Rules Primer

This is just a basic overview of the way the rules system works, for the benefit of those of you new to LARP, as I know some of you are, and to serve as a reminder and/or clarification for veteran players.

At present, it consists mainly of the basic system, complications, and clarifications; I may also do a "cheat sheet" for combat and cantrip-casting.

Challenges

• The Basic System
• Resolving Ties
• Negative Traits
• Bonus Traits and Penalties
• Relenting
• Retests
• Static Challenges
• Simple Tests
• The Mob Scene

The Basic System

The basic rules mechanic is the Challenge, in which you and your opponent define your goal, risk an appropriate Attribute trait (Physical, Mental, or Social, usually each of you bidding from the same category), and then play rock-paper-scissors. (Remember that Paper covers Rock, Rock crushes Scissors, Scissors cuts Paper. Some specific Merits, Treasures, or other powers allow certain characters to use a fourth sign, "the Bomb," which looks like a fist with the thumb sticking out. The Bomb blows up Rock and Paper, but Scissors cuts its fuse.) The winner achieves her goal; the loser fails to achieve his goal and loses the trait he risked. (Losing traits represents frustration or loss of faith in one's abilities, according to the official explanation.)

And that's the game system in a nutshell. Everything else is just fine-tuning.

Example: Bruno the Ogre is going to wallop Edna the Eshu with his fists. This is obviously a Physical challenge.

Bruno: I'm gonna give you such a "Ferocious" wallopin'.
Edna: I think I'm "Quick" enough to hit you with my chimerical sword before you get close.

Each character has defined his or her goals: Bruno wants to punch Edna, Edna is going to stab Bruno. They then play rock-paper-scissors. Bruno throws Rock, Edna Scissors, meaning that Bruno wins. Edna fails to hit the ogre, loses her "Quick" trait for the rest of the game (unless she chooses at some point to spend a Willpower trait to get all of her Physical traits back), and takes damage from Bruno's fist: one real health level.

Now, some of our players use an abbreviated form of this, trusting that the other person is using an appropriate trait:

Bruno: Physical challenge: I'm punching you.
Edna: Then I'm stabbing you back.
(They play rock-paper-scissors; Edna loses, marks off the damage, and crosses out a Physical trait appropriate to weapon combat.)

This looser system will probably come up, which is why I include it here, but I encourage everyone to bid specific traits and to try to work it into in-character dialogue if you can do it without feeling too silly about it.

Note that a "test" is a single bout of rock-paper-scissors; a "challenge" may involve more than one test (see below, under retests). The challenge goes on until there is a clear victor, a draw, or someone relents. Note also that, e.g., a combat will usually have more than one challenge before it is decided.

Finally, in tabletop/pen-and-paper role-playing games, you may be used to rolling dice for each person's attack or other action. You will note that in this live-action system, both parties' actions are resolved with a single challenge.

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Resolving Ties

Now what if Edna and Bruno had both thrown Scissors? In that case, they must declare the number of Physical traits they have (including any Bonus traits -- see below), starting with the challenger. So if Bruno has 12 traits and Edna 7, then Bruno wins the tie.

You're allowed to say you have fewer traits than you really do -- but not more -- if you're trying to hide your full capability. Clarification/House Rule: Don't underestimate your opponent here; if you say you only have 7 traits when you really have 11, and then your opponent says she has 8, you can't turn around and say, "Oh, actually I have 11." Also, for the purpose of any retests (see below), you can't use any more traits during the current challenge than you declared initially. You must have pulled your punch. Next turn, you can hit harder.

If both declare the same number of traits, it's considered a draw, and both parties lose the trait they bid. Nobody gets to hit/impress/command anyone.

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Negative Traits

Negative traits aren't just a way of buying extra Arts in character creation; they have an effect on challenges. Most characters have negative traits, as do all of the common weapons and many other items. Some Negative traits are obvious; every boggan is going to be "Gullible," for instance, and every knife is "Short." Other Negative traits are (ideally) expressed through roleplay; that guy limping everywhere just might be "Lame," unless he stubbed his toe out of character. If you know or suspect that someone has a Negative trait, or is using an item with one in the challenge, you can often call them on it, and make the challenge riskier for them. You must guess the Negative trait during the outset of the challenge. If you guess right, your opponent must risk a second trait to enter into the challenge, or else he loses automatically. But if you guess wrong, you yourself have to risk a second trait -- you were counting on a weakness your opponent did not, in fact, have.

Negative traits do not apply in all challenges, but they often do count in challenges involving other categories. "Violent," for example, is a Negative Mental trait, but you can call your opponent on it in a Physical or Social challenge ("You're too 'Violent' to aim your blow properly" or "You're too 'Violent' to impress me with your diplomacy"). However, the fact that someone's gun is "Loud" doesn't matter at all if there is no one around to hear it, or if the shooter is unconcerned about witnesses.

You can try to use more than one Negative trait in a challenge, but you should have some good reason to suspect that the trait applies; randomly guessing several until one sticks is poor form.

If you have taken more than one of the same Negative trait -- "Condescending x3," for instance -- and someone calls you on "Condescending" in an appropriate challenge, you must bid an extra trait for each level of the Negative trait you have.

Both parties in a challenge may try to use Negative traits.

Example 1: Back to Edna and Bruno. With Negative traits, their initial round of combat might have looked like this:

Bruno: I'm going to give you a "Ferocious" punch, girly-girl.
Edna: I'm too "Quick" for you, and you'll be dead where you stand.
Bruno: Are you sure? That longsword of yours looks awful "Heavy."
Edna: [Giving him a venomous look] Yeah, I'm sure. I've got a "Steady" hand.
Bruno: You rhymed.
(They play rock-paper-scissors, and Bruno wins. Edna loses *two* Physical traits -- "Quick" and "Steady" -- and takes a level of damage.)

Example 2: Captain Spaceweasel the pooka is trying to "Fuddle" a redcap into believing that said redcap is a fuzzy lap cat, and guesses badly, but the redcap guesses better.

Captain: I'm so "Beguiling" and you're so "Gullible" that you think you're a fuzzy lap-cat.
Redcap: Well, I'm too "Intimidating" for you to want to hit me with some stupid pooka cantrip. And I ain't at all "Gullible," but I figure you must be too "Impatient" to cast the cantrip right. What's a space weasel taste like, anyway?
Captain: Oh. Well, good thing I'm, uh, feeling particularly "Beguiling" today, not to mention "Persuasive."
(Captain Spaceweasel has guessed a Negative trait that the redcap doesn't have, and so he, not the redcap, has to risk an extra trait in the challenge. Furthermore, the redcap has guessed one of the Captain's Negative traits, and so he must risk a further trait. If the Captain loses the cantrip challenge, he also loses two "Beguiling" traits and a "Persuasive" trait.)

(This is probably a good place for a reminder that even though you should try to stay in-character during challenges, your character may not know that he is, e.g., the target of a cantrip, even if you as a player do -- although if some pooka is spinning around widdershins while saying "You're a fuzzy lap cat! You're a fuzzy lap cat!" one cannot rule out the possibility of a cantrip casting. In any event, if a Storyteller is available and you wish to try a challenge that could conceivably be kept secret from the other party in the challenge, you can use the ST as an intermediary.)

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Bonus Traits and Penalties

Some conditions grant bonus traits in a challenge that you can add to your total for comparison in a tie or for attempting (or resisting) an overbid (see below under Retests), although unless otherwise specified these cannot be used as bidding traits. Most commonly, these come from items, Merits, cantrip effects, or Bunk traits, but there could be other sources.

Example 1: Guido currently has 7 Physical traits. A normal broadsword has three bonus traits. Thus, Guido has ten traits for comparison in a Physical challenge using his broadsword.

Example 2: Lady Maleficent has 12 Mental traits, and performs a three-trait Bunk for her Soothsay cantrip. In the cantrip challenge, she is considered to have 15 traits.

Wounds, Flaws, and other situations may reduce your trait total. You do not actually lose those traits automatically as a result of the penalty; rather, your trait total is considered to be less than it actually is when resolving ties or overbids.

Example: Sir Gorthang, a troll who currently has 11 Physical traits of his very own, has been "Bruised" in combat with a dangerous chimera, and is one trait down in all challenges. If the next rock-paper-scissors test against the chimera is a tie, he is considered to have only ten traits (not counting any bonus traits from his weapon, of course, if he is using one) when he compares his trait total against the beast's.

Finally, even worse conditions, like Flaws, wounds, or facing multiple opponents, may require you to bid extra traits in a challenge, just as if someone were using your Negative traits against you. (Unfortunately, this penalty is cumulative with the effects of Negative traits.) If you are one bid down in a challenge (sometimes confusingly written "one trait down entering a challenge," as opposed to "in" a challenge), you must bid an additional trait to initiate or respond to the challenge.

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Relenting

As you can see, entering challenges is pretty risky, and you stand to lose traits as well as getting hurt or ensorcelled. As the game progresses, your traits can dwindle greatly if you keep losing challenges. Therefore, if you wish to preserve your precious traits in a trivial challenge, or in one which you figure you're likely to lose anyway, or if you just want to speed roleplay along, you can relent -- submit to the terms of the challenge without bidding a trait. The other party gets his way and you take some lumps, but don't lose any risked traits.

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Retests

The game system is set up so that more capable characters have a chance at overcoming the randomness of rock-paper-scissors, even if they lose the first test. Certain conditions allow you to call for a retest, meaning you can ignore the results of the first test and play rock-paper-scissors again. There are several conditions that make this possible, including Abilities, Overbidding, Willpower, and Merits, Birthrights/House Boons, or magic (cantrip effects and Treasures). Only one retest from each source is possible in the same challenge. (The only exception to this is when you are involved in a Mob Scene, in which case you can spend more than one level of an appropriate Ability to retest against multiple opponents.)

Retests usually involve risking a new trait. Since you lost the first test of the challenge, your earlier risked trait is gone. Your opponent still risks the same trait as before. If you keep retesting from different sources, you must risk a new trait for each one.

Note that your opponent can cancel your retest with a retest of his own (see below).

Ability retests

Most challenges involve an Ability of some sort. If you lose the initial test, you can spend a level of an appropriate Ability for a retest, meaning that it is gone for the rest of the game session, whether the retest goes your way or not.

Example: Bruno and Edna again; we'll return to the very first Bruno and Edna example, and add retests.

Bruno: I'm gonna give you such a "Ferocious" wallopin'.
Edna: I think I'm "Quick" enough to hit you with my chimerical sword before you get close.

They play rock-paper-scissors. Bruno wins, either outright (rock breaks scissors), or by winning the tie (having more traits when they both throw rock). Edna knows a thing or two about swordfightin', though, and is not about to put up with that. She sadly crosses off the "Quick" trait, spends a level of the "Melee" Ability, and continues the challenge.

Edna: I "Brutally" bring my full "Melee" prowess to bear. Eat steal, ogre boy.
Bruno: Yeah, whatever. I'm still "Ferocious," though.

They play rock-paper-scissors again, and this time Edna wins, covering rock with paper. The ogre suffers two health levels of chimerical damage from Edna's sword, and loses his "Ferocious" trait. Edna is victorious in the challenge -- at the cost of a "Quick" trait and a level of "Melee."

Overbidding

Another common means of calling for a retest is the overbid, which gives the strong a chance to crush the weak, even if the weak get lucky with dueling hand signals. If you have just lost a test, but suspect that, even without the trait you just risked and lost, you have at least twice as many appropriate traits as the other guy, you can call for an overbid. You then compare traits (again, you're allowed to say you have less -- but not more -- than you do, if you're feeling cocky), overbidder first, including any bonus traits, and keeping in mind any penalties, not to mention the fact that you have lost your initial bid. If you do have at least twice as many traits, you can risk a new trait and do a retest. If not, take your lumps and move on.

Example: Will Bruno and Edna ever be friends? Let us pretend that their first round of combat goes this way:

Bruno: I'm gonna give you such a "Ferocious" wallopin'.
Edna: I think I'm "Quick" enough to hit you with my chimerical sword before you get close.

Edna turns out to be right, throwing rock to his scissors. Bruno loses his "Ferocious" trait, but suspects that, as a mighty ogre, he should be able to overbid this weakling eshu, even though he is no longer at his full 12 traits.

Bruno: Actually, I am sure I'm much stronger than you. I am "Tireless" in my attempt to wallop you with my eleven traits.
Edna: Too bad. With my sword I have 7 traits.

Bruno could not overbid after all. He has to accept the initial outcome. If Edna had had only 5 traits or fewer, however, the ogre could have had his retest.

Willpower retests

In most Mental and Social challenges, if the defender (only) loses he can call for a retest by spending a Willpower trait, unless otherwise specified (e.g, in a cantrip description).

Example: Lord Venndale is trying to stride majestically through the great hall, but there's a stupid boggan in his way.

Lord V.: Stand aside, peasant! Make way for my "Gorgeous" self.
Boggan: I can see the tournament better where I am, my lord. I've always been so "Friendly" that I can't imagine you'd be this rude to me.

The boggan loses the first test. However, he is trying to look good in front of a fair satyr maiden (or fair satyr, in any event, leaving the question of maidenhood aside), and decides to stand his ground. He spends a Willpower trait, and risks another Social trait.

Boggan: You are indeed an awe-inspiring gentleman, my lord, but may I "Diplomatically" point out that there's more space for majestic striding in that direction?

Another bout of rock-paper-scissors leaves the boggan victorious. Both parties have lost one Social trait, and the boggan is also down one Willpower, but maybe he has managed to impress the satyr with his success at getting a mighty sidhe lord to divert his route.

This is as good a place as any to remind you that you must wait five minutes of in-character time before attempting again a failed Mental or Social challenge (not to be confused with retesting) against the same person.

Merits/Birthrights/Magic

Other retests work the same way: Whether invoking the "Luck" Merit to get out of a tight spot, relying on the Eiluned House Boon to retest a cantrip, or using a magic shield that lets you retest when defending against a melee attack, you declare the retest and risk a second trait, since the first one is gone. Your opponent, the winner of the first test, continues to risk her first trait.

Canceling Retests

If you call for a retest, and your opponent can also retest, he may invoke his retest to cancel yours before it happens, forcing you to accept the original results. Strictly speaking, the retest should be from the same category (Abilities, etc.), but to streamline the system and cut back on rock-paper-scissors, in our game any retest may cancel another. The exceptions are Willpower retests, which must be played out unless used to cancel someone else's retest, and retests stemming from a Merit or magical source which explicitly say that they cannot be canceled.

When two retests cancel each other out, no further Attribute traits are lost or risked, and you follow the results of the first rock-paper-scissors test -- unless someone has another means of calling for a retest, of course, which might get canceled, and so on.

Example 1: Let us return to Bruno and Edna again. In the example above under "Ability" retests, if Bruno had had a spare level of the "Brawl" Ability, he could have canceled her "Melee" retest. In that case, unless Edna has some other retest possible (from a Merit, or some magic inherent in her chimerical sword) she would have taken damage from Bruno's fist, and lost her "Quick" trait, just as if no retest were attempted, and both characters would have spent an Ability.

Example 2: In the Lord Venndale-vs.-the-boggan example above under "Willpower" retests, Lord Venndale has no way of canceling the boggan's retest, as it comes from spending a Willpower trait. However, he does have the "Leadership" Ability. After the boggan's Willpower retest, Venndale, determined to do get this damn commoner out of his way, spends his "Leadership" Ability and risks another trait ("Intimidating" or "Commanding," perhaps). The boggan has no retest to counter with (or perhaps decides to save a precious "Luck" retest for something less trivial), so he puts up his "Diplomatic" trait again and yet a third bout of rock-paper-scissors takes place in this one challenge. At the end of it, Venndale wins the challenge. The boggan has lost one "Friendly" trait, one "Diplomatic" trait and a Willpower trait; Venndale has lost one "Gorgeous" trait and a level of "Leadership."

Example 3: Now suppose that the boggan had beaten Lord Venndale in the very first test. The sidhe then attempts a retest from "Leadership." As a defender in the challenge, the boggan can counter with a Willpower retest. Effectively, he spends a Willpower trait and no retest takes place whatsoever. The boggan has in this version lost only a Willpower trait, whereas Venndale is down a "Gorgeous" trait and a wasted level of his "Leadership" Ability.

Note that certain items or powers grant retests that are supposed to be the last retest in any challenge, meaning that they can cancel but cannot be canceled by another retest, and no other retests take place afterwards.

Naturally, all this can get terribly complicated, as seen in one possible version of a full turn of combat between Bruno and Edna:

Bruno: I'm gonna give you such a "Ferocious" wallopin'.
Edna: I think I'm "Quick" enough to hit you with my chimerical sword before you get close.
Bruno: Looks pretty "Heavy," that sword does.
[Edna's sword does have the Negative trait "Heavy," and so she must risk an additional trait.]
Edna: Sigh. Yeah, but I've got a "Steady" hand.
[Bruno throws "paper" and Edna throws "rock."]
[She crosses off her "Quick" and "Steady" traits]
Bruno: Ha!
Edna: Not so fast. I'm too skilled in "Melee" to succumb to your feeble blow, and "Tenaciously" continue my attempt to impale you.
Bruno: I'm at least as good at "Brawling" as you are with the sword. Probably better.
[Edna crosses off a level of "Melee," and Bruno a level of "Brawl." No retest takes place.]
Edna: Yeah, but this is a sword of ogre-slaying, and I'm still "Tenacious."
Bruno: Sword of Ogre-Slaying? Let me see that card.
[She shows it to him; indeed, the sword gets a free retest when facing ogres.]
Bruno: Damn. But you're down a coupla traits, ain'tcha? I bet I'm twice as mighty as you with my 12 pristine traits!
Edna: Yup, I'm down to three, plus two for my sword. You would have been able to overbid me. Too bad you didn't look at the card closely enough, though: my ogre-slaying retest is the last in any challenge, and can't be canceled.
Bruno: Eshu bitch. Well, my "Ferocious"-ness hasn't lessened one bit.
[They play rock-paper-scissors, and both throw "scissors." They already know that Bruno has more traits than Edna.]
Edna: Ow. Just wait till next turn.
[Edna crosses off her "Tenacious" trait and marks a level of real damage from the ogre's fist. In the end, Bruno has won the challenge: he damaged Edna, and didn't get hurt himself. Edna has lost three Physical traits and an Ability, Bruno only an Ability.]

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Static Challenges

Often you will enter into a challenge that does not directly involve another player character. In this case, a Storyteller, Narrator, or handy nearby player will do the test with you to determine your success. You must risk a trait as normal, but on a tie you compare your traits (including any bonuses and penalties) to a set difficulty number. You may overbid, but so may the Narrator. Except for the fact that the Narrator is not bidding traits or retesting in other ways, this works like any other challenge.

Normally Static challenges come into play when using a cantrip (especially on yourself), using an Ability to solve a problem or gain information, and so forth. Often the difficulty is standard (a particular cantrip might have a difficulty equal to, e.g., the caster's Banality rating).

Sometimes a challenge will be described as "a Static challenge against a difficulty equal to your target's Mental traits" or some such. This means that in case of a tie you compare your traits to the relevant number of traits the target has, except the target does not risk a trait but neither can she retest against you (except with an overbid or, where explicitly permitted, Willpower).

Static challenges strictly speaking should involve only Attribute traits (Physical, Mental, or Social). Occasionally one finds a rule calling for a "Static Willpower challenge" or something of that sort; in my interpretation, that would actually be a Simple test (see below).

Example: Gruebel, an unseelie nocker, is attempting to hack into his mentor's private computer files to steal the design for a new portable Glamour battery. The Narrator calls for a Static Mental challenge using the "Computer" Ability, setting the difficulty at 10 (Goblin Bob's computer is reasonably secure). Gruebel bids a trait ("I have an 'Intuitive' way of guessing passwords") and plays rock-paper-scissors against the Narrator. He throws rock, the Narrator scissors; Gruebel has cracked security. -- After a little while, Gruebel, having the information he needs, wants to cover his tracks. The Narrator calls for another Static Mental challenge, this one at a difficulty of 12. Gruebel still has his "Intuitive" trait, of course, but decides to bid "Knowledgeable" instead. Both Gruebel and the Narrator throw paper, and compare traits. Gruebel has only 9 Mental traits; he loses his Knowledgeable trait. Unless Gruebel spends a level of his "Computer" Ability for a retest, the challenge is over, and Gruebel had better hope Goblin Bob doesn't feel like checking whether anyone has been reading his files.

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Simple Tests

Sometimes you will need to perform a test that does not involve risking traits. Most of the time this will be just plain old rock-paper-scissors, with no traits involved; any ties tend to go to the defender, if applicable, although some Simple tests will specify what happens in a tie.

Simple tests are often used to determine how successful an action is, where there is any doubt, or in casting certain cantrips, or in cases where the Storyteller doesn't have a rules mechanic in mind for what you want to do but thinks there should be a random chance of failure because life is like that.

Other times traits will be involved, usually to determine the results of a tie. For instance, a "Simple Glamour test, difficulty equal to 5" means that you play rock-paper-scissors against a Narrator or stand-in, and in the event of a tie, you win if your current Glamour rating is above 5. You do not, however, risk a Glamour trait. Usually there are no retests possible, unless otherwise specified.

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The Mob Scene

Any Storyteller's or serious roleplayer's nightmare is the Mob Scene, where a whole buncha people are mixin' it up. This can take a long time. The Mob Scene rule helps speed things along when one person is involved in a challenge involving multiple opponents. Usually this means that a group is ganging up physically on one target, or that, conversely, one person is challenging several people with a cantrip or Ability (or an item that affects more than one person).

(Note that a single person can usually be subjected to only one Social or Mental challenge in a single turn, but up to five or so Physical challenges, more or less depending on the circumstances.)

It's pretty simple, really. The person who is the focus of the Mob Scene must bid a trait for each opponent; if he can't, he must relent to those left over (fortunately, he gets to choose). His opponents bid normally. Things can get complicated with Negative traits, of course. Everyone plays rock-paper-scissors at once. The focal person compares his hand-signal to each of his opponents', and wins or loses against each opponent, as usual, complete with retests and so forth. This is an exception to the "only one retest from each source per challenge" rule; the focal person may attempt an Ability retest against each opponent, if he can.

The individual focus of the challenge can get "softened up" pretty quickly; if Opponent A beats him, he has one less trait for comparison against Opponent B, and so on down the line.

In a Mob Scene Physical challenge, the lone defender can generally wound only one opponent, unless he has multiple actions or, say, a shotgun or something, and it must be someone whom he has beaten in the challenge.

Example: Edna, humiliated at being hurt by Bruno the ogre, gets four of her eshu pals to help her jump him a few days later. Each eshu bids a Physical trait; the ogre must bid five Physical traits to respond to their challenge. Everyone plays rock-paper-scissors. Edna throws "rock," Eshu A "scissors," Eshu B "rock," Eshu C "paper," and Eshu D "rock." The ogre has also thrown "rock." Edna loses the tie, and wants a "Melee" retest. Bruno cancels with "Brawl" but has to let her have her Ogre-slaying retest, which he loses. On to Eshu A, whom Bruno has beaten outright. Eshu B is a tie, but even one trait down (thanks to his loss to Edna), Bruno has more traits and wins against B as well.

Eshu C has beaten the ogre outright, so Bruno spends another level of "Brawl" for a retest and risks yet another trait. Eshu C's luck holds, however, and Bruno loses. Two traits and two "Brawl" retests down, Bruno goes on to Eshu D, against whom he had had a tie. Alas, those two traits tip the challenge in D's favor, and Bruno has no more "Brawl" levels left.

Bruno has lost to Edna, Eshu C, and Eshu D, and beaten Eshu A and B. Edna and her successful companions inflict a whole bunch of damage on the ogre, whereas he has only managed to punch one opponent (either A or B; Bruno gets to pick). In the next turn, Bruno might consider running, if he's smarter than the average ogre...

Cantrips that involve the Scene Realm work the same way, although the caster might not be required to risk a trait for each target.

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