General FAQ

Introduction

The following is a list of frequently asked questions that players have sent us. If you have any queries about Empire then it is worth checking the FAQ first, to see if the answer to your question is here. Otherwise email us at empire@profounddecisions.co.uk with your question. We'll answer as quickly as we can and we'll add your question to our FAQ if we think it is likely to be of interest to other players.

In addition to this list of frequently asked questions I have a list of obscure questions people have asked to which we have provided answers. They are included for completeness and for reference purposes and searches.

Rules

When will the rules be released?

We've been working on the rules for well over a year, including several large play tests held at Profound Decisions events throughout 2012. The key elements are in place, we have the core combat and magic system worked out, but there are a vast number of tiny details to hammer out.

We prefer not to issue release dates for things because it is very hard to accurately predict when these kind of jobs will be complete but we're confident we will have the rules available on the wiki before the end of the year. It's our number one priority at the moment, as we are aware how important the rules are to many players.

Can magicians wear armour?

Magicians cannot wear normal armour while casting any spells or rituals. They have the option to purchase a skill called mage armour which gives them an option to wear magical armour specifically designed for casting spells. Mage armour is a magical talisman that protects you against harm but allows you to cast spells. The talisman is made up of several pieces fitted to the wearer's body to protect them. The parts of the talisman superficially resemble pieces of armour, but armour that is ornate and ceremonial rather than practical. They are often decorated with runes, crystals, gems or other magical accoutrements and it is clear that the armour protects the wearer through magic rather than by physically deflecting blows.

Mage armour must cover at least 3 locations including one of the chest, shoulders or waist. The suggested pieces for mage armour are: Pauldrons (shoulders), Pectoral (upper chest), Hero Belt (waist), Circlet (head), Vambraces (wrists), Gorget (neck), Greaves (lower legs). The items must be substantial and cover a significant portion of the area but it is possible to use a single pauldron, greave or vambrace if appropriate for the costume.

Although mage armour is magical in nature, if you have purchased this skill then you are considered to have access to a suit of mage armour, in the same way a warrior has access to a suit of mundane armour.

Mage Armour can be made out of any real world material, provided you try to make as clear as possible that your character is wearing magical protection and not mundane armour.

Are you allowing stab-safe weapons?

Yes, any weapon which is over five foot long can be stab-safe. Any weapon which is stab-safe can be used for stabbing.

Weapons that are between seven and nine feet in length must be stab-safe and can only be used for stabbing.

What are the weapon and implement lengths?

• One handed weapons and flails can be between 8" and 42" (20 cm to 106 cm).
• Two handed weapons can be between 42" and 60" (106 cm to 152 cm).
• Pole-arms can be between 60" and 84" (152 cm to 214 cm).
• Pikes can be between 84" and 108" (214 cm to 274 cm).

• Wands can be between 8" and 18" (20 cm to 46 cm).
• Rods can be between 18" and 42" (46 cm to 106 cm).
• Staffs can be between 42" and 84" (106 cm to 214 cm).

Pikes must be stab-safe and can only be used for stabbing.

What are the shield sizes

• A buckler can be up to 15" (40 cm) diameter.
• Round shields can be up to 40" (100 cm) diameter.
• Tower shields can be up to 40" (100 cm) by 24" (60cm).
• Kite and heater shields can be up to 47" (120 cm) by 24" (60 cm).

All lengths are measured across the longest dimensions of the flat distance along the back of the shield - not along the curve of the shield, so shields can be curved without increasing their measured length.

What are the restrictions on bows and crossbows

All bows must have a maximum draw weight of 30 lb at 28" (72 cm). All crossbows must have a maximum draw weight of 30 lb. We do not use bow competency tests at Profound Decisions events. You cannot parry or catch arrows that are fired at your character.

Bows and crossbows must be wielded in two hands. Pistol crossbows and wrist-mounted crossbows cannot be used in Empire.

Setting

Can we play a mixed-nation group?

At the event, the main field will be split into ten distinct camping areas, one for each of the nations and one for the Imperial Orcs. Nation is your primary source of identity and the key route into all the politics of the game, so any Marcher character that spends their time hanging around in the Dawnish camp is likely to be cut out of a significant portion of the game. For this reason alone we are actively discouraging mixed-nation groups and asking players to focus on creating a group that draws from one nation.

It is important to point out that the nations are all part of a single Empire - they might have political differences on many issues but they are fundamentally on the same side. As such it is perfectly reasonable to begin the game having existing alliances and contacts with groups in other nations. If half your friends want to come from Varushka and half want to play Winterfolk then we would advise you make two groups - one from each nation - and put links between them in your respective backgrounds. It's normal to have close friends and allies from other nations.

When will the Imperial Orc brief be available?

The brief for the Imperial Orcs was postponed to allow us to get the remaining setting released. Regrettably that pushed it back down the work queue for a few months while attention was paid to other jobs which had been waiting for the setting to be finished first. The core brief was completed months ago, but there is a lot of editing and rewriting to do before it will be ready for release. We are now focussing on the brief and like the rules we are confident that we will have it released well before the end of the year.

Can I play an Imperial Orc in the Marches?

Imperial orcs are the equivalent of a nation - they have their own camp, their own armies, their own generals and so on. Anyone planning to play an Imperial Orc should be based out of the Imperial Orc camp.

Who do I talk to about my background?

We are not currently accepting background submissions but there will be guidelines and a place for them to be submitted in the new year. We appreciate that players are keen to discuss their backgrounds, but we need to finish the setting first, so we would ask you to be patient a little longer.

Where is the world map?

The fullly detailed maps are still being finalized by members of our team but the map previews can be found here. In outline, the Empire is spread as follows: Wintermark, Northwest, Varushka northeast, Marches west, Dawn east, Brasscoast Southwest, Highguard and Urizen Southeast. The Bay of Catazar lies between Brass Coast and Highguard. Navarr and League territories are spread throughout the Empire.

Do mythical and real world beasts exist in Empire?

Most indigenous European fauna like boars or stags exist in Empire - but obviously they are unlikely to turn up at events. The notable exception are horses, which did exist but were wiped out centuries ago. Fantastic beasts, like trolls and dragons also exist in Empire, some of them as myths, some of them as creatures that you can meet.

Mundane details of the setting are broadly European in character, so non-European flora and fauna such as lions are not found in the Empire but are known of in foreign lands.

What beasts of burden exist?

Horses are extinct in Empire and oxen are used as beasts of burden instead.

What are the coins and what are they worthy?

Imperial coinage is made up of rings, crowns and thrones. There are eight crowns to a throne and twenty rings to a crown.

It is effectively meaningless to talk about what coins are worth, since Empire will use a free market economy system in which players set the prices of items rather than the organisers. As a result we have no idea what things will be worth and prices will change from event to event. The starting income of a normal character is 18 rings, every normal character will receive that amount of money every event. We'll release more details about what money and items characters will start each event with once the rules are released.

What accents can/should we use?

We are not specifying accents for individual nations, because many players find accents difficult to manage and we wish to avoid any assumption that people need to use a specific accent. It is also important to appreciate that while a nation like the Brass Coast is inspired by the costumes of South America and Moorish Spain it isn't meant to be Moorish Spain - you can use a Spanish accent to help develop your character but you don't need to.

It is worth appreciating that caricatures of accents have been used to ridicule ethnic groups for decades. It is appropriate therefore to avoid the kind of misanthropic mangled accents of bad cliches of ethnic groups from the Orient and Arabian Peninsula, because they will offend some players. However LRP is fundamentally about the appropriation of cultural motifs to create context and setting, in the same way that these motifs are used in literature, theatre and film. So it is absolutely fine to make your best attempt at a credible Spanish accent for your Freeborn character or Russian for a Varushkan character if you wish to do so.

Can I invent a Paragon or Exemplar for my background?

The current paragons and exemplars outlined are not intended to be an exhaustive list but illustrative and to be expanded on. You can create an exemplar for your background but you should avoid creating paragons as these are few in number. As with any part of the setting, this will need to be checked to ensure its consistent with the setting game (i.e. an Inspector Clouseau like character will not be accepted as an exemplar of Wisdom).

Group background submission will be available in the new year, so you can include details of any historic figures then. It is worth reading about the signs of the Paragon and Exemplar.

What is Hearth Magic?

The simplest possible definition of Hearth magic is magic that works in the world, albeit unreliably, without any skill. Hearth magic is useful in rituals, where it can sometimes be combined with "true" magic to make the effects slightly more potent. But Hearth Magic is a real potent force, it's a superstition in the same way that people in the real world believe that a piece of lodestone suspended in water will turn to point north.

Game Style

Will the concept "Find Out In Play" exist in Empire?

The idea will be irrelevant in Empire - all the rules for the game (skills, items, spells etc) will be accessible to every player through the wiki and alongside everything published by us about the setting. Empire is not a game of discovering new technology and any character that wants to know these things can.

There will be secretive things going on in the game that players can discover. There will be secret societies and cults, hidden agendas and powerful forces manoeuvring against the players - but players will be free to froth about the game afterwards.

Do I have to volunteer to monster?

The Empire events run by Profound Decisions will feature one or more large battles, involving hundreds of participants. We have ordered four hundred orc masks and are in the process of ordering four hundred sets of orc armour. We can't possibly operate with that many crew, so to ensure that there is an epic horde to fight against we will need volunteers.

Volunteering will only be required if you plan to fight as your character in the battles. If you don't wish to take the field as your character, then there is no requirement to monster any of the battles. If you do wish to fight in the big battles then you will be required to volunteer to monster every other battle. There will be two battles at each of the first two events to ensure everyone has a chance to play one battle and monster one battle at each event.

We are confident that we can make monstering every bit as fun as playing. We need volunteers to fill out the barbarian hordes to make the battles as epic as possible, but our intention is that the majority of players find crewing one of the battles to be nearly as enjoyable as playing them. We are deliberately designing our barbarian foes to make them fun roles to portray.

There will also be skirmishes and other fights with the barbarians and other threats the Empire faces. We are aiming to have enough crew to operate these smaller battles ourselves, so volunteers are welcome but are not required.

How do battles work?

How will battles work? (I paraphrase) Battles at events will form part of a wider campaign against the barbarian enemies of the Empire. Players will have opportunities to make pivotal interventions to turn the tide of war in their favour - provided they can triumph. Battles will feature objectives for the Imperial forces to achieve rather than being "meat-grinders", achieving those objectives will improve the position of the much larger Imperial armies in the field. Things may be kept simple at early events to allow everyone to get the hang of the system but ultimately the intention is for those players playing Imperial Generals to decide where the Imperial armies are sent and to choose which battles to send the PCs to fight from the scenarios presented to them by their civil servants.

How dangerous will the main field be?

We are not planning to run camp attacks on the main field - the goal is to try and create the feel of a buzzing settlement right at the very heart of the Empire - a place of relative security. Our NPC magistrates will work to ensure the law is kept and the enemy is very far away. We want the field to feel like a place of relative safety, a place where characters can feel free to walk around without weapons or armour if they choose.

The idea is to contrast this with the very real danger that is present whenever the players leave the main field. Those characters that use magic to teleport to the Imperial battlefields will find themselves facing very real and very deadly threats. For the overwhelming majority of the time, players will know when they are heading into danger and those players who wish to avoid combat should find this easy provided they remain with the safety of the settlement.

Is PvP murder allowed?

We are quite explicitly setting out to make assassination as difficult to achieve as possible. The Empire has a legal system, run by NPCs, and it will make all possible effort to identify and execute assassins. Our intention is for the majority of conflict between players to be political and social in nature rather than combat based.

Assassination is acceptable out-of-character; what we are doing with the campaign is deliberately making that as difficult as possible for the assassins to get away with, so that it becomes a tool of last resort rather than the simplest way to deal with political enemies.

Booking

What is the requirement for concessions?

Anyone who is a full time student, in receipt of unemployment benefits such as job-seekers allowance or is a pensioner is eligible for the concession on the ticket price. You only have to be eligible at the point where you provide the proof of your eligibility, so students or can claim the discount for the year even if their course ends in the Summer.

You must provide proof of your eligibility. The best way to do this is to email proof to us at admin@profounddecisions.co.uk after you have booked. We can then mark your entire booking as having the concession confirmed. If you don't do this then you will be forced to bring proof to the event and then queue up in a long queue at GOD before you can play. Please don't do this, it's bad for you and bad for us! Email us a scan of your proof and we will log it to your account.

Can I use a recruitment booking code for Empire?

Everyone is a new player for Empire, so the promotional discounts for new players are not valid this year for Empire. We may extend the scheme to cover Empire next year. Recruitment discounts are still valid for Odyssey, so if you are an existing Odyssey player then you can use the scheme to recruit new players for Odyssey.

How do I book my child on to the event?

The website has now been updated to allow players of all ages to book on to the event. Anyone who is attending the event must have their own account, regardless of age. Once you have created an account and entered your birth date then the ticket prices will be updated to reflect your age and booking options.