If you're interested in playtesting a diceless, turnless salon LARP (not boffer) where everything happens in continuous time-in, please see free download :-)

I am a bit lazy - how much preparations will be needed for this LARP? I love LARPing, but organising one's a lengthy task.

I'll check it out, Omnifray.  You want comments in this thread?

Quote from: Rincewind1;505392I am a bit lazy - how much preparations will be needed for this LARP? I love LARPing, but organising one's a lengthy task.

Well I think people will need a "spellbook" each, and the best way to do that is probably a computer print-out in an old-looking, handwritey font then teabag the paper to make it look old, staple it together and glue a binding around it. Because you write your stats in your spellbook and rules prompts as well, and that will all change as you get advancement points, so you don't want to be writing it out by hand - better if you can just print out another one when you need to.

Everyone will need to read the basic rules and get used to their spellbook.

You also need props, especially rope/chain/etc. for ritual circles.

Apart from that, the ref needs to come up with encounters etc... guideline stats in the back for basic phantoms, ghosts and alien sorcerers.

I would imagine between reading the rules, hunting down the props, writing up a few spellbooks and getting some encounters ready you could spend a couple of days getting ready for this one, but as I've never playtested it, I just don't know!

Also, I'm afraid all the "verbals" are written in English, so if for instance you wanted to play it in Polish using Polish verbals... that would be a lengthy translation task. Of course if your players all speak English they can use the verbals in English as written and otherwise interact in Polish, no harm in that. Just assume English is the "language of magic" reverberating through the Astral Web.

Quote from: VectorSigma;505402I'll check it out, Omnifray.  You want comments in this thread?

Yes please!

QuoteAlso, I'm afraid all the "verbals" are written in English, so if for instance you wanted to play it in Polish using Polish verbals... that would be a lengthy translation task. Of course if your players all speak English they can use the verbals in English as written and otherwise interact in Polish, no harm in that. Just assume English is the "language of magic" reverberating through the Astral Web.

To some they indeed are . That does put a bit of a stamp on my curiosity, as it'd indeed be lengthy process. Anyway - reading it right now, will post comments in a bit.

Quote from: Rincewind1;505594To some they indeed are . That does put a bit of a stamp on my curiosity, as it'd indeed be lengthy process. Anyway - reading it right now, will post comments in a bit.

Well as I say I would hope they would be OK with using the English versions of the verbals so no translation needs to be done. Some of the verbals rhyme and/or are in old-fashioned English as well, which could present a particular challenge for translation.

On the plus side it could give some players the push they need to improve their English ;-)

The other thing is this LARP can be played without really moving around much if you prefer, and you don't necessarily need to be in costume (unless you're playing a psychopathic mage) so it could be a lot like a tabletop game. But probably works best with between about 8 and 20 people, at a guess.

Quote from: Omnifray;505600Well as I say I would hope they would be OK with using the English versions of the verbals so no translation needs to be done. Some of the verbals rhyme and/or are in old-fashioned English as well, which could present a particular challenge for translation.

On the plus side it could give some players the push they need to improve their English ;-)

The other thing is this LARP can be played without really moving around much if you prefer, and you don't necessarily need to be in costume (unless you're playing a psychopathic mage) so it could be a lot like a tabletop game. But probably works best with between about 8 and 20 people, at a guess.

Bolded part is what I originally wanted to know . I like "mini - larps", like Until We Sink - though a play quite a lot of normal ones too. I think I'd still need to translate - not everyone knows English enough to feel comfortable with it. I do, but I know from my own experience I should not presume such. Then again, I like translating "slang" - did a translation of Bookhounds slang for my campaign.

Quote from: Rincewind1;505603Bolded part is what I originally wanted to know . I like "mini - larps", like Until We Sink - though a play quite a lot of normal ones too. I think I'd still need to translate - not everyone knows English enough to feel comfortable with it. I do, but I know from my own experience I should not presume such. Then again, I like translating "slang" - did a translation of Bookhounds slang for my campaign.

You don't need to understand the verbal in order to say it... but you probably need to have some idea how to pronounce it... I mean magi don't necessarily know the exact meaning of words of magic, do they - they just have to know which ones to use and when...

Everyone would need to know at a minimum these words:- Debilitation, Displacement, Expulsion, Pain, Paralysis, Silence, Terror, Wracking of the Soul, Great, Intense, Almighty, Overwhelming, Insuperable, Apocalyptical.

Also these phrases:- "Hex be countered", "Rite be countered".

I have noticed that in the free to download PDF you can select text for copy + paste which (as long as you're doing it for personal use on a non-profit basis...) makes life easier for making spellbooks.

Alright, I read it, and I'll leave my critique in two parts, like the pdf is parted - the Premise and the Rulebook.

The premise is rather good - I played in a similar LARP, though it was a parody of such. The non - contact contract of most LARPs is hard - coded into the rules of the setting, which is good - also nice that you left guidelines for campaign play. I was a bit surprised that you did not put some example characters in the PDF and example scenario, but I understood that it is a rule book.

And hrm, as for the rules - they are certainly complicated, yes, but that is not the problem. What I would suggest, is to drop all that jazz about hex - verbals for each tradition - just leave a guideline for each player how they could say a hex if  they are from a specific tradition, and instead of such a gimmick, make a special power for each tradition.

I would also advice changing the Cowardice hex a bit - generally, cowering in fear is hard to do on a LARP, especially for a longer period of time - just like twisting in pain. It's easy to do for 30 - 40 seconds, but after that, it becomes hard to well, come up with new ways to twist.

Thanks very much for your quick feedback Mateusz!

Quote from: Rincewind1;505656I was a bit surprised that you did not put some example characters in the PDF and example scenario, but I understood that it is a rule book.

This bit would be easy and I am thinking of putting together a few example spellbooks and characters.

Quote from: Rincewind1;505656What I would suggest, is to drop all that jazz about hex - verbals for each tradition - just leave a guideline for each player how they could say a hex if  they are from a specific tradition, and instead of such a gimmick, make a special power for each tradition.

Mainly having different hex-verbals adds a bit of variety to the verbals people are using, and makes it possible to be a bit ambiguous about your tradition (though maybe not ambiguous enough), which might be useful because of the "preying upon" mechanic and because of NPC roleplay.

I am keen on keeping hex-verbals to standard published form because (1) they are all similar in length (19 syllables) and (2) it strikes the right balance between variety and being recognisable, which is important so that people start thinking about whether to use a Counterspell early on in your verbal. However a house-rule allowing people to make their own Polish verbals of 19 syllables (+ weakness + power word + effect name) could work for you. I would recommend each PC only have 2 verbals for single-target hexes and 1 verbal for multi-target hexes (like in the published rules), so that their hexes become recognisable to other players... and have all your monsters use verbals from a limited selection.

As for extra powers for each tradition, that would surely be the beginning of real complexity...

Quote from: Rincewind1;505656I would also advice changing the Cowardice hex a bit - generally, cowering in fear is hard to do on a LARP, especially for a longer period of time - just like twisting in pain. It's easy to do for 30 - 40 seconds, but after that, it becomes hard to well, come up with new ways to twist.

You don't have to be screaming and crying the whole time - it says cower and/or whimper and/or flee... hiding under the table would be good enough...

I was probably a bit too picky on the whole verbals - I'd just "simplify" it by using a code - word for Hex, and that'd be all - Referee is needed anyway, to go through the mechanics.. You are right with needless complicity when you'd make special powers for schools though, I take that back .

As I said, I like the idea - just probably will cut down on the verbals were I to use it - though that'll require indeed, tampering with Counter - Spells a bit.

Quote from: Rincewind1;505796I was probably a bit too picky on the whole verbals - I'd just "simplify" it by using a code - word for Hex, and that'd be all - Referee is needed anyway, to go through the mechanics.. You are right with needless complicity when you'd make special powers for schools though, I take that back .

As I said, I like the idea - just probably will cut down on the verbals were I to use it - though that'll require indeed, tampering with Counter - Spells a bit.

Even with less recognisable verbals 3 seconds ought hopefully to be long enough to react.

The only existing LARP system I know which uses "retroactive" defences allows 2 seconds, not 3, and often in the chaos & confusion of the game you only hear the name of the effect then have to react immediately.