Frequently Asked Questions
Fools and Heroes is a fantasy live-roleplaying society. It is nationwide with a nationally agreed set of rules and an over-arching national plot.
What is Live-Roleplaying?
Hmmm... live-roleplaying comes in lots of flavours. As played by F&H we divide a group into two teams. One are "monsters" and one are "players". A referee has written a story which gives the players a task to perform, for instance they may need to recover some stolen goods, and the monsters will play a selection of characters who either help or get in the way of doing this. Sometimes the monsters will fight with the players, this is simulated by using sword made from latex covered foam.
Usually two "adventures" will be run in a day allowing everyone to take a turn at playing.
Monsters change from day to day and adventure to adventure, but everyone has one "player character" which they play whenever they are on the player team. This character gradually acquires skills and equipment as they go on adventures.
Where do you run?
We have several branches up and down the UK. Check here for full list and contact details. What sort of costume will I need?
Ultimately you will be expected to provide your own rubber weapons and have a good character costume and generic monster costume. Visible T-shirts, jeans and trainers are all frowned upon. However no one is expected to start out with costume and weapons and members of your local branch will be able to lend you stuff for your first few adventures. If you attend any "fests" - weekend long events run by the society - you will probably find several trade stalls where people can sell you costume and weapons. There are also a number of traders web pages listed here
How much does all this cost?
Membership of the society costs 10 pounds a year but you will get two trial adventures before you are asked to join. Fests (weekend events) tend to cost between 10 and 20 pounds. Your local branch may make additional charges for adventures. These are usually in the region of 50p to a pound.
Costume and weapons can cost from as little as about 30 pounds if you are prepared to make it all yourself, to several hundred if you get sucked into the hobby and spend all your weekends at craft fairs and car boot sales buying interesting goblets and pouches. Not to mention the 20 rubber weapons you need to cover every conceivable situation.
I've played a Mage/Druid/Talking Cat in another system can I play them in yours?
We'd prefer you to create a new character but we've no objection to you re-using a general character concept. This does not exempt you from starting the character out at the lowest level and having to progress through the levels as any other character in the system.
In the case of Mages, there are restrictions in numbers, so it may not be possible for you to have a place. You will need to talk to your local branch about your chances of playing such a character.
In the case of characters who are of races outwith the F&H system you can play them with special permission from the senior referees and Campaign Coordinator. This will be simplest if your special character has no skills or benefits which don't fit into an existing character race. This said we would prefer you to play an "ordinary" character before you play a special one.
How do I create a character?
Pick a race (human, elf, half-elf, dwarf, hobbit) and buy some equipment. You may also want the character to join a church or a guild but this is not compulsory. You can find more detail on the character classes here.
So what are the rules?
In brief, you have one hit point per location (arms, legs, torso). If that location is hit it is rendered useless (in the case of body you fall unconscious). If the blow was not subdual (it will be called as such if it is) then you are dead after 5 minutes (in the case of arms or legs, you lose the limb). If it was subdual then it gets better after 5 minutes. Armour will give you extra hit points.
The casting of magic is more complicated but you will be told the details if your character can use magic. A good rule of thumb is that all spells last 30 seconds. In most cases the necessary reaction is obvious (if "fear" is shouted, run away in terror for 30 seconds, if "writhe" writhe on the ground in pain for 30 seconds). There will be referees (refs) on every adventure coordinating the "monster team". If in doubt ask the referee or the caster of a spell what you should do.
This all seems very complicated
Compared to most LARP systems F&H is pretty simple. That doesn't mean there aren't some basic facts you need to know. On the whole people find they can pick most of it up as they go along without too much trouble. The world background, especially recent history, has built up through over 10 years of game play, but there is surprisingly little you actually need to know as a starting character. It's basically best not to worry about things. Thoroughly ignorant peasants are a staple character in the system so there is no need for your character to be aware of any of this.
If you want to get a flavour of the in character world, several of the guilds and churches have web sites and noticeboards which you might like to browse. A full list can be found here
This web site seems a bit short on specifics can I get hold of more detailed rules somewhere on the web?
The Fools & Heroes Rules system was written by Steve Bell and John Naylor who have kindly given permission for the Players' Guide to be put on the web. This is the standard rule set supplied to all players on joining the society. The society witholds permission for anyone except a paid-up member of F&H to print out or use these rules. Please note the Player's Guide is a bit out-of-date at present following a rules' review. There is no more up-to-date version at present.
In the meantime, the LO of your local branch will be happy to answer any specific rules questions you may have, especially as they relate to playing your character, but you should be aware that it is also an F&H policy to keep as much information as possible "ref only" with players not knowing the details of the workings of other guilds or the statistics of monsters. Therefore we are not prepared to give out full details of every character guild and church.
When you join the Society you will be sent a properly bound and printed copy of the Players' Guide. There are also often copies of this available at meetings which you can have a look at.