How deadly is Empire?

General
#1

Hi All,

looking to attend the Summer event, having not done any live role playing in 15 years.

I’ve some friends who are already established as a group, and I’m planning to join with them, but I have no idea how much effort to put into character generation and background?

Ive only ever played in small to medium sized systems, probably no more than 120 player and 30 crew at the most.

I don’t want to spend hours on a lavish background only to find that I die three times over the course of the weekend !

So, how deadly is the system, should I not get too attached to my character ideas, and what happens if I snuff it early in the weekend?

Cheers

#2

I’m still on my first character from the first event and I go to the battlefield half the time and wear no armour.

The answer in general is, as deadly as you make it.

Anvil the City itself is Safe, many people wander around unarmed even well after dark.It is the capital city of the empireand as such fights, outside of tournies or arranged duels, are rare and murder is illegal. Their are still assassins but its rare and a shocking thing when it happens not a common occurance.

This changes when you go through the Sentinel Gate and take to the battlefield.

Here there is always the risk that you won’t make it back but even then it depends how you fight.

I mentioned above that I go to the battlefield in no armour and have survived two years? this is because I’m support at the back in the main battles and normally on the battlefield as a mission specialist. I try not to engage the enemy unless i have to and while I carry a sword i can count the number of enemies that I’ve hit on the fingers of one hand.

Now if you’re going to the front line as a warrior then the deadliness goes up. Armour becomes vital not only is it more hits but its protection from enemy calls and arrows. The other major thing that kills people is being drawn away from the line or getting their unit overrun, if we can get to you 9/10 we can get you back on your feet. Which leads into the big place we tend to lose people, on retreats.

Hero points, magic items, potions and enchantments can all help keep you alive but the big things tend to be armour and your friends. One of the hardest things is to learn to fight not just as a random collection of larpers but as a unit, keeping your attention on where your guys are as well as the enemy.

All that said even a combat character is unlikely to die more than once an event :smiley:, Because unless your body is completely lost on the battlefield you enter a state called terminal wherein you are beyond saving but can while still suffering from your wound hang for as long as you want to say good bye. so if you die early you can groan and moan for the rest of the event (or as much as you want) to traumatise and emotionally upset your friends and family,

Now all that said the answer to your question is likely to be simply this: If you go to battle you might die, if you don’t you probably won’t. So make those characters and see how they do.

#3

[Anecdotal evidence of course, so take with pinch of salt]

We’ve had a group of around a dozen at every event so far. We’ve usually had about 6-10 on the field in each battle. We’ve put a little thought into survivability strategies, but could easily have done a lot more if we had focussed on it. We’ve lost one combatant, had maybe five close calls, and lost no non-coms.

#4

Not so much compared to the smaller high combat games I’ve done like Insurrection.

If you’re concerned with survivability then pick up some hero points and a skill like Unstoppable which lets you spend a hero point to get yourself back up from zero in the first 60 seconds of bleeding out. Armour and a small shield are also good investments you can use without needing any skills as well.

But the thing that will do the most to keep you alive on the battlefield is sticking with your group, not getting strung out and knowing when to beat a retreat as a group. If they’ve been going for a bit they’ve hopefully worked that out, so stick with them and you should be alright.

My lot lost a few during the first few battles but fingers crossed we’ve had a good run the last few battles now we’ve worked out how to move as a unit more and also get better situational awareness to avoid being cut off. But at the same time had some close calls as well, it’s been a lot of fun :slight_smile:.

#5

Cheers for all the answers!

I’ve heard the big battles can be chaotic - are there places within anvil that players can go to practice thier tactics, drill movement etc?

The group I’m joining live all over the UK so not much chance to practice beforehand

#6

Ask around in your nation and get your Egregore (spirit of the nation) to introduce you to people as well and I’m sure there will be people who want to do some drill. There’s also plenty of space on the new site, so finding somewhere to do it won’t be a problem.

#7

Yes, there are places and opportunities for that sort of thing.
There’s the “glory square” in the Dawnish camp, and a fighting-pit in the Orc camp, but it sounds as if you’d do better to find a bigger open space.
Often people run competitions: you and your group could enter one of those.

#8

I’d give it 1 out 0f 10 for deadly, 8 out of 10 for Role Playing.
Its almost impossible to get killed:
There is no mugging / minimal opportunities to do a character killing,
The Linears are not PD run, so very difficult to get on one.
In fact I think the only ways to do so are either

  1. on the battle field but even then you would have to do a fool hardy rush into enemy ranks
    and even then good chance healers will save you.
  2. Commit Hari Kari ( out of range of Healers )

Personally I don’t find it challenging enough, but it is popular.

#9

…the Quests are PD run - they’re just seeded and recruited for IC, rather than laid out OOC.

#10

Although if the Iron Raptors are around they’re designed to be an obvious place for new players to get involved in quests, although I’m not sure if they’re in attendance this time. The other people you should be asking are your Egregores alongside asking around your nation to make sure people know you’re up for questing. It also helps to be ready to go at a drop of a hat as some of them require a lot of last minute hustling to organise, so making it easy for the people commanding gets you points :slight_smile:.

#11

If you really want to get shived…

Do something unpopular and [IC] embarrassing for your own nation.

Good examples so far include;
Hitting on an Orc,
Hitting Heralds and being preachy about it.
Being in the militia.

There is, I am happy to say, very little random mugging.