1) WHAT IS LIVE-ACTION ROLE-PLAY (LARP)?

LARP is a form of role-playing game where the participants dress and act as their characters. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world while interacting with each other as their characters. LARP is a form of interactive theatre, where participants act without a script. The outcome of player actions is mediated by game rules or determined by consensus among participants. Costume, props, makeup, prosthetics, masks and realistic-looking foam weapons are used by all participants to represent various characters they are portraying in the fictional universe. We have produced various videos to help explain what LARP is, and also what happens at our events and behind the scenes. You can find these on our YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

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2) DO I NEED TO LEARN ALL OF THE RULES?

When you are planning on attending one of our events, especially if it is your first time LARPing, we highly recommend downloading and reading our core rules, available in the RULES & LORE section of this website. Whilst we do not expect you to learn the rules inside out, we at least ask that you get an idea of the concept of the system and take note of some of the basic rules. If you enjoyed your first event, and want to attend future games with us, it is at this point you should begin to ensure important rules (such as instructional calls for effects and damage etc.) and abilities your character has acquired are committed to memory, or at least jotted down in some form of notebook for you to refer to whilst at a game. In our experience, those who have taken the time to study the game rules have a more enjoyable time with us, and it also prevents interruptions to gameplay whilst rules are explained privately to individuals who are not clued up.

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3) IS THERE AN AGE RESTRICTION FOR ATTENDEES?

CREW must be at least 16 YEARS OLD to take part in our events, and PLAYERS must be 14 OR OVER (unless with the prior agreement of a staff member). Anyone under 18 must always be accompanied by a guardian who is 18 or older. One adult can be responsible for up to four minors. We must be informed in advance (via email) who the guardian of the minor/s is, providing a name, address, email and contact telephone number. A guardian must supervise a minor at all times and ensure they are present for the duration of the event the minor is attending. Please be aware that if a guardian fails to supervise a minor at all times, the staff reserve the right to ask them (and the minor/s) to leave the event site. If this would result in you or any others accompanying you also having to leave the event site, full or partial refunds for any tickets purchased will not be issued. Be aware that Neothera Saga UK LARP is not aimed at a young audience. As such, we will not alter or censor potentially disturbing in-character (IC) occurrences (such as gore, foul language, violence and adult subject matter etc.) with a view that minors will be attending a game. By allowing a minor to attend an event, their guardian understands and agrees to our full TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

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4) IS THERE A RECRUIT-A-FRIEND BONUS?

If you recruit a friend, you both earn 3 Hero Points (HRP). This works as follows:

•  If your friend buys a PLAYER ticket, you both get 3 HRP straight away, but your friend must email us to advise you recruited them.

•  If your friend books a free CREW ticket, you both earn 3 HRP after the event has concluded (we need to make sure your friend attended the event before issuing HRP).

 

HRP may be used to do the following:

 Increase your character’s EXP cap beyond 200 where 1 HRP increases your cap by 5 EXP

• Convert to EXP where 1 HRP = 1 EXP

• Convert to LLANDIES where 1 HRP = 5 LLANDIES

• Purchase unique abilities, spells and crafting projects (10 HRP each)

 

HRP remain with a player character until it is retired or dies, at which point they are refunded to the player.

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5) HOW DO I CREATE A PLAYER CHARACTER?

When you have purchased a PLAYER ticket to an upcoming event, you will be emailed confirmation of your purchase, along with details about the event itself. We will also create a character sheet for you (accessed via Google Sheets) and email you a link to it. You can access your character sheet anywhere, anytime provided you have an internet connection. We strongly recommend reading our core rules to learn the basics of creating a character. You can download our core rules from the RULES & LORE page of this website. To purchase tickets to our upcoming events, please visit the BOOK PLAYER TICKETS page.

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6) HOW DOES COMBAT WORK? HOW DO I FIGHT?

Combat occurs in real-time, you use foam weapons, professionally built and painted, to physically strike your opponents. You may block, parry, deflect and dodge your opponent as they attack you, and also make use of abilities, spells, damage and effect calls (as listed in the core rules) to enhance your effectiveness on and off the battlefield. When you have taken a certain amount of hits (depending on how many your character has), you must seek healing to restore your lost hit points from someone who has the ability to mend your wounds and/or armour. If you have lost all of your hit points and do not receive any healing, your character will die.

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7) ARE THERE WEAPON RESTRICTIONS?

Yes. We highly recommend downloading and reading the core rules for restrictions on weapons that are allowed at our events. The guide is available on the RULES & LORE page of this website. Please be advised that weapon restrictions are in place for health and safety reasons, not simply to restrict what equipment can be used by participants for rules mechanics.

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8) IS PVP (PLAYER VS. PLAYER) COMBAT ALLOWED?

PVP is very much allowed in our games. If you have a genuine, in-character (IC) gripe to settle, and you feel combat is the only way to resolve it, go ahead and attack that player!

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9) CAN I GRAPPLE / ROUGHHOUSE WITH OTHER PEOPLE?

Grappling or wrestling is to engage in a close fight or struggle without weapons. Grappling can only occur with the consent of the game staff. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should participants engage in grappling or pretend fist-fights unless the staff authorise this.

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10) WHAT HAPPENS IF MY CHARACTER DIES DURING A GAME?

Character death, whilst not frequent, does occur at our games. It is all part of the LARPing experience. If you are attending a game as a player, and your character is unfortunate enough to die, you have two options:

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A: Have a backup character prepared in advance (email us to get another character sheet setup) and jump back into the game.

B: Join the Crew! Spend the rest of the event crewing, and earn 5 Hero Points per day to spend on a new player character.

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11) I DO NOT WISH TO TAKE PART IN COMBAT. WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?

You should be aware that Neothera Saga UK LARP is a combat-heavy system, meaning that battles WILL take place at ALL of our events. If you do not wish to take part in combat, you need to inform us as soon as possible before an event is due to take place - ideally via email, and at least one week before the event start date. We do have measures we can take to allow you to avoid combat, and we would also suggest building a player character that takes advantage of abilities (listed in the core rules) that are not combat-orientated, such as healing or crafting. If you wish to crew but do not want to take part in combat, again you need to inform us when you sign up to attend an event. There are plenty of options to play non-combat NPCs, but we need to know this in advance to ensure parts are written for you to play.

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12) WHY USE ABILITIES, SPELLS, DAMAGE AND EFFECT CALLS?

Abilities, spells, damage and effect calls are used to represent magic and feats of strength that would otherwise be impossible or unsafe to physically perform in the real world. These can include, but are not limited to: striking a person with such force that it crushes their torso, using magic to harm, heal or fling an opponent away from you, performing intricate medical procedures or communicating with spirits.

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13) I HEARD AN EFFECT CALL. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

We are lucky to have a very friendly base of players and crew at our events. If you don't understand a rule, effect call or another aspect of the game, please don't hesitate to speak to a member of staff or the player or crew member who called the effect. They will be happy to explain it to you.

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14) I THINK SOMEONE MIGHT BE CHEATING IN THE GAME. WHAT DO I DO?

Our staff are always on hand to deal with any issues participants wish to raise as per our COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE. If you have a problem regarding cheating, please speak to the game staff who will address your concern. Those found to be knowingly cheating at our events will lose EXP or HRP. Those who continuously cheat after receiving a warning from the staff may be asked to leave the event site. If this would result in you, or any others accompanying you also having to leave the event site, full or partial refunds for any tickets purchased will not be issued. By purchasing any type of ticket, or attending a Neothera Saga UK LARP event, you agree, in full, to our TERMS & CONDITIONS.

 

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15) WHAT HAPPENS IF A CREW MEMBER DOESN’T REACT TO THE EFFECT CALL I TARGETED THEM WITH?

It is not uncommon for crew playing enemies to be able to ignore certain spells and attacks. If this is the case they are briefed by the game staff to clearly say RESIST. If this happens, the life force you spent to use the ability or effect is still spent, or if the ability, spell or item has a certain amount of uses per day, it still counts as it being used. If you use an ability, spell or item that allows you to call an effect on an enemy and the crew member does NOT call RESIST, try calling the effect again, and if it does not appear to work (or the crew member still does not call RESIST) it is perfectly acceptable not to count the item as being used, or the Life-force spent to use the ability. Please be aware that sometimes crew members cannot hear effect calls very well due to wearing masks or costumes that may restrict their hearing. Alternatively, the crew member may be new and has forgotten to call RESIST as directed by the game staff.

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16) HOW DOES IN-CHARACTER (IC) THEFT WORK?

Theft in the game world is certainly not uncommon, and whilst we do not dissuade this behaviour due to the types of characters people wish to play, we would like to make players aware that if they are caught stealing in-character (IC) the consequences can often be very serious! If you manage to steal an item at an event, you should always inform a member of staff AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, stating exactly what item/s were taken and who/where they were taken from. This rule applies for ALL ITEMS (except Llandies (in-game cash) and Resource Tokens), especially other players' personal, IC property, regardless of how mundane you think the item is. Failure to do this will result in EXP and/or HRP being deducted from you. It is NOT acceptable to steal items from out-of-character (OOC) areas, nor is it acceptable to hide IC items in OOC areas to prevent them from being stolen.

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17) WHAT IS MY CHARACTER ALLOWED TO KNOW ABOUT THE GAME WORLD?

Your character knows what is written in the lore compendium, the Journeyman newspaper, as well as what they learn in-game. It is acceptable to learn in-game information from other players outside of events. It is considered your characters have met in a world location (such as a tavern) and have exchanged knowledge. You can download the lore compendium from the RULES & LORE page of this website.

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18) IS IN-CHARACTER (IC) SEXISM, RACISM AND NAME-CALLING ALLOWED?

This is a sensitive topic, and we would like to begin by stating that Neothera Saga UK LARP does not tolerate out-of-character (OOC) sexism, racism, harassment or bullying of any kind (see our TERMS & CONDITIONS for more information on this). That said, such topics can sometimes occur in-character (IC) at our games and should not be mistaken for genuine, OOC bad behaviour. Such instances are only acceptable if a participant is comfortable with being confronted in such a way, and you should ALWAYS ask someone if it is okay to notch up the role-play to include sexism, racism, or any type of verbal or physical harassment. 

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19) IS THERE A SAFE WORD?

Certain in-character (IC) situations may arise during events that make participants feel uncomfortable out-of-character (OOC). If this is the case, we kindly ask that you remove yourself from the situation with as little OOC fuss as possible to not ruin the experience for others. If it is not possible to do this, perhaps because the situation directly involves you IC, you should clearly use the safe word: “SAFE-ZONE”. When spoken, this will inform others that you are not comfortable with what is happening, and they should change the subject matter to avoid further discomfort. If you have clearly stated the safe word and an/other participant/s do not take notice of you, immediately inform a staff member who will deal with this accordingly.

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20) WHAT IS YOUR COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE?

Unless you are comfortable in doing so calmly and reasonably, do not confront another participant that is causing you concern. Our seasoned staff are always on hand to deal with any issues people wish to raise. If something doesn't feel right, you have problems with another participant or generally want to voice any concerns you have, please speak to a member of staff.

 

COMPLAINTS MADE DURING AN EVENT

Approach a member of staff in private (where possible). They will listen to your complaint, and if it is something that they feel can be easily resolved on the spot, they will endeavour to do so. If the complaint is more serious, or you or the staff member decides it cannot be dealt with then and there, they will consult the rest of the staff team and decide the best way to resolve the matter. In our ten years of experience in running events, a complaint is usually resolved quickly by the staff having a private chat in person with the individual/s involved.

 

If a personal complaint is raised that involves someone breaking UK law, we strongly advise you to contact the Police. If the staff feel it is their duty to inform the Police, we will advise you that we are doing so.

 

COMPLAINTS MADE OUTSIDE OF EVENTS

All official complaints must be emailed to us directly ( neotherastaff@gmail.com ). You should NOT raise complaints via private or public messages on social media platforms, this is for safeguarding and privacy reasons (both yours and other individuals (potentially) involved). Complaints emailed to Neothera Saga UK LARP staff are ALWAYS fed back to the rest of the staff team, and we will discuss the issue in private before deciding the best course of action to take. In most cases, this involves the staff chatting (in person or via online voice chat) with the individual/s involved to discuss what has gone wrong and how we can resolve it with as little discomfort to all parties involved as possible.

 

COMPLAINT OUTCOMES

If the staff feels that the person shows remorse and/or genuinely did not realise they were causing a problem, they will be advised to think more carefully about their actions moving forward. They may also be asked to offer you a full apology where applicable. An official (written or verbal) warning may be issued if the staff feels this is the appropriate outcome. When an individual has accumulated TWO official (written or verbal) warnings, they will no longer be allowed to attend Neothera Saga UK LARP events. In more serious cases, an individual may be banned from attending any of our future events without any previous, official warnings. If an individual is banned from attending any future events, their access to any social media platforms (moderated by the staff) that allow interaction between other Neothera Saga UK LARP participants will also be revoked.

 

DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS

Each complaint is dealt with on an individual basis and will be approached in a professional manner by the staff. We do not put a timescale on our complaint resolution, although we do try to deal with complaints as quickly and efficiently as we can.

 

We respect the privacy of all attendees, however, please be aware that it is not always possible to hide your identity if, for example, the person you raised the complaint about is aware of what actions they took against you. Alternatively, there may be no grounds for further action to be taken against an individual if we feel an outcome cannot be reached without putting a name to the complaint.

 

Raising complaints in public without first speaking to a member of staff is not advisable, this is because you may unknowingly supply an incorrect account of the actions an individual took, or inadvertently affect our complaints procedure and privacy rules, potentially resulting in action being taken against you and (or) the other individual/s involved. Similarly, never raise complaints to other participants who are NOT official staff members. This could result in that person becoming involved in a complaint, which they may not wish to be a part of for their own personal reasons.

 

All complaints are taken seriously, and regardless of how long a person has been attending Neothera Saga UK LARP events, the same course of action will be followed as listed in our complaint procedure above.

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21) I NEED TO TAKE TIME TO MYSELF DURING THE EVENT. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

We understand that LARP events can be physically and mentally demanding. If you are a player or crew member and you need to take some time out, no matter what the reason is, please ensure you let a member of staff know ASAP so we can accommodate your needs.

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22) WHAT SHOULD I BRING TO AN EVENT?

We have put together a guide that explains everything you need to know. This guide is a must-read if you are new to LARP or planning on attending one of our events and aren't sure what to prepare or bring with you. It explains what to take to a game, and covers event site rules, site safety, facilities available, logistics, and times. You can find this information on our SINGLE DAY ADVENTURES and WEEKEND EVENTS pages.

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23) DO YOU PROVIDE OR SELL FOOD AND DRINK AT EVENTS?

We do NOT provide or sell food and drink at our events so you must ensure you bring a decent supply of your own. That said, there is free drinking water available at the Taw Bottom weekend event site, and the crew (during weekend events only) will be provided with free squash, sweets, fruit, tea, coffee and other snacks.

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24) CAN I ARRIVE EARLY FOR A WEEKEND EVENT?

The day before a weekend event is due to begin (Thursday) the staff will be on-site preparing for the game, applying set dressing, and sorting costumes, weapons, props and other equipment. Players and crew are welcome to arrive on Thursday any time after 11 am, however, an additional payment of £15 must be made in cash to cover your attendance. You must make this payment as soon as you arrive at the site. This additional fee covers the use of site facilities and camping for one person.

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25) CAN I CAMP IN-CHARACTER?

Yes. We allow in-character (IC) camping in designated areas during our weekend events. If you wish to camp IC, you must have a suitable tent, for example, a canvas or bell tent. Modern-looking tents cannot be pitched in IC areas. Before pitching your IC tent, you must ALWAYS ask a member of staff where you are allowed to camp. Be aware that camping IC means just that – Your tent is a part of the game world, and if left open (not zipped up) other participants can enter it and potentially steal IC items from you!

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26) DO YOU ALLOW PETS?

Animals are not allowed to attend Neothera Saga UK LARP events unless with the prior permission of the staff. If we allow you to bring an animal to an event, you must always clean up after it and be responsible for removing any waste from the site. Please be aware that our events often contain the use of pyrotechnics, strobe lights and music/SFX played at a high volume which may distress some animals. You are ALWAYS responsible for your pet, and if the staff consider it a hazard, nuisance or concern for health and safety, we reserve the right to ask you to remove it from the event site. If this would result in you or any others accompanying you also having to leave the event site, full or partial refunds for any tickets purchased will not be issued.

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27) I AM PREGNANT, CAN I ATTEND AN EVENT?

If you are pregnant, you cannot attend a Neothera Saga UK LARP event as a player or crew member. It would be highly irresponsible for any LARP system that includes a combat element to allow anyone pregnant to be present during a game. Whilst we strictly follow numerous health and safety protocols, accidents could still happen, and it is not worth taking the risk that you could get hit by a stray projectile or someone bumping into you by accident in the heat of the moment.

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28) DO YOU ALLOW SPECTATORS AT YOUR EVENTS?

We do not allow spectators at our events unless agreed beforehand by the staff or if they are official photographers, filmmakers or involved in work behind the scenes at an event. Anyone found to be breaking this rule will be asked to leave the IC areas. The staff reserve the right to ask those not permitted to be on the event site (and anyone accompanying them) to leave the event site immediately.

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29) CAN I TAKE PICTURES, FILM VIDEO, RECORD AUDIO OR LIVESTREAM AT YOUR EVENTS?

For safeguarding purposes, only official videographers or photographers may take photographs, film video, record audio or live stream at our events. This includes out-of-character (OOC) areas. Anyone found to be breaking this rule may be asked to leave the event site. If you want to film, take photos, record audio or live stream at our events, perhaps for promotional purposes, we ask that you contact us in advance so we can discuss the purpose for this and whether we can accommodate your request. See more about this topic on our TERMS & CONDITIONS page.

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30) DO YOU HAVE ADVICE FOR SUBMITTING UNIQUE ABILITY, SPELLS AND CRAFTING PROJECT PROPOSALS?

You may submit a proposal for an ability, spell or crafting project that is UNIQUE to your character and is not listed as an official ability in the CORE RULES book. You can read more about ‘UNIQUES’ in the CORE RULES, but we’ve listed a few notes below on what to consider before proposing one:

 

• All unique proposals must be submitted to us via email at neotherastaff@gmail.com

• Consider your character’s backstory, race, realm and any other lore that justifies why you should have the unique you are proposing. Make us aware of this when submitting your proposal

• Look at the format of existing abilities, spells and crafting projects in the CORE RULES and bear this in mind when typing up your proposal for submission. Uniques submitted in this format will be authorised quicker than just saying you want an ability that does X / Y / Z

• Is it already an ability, spell or crafting project listed in the core rules? If so, we are unlikely to accept it, especially if your proposal is effectively an exploit to gain it through non-standard means

• Uniques that result in gaining additional Life-Force (LF) are not usually accepted due to upsetting game balance

• Uniques that have two or more separate beneficial effects are very unlikely to be accepted and we will propose that you submit them as two (or more) separate unique proposals

• Another player may already have the same or a similar unique to the one you are suggesting. If this is the case, and it has already been authorised by staff, you will be offered that version to avoid upsetting the player/s with the previously authorised version

• Uniques that involve the MASS call are usually limited to ONCE PER DAY, and the effects that can be called will be limited

• Uniques which let you cause additional damage in combat are heavily regulated to avoid imbalance

• Uniques that involve crafted items are heavily regulated due to the fact that other players may obtain a version of the crafted item

• You cannot submit a unique proposal for a single, unique item. To gain unique, crafted items, you must submit a proposal for a unique crafting project, and have the relevant ability from the crafter class to be able to build the unique item yourself in-game

 

Do not be upset if your proposal is declined or ‘nerfed’. Remember that the staff must consider the game rules as a whole, and can tell if your proposal will break or cause imbalance to our game dynamics. One such example of this is the balance of Life-Force in the system. If we allow various uniques that offer lots of LF regeneration, this then makes the crafter class less useful by making the production of potions redundant. As a rule of thumb, if you think your unique proposal feels overpowered, it probably is! Whilst it may sound fun to be an unkillable God machine, this will very quickly become boring for you and others around you. It will also affect the enjoyment of other people who attend our games as crew or players.

 

Bear in mind that the staff reserve the right to alter any previously authorised uniques if we consider they are being abused (used to create loopholes), are deemed to be imbalanced after observing their regular use during events, or have become imbalanced due to amendments made to the official core rules.

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31) I HAVE BOOKED A CREW TICKET BUT CAN NO LONGER ATTEND. WHAT DO I DO?

If you have booked to crew an event and can no longer attend, please let us know ASAP via email ( neotherastaff@gmail.com ). Crew spaces are limited at our games and your space can then be given to someone on the waiting list.

 

Should you fail to turn up to an event after booking a crew ticket and do NOT let us know in advance, a strike will be placed against your name. If you do this again, we will reject all further applications from you to crew our events.

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