B Ark: Mechanics

Many situations cannot be acted out by the players, perhaps because they would be too dangerous, too difficult, too unpleasant, or simply impossible in the context of a LARP. Those situations are represented by game mechanics. Game mechanics, and game rules in general help to bridge the gap between reality and game reality. Important mechanics used in this game are listed below. Some (like character packets, Zone of Control, etc.) are very standard to most Assassin games. Others (like Game Start packets, the Guide, Engineering/Programming, etc.) are more unique to this game, though as with most elements of Assassin games they borrow ideas from successful games of the past.

Character Packets - A character's packet is given to the player before game, and contains all of the information that the player needs to properly play the character. Important contents of a character packet include:
- Sheets - Most of the information a character needs comes in the form of various sheets, which contain secret information usually known only to one or a few characters. Sheets come in three basic types.
  - Character Sheets describe the character itself, including personality, motivation, goals, and current situation.
  - Group Sheets (typicall printed on blue paper and thus called Bluesheets) describe information common to a group of characters. Typically every member of the group will have a copy of the bluesheet, but the sheet should still not be shared between characters since exceptions exist (such as amnesiac characters).
  - Mechanic Sheets (typically printed on green paper and thus called Greensheets) describe a specific ability or mechanic that a character may need to use. These are mechanics only accessible to certain characters, which are thus not included in the main rules.
- Character Badges - Each player wears a badge. This both allows other players to recognize the person as a player rather than a non-player, and contains an ID number which can be used for other mechanics (such as memory packets). The numbers of the badge number encode a few important pieces of information for those who know what they mean. The first digit is the character's approximate age in decades. The last digit is used to indicate the character's race, which only some people can determine as described below. The center digit has no special meaning, and is used simply to ensure that all badge numbers are unique. The back of a badge contains the word "I'm Not Here" so that the badge can be flipped to be used in situations where the player must go somewhere that their character would not be able to go.
- Ability Cards - In general, any ability which allows a character to break the normal rules or take actions his player cannot simulate will have an ability card. When using the ability, the player shows the front of the ability card (which lists the ability's effect) to anyone affected by the ability.
- Item Cards - Any items not represented by props (and even some which are) are represented by item cards. Item cards have a description and an item number, as well as any other information obvious from an inspection of the item. Item cards are freely transferrable representing the transferrance of the item. Some items are bulky, with bulkiness measured in "dots". Each dot of bulkiness requires a hand to carry, and that hand cannot be used for anything else while carrying the item.
- Memory Packets - These are designed to give players information that their characters would remember during the game. Each will have a trigger listed, which may be a phrase or a number (badge number, item number, etc). The player should open and read the memory packet only when they hear the phrase, or see the number. (Packet may be a misnomer, since for this game memory packets will be folded and stapled pieces of paper rather than the traditional mini-envelopes.)
- Game-Start Packets - One special kind of memory packet is the Game-Start Packet. A character's sheet describes their general background and situation, as well as their personality and goals, but does not describe the immediate situation in which they find themselves at the start of game. 5 minutes before the game starts, each player will open and read their game-start packet which describes the events of those 5 minutes. When the game starts, the players begin role-playing in the midsts of those events. This allows the players to feel the same surprise, and make the same snap decisions and quick judgements that their characters would have to make.
Zone of Control - This concept of distance is used by many mechanics. ZOC is defined as the distance at which two players can touch each-other's outstretched fingers.
Martial Combat - Physical combat between characters would certainly be an undesireable thing to roleplay through corresponding player action. Instead it is mechanicked by a system based on rock-paper-scissors. When a character wishes to engage another character in combat he must enter ZOC of his target and declare "Martial Attack". The target must then respond within 3 seconds with "Martial Defense" or be surprised and lose the first round of combat. The players then play repeated rounds of rock-paper-scissors, comparing their combat stats and taking damage as appropriate until one of them falls unconscisous or they both decide to stop fighting. Combats with more than two characters are also possible (the rules for that are complicated but uninteresting).
Searching - Unconscious or nonresisting characters can be searched. Since invasive searches of players are a bad idea, the searching player simply says "I search you" at which point the searched player should hand over his items.
Ranged Combat - Ranged combat (such as shooting a Kill-O-Zap gun) is represented by toy guns which shoot either plastic discs or rubber darts. The effects to a character when a player is hit with a disc or dart may vary based on the type of gun, but usually include unconsciousness. Guns in this game are either Stun guns (causing only unconsciousness) or Kill-O-Zap guns (causing death if the victim does not receive medical attention within a time limit). Characters engaged in martial combat cannot shoot, but other characters may shoot the combatants. But a defender who already has a gun drawn may shoot his attacker within the 3 seconds before saying "Martial Defense". The general rule of thumb is that ranged combat is superior to martial combat in almost every situation.
Killing Blow - In general, a character can kill another trivially if the victim is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated (bound, etc). This is mechanicked simply by the killer being within ZOC of his target and saying "Killing Blow 1... 2... 3..." (counting 3 seconds). Anyone within ZOC of the killer or target may prevent the action by saying "I stop you" during the 3-second count. If nobody does so, then the target is dead.
Death - Characters who die are out of the game, though their body (represented by their namebadge) and items are left behind. The body is 2-dot bulky if anyone wishes to move it. As long as the character's death is unknown, the player should save the I'm Not Here part of their badge to wear and avoid gamespaces, so that other players do not find out about their death. After the death is known to most of game, the GMs will allow the player to observe the game, wearing a white headband to indicate that he is no longer playing.
Engineering - Some of the key plots in the game rely on building or repairing specific devices. This is represented by the engineering mechanic. Any device to be built or repaired must have a casing, which will specify which parts are needed to build the device. Parts (often called RTIs - Random Technical Items) are represented either by item cards or by lego pieces. Some parts may require special skills to assemble, and some people may have special skills that allow them to perform assemblies in a different way (substituting one part for another, for instance). Some characters will begin the game with parts, or with technical items which can be disassembled for their component parts. Other parts will begin in the broken pieces of theh various ships.
Programming - Some characters have skill with computers. This allows them to work with the computer systems in game, as well as openning locked doors (which have electronic security systems). Computer hacking is represented by a "choose-your-own-adventure"-style mechanic with multiple packets each requiring the player to choose his next action determining which packet he will open next. Playing cards are used in parts of the mechanic to add elements of randomness and skill.
Locked Doors - If doors are locked, they will have a sign on them saying so. Players should then not pass through the door unless they can unlock it. Some doors may unlock based on character-independant events, times, etc, while others may require passcards (which will have item numbers matching the lock) to open. Locks can be picked by those with an appropriate skill, or openned through programming with appropriate equipment.
The Guide - Several characters are carrying copies of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is a galactic travel guide full of information, both useful and useless. The Guide will contain some bits of information useful and relevant to game, hidden among a far larger volume of interesting, but irrelevant information. Thus, characters will have difficulty finding the hidden clues without knowing what to look for (the Guide is alphabetized). Implementing this depends on the generation of that text, but an online version of the Guide exists, which can hopefully be adapted for a hardcopy which would be useable during a game (it being undesireable for players to have to break character and log in during a game).
Race - The genetic identity of the characters in game is represented by a numerical stat to mask its true function. It is encoded as the final digit of a character's badge number. It is readable by various characters (i.e. only certain characters know its meaning), each of whom get differing amounts of information on what the number actually means. The meaning of the various numbers is as follows:
```
0 = None (Computer)
1 = Golgafrinchan
2 = Human
3 = Betelgeuse
4 = Ursa Minor
5 = Altarian
6 = Wowbagger
7 = Robot
8 = Mouse in Suit
9 = Mouse
```
Psychlims - To aid in role-playing a character, and to get across character traits which are hard to make clear in a character sheet, some characters have psychological limitations. These psychlims put limitations on how a character can act or what a character can do, and act as reminders for the player of how he/she should act to role-play the character appropriately.
Babel Fish - Many of the characters in game should logically be speaking different languages, but players will all be speaking English. This is explained away by the same device that Douglas Adams uses. They each have a Babel Fish stuck in their ear. The Babel fish feeds on psychic energy and provides universal translation services to its wearer. If anyone in game wishes to remove their Babel Fish they are free to do so, but must role-play not understanding anyone who does not speak their language from then on. Marvin, and the Mice are not wearing Babel Fish, but can naturally understand and speak any language.

Andrew Twyman, kurgan@mit.edu
Interactive and Non-Linear Narrative, Spring 1998