Wargame Rules

There is a limit to the effect the characters in a LARP, particularly a one shot, can have on the universe in which their characters live.  Because of the nature of the game, your character is not going to lead an army into battle, storm a castle, research a great ritual, or build a new political leadership in the span of one night.  Most LARP systems just don’t have the rules to let you do these things without a crazy amount of downtime, rolls, or other things that would slow a one shot game down to the point where the role play gets lost. 

Which is why Conspiratus Angelorum has put together the Wargame rules.  We run Dark Ages games, and sometimes, in a Dark Ages chronicle, the Knights need to go off to battle, Sorcerers need to do a huge ritual, Courtiers need to overthrow neighboring Principalities and build their own empire.  If all these things are intertwined, then you need a way to run the game quickly and with an emphasis on the role play aspects of the game, not on the mechanics on how it all comes about.

This is not a tactical war game. There is a fair amount of strategy involved, but the rules are designed to enhance the role play of the characters caught up in the conflict and deal with the ramifications of their actions on a larger scale then you usually experience in a LARP. Wargame rules do not favor the knight over the statesman – both have something different to contribute.  Occult knowledge, espionage skill, and the ability to form alliances will be just as crucial to the survival of the Kindred in Jerusalem as the ability to wield a sword.

Basically, it comes down to this: we are less interested in the mechanics of a time stop for a large battle scene then we are the role play and decisions that lead up to the battle.  The latter is what the game will focus on.  The former will be handled by the following rules:

General:

The game will be divided into five Acts.  Each Act will have about 45 minutes of role-playing, after which everyone participating in the rounds turns in their Action Sheet. (Except for Act Five, which will be the wrap up of the game)

On each Action Sheet are the characters personal actions at the end of the Act.  Each action should be very brief, and should give us an idea of what relevant pools you are using.  The ST staff will have copies of your sheets, and can do this for you, but the easier you make it for us, the faster everything will go.

The ST staff will then take 20-30 minutes to judge the results while RP continues. And then the town “crier” will announce public results while the action sheets are returned to the players. A week of time will have assumed to pass. And then we begin again with the next Act.

Actions:

Every character gets one action.  The amount of Resolve you have does not give you extra actions, you only get one.  Actions should be very basic and should include the pool you wish to use.  The following are examples of what you might do – your actual actions can be as creative as you wish, but again, simple is better.

• Espionage: I am obfuscating and spying on Jane Deava and her cult to see what they are really up to.  Obf+Dex+Stealth
• Sabotage: I am sneaky and skilled enough to get behind the line and damage the equipment of Joe Ventrue.  Dex + Crafts
• Diplomacy: I am turning on the charm (Majesty) to convince the Kindred Bethlehem to support Joe Ventrue’s claim to Praxis.  Man+Per+Magesty
• War: I plan to destroy the Nosferatu Warren that I have found in the Western part of the city.  Wits+Warfare
• Research:  I want to know more about the strange writing we found at the Temple Mount.  Int+Occult
• Occult:  I am taking the week to craft and prepare a ritual that will break the seal on the tomb.  Int+Occult+Cruac

Group Actions:

The Wargame rules favors players who work together.  Players are encouraged to pool their actions, and can submit an Action Sheet together as a group.  For example:

• We plan to destroy the Nosferatu Warren that we have found in the Western part of the city. 
• John Gangrel will lead the actual fight: Wits+Warfare
• Tom Gangrel will fight in John Gangrel's war party: Str+Weaponry+Vigor
• Susie Mekhat will scout out the warren before hand and destroy any traps she might find: Obf+Dex+Stealth and / or Dex + Crafts
• Bob Ventrue will also be joining John Gangrel’s war party: Dex + Archery

We also encourage players to double cross each other.  Using the above example, Bob Ventrue might also submit a personal action that says the following:

• I am joining John Gangrel’s war party.  But I have cut a deal with the Nosferatu, and I plan to use my bow to knock out some of his fighters.  Dex + Archery

Other modifiers:

Characters are likely to have other modifiers which might effect their action.  These are their merits, like Retainers, Allies, Mentors, and whatnot.  These modifiers do not get their own action – your Retainer does not get a separate action from you, for example.  However, they can be crucial to your plans and help make them succeed.  For example:

• Diplomacy: I am turning on the charm (Majesty) to convince the Kindred Bethlehem to support Joe Ventrue’s claim to Praxis.  My Mentor is a Kindred of high status in the city, and I will ask him to help.  Man+Per+Magesty with Mentor’s help.
• Occult:  I am taking the week to craft and prepare a ritual that will break the seal on the tomb.  My allies are a cult which assists me in my ritual preparation.   Int+Occult+Cruac with Allies to help.

Results:

After the ST staff has judged the actions, the Action Sheets will be returned to the players with the results written on them, along with any other items or information that the player has uncovered.  These are private results, and may look something like this:

• Espionage: I am obfuscating and spying on Jane Deava and her cult to see what they are really up to.  Obf+Dex+Stealth
• Result:  Jane Deava and her cult have been deep in preparation for a ritual, one of such grand scale it has taken them the entire week to put it all together.  You have identified the members of her cult, and you seem to have an idea that the ritual has something to do with one of the tombs outside of the city wall.  Observing even part of the ritual being performed makes you feel very uneasy, and at times made it difficult for you to deal with your Beast and keep it under wraps. 

Actions taken may also have very large, very public results, which will be announced to the entire game by the town crier.  For example:

“The Western side of the city was shaken on Thursday when a group of soldiers, lead by the heroic John Gangrel, attacked a Nosferatu Warren believed to be harboring dangerous Pagans.  It appears that John Gangrel has scored an impressive victory for Christ, as the Warren has been destroyed.  The Nosferatu seemed to anticipate the attack, and set up a ambush.  However, while many of his men were lost in the fighting, John Gangrel anticipated the ambush and was ultimately victorious.

Elsewhere, in Bethlehem, Adam Deava and Bob Ventrue, two respected Elders of the city, have come forward and added public support to the Praxis of Joe Ventrue, here in Jerusalem, and have offered him Resources to help rebuilt sections of the city wall.”