Matters of Life: HP
Any positive number of HP
(hit points) normally implies that you are conscious. 0 implies that you are
knocked out (to get back up in 5 minutes with 1 HP). When
dealt damage beyond 0 you go into Bleeding Out status. In one minute you
will die unless you are given Healing, curative spells, or heal potion (or if you
are dealt a Killing Blow). You may be damaged down to -10 hp or the inverse of
your max body if it’s less than 10. Being Dead will remove all active spells,
but not toxins, it will remove any physical conditions as well (severed limbs,
open wounds, etc.). If you are not given a Life spell immediately (if you need
a number, 1 minute) you must leave your body & go to Plot telling them that
you have died (then go to the point specified by Plot (Vé/Hof/godhi/etc.)
for resurrection if possible and desired). You might resurrect to continue your
life, depending on your favour with your god(s). This
can have odd effects. You will lose 1/3 of your xp if
you resurrect. If you die 3 times during one event, or many
times over any period, you will be dead permanently. Resurrection
dispels all active effects (including Formal Magics),
puts you at 1 body, and does not restore any skills. You get 2 body per level, only 1 if you are a non-fighter class. You
may wear as much armour as you can physrep and wear
OOG. If not brought to 0 HP, armour may be fully refitted with the Repair
Armour skill. If brought to 0 it will refit to 1 less then
its former maximum. A costume is worth up to 3 points with additions for
accuracy, extra parts, etc. Gloves are worth 1 point (and will protect your
hand from weapons OOG), as is groin protection (with similar benefit). Basic
costume armour is worth 4 and 1 per limb section. Hardened leather armour is
1.5 times. Metal armour is double (chainmaille is
preferred). Animal hide (and imitation furs) may bring out special power in a
Berserkr (otherwise counted as soft leather/costume). Armour must be paid for
at 1 gold per point, however, costume points are restored each event free of
charge. When taking armour HP damage, please announce “armour,” “got it,
armour,” or “# Defense, armour,” if possible. When taking damage first magical protectives are lost, followed by armour, then body.
Matters of Death: Being
Undead
If you are raised as a
lesser undead (usually a zombie, by a Create Undead spell), you receive a new
set of stats. Order and Chaos affect you inversely, a Create Undead will heal
you to full body HP, anyone casting a Create or Control Undead on you has full
command over you, you move slightly slower, not affected by s/Mind Effects/First
Aid, small claws (base 0 normal), Healed by Chaos Healing (Harmed by Order
Healing), only magic that is Chaos based may be used. You are mindless. If not
otherwise commanded, you seek to kill the living. All Undead are Cursed (1 less
weapon damage) during the daytime.
States of Being
If
you see a person wearing a white headband or holding a weapon on their head,
that person is out of game. In most cases you cannot affect a creature until it
is entirely in game (not affected while doing a count to come in). An orange
headband indicates that the creature is invisible; some of these creatures can
be seen by fae or other specific races. A black headband usually indicates a
person is NPCing a PC race similar to their own but
is not their PC.
Attack & Defense
Attack is the number of damage
that you do without a weapon. Adding this to your weapon damage gives you your
damage. Defense is the opposite, you subtract your defense from the damage your
attacker swings to determine damage to you. If Defense matches Attack, take one
point of damage every other hit or employ the Critical system. Defense may only
be applied to one strike at a time (in the case that you are struck by multiple
weapon blows simultaneously).
Critical System
You may choose to use a system
of modified damage based on location and potential power of hits. You should
not actually swing harder, but rather wait longer as if “building up power.”
You may not use this system to increase damage drastically (especially if your
damage is low to begin with). I recommend no more than a modification of up to
1/3 your max, no more than 3, with 1 weapon under normal circumstances. If you
choose to use this system you must use it for more AND less damage, not just
more. This may also be used by a defender based on hit location. Some creatures
will not take effect from criticals, notably Elementals. Also, many fighter
abilities are known as “Criticals,” these are different than critical damage.
Verbals
Verbals for attacks are very much a part of life or death
battles. You must say verbals correctly to pull off
any form of attack. Notes: Physical cannot heal, healing from physical is
considered No Effect; Magic is a type and effect (magic weapons are Physical,
not Magical); taglines on damage only affect when into body HP. Verbals are as follows (use whichever is appropriate based
on the kind of attack):
“<#> <type>
<effect(s)>”
“<type>
<effect(s)>”
For weapon damage, the verbal is usually: "[#] [tagline]"
For damage spells, the verbal is usually: "[#] 'magic' [school]"
For potions, the verbal is usually: "[effect(s)] toxin"
[#]- the number represents the damage dealt. for
weapon delivered damage, the damage is equal to the weapon damage, plus your
Attack.
[tagline]- The basis of the attack. some taglines are: Magic, Poison,
Song, or Physical (Physical is the default, thus it is assumed if nothing is
specified).
[effect(s)]- The Carrier Tagline or Effect. If not specified, assume none
("Normal").
[School]- The "school" of magic. the
schools of magics known to Berserkr are: Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Protect, Time,
Order, Chaos, Drain, Bind, Ice, and Mind. For more information on magic, see
the Magic Page.
Strength
You start with 1 Strength. You will gain one strength naturally at every level divisible by 5 (nonfighters at 10). Strength between two players determines
feats (arm wrestling, grappling, pulling weapons away). Approximate Strength
uses are as follows:
2 - break
items in a 3 count.
3 - break
wooden weaponry and harder items.
4 - smash
doors & weak locks. Break metal weaponry.
5 - damage
& smash weaker walls (wood).
6 - damage
most anything.
Experience
You gain 5 xp for each day of playing your character (1 less at level 5,
2 less at level 20, etc., minimum 1 per day), this is
called an XP Blanket. If you work a whole day for Plot you will gain Blanket xp + 30 helpers per day. Every 10 xp
you gain you will go up in level. You may also gain experience from your kills,
solving puzzles, lore knowledge, and roleplaying (a
maximum of 10 xp form each). You may pay for more
training (dealt with In-Game, also a maximum of 10). You will start with 30 xp (level 3) and 20 background (1 gold each basically). XP
from kills will be noted on Monster Cards, which must be filled out by
assigning Gain (XP) listed on the card to Characters who fought it, as
appropriate (any found to be untruthfully assigned will be removed and thrown
away entirely). Gain is divided by your level to determine actual XP received.
Marshals may assign Gain and XP.
Berserksgang
When prompted to fight
with good reason (usually extreme anger over something in specific linked to
your History), one may enter a berserk rage by calling out “Berserk,” gaining
10 Body, 10 Attack, 10 Defense, 3 Strength, and 4 Ripping Strength (allows a
character to rip free from bindings up to 4xp in a 3-count). During this time
you may only fight madly & wildly (no casting, production, etc.). A berserk
is immune to all mind controlling effects (charm, fear, confusion,
hallucinate). It lasts as long as reasonably necessary (usually until the end
of a fight, but not for searches). Upon stopping you take the effect of
weakness. You lose any of the 10 extra Body remaining and all other stats
gained from the rage. The Weakness lasts for the amount of time spent in berserksgang (minimum 1 minute), and for another of that
time, you will be reduced to walking speed and ½ Attack, Defense &
Strength. After this time stats return to normal (any Body down is still down).
You will not remember things clearly during the berserksgang
or the first weakness. You may not berserk soon after another one or if you are
Weakened, unconscious (duh), etc.
Example: Bob the
berserk can't stand to see his friends hurt. Bob calls 20s (16AT+longsword),
has 5 DF, and 30 body. Uber the Troll smashes his
friend into a pulp. He states "Berserk!" and adds 10 to his physical
stats (40 body, 30 damage, 15 DF). He fights Uber for 6 minutes before defeating him, taking 6 body damage. At this point, he loses the extra 4 body
(goes back to the original 30) and falls to the ground with no stats or skills
for 6 minutes. After this he has half of his stats (30 body
(not reduced by weakness), 5 DF, and 12 dmg (8 AT +
long sword)) for another 6 min before returning to normal state. He doesn’t
remember the 12 min after Uber mashed his buddy.