Theft, Assassination and Interrogation

The Renewal campaign is a story of heroes – but not all heroes are noble or honourable. Some stories call for killers and thieves.

The following rules are intended to ensure that in character theft, assassination and interrogation are carried out in as fair and impartial a way as possible, ideally with referee oversight to resolve any disputes. These rules should be followed, as far as possible, in any attempted skullduggery, but most especially in any action where the target is a player character or faction command member.

Get a Ref!

Curious Pastimes understands that sometimes murder and theft may be opportunistic, but where possible, any would-be assassin or thief should arrange to have a tabarded referee in attendance before acting.

Where actions require a referee to administrate effects – to facilitate passive poisoning, unattended traps or covert spellcasting, or to resolve the use of the Detect Lies or Diplomat’s Insight skills – that referee may also provide oversight. Ideally, however, a second referee should be present who is not involved in the action.

Note that if a referee is not present overseeing any action, and a dispute arises after the fact, Curious Pastimes is likely to resolve any ambiguity in favour of the victim.

Out of Character Fallout Inevitably, player versus player conflict – whether theft, assassination or politics – can cause bad feeling, some of which will spill over out of character. Minimising this risk is much of why Curious Pastimes asks people to ensure that they have referees in attendance to oversee actions and resolve disputes. As far as possible, Curious Pastimes asks players and staff to keep their responses to these actions in character, and to direct any complaints to the proper channels. In turn, however, anyone engaging in theft or assassination is warned that, however clearly in character their intentions and actions are, out of character bleed happens. Players are advised to ensure their victims are being supported afterwards (either directly or asking others to do so) and be prepared for the possibility that there will be out of character fallout, especially for high-profile thefts or assassinations.

Theft

The only acceptable targets for theft are in character items, including:

• In character money
• Consumables including resources and one-shot items
• Items with item cards attached
• Scrolls and in character documents
• Food, drink or small items previously sold for in character money

Other uncarded items are not suitable targets for theft. This applies especially to anything of an out of character or personal nature.

Thefts may only take place within in character areas, including:

• Public areas of the Tavern and Bastion
• Faction command tents
• In character group tents

Any locked in character box should have a lock card indicating the quality of the lock and detailing any traps present, and should not be really locked.

The thief must ensure not to cause any damage to any phys rep or prop (i.e. they must not cut through bags, sever thongs or break hinges or locks, etc.).

To be successful, the thief must take the phys rep, with item card attached, and carry it away undetected in character. The thief must not remove the item card to take separately, but must take the whole phys rep.

After the Theft

After the theft, the thief must present the phys rep, with item card attached, to the attending referee. If there was no referee in attendance, the thief must find a referee as soon as possible, present the phys rep to them, and identify the victim.

The referee will then direct the thief to go directly to the game organisation desk and hand in the physical representation, with any cards attached. The game organisation staff will then return the phys rep to its owner and reassign the item cards to the thief, who should attach them to a suitable new phys rep as soon as possible.

Iconic Items Certain very well-known items – especially faction artefacts – have distinctive and recognisable phys reps. At the owners’ discretion, such items may be required to use the specific phys rep, which will be described on the item card. The thief must still present the item to the game organisation desk, but will be directed to keep using the phys rep at events once the item is assigned to them. At time out at the end of each event, the phys rep must be returned to its owner. The owner must bring the phys rep (or arrange for it to be brought) to the next event and hand it back into the thief’s care before time in. If a thief is found to have removed the item card from such an iconic item and attached it to a less distinctive phys rep, the item card will be taken from them and returned to the original owner.

Out of Character Theft

It shouldn’t need to be said that real-world (i.e. out of character) theft is a crime. Anyone found deviating from these rules in any way may be subject to various sanctions, up to and including being barred from the game. They may also be reported to the police or other authorities.

Assassination

Before engaging in a planned, deliberate assassination, the assassin must approach a referee and tell them what they’re planning. The referee may direct them to other members of staff, especially when a higher-profile target is involved. They may then stipulate some requirements, including timing, referee support or related roleplay. These requirements may differ from the below rules.

The referee supporting the assassination may require the assassin to give their in character reasons for their actions in advance. There is no requirement that the assassin not have any out of character reasons – it would be impossible to enforce – but they must have plausible in character reasons.

For the assassination itself, the assassin should as a minimum try to have a tabarded referee on hand to oversee the action, although it is understood that assassinations may be opportunistic and it is not always possible.

Note that assassination is one of the most contentious things that can happen in game, and players and staff are advised to be absolutely scrupulous about following and applying the rules.

After the Assassination

After the assassination:

• The attending referee will check on the victim, ensuring they have support and have the opportunity to process what has happened.
• In most cases, the referee will ask the victim to leave the area (if the victim needs support and there is no-one else available, the referee will leave the area with them).
• If available, the attending referee will then take the victim’s place, acting as their corpse for the immediate aftermath.
• If the referee has left the area with the victim, they will return later to debrief the killer.

This allows the referee to observe and rule on any other actions, either by the killer or by the victim’s friends.

If there was no referee present, the killer must find a referee as soon as possible after the assassination to let them know what happened and answer any questions.

Interrogation

At times, a player may take an enemy – usually a monster or non player character – prisoner and need them to answer questions about their actions or plans (or those of their superiors).

This game offers various game mechanics for interrogation, including the skills Detect Lies, Diplomat’s Insight and Subterfuge, Truth Potions and other forms of information gathering. Players are encouraged to use these rules where possible.

In player versus player interrogations, or any other situation where there is a chance of out of character dispute, players should ensure a tabarded referee is in attendance.

For any question where the answer may need interpreting (e.g. whether the prisoner’s prepared Subterfuge statement allows them to lie in response to the interrogator’s Detect Lies question), the attending referee will do as follows:

• Before the interrogation begins, the referee will ask the prisoner out of character for their Subterfuge statement, whether they plan to resist any Truth Potion, or are otherwise prepared.
• During the interrogation, the interrogator will question the prisoner in character normally.
• The interrogator may stop at any time to ask the referee any Detect Lies question (or other mechanical effect) out of character.

Roleplayed Interrogation At times, a player may choose to interrogate their prisoner via pure roleplay, threatening and hectoring them to answer their questions. Monsters and non player characters should be briefed how to respond to this situation; players should roleplay accordingly, but may decide for themselves whether they will answer questions. Previous editions of the Renewal rules included rules for in character “torture.” These rules no longer apply, and players are asked not to engage in this type of roleplay unless all players present give their out of character consent.