Introduction

Hello, and welcome to Tempest! We are one of the two games that the Oxford University Roleplaying Game Society is running in Trinity 2017 (the other one being Redemption). If you’ve never played any sort of roleplaying game before, never fear! We’ve got you covered with this handy introduction. If you’re a seasoned roleplayer, a lot of this should be familiar, but feel free to scroll through for a quick refresh.

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to email the GM team at any time.

Tempest is a freeform live roleplaying game - a style that sits somewhere between amateur dramatics and collaborative storytelling. You turn up, create a character, and then take on their role as you play the game. There are no scripts or predetermined outcomes - just a setting, a bunch of other characters to interact with, and some GMs to make sure it all runs smoothly. Instead of narrating your character’s actions or controlling them through a controller, you actually perform them, talking, gossiping, trading, eavesdropping and orating just as your character would. This doesn’t mean you need to be a great actor or public speaker - just be able to speak as your character.

The most important thing about playing is that roleplaying is about having fun and creating stories with other players. Absolutely no experience is required to play the society game and there will be plenty of supportive people on-hand to help if you have any questions. Just turn up and enjoy yourself!

Every Monday during term time we will meet in the Massey Room in Balliol College. These sessions represent weekly meetings organised by the crew of the SS Bannatyne to try to coordinate the survivors of the wreck.

Each week between sessions represents a week of in-game time. During this period, your character has a lot more freedom to act; you can explore, research, fight, trade, politic and diplomatize. If you want to take action against NPCs or other PCs, here’s the time to do it. Each week, we ask that players send in a summary (known as a ‘turnsheet’) of what they want their character to be doing in that month; the GMs will then judge the results of your actions and report back to you on how everything went.

There is a system for these turnsheet actions, detailed here - but don't feel you need to memorise it all; we're more than happy to help out if you're having trouble working out what you want to do!

Costume is by no means mandatory, but some people like the opportunity to dress up as their character. Tempest is set in the 1930s, and dressing in a 30s-inspired style might be something which adds to your game. Even if you don't want to wear a full costume, it can be fun to use 'phys-reps' (or 'physical representations’ - see below) for things like significant jewellery, or injuries picked up in play.

There are a few acronyms used throughout the website which might be a little confusing. Never fear! We’ve built a glossary of roleplaying terms used on the website. If you’re still confused by anything, feel free to email the GM team!

• OOC or OC - Out of Character. Events and people in the real world. For example, Tempest sessions take place OC in Balliol college.
• IC - In Character. Events and people in the world of Tempest. For example, Tempest sessions take place IC on a remote Hebridean island.
• GM - Game Master or Game Moderator. Us! The team of people who write, run and maintain the game for your playing pleasure. The first place to turn if you have a question.
• PC - Player Character. You! The characters that Tempest players create and represent in the fictional world. You will usually play the same PC every week through the course of the game.
• NPC - Non-Player Character. Us again! These are other characters in the Tempest setting, who may appear in session (played by GMs) or in turnsheets. NPCs present in session may vary week-to-week, and GMs will often play several NPCs during a game session.
• PvE and PvP - Player vs Environment and Player vs Player. Terms used to describe the nature of conflict (not necessarily violent!) within the system. Tempest is intended as having high PvE and low PvP, though of course some disputes are inevitable!
• Phys-rep: Physical representation. Something real used to represent something in-game: a notebook representing a diary; make-up representing a scar; you representing your character…

During session, sometimes people need to communicate things OC. The standard way we symbolise that something is OC and not IC is to hold two fingers in the air. This may be accompanied by saying 'OC' before speaking. In addition, there are some calls that the GMs might make by calling out loud. These calls are:

• Time In This is called to represent that you should commence - or restart - acting IC and treating the words and actions of you and others as IC unless specifically noted. This is usually called at the beginning of session, or after a Time Freeze.
• Time Freeze This is called when something is happening that cannot be adequately represented by the GMs and others in real time. You should stop roleplaying and pay attention to the GM team: usually they will provide a quick description of what is happening before calling Time In again so that your characters may respond to what just happened.
• Time Out This is called to signify the end of session. At this point you should stop roleplaying as we will need to quickly vacate the room we are using.