Actions – LARP Variation

Live Action Role Play, LARP, involves a much more mobile and active form of gameplay than in a general RPG whereby everyone is sitting together at the same tabletop. Within a LARP, access to a stable flat surface may not always be available, and LARPs with many players will likely have more interactions that are not overseen by a Game Master. On the other hand, a player’s own social skills and mannerisms while role playing have a stronger importance as they interact with other players.

To address these differences, witchgates makes two explicit changes for LARP gameplay compared to TTRPG gameplay:

As described in the section below, LARP gameplay replaces dice with “stones” in a bag. This way players simply need to pull or select stones from a pouch they have on their person anytime a check is needed.
All merits have a LARP variation. Many may be the same or similar to their ttrpg counterparts, but a focus has been made to reduce and adjust merits that rely on lengthy tasks and GM intervention. Avoid having players with abilities that only work between sessions or require a GM to not be otherwise occupied.
Other merits which rely on spending or reading dice from an action check are now changed to spend stones.

Action Stones

Action Stones are physical stones (or other small token) that come in 1 of 3 different colors; Green, Blue, and Red. Green stones represent hits, successes without complications. Blues represent glances, successes with complications. Finally, Red stones represent misses, failures with consequences.

LARP Action Pool

Instead of rolling dice, for a LARP all players should have pouch containing 12 action stones: 2 green, 4 blue, and 6 red. Players pull a certain number of random stones from their pouch to determine the success or failure of their action checks. Just as in the ttrpg version, players should consider several questions when preparing to take an action:

What skills might apply for this check?
Is there anything in the scene which can help me?
Can I risk utilizing one of my esoterics to help me?
Do I have a merit which can help me?
Do I or an ally have any miss-fortune that can help?
Do I have any injuries that might hamper me?

With those questions considered, the player then builds their action pool as follows:

1) Pick a skill or attribute (if taking a reactive action)
(Increase your action pool equal to the skill/attribute level)

2) Utilize a scene aspect
(Increase your action pool 1 additional stone)

3) Risk an esoteric or lost word
(Increase your action pool 1 additional stone but lose the esoteric if you fail)

4) Utilize a merit or a temporary merit
(Increase your action pool 1 additional stone if a merit’s title or ability can be justified as useful for the check)
(Note, any ability granted by a merit does not have to apply in order to use a merit to assist an action check. For example, the merit Alchemic Thrower has an ability to deal ranged acidic damage, but it represents a slingshot which can be helpful to launch any small thing far away)

5) Use a miss-fortune
(Increase your action pool to 1 additional stone)

If a player has a pool size of 0 they can still attempt an action utilizing an action pool of 2, but they must take the worst result.

When to use a skill vs an attribute?
Most of the time, players should use skills for their action checks, with attributes only used at the GM’s request due to an inherent or natural reaction a character might have. (See the page for attributes in the character components section for further details).

Skill Use Examples

Player Goal: “I would like to picklock the door to access the room beyond, but I don’t want to open it yet.”

GM Adjudication: “Unless you have another suggestion, I think this best fits the Finesse skill. Are you planning to use anything else to your advantage?

Player: “I’d like my ‘metal detection’ merit to gain 1 stone, helping me see the tumblers as I pick the lock. Can I also use the nearby spilled oil to coat the lockpicks to minimize noise and gain an additional stone from using a scene aspect?”

GM Adjudication: “That makes sense to me. Pull stones equal to your Finesse skill plus 2 for using a merit and scene aspect.”

Attribute Use Example

GM Call: “As you leave the house, there’s a slight mental tug distracting your attention; give me either a perception check – to notice what’s causing the effect – or a resolve check to resist the effect outright”

Player: “I’m not very perceptive and easily distracted; I’ll make the resolve check. However, I do have a lost word ‘nagging whispers.’ Would that help me resist the distraction? If so I’d like to risk it for an extra stone on my check.”

Adjusting for Difficulty with Cuts

Once a player has their action pool determined, they should also check to see if any cuts apply. In the LARP, a Cut simply reduces the number of stones the player pulls during their action check.

Cuts will most often appear at a Game Master’s request or as described by a specific ability. For example a rushed action or actions made on difficult terrain may take a cut of 1. Cuts may also be called for when a tool is used outside of it’s intended purpose, such as when throwing a melee weapon at range, or shooting a ranged weapon in close combat.

Lastly, players can cut against themselves to attempt a more explicit effect, but to do so they must declare the cut before they make the action check itself.

Cut 1 for precision, such as to injure a monster’s specific body part or to target a creature at a very far distance. This can also be used against other players to attempt to target a specific merit. Players can always redirect a precision attack towards a different merit at the cost of taking an additional 2 marks of harm to that new merit.
Cut 1 to increase the effect of the action to do more than what would normally be possible. For example, someone attacking an armored beast would normally have reduced effect due to the armor, but can cut against themselves to make a more reckless but powerful attack that can break through the armor
Cut to invoke an injury against the person making the action check. If the character has an injury which could justifiably make the check more difficult, then they cut equal to that injury’s level. If a player invokes an injury against themselves and still succeeds they can acquire a lost word.

Cut Examples

Player Goal: “I’d like to use my pistol to shoot the gun out of the thug’s hands.”
GM: “Ok, you can use Finesse or even Performance, since you are trying to make a show of your skill. Take a cut of 1 for the extra precision needed though.”
Player: “Ok, I have 3 in performance and am not using any merits or anything else for the roll, but the cut will reduce the pool to 2.”
Payer Goal: “I’d like to flirt with the guards and persuade them to go outside with me.”
GM: “The guards are open for some distracting flirting, but your not the first flirt they’ve met at this club, and they won’t normally leave their post without good reason.”
Player A: “But they haven’t met Bolba before. Can I take 1 cut to get them to leave with me? Bolba’s pulling out all the stops.” (increase effect)
GM: “Sure, I suppose Bolba knows that their normal routine isn’t quite enough to get the guards off-guard, so they are risking some new seductive techniques. Let’s see if it pays off.”
GM Call: “As the sudden gale pushes against you, give me a physique check to avoid falling off the ledge.”
Player Response: “I have 4 physique, but ever since that harpy fight my character’s afraid of heights. I’ll take a cut of 2 due to my level 2 injury ‘fear of heights.'”
Action Check Results: {4,2}
GM: “Despite your fear you still succeed with a consequence. In this case I think something else of yours gets knocked off the ledge to the stairs below – your choice of what esoteric. However, in your desperation you also learn the lost word ‘lost to the winds.'”

Reading Results: Hits, Glances, and Misses

With the action pool and any cuts determined, a player finally makes their action check by pulling stones out of their pouch equal to their action pool. The best/highest result determines the character’s success. While action checks only care about the highest result to determine the outcome, each individual stone is still labeled as a hit, glance, or miss depending on it’s value. Some abilities allow characters to utilize these additional results for further effects.

Hit : The best result a character can get is called a Hit, meaning that they’ve succeeded in the best way possible, often with no negative consequences.
- The player pulls at least one green stone
Glance: The next best result a character can get is called a Glance, meaning that they’ve succeeded with their goal, but not as cleanly as possible, with some troublesome consequence.
- The player does not pull a green stone, but does pull a blue stone.
Miss: The worse result a character can get is called a Miss, meaning that they’ve failed their goal and now have to face the negative consequences and trouble it caused. If the highest result of an action check is a miss, then the character also gains a miss-fortune.
- The player pulls all red stones.

When the highest result is a glance or miss, then the players refer back to the character’s position to determine what degree of trouble they are in as the GM narrates the outcomes similar to how it is handled in the ttrpg.

Notes on PvP (Player vs Player)

When a player wants to make a contested check against another player, each player makes an action check and then compares them with the others. The highest result succeeds, with ties forcing a secondary check if the situation doesn’t allow both characters to succeed. Consequences apply as per normal. To keep ties interesting, the GM should narrate how a tie changes the scene.
For example, if two players make a dash to grab an item before the other does, but they tie on their action checks, maybe they both grab it and are now in a tug-o-war, or maybe they knock it further away into a precarious position.

If only two characters are making a check against each other, each hit and glance can negate one of their opponent’s hits and glances – allowing the player with the most successes victory and avoiding repeated ties.
If many characters are making a check against each other, each additional check caused by a tie needs to use a new skill to determine the action pool.
Players can always choose to “Forfeit” a contest to intentionally lose.
When players are acting against each other, it is more important to fairly share the spotlight. To prevent “overloaded” actions where a single player attempts to do many different things while they are in the spotlight, allow other players to interrupt with their own actions after the first action (verb) performed by the current character.
- For example: If player A wants to throw a smoke bomb and tackle the enemy, allow other players to interrupt with their own action between the smoke bomb’s detonation and the tackle attempt.
If one player character surprises the other with their action, the surprised character should use an attribute instead of a skill should they want to resist the action.