General Rules
Terres Rising is a medieval fantasy live action roleplaying game for players 18 years of age and over. Between 16 and 18, a parental permission form is required. Terres Rising is run for the enjoyment of all who participate. Everyone who plays, does so by invitation. The invitation is an open one: anyone is welcome, but it is still only an invitation. If you cause problems for the rest of the participants, because you are abusive, cheating, discourteous, etc., then you will be asked not to return, and will not be permitted to play. Terres Rising is about fun for everyone, so be considerate of your fellow LARPers.
Safety - Safety is the most important consideration. Always be aware of what is going on around you, and warn others if they are in a potentially dangerous situation.
No Drugs, Alcohol, Theft, or Real Weapons - You will be immediately sent home, and may suffer other penalties and punishments.
Smoking - Smoking is permitted in designated areas only. Be sure to properly dispose of any cigarette butts.
No Fire - Players may not use fire in any cabins. Players may not bring candles or fuel burning lanterns on the site at all. Battery powered lanterns are the only acceptable forms of cabin illumination. Campfires are only permitted in designated areas and must be supervised at all times.
Do Not Litter - It is disrespectful to players, the site management, the environment and the staff.
Stay In-Game, Do Not Go Out-Of-Game - During a Terres Rising event, you are expected to be In-Game ("IG") at all times. IG means that you are playing the part of your character, and as such, you should speak and react as your character would. When you show up to a Terres Rising event, you are there as your character for the entire event. There is no going "Out-Of-Game" (OOG) for trivial reasons. Being OOG is disruptive, and can cause confusion and frustration for Staff and other players. The area where Staff prepares (known as "Monster Camp"), is OOG, and is off-limits for players. If you need to go OOG for something simple, like asking your friend an OOG question, do so quickly and discreetly. If it is for something more complex, like trying to find your car keys in the woods, then you will need to get a staff member to travel along with you, to aid you, and to prevent others from trying to interact with you. Being OOG inappropriately is subject to punishment.
Stay In Period - It is hard to maintain game atmosphere when modern junk is strewn about. When outside your cabin, stay in costume and keep modern necessities out of sight.
Game Reality - The staff of Terres Rising has put a lot of effort in to making things "real". So you will not need to ask questions like, "What do I see?" Essentially, you can do anything that does not break the rules, endanger another player or yourself, disrupt the flow of game, or damage other people's property. Examples of things you cannot do are cutting off tree limbs, breaking down doors, burning things, etc.
No Physical Contact - No physical contact with another player is permitted unless you have their permission, especially in combat situations.
Stay Cool - We would prefer that players resolve problems on their own. However, if you are have an unresolveable problem with another player, walk away, and let a Staff Member know. If you have a problem with a staff member, bring it to the attention of the Game Directors.
Game Terms and Definitions
Player vs. Character
As a real person, you may have a nine to five job or a course load at school, but when at a Terres Rising event, you become an actor. and play the part of a character who interacts in the world of Terres Rising. You can build a unique persona of your own choosing and as you slip into your character's persona, you become part of the Terres Rising world, and the story unfolds around you.
Staff vs. Player
Staff's job is to provide quality entertainment for the players. It is not to compete against them. There are two levels of staff commitment. The first level is "Grunting", which is not glamorous. You will be limited in your plot exposure and essentially do whatever Staff needs you to do. By Grunting, you will earn experience points that can be applied to your own character. The second level is Staff. This means you have committed to being a staff person and can never be a player. If you are interested in joining Staff, you may apply for a position by contacting the Game Directors.
Play Stoppages: Caution, Clarify, and Emergency
Caution is used if you see a potential safety hazard and need to make someone aware of the safety problem. This creates a slight pause in game play in order for the person to move out of harm's way. For example, you would shout "CAUTION" to someone about to back over a fallen tree. During this pause in game, the attackers should not press forward.
Clarify
Clarify should be used when you did not hear or do not understand an effect. For example, if an attacker says, "3 Crushing", and you are unsure of what that means, or did not hear it, shout, "CLARIFY". Gameplay should not stop. Only a slight pause is needed for the attacker to respond to the Clarify, but like Caution, the attackers should not press forward.
Emergency
Emergency should only be called when there is an injury or safety hazard. By shouting "EMERGENCY", all game play stops (including resetting, searching the ground for treasure, talking to other characters, etc.) until the emergency is resolved.
Hold
Hold will generally only be called by a staff person. Holds will be called by a staff person if he sees someone blatantly ignoring the rules system, to explain a complicated in game effect, or after combat, to collect tags.
Skill Points (SP)
Skill points are used to purchase skills for your character. At the end of every event, every player who attends, receives a predetermined number of Skill Points, called a "blanket".
Experience Points (XP)
As you play your character, your character will gain experience points, which are used to convert into SP. XP can be gained four ways. First, by obtaining "essence" by killing a foe, and draining their essence. Second, by achieving goals and successfully interacting with others in the world. Third, through good role-playing, and staying IG. Fourth, by satisfying various tasks for the betterment of the game, such as filling out event evaluations or assisting with cleanup.
Ability Points (AP)
Ability points are used to perform special skills. Each skill will note how many APs it takes to perform that skill. Ability points reset every six hours.
Body Points (BP)
Body points are the number of points of damage you character can absorb before your characters falls unconscious and begins to bleed to death. When you suffer damage, your body points decrease by the appropriate amount, until you have none left. When you reach 0 body points (there is no such thing as negative BP), you fall unconscious, and after one minute, you will bleed out, and die.
Armor Points
Armor allows you to take additional points of damage before it affects your body points. The amount of armor that can be worn is determined by your race and the physical representation of armor that you wear.
Resetting
Many parts of the rules system require you to perform a reset. Usually, a reset requires one full minute of role-playing whatever effect you are trying to achieve. While you are performing whatever actions are required for a reset, you should be counting out loud to show that you are in the process of a reset. If your count is interrupted, you must restart counting. Resetting is a conscious action, and you cannot reset while sleeping or if you are dead. You cannot overlap resetting actions. This active reset is different than the passive reset that restores your AP every six hours.
Phys Reps (Physical Representations)
All of the items in the world of Terres Rising require that you carry a Phys Rep, and most also require a game item tag. It is not sufficient to say “I am wearing a chain mail shirt”, you must actually have a suit of chain mail, and then obtain a game item tag for chain mail, IG. If one of your items is destroyed or stolen IG, you must obtain a new tag in order to use that phys rep. A player may carry multiple Phys Reps with them, if they want to have a back up sword or set of armor, but must have a tag for each of them. If an item is stolen IG, then the person stealing the item will take the game item tag from the item, and return the phys rep to a staff member. If an item that has a game item tag is destroyed IG, you must give the tag to a staff member. Normal game items are not recognizable by the tag, nor by the phys rep.
Special Game Items
Special game items are treated differently from standard "Phys Reps" and if they are "stolen" they are physically taken, whereas, when stealing standard "Phys Reps" only the Game Item Tag is taken. You can turn a standard "Phys Rep" into a special game item, by giving it to Staff. The ownership of the actual "Phys Rep" transfers to Terres Rising, and from then on, the weapon and tag are forever one. Once this is done, the Phys Rep cannot be changed in any way. All Game Items will be checked in at the end of an event, and will be checked out at the beginning of an event that you are present. Special items also require that they be "attuned to" before you can use them. Attunement time will vary based upon the item. It can be as quick as a reset, or may require months of game time. Some items require intense concentration to attune to, whereas others may need training with the item. Some items can only be attuned to by one person at a time. If you are lucky enough to obtain a special item, you just try to have it identified IG, and Staff will let you know about your special item.
Game Action
After using an offensive skill, such as swinging a weapon, casting a spell, throwing a poison gas, etc. you must pause for one second. This time will allow the target to respond and acknowledge the action. This is known as a "callback."
Duration
Many skills and IG abilities will have effects that last for different amounts of time. Standard: The majority of effects last for 1 minute unless a specific duration is stated. Instant: The effect occurs immediately and then is over. Numerical damage, such as "2 Fire" instantly affect your chartacter. Line of Sight: If you can see your attacker or your attacker can see you, the effect continues. Line of sight cannot be broken by hiding behind your friends, a tree, a cloak, or other such devices. Line of sight can be broken by hiding behind a building, a hill, etc… If the attacker falls unconscious, line of sight is broken. Line of sight must be broken for one minute to terminate the effect.
Ways of Delivering Effects
Weapon Attacks:
If you strike a target with a weapon, the blow must hit the body, not weapon, shield or flapping cloak. If your weapon strikes an item they are holding, that item is affected. All weapon strikes cause a base damage of 1. If a special ability is used, additional damage or an effect may be called upon a successful strike. If you are hit by a weapon and an effect is called, you take 1 point of damage as well as the effect. If you are wielding two weapons you may swing with both weapons in a combination attack before the mandatory one second pause. If you are using an attack that requires the use of AP, you only expend the AP if your attack is successful or successfully blocked or negated. In other words, you don't use the AP if you physically miss your target.
Spells require an incantation. Incants must be spoken loud enough for the target to hear it before the spell packet is thrown, and must be completely finished before throwing the spell packet. A spell fails if you use an incorrect incant or if you are struck successfully by any in-game effect other than Contact. This is called a "miscast". If you miscast, you do not use any magic points. If you successfully finish an incant, but miss with your spell packet, the appropriate magic points are used. When a spell hits, you should then call out the effect. Like weapon attacks, most spells require that you pause a full second before casting another spell. If a spell packet hits you or any item you are carrying, it affects you. Damage based spells (except Body, and Crushing) can be blocked with a shield or weapon. Psionics:
Psionics are the mental manipulation of the environment. Psionic attacks are made when contact has been established with a target, which is usually delivered by a packet attack. Psionic effects do not require any verbal incantation.
Illegal Targets
Head, Groin, and Hand hits are illegal targets, and any hits to these areas are considered to have missed. Abuse of this rule will be subject to punishment.
Death
When your character's BP drops to zero, you are considered unconscious, and you have one minute before you bleed out and die. During this time, anything that raises your body points to one or more, will return you to consciousness. While unconscious, you must lay prone, may not move, and may not speak in or out of game, unless a staff member is requesting information from you, or a character with the First Aid skill asks you, "What's your status?" If after one minute has elapsed, and you are not saved, your character is dead. Your essence resides in your corpse for up to ten minutes. During this time, you can be revived by spells or a surgeon. After ten minutes, your essence fades from your body and you will rise up as a spirit and head to Monster Camp. You are visible, but not aware of your surroundings and cannot interact with the living, and are unaffected by anything, except under special circumstances. You must avoid being in the middle of combat and should not interfere with those who are alive. All of your game items remain on your corpse (be sure to bring your "phys reps" with you, but leave any game item tags). You must drop all of your game items where you died, and proceed immediately to Monster Camp, walking with your head bowed, and your hand or phys rep atop your head. When you arrive at Monster Camp, tell a Staff member that you are dead. If you survive the experience, you will return to the world of the living with absolutely nothing. When you die, you remember everything up until your death. You have no memory of your time as a spirit.
Permanent Death
Every character's spirit is weakened each time the character dies. When the spirit has become too weak to reform and return, your character has permanently died. At that time, you must create a new character.
Cheating
Terres Rising is based on an honor system. If you observe someone else who you believe is cheating, please advise a staff member as soon as possible. If you notice an inconsistency or loophole in the rules, please notify a staff member.