Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
- What is Live Role Playing (LRPing)?
- What is The Bladelands Chronicles?
- What happens at an event?
- Where can I see what has happened at previous events?
- When and where do events take place?
- How much does all this cost?
- Which ticket should I buy?
- What is the minimum age for attending an event?
- What is the world of the Bladelands Chronicles like?
- What sort of costume do I need?
- What sort of weapons can I use?
- Can I use firearms?
- What are the rules of the game?
- How do I create a character?
Answers
Q. What is Live Role Playing (LRPing)?
A. LRPing is a hobby in which players take on the persona of a fictional character, who inhabits a fictional world. The player then decides what actions their character will take in order to face various challenges set by the Refs (who run the game). There is a system which consists of a world background and game mechanics which allow characters to interact in a consistent way. LRPing gives you the opportunity to be a character from your favourite film or book, just for a weekend, and is a great way to escape from the real world and unwind.
For more information on LRPing, see the Introduction.
Q. What is The Bladelands Chronicles?
A. The Bladelands Chronicles is a High Fantasy, Low Hit LRP game run in the UK by Majestic Oak Ltd. The world of The Bladelands Chronicles is pseudo-medieval, with many high-fantasy elements such as fantastical races and magic. Events are set on the Bladelands - magical islands at the edge of the known world - and players play travellers recently arrived to start a new life in this distant land.
Events are run 3 or 4 times a year at various sites around the UK.
For more information about The Bladelands Chronicles, see the Introduction, About Us, and most of the rest of this site.
Q. What happens at an event?
A. On arrival at an event, after pitching their camp at the site, players should first check in with the Refs to make sure they have all the information that they need for their characters. Time In will be called at a pre-set time after which the players portray their characters and interact with each other and the NPCs and Monsters until Time Out. There is then a short debrief by the Refs after which everyone packs up and goes home making sure that the site is left clean and tidy as they found it.
Q. Where can I see what has happened at previous events?
A. Write ups and reviews of previous events, along with photos, and in some cases short movie clips, can all be found in the Chronicles chapter of this site.
Q. When and where do events take place?
A. The Bladelands Chronicles runs events about 3 or 4 times a year, at various sites around the UK. Details of upcoming events, including both dates and where they will be held, can be found in the Events chapter of this webiste.
Q. How much does all this cost?
A. Each event is individually priced, the exact price being determined by whether you are just coming to play your character, are prepared to help the Refs by playing monsters and NPCs for part of the event, or are coming to help the Refs (which is free of event cost). Details of the price of each event can be found in the Events chapter of this website
In addition to the cost of the event there are transport costs involved in getting to the site, plus food for the weekend, camping equipment (if you do not already have any) and, of course, any costume or kit you need for your character. While acquiring costume and kit can be expensive, it does not need to be. Many experienced players are happy to lend kit to new players and it is possible to acquire or make cheap costumes and kit. Charity shops are good hunting grounds, and there are links from the links page to sites which will give you advice on making your own kit.
Q. Which ticket should I buy?
A. There are 3 tickets available for Bladelands Chronicles events, Play Only, Play and Assist, and Assist Only. Which one you buy is entirely up to you, but the differences are outlined in the Events Chapter of the website to help you make your decision.
If you are new to The Bladelands Chronicles, or are not sure which ticket to buy, we recommend you start by trying the "Play and Assist" ticket, as this is not too expensive and will give you a taste of both sides of the event.
Q. What is the minimum age for attending an event?
A. The minimum age to simply book on an event yourself is 18. In certain circumstances it may be possible for younger people to attend events - you should contact us to ask about this.
Q. What is the world of The Bladelands Chronicles like?
A. The Bladelands chronicles is set in a pseudo-medieval fantasy world. Full details of the known world can be found in the System chapter.
Q. What sort of costume do I need?
A. Exactly what costume you need will depend on what sort of character you are playing, and which area of the known world your character originates from. Historically, characters may come from between the dark ages and the later medieval period. This is all pre-renaissance; we will not permit characters from the renaissance period or later, so you should try to keep costume consistent with this. Costumes from later periods such as Renaissance or Napoleonic eras will not fit in with the game world and are not allowed.
You can find details of suppliers of costume on our links page.
Q. What sort of weapons can I use?
A. All weapons must be LRP "safe" weapons, and should be consistent with the medieval period. Again, weapons from later periods will not fit in with the game world. In particular, we do no allow the use of rapiers. It should also be noted that we have restrictions on the length of weapons which can be used by characters, full details of which can be found in the System chapter of this site.
You can find details of suppliers of LRP weapons on our links page.
Q. Can I use firearms?
A. No. There are no firearms of any sort in the Bladelands world.
Q. What are the rules of the game?
A. The Bladelands Chronicles only has a few hard rules which everyone is expected to follow. These mostly govern aspects of safety, and the fundamental feel of the fantasy environment. In addition to these rules there are game mechanics which allow consistent interaction between characters. These govern things like combat, healing and magic and dictate things like how many hits from a weapon a character can sustain before becoming incapacitated, when a character will die, how a character can be healed from their injuries and how long healing takes, what happens when you have a spell cast at you and how long spells last for, and so on. All participants should be familiar with the core rules which affect everyone, that is combat, healing and magic, and should also make sure that they know any rules which relate to special skills which their character has. We have aimed to make the core rules which everyone needs to remember as logical and straightforward as possible, and we ask that you familiarise yourself with the core rules as much as possible as this will greatly aid the flow of events and minimise interruptions which could destroy the suspension of disbelief and hence the atmosphere of the game.
Full details of the rules and game mechanics can be found in the System chapter.
Q. How do I create a character?
A. Characters are created by spending a certain number of character development points to buy abilities for your character. The abilities you buy govern the skills and statistics of your character, and after each event you attend, providing you hand in a character return, you will recieve experience points (XP) which are then turned into development points (DP) which you can use to buy further abilities in order to advance your character.
Full details of character creation and advancement can be found in the System chapter.
