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.
Philtres
- We have created a new class of potion - philtres - which can be correctly identified by any character
- Several basic restorative potions have been changed from being potions to being philtres
Elixir Vitae, Philtre of Strength, Skop’s Mead, MageBlood, Philtre of Heavenly Lore, Bloodharrow Philtre, Feverfail Elixir, Ossean Balm, and Anodyne Embrocation have all be changed to be philtres rather than regular potions.
Philtres use a card - like a herb or mana crystal - with all the rules for that item printed on it - instead of using a rip-open lammy like a regular potion. This means that any character can correctly identify a philtre with a quick glance at the accompanying card.
The rules for using a potion are not changed - it still requires five seconds of appropriate roleplaying - that is taking the potion bottle, removing the stopper, and drinking the contents - to use it. However you can then rip the card more quickly and take the effects described immediately without having to spend time to check the potion is what it appears to be.
Reasoning
In any LRP system it is crucial that the rules mechanisms that underpin the game must be applicable within the context in which that part of the game happens.
Rituals and spells represent an easy example of how this principle is applied in Empire. A ritual involves complex rules, so it requires at least a few minutes to perform the ritual to allow the referee time to process it. Spells are needed in the pitched heat of a battle - you can't have a spell that a character might legitimately expect to cast quickly in the heat of a battle take time to process. The application of the rules would be too intrusive and would impact the utility of the spell. The potency of the spell would then become a factor of how quickly the ref could process it - not how well the character used it.
Our current potion rules require the player to rip open a laminated strip and read the text written inside, after they have completed the five seconds of appropriate roleplaying. For most potions this is fine, if you are performing a powerful night ritual then it doesn't matter if the ref needs 30 seconds to rip open and read three potions to check what they do and how they affect your ritual.
But for common potions explicitly designed to be used in the heat of battle, the requirement to rip open and then read the lammy, required an amount of OOC time to administer and process that was not commensurate with the situations in which these potions were commonly used. In effect - the play balance of the item was coming down to how fast you could rip open the laminate. It is understandable - if unfortunate - that given those criteria, players had a tendency to do anything possible to reduce the amount of additional OOC time required to use the potion.
The new rules fix for philtres address this mismatch between the rules for how you use the item and the situations in which you use it. By putting the rules on a card - you know at a glance what the potion does - and the card can be ripped the same way a herb or mana card would be.
We haven't switched every potion to being a philtre, because there is an obvious trade off with the new cards - that they reduce the amount of mystery and roleplaying regarding what a potion does. Under the current rules for potions, any character who recognizes the physical description of the potion can be fairly certain they have correctly identified it - but the more obscure the potion the harder it is to identify. That means there is a degree of hard skill in being able to recognize and identify potions (which we regard as a positive), or that players create in-character books of lore to help them identify potions (even better!).
We want to maintain that element of the game as far as possible - so the overwhelming majority of potions have not been changed. These potions will still use a laminated strip of paper - and you must rip open the laminate and read what is written inside before you take the effects.
Please note that although it is perfectly legal to add an in-character label to the phys-rep for a potion - you must not write the in-character name of the potion on the out-of-character lammy - your character can label the bottle - the player can not add additional information to the lammy.
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 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.
We have also made clear that the rules that prohibit fighting while inebriated also extend to grappling. It is not permissible for a character to fight in anyway at Empire if the player has been drinking that day.
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.
Large Creatures
We have changed the definition of what creatures are immune to calls in Empire. Only monstrous creatures, threats that are phys-repped using bulky all-encompassing full-body costumes such as the ice giant or the Grendel drakes will be immune to calls from now on. Ogres - and creatures with a similar phys-rep are now affected by calls normally.
We have also made clear that monstrous creatures cannot be healed on a battlefield using normal means.
Reasoning
Over time it has become clear that there are significant problems involved with large creatures. Because the only phys-rep requirement was to have a costume designed to make the wearer look bigger, the costume for ogres and other creatures was focussing too strongly on this element - and not strongly enough on the overall appearance. Using shoulder pads and similar made it much harder for the monsters to fight, because of the encumbrance. In essence we were hamstringing the monster volunteer just to meet the minimum phys-rep requirements for the creature to be large.
In play it has become clear that the ability of creatures just larger than a human to ignore calls was detrimental to the player experience. It is exactly this kind of creature that a warrior or magician would want to use their abilities on - so a character fighting toe-to-toe against such a beast should expect to be able to do so. Nullifying character abilities at the point of optimum use is not good game design - but the problem is particularly acute when those creatures are relatively common.
Crucially defining our powerful monsters by their size was at odds with our guidelines on equality and diversity. Inevitably the creatures that are immune to calls are seen as one of the most appealing monsters to play on the battlefield. Unfortunately it was impossible for a third of our player base to visibly meet the requirements for large creatures - adding shoulder pads to a short participant was insufficient to make them look large. This contributed to a problem that has been identified in recent years in which short players (which because of human anatomy often means female players) were not being given exciting roles to play when monstering battles. We're keen to ensure that everyone who volunteers to monster for us gets opportunities to play roles on the battlefield based on their ability to portray them and not their physique.
Monstrous creatures that are phys-repped using a full body costume will remain immune to calls. While it is not ideal for any player ability to fail in any situation, threats like these are intended to be fought and taken-down by entire units of players. These monsters need special methods to defeat them, they don't go toe-to-toe with individual characters and so they don't fall over to a single arrow or heroic blow.
Changing the definition of a monstrous creature from size to a bulky full-body costume, we can ensure that the physique of the person playing the role is irrelevant.