Welcome to Tony LARP!

Tony LARP, or TL, as it is commonly known, is a high fantasy live action role-playing system based in a world full of orcs goblins, elves and magic. If you have seen Lord of the Rings (or read the books for that matter) then that is roughly what we do.

We are currently using the 2.7beta-20061115 version of the TL rules which you can download here.

Clarifications to these rules can be found on the rules clarification page of BathLARP.

It has come to our attention that a large portion of the club are having severe problems with how often the rules change, or are clarified to mean something significantly different to how they have previously been interpreted, and resultantly this is preventing people from having fun as they're left in the dark about what exactly is going on, and have to keep changing their characters.

To combat this, the committee has put in place deadlines (between the last 36h and the start of the new campaign) by which all rules changes must be made. These rules will then remain in place for the next year, until the next 'changing' period comes around again.

The 'change' period for this year is from 2007-09-10 until the 2007-09-24 inclusive.

This means;

The club will play only by the copy of the TL rules that are published on BathLARP at the end of the 'change' period
The club will play only by the clarifications that have been published on BathLARP; clarifications that are deemed to be actual rules changes will not be published until the next 'change' period
Anything said on the boards (regardless of who by) is still under discussion and not valid on games until it's put on BathLARP

The Setting

This Year's Campaign

The campaign concept is one of a frontier settlement, not cut off from the support of civilisation, but far enough away to need to make their own way. The characters will form the local patrol, and possibly take on other roles in the community depending on their decisions.

More information can be found at the Vale of Tyr campaign page.

Character Creation - The Basics

Things aren't as complex as they first seem. The best way to start out is to Choose your Race, Class and Guild, and turn up to a Larp, where there will be someone who will be happy to suggest good skills to buy!

Firstly, Choose your Race and Class. Some Races only work with certain classes, and whilst any combination is possible, for those new to the system you cant go wrong sticking to one of the following:

Human Warrior
Half-Orc Warrior
Human Scout
Human Priest (of Justice, Freedom or Might)
Elven Scout
Elven Mage

Of course there are also several other strange classes you can play, such as Druids, Barbarians and Amazons. If you think you would like to play one of these, its probably best you speak to someone about it first, though we don't recommend these classes to new players. Once you've decided on your Race and Class, you may want to join a guild. Guilds offer very luctative bonuses but will enforce restrictions on what you character can do or learn, dependent on the specific Guild. The most common options, and the ones recommended for new players are:

Warriors may join the Guards.
(They are expected to protect the party- with their life if neccesary, but they can learn armour skills quicker)
Scouts may join the Pathfinders.
(They are also expected to protect the party, though more leniency is given. They also do the forward scouting for the party, to let them know what is ahead. Pathfinders can learn a weapon of their choice faster than usual)
Priests may join a Temple dependent on their Path which is explained briefly below
Mages may join either the Towers or the Circle.
(the choice between these two is dependant on whether you want to play a mage that specialises in one kind of magic (earth magic, fire magic, etc.) or one that will learn a variety of magic types. Specialists should join the Towers, and more flexible mages should join the Circle)
Both Priests and Mages can instead choose to join the Wardens.
(This is another guild required to protect the party with their life. Wardens however can choose either healing or defensive miracles/magics and be able to learn these more easily)

Priests

There are 9 paths that a Priest may follow, but the main 3 we recommend are Justice, Might and Freedom.

Justice Priests worship Life and Order, and as such they gain miracles that heal the soul and body, powers against the undead, and miracles to protect themselves and allies from harm or destruction. They tend to believe that only through a structured society with distinct rules can life prosper.

Might Priests worship Order and Death, and so they gain miracles that heal the body and others that destroy the soul, and miracles to protect themselves from harm or destruction. They tend to believe that the Strong have the right to impose themselves on the Weak, and only through force can someone be respected.

Freedom Priests worship Life and Chaos, so they have miracles to heal the soul as well as powers against the undead. They also gain miracles to cause harm or destruction. They tend to believe that one can only prosper if unbound by the rules of others; that people should be allowed to live the way they wish to and be prevented only if their actions stop another from doing the same.

Mages

As a starting mage you will likely want to stick to one of the elemental lists, so choose between:

Fire Mage (Offensive Magic, Destruction, Magical defence, Combat control)
Earth Mage (Combat Enhancing Magic, Impeding oppenents)
Air Mage (Teleportation, Close-range Magical Damage, Disabling/Impeding opponents.)
Water Mage (Disabling/Impeding opponents, Mind Control, Magic Damage)

If you join The Towers you will likely stick to just the one list for a while (so choose the list you want to cast from), however if you are a circle mage you will be required to buy from three of these lists in turn (so choose the one you don't want to cast from...)

Finally, a good place to go from here (if you like jumping in the deep end!) is our message boards. You are more than welcome to introduce your new character on our In Character (IC) board, or observe the rules discussions on the Out Of Character (OOC) boards. Also, the OOC board is a good place to start if you have any rule queries.

Any general questions or comments contact us at committee@bathlarp.org.uk. Any campaign specific questions can be directed to valeplot@hotmail.co.uk.

Weapons!

Most of the clubs' weapons come from one of two companies, Medlock or Kapalo A Kovacs. Generally they are fairly expensive, but they are the most popular LARP weapons manufacturer, and for good reason. They do tend to produce more "cartoony", less realistic looking weaponry, but they do offer a decent guarantee within which they'll repair or replace weapons that have broken (through normal use, of course...). Undoubtedly there will be at least one trader coming down at some point, the only disadvantage of this is you can only buy what he has in the boot of his car, rather than from the full range. If you have any specific requests then send an email to the above address and we will ask the trader to stock up on those type of weapons...

In terms of costume, there are various traders who sell good quality costumes and armour though this isn't a particularly cheap option. Basic leather trousers, waistcoasts and other simple costumes can be found in any of Bath's many charity shops. Also, before you go to any online traders why not ask other club members who may be able to sell you old costume or recommend a good place to get some in the local area. Furthermore, some of the club members are willing to make costume or armour for reasonable prices to your exact requirements. More details about weapons, costume and armour will be given at character creations sessions and posted on the message boards.

Last updated 07/08/2006.
Site design © Warren Jones 2002.
Maintained and Updated by Florian Schanda.
Please send any queries, comments or complaints to webmaster@bathlarp.org.uk.