Player Badges
Everyone will be provided with a badge attached to a cord. This badge must be worn openly at all times so it can be read.
Beads attached to the cord will be used to keep track of damage so make sure that your costume will allow you to move the beads from one side to the other.
Your badge contains common knowledge about your character such as Character name, Race and preferred gender pronouns.
If you have a title of some sort it will be on your badge unless it is a secret and people should treat you as is appropriate for their character. It is common to address the highborn as “m’lord” or “m’lady” and to characters of high status who are not noble as “master” or “mistress”.
Lastly - if your character has a Reputation (either Famous or Infamous) it will say so on your badge. If it does and someone asks “what have I heard about you” - you are required to tell them.
Black and White Beads
All characters carry themselves in a way that telegraphs to those who encounter them how competent (or incompetent) they are. There is also an intangible “feeling” they unconsciously project (aura for lack of a better word) that says more than words ever could.
These are indicated by beads worn on a cord attached to their badge.
Black beads indicate skill at arms. White beads indicate magical ability.
In each case, one bead means that they have no real competence. Someone with one black bead doesn’t know how to fight and someone with one white bead can’t cast spells.
The more beads someone has, the more powerful they seem to be.
Two beads means they have an aura of basic competence. Anything higher means they are more capable - the more beads the better.
Black Beads
2 Black: Combat 1 & 1 Combat Feats
3 Black: Combat 3 & 3 Combat Feats
4 Black: Combat 5 & 5 Combat Feats
White Beads
2 White: Magic 1 & 1 Magic Feat
3 White: Magic 3 & 3 Magic Feats
4 White: Magic 5 & 5 Magic Feats
There are special abilities that allow some characters to project more or less of an aura than they normally would have. That means the beads someone wears isn’t an infallible gauge but it can be a useful estimation.
Wounds (red beads)
All characters have one or more Red beads strung between their black and white beads. These are used to track a characters Wounds.
All player characters start with 4 Red Beads.
Various Heroic Traits, Feats and abilities add or subtract Red Beads. The most common is the Toughness Feat which adds a red bead.
Red beads start next to the white beads when the character is unwounded. As they suffer Wounds, these beads are moved to the other side, next to the black beads.
Should a character ever suffer enough Wounds that all of their beads have been moved from the white side to the black, they lose consciousness and may be dying (more on this in the Combat section).
Wounds are obvious. If you see someone with red beads moved to the black (wounded) end of the cord, they are visibly injured and you should react appropriately. One excellent “bit of business” any character can do is bring bandages and “treat” the wounded. It won’t restore wounds unless you have the appropriate abilities but it helps with immersion.
