FAQ

This is a system-specific FAQ. for a more general FAQ about LARPing, click here.

What happens if I break a bargain made with an elemental?

Chances are something bad will happen to you. If you believe you've violated a bargain with an elemental, see a ref.

With no bleed count, what happens on a TPK?

For starters, everyone will take their WOUND from being down for longer than 30 seconds. After that there will likely be further consequences, such as the PCs being looted, having harmful EFFECTs applied, or have further non-mortal wounds inflicted upon them. After that the enemies will leave the encounter (or kick the PCs out), and the party will get back up with a ref-called WIDE CURE 1, which should be interpreted as natural recovery.

It's possible there will be high stakes encounters where a TPK will mean execution or conversion to DPCs. In these cases the extra risk will be telegraphed beforehand.

Ok, so how do I actually die in this game?

The death system is designed to make character death a result of personal choices, usually several of them, rather than a sudden or random occurrence by bleeding out. Most ways in the game to push yourself beyond normal limits come at a cost in mortal wounds, increasing your chance of becoming terminal. If you play it safe, your chances of dying are indeed very low, but if you strive for your goals, you will naturally be pushed towards more risky play and higher chance of becoming terminal. Also, should you seriously tick off NPCs or other PCs, they may decide it's worth trying to assassinate you.

Should you become Terminal, that's not necessarily the end of your character. Making a pact with an elemental can let you continue playing that character. However, making a pact to come back from terminal will always require a major sacrifice, and will likely involve new restrictions or even completely changed character goals. Some players may decide they don't want to take the offer. The cost may be lessened if you make the pact with an elemental you already have a good relationship with. Should you become terminal a second time, it's highly likely you'll be rendered an NPC unless you have a very good relationship with a patron.

It's basically impossible for me to kill other PCs! What do I do if they're blatantly evil?

The guidelines for the task force allow for extensive social and political PvP, and even non-lethal physical PvP as long as you can justify it as "internal security". The game is designed to make social and political PvP the primary forms of conflict between PCs, so it is indeed by design hard to kill other PCs and get away with it, but there are ways.

The first is to contact the Council and convince their representative that your target agent is working against the interests of Clare. If you're successful, their Council protection may be restricted, or even revoked. In this case, it will be legal for you to act against them, either immediately, or if they try the same tricks in future. Essentially, by winning at social and political PvP you can open up physical PvP as an avenue.

The second is to frame them for a serious crime against another agent, either by faking evidence, or persuading other agents to testify against them. This could result in their execution by a magistrate.

But even that only makes them Terminal, so they can just make a pact with an elemental and keep going, or worse, get revenge!

A terminal character can indeed make a pact with an elemental to stay in the campaign, but any pact that brings someone back from terminal will involve a dramatic change to their character, and likely new restrictions and character goals. Chances are they'll have other things on their mind (or possibly have a completely different mind...), at least for a while.

How deceptive can you be when performing rituals?

It must be clear that you are performing a ritual, but you need not make it clear what kind of ritual it is. Another thaumaturge with Keen Observer can determine the true intent of a ritual by examining it. Explicitly calling upon themes that are dissonant with the effect (such as emphasising strengthening the target, while actually weakening them) may have adverse effects.

Will more skills (such as more powerful invoker abilities) be added in the future?

No. New formulaic rituals can be developed in play, but otherwise there's no intent to add new skills to the game. It is however possible to gain new abilities through other means, many ideas for which are described on the advancement page.

What calendar is used in Clare?

The date IC is generally the date OOC with 1000 taken off the year number, so the campaign will take place late 1019 and early 1020.

What languages exist in the setting?

Everyone speaks a common language, physrepped by English. There are no other languages in the setting. Language is not really a theme of this game.

Can I define my own elementals?

Not explicitly no, though if you try to summon an elemental with a particular agenda, you may well find that a compatible one answers. This is far more likely to work if you inform the refs of the sort of elemental you're looking for in advance (through downtime minor actions or in person).

Can I use the Obscura system myself?

Yes. Obscura is licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Can I run player events in the Obscura universe?

Yes, though those events will only be canon in the main campaign with the agreement of the main campaign’s refs.