Chapter 5

YOUR CHARACTER

A character is the persona that you are embodying at Afterworlds. Your character can be anything from a crusading hero to a flesh-hungry cannibal. As a player, you can roleplay as a different species and select different perks to represent the skills your character has. Staff will provide you with the necessary documentation when you attend an event.

Checking In

When you come to an Afterworlds event, you will need to check in with staff to create your character, or check in as a character that you have played at a previous event. 

• Make sure to have your ID available. 
• Make sure you have your ticket with you, or proof of ticket if your event requires it. 
• Make sure you have your costuming and weapons with you for check in, as GM’s will need to check to make sure the weapons are allowed and visually check your armor for safety and rule compliance.
• All players must carry a timer on them as many abilities are based on different times and waits. There will be timers available for you, but if you want a good quality timer, you will need to get one yourself.

If you have completed these steps and are creating a new character, you will receive a sheet to record your character’s information on. Include your real name and your character’s name on the sheet.

Creating A Character

When you’re ready to create your character, follow this step by step guide.

1. Choose a species (see chapter 6). Your species will determine the perks and any special abilities or restrictions your character starts with. Your choice of species will alter many of the options you have to choose from this point on.
2. Choose distinctions (chapter 8), if any. Distinctions will grant you additional XP to spend on perks.
3. Spend your starting XP on perks (chapter 7). Any XP that you do not spend is maintained and can be spent at a later time. Characters have an XP cap of 2000 XP worth of perks on their character. XP can be spent in other ways, but you cannot purchase any additional perks once you have spent 2000 XP on perks. Your XP cap can be adjusted through the use of RP points and other special abilities. 

STARTING STATS & GEAR

All new characters start with the following abilities and items: 

• All characters start with the ability to equip a maximum of 2 health flags. You can raise this maximum through perks, abilities and species choices but you cannot exceed a total of 5 without very rare items and cybernetics that allow you to do so.
• All characters start with the ability to equip a maximum of 1 limit flag. You can raise this maximum through perks, abilities and species choices but you cannot exceed a total of 5 without very rare items and cybernetics that allow you to do so.
• All characters start with a carrying capacity of 15. You can raise this number through perks, items, abilities and species choices.
• You must have 2 clearly-marked loot bags. One must be labeled “Lootable” (for lootable items only) and the other “Non-Lootable” (for non-lootable items only).
• One starter kit chosen from the list of available starter kits found in chapter 9.

CARRYING CAPACITY 

Your carrying capacity is the maximum amount of things you can carry. This capacity is 15 for most characters. Items that count towards carrying capacity (unless otherwise specified) are: 

• Item cards (weapons, gear, etc.) 
• Loot cards
• Herbs (you cannot carry these without special perks or items).
• Consumable items (chems, explosives and items that state that they are consumables)

See the individual item descriptions for more details. Staff members might ask to see your lootable and non-lootable bags to check your carrying capacity. You can go out of game to complete this check.

Players found to be at or below capacity will receive an RP reward. Players over their capacity must choose items to lose until they reach capacity. Players found to be repeatedly breaking carrying capacity rules will be asked to go out of game.

If your carrying capacity is altered in some way and you are suddenly carrying more than allowed, you can do any of the following:

• Give items to other nearby characters
• Place items at the back of the stack of loot cards at a scavenging station if near one
• Give an out-of-game Z-Camper or plot member items

Stand still until you can complete one of the above options. If a staff member checks your capacity during this time, you will be found as following the rules and rewarded as normal.

EQUIPPING ITEMS 

Players can only equip a certain amount of equipment. When an item is equipped, it means that it becomes active and starts providing game effects to your character. Any other items that share that slot become inactive and provide no game effects to your character. Some species start with an altered list of prohibited equipment slots. Some perks, items, abilities and species grant the ability to equip more than one of the same slot type item.

Armor

ARMOR COVERAGE AND MATERIALS

Armor must cover a significant amount of your body in order to qualify as functional armor for game purposes. You can still wear armor that does not qualify for costuming and aesthetic purposes, but you cannot use any of the abilities granted by wearing armor. When your armor is being classified as light armor, heavy armor, or power armor, the following locations will be what are evaluated to determine your coverage, and each kind of armor also has its own rules for what materials are required to count for that type of armor:

You can construct your armor out of pretty much whatever you would like to, as long as the following rules are respected:

• Maintain a “post-apocalyptic” look and feel for your armor.
• Do not add sharp edges, or any protrusions that could make your armor unsafe for you, or others around you.
• While calculating armor, your coverage can be combined. For instance: If you have one of your elbows covered, and one of your forearms covered, you do not qualify for either forearms or elbows for coverage, but you can combine them to count as one armor location being covered.
• Avoid armor that is recognizable as reproductions from another genre (fantasy elven chainmail, or shining knightly armor) or from a specific intellectual property (Star Wars trooper armor, Mandalorian Armor, etc.). Armor inspired by these themes is fine, as long as it has an apocalyptic twist. 

Armor Types and Abilities

UNARMORED

Being unarmored means that you do not qualify as being armored. This does not mean you can’t wear anything that counts as armor, but instead means that you are not wearing enough to qualify as either light or heavy armor. Some perks and abilities require that you are unarmored to be used.

To qualify as unarmored: 

• You must have less than 5 out 11 armor locations covered.
• You must not be holding or carrying a shield.

LIGHT ARMOR

Light armor is the easiest type of armor to qualify for. While it provides no protection against arrows, firearms or other ranged attacks it will protect from claws and melee weapons. 

While wearing light armor, any time you are hit with a melee attack, you may pull a limit flag and call “ARMOR” to prevent the damage from that attack. Any calls attached to that attack are prevented, other than pierce and true.

To qualify as wearing light armor: 

• You must have 5 out 11 armor locations covered.
• Light armor can be constructed of any material that has a visual appearance like armor. Leather, pleather or thick nylon are good choices.

HEAVY ARMOR

Heavy armor is good all around protection from most dangers. Heavy armor will prevent you from using many perks that rely on agility, speed and quickness.

While wearing heavy armor, anytime you are hit with a melee or ranged attack, you may pull a limit flag and call “ARMOR” to prevent the damage from that attack. Any calls attached to that attack are prevented, other than pierce and true.

To qualify as wearing heavy armor:

• You must have 8 out 11 armor locations  covered to qualify as having heavy armor.
• Heavy Armor can be constructed out of any rigid material that has an appearance like armor. Thick leather (8 oz.+), metal, plastic or eva foam (made to look like armor) are good choices. Sports gear is a great starting point.

Shields

Anyone can use a shield. While carrying or holding a shield, shields have special rules that must be followed.

• A shield is equipped to one of your hands. You cannot equip another weapon or item with the hand that is occupied by the shield. If you are carrying a shield on your back or other location, you cannot use abilities that require you to be holding a shield. Hits that strike your shield while you are carrying it, but not holding it, count as if they hit you.
• Any ranged or melee attack that hits your shield is negated. Any call attached to the attack is also negated, with the exception of the True call. Attacks with the True call that hit your shield are not negated, and any attached calls that accompany the attack with True must be handled as if they had hit you. Shields do not stop area of effect calls (such as 5 ft on me or in front of me).
• You must keep your shield moving and expose at least one legal target at all times. Do not conceal your entire body behind your shield. This makes it so that all legal target areas are impossible to hit without risk of a headshot. 
• Shield props must be provided by players. See chapter 13 for prop construction rules.
• Standard shields have the following rules:
  • Standard shields require 5 carrying capacity.
  • You cannot run while holding a standard shield. Carrying your shield on your back (or stowed in a similar manner) does not count as holding.
  • Anytime you use a perk that requires a count to activate the perk, that count is increased by 1. This rule never increases beneficial counts such as counts that grant resistances or immunities while the count persists.
• Large shields have the following rules:
  • Large shields require 10 carrying capacity.
  • You cannot run while holding a large shield. Carrying your shield on your back (or stowed in a similar manner) does not count as holding.
  • Anytime you use a perk that requires a count to activate the perk, that count is increased by 2. This rule never increases beneficial counts such as counts that grant resistances or immunities while the count persists.

Weapons

You can use any weapons you would like as long as they fit within our safety and construction guidelines. Details about weapons are listed in chapter 13, however the following rules always apply when selecting the weapons your character will use:

• All characters can carry an unarmed prop. This can never be taken from you in game and cannot be used to block attacks from other weapons that are not also unarmed props. If an unarmed weapon blocks an attack from a weapon other than an unarmed weapon, the limb holding the unarmed weapon is disabled.
• You can carry and use any melee or ranged weapons you want, but each weapon, ranged or melee, counts against your carrying capacity.

Personal Goods and Gear

You may bring and use specific personal items in game, provided they pass a staff inspection. You will likely be required to take the ‘Signature Equipment’ perk to use these items (see chapter 7). Approved personal items are never lootable and do not require item cards or special rules. Note the items below that have been pre-approved and prohibited for use in-game:

APPROVED ITEMS

• Electric flashlights, lanterns or other light sources under 200 lumens
• Binoculars
• 2-way radios (check in with your event coordinators and verify that you aren’t on the same channels as the game is using).

PROHIBITED ITEMS

• Lights with strobe functions
• Laser pointers
• Light sources over 200 lumens

Earning XP and Purchasing Perks

As you adventure during an Afterworlds event, you will gain experience points (XP), represented by tokens. You can use XP to purchase additional perks that you qualify for at game ops.

XP tokens may be willingly transferred between characters. However, once XP tokens are turned in at game ops and applied to a character digitally, they can no longer be exchanged.

XP tokens are not lootable items, nor do they exist in the game world. Attempting to extort XP from others or use XP as a currency is a violation of Rule #1.

Checking Out

When you leave an event, you must check out at game ops to preserve your character’s status. Follow these steps to assure your character is saved correctly: 

• Check in with game ops to complete the checkout process.
  • Tally up all equipment, XP, RP and caps that you are carrying and turn them in. These will be recorded to your character's digital record.
  • Consumable items do NOT transfer with your character.
  • Turn in any cards you have (item cards, bite cards, injuries, etc). These items will be digitally recorded if they are things that carry over to future events.
• Return all items that belong to the game.