Plot organization

Head of campaign: Andy Rafferty

Overview

Plot is the biggest department in Empire, as it incorporates all our NPCs, our plot writers as well as characters like the nation bards, egregores, civil servants and magistrates and back room operations crew who work in costume and make-up. We need lots of people to help us fill out all these roles, so if you're interested in getting involved in the IC side of Empire then we're always keen to talk to you.

The plot crew are divided into dozens of different teams. Some crew are members of many teams, some are members of just one. Everyone who is part of the plot crew is expected to have a good familiarity with the campaign setting.

PD Management

Matt Pennington

Matt is the member of the PD management team with overall responsibility for all the plot crew - if you have a problem then Matt is your next port of call if your team leader can't sort it.

Plot Writers

Write plot for events
Run plot at events
Team Leader - Andy Raff

Everyone who writes plot for Empire is part of our plot writing team. It is the job of the writers to create and run the plot lines that make Empire an exciting game to play. Plot writers are also expected to run their own plot - which includes briefing and debriefing NPCs and helping to get encounters ready by liaising with costume and make-up, however plot support exist to help individual writers with every stage of the process.

Andy Raff is the team leader for the plot writers team. He is in charge of the Empire Campaign; Andy and Matt aim to go through each plot being created for Empire to ensure that the plot we are producing is consistent and of a high standard.

Plot Support

Help and support writers running plot
Keep the plot room running smoothly
Team Leader - Ben Dixon

Plot support exist primarily to help writers get their plot run at events. Plot writing is a creative process but writers may struggle with the organization needed to run plot in a big system. Our plot support team exist to help all the writers make sure that their plot runs on time and to brief. By liaising with members of plot support, any writer can get help with things like briefing, debriefing, wrangling NPCs, sourcing costume, make-up, and prosthetics. The plot support team are also the first point of contact for the referees when they radio in for the response to player questions and actions involving plots we have put out.

Plot support manage the monster room and will try to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible. Members of the team will set out the room at the start of the weekend and oversee putting it away at the end.

An important responsibility for the plot support team is to manage ongoing plot requirements. The Empire campaign has many specific requirements - plot that must happen - for example battles, the bourse auction, and past life visions. Some of these elements are created by players - such as the ritual Challenge the Iron Duke, some may be the natural consequences of previous plot, for example a quest or skirmish that needs to happen. We need to ensure that volunteers writing the plot for these sections of the game are able to deliver it on time, so the plot support team will monitor progress on critical plot elements to ensure there are no problems.

The plot support team includes a number of specific areas, costume and props, make-up and prosthetics, and special FX.

Costume and Props

Sourcing kit for plots before the event
Providing costume and props for all our NPCs
Managing the kit wardrobe at events
Costume Team Leader - Lizzie Upton
Props Team Leader - Rachel Durrant

The costume and props team is essential to dress NPCs and get them ready for encounters. The team use their knowledge of the PD costume and props inventory to dress NPCs for roles they are about to play, including the player volunteers for the battles. They also help them to change after an encounter and ensure used kit is put away. At the end of the event they help oversee packing away the plot room away and separate any kit that needs cleaning or repairing. The costume and props team also work before the events helping to plan and arrange new kit creation and purchase in preparation for upcoming plots.

Make-up

Applying and removing make-up and prosthetics for all our NPCs
Team Leader - Agnes Eklund

The makeup team are essential for any roles that require make-up or prosthetics. These include orcs and characters with lineage, but they also include eternals and their heralds. The makeup team plan complex make-up arrangements in advance so that convincing effects can be created quickly in the field. They also help player volunteers don and remove make-up before and after battles. The make-up team work before the events helping to plan and arrange new make-up and prosthetic purchase in preparation for upcoming plots.

NPCs

The majority of the people in the plot room are NPCs, volunteers whose main responsibility is to play NPC roles throughout the weekend. The NPCs are divided into three main groups, described below. You don't have to be a member of one of these teams to play a role, we always need more NPCs so crew who want to take a break from their existing duties and play some roles are always welcome.

Field NPC Team

Bards Team Leader - Mark Chilvers
Civil Service Team Leader - Kate Forster
Egregores Team Leader - Clare Evans
Magistrates Team Leader - Jon Creek

We have a number of NPCs who play a single recurring role based in Anvil throughout the weekend. These roles are highly specialized with a clear focus on providing support and assistance to the game and the players. The civil service support the main political structures of the Empire, providing logistical support to the players to run the Empire. The magistrates operate the Empire's legal system directing the player militia as they follow up crimes that have taken place. Our egregores and our bards are based in the nations themselves with a remit to support the feel of the nation and encourage the roleplaying in the camp. Each group of NPCs has their own team leader.

Plot NPC Team

Playing NPCs on the field
Playing eternals and heralds in off-field encounters
Team Leader - Katie Rogers

Our NPC team play the roles that have been created and written by the plot writers that happen on the field and in the Hall of Worlds. Members of the team may portray minor Imperial NPCs, eternals and their heralds and representatives of other foreign or barbarian powers.

When you join the Plot NPC team, we'll ask you for some details about the kind of parts you are comfortable playing, as well as the parts you'd like to play and the parts you'd prefer not to play. This helps us build up a picture of our crew so that we can try to give them the parts they will enjoy at events.

Skirmish

Running the Quests and Battles
Team Leaders - Richard Loveday, James Crollie, Emma Woods, and Andy Connell

Our skirmish team are the dedicated crew whose responsibility is to bring to life the battles, skirmishes and quests that the players choose to fight. There is a great team spirit among those who enjoy being part of what is effectively our monster faction. We aim to run all our fights using IC leadership and commands, so there are a range of roles for people.

Plot organization

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