Getting Started
Getting started in a new game can be overwhelming. I’ve put together these guides to give new players the chance to be better prepared for their first event. Below you will find the New Player Checklist, a link to a PDF that can aid you in creating a character’s background and play-style (New Character Guide), a PDF that discusses classes and skills in short (Character build guide), and a few pre-built characters. There isn’t any emphasis on the order you do this, I’ve just put them in the order that makes the most sense to me.
Read the Rulebook
This is the easiest part. I would suggest you read the basics of character creation in the rulebook, the combat system, and focus some attention on the classes. I’ll quickly go over classes in the character build guide later.
Nero Downloads (May need to log in)
The Rulebook may seem like a lot, and it’s okay for you to skip some of the more intricate rules and build costs for now. Anything you don’t know you can learn at the game, though knowing the rules can help with immersion. Most of the build calculation has been made easier, and you can sandbox your character to come up with alternate ideas on the national database. Plus the database won’t let you buy a skill if you shouldn’t have it.
Your Character Build
This is the hardest part for me. Usually I go into this thinking ‘What do I want to do?’ Let’s think about your character for a minute. Do you want to be the Knight in Shining Armor? Are you looking to hide in the shadows, striking at the back of enemies when their guard is down? Do you want to master the elements, and call forth the hammer of lighting from the sky? Is your goal balance, or are you driven to keep your friends alive as a Healer? How about none of the above?
Building your character isn’t final. Once you’ve played an event, you get the option to switch things around if you aren’t happy. Even after that, there are ways in game to reset your skills, and buy them all over again.
Before you open this guide, think about what you want to do. The Classes will be explained a little in the file below, but I strongly suggest you read the class descriptions in the rulebook (linked above).
Billy’s Character Build Guide will become available in April! Email us your own guides if you want them posted here!
Your Character Story
Okay, let’s talk about your character as a person. When you think about her, what comes to your mind? Is she a resolute commander, an intellectual leader, a fun-seeking trickster? Think about her from a third-person perspective. The guide below is going to help you formulate a story for your character. Do you already have a story in mind? Awesome! Skip this guide if you’re happy with the character, but keep in mind a few things you should know about NERO itself. These things often pop up in character concepts/backstories, so I want to get them clear now.
- There is no religion in NERO. Religion is very special to people, and we respect that. We avoid religion at NERO so as to not offend anyone.
- There should be no allusions to sexual assault of any type in your character history. This is for our players’ safety.
- This doesn’t take place on earth. There is a map of Tyrra available on the NERO Larp website
- It’s bad form to be the last survivor of a rich kingdom, on a quest to redeem his crown. Be humble with your story.
With that being said up-front, I’m dilligently working on the guides promised above. They should be completed sometime in April!
Create Your Account
NERO is an International LARP. When you create a character, it becomes available across the entirety of the Tyrran Campaign. If you play here in Phoenix, you can travel to any other chapter and play the same character, bring all of your unrestricted gear, keep your skills, and advance your character a bit faster than just playing one chapter. I highly recommend you do this, as it really opens up the game world to you.
Head over to the NERO Larp main site, and sign up for an account for the forum. This means you get to read and post questions directly to the main NERO core group.
Then head over to the NERO Online Character Database and sign up for an account there. One that’s set up, you can create a character, print out the card, and be ready for your first game.
Costuming Your Character
NERO is a high fantasy Medieval LARP. Just about anything that would be period clothing for that genre is fine. We don’t request you use specific materials for your costume, but we do ask that you at least try to mask any real-world items. For instance, a former player of mine made armor out of a giant plastic barrel. With paint, and some time, he was able to hide that it was a barrel (Honestly, I was impressed).
Expect this area to grow as I request assistance from players on good sewing patterns to use. If you have the cash, though, almost anything you get at the Renaissance Fair would be acceptable. Email us your own patterns or resources for costuming and we’ll add them here!
In-Play, Out-Of-Play: What Does That Mean?
Your character is a tagged item. That means that it can only be affected (positively or negatively) at a NERO event. If you and some friends decide to throw an in-game party, and your character is killed, that death doesn’t count. If you discuss it with your friends, and they want to bring it in play, it’s simply an experience and does not affect your character. Additionally, any single-use items do not get expended outside of an event. If you want to have a sponsored event, let’s discuss! We’re open for almost anything.
Something your character knows is in-game. Something you, the player, knows is considered out-of-game. Sometimes it’s hard to remember if a player knows something, and a character doesn’t. Taking that memory in-play would technically be metagaming. That’s not really fair, though, is it? So I bring to you the big NERO rule: If you do not wish someone’s character to know something in-game, do not tell them out-of-game. Trust me on this, it makes life easier.
All of your tags are technically out-of-play items, that need to by physically represented in-game. In a perfect world all tags have a physical item they’re attached to. If someone steals the physical representation, then they steal the tag as well. If it’s not phys-repped, and they take the tag, they have taken the item. By rule, all Magical Items will have a physrep to which they are attached, though sometimes things like Armor or Necklaces can be difficult to affix a tag. In those cases the magic item tag should be on the person that currently has possession of the item. If you bring your own necklace to the game, and it is not a tagged item, though, it cannot be stolen as it’s not a part of the game.
Marshall notes on any cabin/tent/area that you occupy should have all out-of-play areas marked clearly, as a marshall will be available to help in the case where you’re trying to rob your fellow players. If Out-of-play areas aren’t marked, they aren’t considered out-of-play. Got it?
Roleplay Tips
There are many different approaches to roleplaying your character, and none of them are more correct than others. Have you noticed that people who are raised in similar environments often have a full spectrum of differing attitudes? Think of your own friends. They may be similar, but they have different reactions to the same situation. The same goes for your character. You can play it safe, and roleplay a character that acts more like you if you like. You know yourself better than most, after all. You may also decide to go your polar opposite. That’s fine, too! Maybe you flip-flop between them.
Jessica plays a character named Dame Valence. She plays her like a Knight in Shining Armor type character. The thought of a Knight in Shining Armor brings images to the mind about duty, honor, and glory. But it brings different ideas in my mind. Here are three examples:
First, let’s look at the typical Knight in Shining Armor. She’s on a quest to save a kingdom from complete and utter doom by the hands of an evil sorcerer. She travels across the land, hunting the sorcerer down, and finally wins the day by slaying the sorcerer in an epic fight that involved her swinging across a room on the rope of a nearby chandelier.
Now let’s look at the atypical Knight in Shining Armor. She’s on a quest to save a kingdom from complete and utter doom by the hands of an evil sorcerer. She first finds another sorcerer, and after much trial and error she eventually learns how to become immune to the damaging effects of fire. She stalks her prey, finding him in his castle late at night. She covers her body in oil, sets herself ablaze, and busts through the front door. She screams like a dying rabbit as she runs through the castle halls quickly finding the sorcerer, and tackles him to the ground. The sorcerer, being very flammable, dies. The Knight finds a cask of ale and drinks until the flames die down.
Finally, let’s look at the quasi-untypical Knight in Shining Armor. She’s on a quest to save a kingdom from complete and utter doom by the hands of an evil sorcerer. She first finds another sorcerer, pays him off to kill the evil sorcerer, and waits until her goodly sorcerer to return. After several weeks, she figures her sorcerer is dead, and hires another. She makes sure to pay handsomely, so they’ll take the bounty. Thirty sorcerers have been paid and have not returned. At this point she’s paid several thousand gold, and the evil sorcerer is quite rich from searching his kills. Our Knight then hires an entire company of bounty hunters to take down the evil sorcerer, as she knows he has a small hoard of gold. She takes credit for negotiating the kill with the Kingdom, and is awarded with an appointment to Dame General of the King’s Army. Many of the bounty hunters swear fealty to her, and they keep the peace as long as they get paid.
So I’ve just detailed three options for the same character. None of them could be considered the more correct way to go about it. Which one would be fun for you to play? That’s on you to decide.
I personally suggest that you play a character that is far different from your daily life. Sometimes having an outlet for your own social inhibitions can help you deal with things in your real life. My characters have done this for me.
Being consistent with how you play a character can really help you flesh out a feel and future for this magical person you’ve created. But don’t let that stop you from changing as you develop. You might start out as a jolly personality, but change as the toils of medieval fantasy life bring you down.
What To Bring
Location, and length of event, are the biggest factors to what you should bring. For a one-day event I would check the event teaser before showing. If it is a typical one-day event market gathering, I might bring some table props, and a single costume. Sometimes I pack a spare in case of a wardrobe malfunction or a torn costume piece. Bring any weapons you’ll want to use, and some pouches to hold your gear.
For a weekend event, I suggest you check the site information. You may need to bring a tent. If we have an indoor/cabin event, just bring appropriate bedding. We’ll try to be upfront about what you should bring.
For something like Noble Court, I might bring a nicer costume, some personal props, and my weapons. If I was playing in a chapter to requires a noble writ, I’d bring that as well since I play a Noble.
In all cases, you should bring your required makeup and prosthesis to represent your character’s race. Also it is important to check if food is being served at the event, which is usually the case. We try to post the menu before the event so you know if you need to avoid certain foods due to allergies.
Non-Player Characters
I suggest you bring black clothing or costuming. I strongly recommend bringing pouches to hold player loot.