Introduction: New Players, Read This First!

Hello, and welcome to the website for Anabasis, a parlour LARP run by the Oxford LARP Society in the mould of the OURPGSoc Society Games. If you've never played any sort of roleplaying game before, never fear! Here's a quick introduction. If you're a seasoned roleplayer, feel free to check out the quick guide to sections of the site at the bottom of this page.

Any questions, concerns and character concepts should be e-mailed to the The GM Team.

There are a few acronyms used throughout the website which might be a little confusing if you've never played before. Don't worry—help is at hand! And if you're confused by anything, feel free to email us to ask questions.

• OOC or OC: Out of Character. Events and circumstances in the real world. For example, Anabasis sessions take place OOC every fortnight, on a Wednesday, as listed in when and where.
• IC: In Character. Events and people in the world of Anabasis. For example, the sessions of Anabasis occur IC during reststops on your journey out of the Underworld.
• GM: Game Master or Game Moderator. Us! You might know the term 'Ref' or 'DM' (Dungeon master) from other forms of roleplaying. The team of people who write, run and maintain the game for your playing pleasure. The first place to turn if you have a question.
• PC: Player Character. You! The characters that Anabasis players create and represent in the fictional world. You will usually play the same PC every week through the course of the game.
• NPC: Non-Player Character. Us again! Other characters in the Anabasis setting, who may appear at session (played by a GM), or just in turnsheets. NPCs present in the session may vary slightly week-to-week, and GMs will often play several NPCs during a game session. If there is a specific NPC you want to talk to in a game session, then ask a GM (it helps if you know which GM is playing that NPC).
• PvE and PvP: Terms to describe the nature of the obstacles and challenges your characters face, 'Player vs Environment' (i.e. the world, including NPCs is out to get you) or 'Player vs Player' (i.e. everyone else is out to get you). Anabasis will be a mixture of PvP and PvE, as threats to your journey may come from inside your group of travelers as well as outside.
• Turnsheet: The down-time system used in Anabasis. Outcomes to turnsheets are determined by the GMs based on your plans, character sheet, and game plot.
• Phys-rep: “Physical representation”, an object, makeup, or costume used to represent something in the game—a plastic blade representing a real blade, makeup representing a scar or recent wound.

A roleplaying game is somewhere between amateur dramatics and collaborative storytelling. You turn up, create a character to play, and play them. There are no scripts or lines, no set outcomes to what will happen—just a setting, a bunch of other characters to interact with, and some GMs to make sure it all runs smoothly.

Anabasis is broadly a freeform¹⁾ live roleplaying game, which means that instead of narrating your character's actions during game sessions (like you might do in something like D&D), you actually perform them: every week you show up, walk around and talk to other characters. There's no dice rolls - everything is either a result of your interactions with other characters in sessions and emails, or your plans in turnsheets. You can plan, gossip, trade news, form connections, diplome, eavesdrop or orate. This doesn't mean you need to be a great public speaker, or even a particularly good actor—just be able to speak as your character would.

These sessions take place on the road out of the Underworld, as your characters journey out towards the Living World. The game is non-combat—it is understood that any physical violence will lead to immediate and swift retribution from the management of the venue. In general, sessions are reserved for talking to other player characters and NPCs, in-session politics, and for planning the action you're going to take in turnsheets (more on this shortly!)

Most importantly: roleplaying is about having fun and creating stories with other players. Absolutely no experience is required to play Anabasis (indeed, it's designed to offer an easy route in for new roleplayers), and there will be plenty of supportive people on-hand to help you out if you're confused about any aspect of the game. Turn up and enjoy yourself!

Every two weeks on a Wednesday evening, players meet in a room in the Asian Cultural Centre. In character, these are usually rest stops at places of note on your long journey out of the Underworld and back towards the Living World. You will have the chance to get to know your fellow travellers, and plan your journey, whilst trying to work out who might be trying to saboutage your efforts. The GMs will be on hand to offer help, advice, and information and to keep the game running smoothly, as well as playing various NPCs every week.

The time between sessions is two weeks of OC time. During this period, characters will have some down time in their journey to pursue personal goals. Each week, we ask that players send in a summary of what they want their character to be doing in that period, known as a 'Turnsheet'; the GMs will then judge the results of your actions and report back to you on how everything went.

There is a system for these turnsheet actions, detailed here—but don't feel you need to memorise it all; we're more than happy to help you out if you're having trouble working out what you want to do in the early weeks!

We'd suggest starting in the following places:

• The Setting pages: Your character can be aware of everything in this section. Every page has a bullet point summary written at the top if you just want to skim through! You'll probably want to look at The Underworld and The Journey.
• Intro to the Wiki System: If you are new to Society Games, and want to be brought up to speed on how the wiki works.
• Character Creation: When you want to start putting together your character for the game.
• Style and Tone: To get some initial idea about the feel of the game, without reading through every page on the wiki.
• Turnsheeting and Emails: This will get you up to speed on how turnsheets work, if you don't yet know.