The Live Action Role Play System

Faded Glory

A Guide to Monstering

Written By Peter Chaplin

Contents

· Introduction 5

· Monstering at Faded Glory 6

o How Monstering Works 6

o Basic Monstering Rules 6

· Getting Started Part 1 8

o Stats 9

o Skills 9

o Special Rules 9

o Level 9

· Getting Started Part 2 10

o Playing an NPC 11

§ Deny Everything 11

§ Ask a Ref 11

§ Blag it 11

· Calls 15

o Player calls 15

§ Skill calls 15

§ Soul Magic Calls 17

§ Elemental Magic Calls 19

o Combat Calls 19

o Referee Calls 21

o Safety calls 22

Introduction

It is not possible to run a LARP event without a monster team. They play all the parts needed to make the story come alive for the players. Sometimes a monster may play the same part for an entire weekend, other times just for a few moments. Either way the role of the monster is an important one. Each part a monster plays is a piece of the jigsaw of plot presented to the players for them to fit together and solve, a foe to overcome in their quest or a friend to help them find the answers they seek. Some parts seem insignificant while others have a direct impact on the players. In truth all parts are important, from a lowly zombie to a demon lord, each has a part to play in bringing the Faded Glory world to life.

From a more practical viewpoint monstering is also a great way to get introduced to LARP. You can come to events, get a feel for how a system works and meet everyone else who comes. What is even better is that we provide all the weapons and costume you will need for the weekend, all you need is your overnight gear and food. To top it off it is usually free for you to come and monster for the entire weekend. Sometimes we have to make a small charge but it’s never more than a few pounds. We will take you through the safety routines and show you what we expect from you. If, from that, you are expecting a lecture lasting a couple of hours then you will be relieved to hear it takes about 5 minutes. After that it is basically all about enjoying yourself for the weekend.

Monstering at Faded Glory

One of the first things I decided when setting up Faded Glory was that monsters should enjoy the event as much as the players do. Monstering and playing are two very different activities and often the monsters are taken for granted or not looked after very well because they are not the paying customers. Well not at Faded Glory! We ask a lot from our monsters but we also do our best to make sure you have a damn good weekend at the same time, after all the event cannot run without monsters.

How Monstering Works

Usually when monstering at one of our events there will be one or more people in charge of the monster team. Known as the monster boss (es) it’s their role to give you the costume you need for the encounter, tell you your stats and explain to you what your role is in the upcoming encounter. You will then go to the location in which the encounter is supposed to take place and play the monster part you were given. Once the encounter is over you return to the monster base for the next monster part. That’s the theory anyway and for the most part that is how things should run. However, I am sure you are all aware of the old adage “A battle plan never survives contact with the enemy”. Well the same is true in a LARP event. Before the event, a great many hours are spent carefully preparing a detailed and complex plot for the players to work their way through over the course of the weekend. Half an hour in to the event the careful crafting of the plot has frequently gone to hell because a player or players did something unexpected. In order to keep the event running and to guide the players onto the right track some hastily improvised encounters may be needed. These encounters often need to be set and ready to go in a few moments leaving little time to properly brief the monsters. This is the primary reason we decided to create this document. This monster guide will serve two purposes. Firstly it gives all monsters a quick reference guide for the most common rules, calls and other things they will encounter over a weekend. Secondly it gives them grounding in what we expect to happen over a weekend event and hopefully an idea of how to deal with it.

This is only the first edition of the monster guide. If at any time you feel there is information you need that this guide does not contain please let us know and therefore help to improve things for monsters in the future.

The Basic Monstering Rules

There are some simple core rules to monstering, nothing too heavy and no one is going to shout at you if you get things wrong but try to remember these and you can’t go far wrong.

Stay in character

When you have been given your monster part and are making your way to the encounter area it’s fine to chat amongst yourselves about whatever you want because you are not “there” to the players. However once you are playing the monster part please try and stay in character even when there appears to be no one around. You never know when a player will be hiding in a bush and they really appreciate it if the monsters remain in character.

The one-second rule

Whenever attacking with a weapon you should make full swings with the weapon you are using. A good guide is that you should land a blow about once every second, hence the one second rule. Short, fast taps with a weapon is called drum rolling and a player will ignore it. You should ignore it as well should a player attempt to do it to you.

No Shield Bashing

For some encounters you may find yourself using a shield. Please keep in mind that a shield is for blocking blows not parrying them. Using your shield to “bash” away blows is called shield bashing and we do not permit it. If you would like to know the correct way to use a shield please feel free to speak to a referee.

Look after your kit

In combats or on hot days it is easy to shed masks or costume because they get in the way. Please be sure that you collect up the kit you were sent out with and return it to the monster base after the encounter. Another thing to note is please try and keep latex weapons dry. You may well be sent out to do encounters in the rain and you cannot stop the weapons getting wet, that’s fine but please do not leave them lying in wet grass. Please tell the monster boss that your weapon is wet so that they can dry it off as soon as possible.

Grabbing weapons

You should never attempt to grab an opponents weapon because this can cause serious damage to the weapons. If someone grabs hold of your weapon you should ask them to let go. If they do not you should call “SINGLE THRU” to the location they are holding the weapon with once every second until they drop the weapon. If they do not release the weapon after about 5-10 seconds call a referee at once. One thing to note is that there may be occasions when a player might legitimately grab your weapon, however a referee should always be present and you should be briefed about what is to happen beforehand.

Ask

If you can’t remember something or you do not know how to react to a call then feel free to ask. No one will object if you have to stop them and ask what a call does.

Enjoy Yourself

The main thing to remember is that you are there to have fun too. If you are not enjoying yourself feel free to talk to a referee or the monster boss and we will see what we can do to resolve any problems you may have.
Getting Started Part One.

When you play a monster part you are given the monsters stats, personality and in more detailed parts what the monsters are there to achieve.

All monsters have a mask, costume or both to help show the players what you look like. It is important that you wear the costume you are given and also wear the mask so that the player can see what you are. Ideally we would like you to wear the mask for the whole encounter you are playing that monster. However we understand that some masks can be uncomfortable and restrictive. Therefore we do not mind if you wear them on the top of your head once the players have seen the mask on you and what it looks like. Also, with some of the bigger masks, you may find that you have to take them off during a big fight. Again, as long as the players get to see what you look like at the start of the encounter, feel free to take them off so you can fight/breath more effectively.

Firstly lets look at a basic monster, these are the stats of one of our most common monsters:

Basic Zombie

All movements should be slow and a bit jerky; they make no noise except for a low moan. Their tactic is to use their strength and numbers to drag their targets to the ground and beat them to death once they are prone. They are completely mindless and follow simple commands from others. In game terms the zombies should concentrate their attacks on one person, when down they will move on to another and so on.

Stats:

Hits: 10/10

Damage Call: Single

Skills:

Strength

Special Rules:

Half Movement Rate:

The zombie may only move and attack at approximately half the normal speed, they can never run.

Mindless:

Zombies usually have been given a command and will follow it to the letter. They cannot think for themselves and do not use tactics. A good example would be that if a zombie were given a shield it could not use it to block a blow, as that would require thought.

No weapons:

Zombies are not smart enough to use weapons; if they drop them they are not intelligent enough to pick them up again. In truth they use their dirt encrusted nails and fists to attack their foes. Obviously monsters should be given weapons to use when playing zombies but in game terms they count as natural weapons and can’t be disarmed.

Hard to Kill:

Undead are harder to kill than the living races, this is represented in two ways. Firstly, the head and the chest count as normal locations and there is no additional effect if they are taken out before any others. Secondly, the undead need to have three locations taken to zero before they die instead of the normal two

Undead Immunities:

All undead are immune to mind effect spells, pain, sickness, level draining, quench life, freeze, chill, poisons, all forms of disease, and subdue. The mortal call reduces the struck location to 0 hits but has no additional effect.

Level: Zombie Level 1

These are the stats for the basic zombie, because the undead are the major bad guys in the Faded Glory system, monsters will be playing a lot of them. The zombie is one of the most common and therefore one of the simplest.

As you can see, the first section tells you how the zombies act. In more complicated monsters this section may include the aims and goals that the monster has to achieve in the encounter. With the monster above you can see that zombies are supposed to work almost as a pack, dragging down one target before moving on to the next.

Underneath the description of how the monster is supposed to behave you have the monsters stats.

Stats

Hits:

The ‘Hits’ stat tells you how many hit points the monster has. The first number is the number of hits on the arms and legs of the monster; the second number is the number of hits on the head and chest of the monster. Usually these two numbers are the same.

Damage Call:

The ‘Damage Call’ line tells you what to shout when you hit an opponent. There may be several calls in a long string. You have to shout them all clearly so the players know how to respond.

There may be additional lines in this section detailing any special calls the monster may have and the number of them the monster may use. Another thing you may find in this section is weapon details. Some monsters must use certain types of weapons and this should be adhered to as closely as possible.

Skills

This section lists any skills the undead has that are in the standard skills list contained within the main rulebook.

Special Rules

This section lists any special rules that apply only to the monster you are playing. Read these rules carefully, sometimes they can be a little complicated. Feel free to ask any questions you have about them. There should be a short description detailing exactly what any special rule does and how it works.

Level

This item is important. Some of the players have the ability “ID Undead”. When they use this they want to know what you are and what level you are. It only works against undead and any time you play an undead you should be given the level information. When a player points at you and calls “ID Undead” you need to shout back the level information. With the monster above the reply would be “Zombie Level 1”

Getting Started Part 2

In the first part of getting started I described a basic monster. Monsters like the one illustrated usually have only one purpose, to fight and die. There may be some variations but when given a monster like the one illustrated there is little to worry about in the way of motivation and drive for the monster. This section covers monsters with purpose. The correct term for a monster with a purpose is NPC or Non Player Character. NPC’s are used to get information to the players in one form or another and are always an important part of the plot. Now I am not saying that any NPC you are given will not end up just as dead as a monster without a purpose, it may very well be dead by the end of the weekend or even the end of the encounter. Sometimes we write up an NPC that is only supposed to last for one encounter and he re-occurs throughout the event for one reason or another. Other times the players will take exception to an NPC due to be part of the plot all weekend and kill it the moment they turn it turns its back. As I have said before, you cannot predict what the players will do so if you are given a role with more to it that to fight and die try to enjoy it, you could be playing it all weekend.