Origins 2005 Announcements

|Armillus Bearer Announcement|BI Player's Information & Responsibilities|
|Note on Faction Leaders|PC vs PC|Scheduling|

If you have a PC with the Armillus of the Laurel of Vigilance, you should be aware of the following information. This is a mixture of IC and OOC information.

OOC: If you gained the Armillus prior to the real-world LARP at Origins 2004 (The Convocation of the Divine) then you were freed from your oath by the events that took place at the end of the Convocation. If you gained the Armillus after the LARP, then you are still under the effects of the oath you had to swear in order to keep the item instead of converting it to a favor.

Details on the Coryani Pledge Ceremony, including the text of the oath, can be found in the Files section of the LA_Talk group (Webmaster Note - and on this website). However, only the parts relating to the actual oath itself are relevant. The ceremony will take place as part of the Emperor's wedding festivities, and Emperor Calcestus will be administering the oath in his role as Patriarch of the Mother Church.

An updated version of the Coryani Pledge Ceremony will be posted after Origins including the details of what transpired during the LARP.

IC: Holy Emperor Calcestus val'Assante has announced that all bearers of the Armillus of the Laurel of Vigilance will be given the honor of re-swearing their oaths of fealty and loyalty. This oath-taking will occur in conjunction with the Emperor's upcoming wedding to Queen Alehza. All bearers of the Armillus are cordially invited to attend the Emperor's wedding and participate in the oath-taking under the direction of Calcestus himself, but even those bearers who are not able to attend the wedding in person will be expected to present themselves to an appropriate temple of the Mother Church and renew their oath.

OOC: If you converted the Armillus to a favor at the time you received the certificate, this is NOT an opportunity for you to convert it back. If you swore the oath of fealty to Calcestus and kept the Armillus as an item, your PC *will* be required to swear the oath again in order to keep the item. If you wish to convert it to a favor of Emperor Calcestus instead of swearing the oath a second time, you may do so by following the rules in the LARC. However, the Emperor will be disappointed in your lack of faith, and the resulting favor you get by converting the Armillus will be Power Level 7 instead of Power Level 8.

If you are the player of a PC with the Armillus and you are attending the Origins 2005 LARP ("The Wedding") and you plan to play that PC, then you MAY NOT convert the Armillus to a favor or re-swear the oath until the LARP itself. You will be given the opportunity in character to swear the oath before the Holy Emperor and the assembled guests, or to inform the Emperor in person that you do not wish to re-swear the oath and convert it to a favor instead. If you want to review the wording of the oath, please see the Coryani Pledge Ceremony in the Files section of the LA_Talk group, or download the file from Onara Online.

The above ruling will be effective as of the end of the Origins LARP. Therefore, as of Saturday 02 July 2005, all PCs with the Armillus must either have sworn the oath or converted the certificate to a Power Level 7 Favor of Emperor Calcestus val'Assante.

Player Responsibilities:Players are responsible for having their characters in order, including having all mandatory campaign documentation completely filled out before the BI begins.

Players are responsible for having their BI character information card filled and cut out before the BI begins. This card must be FULLY filled out (printed or in dark pen) and cut out for your GM PRIOR to arriving to play the BI. Please use only WHITE paper for these forms. Extra forms will be provided on site at the PCI booth upon request. However, do NOT show up to the BI without one of these forms COMPLETELY filled and cut out.

Figures: Players are responsible for having an appropriate representation for their character and any other potential combatants they may be responsible for playing.

Behavior: Players are expected to conform to all RPGA standards of conduct.

Balanced Party: It is not the job of the authors, PCI, or the event organizers to group players into effective or balanced tables. This is wholly a player responsibility and a mustering area is provided for such activity. Any complaints in this vein to the organizers of this event will be summarily noted, evaluated, and discarded.

Property: Property does not make a hero. If you disagree, play something else. Unless a player specifically states otherwise to his GM, his character is assumed to be carrying all his certed items.

APL Information: This BI will support APLs of 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17. "Play up" at your own risk.

Dice: Non-standard dice are not allowed. No oversized dice are allowed. No clear dice with uncolored numbers are allowed. If the GM cannot read a number on your dice, they are not allowed. Players are responsible for having normal sized dice with clearly readable numbers. Oversized dice, metal dice, clear dice, or dice with special makings instead of numbers will not be allowed.

Clutter: Do not clutter the table with books/bags/food/drinks etc. The scenarios presented during the BI are very challenging and being able to completely see, read, and understand the map may mean the difference between life and death for PCs. Also, since PCs will very likely be changing tables due to certain circumstances that may arise, please bring only the minimum gaming materials necessary.

Player Reward Cards: All LA approved RPGA player reward cards and other rewards (see the latest LARC) are eligible for use during the BI. For purposes of card usage, the BI is a single scenario.

Scenario Type: For purposes of item creation, the BI is a hard point scenario.

Pre-Cast Spells/Powers: Characters may begin the BI with any number of "Hourly" duration spells or powers already in play (but they must be marked off your information card. (i.e. you may not begin play with a spell staff containing a heal spell without those spells being removed from your list). Simply mark off the appropriate spell/item/spell slot/power points and record this active spell/power in the appropriate section of your PC info card with a start time of 7am. Be sure to point this information out to your GM when you give him your card and record any effects to your character in PENCIL.

Initiative: Initiative should be resolved as normal. GMs will be using cards to keep track of initiative, so PCs may use the full range of initiative dependent options such as delaying, holding, and readying, actions.

Rare items: The rare item restriction is waved for the BI.

PC Vs. PC Conflict: The moratorium on PC verses PC conflict is waived for this BI, however, all participating parties and the Senior GM must agree upon any such activity and a PCI official must be present to oversee such combat.

Rolling Dice: GMs will be provided pre-generated die rolls on a sheet of paper. Players must roll all their dice where their GM can see them. If a GM does not witness a die roll, he has every right (and is encouraged to) make the player re-roll the die.

Cohorts: Cohorts may only be used by PCs when their table is not at full capacity at the BEGINNING of the BI. Since this event is expected to sell out, inclusion of a cohort is VERY unlikely. NEVER, under any circumstances, will a player be turned away in favor of a cohort.

Fog of War: For simplicity, this combat is such that all visibility extends only as far as the edge of the map where it is obscured by fog, smoke, or dust. Combatants may not engage enemies from "off-board" locations unless specifically allowed in the mission text.

Map Edge: The edge of the map is a hard boundary. PCs and NPCs may not leave the map unless specifically noted in the mission text. However, this "magical" edge may not be exploited in any way, by anyone, to prevent flanking. For flanking purposes only, consider there to be one or two extra squares around the map's edge where appropriate for characters or NPCs to move into flanking positions.

Player Experience and Rewards:Players do not apply XP to their characters at any time during the interactive. After the BI, PCs will be rewarded XP and rewards individually. Record XP and rewards on your log sheet entry for the BI and have your GM sign it. Remember, no PC may advance more than one level during any event. Therefore if a PC would have gone up more levels, they only gain one level and are 1 XP below the next level. All excess XP is lost.

Player Record Keeping: Players should be bringing their PC and all carried items with them to the table. Any certed items brought to the table are assumed to be carried by the PC unless specifically noted. All certed items used during the BI should be ripped up or voided at the table. Be prepared if your GM wishes to collect certain certificates from you if he has instructions to do so. As your PC uses items or cast spells, make sure your GM gets the appropriate item certificate or makes the appropriate entries on your information card, log sheets, and/or MIC sheet.

Cheating: If you need to cheat to have fun, and you must win at all costs to have a good time, please save us all the trouble and find something else to do. This will not be tolerated!

Die Bumps For Charity: Die bumps will not be used this time. Instead, we will be using a "Fate Pool" system that will be explained on site.

Desertion: The PCs can simply leave the battle at any time. If they do, they receive no GP or XP. The GM will make note of this player's name, character's name, and RPGA number and report this information to Derrel Weaver and Team Paradigm. Be prepared for dire consequences to a PC if you choose this route.

Unruly Players: I had to add this one after the childish behavior of a few people at the first LA battle interactive. Anyone disrupting play by throwing tantrums will be asked nicely to leave the gaming area, once and a session ejection notice will be filed with the RPGA for further action. After this single polite request, convention or hotel security, or the local police will be called to remove the offending parties. Any physical threats or altercations will result in the offending individual's removal from the property, and charges will be filed with the local authorities by Derrel Weaver or the assaulted parties. This is not a threat. It will be done. Unruly players will also be dealt with under the RPGA punishment guidelines and the staff of PCI and the Living Arcanis Ethics Board will seek the maximum punishment possible, up to and including banning the individual from the RPGA. Though this event is not RPGA sanctioned, we still fall under their guidelines as a living campaign.

Resource materials: Players are responsible for having any special rules used by their characters readily available in a simple format for the GM to review as needed. All Players MUST have any non-core materials with them they wish to utilize. This means: If a PC has a feat, an item, a spell, uses a class, uses and ability or any other item from a non-core book (Ssethregore, PGtA, Nyambe, City of Secrets, Forged in Magic, etc.) they MUST have the book (or relevant campaign certificate) with them, at the table, to show the GM or that particular item in question may not be used during the battle interactive. You say you have the Gentry feat, but don't have the Codex Arcanis or the Player's Guide to Arcanis? Well...then you can't use it!

Reach Weapons: A 10' reach will extend over one diagonal to reach the next diagonal square. A 20' reach weapon will extend into the third diagonal.

Speed: The missions in the Battle Interactive depend on speed. If you are taking too much time to decide what to do on your initiative, your GM will count to 10. If he reaches 10, your initiative is skipped. If you dally, you WILL kill your party.

Bottom Line: This will be a VERY challenging event for your PC. Be sure to pool resources and play smart. Teamwork and tactics will prevail. If you are divided, you will be conquered. Have fun!

Table Commanders: Each table will be appointed (note, this is not a democracy!) a table commander based on certain criteria at the beginning of the BI. This table commander will be the one who receives the mission briefings and makes all choices concerning such missions. Be sure everyone at your table understands the strengths and weaknesses of each PC at that table. The PC's lives may very well depend on it! (Note: If any table commander is proven to be intentionally sabotaging his table's missions (see below), that PC will be irrevocably slain and all his campaign documentation will be voided or destroyed!)

Sabotaging Missions: Henry had the following to say on this subject. His word is law (kind of like the Emperor, but we listen more) and it will be followed and enforced! "I have been led to understand that some of the more fervent players are planning on joining tables of the side they truly oppose in the hopes of sabotaging the missions said tables go on. Let me be clear on this: This is not only NOT going to be tolerated, but is really bad sportsmanship. Allow me to explain: A lot of people spend a substantial amount of money to travel to these shows and for some, this is their once a year vacation. While I realize we all really enjoy the story and "get into it", we need to step back and remember that this is just a game and as such, we play it to have fun. I realize that Arcanis, more than any other Fantasy Campaign out there encourages intrigue and "thinking outside the box", but let's save your sneaky schemes for the "Bad Guys", i.e., the NPCs in the mods and have a straight up fair fight determined by skill, bravery and dumb luck decide which side wins. Let's not ruin someone else's experience by playing dirty. To prove that we're taking this very seriously, the following policy will be in force during the BI: Anyone caught purposefully sabotaging missions will have their character killed irrevocably without any hope of resurrection. We're not kidding about this policy. I hope everyone understands the reason why this is being done."

Undead PCs: Please do not show up to this battle to fight on the side of the Rebels. Due to the nature of Enpebyn, and the composition of the forces, you will be killed on sight. If you show up to fight for the Loyalists, you may also be killed on sight. Best if you played another character!

I just wanted to take a moment to reiterate a point that we made a couple of months or so ago regarding the BI. This BI is very much driven from point to point by the actions of the PCs and the success or failure of individual tables. It is possible that the battle will go in such a direction that the faction leaders of one or both sides will become available for PCs to attack. If that happens it will not be in the context of a regular mission (i.e. no table is going to be *ordered* to go after General Menisis).

Players should be aware that the top-ranking leaders of the factions are very high-level NPCs. I will not go into details of their stat blocks because doing so would be inappropriate. I will just say that there are NPCs in the world of Arcanis who are well into Epic levels. If you choose to attack a faction leader and the faction leader turns out to have 15 or 20 levels on you, well, the consequences of your decision will likely be very unpleasant. However, we like to let people make their own decisions, so if the opportunity legitimately arises because of the way the interactive has gone, we will put the appropriate NPCs on the table and let the chips fall where they may. We will not boxed-text your death ... but that does not mean you a guaranteed to have a statistically meaningful chance of avoiding that death, either.

I wanted to take a moment and elaborate on the issue of PC vs. PC combat for the upcoming Origins BI. Obviously, the nature of the BI is such that there will be PCs on both sides of the conflict. It is possible, though not guaranteed, that the results of some of the missions will lead to a situation where PCs fighting for opposite factions could come into contact with one another. If that situation arises then the campaign staff may open up an opportunity for those PCs who wish to do so to engage one another in direct combat. However, a couple of key points to keep in mind:

1. We will decide if PC vs. PC combat is warranted, when it is warranted, and the circumstances under which it will take place. Unless and until we say otherwise, all of the normal rules of the campaign and the RPGA regarding PCs attacking other PCs are in place for the BI at all times.
2. NO player will be FORCED into PC vs. PC combat under ANY circumstances. If the opportunity arises and you as a player do not want to partake of it, you will not be penalized in any way nor will it affect the outcome of your faction's BI results in any way.
3. If an opportunity for sanctioned PC vs. PC combat arises, it will be made clear in no uncertain terms. It will not be ambiguous. You will not be box-texted into a PC vs. PC battle nor can you get into one accidentally.
4. If we allow PCs to fight other PCs, we will not stop them from killing each other. All decisions made by the BI judging staff will be final. There is a Senior GM for the interactive, there is an Appeals Judge for the interactive, and members of both the campaign staff and PCI will be on site during the interactive. Once a PC vs. PC situation has been adjudicated and a final decision rendered as to the outcome, there will be no further appeals.

Again, we make no promises that PC vs. PC combat will be offered as an option during the BI, but if it is, it will be handled according to the guidelines above.

I wanted to take a moment and give everyone an update to try and explain the current scheduling situation with Origins.

First of all, I want to make sure that everyone understands which modules are being offered by the RPGA and which are being offered by PCI. This doesn't matter to you, the player, in terms of how you sign up on the Origins site, but it does help explain where we have flexibility and where we do not have flexibility.

The RPGA modules are LA-SP4-06 "The Blood of Innocence" and LA-SP4- 07 "Under the Blood-Red Sky." As I understand it there are two tables per module per slot scheduled for these events. (Correction: During the BI and LARP slots there are one table of each scheduled) The judges and space for these events are provided by the RPGA. In the past the RPGA has added more tables to events for which there is evidence of overwhelming demand (i.e. everything sells out). However, I do not know how much flexibility the RPGA has to add more table space; I am told that the RPGA area is not in the same place this year that it has been for the last several years and space is already at a premium. I do not know any more details than that.

The PCI modules are "Into the Lavender Way" (delve / dungeon crawl), "The Wedding" (LARP), and "For the Glory of the Empire" (BI). For these events we are getting our own judges and PCI has arranged with Origins to get space separate from the RPGA space. We are offering 4 tables each time the delve runs. The LARP can accommodate 150 players and the BI can accommodate 180 players. If those events sell out we will not be able to add more tables because we are only bringing enough judges to cover those numbers.

Now, let me explain how the events are connected to one another. There have been posts on these topics in the past but we have made a few changes.

1. LA-SP4-06 and LA-SP4-07 are Part I and Part II of "The Forges of Mystery." It is strongly recommended that you play the two modules in order. In fact, as it currently stands, LA-SP4-07 contains spoilers for LA-SP4-06. Derrel and I are working to try and make some changes so that it becomes less important that the modules be played in order. However, if you can, I suggest you try to sign up so that you play them in order.
2. "Into the Lavender Way" is a one-shot dungeon delve / crawl. It is intended to be played after you have played both LA-SP4-06 and LA-SP4-07. However, this is NOT necessary. In fact, because of the way the schedule worked out, folks who sign up for the early slots of the delve have a very low chance of having played both LA-SP4-06 and LA-SP4-07 first. That is fine. We have made changes to the delve so that it doesn't matter when you play it in relation to the other mods. It also doesn't matter when you play the delve in relation to the BI. Those who play the delve before the BI will get certain encounters and those who play after the BI will get different encounters. So just sign up for the delve whenever it fits into your schedule and you will be fine. Please note that this is a CRAWL scenario and will not present many opportunities for diplomatic type PCs.
3. Also, although the delve will not be released for home play, we WILL be offering "Into the Lavender Way" at Gen Con Indy 2005. I do not know the exact times / slots or number of tables yet, so I wouldn't recommend making any Origins scheduling decisions on that basis, but just so people know, if the delve totally sells out and you don't get a chance to play it, there will be another chance at Gen Con Indy. And again, if you don't get to play the delve at Origins, you will not be missing any information that you need for the BI.
4. The LARP (Friday night) is a one-shot event (as the Convocation was last year). Note that the LARP is *not* set in Enpebyn. It takes place before the BI in terms of the campaign timeline (which is why it is running first at Origins). It does *not* matter if you play the LARP with the same character that plays the BI. It does not matter if you play the LARP before or after you play LA-SP4-06, LA-SP4-07, or "Into the Lavender Way." Just sign up for it and come have fun. Weddings are always fun, right? :) There will definitely be information at the LARP that might cause people to make certain decisions about how to approach the BI, but any such information will become public IC knowledge so you don't have to worry about "not knowing with the correct PC."
5. The BI (Saturday afternoon/evening) is a one-shot event. It will not be released for home play (although we do not rule out releasing a home-play module that takes place at the same time as the BI so that folks who can't come to Origins can still bear witness to the events). The reason we are not releasing it for home play is simply that it is too complicated, and also because the results of the BI will be determining things that need to be factored into other modules that are being written now. We need to start using the information from the BI right away.

Strictly speaking, it would be nice if you could play LA-SP4-06 and LA-SP4-07 before you play the BI. However, it is not absolutely necessary. The main reason it is preferred is because LA-SP4-06 and LA-SP4-07 both take place in Enpebyn *before* the events of the BI. Obviously the BI is going to make a few changes (heh) to Enpebyn and its surrounding area. So, if you play the SPs after the BI, they obviously do not take the events of the BI into account and you will have a little bit of a time paradox (i.e. X happens at the BI, but X has not yet happened in the mods and you can't take it into account). As long as you are OK resetting your mental calendar (which all RPGA players should be really good at) it does not matter if you play LA-SP4-06 and LA-SP4-07 before the BI or not. So if the only tickets you can get to the other mods are after the BI, that's OK. Go ahead and sign up for the schedule that works best for you. There will be plenty of teasers and other IC information available that will tell you everything you need to know going into the BI.

I hope that the above information helps people get a sense of what kind of flexibility they can have in terms of setting a schedule. The most important thing is that we want all of you to come to Origins! If you can't get tickets in the Thursday slots because they are already sold out, it's OK to play things "out of order". The main thing you should shoot for is to play LA-SP4-06 before you play LA-SP4-07. If you can pull that off then the rest is pretty much interchangeable. And we are doing what we can to make LA-SP4-07 less of a spoiler for LA-SP4-06 (but it's hard to do with investigation-type modules).

I will be happy to answer whatever questions might arise; there are some things I don't know, such as how many tickets have already been sold in which slot (the Origins site doesn't provide such information) or what the likelihood is of the RPGA adding more tables in a particular slot (they know Origins is our big show for the year and I am confident they will do everything they can to help us out). The main thing is I want people to know that it's OK if you don't get a "perfect schedule" that has LA-SP4-06 then LA-SP4-07 then the delve then the LARP then the BI. It doesn't have to be that exact. Just get the schedule that works best for you, make sure you buy your tickets as early as you can, and try to get 4-06 before 4-07 and you will be fine. If worse comes to worst and the only schedule you get has 4-07 before 4-06, well, come anyway and you might have to "play dumb" on a few things, but we have faith in our players.

Thanks for all of your support and enthusiasm and I look forward to seeing everyone at Origins.