new player & alot of questions please help

okay.. so im 100% new to this all so i have tons of questions that i cant seem to find the answers for or atlest not clear enough answers. so if anyone doesnt mind filling me in on some things that would be most helpful.

before my questions i'll give a little intro into my self as it might help you better answer my questions knowing what i know or dont.
okay so i've never larped before, when I come i will also be coming with a few others that have never larped before. i have been into fantasy and gaming since i was a child and im 32 atm. ive played things like runescape, wow, aion, tera, eden, morrowind, oblivion, skyrim and so on. ive also played d&d a few times, so i pretty much understand mmorpg's. as well as having gone to medieval times and renaissance fairs many times in my life, along with watching a lifetime of fantasy and medieval movies/shows so im no stranger to that. nor am i a stranger to weapon combat & archery. what i am new too is larping and its rules as they aren't 100% clear to me.

Q1) my 1st question is there a limit on what i can use.. what i mean is if i was a mage and wanted to use bow and arrows could i? or is there a limit to what weapons i can use? and is there a limit to what armor i can wear? like a mage in plate armor with a shield if that was my thing? i know in the core rules under professions it says what weapons the classes can use but not what armor they can. also it doesnt say if they cant use everything not on the list.
like in d&d you can use weapons your class is not meant to by placing points in the right places to allow it &/or getting feats/perks so is it like that here?
i know if so that an arrow hit would be weaker on a mage, but if i were to be a mage i wouldnt want to use a staff or dagger as im not skilled with them, i would rather use a
bow and arrow when i need to, or shield and sword, so again is that allowed before i buy stuff i cant use.

Q2) also thievery, if i am pick pocketed in game.. what happens to my stuff? its fine if items i got in the game got stolen but what about things i brought into the game my self? and can my weapons, armor, jewelry and other things i wear on me be stolen? like being looted upon death? do i get them back? if so when, where? and how does that all work. i dont like to under do things is why, though im new i would go all out and get the best looking stuff i can find which is going to be a lot of money which is why i fear my stuff being stolen in game which then might be stolen, lost or broken out of game.

Q3) also the healer class. does it use medical healing or magic healing? and any limit on its armor/weapons?

Q4) what about sleeping, do i bring a tent? are there cabins? like what happens? ive never really been camping before, i mean my brother also is joining for the 1st time and a few other people might come with us aswell that have been camping so thats no problem but what do i bring? no point in bringing a tent or something if there are cabins right? or do so many people go to these events that they fill up fast? also when camping.. cant my stuff in my tent get stolen while im playing? or do we only put up tents when its time to sleep and take them down in the mornings?

Q5) also alchemy.. how does this work for larping? do i have to find types of plants or something? or is everything bought/looted from pcs/monsters?

Q6) also death, ive seen in other larps when you die youre dead and that char is over forever like in d&d.. is that the case here? or is there like respawning after time or next event or whatever? if so is there then a number of lives one has?

Q7) the races that are limit in number.. just how many can there be at any given time? and just how many people normally show up?

Q8) are there videos any place on your rules or gameplay anyplace?

I had more things to ask but ive forgotten them atm, anyway thanx reading/trying to help.

Hello, welcome! Name's Conor and I am a New Player Marshal. Let me see if I can answer these questions.

Q1) my 1st question is there a limit on what i can use.. what i mean is if i was a mage and wanted to use bow and arrows could i? or is there a limit to what weapons i can use? and is there a limit to what armor i can wear? like a mage in plate armor with a shield if that was my thing? i know in the core rules under professions it says what weapons the classes can use but not what armor they can. also it doesnt say if they cant use everything not on the list.
like in d&d you can use weapons your class is not meant to by placing points in the right places to allow it &/or getting feats/perks so is it like that here?
i know if so that an arrow hit would be weaker on a mage, but if i were to be a mage i wouldnt want to use a staff or dagger as im not skilled with them, i would rather use a
bow and arrow when i need to, or shield and sword, so again is that allowed before i buy stuff i cant use.

A1: The only limit on what weapons you can use is the weapon skills you have access too as on your professions. For example, you wouldn't be able to use a bow as a mage until you picked up a list with bow on it since a bow is not on the Commoner profession. However you could use a sword since 1HE is on the Commoner list. As for armor there is no specific armor type you need to use, the only thing is how effective it is, for example a Warrior knows how to use armor better so their armor(regardless of kind) will be better than a Mage, who doesn't know it as well, with the same armor.

Q2) also thievery, if i am pick pocketed in game.. what happens to my stuff? its fine if items i got in the game got stolen but what about things i brought into the game my self? and can my weapons, armor, jewelry and other things i wear on me be stolen? like being looted upon death? do i get them back? if so when, where? and how does that all work.

A2: If you are pickpocketed a Rules Marshal will come up to you and ask for an item card out of the pouch that was picked. If you leave a sword, or armor out on the table and someone takes it, it is then taken to Logistics, you then go to Logistics and give the Logistics Marshal the item card associated with that item. You will get the phys-rep back but can't use it until a new one gets made. If you get looted when you die, the same thing happens you lose the item cards, and can't use the items until either you recover the item cards, or get new items made

Q3) also the healer class. does it use medical healing or magic healing? and any limit on its armor/weapons?

A3: The Healer Profession uses "magic healing" based on the casting points they have. Once those are out you can use the skill "first aid" if you have it to use medical healing. The limits on armor/weapons are the same thing as I outlined in the answer about Mage's armor/weapons.

Q4) what about sleeping, do i bring a tent? are there cabins? like what happens?

A4: You can bring a tent and pitch it and it stays up all weekend, or you can see if you find a bed/tent/cabin on the camp. All the lands have cabins, but they are usually reserved in private with the characters in that land before the game. The Inn is a first come first serve basis. However there is rarely not enough places to sleep and people will do their best to help.

Q5) also alchemy.. how does this work for larping? do i have to find types of plants or something? or is everything bought/looted from pcs/monsters?

A5: There are Essences that Alchemists use for their higher (rank 3 or 4) potions. These cards are either found in the woods, or dissected from monsters using the dissect skill. The rank 1 or 2 potions don't require essences just the RP time to create them.

Q6) also death, ive seen in other larps when you die youre dead and that char is over forever like in d&d.. is that the case here? or is there like respawning after time or next event or whatever? if so is there then a number of lives one has?

A6: The way death works is you have 5 "lives". You can die 4 times upon your 5th death you need to retire your character and create a new one. You get refunded a percentage of build based on your last character and use that to make your new one. The way you get a new body is an IG thing and as it is a cool RP scene, I won't say how it works.

Q7) the races that are limit in number.. just how many can there be at any given time? and just how many people normally show up?

A7: There are only a few races that are "capped" meaning there is only a few number of them at a time. However there is no race has reached its cap yet. We are in the process of new "racials" and race write ups. These should be posted soon in either the announcements or rules boards by our Rules Officer or Director.

Q8) are there videos any place on your rules or gameplay anyplace?

A8: There aren't really videos on our rules or gameplay, other than the link below, that I know of, only photos on the website.

This video and article is a documentary that the author of a book had done about her book, since she got a lot of her experience from Knight Realms as one of the LARPs it features us heavily. If you want to check it out feel free:

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17914502


Any other question feel free to ask and I'll see you at the game!!

Hello Jason R.

Welcome to Knight Realms (or KR as we call it). Many of your questions were answered by one of our New Player marshals. This is a great thing... whenever there's a questions, it's a marshal who should be answering them as those responses are the official responses you should be listening to.

Another source for answers for any future questions is covered under the " New Players " section of the website.

We also have a " Rulebook " that covers a majority of the questions you asked prior. Please feel free to look over both sections and read everything we have.

Welcome once again and i hope you & your friends join us soon.

ALSO! If you see the post below yours (which is mine, entitled "small group looking for place to stay" or something like that), there is a whole bunch of info about empty tents so your group can stay together.

I want to also point out that larp is not quite the same as tabletop or video games in a couple of key ways.

First major difference from video games is that you are not merely a consumer who is being entertained. In a larp you are also entertainment for others. Even in an MMORPG there are quest givers usually who will give you a set of breadcrumbs to follow so that you can attain your next widget or weapon. In Knight Realms there is some of that, but the base assumption is that you will find your own way as well, make your own story.

Then compared to tabletop -- there are going to be many storylines going on. You will probably not be involved in all of them and might not even know that some of them exist. You also won't be taking turns calling actions. What you do and say is what your character does and says. Want to go somewhere? You walk there. Want to look like something? Put that something on.

The final piece of advice. The word "Clarify" is your friend. Don't know what that skill just called means? Say "Clarify" and have it explained to you.

Welcome to Knight Realms. You'll do fine.

thanx guys, that's most helpful.
I have new questions if you guys don't mind helping out a little more.

Q9) when my group finally joins for the 1st time, I read somewhere that new players have to tell a gm before hand, is this because we get like intro low level quests? with not so complex rules/spells and so on and not so high in stats mobs? or do things not even get scaled in larp or is what I'm saying not even making sense because its all real skill base and not in game stats?

Q10) also how bad is it heat and stamina wise to play and fight all day in plate armor? some of them wonder.

Q11) I believe in the rules it said we can only use a bow with 25 draw and 25 pounds, but with if the pounds are 25 and the draw is 28 but used by someone that's knows what they are doing and is an honorable person and uses 26 inch arrows anyway thus not allowing a draw of 28inchs would that then be allowed?

Q12) this one is likely listed some place in the rules sorry if it was and I over looked it, but in playing an npc I don't have to make stats/story and so on I'm assuming right? we just fill whatever role is needed the way that is needed rather then making up our own?

Q13) are new players a normal sight? or will my group likely be alone in the starting zone?

sorry if my questions seem dumb its just we wonder a lot about these kind of things but fail to find the answers. there are also a lot more questions but I don't want to be too annoying all at once.

Q9) when my group finally joins for the 1st time, I read somewhere that new players have to tell a gm before hand, is this because we get like intro low level quests? with not so complex rules/spells and so on and not so high in stats mobs? or do things not even get scaled in larp or is what I'm saying not even making sense because its all real skill base and not in game stats?

The New Player Marshal can help you with that.

Q10) also how bad is it heat and stamina wise to play and fight all day in plate armor? some of them wonder.

It can get very hot & humid at our camp. It depends on the person, but we always advise safety first. If you plan on playing, fighting, & being in plate armor, we ask you please keep yourself hydrated & cool as possible. If we see the person doesn't look well, the player may get asked to be checked out by a Safety Marshal just to be sure they are ok.

Q11) I believe in the rules it said we can only use a bow with 25 draw and 25 pounds, but with if the pounds are 25 and the draw is 28 but used by someone that's knows what they are doing and is an honorable person and uses 26 inch arrows anyway thus not allowing a draw of 28inchs would that then be allowed?

From the rulebook...

Bows need to be simple recurve bows with no more than 25 pounds at full draw, and with a Draw length of no more than 26”. Arrows should be fitted for this (26”), keeping in mind that the end will be covered in foam, so you may want them a bit longer.

Q12) this one is likely listed some place in the rules sorry if it was and I over looked it, but in playing an npc I don't have to make stats/story and so on I'm assuming right? we just fill whatever role is needed the way that is needed rather then making up our own?

Correct. The Marshal on duty will tell you what you are playing & give you a card with all the "stats" you need to know.

Q13) are new players a normal sight? or will my group likely be alone in the starting zone?

Yeah, we get new players pretty regularly. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. We like new players. If you want to be alone, you can. There's no "starting zone", but sometimes we have "new player mods" that are special adventures and encounters just for the new players to try out.

Hi, Jason! I'm Jeff and I'm also a New Player Marshal.

JackalX137 wrote: Q13) are new players a normal sight? or will my group likely be alone in the starting zone?

There are a handful of new players every month. Some months, we've had easily into the double digits. I would say no, you're not likely to be alone. Every month, there is an Intro Mod for new characters to get you acclimated to Travance and usually consists of a walk around the town. Beyond that, there are mods specifically tailored to lower-level characters, such as the Adventurer's Guild that Paul mentioned in his post.

sorry if my questions seem dumb its just we wonder a lot about these kind of things but fail to find the answers. there are also a lot more questions but I don't want to be too annoying all at once.

There's no need to be sorry! We were all new once and inquisitive minds are always welcome. Ask away!


-Jeff

It's also worth noting that a lot of the LARP is equally accessible to new and old players alike.

For example the masses that are run by various clergy, market faire, Bard circles, Druid meetings, the various in game bars/Taverns (there are 4), and similar events and places cater to characters /players of all levels.

Q9) when my group finally joins for the 1st time, I read somewhere that new players have to tell a gm before hand, is this because we get like intro low level quests? with not so complex rules/spells and so on and not so high in stats mobs? or do things not even get scaled in larp or is what I'm saying not even making sense because its all real skill base and not in game stats?

New Player Marshal Here

So the game starts on Friday. Friday night from 7-9 we have card write ups were we New Player Marshals will help you through character creation. Sometimes this means making sure you haven't over spent your build on a character you have prepared already, other times it means helping you decide on a list and skills and creating a character from scratch. After this we enter your card data into the card system so you can access it online between games.
At 9pm we have New Player Training where we give you a run down of the rules that you need to know this won't cover every rule just the basics that everyone needs to know plus you can ask specific questions about what your skills do and how to use them.
After Layon we have an introductory module
This is a mod that is meant to allow you to practice using your skill against enemies that you'll be able to best before we throw you in with the other players.
Over the course of the event there will be occasional things geared just for people starting out.

this all sounds pretty good, I would like to join sooner but I don't do so well in the summers heat, also my brother is going in plate armor so we decided to skip summers and go in springs/falls/winters.
I do have a few more questions of my own and some from my group if you guys will be cool enough to continue to help us understand everything that puzzles our minds.

Q14) if one has a sword in one hand or a similar weapon can they then throw magic or a throwing weapon with the other hand?

Q15) if one has a sword in one hand can they then switch and use it in the other hand?

Q16) if one has a polearm, spear or what have you and they lose an arm, being that the weapon was a 2 handed weapon and they no longer have two arms does this mean they can no longer use that weapon?

Q17) if one was to make a hybrid class or some type of caster with some type of fighter I saw that there was some price one has to suffer as an result, which is fine I guess but just how bad is it? whats the math to it?
example lets say I'm good oog in swordsmanship so as such I would want to use what I'm best at, and I want to duel wield, but unless I'm mistaken I can only get the ability to duel wield swords in the warrior tree and the assassin tree, so lets say I do pick one of theses classes just to duel wield, but most of my points are in a magic tree.. this means I wont have high health points but high mana? or did I misread something and my life points aren't effected by my classes in either way. is there some simple math to this or chart someplace because I'm really failing to find anything but a vague sentence that says my hp will take a hit if I put more points into being a caster or something of the sort.

Q18) which is really a re-ask of Q11, I have a pretty weak bow its has 28 draw length but a 25 lb. draw weight, using a 26inch larp arrow wouldn't allow it to be drawn further, also I train with a bow just about everyday and have so for awhile now. is there then no way this bow would be allowed? it also looks very fitting to the theme. its fine if not I guess.

Q19) axes.. knowing how they are made makes me wonder wouldn't the heads be ripped off in combat? or are axes made differently then other weapons making them more stable?

Q20) about the laws, lets says i know someone that might want to try being something like a warlock or necromancer.. but as a good guys, its still agents the law. how hard is it to play these classes without getting killed by another player every 5mins, or getting chased by guards. seems easy in an ommrpg but in real life.. yeah.. so if anyone could give my friend a few tips or a warning not to play this at the start of her larping life this would be most helpful.

JackalX137 wrote: Q14) if one has a sword in one hand or a similar weapon can they then throw magic or a throwing weapon with the other hand?

Short answer: yes.

From the rulebook:

Verbal Casting: The caster must say, in a normal speaking tone and volume (or louder), a specific
set of words to cast the effect they wish. The words must be intelligible to others around them,
including the target, and said at a normal speaking volume or louder. Once the incantation is
complete, the caster has 5 seconds to release and deliver the spell. If the caster is interrupted or
struck at any point before the spell is released, the spell is lost. If the caster aborts the spell before
completing the verbal, or if they misspeak the verbal or do not have enough career points to cast, no
career points are expended and the effect fails. If a verbal is completed, but the spell is then
interrupted or failed to be delivered, career points are expended as normal. A caster may invoke or
use skills, including blocking with a weapon or shield, to defend themselves while casting. A
character casting verbally must be able to speak, hear, and use their hands freely.

Since you are able to defend yourself with either a weapon or a shield while casting, that assumes that you have either a weapon or a shield in one of your hands. Therefore, yes, you are able to have a weapon in one hand and a spell rock/spell packet in the other.

Q15) if one has a sword in one hand can they then switch and use it in the other hand?

If you're ambidextrous, sure.

Q16) if one has a polearm, spear or what have you and they lose an arm, being that the weapon was a 2 handed weapon and they no longer have two arms does this mean they can no longer use that weapon?

You can still use it, but only defensively.

Pole Arm
Skill (Continuous)
Allows the character to fight with a pole arm weapon. These weapons require two hands to use them.
However, you could use them one-handed for defense ONLY, and thus no strike or skill could be
employed with them. The entire shaft of a pole arm physrep must be covered with foam, and it is
legal to strike with any part of the weapon. Base damage: 4

You need two hands to attack, but while wielding with one hand, you could still physically block a weapon strike with the polearm/spear/whatever or call a defensive skill like Deflect.

Q17) if one was to make a hybrid class or some type of caster with some type of fighter I saw that there was some price one has to suffer as an result, which is fine I guess but just how bad is it? whats the math to it?
example lets say I'm good oog in swordsmanship so as such I would want to use what I'm best at, and I want to duel wield, but unless I'm mistaken I can only get the ability to duel wield swords in the warrior tree and the assassin tree, so lets say I do pick one of theses classes just to duel wield, but most of my points are in a magic tree.. this means I wont have high health points but high mana? or did I misread something and my life points aren't effected by my classes in either way. is there some simple math to this or chart someplace because I'm really failing to find anything but a vague sentence that says my hp will take a hit if I put more points into being a caster or something of the sort.

Berserker, Ranger, Ronin, and Swashbuckler also have the ability to dual-wield weapons of the same size ("Florentine Master" is on all of those lists as well, not just Warrior and Assassin).

Fighters and casters have different ratios to calculate their health, and there is more to the algorithm that I'm not altogether familiar with.

Q18) which is really a re-ask of Q11, I have a pretty weak bow its has 28 draw length but a 25 lb. draw weight, using a 26inch larp arrow wouldn't allow it to be drawn further, also I train with a bow just about everyday and have so for awhile now. is there then no way this bow would be allowed? it also looks very fitting to the theme. its fine if not I guess.

Bring it to Logistics when you come and ask them to examine it. They'll let you know whether or not you can use it.

Q19) axes.. knowing how they are made makes me wonder wouldn't the heads be ripped off in combat? or are axes made differently then other weapons making them more stable?

Unless someone were to call a skill--such as Shatter Weapon or Chaos Blast--that would destroy a weapon and that attack were not defended against, the axe, in this case, would be fine.

Q20) about the laws, lets says i know someone that might want to try being something like a warlock or necromancer.. but as a good guys, its still agents the law. how hard is it to play these classes without getting killed by another player every 5mins, or getting chased by guards. seems easy in an ommrpg but in real life.. yeah.. so if anyone could give my friend a few tips or a warning not to play this at the start of her larping life this would be most helpful.

One key difference between warlocks and necromancers, is that warlocks aren't hunted. If you want to play a necromancer, my advice would be to not get caught.


-Jeff

For the bow, bring it to logistics, if I can remember, Ill be bring my bow scale to see if it passes muster.

As far as the axe question goes, if you are talking about the phys rep getting ripped apart, yes that has happened when a weapon gets hooked on someone or something. It's not something that happens all the time, but something you have to keep in mind when fighting with an Axe or Hammer

thanx guys, most helpful people here.
I think I'm out of questions for now, however my brother has some he wanted me to ask.

21) dose one have to be over a specific height/weight to play an orc?

22) what is this games idea of what a dragoon is and looks like? because unlike things like a knight, druid, assassin and just about everything else we have ideas what they look like from other places. however we have nothing to go on when thinking of a dragoon. do they wear plate, leather, cloth? is it scaled or royal looking? do they have to have scaly skill or horns or anything? we really just have no clue about them. if anyone could just tell us a bit about them, or maybe link us to a picture or something if they are similar to something from a game, movie or something.

I know that maybe as newbies we don't have to get everything we need but.. we want to.
I have ordered a lot of my stuff already as well as begun to make the rest my self so they fit better. my brother aswell though he is selling his plate armor to one of my other group members and then changing what he is going to play therefore needing to buy different things. the others still need a few things. so we are definitely going to join once ready.

21: No. That plays into the imagination part of our game. Just like you don't need to be under a certain height to be a dwarf or halfling.

22: Dragoon's in present time are just generic human looking. The thing that makes them different is that they have dragon ancestry. (stemming from the original dragoon) They where armor, which is up to the player to determine. There are Dragoons that wear full plate, some that wear chain, others that wear leather. The same goes for any design that is on the armor. This picture has 4 players who play a dragoon currently:

www.knightrealms.com/community/gallery/a...ire-arden-23549.html

As you can see their types of life change how they dress. So in a sense it isn't the profession that says how you dress.