What to wear
Overview
One of our core goals for Empire is to encourage a rich immersive game - one in which everything looks as in-character as possible with as few elements that are visually disruptive as possible. This means that crew need to make an effort to blend in when they are in an IC area during time-in where possible.
Obviously our refs need to be identifiable - so that people can recognize them when they need to. We have special yellow/black jackets and tabards for this purpose. A few few need to be in the IC area but indicate that that they are clearly not there. We use red/black jackets for this purpose. In all cases these should be worn over base costume where reasonably possible. The jackets cover much better than the tabards but in either case a pair of IC trousers is ideal and plain dark trousers and footwear is preferable if not.
Crew involved with safety - for example members of the pyro-team who are handling dangerous pyrotechnics or members of the first-aid team - should wear a suitable hi-vis jacket.
If you need a PD jacket or tabard and you do not currently have one - then please let me know.
Yellow/Black
These are just for refs! You're a ref if you're there so players can come up to you and ask you for reffing help or to answer a ref question - if that's not why you're there - then you're not a ref and don't need a yellow/black. Members of plot running out plot or similar should NOT use a yellow/black - because that will encourage players to come and ask you ref questions you can't/shouldn't answer!
Jackets
These are for anyone who does regular duty as a referee at an event. The jackets cover much better and are suitable for use in Anvil as well as the battlefield. It's better to have your own jacket if you're a regular ref - so that we know all our regular refs are covered and have their own which they can take home and wash as needed.
Tabards
These are for anyone who is volunteering for extra ref duty for a battle and doesn't have a jacket. They should only be worn in the skirmish area - please don't use them for in Anvil.
Red/Black
These are for crew who need to indicate that they are not there, but are not refs. They are useful for members of the skirmish team running safety and other concerns like photography on the battlefield. They are also useful for people working the regio and similar and for key members of the team who need to run into Anvil to grab food but who cannot wear base kit for various reasons.
We are keen to keep the number of red/blacks in Anvil to a sensible level - the more people we have together in red/black the more jarring it becomes. So most members of crew who are going into Anvil can just wear costume - and go into the game area in costume. You only *need* a red/black if that is a problem for some reason.
Jackets
These are for anyone who needs a red/black on a regular basis and who won't have to throw on a red/black over armour or the like. They are suitable for use in Anvil.
Tabards
These are for anyone who doesn't have a red/black jacket but needs one for a brief period - or for anyone who needs to wear red/black over bulky kit like armour. These are suitable for the battlefield only - not in Anvil.
Hi-Vis
Hi-vis is for members of the first-aid team and for members of the pyro-team. It's basically a safety signal - they should only be used while absolutely needed - as they are clearly OOC, but they are obviously essential for people handling the smoke generators on battlefields and similar.