Rules update 2017

Overview

Over winter of 2016/2017 we have carried out our annual review of the rules from last few years of Empire. As usual we are implementing some changes to the published rules. We are in the process of updating the wiki and the downtime system to reflect the changes, but will summarize and explain all changes here so that players can identify the changes easily.

We will try to include a section after each rules update to explain the reasoning behind the change.

We will post a link to this page once the update is complete, and continue to update this page throughout 2017 with any major changes.

If your character has an ability that has changed because of these rules changes then you are welcome to remove this skill by emailing us.

Shattering Blow

• The heroic skill that allowed two-handed weapon wielders to call Shatter has been replaced with one allowing them to call Impale

Players who had weapon master and hero points were able to buy a skill called shattering blow that allowed them to expend a hero point to call Shatter when they made an appropriate roleplayed blow with a great weapon. This skill has been replaced with a new skill called mortal blow that allows a character to expend a hero point to call Impale when they made an appropriate roleplayed blow with a great weapon.

The new skill will automatically replace the old skill for any character that had bought it.

Reasoning

Two-handed weapons are often weak in live roleplaying because they lack the advantages of power and penetration that such weapons had in reality. Partly to compensate for this we gave them the most potent heroic call to make up for the relative advantages of other weapons.

Although this approach succeeded in making great weapons potent on the Empire battlefield, it had negative consequences in terms of player experience. Shatter is a disabling call, unless you can have your weapon restored you are unable to carry on fighting. While that is a better in-character outcome than being killed, it can be less satisfying player experience than having your character dropped, simply because you're rendered ineffective. It is also something that is almost impossible to stop using hard skills, you can't parry or block a shattering blow.

There is very definitely a place for the Shatter call in the game - but we feel that it will be better play balance to allow wizards to access the call. They cannot wear armour and hence are easily countered in other ways whereas warriors are usually wearing substantial armour.

We still wanted warriors using great weapons to be potent on the battlefield - so we have switched the call for Impale. Given that the majority of our barbarian orcs on the battlefield use medium armour, we anticipate that this will still be a very effective call - we think it's better than the Strike-down call available to pole-arm wielders and it's clearly better than the Cleave call available to warriors using a one-handed weapon.

There will be some updates to the magical weapons and rituals over time to bring them into line with the new call regime for great weapons in Empire.

Battle Mages

We have made a number of changes designed to improve battle magicians. We've added a new potent spell - shatter, improved the empower spell by reducing the cost, improved the paralysis spell by changing the limitations and increased the amount of mana available to characters that purchase extra mana. We have also clarified that spells such as entangle and repel still take effect even if they are parried or hit a shield.

Reasoning

The original design brief for Empire viewed the battlefield as a location for warriors to dominate - a location where those who had fighting skills would come to the fore. Crucially what we didn't want was a situation where wizards were simply more potent combatants than warriors. In practice however, it is clear that the Empire rules system allows for two very distinct types of wizard - the ritualist - and the battle mage. The former has a distinct role on the battlefield - there are certain battlefield rituals that can be invaluable in the right circumstances - but generally their main role takes place at Anvil. Battle magicians however are a very different case - like warriors the prime opportunity to use their skills is on the battlefield. The right balance for the game design would be to make them different to warriors on the battlefield - but equally useful.

The most common feedback around battle magicians tends to focus on mage armour - with people wanting it to provide resistance to Cleave or even Impale - the way regular armour does. That change would be a major mistake however - since it would make battle mages much closer to regular warriors. In a system where warriors have access to heroic abilities, the critical distinction between battle mages and warriors is their ability to take a blow. What was needed to improve battle magicians is to make the array of their offensive abilities stronger.

Hero Points

We have changed the cost to get access to hero points and to buy additional hero points. Under the new rules the required skill to get access to heroic abilities is called Hero. It costs 2 character points and grants you two hero points that you can use to overcome roleplaying effects. Extra hero points will now be a 1* skill.

The character point cost of every character will be automatically recalculated in the next few weeks to use the new formula. Characters who have bought a single level of hero points at present will thus be in deficit by a single point - these characters will not be automatically changed by us - but will not be able to spend additional character points until they have earned enough xp to pay for their current skills.

Reasoning

We've changed the way the cost of hero points and extra hero points are calculated for a number of reasons. It means the skill is less accessible for characters to dip into but more accessible for characters to focus on - which encourages specialization making it easier for characters to differentiate themselves from each other. It simplifies the maths of calculating hero points and additional hero points and brings the cost of these abilities into line with the cost for extra mana.

Healing and Swift Casting

We have changed the time required to cast regular spells to thirty seconds, and changed the amount of healing provided by a swift heal to 3 hits - rather than all of them. This is part of a change across the system so that heals that return all your hits (like true vervain) will now take thirty seconds to apply, while any source of healing that returns your hits instantly or in a few seconds (like second wind, healing potions, swift heal) only returns up to 3 hits lost.

As part of this change we have removed the swift heal spell and the purge spell (effectively swift purify spell) and instead said that any magician that has the heal spell or the purify spell can choose to cast these spells in a few seconds for two mana rather than one - and with reduced effects in the case of swift heal. We have extended this change across the magic system - so that all regular spells now take thirty seconds to cast - but can all be cast in a few seconds for an additional mana.

Reasoning

At present, healing on the battlefield is exceptionally fast. A character with a dozen hits or more can have them all restored virtually instantaneously - a problem even more acute for us when fielding large monsters that might have a score of hits or more. One of the impacts of this is that units on the battlefield that have been mauled by their opponents can be back in the fight with very little time needed to regroup and lick their wounds. That makes it harder for us to create dynamic challenges for the players on the battlefield - and because healing is cheap and plentiful, it is harder for us to challenge players and make them feel threatened.

The new rules make healing more expensive - either it is considerably slower - or it provides less hits restored for most characters. We hope that this will make battles more threatening for characters - who have more chance of running out of resources if they are being hard pressed - and more strategic for generals and unit-commanders who will have to need to take account of the need to rest units for slightly longer after they have engaged.

Having decided on the core changes, we felt it was appropriate to remove the swift heal and swift purify as spells - and instead make them free abilities granted by purchasing the heal and purify spell. This increases the availability of these abilities to any players who have invested points into them - so that any magician who can cast heal can automatically cast either version. The changes to the time required to cast regular spells - and the option to swift-cast them - has been applied to all spells for consistency although it is primarily relevant for the mend spell and the restore limb spell. Voice for the dead has been reduced in cost to a single mana point to reflect it's limited utility and to bring it into line with the other regular spells.

IC Theft

We have changed the rules so that you cannot enter someone else's IC tent once it has been sealed.

Reasoning

Any set of game rules has to balance different abstractions and the needs and interests of different players. Ideally rules should deliver the experience that the game organizers have claimed they seek to offer, but at the very least they should form part of a coherent package that embodies the core ideals for the game.

Although we have become accustomed to ignoring them, the abstractions around theft are particularly acute in live roleplaying. Empire is a game in which some of the players represent some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the land - and yet they regularly store vast fortunes in tents and have no guards - because tents are what we have and because Empire actively discourages guards (because we'd rather players found other more active roleplaying during the event). Robbing tents - particularly robbing tents while players have left them to go and sleep in their out-of-character sleeping area or while they are on the battlefield is a particularly odd quirk that is dependent on the limitations of the hobby.

However there is a vastly more serious problem with the current rules for stealing. Profound Decisions have made very clear that we will not tolerate language that makes reference to non-consensual sexual activity - yet the old rules permitted players to enter tents in which adults or children were sleeping. It is not consistent to try to eliminate verbal references to non-consensual activity but leave individuals in situations in which they may be awakened by discovering a stranger has entered their bedroom. Suggestions made for requiring people for whom this is a concern to sleep in the out-of-character area do not take into account the difficulty of bring two tents to the field. It's part of our approach to live roleplaying to try to ensure that our events do what is possible to provide a safe-space for people to roleplay, not to make it more difficult for them. The current rules did not meet those criteria.

Obviously the new rules will have a very significant detrimental impact on the amount of theft that takes place in the game. We understand and acknowledge that. We've tried to be clear in Empire that we are striving to deliver a grand game of politics and war, where people can build and lose empires. Crime has a very definite role to play in the game - but robbing tents has never been part of the game experience that we were trying to deliver for players. We looked at methods to try and create a balance between the players being robbed and the players doing the robbing - but at the point where it became clear that players were prepared to enter people's sleeping quarters to rob them while they were asleep then we had to make a decision about which game we were going to support. Because of the game's focus we have chosen to take steps to ensure that everyone can attend the event without fear of being awoken by a stranger in their bedroom.

Unstoppable

We have removed this skill from the game - and combined a heavily modified version of this effect into the second wind ability.

Reasoning

The original design intent for the unstoppable skill was to reflect the hardy warrior who was difficult to put down. The character can take blow after blow, fall to the ground - but through sheer force of will rise back to their feet and carry on fighting. The goal was to reflect the heroic archetypes of great warriors of the fantasy trope.

In practice, the skill didn't really achieve this design goal very well. Because you got back up on one hit - you weren't really effective as a combatant. Instead what it was often used for was playing possum on the floor while the enemy moved on and then leaping to your feet and making a run for your lines, hoping to get back before you were chopped down. We did consider changing the name from "unstoppable" to better reflect it's usage, but there were other more significant problems with the skill.

One problem is the skill tends to break the fourth-wall in various ways that were unhelpful. Orcs who have downed a wounded Imperial character are conscious of the fact that the character has a significant chance of standing back up again so they have to move on... to allow that to happen. Of course, logically in a world in which characters possess the unstoppable ability, cutting the throats of characters that are downed is logically - something we're keen not to encourage monsters or players to do.

By combining the two skills into one but limiting the skill so it can only be used as you hit the deck we hope we will better achieve the original design intent to reflect the unstoppable warrior who just keeps on attacking - but also remove elements of looking at downed characters and monsters and thinking "are they all just going to leap back to their feet in a moment".

Relentless

We have a new heroic skill to the game - relentless. A character with this skill may expend one hero point to regain the use of a single cleaved or impaled limb.

Reasoning

We added this because there was a space for it and we think it's cool.

Grappling

The rules for grappling have been changed. If you wish to grapple or use body contact then both participants must ask permission from a referee present. If the ref is happy that both parties are keen to grapple and in their assessment it is safe to do so, then they will allow it for that fight. It is not possible to grapple or use body contact on quests, skirmishes, or battles under any circumstances.

Reasoning

There have been incidents at the last few events where monsters have been grappled on quests and battles with absolutely no attempt of any kind to obtain permission. The reality is that battles are high adrenaline moments that take place in the woods where there are numerous environmental hazards. There are no situations where we are happy to have grappling take place in the quest area and we have changed the rules to make that restriction explicit.

Sadly there have also been situations in Anvil (particularly late at night in the Senate) where players are getting involved in grappling while drunk and with no attempt to ensure that the other party is keen to do so. This has resulted in tempers flaring and grappling rapidly becoming out-of-character. The individuals in question have been given a warning, but we have changed the rules so that you can only grapple in a small fight with the permission of the referee. You can expect the referee not to refuse to give permission if they are satisfied that both parties are sober and keen to grapple with each other and that the area is safe to do so.

Grappling in Empire is appropriate in cinematic duels and fights where both parties have indicated that they wish to do so. We don't see any need to stop that - and we believe that the new rules will present little restriction for players who are sensible about it. But the majority of players attending Empire are very keen not to be grappled by people they have not given permission to grapple and we want to ensure that they can enjoy the game without concern.

Further Reading

• Rules update 2024
• Rules update 2023
• Rules update 2022
• Rules update 2020
• Rules update 2019
• Rules update 2018
• Rules update 2017
• Rules update 2016
• Rules update 2015
• Rules update 2014
• Rules update 2013