UnReality

The Background

We choose our charity by taking nominations from members of the local LARP and roleplaying societies, who then vote for their top choice. LARP Aid starts with a budget of £0 every year, and although we have some obvious overheads to cover (such as the hire of the venue) after this point all proceeds go towards the charity. LARP Aid and Aberddu Adventures take no wages, payment or administration fees for themselves, and the activities and prizes on the weekend itself are available due to the generosity of companies, individuals and game systems from across the UK.

Find out all you need to know about UnReality 2010 right here.

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When And Where?

The site will be available from 5:00pm, Friday 19th March 2010. Participants can go In Character from 7:00pm and the Tournament itself is set to begin at 10:00am, Saturday 20th March 2010. Normality will be restored at 4:00pm, Sunday 21st of March. The tournament will take place at Ynys Fergi Farm, Borth (google map) two minutes from Borth railway station, by the Animalarium.

The tournament will end in the evening and players are given the opportunity to go out of character for food and further activities. Unlike previous years there will be no buffet, however on site catering is being provided by The Giddy Kipper. The Crimson Moon Tavern will be selling licenced beverages for the entire event. You will not be allowed to consume alcohol during combat hours, but there is an opportunity later in the day for both IC and OC drinking, where appropriate. Attendees are free to bring their own food and drinks.

Site facilities available include showers, toilets. Participants are required to bring their own camping equipment.

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Travel

Ynys Fergi Farm is situated two minutes walk from Borth Railway station, next to the Animalarium. Click here to view a map of the area.

A train for Aberystwyth leaves Birmingham New Street at 14:24 on Friday should arrive at 17:06. Trains depart from BNS every 2 hours, so later trains are available.
Return trains on the Sunday depart from Borth at 15:43 and 17:43 and arrive at BNS at 18:28 and 20:24 respectively.
If you are arriving by car, there is parking at the campsite.

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Character Races

Unlike previous events, you do not need to participate as a particular character race in this year's UnReality tournament. There are no restrictions, so get creative! Here are a few suggestions, taken from previous UnReality Tournaments

• Automatons
• Beastman
• Cobald
• Dwarf
• Elf (various forms of)
• Fae
• Goblin
• Human (pirate, steampunk, historical, etc)
• Ogre
• Orc
• Troll
• Vampire
• Werewolf

As your warrior could have been plucked from any world, you have a free reign in appearance, background and traits. However, for the purposes of combat, you will not be able to use any natural abilities of your character's race; the only magic and spells permitted are those you spent your XP on.

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Participation Rules

You should be waiting in the designated area a few minutes before your battle is due to begin. When called, if you do not turn up to your battle within 5 minutes, you have forfeited any potential victory to the other player.

Each combatant in the tournament starts with 3 Hit Points (HP) per body location. The locations are Torso, Right Arm, Left Arm, Right Leg and Left Leg. Each successful strike with a weapon deducts 1 HP from the location struck. When a location has 0 HP, it is no longer useable and any items being held by that location must be dropped. If the Torso drops to 0 HP, the combatant is unconscious and has lost the fight!

When you fill out your character details on the booking form, you will have 5 XP to spend on ‘extras’. You may choose to give your character extra HP. You may otherwise choose to spend your XP on armour or spells. Armour comes in 3 ranks, and will absorb 1 blow per rank on behalf of the body location it protects (if an armoured body location is struck, the armour will lose 1 rank, but no HP will be lost from the location).

Combat will consist of the following weapon categories:

• Sword
• Paired weapons
• Axe
• Polearm
• Daggers
• Blunt weapon

The winners from all categories will be entered into 'Circle of Treachery' - every man for himself against all other opponents. The last contestant standing is the overall winner.

Before the final battle of the tournament, competitors will be required to take a lucky dip item that will aid their progress. However, it being a lucky dip, some will aid them more than others.

The only restriction on weapon length is that the player must be able the wield it. If that means that you need to use two hands to wield what is normally a one handed weapon, so be it. Only one dagger may be wielded at any time, but you may carry more than one on your person.

In addition to HP and Armour, warriors may also spend their XP on spells to compliment their weapon use. You may only use each type of spell ONCE in any combat. Spell calls can be interrupted by weapon blows, but will not discard in this case (i.e. you may attempt the spell again, as it has not been yet used).
The call to activate the spell is "by my power.... followed by the spell name". The spell names and effects are as follows:

Heal - Heals one body location to full hit points - can only be cast on limbs

Magic Bolt - deals one point of damage to any named location at a range of up to 10 feet.

Light to the Eyes - blinds a target for 5 seconds

Stumble - Causes the target to trip and fall - target must fall to their knees.

There are several rules to abide by during combat, which will be strictly enforced to ensure everyone's safety. We appreciate that accidents do happen, and so there will be an experienced crew of marshals, first-aiders and weapon checking staff on hand at all times during combat hours. These staff will be wearing colour-coded tags for your convenience. Combat referees will be wearing red, marshals will be wearing blue, crew members will wear yellow and first-aiders will wear green.

• The referee's decision is final. Feel free to backchat and question decisions in-character all you like - but it won't affect the outcome.
• No consumption of alcohol at any point during combat hours
• No fighting outside of the arena, except in designated weapons-safing and warm-up areas
• You will need to bring your own weapons, or arrange to borrow one prior to the event
• One weapon category per combatant only
• No full-force blows; all strikes must be pulled. We're here to enjoy ourselves, and killing each other isn't really what we're in it for.
• No thrusting or stabbing with any weapon
• No striking or buffeting with shields
• No throws, wrestling, grappling or hand-to-hand striking

Please remember that, regardless of your character's race you will not be able to use any racial abilities or artefacts in combat, or magic that you have not paid for. Now, let battle commence!

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Age Restrictions

Minimum age to compete without parental consent is 18. Those 16 and over, but under the age of 18 require a written letter of consent from a parent or guardian. If you are between 14 and 16, we cannot allow you to attend or compete unless you have a parent or guardian over the age of 18 with you.

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Additional Activities

• Auction of items generously donated by a range of companies
• An in-character market with many traders
• A selection of short team combat games

...and much more entertainment.

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