Mundane Items

Mundane Items
Terminology Mundane Gear
Description:	Mundane items are any item that doesn't require crafting to bring into the game. Some of them may have rules regarding what is acceptable or not, but if a prop meets those guidelines any player can bring it into play at any time (pending a safety inspection for combat gear and/ or props and atmosphere inspection).

There are a variety of items that players can simply bring into game at any time, more items than we can reasonably list. Instead this page talks about what items require special consideration before bringing them into play.

Prohibited Items

The following items are not allowed on site for safety reasons and to comply with Boy Scout policy.

• Actual Weapons (including utility knives)
• Alcohol.

Some objects can never be brought into game as a mundane item. This is a current list of those items. The list is subject to being updated periodically when something new creates an issue.

• Bright blue and orange bags
• Foam boulders
• Coins or other currency
• Flashlights
• Plastic gems
• Locks
• Pit traps (more specifically: a tarp that represents a pit)

Weapons, Armor, and Shields

There can't be an all inclusive list of what objects are appropriate to bring into game, it would only serve hamper player creativity. Instead we'll list those items that we're aware of that require special consideration. This list gets updates periodically as we need to make new rulings on objects to maintain the atmosphere (or safety) of the game.

Characters can bring mundane weapons, armor and shields into play at any time as long as they have been checked for safety by an approved member of the Player Ooutreach and Education staff. These items don't occupy an item slot so long as they are mundane equipment.

Tag bags and blue strips can be brought into play at any time.

Light Sources

The site can get quite dark at night. While light sources aren't useful for sneaking around in the dark they can be quite useful and many players consider them worth having on hand. These are common ways players generate light during play.

When trying to diminish the brightness of a prop frosted glass effects can be very helpful. Frosted glass spray paint can work, but has a tendency to scrape off over time. Etching cream, like armor-etch can be used to permanently frost surfaces.

A glow worm is the in-game name for a basic disposable glowstick. These should not be worn on as a necklace or a bracelet, so as to avoid looking like you are attending a rave.

Lanterns can be brought into game if they meet the following criteria. They should not be modern in appearance and not too bright. No logos should be visible. Lanterns should have the glass or plastic "frosted" to diffuse the light. Frosted glass spray paint works best. Freezer paper can be used for a similar effect. Lanterns with glass components should be kept in stationary locations so they aren't broken in combat.

Players may also use a fake electric torch for lighting.

There is no one correct brand, but these make a good example.

A standard candle is different from a ritual candle and cannot be used for that purpose. Beyond that characters can bring any number of candles into play at any time. For mundane candles, stationary electronic candles can be used in the place of period appropriate ones. This is so that they can be used for scene decorative purposes in places where a fire might not be safe.

Always keep in mind that if you light a candle for any reason you must follow all of the site's fire safety rules.

Flashlights can only be brought into game when crafted as light tubes

Containers

Many characters have in-game bags on them, at encampments players keep in-game chests and boxes, there are a wide variety of ways characters store their stuff. These containers pose a weird rules complication: the container isn't lootable, but the contents might be. Any character is welcome to rifle through an in-game container to find if there are lootable contents inside.

Taking a whole container can get more complex. Bandits want to steal a bag from a player character. Before they have time to go through the bag, other PCs arrive, the bandits want to flee with the bag. The bag isn't lootable, so how should they handle this? Generally its accepted that you can run off with the container as long as it is ultimately returned to its owner. Keep in mind players may be keeping real world important things in a bag though like medication, wallets or keys. This is the kind of thing where a quick out-of-game communication with the owner can avoid serious issues later. If you have important personal items in a container it's appropriate to say something if someone tries to loot a container with that personal item in it.

The last important consideration about generic containers is that they should be accessible to anyone. Puzzle boxes are technically not locked, but a player can't easily open it and search it for lootable objects, and can't steal a non-lootable box, so these don't make appropriate containers. Even if it were treated as a locked box there's the problem that with items like the Explosive Charge? alchemical can't just instantly open it if they don't understand the puzzle. This sort of container is generally inappropriate for the game for that reason.

Containers that have locks attached to them become new items that are lootable. This requires crafting the lock as a tinkering item?.

Masks

As a fantasy game where many creatures of the world are represented by a wide variety of face masks there are some restrictions on wearing masks.

Medical face masks, such as the kind used to prevent the spread of Covid are always acceptable, but should be as unobtrusive as possible. Single color with no prints is preferred.

Other masks, regardless of what material they are made of need to be approved by props & atmosphere staff to make sure it is clear they will not be mistaken for existing game masks used to represent a particular creature. Theoretically a character encountering one of these creatures would immediately be able to identify them as not human. However, because we can only do so much with costuming we need to make sure that we minimize the chance for confusion between a human actor playing a creature represented by a mask, and a human character wearing a mask.

Bells

Bells in Novitas are commonly associated with death and bad events. Necromancy rituals use them to loudly announce that something grim is happening somewhere on site. As such all bells need to be loud enough to be heard a distance away. Any bell brought into play needs to be brought to either the props and atmosphere or player outreach and education staff to verify they are loud enough to be heard from far enough away.

If you have one in play the stigmas associated with them should be considered when using them. Ringing bells for no reason or for musical purposes is not normal behavior.

Currency

The basic unit of currency is simply referred to as coin, even higher value units use the singular 'coin'. Currency comes in denominations worth 1, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 1000 coin. A silver is the common name for the 10 coin piece. There is a heavier unit of large pressed metal in non-standardized shapes known as an exotic coin. Exotic coins (or 'exotics') are worth 100 coin each. Coins are not numbered, but they are all lootable. There are no gold coins and references to gold in relation to currency is out of place. Copper is also not used in reference to any coin values.

While theoretically multiple nations each mint their own unique currencies, for sanity sake there is only one type of coin of each denomination. Other forms of currency exist, such as Sea Shells which are used by the Piscenes, though they no longer trade them with surface dwellers (these are legacy items).

Players (and therefore characters) are not allowed to create counterfeit coins. Suspension of disbelief is an important part of larping, we need players to be able to trust the coin they receive. There is no reasonable way for players to figure out what is fake and what is real.

Gems

One of the most commonly occuring valuable items are gems. These are plastic party decorations each numbered to assign a particular value to them. Player characters must acquire these items during play, they may not create their own. Real stones and gems are perfectly fine for players to bring in as mundane items for their characters.

When a game mechanic, such as a ritual, requires a gem of a certain value to be used, that gem must be the fake, game produced variety, it cannot be an actual real life gem.

References

Mundane Items Rules

Categories: Items | Gameplay Rules