Battle and Skirmish Processes

End of battle processes

• There is no hard gate close at the end of battles or skirmishes, anyone leaving ‘late’ through the gate is fine and there are no trauma cards or ‘gateshock’
• Exiting the gate can be done from either side - generally the priority is to clear the area ‘behind the gate’ of OC participants and encourage a one way flow through the gate but passing between the stones in either direction has the same effect.
• Referees should always follow the retreat to the gate, while usually there is little need for proactive reffing occasionally safety and rules reffing will be urgently needed e.g. if there is a sudden rout
• The entire area is IC until the last ‘live’ character leaves. If there is OC traffic through an area that still has ‘live’ characters then encourage the OC participants to promptly clear the area but do not draw attention to the live character(s) or that fact that only this area is of interest IC
• Playing ‘possum’ is a legitimate tactic and well described by the rules, if you need to referee this situation you must not draw attention to the person(s) doing so.
• At the end of a battle teams of crew monsters typically sweep the area and will deal IC with any live characters as per the plot brief for that battle. Crew referees are encouraged to accompany them as this can often lead to character death
• Referees rarely need to declare a character dead, count hits or monitor death counts – exceptions would only be where there is reason to believe the player may be ‘confused’ about the rules. In these situations the referee needs to take time to be 100% aware of the facts before making a ruling

Directing monsters - boundary and other issues

• If there are any designated monster exit points for a battle or skirmish they will be determined by plot and detailed in the ref brief. Monsters that have been briefed to use these can only use them if they are not being actively pursued by players e.g. the players are in visual contact. Monsters should only be directed to leave the IC area at the direction of plot
• If a monster unit is forced against a boundary by combat and there is no way to make the situation safe without allowing the monsters to escape then it may be preferable to declare that unit dead e.g. tell them they have ‘one more hit and dead’ or in extremis declare them immediately dead. In situations where the unit has an objective for the encounter this needs to be left in place for the players to claim

Participant briefs - pre/post skirmish

• At least one member of the skirmish ref team should attend the pre skirmish monster brief to pick up points of ref interest e.g. area/plot effects, mass calls or monstrous creatures. Any post skirmish feedback should go to the skirmish team leader for that team.
• Player briefs pre skirmish should be limited to exceptional plot or safety briefs only e.g. miasmas, emerging environmental safety issues (such as poor lighting, rabbit hole) etc. Where possible avoid or minimise OOC disruption to the start of the skirmish.
• Post skirmish - an issue with a single player can be dealt with by the ref at the time. An issue with a group of players must be escalated to the duty skirmish manager who will then discuss it with the game team or with the entire head referee team if the game team are not available

Escalations

The battlefield chain of command will be outlined in the ref brief. Any skirmish escalations should go to the ‘on duty’ member of the referee management team (Emma Woods, Richard Andrews, James Crollie) who will liaise with other departments and the Game team as required. Examples of items that should be escalated

• Environmental safety issues that may affect a skirmish such as low light or poor weather
• The need feedback poor behaviour to an entire group or nation
• Issues with other depts that cannot be easily resolved on the spot
• Process issues