INTRODUCTION

Welcome to an exciting new aspect of role-playing games: LIVE-ACTION! The INTERNATIONAL FANTASY GAMING SOCIETY (IFGS) is an organization dedicated to producing and playing fantasy live-action games.

The IFGS runs games where instead of rolling dice to determine if you have struck that smelly orc, you actually swing and connect with a safe, foam-padded "sword". No longer is your character limited by what the game says your "movement rate" is. You can run as fast as your feet can take you. Checking for surprise? There’s nothing like the rush (and maybe fear) of having a band of ogres jump from the bushes when you REALLY didn’t know that they were there. You want to pick a lock? We use a representation that requires a good deal of manual coordination.

An IFGS game is similar to improvisational theater, where some actors (the Non-Player Characters) set the scenes, and the players make their way from scene to scene playing their roles as they have designed them. There are challenges of all sorts, be they battles, riddles, physical obstacles or treacherous dealings. All of this is carried out in a fantasy medieval setting, with sword play, spell casting, and the occasional dragon or damsel in distress.

Teams of players have at times encountered an army of over 50 creatures, a 4,500 square foot maze, or a 35-foot long dragon with a 30-foot wingspan. Games have been run over several days, or in the darkness of night. Games are run in both indoor and outdoor settings, and typically involve over 50 participants, but have been known to include over 200.

The IFGS rules are nearly 200 pages long, and contain over 200 spells, special abilities, and skills. They allow for all kinds of fantasy interactions, including powerful divinations, archery, poisons, and exotic weapons.

Nonetheless, we don’t want to make people have to buy our rulebook just to check us out. That’s why we have the Quick Play Rules. These rules are a severely chopped down version of the rules, which are just enough to get you ready to play your first game as a 1^st level adventurer. By no means are these rules complete. They are just meant to give you a taste of what we think is one of the best opportunities for action, role-playing and great gaming!

If you are interested in more of what the IFGS has to offer, please feel free to purchase one of our rulebooks. You won’t be sorry!

IFGS
P.O. Box 3577
Boulder, CO 80307-3577
(303) 443-1012

· Clerics are representatives of the gods, and are specialists in healing and protection.

· The heralds of nature, Druids, are skilled in elemental magic, healing, and nature’s ways.

· Fighters are stalwart warriors, skilled especially in hand-to-hand combat.

· Valor and strength are the hallmarks of Knights.

· Mages are unequaled in their command of the arcane.

· Meditation and self-control are specialized by Monks.

· The best archers become Rangers, who also are talented in survival and wilderness skills.

· Nothing beats a Thief for dealing with locks, poisons, or perhaps silently eliminating a guard.

Once you have chosen your class, you should pick a name and design a background for your character. It’s not important to have a detailed personality for your character at the start, but it helps to have a few ideas about who your character is before you play. Is your character an honorable wizard who was raised in a lawful and righteous noble family? Perhaps your druid doesn’t think like everybody else, coming from an non-human race, and having a non-human perspective on life.

The following is a basic rundown on how we simulate magic, sword fighting, and the other things you need to play in your first game

Each character in an IFGS game has a certain number of "life points", which represent the amount of damage that the character can sustain. This concept is identical to the "hit points" used in many other games. When a character takes damage, their life points are reduced. If a character takes more damage than their total to unconsciousness, then the character is knocked unconscious. If they take additional damage which pushes them past their total for death, then the character is dead.

In addition, characters have life points in each limb. If damage done to a limb exhausts the points in that limb, then that limb is disabled. A disabled arm must drop a weapon it is holding, and cannot be used. A disabled leg cannot have weight put on it, and the character may not longer run. If both legs are disabled, the player should kneel.

HEALING

Characters that are not dead can be healed. There are numerous spells and abilities which can heal damage. In addition, each character can have their wounds bound up to twice per day. Each "binding" heals one point of damage.

The IFGS uses safe, lightweight, padded simulacrums of fantasy weapons, such as staves, axes, and swords. It is very likely that these weapons will be provided for your use in your first game.

Fighting with these weapons is very much like you would expect. You make jabs, feints, and blocks just like you have seen in movies. You attempt to strike legal areas, and when you do so, call out the damage inflicted by the blow. If the blow is dodged or blocked, then no damage is dealt, so you need to fight with skill and precision to defeat your foes (especially before they hit you instead!)

It is very important to fight in a controlled and safe manner. Although these weapons are padded, they can still cause injury if you strike too hard, or strike your opponent in an illegal area. At no time is it allowed to strike the head, neck or groin of your opponent. If you do so, immediately stop, and make sure that your opponent is okay. No damage is ever dealt from accidental blows to the head, neck or groin. To prevent these illegal blows, or blows that are too hard, it helps to fight in a controlled and calm fashion.

ARMOR

Many characters can wear suits of armor. If a character can wear leather armor, they start their first game with a suit of leather armor. There are two other types of armor available. Chainmail armor provides two points of armor, while platemail provides three points of protection. In addition, some spells will provide additional armor protection to a character.

Suits of armor are represented by a patch of colored felt worn on the torso of a character. Brown stands for leather, a blue patch is used for chainmail, and platemail is represented by a red patch.

The armor of a character deducts from every instance that they are damaged. For example, Thalia the Red is a Fighter, and she is wearing her leather armor, which provides her with a point of armor. A friendly Cleric has cast an Enhance (Protection +1) spell on her, so she has a total of 2 points of armor. When a menacing orc strikes her with a sword for 5 points of damage, she only takes 3 points of damage (5 points of damage - 2 points of armor = 3 life points lost).

Three of the classes (Mage, Cleric and Druid) are capable of casting magical spells. In order to cast a spell, the player must do the following:

· Keep your feet planted, and have the use of both arms.

· Make an incantation for six seconds.

· Not take any damage during the incantation.

· Spend the required spell points

· Call out the spell effect and the targets

(example: "Dead Eye, 4 points, Blue")

Typically you can announce who is targeted with a spell by calling out the color of their costume, but it is also useful to point at the target.

Abilities work very similar to spells. The player must concentrate for six seconds, expend the appropriate points and then call out the ability used. If the player takes damage while using an ability, they must start over.