System and Setting

1. Introduction
   1. Sex, Death and Disease
   2. Costume and Props
   3. Technology
   4. Science - Biology, Zoology, Explosivology
2. Setting
   1. The Country Code
   2. Geography
   3. On Slaves and Slavery
   4. On Faith
   5. Law and Order
   6. On Flesh, Fur and Funerals
   7. On Totems
   8. Economy
   9. Luxury Items
3. Event Rules
   1. The Social Contract
   2. Minimum Phys-Reps
4. The Rules of Play
   1. OOC Information
   2. Combat
   3. Tech
   4. Brews, Poisons and Antidotes
5. System Calls
   1. Damage Calls
   2. Special Calls
   3. Tech Calls
   4. Effect Cards
   5. Envelopes

Winter in the Willows is partly a “What if” story, partly a “What happened next?” story and partly a tale of times that never happened. It is possible that the characters in The Wind in the Willows and Toad of Toad Hall once existed in our retelling of the story, but if they did, they are long-dead, heroes of myth that mothers use to frighten their cubs: “Go to bed, or Mr. Badger will get you!”

This is our story. Almost 200 years ago the Knifewinter happened - an apocalypse in the early days of the 20th Century that wiped out the last vestiges of human civilization. The Weasels seized London-That-Was, carving out sections of the ruins for themselves. The Stoats stayed in the Wild Wood, carving a place for themselves in the dark beneath the canopy. Everyone else established themselves in the Land in-between, holding onto what Civilisation they could while the world went Feral around them. That was then. This is now. The days are cold and there is little to eat: survival is hard.

Everyone relies on the Country Fayres - meetings that happen all across The Land, in Territories part-way between London-That-Was and the Wild Wood. Here people meet to share ideas, trade valuable necessities and discuss the gossip of the season just gone. Everyone must prepare for Winter, ensuring there is enough food for their Rabbit slaves, enough coal to run their factories, and enough furs and meat for themselves.

“So…” said the Rabbit in a tremulous tone ”…are we in a FurryLRP?”

“Oh yes!” said the Stoats eagerly, as they begun to gut him and remove the fur from his body with their sharp flint knives. “Fur is very important…”

While we know that sex undoubtedly happens between consenting adults (there are, for example, always more Rabbits), it is considered greatly gauche by all people to talk about it - even the most vicious of Weasels and the most near-Feral of Stoats have some standards. This is a game where certain things are expected to happen off-canvas. Whilst this is an adult game with adult themes and we do not wish to place many limits on your role-play, please remember that, primarily, LARP is a hobby with certain social contracts in place, and this is a specifically desexualised setting.

Death, however, is ever-present. The combat system in Winter in the Willows is quick and bloody, and without the aid of Poultices and Brews wounds will quickly become infected and begin to rot. Time is the only healer.

Though Winter in the Willows is not intended as a mass-combat game it is likely that you will experience character death. The character generation system is quick and simple enough for you to jump straight back in. We advise bringing additional character ideas and costume to go with them, but we have some spare costume that can be borrowed until the end of the event. We will also run a 'trade-in' system for masks, where we will swap one mask phys-rep for another, as long as the masks are still of reasonable condition and we have enough available.

Winter in the Willows is set in the ruins of the early 20th Century, where the Race of Man is long-gone and the descendants of the original characters of the classic story The Wind in the Willows are fighting for survival. Clothing tends to be worn or faded, either scavenged or family hand-me-downs. There are notes in each of the Cultural Introductions as to each culture's attitude to Fash'n (the luxury goods and strange Tech of London-That-Was) and fashions (the things that people wear). Only characters within the boundaries of London-That-Was have easy access to Fash'n.

Props should, on the whole, be from periods no later than 1918. Some coins in the game may be printed with dates later than this - we would ask that you ignore these dates in your role-play.

For all that the Toads would wish otherwise, this is actually a surprisingly low-Tech game. Many of the devices left behind by the Race of Man are poorly understood, or broken, or both. Simple devices like pocket-watches will take a Toad or Hedgehog gadgeteer weeks to build. A steam-car is the height of Fash'n. There certainly aren't any railroads, nor are there balloons, aeroplanes, or zeppelins. There is no electricity - homes are lit by gas and candles. Goods are mainly carried by slaves with handcarts, or pulled in wagons, or on boats. Farming is done by plough, pulled by Rabbit workers toiling in the fields. Most homes are heated by open fires. A new industrial revolution may be threatening, but it certainly hasn't hit yet.

The reasons for this are two-fold. Firstly, much of the knowledge of how to Fash'n these items has been lost to time. Scavengers and explorers in the ruins of London-That-Was are yielding more and more interesting technologies every week, but the process of understanding them is a slow one and the process of rebuilding them can be even slower. Factories run almost entirely on scavenged parts, cobbled together as best as can be expected.

Secondly, the number of people capable of using this strange new knowledge is limited - of all the Peoples of the land, only a handful never lost language. Most went Feral, returning to their bestial nature, and their numbers fell as their cultures and societies fell apart. From those who remain - the True Peoples of the Land - only a scant few of those are able to use technology at all, let alone build or rebuild it. To many in the Land, the art of technology will always be a closed book.

Your character's Cultural Introduction and Extended Cultural Brief will tell you what kinds of technology your character is able to use and under what circumstances.

This is not a hard science game. Much of the Downtime system is severely abstracted and much of the science in this game is based on literary tropes rather than numbers.

It is assumed that all characters age at a rate that is analogous to modern humans - an elderly Badger can describe himself as being in his seventies, for example.

This is a game in which there is much opportunity for Mad Science - if you wish to make suggestions of infernal contraptions or crazed devices, we would welcome them. Beware, however, that there are a number of strict internal rules by which this game is run, one of which is “Technology always blows up eventually - in your face.”

The Code is laid down by the Elders of each species and by the Burrow Council, who meet at each Fayre twice a year, to discuss matters of note. These discussions can often go on for hours, or even days. Finally, they will put these matters to vote. Each species (barring Rabbits) has one vote in the Burrow Council and they are represented on the Council by at least one of their Elders. Any Elder Character with the Elder Lore: “Burrow Council” may sit on the Council, although it is a matter of politics who actually gets to take the seat.

'Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wide World,' said the Rat, 'and that's something that doesn't matter, either to you or me. I've never been there, and I'm never going, nor you either, if you've got any sense at all. Don't ever refer to it again, please. Now then! Here's our backwater at last, where we're going to lunch.' Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

The Land is small - roughly 36 x 45 miles, surrounded on three sides by the Wild Wood and on the fourth by the ruins of London-That-Was. There have been, historically, one or two brave explorers who have travelled in to the Fox-haunted ruins of East London, or far in to the Wild Wood, where Stoats and Otters seize unwary wanderers, or where stranger creatures live - there are rumours of monsters with many legs, or winged lizards that loose fire from their eyes. These hardy explorers have, it is said, never returned.

The Burrow Council defines a single Territory as 2000 square acres of land (a little over 3×3 miles). These boundaries are wholly artificial, mind - the Land obeys no such strict rules, but most People are satisfied to accept the word of the Council, and hold fast to their own territories. This adherence to personal territory is another reason so few folk travel beyond the bounds of the Wild Wood.

After the Knifewinter - the long, cruel winter in which the humans sickened and the Weasels seized the ruins of London-That-Was as their own - some of the Peoples retreated to the heart of the forest. The Badgers went deeper than ever before, building themselves havens of civilisation in the depths of the Wild Wood, where they could rest and build, crafting beautiful works of art, weapons and armour. The Stoats, however, gave themselves up to their wild nature, and now live as fierce, cannibalistic tribes in the heart of the forest, devouring the flesh of anything they can hunt and kill.

The shy Squirrels left their homes and are now no longer seen, but for fleeting glimpses between the trees. The Otters live far to the west along the river, far beyond the territories that even Stoats and Badgers hold as their own, and it is a long time since anyone caught more than a fleeting glimpse of them.

Some Peoples have made a way for themselves by caring for the routes between London-that-Was and the Wild Wood. The Water Rats run narrow boats down the Thames, carrying goods on the quickly flowing river. The Ferrets took to brightly painted caravans and now run trade routes along the Roads - and prey on weary travellers when they can.

Hedgehogs now surround themselves with books and wisdom, acting as journeyman scholars, dons and pardoners. Their attention to the 'Rites of Passage', coupled with the technical knowledge they glean from Maps and Blueprints, has meant that many of them have found themselves roles as priests and pardoners, a common denominator of the Old Ways and the New.

The Moles retreated to their underground tunnels and began to dig again. They unearthed Coal, and stranger things, and have begun work on a vast network of underground tunnels to carry goods anywhere in the land - routes with twists and turns that only they truly know and understand.

I see you don't understand, and I must explain it to you. Well, very long ago, on the spot where the Wild Wood waves now, before ever it had planted itself and grown up to what it now is, there was a City. A City of people, you know. Here, where we are standing, they lived, and walked, and talked, and slept, and carried on their business. Here they stabled their horses and feasted, from here they rode out to fight or drove out to trade. They were a powerful people, and rich, and great builders. They built to last, for they thought their city would last for ever. - Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows

The Night of Blood is considered to be the dying breath of the civilisation of Man, when the Weasels finally took London-That-Was and slaughtered the last of its human inhabitants. In the many years since, the Weasels have begun to reclaim more and more of the City, turning up warehouses and shops and selling the finery they find to the other Peoples. The strange, stray power held in these fine goods and luxuries is, it seems, the only thing that keeps the People of the Land from falling to their Feral nature and going the way of the Squirrel and the Otter. Even now, a creature will occasionally let themselves slip, and the beast within will surge to the surface, driven mad by the smell of blood.

Even before the Knifewinter the Toads had always been at the height of Fash'n, and they threw themselves with great gusto into the wreckage of the strange machines the humans left behind. Motor cars and engines were their fascination - and later, gunpowder and pepperbox pistols. The Toads had become Apt - the only People in all the Land with mastery over machines. They set up workshops in their Country Halls in the Countryside or found themselves houses in London-That-Was, tolerated by a succession of Mayor Chief-Weasels for their strange skills and the terrifying devices that they could produce. With firearms rebuilt by the Toads, the Weasels wiped out the last remaining vestiges of resistance and began to impose a savage new order in their beloved City.

The formidable Foxes had already moved to London-That-Was, but they lacked the versatility of the Weasels or the Toads. They became Feral, hunting through the wreckage, becoming monsters far more swiftly than any of the other Peoples. The Weasels have done their best to wipe them out, but even now the most professional reclamation efforts may find their celebrations cut short by a monstrous Fox crawling from a quiet space which nobody thought to check. Even near Parliament the citizens keep to the main streets at night, lest they be plucked from the dark by scything claws and bloodied jaws.

Being the only herbivores, the Rabbits have borne the brunt of the New Order, having been rounded up and employed as a slave culture for the new regime. The most valued are trusted slaves who can recruit dozens of new workers every year for the Weasel Reclamation or the Mole Union's mining projects. Some are used to transport goods along the trade routes and even Stoats have been known to buy Rabbit slaves (though for what purpose is unknown). Even the solitary Badgers have been known to take on one or two slaves - no more - in order to carry food and luxuries from the City, through the forest to their homes deep in the Wild Wood. It is said that the poor, foolish Rabbits need ownership to survive, and that a Rabbit without a careful owner will pine and eventually die from lack of care and food, unable to fend for itself.

'Is it so nice as all that?' asked the Mole shyly, though he was quite prepared to believe it as he leant back in his seat and surveyed the cushions, the oars, the rowlocks, and all the fascinating fittings, and felt the boat sway lightly under him. 'Nice? It's the ONLY thing,' said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke. 'Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING–absolute nothing–half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. 'Simply messing,' he went on dreamily: 'messing–about–in–boats; messing—-' Kenneth Grahame, Wind in the Willows

The People of the Land have found faiths to guide them in this new world they survive in.

The Wild Wood: Far to the West, the Stoats and Badgers hold the Wild Wood sacred, worshipping its dark hollows and protective branches. The wildness of the Wild Wood is seen as a gentle protector by Badgers, and as a savage primeval force by the tribal Stoats. But all who worship the Wild Wood find that when their faith is strong the power of Tech can be disrupted. Some say the Stoats can focus this power to jam even the largest of machines…

The Road: Travelling the byways of the land as they do, the Ferret peoples have developed a complex and all-encompassing devotion to the Road. Every mile along the ways you will find small stone shrines to different aspects of the Road. These are accompanied by directions to the nearest village or city as a constant challenge to the Ferret who finds them; for what Ferret can resist the challenge of “Marlow, 5 miles”? The Ferrets are incredibly secretive about their beliefs and it is rare they will ever explain it to an outsider, preferring instead to speak in vague and confusing terms to befuddle.

The River: To the Water Rats nothing is more important than the River. It is not just the most important thing in their lives; it is the only thing. Without the River they would have nothing, it keeps them safe and fed. Devoted followers of the River, the Water Rats are able to glide along its silver surface with ease; even where it reaches the Urban sprawl of the City. But the River is a fickle mistress and her wrath will fall on any who attempt to journey on her surface without due devotion. Many is the Weasel or Toad who have attempted to usurp the Water Rats' dominion of the River, only to find themselves lost in the murky depths.

The City: Ever since the Weasels rose up and took London-That-Was from The Race of Man, there have been those who see the City as more than just a place to dwell. For the Toads it has become a place in which to meditate (for as long as Toad concentration lasts) and find inspiration for their latest invention. It is the place where all the wonderful technology can be found and adapted by their careful tinkering. Thus they pray to the City to bring them just that sprocket they need or that new tool they are after. Meanwhile the Weasels see their City as a darker thing, a savage Mother who reveals secrets and tests their mettle. To a Weasel the City is always testing them; seeking the strongest to mate with.

The Practical: In their underground tunnels Moles are practical People, living simple lives far from the mystical Wild Wood or the intoxicating City. They do not rely upon the River or travel the twisting Road. Instead, they have evolved a (quite literally) down-to-earth and everyday attitude to such things. Religion, they suggest, is all right for those other sorts, but no Mole would need such a thing. All a Mole needs is a good hole and their own two claws to dig with. In fact, they are a little embarrassed about the idea, finding Religion all to be a bit silly.

Those Beneath Mention: Rabbits, being not the brightest of People and painfully obedient, follow whatever faith their masters tell them is correct. It has been known for a Rabbit to go from worshipping the Wild Wood on one day to worshipping the City the next, due to a sudden and unplanned change of ownership.

The legal system of the Land (and there is a system, no matter what Weasels might claim) works on a strange combination of etiquette, old readings of the Country Code and the Council of Elders, who sit and decide policy and Law. Any Elder who has passed their Rite of Passage may, in theory, sit on the Burrow Council, but they must first be accepted by the Council, having delivered a speech to the assembled Elders as to why their presence on the Council will benefit the Land, after which time, all the Elders present may put forward a Vote as to whether they will be accepted.

Each culture has one Vote - one for Badgers, one for Toads and so on - meaning that the Vote is normally preceded by a flurry of heated debate between the Elders of that People as to which way they will pass their vote. Sometimes there is a separate vote held between those Councillors, sometimes a brief but non-lethal fight, sometimes a series of bribes or favours called in, before they will all put forward the Vote in unison. Often the Vote is by secret ballot, by putting eight tokens in to a cloth bag. Sometimes, when it is important to gauge opinion, it will be carried out by the raising of hands.

Rule of Law is normally decided by the Council Elders, on a fairly ad-hoc basis, but the Burrow Council will often come together at one of the Country Fayres to decide on more complicated matters, or to hold jury over a great crime. In this case, the system of Voting is still used, but a single Judge - one who knows the Rites of Justice - will normally preside and decide punishment. Sometimes the guilty party will need to pay penance in the form of goods or service, while for more severe crimes they will be required to hand over territory or buildings, or accept having a limb bitten off or an eye gouged out.

Very occasionally, for crimes such as Murder, the breaking of an Oath, or working against a sworn Hand of Friendship, a Judge will declare an execution - and often carry it out on the spot. For yet greater crimes, they will declare a Hunt: that all beings who swear Fealty to the rule of the Burrow Council will hound the guilty party across the Land until they are exiled or destroyed. The subject of a Hunt loses all rights and protection under the Council. They may not hold land or trade with honest People; and the Council will reward any Person who brings about the end of one who is Hunted.

Law in London-That-Was tends to be a more complicated affair - each month, Mayor Chief-Weasel invites all the Elders of the Weasel gangs to the Houses of Parliament, where they will sit in session to decide Law within the bounds of London-That-Was. Occasionally, they will decide policy: pass permits for a new Toad's citizenship, or to build a new factory on the banks of the Thames. More often than not, however, they will argue, or Party, or argue about when they will next Party, or have a Party that rapidly becomes an argument. The post of Mayor is up for “Election” each year - a misnomer, as no true democratic process takes place. Each year, the current Mayor will travel to the Country Fayre and accept challenges to the post - the challengers are always Weasel Elders, who will best the Mayor in a ritualised fight to the death, witnessed by the Burrow Council, with the winner carrying the Mayor's Staff of Office back to Parliament the following day to present to the assembled Party.

It is widely accepted that the depths of the Wild Wood have no laws except the ones you can bring with you and enforce. Territorial disputes are often settled at the end of a sharpened stick or bloody claw. Badger bounty hunters are, sometimes, called upon to leave their homes in the Wild Wood and scour the forest for the Hunted - for only those guilty of the worst, most vile crimes would risk fleeing to the hellish shrieks and cold nights of the darkness under the green.

It is commonly believed that the soul of a person is held between their flesh and their fur - nobody entirely knows what Toads believe about the Soul (and the Toads aren't saying) but it is assumed to have something to do with skin. The Funeral Rites for the Peoples of the Land involve separating the flesh from the skin - after which time the skin has no link to the person it once belonged to - the Fur can be used to make cloaks or coats, or to tan and make hide, from which one makes leather goods, such as hard-wearing armour and shoes. The Meat can be then be used to eat, either cooked or cured to keep over Winter. However, even following the bloodshed of a Hunt, it is considered a great sin to eat the flesh of one's own kind - such meat is traded or gifted to others, or left out for carrion birds.

This isn't to say that all Fur and Meat comes from the flesh of sentient beings. Actually, most of it is caught from hunting birds or similar non-sentient creatures such as mice and voles - indeed, meat and hide can even come from pigs or cows. But most Peoples of the Land tend to have less of a problem with identifying the change between Living and Dead - once the skin has been removed and appropriate Funeral Rites performed in order for the soul to be released (the details of which vary wildly between cultures), there is little sentiment attached to the vessel it once lay in.

All of the True Peoples of the Land have Totems that they pay heed to - signs and markers that assist them to stake out their own territory. These Totems are somehow linked to the Nature of Beings - with some attuned to London-That-Was, some to the Countryside, others to the Wild Wood. Totems are terrifying to outsiders, and it is said that they contain strange powers. The rite of laying a Totem is known to all Peoples of the Land and sometimes, when people gather at the Country Fayres, they will uproot their Totems to bring with them. The only exception, perhaps, are Hedgehogs, who do not lay claim to the Land, but have developed a thriving trade in crafting Totems for others, and Rabbits, who cannot own land, but pay heed to the Totems of all.

Trade is thriving in The Land, with goods loaded in to barges and wagons pulled by teams of Rabbit slaves (there are very few horses left, and those that remain tend to be wild herds). Since the collapse of the Bank of England, however, money has lost its former worth.

Some people will still exchange old coins left over from the Race of Man, or the metal mining-tokens that Moles now use to trade for lamps or bread, and some Hedgehogs have been known to use carved pieces of wood or leather, but these trade tokens all have less of a hard value and more a vague sense of “a coin is good for a meal” or “well, a bead is good to pay a Ferret Tollkeeper”, who might then use it to buy a pair of shoes or some gunpowder. These trade tokens all have roughly the same value, but the Peoples of the Land are just as likely to exchange apples, pears, baked-goods, jewellery, a comb, sheets of hand-made paper, fine charcoal or stories.

A thriving barter economy has built up around Country Fayres - People exchange favours, information, food, sweets, fishing wire, simple crafts, old clothes or cloth, a handful of nuts or teeth, a good joke or a piece of news.

As well as the exchange of goods and services, there are four commonly accepted trade tokens:

1. Coins: In London-That-Was, a succession of Mayor Chiefweasels have “backed” the use of the pennies that the Race of Man used to trade. These coins have significant value in London-That-Was.

1. Mine Tokens: The Union used to use glass beads in the depths of the world below. Very recently, however, the Union changed to a currency which its leaders call “more just”: the Cog, a coin-sized toothed metal token.

1. Wild Wood Tokens: Some Stoat tribes have begun to use leather “trade tokens” in the Wild Wood, in rejection of the coins of London. These leather tokens have significant value to many of the inhabitants of the Wild Wood, who will pass them between themselves.

1. Postage Stamps: The Hedgehog Postal service is backed by Parliament - stamps show the image of the current Mayor - and as such, these postage stamps have value. One postage stamp is enough to send a message or parcel anywhere in The Land, as fast as the Postal Service can deliver it.

The following table shows a list of common prices in The Land.

The exchange rates between Coins, Mine Tokens and Wild Wood tokens are MUCH more fluid, however. A Weasel croupier is much more likely to accept coins that will be useful in London-That-Was, whereas a Stoat hunter will have little use for them. The patterns of these kinds of exchanges will only ever develop in-play and you are encouraged to formalise your own arrangements.

We encourage players to bring small items that they are willing to trade - foodstuffs are usually a good fallback! We also encourage you to be imaginative about the items you bring and how the barter economy of the Land works. These small items will probably pass through many hands, get stolen, looted or eaten, and might not make it back to you. If you are keen that these small items be returned to you at the end of the event, we suggest you mark them as such. We will endeavour to have these items returned to you, but on a large site, we cannot guarantee this. If you have any doubts, it is better not to bring such items to trade.

We have introduced trade tokens and coins into circulation. Please trade them, gift them or steal them freely between you. At the end of each Event, please return them with your character pack in order that they can be placed into your character's Inventory.

Some items are of particularly fine make and have somehow survived the ravages of time. These items sometimes come from places that none of the Peoples have visited - as far flung as China, Yorkshire, America or Brighton. These items are almost always unearthed by Weasels in their constant reclamation of the ruins of London-That-Was. There is something about these Luxuries that bring a sense of peace and calm to the Peoples - as if the sense of Culture and Civilisation attached to them staves off the dark of the Wild Wood, a little. Toads and Weasels, in particular, surround themselves with these, considering them the height of Fash'n.

Luxury Items are of particularly fine make. They will have a Luxury Item card attached, with a description of the item. e.g.: “Luxury Item: Carpet Slippers. A pair of Carpet Slippers of very fine make.” You may buy Luxury Items at character generation.

By booking for this event, players agree to abide by the following event rules:

1) LRP is a potentially dangerous hobby. Players agree to act in a reasonable and safe manner during the event. Players are responsible for their own safety and safety of those around them.

2) This game is not suitable for children and participants should be over 16. Please do not bring babies or infants to the event.

3) Weapons:

• Any melee weapons at the event must be of a 'LARP-safe' variety consisting of a core covered in foam and latex.
• During combat be sure to pull your blows.
• You have a responsibility to ensure your weapons are in a condition that is safe to use.
• Under no circumstances must the weapons be used to stab, even if the weapon is designed to be safe to do so.
• Metal weapons are NOT to be carried onto site.
• Weapons that we deem to be unsafe must be taken off-site and not brought into play.

4) Projectile Weapons:

• Throwing weapons should soft, light and coreless.
• All arrows and bolts should be checked for safety before loosing.
• Bows should have a 30lb draw at 32”. Arrows should be well padded and the tip must be larger than an eye socket.
• If you think you will be using bows or crossbows at the event, then please speak to the referees beforehand. You will be asked to take part in a brief bow competency test to clearly establish that you are able to use a LARP bow safely.

5) Guns: Should be cap-firing and should be replicas of pre- or very early-20th-century weaponry. Replica flintlocks are perfectly acceptable. You must not bring blank firing weaponry or live ammunition.

6) Please do not bring pyrotechnic materials without clear consultation with us beforehand.

7) Don't take the piss.

8) It is expected that you will transport props and weaponry to the game in a responsible manner.

9) Players and Crew are to ensure that any pre-existing medical conditions are mentioned on booking forms and mentioned to our first-aiders prior to Time-In.

10) Live Action Role-play is a contact hobby. By booking for this event, players agree to take part in safe combat and be struck by LARP-safe weapons. If at any point you personally (not your character) feel uncomfortable with the level of body contact during the game please indicate so to the players around you who will endeavour to resolve the situation in another manner, perhaps by narrating through what is occurring.

You may wish to be completely non-contact. In this case you should not play a combat character. If a fight breaks out please clearly indicate that you are OOC non-contact and move away from the fighting.

11) If you are too tired or intoxicated to fight safely, then do not take part in combat. If you are attacked and you judge that you are unable to fight safely for any reason, your character is immediately reduced to zero body hits and becomes incapacitated, unless the people you are role-playing with are happy to narrate action or resolve action in another fashion. You are expected to be the judge of your own levels of safety, but Referees may ask you to refrain from combat if they believe that you are not safe to fight.

12) Firecat Masquerade, or any persons appointed by Firecat Masquerade, cannot be held personally liable for any injury or damage to any individual participating in this event.

13) Firecat Masquerade cannot be held responsible for any damage to, loss, or theft of any personal or communal property during any event.

14) Firecat Masquerade reserves the right to refuse admission or participation in any event or part of an event to any individual at any time. The organisers are not obliged to give any reason or explanation for such a decision, but one may be supplied after a request in writing.

15) The organisers will expel any individual engaged in illegal, defamatory, or dangerous practices during the event.

16) The Referees' decision is final in all disputes.

17) We cannot, unfortunately, refund any cancellations. We may be able to transfer bookings to another player by prior arrangement, if contacted in plenty of time before the event.

18) Firecat Masquerade is committed to providing open access to our games. The majority of the site is wheelchair accessible including the main room, toilets and most of the site is accessible via paths although there are some rough areas. If you would like more details or have any particular access needs please contact us directly.

We believe that the primary objective of Winter in the Willows is for players to enjoy themselves and to have fun. As a Crew, we have a clear responsibility to look out for players' safety and provide ways in which you can have as much fun as possible while at the event. However, in return, we also believe that players have an equal responsibility to look out for each other's out-of-character comfort and safety. It is, of course, possible for people to play characters who are deeply nasty, vicious and otherwise unpleasant - however, out-of-character racism, sexism or other forms of harassment will not be tolerated. We would also appreciate it if players kept clear In-Character/Out-Of-Character boundaries and an awareness of other players' enjoyment of the game.

LARP is a social hobby. Look out for each other.

All Cultures have a required minimum phys-rep. For most Cultures, this will be a combination of costume and mask or prosthetics. You must meet or exceed the listed minimum level of phys-rep, defined in the Cultural Introduction, but you do not need to use the exact methods listed. The methods you do use should leave the average player in no doubt as to your character's Culture when viewed from a few metres away in good lighting.

As we have several Cultures (Stoats, Weasels, Ferrets) that may use the similar mustelid masks or prosthetics, players of these cultures are especially advised to pay attention to the guidelines on markings and costume, to avoid confusion with other mustelid Cultures.

Many Cultures have masks/prosthetics listed as part of the minimum racial phys-rep. Masks can be uncomfortable to wear, particularly in hot weather, so you may need to remove your mask from time to time. This is acceptable if you ensure that you still meet the default phys-rep requirements for your Culture when not wearing your mask. In most cases, this means appropriate use of make-up to cover the face in the required style. It is also acceptable to push your mask up and rest it on your forehead for short periods of time for comfort. This way, other players can easily recognize what Culture you are and identify you from your mask. If you have your mask lifted for these reasons and are meeting new characters, we ask players to temporarily lower the mask during the initial introduction, so that these other players can clearly identify you when “fully” phys-repping your character.

We also appreciated that occasionally temporary OC issues such as headaches or poor vision may mean an extension of the short period where a mask cannot be worn. If this is the case the guidelines above should also be applied. Additionally we recommend informing the on-site first-aider of the ailment you are suffering from, even if you are managing your condition yourself, as a precautionary measure. If appropriate, the first-aider may also inform Refs and other players that you will not be able to wear your mask frequently for the next few hours. If you find you are unable to wear a mask for the majority of the event then you should either consider an alternative, more comfortable phys-rep (that will still meet the minimum requirements) or changing your character to one of a Culture that does not require a mask as minimum phys-rep.

Refs will wear reflective high-visibility jackets in order to distinguish themselves.

Anyone with two fingers in the air is invisible and cannot be seen in-character. This is for use by the Crew in order to deploy into areas they cannot access without being seen or to remove themselves from an area after being killed in combat.

The following calls are out of character information calls used for safety or organisational purposes:

'Man down' : Shouted when someone is injured Out-Of-character. When you hear this call stop role-playing immediately and remain stationary until instructed otherwise. Please take up the call yourself if you hear it: this ensures that the nearest Ref and any other players have also heard the call.

'Time stop' : Stop role-playing. This call is used to pause the game in order to avoid accidents or dangerous situations, and occasionally to allow Refs to make changes that would be impossible to do in real-time.

'Time in' : Begin/resume role-playing.

'Time out' : Role-playing has ceased for the day/weekend/event. Of course, this doesn't stop you continuing to role-play; it just means that everything is unofficial from now on. Referees will not make rules decisions after this time.

Most Characters start with a basic 4 Body hits. If you are hit anywhere on the body with a weapon you may lose hits.

It is possible for a character to begin the game with fewer body hits, or even to begin Marked - by the end of the game, a character needs to have acquired 4 months' worth of food (Meat or Carrots as per your Culture's requirements) in order to begin the next game on full body hits.

Unless otherwise specified, any character can use any small weapon (or coreless throw-safe weapon, or basic bow or crossbow) to cause 1 point of damage by calling 'Single' when attacking with it.

You may not make more than one damage call per second.

Certain characters can cause damage with Claws. These must be phys-repped in accordance with the game guidelines as larp-safe weapons. If you parry another weapon with a natural Claw, then you must take it as a hit to your body.

If you intend to use LARP-safe Claws, please advise us of this before Time-In: you will be asked to take your phys-reps to the Referees to clearly establish that you can use them safely.

Small Weapons (Under 18” from base of hilt to tip): Small weapons do 'Single' and do not need an Item card.

Large Weapons (Over 18”): Large weapons need an accompanying Item card and need to be bought at character creation or gained in play. These large melee weapons are Crafted and the damage they do will be specified on the Item card.

Bows and Crossbows need an accompanying Item card and need to be bought at character creation. If you are hit by an arrow, then you will have also been targeted by the call of 'Strikedown'. You must fall to the floor if you are hit by an arrow.

Must have a diameter under 24”. You may choose to take this item at character generation. Shields are crafted items and require Item cards.

These cause damage at the range listed below:

• Pistols: 5 meters
• Muskets / Rifles: Line of sight/voice
• Heavy Weapons: As specified on weapons card

These weapons will automatically hit their target within the range unless the target is able to call 'Resist' against the shot. Any character may pull the trigger of a firearm, with the exception of Rabbits, who cannot.

Firearms must be Loaded with Gunpowder in order to work. To do this you must first peel off any stickers on the firearms card and place the appropriate Green gunpowder sticker on the 'loading' area of the card.

• Only characters with both 'Nature: Urban' and 'Skill: Firearms' can Load a firearm.

The exception to this is Rabbits who have 'Skill: Firearms', these Rabbits may Load a firearm, but cannot pull the trigger.

Many Steam Devices require Pressure in order to work. If a device requires Pressure, it will say so clearly on the Item card. You require a Referee if you are trying to pressurise a Steam Device. If a Steam Device has a Red sticker on the item card, then it is Pressurised. If a condition arises in which the device becomes Depressurised, you must peel this red sticker from the Item card and dispose of it. This condition will be clearly stated on the item card.

• A Steam weapon can only be used if it has a red sticker on it.
• This red sticker represents the fact that the Device is Pressurised.
• If the Device becomes depressurised, you must peel the red sticker from the item card.

There is no 'ambidextrous' skill - you may use a weapon in each hand. However, this second weapon must be a 'Small Weapon' (under 18”).

Characters can wear Armour or Fur as long as it is appropriately phys-repped.

A phys-rep for the special item Fur is a worn fur, not a physical representation of the character's own fur.

A Partial Fur or Armour phys-rep must cover at least 1/3 of the body to claim extra points of Armour. This phys-rep must have one Fur or Armour card attached to it.

All character can wear a Full Armour or Fur phys-rep, covering more than 2/3 of their body, to claim two or more points of Armour (and some characters can craft more advanced Armour, which provides more Armour points). Full Armour or Fur must have two Fur or Armour cards attached to it and the character can claim the bonus stated on both cards. A character may not wear more than two Fur or Armour cards at any one time.

Once you have been Debilitated, you may only gain one point of Armour for the rest of the event, regardless of how many points the Armour normally has - your character has been too weakened to use Armour to full effect.

Anybody with Craft Armour may fully repair one piece of Fur or Armour in uptime by role-playing the repair for one hour. You cannot use any other skills in that time. You can however, pause fixing it and return to it later.

A character with the Craft Armour skill may also take one piece of Armour away overnight and return in the morning with it fully repaired. Only one piece of Armour, per Craftsman, may be fixed in this way. Armour is automatically repaired between events.

Armour hits stack on top of your normal Body Hits - this includes Natural Armour. These Armour hits are lost before body hits.

Example: Ratty has 4 Body Hits and is wearing a Full suit of Fur Armour for a total of 6 hits. He is hit by a Single from one Weasel which reduces one of the Armour hits, leaving him with 5 hits. He is then struck by a Double which removes the last Armour hits and 1 of his Body Hits.

Should you reach 0 Body Hits you immediately become Incapacitated for a count of 150 seconds. During this time you are either unconscious or writhing in pain and are unable to talk coherently or move. After this count of 150 you become Debilitated.

While in this state:

• you remain on 0 Body Hits
• you are unable to call any damage call higher than Single.
• you cannot gain Armour point benefits from wearing Armour.
• you cannot run, but are otherwise able to talk and act normally.
• you must role-play or phys-rep being terribly injured.
• you immediately become Incapacitated again if you take any further damage that would remove a Body hit.

All characters that have become Incapacitated from combat become Marked.

They should, as soon as possible, wear a red ribbon which must be worn prominently on their costume or mask, where all characters can see it.

• To avoid confusion, you should not wear a ribbon like this as part of your costume.

All characters can smell the blood and weakness on the Marked character. You will remain Marked for the rest of the event, unless instructed otherwise.

Any character can kill an Incapacitated character with 30 seconds of fully role-played savagery (tearing at the character with paws, teeth and weapons) which must be clearly intended to kill.

If they are able to complete the 30 seconds they have successfully killed the target character. The player of the dead character should report to a Ref immediately as they will need to register their death and create a new character if they wish to continue playing. The characters who killed them may choose to role-play taking the body for Meat and Fur - they should find something to phys-rep the body and inform a Ref immediately.

If this 30 seconds is interrupted, the character must begin the count again.

It is possible to reduce this time to 15 seconds with some unpleasant weapons and other methods - the player should show you an item card that reads '15 Second Kill' if they are doing this.

Characters that have been wounded at an event need to apply a Poultice to their wounds every day. Without this they will be unable to heal due to infection. Characters who have applied a Poultice to their wounds will regain one Body Hit after time-out each day.

Characters are assumed to heal fully during the following Downtime from injuries sustained at an Event.

Some characters are able to repair Broken Tech. You will know an item is Broken if it has a black ribbon tied around it. You will know an item is Destroyed if it has both a Broken Item black ribbon and a Destroyed Item card attached to it.

You may only Repair a type of Tech that you know how to Fash'n - for example, you may Repair 'Simple' or 'Complex' Powder Tech if you have the Fash'n Powder skill.

You may only Repair 'Crazy' Tech if you have the appropriate High Fash'n skill.

It takes 15 minutes of appropriate role-play to repair Tech. This time can be reduced by certain special item tools - Jeweller's Tools for Clockwork or Powder Tech and a Lump Hammer for Steam Tech.

Tech that has been Destroyed requires extra parts in order to fix it in addition to the normal rules on Repairing Tech. The Referees will tell you how many machine parts and which type is required.

If you are trying to dismantle a piece of Technology for component parts, you should fetch a Referee. Generally, only a character who understands how to make that kind of Tech can dismantle a Device for parts.

Totems provide considerable Downtime benefit. However, you may also uproot and rebuild a Totem at an Event, as the charge will carry for a few days - the length of an event - after which time it must be returned to its original Territory to regain its charge.

The ritual for planting a Totem is known to all Cultures and involves 5 minutes of appropriate role-play, witnessed by a Ref, who will mark the Item card with the character IDs of those taking part in the ceremony.

Once per event, any one of the Characters who were involved in planting the Totem may open the Totem envelope and read the card held within - normally this will be a call of Mass Fear followed by a Nature, dependent on the type of Totem:

Urban Totems: You may open the Totem envelope and read the card held within - normally this will be a call of 'Mass Fear Countryside; Wild Wood; Feral'. All characters who are not of Urban nature are affected by this call.

Countryside Totems: You may open the Totem envelope and read the card held within - normally this will be a call of 'Mass Fear: Urban; Wild Wood; Feral'. All character who are not of Countryside Nature are affected by this call.

Wild Wood Totems: You may open the Totem envelope and read the card held within - normally this will be a call of 'Mass Fear Countryside; Urban; Feral'. All characters who are not of Wild Wood Nature are affected by this call.

You may only open a Totem envelope if your character ID or group name is written on the envelope.

Once a Totem's power has been used once, it is used up until the end of the event and cannot be used again. There may be ways to recharge Totems during uptime, however.

These Totems and the rituals that empower them with are especially powerful. Mastercrafted Totems hold three charges instead of one.

Some characters are able to Brew Poisons or Poultices. You may only concoct a Brew if you have the correct Brew skill.

To concoct a Brew, you must bring the Ingredients you are combining to the Ref Desk. They will consult their documents to find out which Brew you have concocted. If you have used Ingredients that do not combine, or if do not have the required Brew skill, then you may have wasted your Ingredients. The Refs are likely to ask you to return after a short while - most Brews are prepared over a low heat for about an hour. Brews do not need to be “watched over” or “attended to” and will not spoil if left unattended.

Brews may only be concocted in Uptime. Refs may be able to exchange ingredients for Brews before Time-in if they aren't too busy.

These can be delivered in four ways - Blade, Ingested, Incense and Contact.

The procedure for using Poisons in Uptime is as follows:

For each Poison you own you will receive a Poison envelope. This may contain several cards, and possibly a second envelope, depending on the Brew. A Poison Card must be handed in to the Ref team and a Symptom Card given to the victim. The Poison card must be given to a Ref, or the Poisoner must go to the Ref desk within 10 minutes of administering a Poison. If you know you are going to use a Poison in advance, notify the Ref desk and we can endeavour to have one present. This avoids the need to visit the Ref desk after a poisoning.

There are two options for informing the victim of a poisoning:

1. Hand over the Symptom Card directly to the victim.
2. Remain anonymous by handing the Symptom Card and Poison Card to the Ref or Ref desk, together with a description of the victim, and the situation in which the Poison was administered. The Ref team will then deliver the Symptom Card to the victim.

Blade Poisons: These are wiped onto a combat weapon (this includes natural claws but excludes firearms) and activated when the victim is struck. Poisons ignore armour and a successful damage call delivers the Poison regardless of the type or strength of the opponent's armour. In some cases the Poison will immediately modify a damage call, in which case no further effect takes place. Others will stay in a victim's system and require the victim to receive a card or envelope with details of the symptoms over time. If it would interrupt the flow of battle or the attacker does not wish to return to the scene of a fight, they may take both cards to the Ref desk, as normal, but the call Poison must be used during the combat, to alert the victim that a Poison effect will occur.

Ingested Poisons: These are slipped into food. The Poisoner must role-play adding the poison to the victim's meal, food or drink (they can be subtle and quick about this) and can then either leave the Symptom Card obviously with the plate/cup, hand it over OOC or go to the Refs who will deliver it to the victim. The poison card must be given to the Refs within 10 minutes as normal.

Incense Poisons: These are designed to be burned as Incense and affect a small area. Several healing and beneficial substances are delivered as Incense, so incense may already be being burnt. The Poisoner must role-play adding the Poison to the Incense burner (they can be subtle and quick about this).

There will be several Symptom Cards in each envelope - the Poisoner can either give these directly to the victims or hand them in for the Ref Team to deliver. The Poison Card must be given to the Refs as normal.

Contact Poisons: This is the most direct and often most useful form of delivery. These Poisons merely require the Poisoner to touch the body or clothes/armour of the victim and the Poison will instantly take effect. These Poisons ignore armour in the same way as Blade Poisons.

Symptom Cards can be either handed over to the victim or to the Ref Team for delivery, when the Poison Card is handed in.

The procedure for using Poultices and Antidotes in Uptime is as follows:

For each Poultice you own, you will receive a Poultice envelope - unlike Poisons, this will not contain a card.

Poultices are used once to treat a specific Poison or restore Body Hits and do not have further effects. To treat someone who has been poisoned you should role-play applying the Poultice or Antidote according to its delivery system and the patient should hand in the unopened Poultice envelope to the Ref team. (This envelope will always be empty.)

The Ref Team will check whether the Poultice was appropriate to cure the patient (a character with the Diagnose skill can help to figure this out IC) and inform the patient of the results.

A character's Body Hits are linked to the amount of Food they have consumed in the previous Downtime. A character will always begin play with full Body Hits at their first event.

Rabbit Player Characters must consume 16 sacks of Carrots per Downtime. Player characters from other Cultures must consume 4 Meat per Downtime. Without this food, characters will start losing Downtime actions and may begin the following game severely weakened.

This extends to slaves: NPC Rabbit Slaves must consume 1 Sack of Carrots per week of Downtime to survive - 16 sacks for the whole Downtime. Without this food they will die at the end of the Downtime.

As well as the Food needed to survive the two ordinary Downtimes following the Spring and Harvest events, characters must also secure enough Food to survive Winter after every third Event. Of course, there will be plenty of chances to beg, buy and steal the Food for Winter at the pre-Winter Event - but there will be plenty of chances to become other People's Food, too!

Characters should be Hunting, Trading and otherwise stockpiling food for their downtimes, in order to avoid crippling in-character penalties.

You may hear the following calls in game, often when being successfully struck with a larp-safe weapon.

• Single: You lose 1 point of Armour or Body.
• Double: You lose 2 points of Armour or Body.
• Triple: You lose 3 points of Armour or Body.
• Quad: You lose 4 points of Armour or Body.

• Total: You lose all points of Armour and all of your Body Hits- your character immediately becomes Incapacitated for a count of 150 seconds.

In addition to Damage calls, you may hear certain other Special Calls during the game:

Everyone in a 5 metre radius of the person making the call is affected by the following call.

You must fall to the floor, with your shoulders touching the ground, and remain there for 30 seconds.

• If you do not wish to fall over, then you must drop everything and crouch down for 30 seconds.
• You may take up to two steps away from the opponent who has struck you, to avoid having to fall over in unsafe or particularly wet areas.

While affected by a PARALYSE call, your character may neither move nor speak and you count as Incapacitated.

When attached to another call (eg: Poison Single) then the weapon you have just been struck with is poisoned. The player should either give you a Poison Card detailing the effects of the Poison, or you should consult a Ref as soon as possible. You may also hear this after ingesting or inhaling something.

You must either flee for your life or role-play freezing in terror.

• This effect lasts for 10 seconds.
• You may not take offensive action while you are suffering from Fear.

When making this call:

• You must use appropriate role-playing before the call.
• You must CLEARLY indicate a single target by pointing at them. In addition, you must name or describe the target if possible - for example: “Ratty - FEAR!” (whilst pointing at Ratty) or “Rat in the Yellow Coat - FEAR!” or ”(Player's name) - FEAR!”
• If you hear the call “FEAR” used without a clear target, you are not obliged to take the call.
• You cannot use this call on multiple targets. For this, you require an ability that allows you to call “MASS FEAR”. You must clearly indicate a single target when using this call.

You must fall to the floor, with your shoulders touching the ground.

• If you do not wish to fall over, then you must drop everything and crouch down for five seconds.
• You may take up to two steps away from the opponent who has struck you, to avoid having to fall over in unsafe or particularly wet areas.

This shows to other players that you are not affected by a certain call. For example, if you have an effect in play that says that you are not affected by Fear, then you must call RESIST every time a Fear call is targeted at you.

There are also a number of Tech related calls:

• For 10 seconds you are immune to Tech attacks (gunshots, etc).
• You must call RESIST to every attack you are resisting.
• This call may only be made in response to an initial Tech attack.

• You must clearly target an item when making this call.
• The targeted item ceases to function and is Broken.
• The player should report to a Ref to get a Broken Item black ribbon tied around it.
• It cannot be used again until it has been Repaired by a character who can Fash'n that form of Tech.
• It takes 15 minutes of appropriate role-play to Repair a piece of Broken Tech. This time can be reduced by using special items or skills. The black ribbon is then removed.

The targeted item is broken and requires extra Machine Parts to repair.

• You must clearly target an item when making this call.
• The targeted item ceases to function and is Broken.
• The player should report to a Ref to receive a Broken Item black ribbon and a Destroyed Item card, which is tied to the item in addition to its normal Item card.
• It cannot be used until it has been Repaired by a character who can Fash'n that form of Tech.
• In addition, it will require extra machine parts. The Referees will tell you how many machine parts and which type is required.
• It takes 15 minutes of appropriate role-play to Repair a piece of Destroyed Tech. This time can be reduced by using special items or skills. The black ribbon is then removed.

Some Players or Non-Player-Characters may, in rare cases, show you card or card with the words Effect Card at the top. Please role play the effect of the card appropriately.

Some substances, or occasionally other items, are represented by small envelopes. These envelopes will have a condition on the front (e.g. “Only open this envelope if you are a Weasel” or “Ingredient: Only open this envelope if you are consuming the Ingredient it is attached to”). You should follow the instruction on the envelope and any instructions that you find on cards or further envelopes within.