Character Rules

As you generate your character, you will assign character points to build up your attributes and skills. You have five attributes that determine your capabilities and limitations, and your skills measure the knowledge you have amassed that affects the play of the game. You start with a variable amount of character points depending on how long the campaign has been running. For the first event, the starting amount is 45 CP. You will get an additional 5 CP with an approved character history. If you are building a character for Resurgence LARP after our opening 2024 season please contact staff or look on the website for the appropriate starting character CP.

Resurgence LARP Specific

You will see some sentences marked out in this chapter in this red color. Those are Resurgence LARP specific notes on the Core Rules.

Traits

Each character has traits they automatically gain. You have the trait Awakened and Bloom. You have the Living trait unless you are dead. Each skill header you purchase is also a trait. A character who has purchased the Scout header, for example, has the Scout trait. Your home nation is also a trait.

In addition, a character will have one trait based on how many character points they have spent on skills and abilities. A character who has not yet spent 75 character points to improve has the Initiate trait. A character who has spent at least 75 character points but has not yet spent 150 character points has the Experienced trait. A character who has spent at least 150 character points has the Accomplished trait.

Attributes

Each character has four attributes. These attributes are not meant to measure the capabilities of you as the player, nor will they limit your natural abilities. These are only a limit to the game skills you can use. The three main attributes are Mind, Body, and Spirit. Brilliance is the forth. Vigor is the fifth, special, attribute. Mind, Body, Spirit, and Brilliance each begin at 0. You may raise these attributes by spending character points. You must spend a number of character points equal to the new attribute value to raise it by one. If an attribute is 0, you must spend 1 character point to raise it to 1. If an attribute is 3, you must spend 4 character points to raise it to 4, and so on. You will exhaust attribute points to use certain skills. All attributes, except Vigor, are fully refreshed at the beginning of every event. Mind, Body, and Spirit may also be restored by the Refresh effect. Brilliance is restored at the beginning of the event.

Refreshing Attributes in Safe Places

Certain areas in the game are “Safe Places.” A character may rest in these areas for five minutes to refresh their Mind, Body, and Spirit. There is no limit to the number of times a character may do this so long as the entirety of the five minutes is within the same Safe Place. Safe Places for a character include the cabin in which they are residing for the event, the main tavern building, and any area marked as such with an informational sign.

Vigor

Vigor is a unique attribute that does not refresh from resting in a Safe Place or at the beginning of events, nor does it power skills in the same way as other attributes. Instead, Vigor has specific unique uses and refresh rules. A point of Vigor may be used for any of the following during an event:

  • You may exhaust a point of Vigor to call out “5 Damage by Vigor!” with a melee, missile, or packet attack depending on your normal mode of combat. This represents a last desperate surge of effort to defeat your enemy. The attribute point is only exhausted if the attack lands and the opponent acknowledges it with roleplay, or negates it with a defense that specifically indicates the ability to stop the Vigor Trait. Ex. The target calls out “Resist Vigor” or indicates through roleplay the extreme difficulty of using a Parry on the attack. Such defenses are very rare, if encountered at all. Any other defense will not cause the Vigor point to be used and you may use this attack again if you wish.
  • You may exhaust a point of Vigor to shift from being Unstable (though not Dead) to Stable at any time during your one-minute bleed out count. No verbal call is necessary.
  • Most skills that are otherwise only usable once per event may be used a second time by exhausting a point of Vigor. The skill description will indicate when this is possible.
  • You may exhaust a point of Vigor to call out “Resist by Vigor” against any melee, missile, or packet attack as your will to live summons a last moment of determination to survive. You begin the campaign with one point of Vigor and, unless very specifically clarified directly, may only ever have a maximum of one. Vigor only refreshes when you submit a post-event letter online to provide feedback. There is a web form to fill out on the website.

Skills

The measure of your knowledge and training are defined by skills. To simulate various levels of skills, there are certain activities the game does not allow you to attempt if you do not have the skill for it. If a skill exists for a certain type of activity or to manipulate a certain type of prop, then you may not attempt that action unless you have the skill or a specific ability allowing you to do so.

Skills are divided under headers. These headers represent basic training necessary to use the skills falling under that header. Each header gives you the name of the header as a trait. A character with the “Druid Skills” header would have the Druid trait. You cannot purchase a skill under a header unless you have purchased the header first. Open skills are all the skills that do not have a header. Anyone may purchase open skills. You cannot purchase a skill or spell more than once, even if you have access to that skill in multiple headers.

 

Some skills have additional requirements that must be met before the skill is purchased, and these are described in the description of the skill. You can purchase any skill from this book.

Using some skills will exhaust one or more points from one of your attributes. If you cannot exhaust these points because you do not have enough points left, then you cannot use that skill. If an attack skill has an attribute cost or a limitation on how often it can be used the skill is only used and/or the attribute(s) is only expended if the strike lands and the opponent acknowledges it with role play or negates it with a defense.

Generally speaking, you may change your skills between events if you discover that you have made a mistake or you think it will enhance your fun. Please inform the staff if you make a dramatic change so we can take it into account while preparing events. We will also work with you to integrate the change into the game world as smoothly as possible.

Information Skills

Some skills allow you to pursue answers to questions between events. These skills are called information skills. Each information skill has a number of in game sources that research the question and provide what answers they can. Your question is answered from their perspective and in the best manner they can pursue it. In order to use an information skill, you must maintain a good relation with these sources. Using your sources, you make a request for knowledge. You submit the question you are pursuing among your sources to plot between events. The question must be appropriate for your sources and one they could pursue.

Info skills must be submitted on your PEL within two weeks after an event to be considered for the next one. A character may only use one information skill between events even if they know multiple types.

You are not guaranteed an answer, and it may take more than one event to receive a response. Your answer will come in one of three ways: you might get a written response between events; you might get a verbal or written response at the opening of an event before it starts; or a contact might come to find you in game to deliver some piece of knowledge related to your question.

Forges

A Forge represents a place where those with various Smithing skills ply their trade, most notably to repair damaged arms and armor. A Forge typically has an anvil as its base, along with other tools and props to complete the image of a complex working space. Forges must be located within or adjacent to a building or as otherwise permitted by staff. Players are free to set up their own Forges out of appropriate props before the beginning of an event. Other than as provided by skill or ability, Forges may not be moved or tampered with.

Incants

Some skills require the use of an incant before the verbal. Each caster must devise and remember the incant for each of their skills. While the wording of the incant is up to the individual each incant must be 8 syllables in length and have some flavor tying the incant to the person, spell, or header.

The incantation is an in-game phrase, and if an effect prevents you from speaking you normally cannot cast a spell. If you are damaged or rendered unable to cast the spell during the incantation or the verbal, the spell is ruined. You do not exhaust attributes (or the equivalent) if a spell is interrupted. Your incantation must be spoken clearly and loud enough for those around you to hear the words. You cannot whisper or muffle your incantation or the spell will fail. A spell will fail if you fumble over the words of the incantation, but you do not spend attributes until you make the attack. If you fumble the words of your incantation, you must start the spell again but attributes and other costs are not wasted.

Rituals

Ritual spells are found in game, usually on scrolls that describe what is needed to cast them. While they vary wildly in requirements and outcome, most have certain common traits. They require one or more points of the Brilliance attribute to be used. A ritual will specify if it is an open ritual (anyone may cast) or a ritual requiring the mastery of a certain skill set (for example Druid Ritualist or Advanced Alchemy). Ritual scrolls often require that the caster(s) inscribe runes or sigils in particular ways or manipulate components. By default, these components are not game supplied in game tagged items but rather are untagged props that may be brought to the game by the player if desired. The scroll will further specify any actions that must be taken to complete the ritual and instruct on how the results will take effect. It will not be uncommon for a ritual to specify time and location restrictions on their casting. Casting a ritual requires that you have an empowered ritual magic scroll with you to work from. Such scrolls are distinguished by the out of game text on the bottom, or on the back, that explain the effects of the ritual. Please note that you do not need a staff member present to cast most rituals.