Referee

Referees

Referees at Empire are there to facilitate and assist with the rules of the game. If you have a question or need a decision about a character skill or action, then you should consult a referee. The referees will be wandering the IC field, but if you cannot find one then you can go to GOD and they will obtain a ref for you.

Identifying a Ref

Our referees will be wearing basic costume and a gold and black quartered livery coat like the one pictured. On occasions where we need to put a large number of referees in the field at once then some refs may wear a gold and black quartered tabard instead. Anyone who is wearing a livery coat with this design should be treated as a referee. For this reason players are not allowed to wear this design of livery coat.

Referees in Empire are purely OOC. They do not exist in the game in any IC form. They are wearing a distinctive piece of costume so that they can be easily identified without breaking the visual immersion of the field, they should not be treated as characters.

When to get a Ref

You should get a referee before you take any game action that involves direct conflict with another participant involving combat, magic or other rules elements. You must get a get before you perform a curse ritual, you will need their help to inflict the pronouncement of doom. You should also get a ref before using any poison, you will need a referee to use an ingested poison.

We would encourage you to get a referee to assist with:

You don't have to get a ref before you attempt one of these actions, but the ref will help to ensure that all the rules are followed. As the defender has no chance to get a ref first (they don't know they are going to be attacked or robbed), if there is a disagreement between players then the balance of the doubt will go to the defender if there is no ref present.

Characters should have no need to attack a child but in the exceptionally rare circumstance where you need to initiate combat with a child then you must consult a referee first and follow their guidance. The referee will ensure that the child's OOC welfare is not compromised by your IC actions.

Ref Support

Some members of the civil service, some egregores and members of the GOD team can handle basic ref queries for you. Basic queries include:

Not all members of the civil service or egregore team can help with basic queries. A member of crew will only be able to help you if they have a tablet and are trained in how to use it to handle simple ref queries. Ref training is an optional additional responsibility that some crew have chosen to undertake as they want to help with this. There will always be someone in GOD who can help handle basic queries for you under normal circumstances.

You must get the help of a full time referee for anything more complex than this.

Where to Find a Ref

The easiest way to find a referee is to go to one of the three ref stations located around the site. There will be a referee on duty at each of these locations throughout time-in under normal circumstances. The three ref stations are:

If you can see a crew member with a radio who is not busy, then you can ask them to radio the ref desk to request a referee. If we have can then we will dispatch the nearest available referee to your current location if we can identify it.

We do not recommend wandering Anvil looking for a passing referee. You are unlikely to find one this way, and any referee you come across is likely to be busy helping another participant already.

Marshals

Marshals at Empire are not referees. Although they support the game they are not there to provide direct assistance to the players and they cannot help you with a general query or any game task you wish to attempt. In particular many of our marshals have no ref training or experience and would not be able to help you with a ref query even if they were free.

Marshals have a range of responsibilities, such as overseeing safety, handling special FX, and delivering messages or game rulings to players. A marshal may find you to deliver an item or game ruling but you should not approach a marshal looking for help, unless it is an emergency.

Identifying a Marshal

Our marshals will be wearing basic costume and a red and black quartered livery coat like the one pictured for the referee but with red panels rather than gold. Anyone who is wearing a livery coat with this design should be treated as a marshal. For this reason players are not allowed to wear livery coats with this specific design and colour scheme.

Like referees, the marshals in Empire are purely OOC. They do not exist in the game in any IC form. They are wearing a distinctive piece of costume so that they can be easily identified without breaking the visual immersion of the field, they should not be treated as characters.

GOD

All Profound Decisions events are administered from the Games Operation Desk (GOD) whose location is marked in each event guide. Members of the GOD crew are there to help you with any administrative or general queries that you may have about the event.

If you need a referee then the referees have a desk that is always near GOD. The first-aid team operate from their own tent if you have any first-aid needs. For all other queries, you should enquire at GOD.

When to go to GOD

You will need to go to GOD to resolve any of the following:

Members of the GOD team do not handle complaints, but they will be able to get a member of the event management team or conduct team who will talk to you.

Members of the GOD team may be able to help you with some of the following:

There is a referee stationed in the GOD tent who can answer rules queries; if there isn't one then GOD can usually raise one on a radio. It is better to get a ritual processed by one of the refs in the field, but if you are having problems then the GOD staff can help you find one or they may be able to process a ritual if no ref is available.

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