to play outside of your own groups. For instance there are probably about 20 or so LRP groups around the UK that use the Minds Eye Theatre system. As they’re using the same systems and their characters are compatible they can move between games.
This can be very useful when starting out. If you can find another local group, you can trade players. Players can come from their game to help boost numbers in your game and vice versa.
You can also buy a commercial game and adapt it to your own preference if there are aspects of the game you don’t like.
Alternatively you could write your own LRP system. Be warned this can be a very time consuming process, and is not as easy as it sounds (voice of experience here). The amount of effort required is based mostly upon the question below
Question 3
How many rules?
How complicated do you want your rules system. This can be broken down into 2 main sections which are combat and “skills”. The principal purpose of LRP is to enable you the real person to portray actions as your character that you would not be able to perform in real life, whether this is shooting someone dead or turning into a bat.
Combat and the skills / powers probably take up a sizeable proportion of any LRP rulebook.
Does the combat have a simple 1 hit per location, or a more complex battle-board style game (where the hit system is more detailed and at the end of each encounter a referee calculates how much damage everyone has taken). This should be primarily determined by the style of play you are proposing. If a referee is not going to be present at all times then a battle board system is not going to work. Vice versa, you might want something a little more “heroic” where players can take a number of hits in which case a system where players must keep track of their own hits would be difficult.
Likewise for Skills. You need to find some way of representing certain feats and advantages that a character has. Do you want a list of skills as long as your arm in order to cover every eventuality, or have no skills at all and that only those actions that can be performed are permitted ? The reality is that something in the middle is probably the best. How far in each direction you want to go is up to you. A lengthy list of skills does mean that there is variety and that most situations have defined rules to back them up, however long lists can be cumbersome, especially if all the players and monsters need to memorise the effects of each one
Some games have no rules at all. These are called Freeforms and work in a similar way to “murder mystery evenings”. These work well in games where there is no need to resolve any combats or conflicts, or with a sufficiently mature team of players and “monsters”. This style of play is not particularly recommended for less experienced groups
RULES DISPUTES
The most important thing to remember is that the overall flow and spirit of the game should take precedence over any ruling dispute. Ensure that you know your own rules back to front and inside out. If you can have a copy on you whilst playing then even better. Even referees get it wrong sometimes
If there is a dispute over the interpretation of a rule, then either the organiser or a referee should make a decision based on the circumstances that are relevant at the time. This does not mean a permanent change in rules, just that they referee is deciding upon each case on its merits. Allow each person involved in the dispute to put their point across, but explain clearly that the referees decision is final
