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Curious Pastimes 2nd Edition

14 September 2024 /

It’s finally time to unveil the Curious Pastimes Second Edition rules!

After close to 2 years of feedback and writing and writing and writing and then discussing and debating and getting more feedback and then some more writing, we’re excited to unveil the Curious Pastimes Second Edition rules. This new edition builds on 28 years of experience, offering a more accessible and dynamic system for everyone.

First of all, thank you to everyone who contributed feedback and helped shape these updates. Your support has been invaluable in making the game more engaging for all.

We apologise for the length of this post, but with so many changes, we wanted to provide a comprehensive overview. We’ll explore more details in upcoming blog posts. If this is too long we have created a video that covers the same ground and can be found here: https://youtu.be/D3MX-YXs2h4 for those of you that want to jump straight to the rules the wiki can be found at: https://wiki.curiouspastimes.co.uk/

In this post, we’ll cover:

  • Design Principles
  • Character Creation and Archetypes
  • Character Progression
  • Multiclassing
  • Economy and Resources
  • Work Units
  • Magic and Rituals
  • Training and Research
  • What’s Next

We’ll be sharing the top-level changes for each of these topics, so read on to discover the exciting updates coming as part of the 2nd Edition rules!

Design Principles

When we set out on this journey we wanted to create a rule set that stays true to the heart of Curious Pastimes while making the game more enjoyable for everyone. Collaboration is at the core of our Second Edition, alongside transparency and accessibility. One of the biggest changes we’ve made is removing hidden barriers that previously limited some character paths, ensuring all players can clearly see their options and make informed decisions about progression. 

We’ve designed the system to be flatter, meaning new players can ease in without feeling overwhelmed, while veterans still get to feel powerful. We’ve also emphasised collaboration, whether on the battlefield or in research and exploration, giving you more ways to engage with the world’s mysteries together.

Character Creation

We wanted to give players more focus in character creation without limiting creativity. Choose from four distinct archetypes: 

  • Creator: Focuses on crafting, making, and shaping the world through skills like alchemy, blacksmithing, artistry, and surgery.
  • Magician: Specialises in spellcasting and rituals, utilising magic points to perform various magical abilities.
  • Scout: Relies on wit, agility, and cunning. This archetype includes roles like diplomats, thieves, and negotiators who excel at outsmarting opponents.
  • Warrior: The physical combat specialist, ranging from brute-force fighters to strategic leaders on the battlefield.

These archetypes provide structure for characters while still allowing flexibility to mix skills from other paths. You’ll start with 20 experience points to spend on general and archetype-specific skills. We’ve streamlined the process to make it easier to build your character. For those who love to specialise, we’ve also included pinnacle abilities, worth 11 experience points or more, representing the height of your character’s expertise. Each character can have only one pinnacle skill.

Free Skills:

We’ve expanded the free skills to include:

  • Numeracy
  • Literacy
  • Read/Make Maps
  • Small/One-Handed Weapon

Character Progression

Character progression is capped at a total of 100 experience points, including the initial 20 points used during character creation. No normal mortal character can exceed this limit. All progression, whether through earned XP, in-game training, research, or magical investment, counts towards this total, ensuring balance within the system. The only exception to this cap is for abilities granted by divine blessings, such as faction specials, which do not count toward your character’s point total.

Experience points are earned for each game you attend, with up to 8 XP per year. You’ll gain 5 XP at the first event you attend and 1 XP for each additional event until you hit that annual cap. 

Can I Multiclass?

Yes, you can multiclass! While your character will start in one of the four core archetypes—Creator, Magician, Scout, or Warrior—you’re not locked into a single path. The system offers flexibility, allowing you to select skills from other archetypes as your character develops. However, this comes with a 2-to-1 ratio: for every 2 points you invest in your primary archetype, you can spend 1 point in another archetype.

Income and Resources

One of the biggest changes we’ve made to the game’s economy is removing the base income of 2sp per event and introducing a new income skill. You now have the option to invest in this skill. The more experience points you spend, the more income you can earn. If you choose the basic income skill, you’ll still receive 2 silver, but you can increase that for bigger earnings as you level it up. You can also choose to receive other types of resources, giving you more control over what your character gains.

We’ve also added resource-gathering skills like Gatherer (for metals and materials) and Forage (for herbs and alchemy ingredients) to ensure resources flow more freely throughout the game. Items and resources now come with expiration dates, encouraging players to use what they have. However, although they have an expiry date, items can be maintained indefinitely if you invest in their upkeep.

Work Units

In the new system, creators begin with 10 work units, which are specifically tied to production activities. These units represent the amount of work a creator can perform in a day, such as crafting, brewing, or performing surgery. As creators gain more skills and expertise in their chosen fields (e.g., alchemist, blacksmith, artisan), they will accumulate more work units, although there will be a cap on the total number. Research has been split out and is tracked separately, via Study Units (see below).

Creator Tools – e.g. Workshops and Labs

Workshops and labs are essential tools for creators in the game, providing the necessary environment for crafting and research. The major change is that the standard versions of these tools are now free, eliminating the need to invest large amounts of resources in acquiring basic equipment. While the free versions allow for basic production tasks, more advanced labs and workshops can be obtained for customization, research and greater efficiency. These advanced versions may provide specific benefits, such as reducing the time required to perform tasks or enhancing the number of work units a creator can spend in a day.

Magic

A key change to magic is that Magic Points are now pooled into a single resource that can be used across all magical skills. Previously, different types of magic, such as spiritual and elemental spells, were separated. Now, all magical abilities draw from the same pool of magic points, providing greater flexibility and simplicity for spellcasters.

As characters develop, their pool of magic points will increase, allowing them to perform more powerful spells. This change brings flexibility to the Magician archetype, as players can choose how to distribute their magic points—whether casting multiple level-two spells or even some exalted spells.

Rituals

In the Second Edition, we’ve removed the distinction between contributor and lead; all who have the ritual skill are considered Ritualists, with three tiers of expertise. Every Ritualist can perform productive rituals independently or as part of a group. Rituals are now designed to be more experimental and flexible, allowing for different approaches depending on the desired outcomes.

We’ve also introduced wild circles, potentially resulting in chaotic or unexpected effects. This adds unpredictability, which players can either embrace or try to control.

There is no longer a need to pay gold for rituals. The power level of rituals may vary, but they remain productive even with fewer resources. Ether spheres will help align ritual circles and manage power levels. Importantly, items no longer need to be renewed through rituals but can be maintained through a specific rite performed outside the circle requiring three Ritualists.

Ritual Bonds

Magical items are now bound to the Ritualist who creates them. This means that items can no longer be universally maintained by any Ritualist; instead, they need to be bonded to a specific individual. Players are encouraged to choose which items to maintain, balancing their attachment to existing items with the opportunity to create new ones. This change emphasises the balance between retaining significant items and encouraging innovation and the circulation of new, powerful objects within the game.

Note: 

We will soon ask all players to let us know which items they possess. This is critical for ensuring that all items fit the new rules introduced for the upcoming event. Please submit your item information as early as possible (when we post the registration/recall form), allowing the team to adjust the wording and rules associated with each item to align with the new system. Items not submitted in time may not be ready for use at the next event, so preparation is key. Additionally, do not discard your current item cards, as they will be exchanged for new ones once the transition is complete. No one will lose an item – this is simply to allow us to register and align everything with the new rules.

Training & Research

Research and training provide ALL players with pathways for advancing their characters more quickly than through XP accrual, creating unique story arcs and offering flexibility in skill and knowledge acquisition.

The new system for research has been simplified, removing the need for special skills or tools to conduct magical research. Any player with an archetypal skill can begin research in their chosen area. Research now revolves around a new resource called study units. Players have five study units per day, up to a total of 70 units per year, which can be used to explore different areas of research. Study Units are a single pool and are used across any and all research players may undertake. This replaces the previously separate magic or work units used for research, streamlining the process for players. 

There are three levels of research progression: novice, adept, and expert. Players can explore as many novice-level areas as they like, but they will need to narrow their focus to one specialism (e.g. Warding or Emulation) as they move into the adept and expert levels.

Players can also train in various skills that exist within the game or advance skills they already possess. Training sessions, such as those at Bastion, allow characters to learn and advance in a tutor-style environment. These too draw from a character’s pool of Study Units.

What’s Next

As we move forward, we’re dedicated to ensuring Curious Pastimes Second Edition grows with your input and real-world play feedback. Your experiences and insights are at the heart of shaping the system, and you can expect regular updates as we gather feedback and fine-tune the rules. We’re also hard at work creating detailed guides and resources to help you navigate the new system with ease. This is a journey we’re all on together, and we’re excited to see how it evolves with your help!

Methods for Feedback

Feedback is essential to the ongoing development of the Second Edition, and we’re offering multiple ways for players to share their thoughts:

  • Feedback Form – Found at the top of the wiki pages, allowing you to share any questions or comments directly. Please submit one query per form, as this helps us follow and respond to each point.
  • Discussion Pages – Specific forums will open up for discussion, where players can engage with the team and fellow players to discuss any issues, suggestions, or ideas.
  • Live AMA Sessions – We will host some Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions where you can ask questions directly and receive real-time feedback.

The Curious Pastimes Second Edition is designed as a “living” rule set, meaning it will evolve and adapt over time based on player feedback and gameplay experience. We are committed to listening to the community and making the necessary adjustments to ensure the game remains enjoyable, challenging, and fair for everyone.

Welcome to Trioria

22 August 2024 /

You are warmly welcomed and graciously invited to one of the greatest jewels within Estragalian lands, Trioria.

Here the great house of De Avalos is delighted to invite the peoples of the combined warhosts for not only the great Renewal of Magic 1124 but also, we are to understand, a diplomatic rendevouz with our new acquaintances Sharrow and Yndrath.

Our lands lay ready to lavish comforts on all who chose to join us in the rejuvenation, restoration and revitalization of our magics, and the great people of the Algaia host are working tirelessly together with some of the finest names of the Estragalian courts to ensure entertainment will abound to light the mood between the bouts of deliberations and negotiation that lay before us in the greatest of games… diplomacy itself.

For those who wish to ensure they are in the best position to truly revel in this upcoming weekend a few announcements will follow! In short, we invite you to dust off your finer attire and brush up on your bearing, as you join us in a gathering sure to be worthy of the bards!

Small note: no liability for loss, injury or death whilst in the premises of De Avalos or wider Estragales will be taken by either the Don… or the Regent respectively.

L’Ordre des Proceedings

An Estragalian host would, of course, typically lay out a firm and ordered plan for any occasion. However, we are given to understand that the course of a Renewal of Magic never does run smooth and a tight schedule would only create cause for confusion.

Please therefore accept this more general ‘taster’ of some key events you can prepare for – with more details on certain aspects to follow. Friday 23rd August

The proceedings will begin with:

An early evening Algaia Promenade – which will collect all those of you willing from your respective camps and deliver you unto…

The Opening Ceremony at Il Teatro della Rosa Dorata, which will then be followed by, The Battle of the Bards, who are sure to fill the theatre with delight! It is recommended that, for those with the means and desire, this would be a good opportunity for you to dazzle in your finery so please adorn yourself as you see fit so that you are ready to join the promenade and progress into the evening’s entertainment! Please also bring with you a beverage receptacle of your choosing so that you may sample some of our fine Estragalian punch.

Saturday 24th August

A day of entertainment and frivolity with:

A very special opportunity to attend a rare Open Day within the Ancient Gardens and Maze of Trioria with:

An opportunity to meet the gardener and visit the wishing well at 10am Two garden games starting at 11 and 3 respectively – details within flier to be shortly sent

A Promenade Play, ‘Who is the Stag Bear’ at 1pm

At 12 noon ‘The Warhosts have Talent’ Competition at the Theatre – where we hope to see a plethora of 4 minute acts across the widest range of skills possible!

The Estragalian Wedding of the Season – to be held at 4pm at the Theatre, with subsequent feasting and entertainment then back at the Algaia camp.

A full timetable of the complete activities around this will be circulated shortly. Sunday 25th August [After some likely unavoidable pugilistic behaviour…]

The Renewal of Magic Masquerade will occur on Sunday night at the Ritual Circle. We would be delighted to see as many of you there as possible particularly donning your favourite masks and party attire so see in the new year of magic!

Then join us in an After Party at the Theatre. [please again bring your favourite beverage receptacles] Monday 26th August

Departure* from our fair land. *it is an unavoidable truth that this is likely to invoke rain

Mike Dudley – Memorial

22 August 2024 /

It was with huge sadness we lost one of our most beloved friends – Mike Dudley.

To remember him and all he means to us there will be a memorial at the amphitheatre at Paccar at 6:30pm on Friday evening – all are welcome to join us.

To accommodate this time in will be moved from 7pm to 8pm

Media at Curious Pastimes

21 August 2024 /

As we draw closer to our next event, here is a reminder of the rules regarding photography and filming at Curious Pastimes.

All Curious Pastimes events have photographers and videographers who can be seen around site, recording camps, roleplay, the tavern and battles. You may have seen some of the images on our website and some of the footage on our YouTube channel. Our photographers are all experienced with LARP photography and are excellent at being discreet.

Players may ONLY take photographs in the Out of Character area or in their own faction glade when it is timed out with permission of those included and faction command. Players are not permitted to film video of any kind in the game area at any time.

During battles and skirmishes, all of the media team will be wearing blue hi vis. Any of the media team taking videos will be wearing blue hi vis around the camps as well.

The media team working with Curious Pastimes at E4 2024 are: Lilli Moffat, Oliver Facey, Rob Davies, Steve Mitchell, Stuart Edwards, Ric Crossley, Will Lacey, Ben Cawkwell, Deirdre Beaugie and Lucie Nakach

If you would prefer not to be included in any photographs or footage at Curious Pastimes, please contact us by pm on our Facebook page, or by email to info@curiouspastimes.co.uk You can also make this known to the media team when they are walking around the camps.

If you wish to take photographs as part of the Media Team at a Curious Pastimes event, please also contact us!

Fires

14 August 2024 /

As we get closer to our final event of the year, we wanted to give some reminders about fire safety at our events. 

Ground fires are not permitted at Paccar – all fires must be raised off the ground and on a stable, heat-resistant surface.

Fires are not permitted anywhere in the Out of Character camping area, with the exception of camping stoves and similar devices for cooking.

If you are using a camping stove with a gas bottle, please check the gas is connected properly to the stove/cooker before use.

Fires, fire pits and camping stoves should not be used inside tents (unless specifically designed for this purpose, e.g. bell tents with a chimney), close to canopies or to the walls of tents.  Extinguished fires and BBQs, including those which appear to be cold, should not be taken into enclosed tent areas (especially overnight while people are sleeping), due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Fires should be monitored at all times and should be extinguished before being left unsupervised. Where possible, fires should be extinguished with water before being left overnight, but removing as much unignited fuel should be removed from the fire as possible, spreading embers out in the container to allow them to cool will normally be sufficient.

Ashes should only be disposed of in waste containers when you are entirely sure they are cold. Ashes must not be poured on the ground under any circumstances.

If you encounter an out of control fire, please make a member of staff aware immediately.

Resources: Expiration, Transition, Supply, Consumption, New Types of Resource

12 August 2024 /

As part of changing the world, resources of all kinds will now expire over the course of time. For example, herbs will rot or turn to dust while other materials perish or rust or crumble away. Alongside this change we are introducing mechanisms to ensure that more resources are available more easily, that the cost of using them is, largely, reduced with more ways to use them.

Our principles for how resources will work in game are laid out below and frame our goals:

  1. Resources will be more easily accessible than currently – new options/skills are going to be added that provide more ways to acquire resources than current. Too often in the past it has been difficult or impossible to find ingredients and resources when needed – both limiting options but also limiting trading and collaboration.
  2. Cost Reduction – Most things will now cost considerably less to produce, through a combination of reduced material costs and Work Unit Cost (covered in a future blog). Too often in the past the constraints upon resources have meant that costs for their use have been too high compared to others options within the game.
  3. Increased Purpose – Base lists (i.e. recipes you get for free) for crafting and alchemy are going to be expanded considerably. There are many materials, and under the new rules there will be more – the aim is to ensure that all of them are useful in some way and to promote experimentation as a way of finding out.

Expiration

As alluded to in the title, after we go live with the new rules all resources will have an expiration on them, creating a more dynamic environment for crafting and alchemy. 

However, different resources will expire at different speeds, this is predominantly based on how refined they are.

The below table shows the default life of a resource.


Component

Default Expiry in Years
Alchemical Passives
2 Years
Raw Materials
2 Years
Alchemical Actives
2 Years
Refined Materials
3 Years
Essences
3 Years
Ether Spheres3 Years

New Resources

On implementation of the new ruleset we will be introducing 4 new resources into the world:

Ether Spheres – this is something completely new and we will touch upon it in a further article in the future. 

Essences – currently active ingredients are the most refined alchemical inputs available, essences take this one step further and allows for the distillation of active ingredients into a more potent form. Creating essences from active ingredients will extend their life and can be used in more complex/advanced alchemical recipes.

Raw Materials – represent the most basic materials like ores, scraps of wood, ash etc. Raw Materials are not directly used to craft things on their own but can be refined into usable materials by a crafter. 

By-products –  the process of refinement or manufacture will have a chance to generate by-products. These by-products while individually not representing anything of real value with have uses in basically activities like rites.

Refinement and Distillation 

Raw Materials can be processed by a crafter into Refined Material, for example silver ore can be refined into a unit of silver ready to be worked into an item. 

The process of refinement will add an additional year to an output material’s current lifespan. Multiple refinements will add multiple extensions.

Example: A new unit of Silver Ore has two years expiration, on its first day it is refined into a unit of Silver which now has 3 year’s expiration, increasing its life by one year at the point it is refined. 

Distillation is similar to refinement however with 1 subtle difference, the process of distillation takes multiple alchemical active ingredients of the same type and creates an essence that will be usable in more complex poisons or potions. Essences can also be used to substitute their lesser refined variant but not the other way round. E.g. Essence of Lycopodium can be used in a recipe that requires Lycopodium, but Lycopodium cannot be used in a recipe that requires Essences of Lycopodium. Distilling adds an extra year to the expiry date of the input active ingredient(s).

The below diagram is an example of the refinement of material. 

Do I have to Refine?

No – Refined materials will still be available, Raw materials exist to provide additional options to crafters rather than a material everyone has to work with.

Transition

We appreciate that this is a significant change to how we currently manage items and resources in the game. As such all materials when we move to the new system will be considered new and their current expiration set to the maximum date for its type. You will not lose any resources upon transition although they will start to expire alongside all others. There is no need to be concerned about existing stockpiles just expiring on day one. For example an existing unit of Stone will have an expiry of 3 years starting from the point the new rules take effect.

No items will expire on day 1 of the new rules – ALL items will start the clock ticking towards their expiry date. In other words, don’t throw away resources, labs or items now because they will still be useful under the new rules. 

NB: All components, regardless of attendance will start their duration on the same event the new rule set goes live.  

Weapons Checking and Bow Comp (Event 3 2024)

18 July 2024 /

Bow Safety and Weapons Checking.

Anyone who wishes to use a bow or crossbow of any description at Curious Pastimes must first take part in a Bow Safety session.
Bow Safety sessions will be held at:
Friday – 3:00pm
Saturday – 10:00am
Sunday – 10:00am

Please meet outside Event HQ for any of these sessions.

Please let us know if you plan to attend one of the sessions by completing this form: https://forms.gle/6qcuCbhfHx3jRyYX8

If you pre-book for a session, your licence will be prepared ahead of time and your card will be ready to go on completion of the session.  If you have not pre-booked, your card may not be available until the following day.

There is a Curious Pastimes Archery group for anyone who may be interested in joining or if you have any questions about archery at Curious Pastimes. http://www.facebook.com/groups/1148630478492403/

Weapons Checking:All weapons, shields and armour must be checked by a Weapons Checker before use to ensure they are safe.  Weapons checking will take place in camps before Time-In on Friday, and again before any skirmishes.  If an item is deemed to be unsafe or damaged, it is considered to have ‘failed’ a weapons check.  Failed weapons, arrows or armour will be marked with a red tag – these items must not be used in the game under any circumstances, and should ideally be stored in an out of character area for the remainder of the game.

Traders’ weapons will be checked prior to the event opening.

an image of a character whose life is deeply embedded with that of trees, with woody skin and leaves covering their skin

Rules Review 2 – Race at Curious Pastimes

18 July 2024 /

Hi all, this is our second post about the rules review. In this one we’re going to talk about how we’re changing ‘race’. Firstly we’ll talk about what changes we’re making and then we’ll talk a little about why. 

The short story is that we’re getting rid of the concept of race. This means that going forward there will be no peoples who gain access to specific skills by dint of their birth, of who their parents were or because of the colour of their skin. With all progression based on Archetypes and experience, there’s no influence from ‘race’ at any point in a character’s life.

Further to the above we are also dropping the idea of there being universal racial types such as elves, orcs, goblins etc. They aren’t necessarily going away but in this magical world that forms the backdrop for Curious Pastimes we are saying that they aren’t all somehow related to one another. 

There are a bunch of reasons for this but there are two that stand out. The first is that the races as we typically encounter them in most Western Fantasy are based on the idea of racial essentialism. This first suggests that people are capable according to the race of which they are a part. This is bad enough but the foundation of this idea is worse still and that’s the idea of racial hierarchies.

This idea in its C18/19/20th construction is most likely built on the Atlantic slave trade and its post hoc rationalisation by White Europeans and Americans (see references below) supposed the following: that White people were by default capable of anything and would also therefore be the yardstick by which all other races were measured. Some were naturally beautiful and wise, some were seen as cunning but physically weak, others were naturally fascinated with gold, some were seen as barbarous but stupid although potentially noble if properly educated. Others were seen as inherently evil and inscrutable/mysterious. 

Do you recognise the descriptions of human, elf, goblin, dwarves and orcs? Now reread it and see how racial hierarchies were formalised into legal systems in numerous places in Europe as White, Aryan, Jewish (and South/East Asians), Jewish (again) and Sub-Saharan African. Not quite so innocent now is it.

This is a far cry from previous views of ‘race’ which often indicated a common language or cultural group.

This means we thought about a lot of possible options but rejected most and settled on the idea of falling back on the concept of culture, defined here as the ways of life of a society. Why? Because culture is entirely constructed and links people together via social solidarity, common practices, experience and history. It means that all the things people celebrate as heritage can remain without the more difficult associations with skin colour, nationalism and hating the ‘Other’.

So you can remain an elf because that’s what you call yourself. It may be that your whole group call yourselves elves and that’s fine too because it’s what you call yourselves and that, as with all of human experience is a story that is constructed via social interaction.

Did your group of orcs and trolls find social solidarity and common cause with a group of goblins in a different warhost? Awesome, nothing will change for you in practice. To make all this clear we will also be writing example characters just so the impact of all these changes is brought to life including thoughts about makeup, appearance and kit.

What it will change is a little about how we build our world here and the types of stories we want to tell as a community. We want to decolonise storytelling – which is an academic way of saying that we want to tell stories that aren’t always about the hero going from X to Y and beating the evil enemy. 

Enemies will exist, our battles will be epic, but so will our stories about living together, collaborating, exploring, building and creating. Crucial to that, for us, is creating a world in which all kinds of people from outside of Larp can arrive and see themselves in what we’re doing.

Some examples of this that you may or may not have already noticed – we have been removing or tweaking creatures with explicit links to Christianity and Judaism from our game (among other real world belief systems), not least because they are frequently anti-semitic or otherwise problematic but also because their origins and associations do not exist in the world of Curious Pastimes. For example – demons are a classification of creature from a specific place in the Curious Pastimes cosmos, not agents of the devil. They have their own society, lore, laws, cultures and histories unique to them. The same goes for how we’re treating our undead such as vampires and liches. The cultures who recently visited from other planes were also designed with this in mind – and were developed to show different ways of living, of socially organising and valuing ways of life.

If you want more detailed articles on this then we recommend the following:

Larp Book posted a video of a talk we gave at LarpCon you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWqHKSf_gYs 

That talk is based on a paper that one of the team wrote for the Journal of the British Fantasy Society. Although access to that journal is behind a paywall, you can also find the paper itself here: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19UxSV3-i-WsTGlJlod2UrjffoncjCmdX/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115442438016834320137&rtpof=true&sd=true

And if that’s not enough then please see here too:

On the racist problems of fantasy races https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1648836976448254&disposition=inline

On the history of the hierarchy of race https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/spc3.12953 

There are many other resources available with a short search at your local bookshop or using the search engine of your choice. Key search terms are colonialism (try A Legacy of Violence for instance), postcolony, decolonisation and anti-racism. 

We also note that the discussion here is a UK focused one and does not, therefore, take in all the various nuances that might be at play elsewhere such as in France, the US or Germany to pick 3 at (not) random because those legacies and experiences remain radically different to ours. Although they may overlap, even the accepted meaning of basic terms such as ‘White’ may not be the same from one place to another.

Archetypes, Character Progression and Existing Characters

14 July 2024 /

Hi all

This is the first of our blog posts about the rules changes that are coming your way soon! So, first, some principles about what are going to be in these posts. 

We are only going to cover the headlines in these posts – partly because we’re still finishing drafting and review by staff but also because there’s not enough space in a blog to go into too much detail. This means, we know, that some of the detail won’t be there. Feel free to ask questions in the comments but we’ll be aiming to answer only as clearly as we can until the rules are finalised.

Secondly, the aim with all the rules changes are to improve the game but this means something specific for us, so it’s worth laying that out too.

  • We want new players to feel like they have complete characters and can get stuck into the game straight away.
  • We want the game to encourage collaboration and for people to work across skill sets and boundaries. We are moving away from characters who can master many elements of the game towards a world in which it pays to specialise.
  • We want research, exploration and pressing the red button to be at the heart of characters’ journeys.
  • We love battles 
  • We want our progression to be relatively flat – end game characters should feel epic but not at the expense of locking newer characters out of the game
  • Lastly, but far from least, we are working to the idea of characters progressing for between 7-8 years of four events a year (more on this below). Not attending consistently will not be penalised – this is about the ceiling, not the journey to get there.

Will existing characters fit into the new rules?

For the most part they should transfer across fine. You’ll find that some basic skills you may have paid for in the past are now free, or that skills which could only be obtained by ‘dark arts’ (Ed. Not dark arts) will now be available for all who are interested. 

How will existing characters fit into the new rules?

To answer this question we need to talk about character generation and progression. First of all we are getting rid of vet picks. The new system will be based upon receiving experience points. You will be able to earn a maximum amount a year and these can be spent or carried over as you wish (some skills may need more than a year’s worth of XP to acquire). 

So back to the question above – all existing characters will be converted into XP based on the number of vet picks they have (up to our xp cap which equates to about 8ish years of playing under existing rules). Players will then be permitted to recreate their characters under the new rules by spending their newly calculated xp OR they can generate entirely NEW characters using that accrued XP. We are excited about the possibilities in these new rules and we think you will be too, so want to open up these pathways to you now.

There are some nuances to the above and this brings us to the idea of archetypes

Archetypes are the idea that there are broad overarching types of character. In our case we have gone for Warrior, Rogue, Wiz(z)ard and Creator. These archetypes don’t dictate what type of character you can play but they act to do two things. 

First, they provide a set of skills and skill trees that lead to some pretty powerful options. Unlike in the current system, skills won’t be taken multiple times but once only, and each pick will lead to new options. 

Secondly, they are the jumping off points for research in each area

You can absolutely be a diplomatic warrior or a trader wizard. But your skills will likely make you strong in some areas rather than others. You will also be able to learn skills from different archetypes but to learn outside your core area will be more expensive, and the more powerful options will be closed off to you. This isn’t a significant move away from the current system but it allows us to explicitly design in the need for collaboration across the community.

Warriors’s core skills range from lithe duellists through to tanks who can’t be moved, you might learn how to carry someone alone, or how to wear armour so effectively it stops arrows. You might learn how to completely shrug off a specific poison then build your resilience to survive being hit multiple times.

Rogues might be diplomats, scouts or puzzle solvers. You might learn how to strike a fatal blow or knock someone to the floor, how to tell what someone’s intentions are, spot a trap or how to hide and move at the same time. 

Wizards may muck about with undead, manipulate the elements or be all excited about learning the deep lore of the cosmos – whether its the powers of other planes, working with rituals or laylines. You might learn how to create an active shrine, summon an Oathbound, coerce a Ghoul or wield lightning so it blasts someone in their tracks and you might research all of the above to take them further.

And last but not least come the creators; the alchemists, the blacksmiths, jewellers, surgeons and artisans. They’re so important they get their own posts, so watch out for that because their game is being significantly expanded and we’re excited to tell you about it.

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