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When you attend one of our events, you will need to have a Character and a Group. We also need some Out-of-Character information from you for safety reasons (see our Privacy Policy for details of what we do with this information). We gather this information using the following series of Google Forms. Note that you cannot create a character without first having booked a ticket for one of our events. Once you have booked at ticket, we send you a Player ID number that you can then use to fill out the following forms.
Orion Sphere LRP events are gatherings of companies, crews and individuals from across the four Factions, usually invited by a group of MegaCorps with interests in the local star system. Typically one or more MegaCorps will have a direct stake in what is going on on the planet that the event is held on, and will enter into a joint venture with the others to host a gathering of contractors, experts, mercenaries and troubleshooters (the players).
Before the event, the MegaCorps set up a hub area with various facilities, as well as four Faction camps (although sometimes the hosts may reqest all the Factions to combine their camps). Once the event starts, the MegaCorps and possibly locals will have tasks that they need done, and are willing to reward those who can do them - with money, assistance, renown or rare items. The majority of tasks will be published on a Bounty Board in the Hub area, although most parties who need things done will have a few secret missions that they will only offer to those who they trust. Tasks and Missions might require ongoing work on site, transporting to other areas on the planet, or even hiring a starship from the Spacer Collective, capable of Jumping vast distances in the blink of an eye.
Missions might take the form of Bounties, or specific goals handed down by the faction representatives to their trusted members. Some missions will be ongoing throughout the weekend, others might have to be done at a specific time. Most crucially, and unlike other LRP systems, player characters are not assigned specific slots to do specific things. Individuals and crews will be able to undertake and complete missions and claim their bounties as and when they become available in the local area, or by hiring slots on Spacer Collective starships to go and complete away missions elsewhere. As to the ongoing plot behind each missions - some may progress in one way or another if the mission is completed (or not completed), while others may just roll on to the next event. It is up to the players to prioritise what they want to do, and when.
Bounties are publicly listed tasks with publicly listed rewards for those who complete them, and are generally facilitated by the Clearance Organisation, who will maintain a listing of available bounties and keep it updated. The first person or crew to claim the bounty, providing evidence (which could be a ship's log recording), gets the reward. Some bounties will be ongoing throughout the weekend - for example, Advanced Armaments have been known to offer a standing reward for each piece of unknown alien tech brought to them.
Usually, the specific faction or MegaCorp offering the bounty can be approached for additional information about it. Some bounties may not be possible to complete at any given event, and might require several events worth of planning, investigating or accumulating equipment before they can even be undertaken.
Player characters can place Bounties - for tasks, items, services or even people if they wish. The Clearance Organisation representative is happy to talk to any character about any bounties they might wish to post.
The Spacer Collective will have one or more starships available for hire in one-hour slots throughout the weekend. Hire slots are sold on a first-come-first-serve basis, and usually released in clusters for that day - but some vouchers are given to Faction Representatives (NPCs) to give out for missions that will benefit the Faction. You can buy multiple slots, and will be issued a voucher for each one you buy. Vouchers can be transferred, sold, auctioned, traded or lost, but whoever wants to use the voucher must inform the Collective representative of their destination at least an hour before their slot (so the Collective can compute the Jump, and the game team can prep what needs to be prepped). The voucher can be lost or transferred after this point, but whoever has it can board the ship and jump to the pre-arranged location. If the voucher is completely lost, then either the slot is wasted (no refunds) or the person who bought the slot can redeem some of their down-payment by signing an affidavit saying that the voucher has been lost, and the Collective will then re-issue it (for the original payment).
Before embarking on a slot, it is possible to buy some upgrades for your ship - ask the Spacer Collective representatives what upgrades are available. As well as the “standard” ship, it is possible for a crew to buy other classes of ship, which can be used on any of their future missions. These ships offer alternative play styles and fulfil certain specialised roles. Each Faction has its own specialist ship class, and there are a few that are available to all.
There are two kinds of slot that can be purchased:
At the beginning of a hire slot, the crew transports to the starship bridge, while any passengers are moved to a holding area. The ship then Jumps to the computed destination to complete their mission. A “Taxi” style mission will bring the crew straight to a linear adventure, while a combat-capable vessel will start a session using the simulator rigs. If your ship has a Passenger Compartment and is carrying an away team, they are only able to transport down to complete their mission when the starship crew arrives at the destination.
Crews who complete their mission can travel back to the system's Jump Point to return to the Spacer Collective station and main IC event area. However, Once a hire slot time expires and the mission is still ongoing, the ship, crew and any away teams will be Emergency Jumped back to the Spacer Collective station, regardless of whether they have completed their objective or not - this is a traumatic experience and may result in injury and being assigned Conditions.
There is rarely any official law enforcement at events, beyond what people are willing to pay to have enforced. Characters and MegaCorps may post bounties for the apprehension or punishment of troublemakers. The MegaCorps are loath to intervene unless they are attacked directly, but they do have an interest in keeping generally good order at events.
A character's Reputation is one of their most important assets. While reputation and status with certain Factions and MegaCorps can be bought as skills, it is also affected by someone's behaviour towards that group at an event. Reputation is the key to many hidden doors - from special discounts to secret assignments and rare opportunities. Characters with good reputation may have special privileges such as being able to take out loans, etc.
At events, there will be a good number of NPCs who are there to facilitate the game and help players roleplay and find things to do.
Each Faction will have one or more Representatives, NPCs who serve as a connection with the Faction's authorities. These NPCs are primarily there to help out their Facion's players, signpost them towards things they might be interested in, and serve as exemplars of that Faction's culture and themes. If you are at a loss for something to do, or just need a bit of help, your Faction Representative should be your first port of call.
MegaCorp Representatives are the hosts of each event. There will usually be a few prominent MegaCorp NPCs hanging around the hub area, offering various services and facilitating missions. There may also be lower-ranked NPCs, usually in plain jumpsuits with MegaCorp ID patches - these are typically Game Team members doing OOC facilitation of the game, but they are still present within the game world.
