Gaining Skills
REFUGE LARP is a fantasy game. There will always be limits to what you can do based on your physical capabilities, but REFUGE allows ways to mitigate some OOG barriers through our Skill system.
There are many abilities in the game that require you to acquire prerequisite Skills before using them. Think of this as learning to crawl before you can walk. As an example, you need to have the appropriate Weapon Skill to use that style of Weapon (Edged for Swords and Axes, Blunt Weapon for Hammers and Clubs). Additionally, some Skills might require specific Weapon types to use. These are listed in the charts below and within each Skill listed later in this chapter.
Similarly, some Skills grant a permanent bonus in damage with every swing of a Weapon. This represents a level of Skill for the character that a player might never obtain. We use it to artificially give a character an advantage over another character not as Skilled, regardless of the player’s Skill with the Weapon.
While OOG ability still comes into play, REFUGE allows numerous Skills to help players perform IG tasks to enhance their OOG abilities. For example, the Dodge Skill allows a character to avoid an incoming attack even if it landed correctly according to the rules.
Characters may purchase Skills by spending XP that they’ve earned, primarily by attending REFUGE games.
Skills might be used throughout the day or may add permanent abilities that can be used indefinitely (such as the One-Handed Edged ability allowing a character to permanently use One-Handed Edged Weapons in combat). If a Skill is expended when used, it will be marked as LP (noting that it will renew at the start of each Logistics Period).
Many Skills can’t be purchased until certain prerequisites are met. Sometimes these prerequisites are per purchase, while other prerequisites need only be met once. For example, you can purchase Critical Attack as often as you want once you have any Weapon Skill. Similarly, you can purchase High Magic for your Primary School as many times as you like once you’ve spent 75 XP in Scholar Skills. Other Skills, such as Dodge, are only purchasable once for every 30 XP you have purchased in Stealth Skills. Both types of prerequisites are outlined in the Skills chart, which lists all Skills along with their prerequisites and their XP cost for each class.
When players check in for an event, they will be given a printed sheet (called a “battle board”) that tracks expendable Skills per LP. It is your responsibility to update your board after using the Skill when you have some down time. Most Skills are expended during combat; once a combat is over, check off the Skills you have used. A Marshal may ask for your board at any time to see what Skills you have used and what you still have available.
On a full weekend event, the “day” runs 24 hours from when the game starts (approximately). Most events will have the LP reset roughly around 6 PM local time. Most Skills and Magic items have a per LP use on them. Your local chapter will dictate when your LPs run from, but there can only be one LP per 24 hours.