Q) What's this all about?
A) Brassy's Men is a LARP (Live Action Role Playing) campaign which will run its first session in May of the year 2004. The campaign will be set in a world much like that of Victorian England in the year 1874, but with the addition of several fictional elements.

Q) What is a LARP?
A) A LARP is a role playing game in which the players act out their roles physically rather than describing their actions. A system of mechanics is used to simulate parts of the game which cannot be acted out directly.

Q) What is a LARP Campaign?
A) A LARP Campaign is a series of LARP games linked by common plot threads and characters. Typically a player will portray the same character in each episode of the campaign, barring any unfortunate incidents which might remove the character from play. The fun in a LARP Campaign comes not only from experiencing each of the weekend-long episodes, but also from having your character build and develop over the course of time.

Q) How long will Brassy's Men run?
A) The Brassy's Men campaign is expected to run for two years. In that time, there will be six full weekend-length episodes, intended for attendance by the full player contingent. There will also be a number of smaller events more suited for smaller groups of players.

Q) Do I need to commit to the entire two years in order to play?
A) No, this isn't necessary. You are welcome to attend for only a single session, if that is your preference. However, we hope that players will decide to play for multiple sessions and become involved in long running plots.

Q) Where will Brassy's Men take place?
A) Many of the full-length episodes of the campaign will be staged at the Hampton Inn in Germantown, MD, just north of Washington, D.C. Other events may take place at a variety of locations in the general Virginia/Maryland/Pennsylvania area.

Q) How much will Brassy's Men cost to play?
A) Fees for the first game are as follows:

• $65 if registered and paid before January 1, 2004. (Lock in this rate by placing a $25 deposit before Jan. 1)
• $75 until end of March
• $100 after April 1st
• You can purchase a "Season Pass" which includes both Game One and Game Two for $110.
• You can save $5 if you stay at the Hampton Inn. Your name must be on the room reservation.

Q) What characters do you have available?
A) Brassy's Men encourages players to create their own characters, within the boundaries of the setting, genre and mechanics. There is also the option of having the GMs create a character for you.

Q) What rules will be used for Brassy's Men?
A) Brassy's Men will be using "Rules to Live By", or "RTLB", a system of LARP mechanics developed by Interactivities Ink. The basic RTLB system has been extended in many ways to cover a variety of aspects of the game. Full rules will be available on the site at a later date.

Q) Do you need Cast Characters for the campaign?
A) Many LARP campaigns make use of "cast characters" or "NPCs" to provide adversaries for the players and to fill in minor roles. Brassy's Men does not anticipate a large demand for cast characters, as most of the plots within the game will be occurring among the PCs themselves.

Q) How will plots in Brassy's Men be developed?
A) Most of the plots in the Brassy's Men campaign will be developed as a collaborative effort between the GMs and the players. It is likely that in any conflict your adversary will be another PC, rather than a GM character. The Brassy's Men GMs will introduce many plots based upon the history and background of the characters, but players will also be encouraged to act independently in order to achieve their character goals. The feel of the campaign is explicitly not one of "all of the PCs must work together to defeat a common enemy".

Q) How will combat be handled in Brassy's Men?
A) Combat in Brassy's Men will be resolved using RTLB mechanics. Players may have props representing weapons, but Brassy's Men is not in any way a real-combat or foam-weapon based game.

Q) How close is the setting of Brassy's Men to actual Victorian history?
A) Brassy's Men falls into a grey area somewhere between Victorian history and Victorian fantasy. It is reasonable to assume that things in the game world mimic history, except in those areas which relate to our two big fantastical elements: Steampunk technology and Magic. There are also some alternate history events which differentiate us from reality. For more information, see our "How is the Brassy World Different?" page.

Q) What is the role of women in the Brassy's Men world?
A) Women in the game world have a bit more freedom of action than they did historically, and of course there are always exceptional cases. However, by and large the social strata of the times have been preserved in the game. This does not mean that female players cannot take on challenging and interesting roles, nor have as many in-depth plots as any of the male characters.

Q) Can I play Sherlock Holmes?
A) Fictional characters such as Sherlock Holmes do not exist in the world of Brassy's Men. You may play a character of similar nature, but you may not introduce a character wholesale from literature.

Q) Is Brassy's Men a "Theatre-Style" LARP or a "Campaign" LARP?
A) Think of Brassy's Men as being a set of linked Theatre Style LARP games. We anticipate that each weekend-long episode will be the equivalent of a full Theatre Style game with plots, intrigues and events to keep everyone busy. But the world doesn't end on Sunday afternoon - characters will have to live with the results of their defeats, and build upon their triumphs, in preparation for the next episode.

Q) What happens between episodes?
A) Three primary things occur between episodes: Between Game Actions, Between Game Events, and Character Interaction.

Q) What are "Between Game Actions"?
A) "Between game actions" describe what your character is attempting to do before the next full episode. They are played out through email between the players and the GMs. These actions may be aided or opposed by other players, of course. Think of this as a simplified play-by-email game set in the same world. Players will have a limit on how much they can do between games, and are expected to use these actions to advance their character's goals. The results of between game actions can have great effect on the starting situation in the next full game.

Q) What are "Between Game Events"?
A) "Between game events" are smaller live roleplaying events which are interspersed among the full length games. Events typically run for only a single day or shorter period of time. Between game events may be used by the GMs to simulate happenings in places other than London, such as a safari to the heart of Africa or an expedition to the Ottoman Empire. Not all players will be interested in all between game events.

Q) What about "Character Interaction"?
A) Brassy's Men will support a number of mailing lists which may be used for in-character interaction among player characters. These lists will simulate the gossip about town among differing social classes. Not all players will have access to all lists - it depends upon the social circles that your character would have access to. Direct communication among players is also encouraged between games.

Q) How can I get involved with Brassy's Men?
A) The first thing to do is think a bit about the sort of character you'd like to play. Then register yourself in our on-line database and fill out the character creation form. Or sign up for the Brassy's Men e-mail list to discuss the campaign with other players. Lastly, speak to one of the Brassy's Men GMs if you'd like more information.

Note: Players will have a period after their first and second games to update and tweak their character STATs and Abilities to further match them to their character concept.

Note: It is likely that we will have the character history submission process finished and available to the players before we have the stats and skills portion of the character creation process available.

Copyright © 2003 Interactivities Ink -- All rights reserved.
Please send your comments or questions to the Brassy's Men GMs.
In the case of technical issues, please contact the Webmaster.
Design courtesy of L. Quimby.