Hey guys.
Before I give my point about this subject, let me remind everyone involved that we're all really passionate about various aspects of this game, and we need to ensure that our passion comes out in a positive tone to the best of our ability. Posts that need to say "I'm not trying to be rude," or posts that ask unnecessary questions such as "don't you see something wrong with that?" when describing scenarios where the player would obviously see something wrong, will likely come off as sarcastic or combative.
We need to be better than that. I can be guilty of this as well, so I also know we're all coming from good places, but we need to make sure our forums stay positive, so other players feel more welcome when they participate, rather than seeing arguments that they'd rather avoid. This type of tone is part of the reason many players avoid the forums in general.
We need to set a better example.
Regarding traps:
In order to give clarity, two different trap experiences are what led to the announcement above. The first was a trap type with a unique trigger setup that the Marshals conversed about regarding legality. Please note that Marshals have the arduous task of taking the ARB and interpreting the spirit of the rule, more than the letter. At the same time, we Marshals need to be as universal as possible in our clearance of traps/weapons/armor/etc, so we exchange our perspectives and decisions are made.
Additionally, an experience reported to us at another LARP that has many players who attend Oregon caused us to examine the use of certain types of traps and their safety hazards. As a reminder, our game -stresses- safety over simulation. There are several examples of this within the rules. We are volunteers who may make decisions that some players feel are over-restrictive. The reality is that I'd rather a game that was over-restrictive for purposes of ensuring safety, than a game that was willing to risk safety to allow more options.
So, we genuinely do not want to ruin anyone's fun. But if we make decisions like this, we promise it's because we feel something legitimately needs to be addressed, or because even though X player might be able to use Y object safely, the same might not be for players A, B, and C who might decide Y object is really cool, and use it improperly.
1. Can you have an OOG on/off toggle to satisfy the requirements? If so how would you go about labeling it as oog?
2. Does the trap require an indicator of arming if it is purely stationary? Cannot be moved without physically setting it off.
3. If a trap is designed so that it is either armed or triggered with no means to have it in both states at once is that an acceptable indicator? Ie: a tripwire trigger or switch that when disarmed while the battery is in is actively making noise? Basically traps that are still technically active while disarmed, just not triggerable via the tripwire.
4. Is there a standard being established for what indicates a visibly armed trap to avoid confusion? For instance Joe Marshal might see a green light and interpret that as being armed, but Jim Ordnaceman thinks of green as safe, or unarmed.
1. Have the toggle labeled to indicate on/off, written clearly. I'd personally be okay with +/-, as well.
2. Yes. If the trap cannot be determined as armed by an impartial observer, it is not legal. A Marshal should be able to see your trap, observe your trap, and determine that it is armed or not.
3. No. That would be a pretty obvious break of the spirit of the rules regarding noisemaker traps. A disarmed trap shouldn't make noise because it was disarmed. If it was a noisemaker, then it definitely shouldn't make noise when it's beaten, and if it's not a noisemaker, it shouldn't make noise whether or not it's beaten, outside of the declaration of effect.
4. Not really, however, you can definitely make use of Marshal Notes, or put a legible label on your trap that indicates what your color coding means. (Green = armed, red/blank = disarmed, as an example, were you to use LED indicators).
Please note that one of the advantages of tripwires is that "armed" or "not armed" is really, really obvious. Because there's a visible wire. And it's basically set up to ruin your day.
Does the sound maker need to be with the trigger?
Meaning can I set the trigger at the door, but have the effect alarm be....I don't know...like 10-15ft away so it doesn't blast someone right next to it?
Yeah, sure! That's totally fine.