LARP Adventures Unit & Land Rules 

(Revised 3/17/2024)

By Skip Lipman & David Foster

 

Units

In LARP Adventures our fantasy world is known as Osterra, or the realm, players are encouraged to organize themselves into units. Units fight and adventure together. They may also participate in the larger wargame and role play of the Land Rules, Global Economy, and The Council of Osterra. Players may role play and identify their unit as they wish, they may call themselves guilds, adventure parties, fellowships, mercenary bands, knights and retinue, dark covens, self-autonomous collectives, hordes, countries, or whatever they like. Players may petition, or be invited to join a pre-existing unit, or they may wish to form a new one of their own. 

 

Forming A Unit

Forming a unit at LARP Adventures is a five step process. To declare as a unit and claim your hexes on the land map you must first complete each step with approval from The Council.

1. Organize a Unit - The minimum number of players to form a unit is 4. There is no set maximum limit of the number of members in a unit.

2. Heraldry - Select a symbol and color or colors. A unit symbol is a great way to show what your unit is about, display your team spirit and pride. Each unit must have it’s own symbol that is easily identifiable on the field. Each member of a unit must wear the unit symbol in some fashion, whether on a surcout, a sash, belt square or emblazoned upon a shield.

3. Unit Standard - Each unit must have a flag with their colors and symbol. Unit standards are in game items and may be used in many scenarios.

4. Leadership - Choose a leader as a representative to the club. There may be up to two main contacts and they are responsible for the unit members. (ie. knowing the rules, costume and weapons checks, actions in play, ect) Generally this is the person in charge of the unit, but this may be separate from your role playing, depending on how your unit is organized in game they will also be your representative in The Council.

5. Create A History - Tell the story of your unit, it may be a tale of friends coming together to meet their destiny, or hundreds of years of backstory that details the struggle of generations to carve out a civilization. With the portals and ancient lore of the realm the only limit is your imagination. (Give the club at least a couple of paragraphs of what you're about.)

 

Dissolving a Unit or Going Defunct

A unit must participate in play to continue to be viable. After 6 months if a unit is not represented in play by at least 4 members at an event its lands will be locked and will eventually lose their in game status after a total of 9 months out of play. 

 

A unit may be dissolved by its members at any time.

Land Rules

The world of Osterra is made up of several large continents, exploration has only just begun. There are great seas and many islands. The terrain is varied and there are many distinct climates. The world is emerging from a long dark age and the time is ripe for new kingdoms to arise.

 

Land is power and resources drive economies. As adventurers make their way through the portals and begin to work with the local inhabitants. Strongholds are built to protect villages, organization brings surplus and trade. Ruins are rebuilt and new structures bring about stability. Stability brings people together and cities will soon flourish. The buds of this new civilization are beginning to bloom. The search for knowledge and resources is a great adventure…

 

Note: Individuals may end up owning land during the course of play, they are treated the same as a unit or faction and are represented on the map.

 

WHAT IS A “GAME TURN”?

The biggest question on everyone’s mind is “what is a game turn”. Each LARP Adventures event will be considered a turn. Units must formally “declare their 

moves”, per se, at the end of each turn, with the resolution coming before the next turn begins. A Season consists of 3 game turns. At the beginning of each season resources are tallied. Each Game Year is 4 Seasons.

Actions

During a turn each unit may make up to three actions.

 

1. Builds - Up to one build or upgrade may be declared per hex. Regardless of the number of builds undertaken they count as a single turn action.

   1. Place assets and improvements

   2. Declare new improvements and builds

2. Movement - All movement of adventure parties, armies and naval forces is declared and resolved.

   1. Move adventure parties

   2. Move armies

   3. Move Ships and fleets

3. Each unit may choose one offensive land action.

1. Land Search

   1. Declaire search

   2. Roll for random encounter

      1. Resolve random encounter

   3. Roll Hex/province attributes

2. Invasion

   1. Declaire Invasion

      1. Resolve Invasion

   2. Resolve or continue hex/province dispute

3. Quest

   1. Units may choose to go on a quest.

      1. Research

      2. Component Quest 

      3. Information

Note: There may also be special game turns sporadically in the absence of the formal LARP Adventures camping events and the day events in order to keep the game moving.

 

The Cartographer

The Cartographer is the player designated to control and update the Land Map. Each unit must designate a representative that will be the point of contact for the Cartographer.

 

New Units 

A group of players that fulfills the Unit Declaration rules may choose three contiguous, unoccupied hexes/provinces on the map. Each faction starts with a village in one hex, which serves as its capital. They will also receive; 2 seasons worth of basic resources, 50 gold in their coffers, and a chance at a pre-existing structure or asset.

 

Note: All factions will receive a message about what resources or other improvements their starting hexes contain. They may choose to keep this a secret, or to trade information (and resources) with other factions.

 

RESOURCES

Each full (non map-edge) hex on the map of Osterra, excluding full ocean hexes, may have a yield of one or two resource types. Resources are: Food, Wood, Stone, Ore, Silver and Gold. Hexes/provinces yield their resources to the controlling unit on a quarterly basis, or every four turns.

A hex that is fully covered in forest would provide 2 Lumber per game season. A hex that is half forest, half plains would provide 1 Lumber and 1 Grain per Season. A lake hex may provide 2 Food from fish. A mountain tile may provide 1 of 4 resources, with a chance of having a rare metal deposit of Silver or Gold, Ore, or Stone.

 

A fertile plains hex will provide:

• Food - Food is essential for survival. A fertile hex/province with a food source will make it easier to grow population centers. 

  • Grain field will provide: 2 food/season

  • Fish will provide: 2 food/season

A forest will provide:

• Wood - Wood is an important resource, needed to build the structures to house your people and the fleets to carry them to far off lands, key to expanding your kingdom. A forested hex/province will provide: 2 wood/season.

 

Mountains will provide:

• Stone -  Stone is one of the primary building materials and is essential for empire building.  A hex/province with a Stone deposit will provide: 2 stone/season

• Mineral Deposits

  • Ore - Ore is the generic term given to mines that provide a diverse mix of useful metals.  A hex/province with an Ore deposit will provide: random D10 Ore/season

  • Silver - Sometimes there’s a silver lining, silver is the most common form of currency in the realm and though it’s value is on tenth that of gold it is ever useful in the day to day trade of Nova Regnus and all of the realm. Silver is also a valuable component for spells and the creation of magic items. A hex/province with a Silver deposit will provide: random D6x10 amount of Silver/season.

  • Gold - Osterrans call everything “Gold”. You can buy your mead with gold, you can loot someone’s gold if you smash them in the head with an axe, you can win gold at dice…and now you can mine it? A hex/province with a Gold deposit will provide: random D6x10 amount of Gold/season.

 

Depleting A Mineral Deposits

Mineral deposits are depleted on the roll of a 1 or a 2 on a D10 after the first season’s yield. 

 

Prospecting

A unit may spend its offensive action to go prospecting in a mountain hex that it controls that is not producing with a mineral deposit for 15 gold and may roll on the Mountain Mineral Deposit Chart. 

 

Blasted Lands will provide:

Nothing but despair, no seriously, nothing grows there, but there is a chance to locate ruins which may provide lore, and research information about the civilization of the mage overlords.

 

COFFERS

All of your units' resources and wealth are considered to be gathered and stored in your capital hex.

 

TRADE

Resources and coin may be traded secretly or in the open, trades are considered instantaneous. Trades may take place at any time, but must be coordinated with the Cartographer.

 

Note: Osterra is on a gold standard. The “Gold” of this game comes in the form of Golden Dragons (the name of the coin of the realm of Nova Regnus) and Golden Dragon coins have value only for the map game itself. 

Another Note: Physical Golden Dragon coins earned or found during the events must be turned into the Cartographer in order for a faction to be credited with their value. Factions that have a stockpile of coins can convert those to Golden Dragons (at a very poor exchange rate;). 

 

STRUCTURES & ASSETS

 

Population Centers

Villages - Villages are an important source of gold and take food and wood resources as upkeep. Each season a village hex generates 10 gold and have an upkeep of 1 Food. Villages cost 2 food, 2 wood, and 150 gold, and one turn to build

• Villages can be upgraded as follows: Village upgrading to a Town costs: 4 food, 2 wood, 200 gold, it takes two turns to upgrade a village to a town

Towns - Towns produce 25 Gold and there is an upkeep of 2 Food and 1 Wood per season. 

• Town upgrading to a City costs: 10 food, 12 wood, 10 stone, 10 Ore, and 500 gold, it takes three turns to upgrade a town to a city

 

Cities -  Cities produce 100 Gold and have an upkeep of 3 Food, 2 Wood, 1 stone, 1 ore per season

 

Hex/Province Improvements

Units can spend resources to improve a hex, with a lumber mill, mines, fishing fleet, farm, or goldmine. Improvements can only be built on hexes that provide at least 1 resource point of a specific resource. Improvements cost gold, resources and time to create, but they will double the yield of a hex,for the specific resource type of the build structure.

 

Resource Structures

Resource Structures are improvements to hex/provinces that increase their output. Resource structures must be placed in or adjacent to Population Centers.  [cost of improvement in brackets] All improvements take one event before they come into play.

 

Farm - Doubles food/season [cost to build = 2 wood, 10 gold, 1 event]

Lumber Mill - Doubles wood/season [cost to build = 4 wood, 10 gold, 1 ore, 1 event]

Quarry - Doubles stone/season [cost to build = 4 wood, 15 gold, 2 ore, 1 event]

Iron Mine - Requires Ore deposit: Doubles Ore output/season [cost to build = 4 wood, 15 gold, 6 stone, 1 event]

Silver Mine - Requires Silver deposit: Doubles Silver output/season [cost to build = 4 wood, 20 gold, 6 stone, 1 event]

Gold Mine - Requires Gold deposit: Doubles Gold output/season [cost to build = 4 wood, 20 gold, 2 ore, 6 stone, 1 event]

 

Note: More resource types will be revealed in time. Note that Gold and Ore mines will run out eventually as they have a finite (and hidden) total amount of gold/ore in them at the start.

 

POPULATION CENTER RESOURCE-RELATED IMPROVEMENTS

Each population center can be improved with the following

Market -  A market costs 4 wood and 50 gold to build. Every 1 food assigned to the market during the season becomes 20 gold at the beginning of the next season. Markets can hold no more than 5 food each season, one per population center. 

Carpenter's Shop - Carpenter's Shop(only in Towns or Cities): costs 4 wood and 50 gold to build. Every 1 wood assigned to the Carpenters shop at the end of the turn becomes 20 gold at the beginning of the next season. Carpenters Shops can hold no more than 5 wood each season, one shop per population center

Blacksmith - Blacksmiths (only in Towns or Cities): costs 2 wood, 4 stone and 100 gold to build. Every Iron Ore used at the Blacksmiths at the end of the season becomes 40 gold at the beginning of the next season. Blacksmiths can hold no more than 4 Ore each season, one Iron Works per population center

Bank - Bank (only in Towns or Cities): costs 4 wood, 4 stone and 150 gold to build. Every 1 Gold stored in the Bank at the end of the season becomes 1.25 gold at the beginning of the next season (fractions round down due to corruption). There is no limit to the Gold a bank can hold, one bank per population center

Stone Mason’s Shop - Stone Masons Shop (only in Towns or Cities): costs 2 wood, 4 stone and 50 gold to build. Every 1 stone assigned to the Masons shop at the end of the season becomes 20 gold at the beginning of the next season. Masons Shops can hold no more than 5 stone each season, one shop per population center

 

Fortifications

A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to solidify rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from the Latin fortis ("strong") and facere ("to make"). In play they allow for an extra defense of a hex/province, an enemy must first defeat you in your fortification before attempting to gain control of your hex/province. Fortifications have a resource cost and take time to build, they also incur an Upkeep Cost.

 

Watch Tower - These constructions mainly serve the purpose of a watch tower, to guard certain roads, passes, and lands that might threaten the kingdom. They can also serve as the foundation for future construction to help pacify and hold territory. Towers have a single gate and are represented in play as a 15’ x 15’ area, they may hold up to 10 defenders.  [cost to build = 4 wood, 20 gold, 2 ore, 2 stone, 1 event] Upkeep: 1 food, 1 wood, 5 gold

Fort - Forts may have two gates, and are represented by a 30’ x 30’ area, they may hold up to 20 defenders.  [cost to build = 8 wood, 50 gold, 4 ore, 2 stone, 2 events] Upkeep: 2 food, 2 wood, 10 gold

Castle - Castles may have three gates, an interior wall to create a keep, and are represented by a 40’ x 40’ area, they may hold up to 50 defenders.  [cost to build = 10 wood, 100 gold, 6 ore, 10 stone, 4 events] Upkeep: 2 food, 2 wood, 2 stone, 25 gold

 

Seaborne Assets

Dock - A dock must be built on a coastal hex/province, it is a prerequisite for the building of Fishing Fleets, boats and ships. [costs 4 wood, 10 gold, and 1 event to build] 

• IMPROVEMENT: Shipyard - Requires Dock:May build War Galleys [cost to build = 10 wood, 25 gold, 1 event]

Fishing Fleet - Requires Fish and Dock: +2 food/season [cost to build = 10 wood, 5 gold, 1 event]

Trading Vessel - Requires Dock:Upkeep 1 food + 1wood/season: Provides 25gold/season [cost to build = 10 wood, 25 gold, 2 events] 

War Galley - Requires Dock:Upkeep 1 food + 1wood/season: Provides 25gold/season [cost to build = 20 wood, 50 gold, 3 events] 

 

LAND ACTIONS

 

Land & Sea Movement

 

Land Based

Adventure/Scout Parties

• 6 Movement Points

Armies

• 4 Movement Points

 

Seaborne 

Fishing Fleet - May carry Adventure/Scouting Parties

• 3* Movement Points 

Trading Vessel - May carry Adventure/Scouting Parties 2 Trading Vessels may carry an invading army

• 6** Movement Points  

War Galley- May carry Adventure/Scouting Parties and or an invading army

• 6** Movement Points 

*Coastal Hexes only

**Coastal and Sea Hexes 

 

Terrain

 

Terrain will have an impact on how far you can travel in a turn, each terrain type has a movement cost. Each hex/province represents about 100 miles. So an adventure/scouting party travels about 20 miles a day on the open plains. Hexes that contain multiple types of terrain have travel determined by the type of terrain covering the majority of said hex. 

 

Example: A hex that contains roughly 50% Plains, 40% Mountains, and 10% Forest would be considered a Plains Hex when determining movement cost.  Final determination of movement costs to be determined by game organizers.

 

Plains = 1 Movement Point/Hex

Forest = 2 Movement Points

Mountain = 3 Movement Point

Sea = *1 Movement Point/Hex 

Blasted Lands = 2 Movement Points

*Only boats, ships and fleets 

 

ACQUIRING NEW LANDS 

There are two ways for a unit to expand their land holdings Invasions, Land Searches, or grants

 

Land Searches

Units may get new land through exploration.

1. Land Search is declared, choose the hex/province that wish to explore.

2. An adventure/scouting party costs 25 gold to organize, paying for supplies and other expenses that a group of explorers might incur.

3. Up to 10 Adventures may be chosen for the land search team and must travel to the hex to be searched, the number going on the search must be chosen in advance of rolling the random encounter.

4. A Random Encounter is rolled and resolved.  

Random Encounters Chart - Nova Regnus

D20 Roll

ENCOUNTER DESCRIPTION

1-2

No Encounter

3-4

Orcs - You encounter an orc scouting party, D8 orcs

5-6

Osterran Tribesman - You come across a group of barbarian hunters D10 human warriors

7-8

Another Adventuring Party - A group of D4+2 adventurers are also poking around the hex/province, you must decide how to resolve the encounter, play out as PVP with volunteer adventures

9

Undead - You stumble on an old funeral cairn and its undead inhabitants D4 Wights ½ damage from normal weapons 4 hits each

10

Trolls - We’ve got to get troll balls from somewhere D4 trolls 5 hits, regenerate in 15 seconds

11

Brigands - Good thing you’re here these ruffians were trying to set up shop D12 Brigands in armor as normal humans in AC3

12

Ratmen - Ever since the plagues these guys seem like they are trying to get a foothold in the realm D8 Ratmen 3 hits each

13

MInotaur - A great horned monster roams the land 10 hit beast

14

Giants - Fee fi fo fum D4 giants here we come each giant has 5 hits, players must fight from their knees when within 20’ of giant 

15

Osteran Warlord and his warband - All over the realm these petty kings and self declared chieftains lord their power over the local population 1 Human Warlord in heavy armor AC6 d12 human warriors AC3

16

Orc Horde - Ready for action an Orc Warlord and his troops ! Orc Warlord, 2 D8 Orc Warriors 3 hits, I D12 Goblins 1 hit

17

Undead Horde - You have the misfortune of coming across a 1 necromancer raise dead, other magics, and D10 undead 1 hit ignores arrows and stabs

18

Illithid Coven - You discover a group of Illithids up to no good. 3 Illithids 3 hits, mind control, other magics, and 5 humanoid minions.

19

Dragon’s Lair - You encounter an ancient dragon. 20 hits. breaths fire

20

No Encounter

 

Random Encounters are fought out on the field in a series of battles between the chosen adventurers and their foes. The Land Searchers must win at least 2 out of 3 battles to claim the hex/province.

 

Losing a Land Search

 Should an adventure/scouting party lose the land search they may choose to Invade the hex next turn and return to fight the same encounter over under Invasion rules at a cost of 50 gold.

 

Claiming The Hex/Province

Should you be victorious in battle or negotiate ownership with the previous denizens of the hex in a more peaceful way you may claim the hex as part of your territory and begin to draw revenue and resources from the land

 

Plains 

Plains consist of open grassland and gently rolling hills, there is a chance that the land is barren and will not provide food resources without improvements.

D20 Roll

Plains Land Chart

1-5

Barren - The land does not bear crops

6-20

Fertile - Gain 2 Food per season

 

Forest

A fully forested hex/province will produce 2 wood per season.

 

Mountains

Mountains will produce 2 stone per season, there is also the chance that mountains will have a mineral deposit, roll on the chart to find out.

 

D20 Roll

Mountain Mineral Deposit Chart

1-10

Provides 2 stone per season

11-14

Ore deposit - Provides 2 stone or D10 ore per season

15-17

Silver deposit - Provides 2 stone or D6x10 silver per season

 

18-20

Gold deposit - Provides 2 stone or D6x10 gold per season

​

Blasted Lands

Nothing grows in the Blasted Land, but some manage to eek out an existence there, mostly crazed shaman and death cults. You can find traces of the past there and that draws some to explore the region.

 

D20 Roll

Blasted Lands Chart

1-16

Blasted Lands are worse than barren they are almost completely devoid of life and what life there is is mutated and deadly.

17-20

Ruins - Ruins will be delved into in a future update. 

 

INVASIONS

 

There comes a time when diplomacy fails, forces are mustered, swords are donned and we are drawn to war. Alternatively, a stubborn or terribly fearsome Land Search encounter may have left your explorers in a difficult position and you must call to your allies and reserves to help you dislodge them from your manifest destiny. 

 

War is expensive, invasions are complicated affairs with baggage trains and supplies. An Invasion will cost 100 gold to launch and 100 gold/turn to sustain. 

 

Invading Forces

Allies may not outnumber unit members in an invasion force.

 

Defending Forces

May field the entire unit and or unit and allies up to matching numbers of invading force. If a force is invading a hex/province that was the site of a Land Search defeat it is considered to be the same force that was fielded in the Random Encounter.

 

Note: It does not need to be the same people, but the same encounter from the chart.

 

Sieges

If a defending force has a fortification in the invaded hex/province they may choose to defend in either the field or the fortification first. When the defenders choose to fight from their fortification a siege battle will occur.

​

GRANTS

Units may trade hexes, this is known as a grant, and it bestows the ownership of the hex/province and any structures and assets to another unit. Grants may take place at any time, but must be coordinated with the Cartographer.

 

By David Foster & Skip Lipman