Age Of

Iron
 Hearken, warriors of fortune!

The chosen children of Acacius have fallen before the savage abyss.
Years of exploration, of diplomacy, of heroism; all teeter on the brink of collapse.
The lengthening shadows draw fresh chaos from the night,
and even the bravest cower before the encroaching tide.
Bastions of enlightenment have crumbled before the rot in the world,
and servants of iniquitous demons gather,
to tear the gods screaming from the heavens.

Yet this is not a hopeless age;

Fires still burn in the hearts of the Righteous.
The souls of the Just remain defiant.

All that is needed,

is for those with the courage to make a stand,
to rise united;
to strike at the wicked,
the bitter and the craven,
to cast off all those that have pulled them down,
and build a new and glorious world.

This is your chance to forge the shape of the future.

Your chance to steal opportunity from the fickle whims of fate.

This is an age in which those that act will see their names etched in eternity,
while those that falter will fall into ignominy.

It is an age in which reptiles lament lost glories,

while striving to carve a new niche in the world

It is an age in which mud-encrusted beasts

pose as foul mockeries of humanity.

It is an age of legend.

An age of blood.

An Age of Iron!
 Introduction

Welcome to Age of Iron, a LARP system run by, and for, members of the University of York Sci-fi
and Fantasy Society.

During term times, we run two sessions of role-play each week. In these, you take on the role of a
character of your own devising, and throw them into a world of high adventure. Your character will
have the opportunity to mingle with heroes, fight against villains, and gain great riches, all while
you have a fantastically fun time!

This guide outlines the nature of the game and the rules of play, as well as offering advice on how to
create fulfilling characters and awesome kit. There are sundry other helpful things in here as well,
but should you have any questions, or simply desire to find out more, just get in touch with the
friendly ref team. We are the people who will be organising and running the game, and it is our job
to make everything happen.

We will be there at all Age of Iron sessions, and also have an email address:

bigfootsanddinosaurs [at] gmail.com

And a website:

www.ageofiron.co.uk

While you're on the internet, check out our Twitter account;

@Age_Of_Iron
And our blog:

bigfootsanddinosaurs.blogspot.co.uk

For insurance purposes, anyone taking part in Age of Iron needs to be a member of the
University of York Sci-Fi and Fantasty Society.
How Age Of Iron Works
 What is LARP??
LARP stands for Live Action Role Play.

In a LARP game, people come together to role-play characters, pursue personal goals, and alter the
course of the game through their actions. There are rules that determine how armed conflicts are
resolved, but ends may be equally well met by persuasive speeches, under-hand dealings, or any
other method you can physically achieve.

In this case, Age of Iron sees the players banded together to create and safeguard the future of their
city. They will fight off threats to their home, further their own individual causes, and generally
follow whatever aims they have made for themselves.

Age of Iron usually runs on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Times and places will
vary, but will be regularly updated on the SF&F forums, our website, and our twitter account.

Most Wednesday nights take place in a room on campus, decked out to represent a pub called The
Golden Grain. These sessions allow your characters to discuss recent events, deal in goods or
services, or simply have an enjoyable drink.

On Sundays we head outside to allow the characters to get a little more energetic. They will often
have good cause to leave the safety of their city and venture into the wilderness beyond, where they
will inevitably have to fight the monsters and demons that populate the world.

In-Character,, Out-of-character ,, and Find Out In Play

( IC, OC, and FOIP)

While you are playing your character, you are 'In-Character', or 'IC.'

While you are not playing your character, you are 'Out-of-Character', or 'OC'.

When LARPing, we aim to achieve a sense of immersion. This means we want to forget that we are
using fake weapons in a modern world, and lose ourselves in the game. To this end, you should try
to avoid any reference to the real world while IC.

While IC, you represent your character, and should strive to act as your character would. So, if you
have had a leg ripped to pieces IC, you should act as though you are in great pain, even though OC,
your leg is fine. Conversely, while IC, people will see your actions as your character's actions. So,
for example, should you wish to play a humourless character, you need to actually avoid laughing,
rather than saying that your OC laughter is not happening IC.

While OC, please avoid discussing information that is not widely-known. If, for example, you are
secretly planning to kill a character, do not tell other players OC. The term Find Out In Play, or
FOIP, is used to describe information better found in play. This includes knowledge your character
has gained in play, the abilities of your character, the details of monster briefs you have been given
by refs, and anything else that characters would not know about IC.
 Creating And Playing A Character
There are many ways to create and play a character. Some people create elaborate back-stories to
fuel their character and conversation. Others prefer to begin with only the vaguest idea of who they
are, and allow events to shape their person in play. Often a mixture of these two ideas is best,
beginning with a good idea of where your character came from, but being ready to allow your
character to evolve as the world changes around them.

The first step to creating a character is to understand the setting. Age of Iron allows you to play one
of three races; humans, hirsute troll creatures, and squamous reptile people. All of these races
include various cultures, giving you wide range of choice when formulating your own story. Each
race has its own detailed guide to help you build a character, but a brief outline of each race will be
given later to help you decide which you would like to read.

Who Are You And Why Are You Here ?

Once you know what race you would like to play, there are two questions that rise above all others;
where did you come from and why are you here?

The first question is not a matter of where you live on the map. It is the question of how you were
raised, how you see the world, how you act, and what you believe in. Refs love to read these
backgrounds; it gives them all sorts of plot ideas. We will want to check your background before
you head into play. We may suggest some changes, perhaps to make your story fit a little more
snugly into the world, or perhaps to set up all sorts of exciting adventures!

It is important to remember that your character will have a somewhat personal bias, and how you
see characters and occurrences in your background may be somewhat distorted. The refs have final
say on how events actually pan out.

The question of why you are here relates to why you have joined with the other players. The game
centres around a group of adventurers who have any number of reasons to be there. Fame, glory,
riches, all may be sought amid their ranks. It is worth considering the nature of your goals; and what
your character will do after they are accomplished.

For example, if a character wants to avenge their father's death by killing the person responsible,
what would they do after the vengeance has been achieved? What if they never find the murderer?
This would, of course, be a perfectly valid character aim, but simply adding the need to find a place
in the world where you 'fit in' opens up extra role-play opportunities.

Other character aims may be more open ended. A character that simply wishes to become as rich as
possible will always have more riches to gain, no matter how many riches they already have.

It is also useful to think of character aims that could branch out and develop in numerous ways. So,
for example, that character that wishes to become as rich as possible will eventually need to find
someone to build a massive vault to contain their riches. Then they may want to learn how to swim
so they can dive through their piles of gold. Add in the wacky hi-jinks of their three dinosaur
nephews, and the plots practically write themselves!

Another consideration is how much your character knows. The setting guides allow you to play
people from various places in society, so they hold more information than an individual may know.
Never be afraid to play an ignorant character, it is much easier than playing a smart character!
Picking Skills So You Can Rock Out !

Once you know who you are, it is time to select some skills.

Every character has enough physical strength to go about their daily life, can pick up a simple
weapon and hit an enemy with it, and can wear an armoured jerkin to gain some protection.

Beyond such everyday activity, your abilities are dictated by a list of skills. These skills can take
many forms. The ability to read and write, proficiency with weapons, knowledge of magics, skills
in working metal and other materials, all these and more are represented by skills.

These skills cost a number of Awesome Points, or AP. These points demonstrate how awesome your
character is. When creating a character, you start off with 12 Awesome Points, with which to buy
skills before you enter play. Further Awesome Points will be gained every time you attend an Age
Of Iron session, allowing your character to become even more awesome.

Some skills represent a lifetime of studying, or physical qualities possessed since birth. Such skills
are generally only available at character creation; to gain such skills later in life would require great
effort. Other skills can be obtained whenever you have saved up enough Awesome Points.

For more information on how to create and sustain a character, check out our website.
Uptime And Downtime

Whenever you are playing your character at an Age of Iron session, you are experiencing 'uptime'.

Between the game sessions, a roughly equivalent time is experienced by your character. This is
referred to as 'downtime'. Even though your character is not played during downtime, they can still
find their way to adventure. All you need to do is write a description of what you want to do into the
downtime section of our website, and send it off for the refs to respond to in due course.

If you have been to either of our weekly sessions, you will be allowed to submit a downtime.

When submitting downtimes, try to write them as an intended plan. We will then respond with a
description of how your plans went. It helps to give us a few details of how you want your plans to
work. As an example, compare the following downtimes from three people who want to hunt bears:

1. I would like to go on a bear hunt.

2. I assemble a group of fellow adventurers (they should also be sending in downtimes). We'll
make use of the savings in my account to buy hunting equipment and a box of sandwiches.
When we come to the river, if we can't find a way to cross it, we'll have to swim through it.
When we come to the mountains, if we can't find a way around them, we'll have to climb
over them. We expect to find bears in caves, so we'll be checking them out. If we find and
kill a bear, I'll use my special skills to take the pelts for selling.

3. We spent this week hunting bears! We crossed the river by making a pile of corpses out of
zombies, and I tunnelled through the mountains with nothing but my teeth! We eventually
found six bears, and I killed them with my fists! Now I would like six bear pelts added to
my inventory. Also, one of them was wearing a magical amulet, so I would like that as well.

The first downtime tells us what you want to do, but doesn't give us much to work with. It is
important when submitting downtimes that you give us plenty of details about your plan. Make it
clear why you are taking this action and what you hope to achieve from it. This makes it much
easier for us to write an appropriate response.

The second downtime is much better. It outlines a plan and objectives, and also gives some
alternative options in case the main plan fails.

The third downtime makes the mistake of writing its own response. It is up to the ref how many
zombies and bears and magic amulets you encounter in a downtime, you don't get to decide it for
yourself.
Actions!

When writing a downtime, you will have the opportunity to submit 1 major action and 5 minor
actions each week. These actions can not be carried over to future weeks, nor can downtimes be
submitted for weeks long past.

Major actions

The following downtime intentions would count as major actions.

1) Changing the world, or making things happen. Whether it's making an impassioned speech
convincing people to rally against their reptilian overlords, making money with an ingenious get-
rich-quick scheme, building your reputation by buying drinks for everyone, or saving kittens from
trees, any plan that wishes to make a real impact on events would be best served by a major action.
Success will be dependent on your goal's feasibility, how good your plan is, and how interesting or
awesome what you're doing is. Any action that takes you more than a day's journey away from your
current location will always be a major action.

2) Research. When you want your character to find out particular information from other sources,
perform first-hand investigations, conduct some detective work, library reading, magical
experimentation, or everything between and beyond, you need to start some major action research.
Anything that involves finding out information from other people will require details on where
you're going and/or who you're asking for information. Anything that involves first hand research
may be limited by your character's background and skills.

3) Training other characters. You may teach another character any skills that can be gained through
regular practice or study. That character will get a bonus to learning any skill that you have. If there
are any skills you know that you do not want to teach for any reason, you can say so. You can also
train large groups of people in certain skills as specified by your character sheet. If there are any
characters you do not want to teach for any reason, you can say so. Training single characters is
more effective than training multiple characters.

Minor Actions

Minor actions cover anything you want to do that doesn't require much effort from your character,
and that can effectively be answered with "okay". This includes giving information to people you
know how to find, moving money or items, getting drunk, praying, shopping, etc.

Can't Think Of Anything To Do ?

Sometimes, your character might not have anything they feel like doing during the week. That's
cool; downtimes are not compulsory!

Buying More Skills !

Between role-playing sessions, you will be awarded extra AP to buy more skills. You can do this by
accessing our website.
 A Few Important Points

Before we get stuck in to all the rules, it is worth pointing out a few key points that everyone should
remember when LARPing.

It's Just A Game...

This game sometimes requires people to play despicable monsters, but the actual players could well
be all soft and cuddly. The game may require people to play violent and abusive psychopaths, but
the people cast in these roles are probably actually quite nice.

If there is an aspect of the game that you are not comfortable with, feel free to come and have a chat
with the refs. We want everyone to have a good time, so will treat all your issues seriously. Should
there be something you are not comfortable doing, we won't ask you to do it. If you need a break,
we'll let you have a break. If you have other places to be, we will understand.

It's just a game; we all want to have fun. Should anyone act in a way that disrupts the game, we
reserve the right to ask them to leave play.

… But Your Character's Don't Know That!

In order to simulate the flow of combat, we use a variety of out-of-character calls to represent
damage and magical effects. When talking in character, please avoid using these terms, there are
plenty of better words to describe the world.

For example, “The claws of those cadaverous beasts pierced my armour!” is a much more exciting
thing to say than “Those zombies call 'through'.”

Another important aspect of the game is the boundary between IC and OC knowledge. For example,
you may know a monsters specific weakness due to having played such a monster yourself, but
your character may not know how to defeat it.

The World Of Kairos Is Not Our World

Age of Iron takes place on the fictional planet of Kairos. As this world is fictional, it would be a
mistake to assume that its natural laws match those of our own planet. Your knowledge of science,
your views on religion, your political stance, all are probably redundant, and ill-suited to the
challenges you shall face. For example, across Kairos it is widely known that white objects are
white because they soak up so much light, while black objects are black because they repel all light.
The setting guides will hopefully give you an idea of the social context from which your character
rises, but if you have any questions feel free to ask a ref.
 How To LARP Fight
Age of Iron is a combat heavy LARP system. Many occasions will arise that will lead to characters
hitting others with weapons.

We aim for a cinematic fighting style. Think about the amazing fights you have seen in your
favourite fantasy films. They are choreographed to look good, rather than accurately represent the
horrors of war. This is what we aim for in Age of Iron.

There are a few easy ways to achieve this.

First, remember that, in-character, your weapon is heavier than the foam object representing it. You
will need to put in effort to wield your weapons, and making long, dramatic swings between each
blow is a good way of showing this.

With weapons as light as LARP weapons fast fighting is possible, but it is both against the spirit of
the game and, more importantly, very unsafe! Make sure that you are not swinging your weapons
too fast. People speak of a '1 Second Rule' which states that you should leave one second or more
between each blow, and if you are keeping your movement fluid and natural between each of these
blows then it is a good regulator of a safe fighting style.

Try to avoid rapidly hitting the same location on your enemy. This is sometimes called 'drum-
rolling', because it resembles the playing of drums rather than heroic fighting. It looks good if your
weapon hits a different part of the body on each swing, but if you do want to hit the same place
again and again, remember to leave a moment between each blow. Try using this moment to draw
back your weapon and begin another dramatic swing!

It is worth mentioning that experience in martial sports is not as helpful in LARP as it may at first
appear. Because this is not real fighting, real fighting styles do not often adapt well to LARP. It is
often best to come to LARP with an open mind, and learn everything anew.

When in doubt, simply try to look dramatically awesome!

Hand Fighting!

While many fights will involve taking up arms against your foes, some will involve making use of
your hands. This will happen when you need to represent the use of claws or unarmed combat, or
for the application of magic effects.

When you use your hands, you should hold them flat, placing your palm on your target as though
playing 'Tag'. Remember to fight slowly and safely, pulling your blows!

Never use a clenched fist while fighting, even when representing a punch. Always use flat hands.

Head Hits!

Though the head is a valid target, we greatly discourage people from hitting others on the head. Just
don't do it. If you wish to target a head because it is the only available part of your enemy to hit,
move extra slow, and pull your blow extra carefully. The only reason the head is a target is to stop
people using it as an impenetrable shield, which, as you may imagine, causes no end of problems.
 Safety
Safety is of the greatest importance in LARP. If you are ever in doubt about whether someone is
acting safely, talk to a ref. Accidents do happen, but it is better for us to take the responsibility of
dealing with an unsafe player.

Man Down!
The Man Down call is used to alert people to an out of character emergency. Such emergencies may
include injury, glasses falling off, or anything else that makes fighting unsafe. Do not be afraid to
use this call if you are possibly injured.

Upon hearing this call, stop what you are doing, and kneel or crouch so the first aider can better see
what is happening around them. Repeat the call until everyone has stopped.

Try not to crowd the person needing attention. Alert the first aider, and allow them to do their stuff.

Remember not to use “Man Down” as an in-character call. Should you wish to say that a character
needs healing, call for a healer, a medic, or anything else to get the point across.

Never stab with a LARP weapon !

LARP weapons are made of foam wrapped around a carbon-fibre core. The act of stabbing is most
likely going to send the core through the tip, and possibly into the person. There are such things as
stab-safe weapons: we do not allow people to stab with these. This is to prevent misunderstandings
of what is stab-safe and not.

Pull your blows!

Hold your weapon firmly but loosely, and make sure that you are attempting to only touch your
target with the weapon rather than really damage them. Although designed for minimal weight and
therefore damage, an unpulled blow can still hurt.

Sometimes you will have the ability to fight with your hands. Never, ever, aim at someone's face,
and only use light, open- handed 'tag' style contact.

Weapons checking
Only use ref- approved LARP weapons. We will make sure that your weapon is safe for use, and
make sure that everyone else's are too.
Age Of Iron: The Rules!
 Locations and Hit Points
Your character's body has 6 locations:

1 Head
1 Chest
2 Arms
2 Legs

These locations each have a number of hit points. These hits are known as 'Locational Hits,' or 'Hits
Per-Location'. This may be shortened to Hits Per, or HP.

When you create your character, you begin with 1 hit per-location. You will be given the
opportunity to use AP to buy more hits, either at character creation, or in subsequent downtimes.

During play, hit points can be reduced and gained through various means. For example, being hit by
a weapon may reduce your current number of hit points. Drinking a healing potion may increase
your current number of hit points.

Should any location be reduced to 0 hit points, the location has been badly injured. This does not
mean that the location is completely destroyed; limbs and head will still be attached to your body,
your heart will still be in place, your innards will not be spilled excessively across the field. It
simply means that the location has been cut up so much that it can no longer perform its usual basic
functions.

If one of your arms is reduced to 0 hit points, you can no longer use it. Put down anything held in
that hand, such as weapons, shields, or other objects. Try not to move the arm, beyond letting it fall
to your side. React to your character's predicament as you believe is appropriate.

If one of your legs is reduced to 0 hit points, you can no longer use it. Fall to the ground, and role-
play reacting to your character's less than ideal situation. You are unable to walk unaided, and
certainly cannot hop. Should you find your body in an appropriate position, you may continue
fighting. If both your hands are free, you may slowly drag your body across the floor.

Should either your head or chest be reduced to 0 hit points, your character enters their 'death-count'.
They fall unconscious, and are unaware of everything happening around them. You should fall to
the ground, and role-play appropriately. While unconscious you are obviously unable to watch or
react to events around you or make conversation, either IC or OC. If you feel you would be falling
into an unsafe area, feel free to take a step or two to move out of the way.

The death-count lasts 120 seconds (2 minutes, but seconds are easier to count). Should your
character reach the end of this death-count, the character is dead. Please continue to play the part of
a corpse for as long as is appropriate.

There are various ways of regaining hit points which may propel you out of your death-count. There
are also ways of extending your death-count.

Occasionally some characters will have 'Non-locational Hits'. This means that their entire body
counts as a single location, with a single total of hits. You will be briefed by a ref should you play
such a character.

The number of hit points on a location cannot fall below 0, no matter how much damage sustained.
 Damage Calls
Damage calls are used to indicate that something harmful has affected a character, causing their hit
points to decrease. If you strike at someone with a weapon, you will be able to say a damage call
that will tell them how they are to take the blow. Your character sheet will tell you what calls you
may use.

There are five damage calls, each conveying an instruction to the person affected:

Single – Take a single point of damage to the struck location.

Double – Take two points of damage to the struck location.

Triple – Sensing a pattern? Take three points of damage to the struck location.

Quad – You guessed it! Take four points of damage to the struck location.

Loc Zero – The wild card of the pack; loc zero is short for 'location to zero'. The struck location is
reduced to zero hit points and zero armour points.

Should you hear these calls aimed at others, assume they represent increasingly loud rending of
flesh, shattering of armour, or whatever seems appropriate for the current situation.

Healing
After a character has taken damage, their hit points may be restored in various ways. Medical aid,
regenerative magics, and alchemical potions are just a few of the ways that an adventurer may
regain strength.

The call Heal is used to communicate the restoring of hit points.

A location affected by a heal call will regain hit points equal to the numerical value indicated.
As such, single heal would restore 1 hit point to the affected location, double heal would restore
two hit points, and so on.

The call Full Heal would restore all the hit points to the affected location.

It is usually obvious if the person making these calls is attempting to heal you or hurt you, but
should you fear others may get confused in the heat of battle, you may call Heal Single, or Heal
Double, and so on. This would allow the word 'heal' to be the first part of the call they hear, and
prevent any hilarious misunderstandings.

Healing cannot restore more hit points than your character possesses. So, should a character
suffering from 1 point of damage receive a double heal, the extra point of healing would have no
effect.

A person can look at an unconscious body and determine if it is possible to snatch them from the
jaws of death. If, while on your death-count, you are asked “is there life left in you?” feel free to say
yes or no as an OC call.
 Armour
There are four types of armour; mundane, bespoke, natural, and magical armour.

Mundane Armour

Mundane armour is armour that is commonly available, such as leather jerkins, chain-mail
hauberks, or suits of plate.

When you wear mundane armour, any location at least 50% covered in armour gains a number of
armour points. Your character sheet will tell you how many armour points such protection bestows
upon you.

Should a location be hit with a damage call, mundane armour points will be depleted before hit
points. Damage affects mundane armour in the same way that it affects hit points. For example, a
well equipped adventurer with 3 armour points would see armour on a location destroyed by 3
single calls, or 1 triple call. A call of double would destroy 2 armour points, and a second call of
double would destroy the final armour point as well as causing 1 hit point of damage.

Mundane armour can only be repaired by people with the specific skills to do so.
Bespoke Armour

Bespoke armour is armour that has been specially made by skilled hands. Each piece of bespoke
armour is individually crafted, making them unique pieces of art. Bespoke armour will have a
lammie (see below) that explains any special rules that apply to that particular piece. When first
looking at bespoke armour, you may need to look it over for a while to understand how it works;
seeing where all the straps go, making sure the metal plates are in the right place, and so on. The
time it takes to do this is represented by the time taken for you to read the lammie.

Phys­Reps And Lammies

Age of Iron is a game of valiant paladins, hideous monsters, and dinosaur-people. Unfortunately,
monsters and non-avian dinosaurs are hard to come by, so we need to make do with reasonable
approximations.

This leads to the idea of a 'phys-rep', a short hand way of saying 'physical representation'. When
we talk of phys-reps, we mean that there is something actually present to represent what is
happening in the game. Phys-rep can be used to refer to the actions of your character; if you want
to dodge a blow, you must phys-rep getting out of the way. Phys-rep also describes the props and
make-up we use; if we need to send in a monster, we will endeavour to phys-rep it using an
appropriate costume.

There are some things that are impossible to phys-rep. We use set rules to phys-rep interactions
between players, which revolve around shouting simple 'calls' of communication between people.
Phys-reping inanimate objects, however, is not so simple. We use 'lammies', short for laminated
labels, to show if an object has special properties. If an object has a lammie attached, you will be
able to read the instructions printed on the lammie to discover any special qualities of the object.
Natural Armour

Natural armour takes such forms as hardened scales or bony plates; it is a living part of the person it
is protecting. Your character sheet will tell you if you are entitled to gain natural armour points

Should a location be hit with damage, natural armour points will be depleted before hit points.

Natural Armour turns calls of Double, Triple, Quad, or Sunder into a Single.

Natural armour cannot be repaired in the same way as mundane armour. It can be healed. Hit points
on a location will be healed before natural armour points.

For example, should a character with 3 hit points and 1 point of natural armour by hit by a double,
the natural armour would turn that into a single, and that point would be depleted. A further damage
call of double would affect the hit points as normal, reducing the character to 1 hit point.

That character may wish to use an alchemical potion to restore their health. A potion that called
triple heal would heal all three points of damage; both the hit points and the armour points. Should
they need to make do with potions calling single heal, the first two potions would restore the hit
points, and the third would heal the natural armour.

Magical Armour

Magical armour is a shell of supernatural power that encases the individual it protects. Anyone may
be granted magical armour by someone with the ability to do so.

Magical armour is always non-locational. For example, an adventurer with one point of magical
armour will have that point destroyed if they are hit on any location. Magical armour points will be
depleted before hit points. This works in the same way as mundane armour.

Magical armour cannot be repaired or healed. Only one magical armour effect may be used at a
time. If you are using magical armour, and are given magical armour by another effect, you may
choose which effect to use, but they do not stack.

Unless otherwise specified, magical armour only remains active for ten minutes or until the end of
combat. Enchanted damage ignores magical armour.
 Repairing Armour

The call Repair is used to indicate the restoring of armour points.

Mundane and Bespoke armour may be repaired. Natural and magical armour cannot be repaired.

A location affected by a repair call will regain armour points equal to the numerical value indicated.
As such, single repair would restore 1 armour point to the affected location; double repair would
restore 2 armour points, and so on.

The call Full Repair would restore all the armour points to the affected location.

As with the call heal, repair may be placed before the numerical value, should you wish to avoid
confusion.

Armour cannot be repaired in such a way as to become better than when it was first made. So,
should armour suffering from 1 point of damage receive a double repair, the extra repair point
would have no effect.

Wearing All The Armour !

You may find your character enjoying the benefits of multiple types of armour simultaneously.
Should this occur, there is a set order to how the damage is taken.

First, any magical armour is affected.

Second, any mundane or bespoke armour is affected.

Third, any natural armour is affected.

Finally, hit points are affected.

 Special­Effect Calls
Weapons do more than cut flesh, while magics or poisons do more than cause pain. The following
calls indicate that something extra-exciting is happening! These calls can be strung together to
cause all manner of interesting results.

Knock-back

This represents being struck with great force. Take two steps away from the source of the blow,
preferably dramatically! You may not attack or do anything skilful until the steps back have been
taken. Unless there is a different damage call attached, treat knock-back as including a single call.

Strike-down

This indicates a mighty blow that knocks you off your feet. Fall to the ground if it is safe to do so,
otherwise kneel for three seconds. You may not attack or do anything skilful until you return to your
feet. Unless there is a different damage call attached, treat strike-down as including a single call.

The Parrying Rule

Sometimes knock-backs and strike-downs will hit shields or weapons. Having failed to hit any body locations, this will
not cause damage, but the victim may still have to take the other effects.

Unless otherwise briefed, a knock-back or strike-down that lands on a shield will still affect the victim.

'Equal hands' worth of weaponry may parry the effects. So, a knock-back from a 2-handed weapon may be parried by
another two handed weapon, or two 1-handed weapons simultaneously. A knock-back from a 1-handed weapon may
be parried by a single 1-handed weapon. Any weapon below 18 inches in length may not parry such effects.

Sunder

This may represent a mighty blow that shatters rigid objects. If a sunder call hits a layer of armour,
it reduces those armour points to 0. If the sunder hits a shield, it counts as destroyed and should be
thrown aside. Sunder does nothing to hit points or natural armour, though any attached damage calls
will still apply.

Stun

This may represent a thunderous boom or a dazzling light. If affected by a stun, you should stop
fighting, and adopt a stable, dramatic stance, attempting to shield your face with your hands. Hold
this pose for three seconds. If shielding your eyes would be unsafe, avert them from the source of
the call instead. Do not close your eyes, as this is unsafe. While stunned, you may not resist magic.

Paralysis

May represent being magically frozen in place or any similar effect. You are unable to move, speak,
or resist magic for 30 seconds. You are still conscious during this time, and are as aware of your
surroundings as you would otherwise be. While paralysed, you may be moved by other people.

Repel

Represents a magical force pushing you away. If affected by a repel call, move until you are 30'
away from the caster and stay away from them for 30 seconds. As magic is inherently unstable,
anyone using a repel call may only move at a steady walk; if they start to run, the repel effect ends.
Permanent

Permanent may be attached to other special-effect calls, signifying that they remain in play
regardless of their usual expiry time. For example, a 'Permanent Paralysis' would not end after 30
seconds, but continue freezing the victim indefinitely.

Burn

Usually represents particularly searing damage, for example from fire or a strong acid. Burn may be
attached to damage calls to signify that the wounds may not be healed, be they inflicted on hit
points, or natural armour points. This is similar to the permanent call, but has the distinction that
burn is only attached to damage calls, while permanent is only attached to special-effect calls.

Enchanted

Enchanted is attached to calls to represent magical empowerment. Unless briefed otherwise, take
enchanted damage calls as normal. Enchanted weapons ignore magical armour in the same way as a
through call.

Poison

If a call prefixed by poison hits armour, it only counts as a single point of damage. If it strikes for
hit point damage, then take the full effect of the call. If you overhear the poison call, you may react
as if you can smell an acrid odour nearby or see vile goo smeared on the offending weapon.

Through

Represents a blow that either pierces, or finds the weak spot in armour. Through damage bypasses
all layers of armour to damage hit points directly. Armour points are left intact, for it is unlikely
other blows will strike the exact same place. Remember not to stab with a LARP weapon!

Command

Unless briefed otherwise, command, and any attached calls, have no effect.

Global

If global is attached to a call, it affects all body locations, regardless of which location was struck.

For example, 'global double' would inflict 2 points of damage on each location, 'global single heal'
would restore 1 hit point to each location, and 'global sunder' would destroy all armoured locations
as well as any shields the target carries.

Mass

Mass will be attached to other calls, causing them to affect everything within a 10' radius of the
caller.

Cone

Cone will be attached to other calls, causing them to affect everything within 30' of the caller in the
direction of a 45° arc indicated by the caller's arms.
Negate X/ Full Negate

If negate is attached to a call, it will end the specified effect, even permanent effects. As only
certain effects last for a duration of time, only certain effects can be negated.

Negate Paralysis would allow the targeted character to once more move freely.
Negate Stun would allow the targeted character to once more move freely.
Negate Repel would allow the targeted character to approach the source of the repel call.
Negate Burn would allow burn damage to subsequently be healed normally.

Negate Magical Armour would destroy any magical armour surrounding a target.
Negate Enchanted Weapon would stop any weapons held by the target from being enchanted.

The call 'Full Negate' ends all the above effects on the targeted body.

Sub

Weapons rend flesh and crush bones. Acids leave blistering scars. Poisons have any number of
visible effects. For everything else, there is sub damage, with sub being short for subdue.

When law enforcers knock someone unconscious and drag them off to the cells, they will be using
sub damage. When the immaterial spirits of the dead cut through you, they will be inflicting sub
damage. When the vast and unfathomable vistas of reality are displayed in ways you cannot deny,
your mind itself will be struck by sub damage.

Sub damage does not affect armour, but reduces hit points as normal. The only difference is that sub
damage heals automatically after 120 seconds/2 minutes.

Sub damage is less physical than other damage, but, left unattended, it is no less dangerous. If an
arm or leg is reduced to 0 hit points by sub damage, it becomes unusable until the damage is healed.
If your head or chest is reduced to 0 hit points by sub damage then you fall unconscious.

If you rise from a death-count due to the sub damage automatically healing, then your total number
of hits per-location are reduced by one until the end of the day. Note that by total number of hits, we
refer to your 'cap', the number of hits you can reach when you are being healed to full strength. This
may mean that you have sub healing pick you up from a death-count, only to have your total
number of hit points be reduced to zero. Should this happen, begin another death-count, and hope
that a skilled physician comes to your aid!

Sub damage can be healed using any means of making the heal call. However, most forms of
healing in the game work in a very physical way. For example, the will of the gods can be called
down to knit bones and flesh together, but gods are of such size and majesty that they are unsuitable
counsellors for deeper, internalised pain. Any heal calls will heal regular damage before they heal
sub damage. This includes regular damage on both hit points and natural armour.

No Effect

Through various means, you may become immune to certain damage or special-effects. If you are
hit by a call you are immune to, call no effect. If you are hit by a call you do not take in the
conventional way, you may call snowflake if necessary. This call is not usually needed but is
included as a way of quickly conveying that something unusual is happening should others express
confusion.
Grapple

If a character is incapacitated, you may move them using the call grapple. A character is
incapacitated if they are paralysed or unconscious. To move such a person, place two empty, flat
hands upon them and call “grapple”. The target will then move as you wish them to. This may
require some quiet out-of-character communication. Two people may work together to grapple a
person, should they wish to hold something in their other hands.

An important aspect of this call is that it does not require you to actually grab hold of your target.
Keep your hands flat, such that if they stop being incapacitated they may step out of your grapple.
This skill is intended as a way of moving unresisting people without needing to actually pick them
up or in any other way miss-handle them. It does not represent grabbing hold of people, pinning
them to the ground, or any other way of preventing them from moving.

Execute

Usually represents the maiming of a body location. To call execute on a target they must be
incapacitated, or in some other way unresisting. You may begin an execution by calling executing.
You must then make ten obvious strikes at your target, observing the regular rules in terms of speed
of blow and long, dramatic swings. At the final stroke, call Execute 10.

While making these blows, it is not necessary to make contact with your target; stop your blow just
before you hit them. This stops unresisting people from getting hit repeatedly in the same place for
no reason, as, being incapacitated, they would not be able to avoid the blow.

When a location has been executed, it can no longer be healed.

Note that executing a location does not sever it from the body, but simply mangles it beyond use.
 Magic
Magic is a term that describes many activities.

Witchcraft

Performing witchcraft requires a person to know the spells they wish to perform, and for them to
have enough 'spell points' to cast them. Your character sheet will tell you what spells and spell
points are available.

Spellcasting has a standardised format to demonstrate to everyone what is happening.

To cast a spell, you must have at least one hand entirely free. Each Spell will have a 'level', telling
you how many spell points it costs to perform the spell. For each level of the spell, your free hand
must make a dramatic gesture, representing the expenditure of one spell point: our standard is
crossing one or both arms across the body, and pulling away.

As you perform you spell gestures, you must also perform an IC 'vocal'; an audible indication that
you are performing the spell. These need to take the form of “By my X of Y, I cast Z”.

e.g. ‘By my worship of Acacius, I cast laying of hands’.

Once you have cast the spell IC, you should follow with the OC call, making it clear who you are
targeting, and what effect the spell has on them. Your character sheet will tell you what the OC call
of your spell is. Following on with the previous example, I might call ‘Fleur: single global heal’.

By default, any ranged spell effects hit the chest. Any spell effects that rely on you touching the
target affect the location they strike, unless the effect is global.

Most long distance spell effects have a range of 30'.

Magic is a loud and obvious manipulation of events. Large gestures and clear, projected vocals are
required; it is not possible to perform subtle magic. Should you be interrupted before completing the
gestures or vocals, then the spell has no effect and any spell points used are wasted.

Drain

A call of drain makes you feel nauseous. A mass drain causes all grass in range to wither and die. If
you are hit by a drain, you lose 3 spell points. If you are hit by a drain while on your death-count,
you also count as having received an execute blow for the duration of that death-count. If you are
hit several times with a drain while on your death-count, these effects accumulate. If you have no
spell points and are not on your death-count, drain does nothing more than make you feel nauseous.

Spell Vocals

Though spell vocals follow a standard form, you may fill in X, Y, and Z with whatever you feel is
appropriate IC. For example, while Acacius, mentioned above, is a god worthy of worship, others
may be less beneficent. A troglodyte may cast the same spell using the vocal “By my submission to
Kairos, I cast nourishment; Fleur: single global heal.” Note that the OC call has remained the same,
while the syntax of the sentence has been slightly altered to ensure the vocal makes sense. If you
want to check your spell vocals are appropriate, just ask one of the refs.
Lesser, Greater, and Resist

Through various means, a character may gain an ability to shrug off the effects of magic. This will
most commonly come from magical influence, for example a spell may give your character an aura
of magical protection. This is represented by a character gaining a number of resists.

If any call is prefixed with 'lesser', it may be ignored at the expenditure of 1 resist.
If a call is prefixed with 'greater', it may be ignored at the expenditure of 2 resists.

To signify that you have resisted an effect, you must call “resist”.

Resists are granted 'per-combat'. This means that if resists are granted for a single combat, after that
combat they disappear. However, if resists are granted for longer, such as for a day, the resists will
be restored at the end of each combat during the time they are granted.

When you have resisted a call from a source, you may continue to resist the same cause of the call,
free of charge, for the rest of the combat.

For example, calling resist when a witch calls a spell at you allows you to resist that spell from that
witch for the rest of combat. Calling resist when hit by a lesser or greater effect from a poisoned
weapon allows you to resist that poison call from that weapon for a combat. The same call from a
different source would require separate resists. A different call from the same source would require
separate resists.

Alchemy

Alchemy will come with a lammie that needs to be ripped open when used. Anyone may choose to
rip open an alchemy lammie.

Inside the alchemy lammie, there will be instructions on how to use it.

First, the lammie will state a skill required to use it. If you have these skills, you may perform the
effect of the alchemy. If you do not have these skills, the alchemy is wasted. If the lammie says
'Skills needed: None', then anyone may use that alchemy.

Following the skill requirement, there will be an explanation of what the alchemy does. This will
usually take the form of a call to be made by the person administering the alchemy.

Alchemy takes time to apply and time to take effect. This time is represented by the time taken to
rip and read the lammie.

Ensorcelled Objects

Ensorcelled objects or artefacts are those imbued with magic. These can take many forms, and as
such each object will have its own lammie explaining who can use it and how it is used.

When picking up such an object, an individual gradually gains an innate understanding of the item
in question.

An initial understanding takes the time required to read the lammie. A deeper understanding may
take more time, and may require a better understanding of the workings of the world. Some objects
don't have much depth to them.
 Ref Calls
These calls are used by the refs to help direct the game.

Time-In

When the refs call time-in, play starts. From this point, try to stay in-character, and strive to be
awesome!

Time-Out

This marks the end of play. You don't have to stop being awesome, but you do need to stop playing
your character.

Time-Freeze

When you hear this call, everyone must stop whatever they are doing, close their eyes, and hum.
This represents a pause in play while the refs do something out-of-character, such as put more
monsters into place. A fresh time-in call will end the time-freeze. Don't forget that your character
wasn't aware that time just froze, so try to continue as though nothing happened (up until the point
where you realise what happened).

Time-Ish

Sometimes there might be stuff to do at the end of a session that doesn't require everyone. Time-ish
indicates that people may continue to play if they wish to wrap anything up, but for the most part
everyone is leaving the game.

Time-Faff/There's a Dog Coming/Various Other Communications

There are many reasons for a game to be paused, the most common being to move out of the way of
others using the larp site, or to move a fight that has drifted into an unsafe environment. The refs
will do their best to make it clear what is happening in these situations.

End-Of-Combat (Abbreviated in text to EoC)

Many spells or other elements of the game have a time limit, often lasting for 10 minutes or until
the end-of-combat. A ref will often call “End-of-combat” to show this amount of time is elapsed,
signalling that such limited effects have ended.

This will either represent a literal end to hostilities, or a lull in a combat where everyone gets their
breath back and braces themselves for the next wave of enemies. Sometimes such waves charge
forward with such speed that the gaps between them can be hard to notice. If in doubt, ask a ref!

It is worth noting that End-Of-Combat does not mean stop fighting.

Finger in The Air

If a person in the play area has their finger in the air, it is to show that they are not there in
character. This sign will usually be used by the refs as they monitor the game, or crew as they move
into position ready to go I.C. Should you see anyone with their finger in the air, simply ignore them.
They should, in any case, be acting discreetly and trying not to draw attention.
 The Larp Site
On Sundays, our game takes us to a patch of land beside the University of York.

This embarrassingly crude and not-to-scale map attempts to convey the lay of our larp land. The
dotted lines mark the wooded areas, the little circles are a selection of individual trees, and the big
circle attempts to convey the gradient that we call a hill.

In fact, for reasons lost to time, parts of the field have specific names to aid in communication.

1. The far field

2. The far side of the forest
3. The forest
4. The top of the hill
5. The tunnel
6. The alchemy lab
7. The line of trees
8. The village
9. The main field
10. The circle of trees
11. The monster tree
12. The gully

The refs occasionally make use of the call 'World-Flip'. This is where we jiggle everything around
to make sure that we have enough room. It’s hard to explain, but will make sense when you see it
happen.
 The Spirit Of The Game
A Celebration Of Friendship

LARP is a game like no other. It calls upon each participant to band together in common purpose,
bringing enjoyment not just to yourself, but to all others around you. The refs may run the game,
but they run the game because they want to give something to their friends, the players. A player
may just be one part of a larger whole, but each part combines to enhance the experience of their
friends, both the other players and the refs.

LARP encourages people to go to great lengths for the game. The refs put in a whole heap of work,
but so does each player; in creating their character and kit, and in helping out with the massive list
of other jobs that keep a LARP system running. All of these things make the game shine. LARP
wouldn't happen without continued support from many people, and here in York we are lucky to
have watched a large group of wonderful friends develop over several years. This means we can run
LARP of incredible quality, and relax afterwards in good company!

Sometimes, of course, there will be miscommunication. To put so many people in one place and
expect them to constantly understand each other is a beautiful yet naïve dream. If you ever feel that
something is amiss, come see the refs and we can talk it over. This includes if you feel someone is
fighting unsafely, if you think we could have better handled a situation, if you are unclear of some
of the rules, or any other concern. We all want to work together to make the game as enjoyable for
everyone as we can.

Refing, Crewing, And Playing

There are three roles involved in running a LARP game. The refs are there to provide the story and
arbitrate between the players. They have the privilege and curse of viewing the entire game at once,
meaning their decisions are occasionally baffling to the players. It is important to always remember
that the refs do not oppose the players. They are not trying to beat them or kill their characters, they
are simply trying to tell a story.

They often need help telling this story, and that is where the crew fit in. On a Sunday, adventurers
go out in small groups to battle against the world. We need everyone not on the current mission to
join the crew to give them something to fight against! Crewing is often referred to as 'monstering',
due to the prevalence of monsters. However, you may be called upon to play other sentient beings,
referred to as Non-Player-Characters (NPCs) to distinguish them from Player-Characters (PCs).

As the 'bad guys', it will be your job to challenge the players, to terrify them, and to make them feel
like heroes. This does not mean your objective is to kill them: rather, it is to make sure that they
understand what is happening, and to make it fun. When crewing, feel free to be flexible with the
rules in favour of the players. For example, should you have three hit points left, but someone hits
you with a double that looked particularly heroic, feel free to drop dead early.

As a crew member, you should never make use of the execute rule. That rule is there to give the
players one small piece of control over an otherwise indomitable world.

Finally we come to the players. The game is here for you, we hope you will use it awesomely. Some
claim that when players come into contact with the game, the game cannot hope to survive, that
they will always act in a way that completely destroys the story the refs had planned. I must
respectfully disagree; LARP cannot survive without players, they are the life-blood of the story, the
very heart of the game. The players are as much authors of the story as the refs.
Looking Back On A Session

Whether you are players or crew, always remember that a game can look very different depending
on what side you are on. Try to avoid saying things like “Wow, you were terrible in that fight,”
because from the other side of the fence things might have looked quite different. This situation
often arises because the aims of one side differs from the aims of the other. If the monsters are
trying to stop the players getting to a particular spot, while the players are aiming to save a
wounded friend by dragging them away from that spot, the battle could well end with both sides
thinking they were victorious.

In the same vein, try not to claim a character was wrong to make one decision or another. As long as
their actions and motivations are IC, there is no way a player can make a wrong decision.

The Importance Of FOIP!

Age of Iron is a game in which many people interact over a long period of time. As such what one
character has known for months may come as a complete surprise to another.

To ensure these surprises make their full impact on the game, we ask people not to talk about
private information between games. This includes your character stats, the stats of monsters and
characters given to you by the refs, events that only you or a few others known about, and
information that your PCs or NPCs have discovered. That way, when the secrets are revealed in-
play, everyone will be able to react appropriately.

Player Verses Player

Age of Iron is an immersive role-playing game in which you are encouraged to act however you
feel your character would. As such, we do not disallow player versus player combat, which you may
hear referred to as PvP. However, please do not take this to mean it is at all encouraged: other
players have invested time, energy, effort and money into their characters, and death can often suck.
If you wish to have conflict in your game, there is usually a lot more role-play and fun to be had by
playing out that conflict over a long stretch of time without resorting to murder.

Occasionally though, violence is unavoidable. Experience has shown that a player intent on killing
another will resort to using the execute rules to ensure other players do not heal their target. If you
wish to perform an execute call on a player, you must make the executing call as usual, then count
out loud from 1 to 9 as you make your strikes. Upon the tenth strike, call execute 10 as normal to
complete the execution. This audible counting ensures that there is no uncertainty that the rules are
being followed to the full. Better some slightly intrusive calls during the game than weeks of
arguments afterwards.
The World Of Kairos
 The Rotten World
It is said that humans named the world Kairos after an ancient god of perfection. If this is true, then
it would seem irony is as old as time. Kairos is a brutal world, an inhospitable world, a world that is
said to wish death to all who live upon it. Mud rises underfoot to pull travellers down through the
dirt. Plants tear roots from the earth to lumber after their prey. The mouths of caves close to devour
any fools that shelter within. All this and more offers ample proof for the old adage; there is a rot in
the world, from crust to core.

Nature itself seems to teach that might is right, for even the most peaceable of herbivores are
monstrous in form. The hulking sauropods, armoured ankylosaurs, towering mammoths, and
vicious megatheriums, all display their power plainly. Even the smaller animals, the velociraptors,
the smilodons, the doedicurus, have been gifted with all they need to carve out their own territories
amid the chaos.

Is it any wonder then, that the people of such a world are steeped in savagery, that they beg the gods
for protection no matter how high the cost, that they fail to see the value of life, for they are too
inured to death.

There are the reptilionoids, as varied in shape and temperament as they are in name and culture.
Some scavenge through the endless dregs of fallen civilisations, while others hold out against the
rot behind ancient stone walls, knowing they are only putting off the inevitable.

The mammals fare little better. Whether human or mud-folk, they lie trapped in a vicious cycle of
fighting or fleeing. The ogres, though viewed by humans as blood-thirsty cannibals, have a
pragmatic approach that has seen their kind cling to existence. Humanity, at first glance, seems to
be the most successful of these species, but how many have fallen in violence and bloodshed, that a
paltry few may rise to prominence? Monarchs may draw borders around their empires, but how
much land is left unattended between their cities? What horrors stalked the forests of Luxantium?
How much do the Gedrosi really know of the valleys and mountains they claim to control?

Only the people of Magna Thule have managed to claim back the abyss. Their god-given grain
sanctifies the land, and they have carried both grain and faith across their continent. Now they turn
their attentions across the seas, seeking new lands and new civilisations to unite in common
progress. Some have claimed this is a futile endeavour, but others believe that it is the only way to
bring peace to this troubled world.
 Fort Petronia
For over two hundred years, Magna Thule has sent ships south across the Strioll Sea to colonise the
continent of Nova Thule. Some colonial expeditions get no further than a futile military push
inland. Others see settlements rise in brief flourishes of glory before they inevitably fall before the
rot.

Fort Petronia currently looks set to take the title of longest surviving colony as it moves defiantly
through its 28th year. It will take this position by outlasting Port Amber, which fell two years ago.
Efforts are being made to reclaim the port, and colonists are beginning to push inland to establish a
new settlement, but it would take considerable work to replace Fort Petronia as the dominant
Thulian power in Nova Thule.

Fort Petronia was established atop a high promontory ideally suited for defence against the abyss. A
ship was docked in the small, eastern cove, allowing adventurers to scale the cliffs and cut
themselves a beachhead. Over the next few months, fortifications were established, and a path was
cut down to the more accessible estuary of the river Crinis.

The following years saw much expansion, and the legions have constantly relocated themselves to
stay ever close to the abyssal frontier. The early defences became known as the Old Fort, the heart
of Petronia's infrastructure. The Praesidium Palace, the Palace of Justice, and the Prefecture
headquarters all sit within these closely guarded walls.

When people talk of Fort Petronia, they are usually referring to the New Fort. This is the fort built
as the settlement expanded from its initial beach-head; the fort that established Petronia's name as a
colony that would persevere against all that was thrown at it. The military now push even further
beyond these walls, but the civilians living within this town centre are proud to say they live within
the fort itself.

Beyond the fort the settlement grows further still, as city life sprawls into the farmlands that have
been won at the price of countless lives. Beyond these fields lie the outer defences of Flavia's wall,
though recently work has begun to push the farmlands even further south.
This map gives a rough picture of Fort Petronia. Cartography is a rare skill across Kairos, and maps have a habit of
being dangerously abstract. One oddity of Thulian maps is that they will usually be drawn from the point of view of
colonists coming to the new lands; resulting in varying orientations across the world.
 The Ever Expanding City
Since the baby-boom some eighteen years ago, the people of Fort Petronia have been spreading into
the land outside the New Fort.

The western side of the Crinis sees much of Petronia's everyday dock-work, and is also home to the
Petronian Hippodrome. What started off as a simple racetrack has become the hub of the city's
entertainment, a grand amphitheatre having been built around the course to house an ever excitable
audience. While the spring races draw a considerable crowd, the summer sports are even more
popular. These warmer months see the amphitheatre flooded, the pool available to be enjoyed by all.
The harvest sees theatrical productions carry people through the darkening evenings, while winter is
given over to competitions of martial prowess. Between all this, the hippodrome is witness to
political debate, ball games, academic lectures, and countless other diversions.

The lands outside the walls of the New Fort are also home to the legion barracks. Petronia's military
is run by Legate Auralius, a man reputed for his spiritual devotion as well as tactical acumen. Most
soldiers may be marked by their red uniforms, with officers complementing their colours with a
dark blue. The first legion to land during a colony attempt is granted the privilege of uniform
personalisation. In the case of Petronia’s first legion, the soldiers took the black colours of the
Petronius family, with a combination of a sword and their number picked out in silver.

The New Fort

Those entering the city from the south are most likely to do so through the Golden Gate. This brings
the traveller to the Excelsium Platea, more commonly known as the High Street, filled with shops
that cater to every need and to every purse. The road leads through Flavia's Square, the civilian
centre of the city. On three sides, the square is bounded by tall town houses and merchants' villas,
shops and public buildings. On the fourth is the immense embodiment of the power, permanence,
and intention of the All Embracing Faith of Acacius.

The church is carved from fresh limestone, with orange marble marking out patterns of wheat
sheaves. The only break in this design is at the summit of the building, where a large, round window
is surrounded by marble rays clearly intended to look like the sun. Here, the people of Petronia are
welcome at any time; for prayer, shelter, advice, companionship, or simply the free bread given to
those in need. The faith of Petronia is led by Pontiff Gregori, a convert from the Gedrosi Territories
whose passion and zeal has carried him high through the ranks of the church.

Leaving Flavia's Square, the Excelsium Platea continues up to the Thousand Steps of Fort Petronia.
These steps are a thematic continuation of the Thousand Steps of Calidon, where Acacius executed
the last tyrant. Petronia's steps, however, have a much more peaceful reputation. Every so often, the
steps will flatten out into a plateau filled with food vendors, tea vendors, ice-cream vendors, seats
and parasols, basking platforms, and beautiful sculptures. These steps are the place to be in
moments of gentle leisure. Those with the means to do so use the Steps as a place to congregate to
discuss philosophy, progress, and other scholarly subjects.

The New Fort is open to the sea to the north and the river to the west. The northern cliffs are too
steep for the cove to be of much use, and the cove is, in any case, too small for Petronia's needs.
The western docks see the city’s more upmarket passengers alight; city officials, foreign diplomats,
and some of the richer merchants all make use of this port. Among these docks stands the Petronian
Eyrie, where the city keeps its homing pterodactyls and archaeopteryxes.
 The Old Fort
Beyond the Thousand Steps lies the old fort. The walls still stretch from one cliff-top to another, and
the Praesidium Gate is guarded by watchful magistrates. The number of people scurrying back and
forth makes it impractical for the magistrates to stop and question all the people passing the gate,
but you can tell their expert eyes are at least assessing each and every one.

Within the Old Fort lies the Praesidium Palace, the Prefecture Headquarters, and the Palace of
Justice.

At first glance the Palace of Justice seems the smaller of these three buildings. Appearances are
deceiving, however, for its catacombs wind through the granite cliff below. This limestone building
is the centre of Petronia's law enforcement. Clad in Thulian blue, these magistrates are led by High
Magistrate Octavia, renowned for her hard-line attitude towards the law.

The Prefecture Headquarters are the bureaucratic core of the city. Security is pedantically tight in
this building, much like every other aspect of the prefecture. It is here that one can access the
settlement's public records.

The Praesidium Palace is home to Praesidium Flavia, currently serving her eighteenth year in office.
The palace also plays host to meetings of the Petronian senate. With ten senators, the senate is
unusually large for a comparatively small colony. This is due to the influx of refugees from Port
Amber; the port senators who escaped the fall now leave their expertise at Flavia’s disposal.

Mount Acacius

Just off from the coast lies Mount Acacius, a small island that has been claimed by the priesthood of
Petronia. A small boat ships people back and forth to the mount a few times a day. This is not a
place of general worship, but rather a retreat for theological debate and ecclesiastical politicking.
The central temple here is a large, open building, where people are able to sit in quiet contemplation
or calm discussion. It is said that many church decisions are made within these walls, as well placed
words steer opinions one way or the other.

The Valerian Hospital

The Valerian Hospital is the main medical facility in Fort Petronia. It is staffed by trained
physicians, and as such can deal with problems varying from headaches to mortal wounds, if you
can get there fast enough. The doctors of the Valerian Hospital tend to have little time for faith
healing, and anyone looking for magical assistance will be given directions to the Holistic Therapy
Centre in Baker Square.
 The Adventurers Of Fort Petronia

Since the earliest days of Magna Thule, adventurers have been employed to fight off the rot in the
world. It has become common practice for these adventurers to launch regular expeditions into the
wilderness, reuniting once a week to debrief each other on recent events, discuss further plans, and
sometimes just kick back and relax!

The adventurers live in a state-funded town-house. This is a collection of buildings arranged around
a training yard, and caters for almost all adventuring needs. The town-house is run by Janus the
caretaker, a somewhat gruff man who has seen many hardships throughout his life.

The main building includes a large open hall furnished with trestle dining tables and long benches.
Stairs lead up to a mezzanine floor which stretches the full length of the building, and it is hear that
the sleeping quarters are located. Rooms are plain, usually containing only a bed and a trunk. A few
rooms also have desks crammed into the little floor space remaining, and some of these have had
locks fitted.

The kitchen is just off the main hall, and is usually occupied by a jovial laisaur who always seems
to be either cooking or eating, both of which make quite a lot of mess. Some very strange smells
emanate from time to time, but the meals he serves are filling and delicious.

On the other side of the yard in separate outhouses are the latrines and several workshops; a forge,
leather workshop, and an alchemical lab filled with glassware. These workshops are kept well
stocked with simple supplies, though it is not uncommon for adventurers to personally source
superior materials.

It is common practice in the colonies for these adventurers to hold their weekly meetings in their
town-house. In Petronia, however, an unexplained fire some ten years ago led to the town-house
suffering major structural damage. While repairs were being made, the adventurers looked for
another venue. They turned to the Golden Grain, a pub run by a family of old adventurers, and spent
a good few weeks sleeping on its floor. Even though the town-house has long been restored, the
adventurers continue to use the Golden Grain, welcoming all the people of Petronia to join them
every Wednesday night.

The Golden Grain, like many Thulian bars, has a strict 'no substantial weaponry' policy. The
publicans are happy for people to carry knives if they so wish, but anything larger should be left at
the door, or preferably at home. They also frown upon shields cluttering the area. There is a
knobkerrie behind the bar for use by the bouncers, and the adventurers have occasionally made use
of it in extreme situations. Public decency laws dictate that clothes are compulsory, though some
mud-people are hairy enough to allow some lee-way in this respect. The Golden Grain is just a little
too far from the adventurers' town-house for them to want to pop back home should they forget to
bring anything with them.
 In Character Money

Most people in Magna Thule make use of so called 'small coins'. These are legacies of an older age,
before the land was unified under Thulian rule. The denarius, the drachma, the obel, the as, all
denominations that now have very little value, yet are still used for daily needs. An apple from the
market place, a pint of ale, a pair of simple shoes, all can be bought with such small coins; easily
earned and easily frittered away.

Your character may have as many small coins as you deem appropriate. We will provide a box of
small coins for people to grab a handful at the beginning of each session, but ask that you leave
plenty for others to make use of. We will happily welcome others topping up the box with suitable
phys-reps! You may provide your own explanation of how you came by such coins, such as finding
them down the back of your chair, doing some odd jobs down at the docks, enjoying some street
gambling, or whatever. At the end of the session we ask that you put your small coins back in the
communal box to ensure they are present for the next game. These coins are useful for offering
small bribes, buying friends a pint, or paying street urchins for keeping you informed of local
goings on.

Those accustomed to a more opulent way of life have little need for such paltry tokens. Magna
Thule's own currency has long held strong value, a value that now outstrips even that of the metal
used to make the coins. The acat forms the basic unit. Ten acats make a decat, while one hundred
acats make a cenat. These coins are accepted across all Thulian land, be it in Magna Thule, Nova
Thule, or any of the other colonies. This currency is so strong that many foreign lands will also
accept these coins.

These are the coins that will actually make a difference to your character. Anything that is of actual
use, such as armour or alchemical ingredients, will cost you acats. At character creation, you will be
given the chance to purchase acats. It is up to you to safeguard these coins; lose them OC and you
have lost them IC. It is worth noting here that small coins are of such low value that there is no real
conversion rate between these two systems. Nobody, especially the banks, would swap any number
of small coins for an acat.

Magna Thule has a State-funded national bank, and this bank has numerous branches across Kairos.
Many people prefer to keep their acats in the bank, and perform all transactions through bank
transfers. Anyone wishing to deal in large sums of money will have a bank account. In the colonies,
most money given to the banks is then shipped back to the safety of the Thulian continent. This
means that withdrawals take variable amounts of clearing time.
 Magic

It is self evident that there is a force in the world binding all things together. Mind and matter and
gods and mortals, all are encompassed by this power in ways that seem constantly beyond
understanding. It is known by many names by many people, but perhaps the vaguest, and therefore
by default most accurate, is magic.

There are those who tap into this energy, becoming part of the swirling fury of the cosmos. These
people can achieve wonderful and terrifying feats, shredding the very fabric of reality and stitching
it back together at a whim. These magics are practised at great risk, for there are tales of the
universe retaliating with equal treatment, ripping sorcerers apart and scattering their remains to the
winds. In Magna Thule, these energies are considered to be dangerously akin to the abyss, and are
only exploited under extreme circumstances.

Some turn to the gods for control of these mystic energies. Faith can bring tangible reward; the
ability to stand defiant against the dark, to cast aside demons, even the power to hold back death.
Yet across the world, such gifts are viewed with cautious suspicion. It is said that magic must
always balance, and saving the life of one must mean the sacrifice of another. Even the paladins of
Magna Thule give careful consideration before evoking the holy name of Acacius.

Others have investigated subtler ways of manipulating the world. They believe that magic need not
be so strained, that much can be accomplished without assailing reality. Such artisans allow the
magic to stay wherever they find it, making artefacts or alchemies that cage and control this power.
The vistas of ignorance are particularly grand in this discipline, and none know what such dabbling
will ultimately lead to.
 Thulian Fashions And Foreign Influences

The everyday people of Magna Thule are proud to live simple lives. They will spend most of their
days engaged in manual labour, so need simple, robust clothes that will stand up to such a lifestyle.
Even those with more specialist skills will often dress down as a fashion statement, aiming to
suggest the trustworthy nature of simple rural folk.

Magna Thule is a varied and cosmopolitan land. There are many cities with many sub-cultures, all
united in the name of freedom. Yet despite the deep-rooted respect for individuality, many
organisations have realised the importance of uniform and identity. Many political or religious
organisations utilise vibrant colours to ensure their representatives are instantly recognisable. For
more information, ask the refs for a copy of The Land of the Free, the player's guide to Thulian life.
The fashions of Luxantium were a little more ostentatious. Luxantium was a wealthy empire, with
noble houses accumulating wealth over several generations. They were famed for having the finest
tailors in the world, and the socialites of Magna Thule would often clamour to follow the latest
foreign trends. Now Luxantium has fallen, but those who escaped the tragedy still attempt to
demonstrate the glory of their lost land. There is a separate culture guide to Luxantine life.

The Gedrosi Territories survived the destruction of Luxantium. Their fashions are broadly similar to
those of their former neighbours, but few in this bleak and impoverished land could afford equal
finery. The Gedrosi peoples are famed for seeming as washed out as their colourless country,
dressing themselves in blacks and browns and greys. Gedrosi nobles happily flaunt their riches in
front of their subjects, with the wealth of this resource-rich nation benefiting only the smallest
percentage of its population. There is a separate culture guide to Gedrosi life.
 Laisaurs

Laisaurs, Reptile People, Squamoids, Narga, Saurians, Sun-spawn.

From the depths of savage jungles, to high, ice-lashed peaks, the cities of the laisaurs stand
alongside and yet strangely separate from humanity.

The oldest of Magna Thule's historical records speak of dinosaurs, the terrible lizards, squamous
beasts of tooth and claw. Ancient art depicts savage monsters, ripping flesh from living bodies with
blood smothered maws. Now however, the term 'dinosaur' is considered a highly racist term, one to
be applied only to a certain class of wild animal.

Today most people call them laisaur (pronounced ley-i-saur), the reptile people. Their cultures
spread across the world, as varied as those of humanity. Some hide in ancient stone ziggurats, while
others carve lairs amid clustered volcanoes. Nomadic tribes cut a swathe through the wilderness,
and scavengers pick a living amid coastal detritus.

Wherever one finds the laisaurs, their hatcheries will not be far away. Some use underground lakes
filled with jelly and spawn. Others keep careful track of the temperature in rooms packed with
tough, rough eggs. Those that crawl from the nests are as wild in shape as they are in spirit. Parents
birth children as different to themselves as they are to each other. Sleek or hulking, wet skinned or
armour plated; some even speak of monsters given over completely to nature, on the brink of losing
all semblance of sentience.

The life of a laisaur is often brutal and short. They survive the horrors of the world by living fast; a
reptile person that survives to the age of five is fully mature, while any that last twenty years are
considered venerable elders. They have an intensity to their character that perhaps reflects this rapid
development; a laisaur lives as much in those few years as a human might in twice their time.

To the monotheistic Thulians, the laisaur worship a bewildering array of gods, more monstrous to
human eyes than the reptile people themselves. Theirs are legends of jagged-toothed birds whose
battling wings bring night and day. Restless leviathans control the oceans, while the mountains are
the spines of stirring titans.

Such is the world of the laisaurs, a world that only a few humans have had the privilege of
witnessing. On the other hand, though humanity forms the majority of Magna Thule's population,
many reptiles have found a home in the Land of the Free. In the cities they find ways of flocking
together, forming enclaves in out-of-the-way corners. In the provinces they are a rarer sight, but still
common enough to cause little comment. It is said that there will always be at least one reptile
amongst an adventuring band, and the army finds obvious use for those of suitable build. Shop
owners, accountants, even occasional senators, all walks of life are open to the laisaurs.
 How To Look Like A Laisaur

The simplest, quickest, cheapest way to look like a reptile is to use Snazaroo face paint, which we
usually shorten to snazz. This is a brand of theatrical face paints that are available from a few shops
in town, or you may wish to join one of the bulk internet orders that happen during the year. The
photos on this page provide a step-by-step guide to using snazz and fish-net tights to create a scaled
effect.

This is just one way of looking like a laisaur. If you are interested in creating masks, or have other
ideas of how to achieve the reptilian look, feel free to chat to the refs to ensure that your ideas fit in
with the setting.

Laisaur are as varied as any other people. Some wear fine silks of clashing colours, others make use
of the skins of wild beasts. There are many laisaur peoples; if you want to know more about them
ask the refs for a copy of Children of the Sun, the player's guide to laisaur life.
 Troglodytes

Troglodytes, Cave-Beasts, Mud-Folk, Sasquatch, Yeti, Trolls, Ogres.

Though troglodytes can be found around the world, nowhere are they more numerous than Nova
Thule. Those who sail from the eastern, ice-littered archipelago have been trading with the Land of
the Free for centuries. Adventurers have more recently pushed inland, making contact with the
wandering sasquatch. There are even rumours that the mountains hold cannibal ogre clans, but those
who have tried to substantiate such claims have never returned.

It is said that humanity's first hints of the mud-folk were monstrous footprints outside blood-
splattered caves. This led to many misconceptions, which people are only now starting to look
beyond. The word 'bigfoot' was used to conjure images of looming behemoths, and people spoke of
troglodytes, thinking they lived in subterranean tunnels.

Though there are the occasional few that tower over even the largest laisaur, most mud-folk are in
fact mildly shorter than the average human. Their renowned intimidating shape is a combination of
their squat form, and thick, bulky pelts of fur.

They have embraced the name troglodyte and made it their own. While they do not live
underground, their shamans find holy places in deep caves, or else carry stones for hundreds of
miles to listen to their songs. They listen to the voices in the earth and the woods, in the sea and on
the winds. Thulian scholars call their gods genius loci, spirits of places.

Their connection to the world around them is how they survive the abyss. Shamans speak to these
spirits, offer them sacrifices and beg to be spared. While humans and laisaurs both revere and adore
their gods, troglodytes seem more motivated by fear than faith. They seem to offer more respect to
their ancestors, though humans find it hard to reconcile this with the tales of how they feast on their
own dead.

The landscape is littered with signs of troglodyte life. Exploring adventurers will often come across
wooden painted pillars, or grotesque heads carved out of stone. Clusters of mud huts lie abandoned,
encircled by defences of wood and stone. The wandering ways of the sasquatch will lead them to
reclaim their homes as quickly as they abandon them, and those who take shelter from the night in
these settlements have been known to wake up in the middle of bustling clan activity. There are
some places that stay occupied throughout the year, with different tribes meeting to exchange goods
and news.

Of these towns, known to humans as oppedia, the most famous is Drak'hod Sruth; built onto an
artificial plateau and surrounded by six rings of ditches, banks, and stone palisades. This is known
as something of a capital for the mud-folk, though they have no centralised power structure and
none would spend an entire year within its defences. It seems to have gained its status by being one
of the few places where it is possible to cross the river Sruth, a raging torrent that winds down from
the mountains and cuts the savannah in two.
 How To Look Like A Troglodyte

Troglodytes have muddy faces; greys, blacks, and browns of every hue can be combined in any way
that looks good. It is not without reason that troglodytes are also known as mud-folk. They tend to
be hairy, bulky people, and have their hirsute image accentuated by their preference for wearing
thick animal hides. Despite their tastes for fur and leather, troglodytes that have lived for most of
their lives in human lands will often be seen wearing the specially-tailored clothes that match the
latest fads. It is said by veteran soldiers that the worst thing to see on a battlefield is a troglodyte,
wearing full plate, coming at you with a stick. There are many troglodyte peoples; if you want to
know more about them ask the refs for a copy of Eaters of the Dead, the player's guide to troglodyte
life.
Fiddly Little Details
 The Nitty Gritty Of Making A
Character
So far, we have tried to keep everything pretty general in terms of how to create a character. There
comes a time however, when you need to sit down and figure out the specifics, starting with perhaps
the most difficult aspect of LARP:

Names

We have created the different places in Age of Iron with certain imagery and identity in mind, and
ideally the names of characters will reflect these flavours.

Everyone across Kairos, be they human, troglodyte, or laisaur, speaks the same language. When we
decided to include dinosaurs in the setting, we realised that Latin and Greek would have to be at the
root of these languages, but such game design is obviously not something any character would be
aware of! While everyone speaks the one language, different cultures have invented new concepts
and words, and as such there will be some language variations across the setting.

Magna Thule has a very Latin-centric feel. Yet as the empire expanded, other cultures were
subsumed within their own, and as such there is flexibility when creating names. For example, the
city of Orstela has a French flavour mixed in with the latin, while the town of Praetorrus has an
Italian twist.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, lies the Gedrosi continent. Here everything has a more Germanic and
Russian flavour. The fallen lands of Luxantium are now represented by those rich enough to escape
the wall of water and fire that obliterated their culture, and so old European aristocracy can offer
lots of naming inspiration.

As far as more specialised words are concerned, the troglodytes have long left their Latin roots
behind. Their names have a much more Gaelic feel, so look to Welsh, Irish, Scottish, Scandinavian,
or Anglo-Saxon words.

The laisaur have the most messy language. Depending on where in the world your character comes
from, it will be Latin mixed with Chinese, Hindu, Nahuatl, any click-tongue languages, or all of
these and more!

To help you decide on your name, our website will first ask you what race you wish to play, and
then ask if you wish to play a wild or civilised character. Once you have chosen between these
factors, the website will provide a few examples of names for you.
 Skills
Once you have your race, name, and place in the world, it will be time to pick some skills.

You will have 12 points to spend, choosing from the following list.

If a skill is preceded by this symbol, ╚►, then in order to purchase it you must first buy the skill
above.

Literacy

Literacy is a free skill should people wish to choose it. Any person from any race or culture may
know how to read and write. However, if you wish you may choose not to take literacy. Some
people enjoy the opportunity to play an ill-educated brute, while others enjoy playing refined
scholars. The literacy of a character will ultimately come down to how you choose to role-play, but
we ask you to clarify the matter so we know how to best send in plot for your character.

Hit Points

Every character starts with 1 HP per location. At character creation you will be given the
opportunity to buy skills that give you more HP.

Strength of a Mule! brings you to 2 HP per location. Cost: 2 points.

╚►Strength of an Ox! brings you to 3 HP per location. Cost: 3 points.
╚► Bigfoots Smash Puny Humans! brings you to 4HP per location. Cost: 4 points.
(Only Troglodytes may buy Bigfoots Smash Puny Humans!)

Laisaur players will find their skills have slightly different names, but fit the same Strength of...
pattern, and cost the same points.

Armour

There are two broad categories of armour. Light armour will include padded gambesons or leather
armour. Metal armour will include chain-mail or suits of full plate. Every character may throw on
some basic armour and gain 1 armour point on every location at least 50 % covered in a suitable
phys-rep. At character creation you will be given the opportunity to buy skills that allow you to gain
more benefits from wearing armour.

Armour Training! Increases the protection gained from wearing any type of armour. Cost: 2 points.
╚►Armour Competence! Further increases the protection gained from armour. Cost: 3 points.
Wear Metal Armour! Allows you to wear metal armour. Cost: 2 points.

One Handed Weapons

Every character may pick up a one handed weapon and use it to call single. At character creation
you may buy skills that allow you to become more proficient in such martial arts.

Swing a sword! Your character has specialised in wielding a sword. Cost: 8 points.
Bludgeon With Blunt! Your character has specialised in wielding a hammer or mace. Cost: 8 points.
Axe-sault! Your character has specialised in wielding an axe. Cost: 8 points.
Knife-master! Your character has specialised in wielding a dagger. Cost: 8 points.
Bish! Your character has specialised in wielding a cosh. Cost: 4 points.
Using more specialised weapons requires a little more training:

Two Handed Weapons

Hit With A Stick! Allows you to wield a staff. Cost: 3 points.

Use A Spear! Allows you to wield a spear. Cost: 6 points.
Bigger Swords! Bigger Axes! Bigger Blunts! You Know You Love It! Allows you to wield a two
handed sword, axe, or blunt weapon. Cost: 6 points.

Ranged Weapons

Throw Your Throwing Weapon? Allows you to use throwing weapons. Cost: 3 points.
Use A Bow? Allows you to use a bow or crossbow. Cost: 4 points.

Other Weapon Skills

Wield a shield! Allows you to make use of a shield. Cost: 4 points.

Ambidexterity Allows you to wield a short weapon in each hand. Cost: 4 points.

Magic

Witchcraft! Allows you to manipulate magical energy. Cost: 6 points.

╚►Spells! Though Witchcraft! gives you one spell for free, you may choose to purchase
further spells. Ask a ref for a list of spells. Cost: 1 point each.
╚►Attunement! Allows you to manipulate more magical energy. Cost: 1 point.
Scrying! Allows you to peer through the mists of time. Cost: 1 point.

Money

Your character may have saved a little money before beginning their career. You may purchase any
of these skills up to one time each.

Cash found down the side of a sofa! Gives you 2 acats. Cost: 1 point.
Secret Stash for a rainy day! Gives you 5 acats. Cost: 2 points.
Life savings! Gives you 23 acats. Cost: 6 points.

Physician

Staunch Wounds! Allows you to use both hands to hold in leaking blood and guts. Cost: 1 point.
Tourniquet! Allows you to bind a limb to prevent blood loss. Cost: 1 point.

Crafting Skills

Apprentice Armoursmith! You are learning the art of creating metal armour. Cost: 3 points.
╚►Journeyman Armoursmith! Having grasped the basics, now improve your art! Cost: 6 points.

Apprentice Outfitter! You are learning the art of creating leather or quilted armour. Cost: 3 points.
╚►Journeyman Outfitter! Having grasped the basics, now improve your art! Cost: 6 points.

Apprentice Swordsmith! This skill allows you to craft better swords. Cost: 4 points.
Apprentice Axesmith! This skill allows you to craft better axes. Cost: 4 points.
Apprentice Hammersmith! This skill allows you to craft better hammers. Cost: 4 points.

Apprentice Alchemy! A basic understanding of alchemy. Cost: 3 points.

Apprentice Enscorceling! The ability to magically empower objects. Cost: 3 points.
Race Specific Skills

The cultures and physiologies of humans, troglodytes, and laisaur all lead to different advantages in
life. As such, there are certain skills that can only be taken by specific races.

Humans

Air Of Superiority! You know that you are among the greatest of heroes! Cost: 2 points.

Natural Philosophy! This skill can be taken at character creation only, to show that your character
has benefited from a fine education. Should you wish to play a troglodyte brought up in human
society, you may also buy this skill. Cost: 2 points.

Troglodytes

Rebel Against Kairos! Demonstrates your animosity towards your creator. Cost: 3 points.
Child Of Kairos! Demonstrates your devotion to your creator. Cost: 3 points.
(Note that you may not simultaneously be both a Rebel Against Kairos! and a Child Of Kairos!)

Shamanism! Allows you to harvest souls and practice shamanic rites. This skill emphasises role-
play over hard rules. Such magics are highly erratic, and may not always work in your favour.
Cost:3 points.

Biff! Your hefty bulk puts a fair amount of weight behind your fists. Cost: 2 points.

Laisaur

Laisaur physiology is highly erratic. The following six skills can only be taken at character creation.
We encourage suitable kit for these requirements.

Larger Than The Average Reptile! You are larger than the average reptile. Cost: 5 points.
More Poisonous Than The Average Reptile! You are more poisonous than the average reptile. Cost:
5 points.
More Ravenous Than The Average Reptile! You are more ravenous than the average reptile. Cost: 5
points.
More Armoured Than The Average Reptile! You are more armoured than the average reptile. Cost:
5 points.
More Clawed Than The Average Reptile! You are more clawed than the average reptile. Cost: 5
points.
Monstrous creature!!! You are a monstrous creature. Cost: 12 points.

Smarter Than The Average Reptile! This skill can be taken at character creation only, to show that
your character has benefited from learning much about the wild world. Cost: 2 points.
Philosoraptor! This skill can be taken at character creation only, to show that your character has
benefited from a fine education. Cost: 2 points.
Thesaurus! This skill can be taken at character creation only, to show that your character has
benefited from a Thulian education. Cost: 2 points.

Sun Worship! Shows your devotion to Solis. Cost: 6 points.

╚►Attunement! Allows you to manipulate more magical energy. Cost: 1 point.
 What To Bring To Larp
The following is a simple, basic list of items you might wish to bring to LARP, particularly our
outdoor sessions. If you want to know the best place to get these objects around York, just ask!

Boots– Preferably waterproof, with good ankle support (thick socks also help). Wet feet will make
you cold, miserable and more likely to get blisters. Happy feet means happy LARPers!

Water – Useful for makeup and for drinking. You’ll be running around a lot, so make sure you stay
hydrated. Even more important in hot weather.

Gloves – When it gets cold these are essential. It is much harder to pull your blows when you can’t
feel your hands. Fingerless ones are great for dexterity and some favour those with shooting mitts
over the top (lets you fold the fingers back for fiddly things).

Seasonal Requirements – Thermals will keep you warm in the winter, while sun-cream will
protect you in the summer.

Torch – It gets dark early in winter, make sure you don’t leave anything behind by accident! Wind-
up ones have obvious advantages over those that require batteries.

Glasses Loops – Some form of string to hold your glasses onto your face will prevent accidents,
and costly replacement bills!

Kit – We provide a limited amount of kit for newcomers, but if you’ve got your own, don't forget to
bring it! If you wish to get your own, we have traders at the Spring Term Convention, talented
people who can help you make stuff, and people who know all the short-cuts if crafts and textiles
are not your thing. After a short chat with your fellow LARPers, you will have kit you are proud of!

Plain Base-Layers – Wear something plain, simple, and weather-appropriate to go underneath the
LARP kit. Avoid blue jeans, or other obviously modern objects.

Spare Warm Layers – More kit, a spare jumper, a cloak. If it rains then having something dry to
wear is great, and will stop you losing more body heat.

Snazz, Sponges and Paintbrushes – We provide face paint for crew and newcomers. Eventually, if
your character requires snazz, you will want to get your own. We do regular internet orders to keep
costs down.

Some way of removing it all once you're finished - Whether you use baby wipes or a wet flannel,
make sure you have some way to remove snazz. Crewing often involves face-paint and even those
who usually manage to avoid snazz will eventually end up with something on their face. Baby
wipes are often in hot demand and an entire packet can vanish after a single mission, so be
prepared. If using a flannel, make sure to wash and dry it between sessions.

Snacks – We can't eat in university rooms, but having snacks on Sundays keeps LARPers happy
and energised.

Rucksack/backpack – Something to hold valuables and all of the above.

 Rules Clarifications
We have attempted to write the rules in an easily understood format, but situations will inevitably
arise which require a little clarification. The following clarifications cover some frequently asked
questions, but it would be impossible to cover every possible situation. If you have any questions
about the rules, always feel welcome to ask a ref.

Sub Damage
One of the more complicated calls in the system is sub. As such, we offer the following as a gradual
walk through of these rules.

Sub damage does not affect armour...

If you get hit by sub on your armour points, you can ignore it! This, along with its ignoring of
poisons, is the main difference between armour and hit points.

but reduces hit points as normal. The only difference is that sub damage heals automatically after
120 seconds/2 minutes.

These two minutes represent your mind adjusting itself to the damage caused. You can be healed
from this damage before the end of these two minutes. In fact, we would advise being healed from
this damage; because it is damage. We would advise healing all damage. Your character will last
longer if you get your damage healed.

If you rise from a death-count due to the sub damage automatically healing, then your total number
of hits per-location are reduced by one until the end of the day.

Note that you lose the hit points from your TOTAL hits per location. It has no effect on how many
hit points you have at that point, unless the sub damage healing takes you to full hits. This will
usually only happen if you have only one hit point in total.

If you do only have one hit point in total, then the automatic healing will take you off your death-
count before you lose your hit point. Losing your hit point will reduce you to zero total hits, and as
such you will start a new death-count. As your total hits are at zero, it will take a particularly skilled
surgeon to heal you.

It is worth emphasising that this total hit point penalty only occurs if you rise from a death-count
due to the sub damage automatically healing. If you are healed through any other means then you
do not suffer the hit point penalty.

Any heal calls will heal regular damage before they heal sub damage.

I'm including this bit just to show all the highlighted bits in the sub rules. Let's combine these
highlighted rules to form 'the complete sub rules'

Sub damage does not affect armour, but reduces hit points as normal. The only difference is that sub
damage heals automatically after 120 seconds/2 minutes. If you rise from a death-count due to the
sub damage automatically healing, then your total number of hits per-location are reduced by one
until the end of the day. Any heal calls will heal regular damage before they heal sub damage.
 Gaining hits
There are various ways of gaining temporary hits in play, usually involving some form of magic.
If for any reason you gain hits, you receive that many hits added to your current hit count,
regardless of your locational hit limit. When the effect ends, you lose that many hits from whatever
number of hits you are on at the time, and your hit count limit is returned to normal.
Because you may end up with numbers all over the place, any global effects use your current chest
hit points as your base to add numbers to when deciding your new hit-point limit.
If this puts you over your usual hit limit, these extra hit points can be healed for the duration of the
effect.
This means that hit point boosters can be used as healing potions, with the unfortunate side effect
that you will take equal damage later on. It also means that these potions are at their most effective
when you are at full strength.
Example 1
I have three hit points per location. I have suffered no damage. I take a potion that adds three hit
points global for a combat. Now I have six hits per location! These hits can all be healed during this
combat if I suffer damage. At the end of the combat, I lose three hit points per location, regardless
of how much damage I have taken.
Example 2

I have three hit points per location. I have been hit by a triple in the chest and am therefore on my
death count. Someone puts the 'gain three global for a combat' potion down my throat. I am now on
three hit points per location, and that is still my hit point cap. At the end of the combat, I lose three
hit points per location, regardless of how much damage I have taken.
Example 3
I have three hit points per location. I have been hit by a single on one arm, a double on the other,
and a double on the chest. I take a potion that adds three hit points global for a combat. I now have
four hit points per location, as the potion uses the chest to work out the numbers. The way the
numbers work out, all these locations are at full strength. At the end of the combat, I lose three hit
points per location, regardless of how much damage I have taken.
Example 4
I have three hit points per location. I have been hit by a single on one arm, a double on the other,
and a single on the chest. I take a potion that adds three hit points global for a combat. I now have
five hit points per location, as the potion uses the chest to work out the numbers. The way the
numbers work out, I am at full strength on my legs, head, chest, and one arm. My other arm has
four hits at the moment, but could be healed up to fix that extra point of damage. At the end of the
combat, I lose three hit points per location, regardless of how much damage I have taken.
Example 5
I have five hit points per location. I have been put on my death count through being hit in the chest
with lots of damage. I take a potion that adds three hit points global for a combat. My chest is now
on three hit points, but my cap is still five, as the potion did not cause me to exceed that limit. Any
other locations that have suffered hits may add three hit points to them, but may not exceed that five
point limit. At the end of the combat, I lose three hit points per location, regardless of how much
damage I have taken.
 Stacking Effects
'Stacking' effects refers to piling many spells or other advantages on top of each other. As characters
become more powerful, their skills will be combining in increasingly elaborate ways. Here is how
to deal with such combinations.

A general rule of thumb is that magic is an incredibly unstable force, and as such similar benefits
cannot be bestowed upon the same subject. Lets have a look at how that works in terms of the
various ways that your characters statistics can be enhanced.

Weapon Calls
There are two main ways to gain benefits to your weapon calls; mundane and magical. 'Mundane'
enhancements come from the way the weapon has been crafted; a better weapon can allow for better
fighting. 'Magical' enhancements come from any form of magic, be it spells, ensorcelment, or
alchemy.

Damage calls can benefit from one magical enhancement at a time.

Damage calls can benefit from one mundane enhancement at a time.

Damage calls can benefit from one magical enhancement and one mundane enhancement
simultaneously.

You can chose not to replace one enhancement with another. No bonuses that add an extra point to
a numerical call can make you call more than 'quad'

Special-effect calls are separate from damage calls. Different special-effects can be added together.

Crafted weapons will be clearly marked if their effects come with a magical enhancement that
would prevent magical spells from stacking with their bonus.

Example 1:

I can call single. I cast a spell that allows me to add 1 point to my damage. I can now call double.
Someone else casts a spell on me that adds 2 points of damage to my call. This is preferable to the
first spell, so I can now call triple. I then pick up a crafted weapon that allows me to add 1 point to
my damage call. With both spell and crafted weapon, I can now call quad.

Example 2:

I can call single. Three spells are cast upon me, with the following effects: 'add one point of damage
to your call', 'add knock-back to your call', 'add paralysis to your call'. As these effects are all
different, I can now call 'double knock-back paralysis'. This would cause two points of damage,
throw my opponent across the battlefield, and then freeze them for thirty seconds. As you can might
predict, stringing lots of calls together can cause fairly unwieldy calls.

Example 3:

I can call single. Two spells are cast on me, both allowing me to add 'knock-back' to my call. As
these are the same effect, they do not stack to form such calls as 'knock-back-knock-back', or
'double knock-back', but simply add one 'knock-back' to your call.
 Hit Points
If you wish to make use of a new hit point benefit, any previous, weaker enhancements reach their
conclusion first. This means that loss of hit points from the previous enhancement should be
calculated before determining the new benefit. Remember that hit points can not fall below zero.

If the previous enhancement is stronger than the new one, the new one has no effect.

Note that by 'weaker' and 'stronger' enhancements, we mean one that increases your hit points by a
smaller or larger number respectively. As ever, the chest is the base for all maths that needs to be
done.

In the following examples, we have ignored all locations but the chest for both clarity and brevity.

Example 1:

I have three hit points per location. I take a 'gain 3 hit points global' potion, putting me on 6 hits. I
then take a 'gain 5 hit points global' potion. I reduce my hit points by 3, then increase them by 5,
putting me on 8 hit points per location.

Example 2:

I have 3 hit points per location. I take a 'gain 5 hit points global' potion, putting me on 8 hits. I then
take a 'gain 3 hit points global' potion. This potion is weaker than the first, so has no effect.

Example 3:

I have three hit points per location. I take a 'gain 1 hit' potion. I take another 'gain 1 hit' potion. I
lose one hit, then gain 1 hit. Nothing changes.

Example 4:

I take a 'gain 1 hit' potion. I subsequently take more damage and hit my death count. I take another
'gain 1 hit' potion. Losing the hit from the first potion does not alter the fact that I am on 0 hit
points. The new potion gives me 1 hit point, and I will lose 1 hit point at the end of combat.

Example 5:

I have three hit points per location. I take a 'gain 3 hit points global' potion, putting me on 6 hits. I
then suffer damage reducing me to 2 hits. To fix this, I take a 'gain 5 hit points global' potion. I
reduce my hit points by 3, putting me on 0 hits, then increase them by 5, putting me on 5 hit points
per location. At the end of combat, I will lose 5 hit points.

Magical Armour
You can have one magical armour benefit at a time. If you have more than one magical armour
effect placed on you at a time, you may chose which one to use. The other effect disappears.

Example:

You have a spell cast on you which gives you 1 point of magical armour. Someone else casts a spell
on you which grants you 2 points of magical armour. You may chose to either continue with that
first single point of armour, or replace that with two points of armour.