General Intro

Ferrum is an ancient planet, a magical mirror of Earth. The Natural world, inhabited by its many different races, is actually an amalgamation of multiple different multiversal worlds. Each of these quasi-worlds exists in the same space, simply on another plane of existence. Different realities sharing information into this Material Plane.

Playing Portal to Ferrum involves the creation of your own character, in order to go out into the world on quests to slay horrible monsters, navigate through dangerous locations, and find magical artifacts.

LARP-safe weapons and other gear are required to participate. This system is designed with combat in mind, but hits are generally expected to be lighter than Combat-Sport driven games such as Hearthlight or Dagorhir. Certain Latex Weapons, as well as padded foam “Boffers” are allowed (while Latex are preferred for the aesthetics) As a rough guideline, if a Latex weapon meets the requirements of similar systems (Such as Kingdoms of Novitas) then it will be accepted. If a Boffer (As well as shields) matches the safety requirements in the Hearthlight ruleset, then it is accepted here.

LARP outfits, or Garb, are expected to be worn by all participants while they remain in character. Aesthetics are a big part of our game. As such, care and effort should be put into your own personal character design. A wide variety of medieval time periods and locations are allowed, as well a myriad of Fantasy elements (especially for non-human character races)

Respect, personal responsibility, and civility are required of all participants, and reading the Code of conduct is recommended so that you know what behavior is and is not allowed at events.
The current calendar year in the world of Ferrum is 4965 F.A (Founding of Azir). The general setting is based on man-powered medieval weaponry and armor. Swords, Axes, Bows & Arrows. Magic is plentiful and powered by multiple different sources, including Gods, Dark Forces, as well as each individual's own magical power. With an abundance of different skills to choose from, your character’s destiny is whatever you wish it to be!

Character Sheets, Levels, XP and Skill Points

Any individual who wishes to participate as their own personal character is required to fill out a Character Sheet, detailing their chosen Name, Race, and the skills that they utilize in-game. Such skills are gained by allocating the required amount of Skill Points (Which are awarded through leveling up) You cannot select a skill if you do not have the required amount of Points total.

As a character joins events, plays more, and helps out logistics as an NPC, they will gain specified amounts of Experience. This Exp accumulates until enough is gained to level up your PC. PC levels determine a few factors, including the amount of Skill Points you have available to spend on skills, as well as allowing your character to advance in certain roles, such as through a temple’s hierarchy. PCs start out at lvl 1, with 0 Exp, and can never lose Exp once it’s been awarded (Exp is not reset upon leveling up). An experience chart is listed below to see how much is needed and how many skill points are given at your current level.

There is a maximum amount of 48 Skill points, which a character can allocate to any combination of skills (barring certain, specified restrictions) Certain skills also have a nested hierarchy that require you to have certain skills before taking the next one in the line. Such as; You must spend one skill point on “Health Boost 1” Before you can spend the 2 Skill points on “Health Boost 2” etc.

The definition and use of skills are all explained on the “Skills Defined” Section

Character sheets are available at sign-in, printed and blank, which you must fill out and get the approval of Logistics in order to be finalized. Logistics will do their best to keep up to date databases of everyone’s character sheet, but you are expected to keep yours in a safe location so that it does not get lost or damaged.

Below are the different ways one may gain XP. In most cases, Experience is tallied at the start of each event.

Sign-in to an event: 2xp per event

Refer a friend who attends with you: 1xp each. Once per referral.
Assist as an NPC: 3xp per event
Bring your own passing Garb: 3xp Once.
Bring your own passing weapon: 2xp Once.
Assist in setting up or packing down: 1xp per event

Races of Ferrum

Humans:
The default species of any player is a human unless you take steps to make yourself look like one of the following choices.

Elves:

To play as an Full Elf, you must choose one elemental type to base your character design on; Fire, Water, Air, or Earth. These distinct elf races are known respectively as Pyrrins, Aquins, Zephyns, and Adamyns.

Pyrrin Costuming:

(Required) Pointed Elf ears.
(Required) Bright red, orange, yellow, or white hair. You may wear a wig or dye your hair to achieve one of these colors.
You may add bright orange or red contacts.
Your appearance should invoke fiery thoughts of the elemental plane of fire.

Aquin Costuming:

(Required) Pointed Elf ears.
(Required)Blue or green hair of any shade. You may wear a wig or dye your hair to achieve one of these colors.
Sea shells or coral designs should be integrated into your character design.
You may add blue or green contacts if you wish.
Gill-like prosthetics may be worn.
Your appearance should invoke the sea and deep depths of the elemental plane of water.

Zephyn Costuming:

(Required) Pointed Elf ears.
(Required) Bright silver, whites, or cloudy gray hair. You may wear a wig or dye your hair to achieve one of these colors.
You may add bright white or blue contacts.
You may wear feathered or fairy-like wings.
Your appearance should invoke the winds and storms of the elemental plane of air.

Adamyn Costuming:

(Required) Pointed Elf ears.
(Required) Green, dark brown or black hair. You may wear a wig or dye your hair to achieve one of these colors.
(Required) Gemstones of your choosing, attached to your skin with prosthetic glue.
Your appearance should invoke the Rock & Stone of the plane of earth.

Half-Elf Costuming:

(Required) Pointed Elf ears.

Bhalen:

To play as a Bhalen, you must choose a Parentage of the Bharegu whose blood runs in your veins; Cambion, Succubus, Minotaur, or Mambali:

Cambion Parentage Costuming:

(Required) Purple Skin, via makeup.
(Required) Large, elaborate horns worn on your head.
(Optional, no more than 2) Cloven hooves instead of feet, tail, pure black eyes, forked tongue, bat wings.
You may add scents to smell of Sulfur.

Succubus Parentage Costuming:

(Required) Pink Eyes, via contacts.
(Required) Large bat-like wings.
(Optional, no more than 2) Cloven hooves, tail, forked tongue.
You may add scents to smell of Lavender.

Minotaur Parentage Costuming:

(Required) Large, bull-like horns
(Required) Black fur covered hooves
You may have red eyes via contacts,
You may add scents to smell of Fresh Blood.

Mambali Parentage Costuming:

(Required) Subtle green scales across your body.
(Required) Multiple small spikes across your body.
You may add scents to smell of acid.

Half-Orc Costuming:

(Required) A set of large tusks that jut out from their lower jaw.
You may wear an Orc mask if you’d like Note: if you wear a green mask, you must cover your non-green skin with makeup or garb.
You may use contacts for Green or Red Eyes.

Ophanim Costuming:

(Required) Extra eyes, which can be repped through makeup, jewelry, headpieces, or other costume pieces.
(Required) Wings, which can be repped either with a typical shoulder harness type or can be used as headpieces, made with makeup on the face, or generally repped with costuming.
Most Ophanim wear primarily white and gold in their costuming.
White, silver, gold, green, or blue hair can be inherited from their Celestial heritage, but Ophanim may also have natural hair colors.
Similarly with skin and eye color - these may be white, silver, blue, green, or gold may be inherited, but an Ophanim could also inherit natural colors from their humanoid side.

Cthonic Costuming:

(Required) Undead aspects need to be readily apparent, though Characters may wish to try to hide these with face coverings, gloves, etc. What the Player wants to present, but the Character wants to hide, however, are two different aspects. Undead aspects must be apparent on the Players’ face in some manner, which can be achieved through makeup, latex, contacts, etc.
Players are encouraged to be creative in representation. Players can feel free to add to their Chthonic aspect or to emphasize it through costuming, props, perfumes, and roleplay.
Exceptions: An exception to Chthonic representation is a Player Character that becomes Chthonic during the course of the game. Every player has a chance to become Chthonic if they die in the game or, in any other narrative way, come close to death. Players can also reach out if they want to become Chthonic as part of their overarching storyline. These Chthonic Characters might have manifestations in other ways. For example, a Character run through with a sword may not have undead facial features, but have a gaping, rotting hole in their chest. Or a Character who picked up a Chthonic-Cursed item may have a skeletal hand. These Chthonic features will be worked out between the Narrative Team and the Player.

Bugbear Costuming:

(Required) Arms must be covered in fur, which can be done via fur-like sleeves, with seams hidden by your garb.

(Required) Long pointed furry ears

(Required) Bushy eyebrows.

(Required) Small lower fangs that jut upwards.

Sidheren (Shee-ren):

To play as a Sidheren, you may choose to base your appearance on one of the following guidelines or go for a general natural look described below.

Faun/Satyr Costuming:

(Required) Horns or antlers.
(Required) Fur-covered lower legs.
(Optional, no more than 2) Cloven hooves, pointed ears, tail.

Myconid Costuming:

(Required) Mushroom cap headpiece or hat.
(Required) Fungus-like texture makeup on skin.
(Optional, no more than 2) Small mushroom growths on body, spore-like freckles.

Fairy Costuming:

(Required) Delicate wings.
(Required) Brightly colored or iridescent clothing.
(Optional, no more than 2) Pointed ears, floral accessories.

General Nature Elements:

(Required) Natural elements like leaves, vines, or flowers incorporated into the costume.
(Required) Earthy or vibrant color palette for clothing.
(Optional, no more than 2) Animalistic features (e.g., fur patches, animal ears), bark-like skin texture.

Restrictions: Sidheren cannot wear metals.

Aviaren Costuming:

(Required) Feathers integrated into the costume, such as feathered capes, headpieces, or feather accents on clothing.
(Required) Feathered makeup contour or face paint to mimic avian features.
You should wear sleek and agile clothing design, emphasizing mobility.
You may wear eye makeup or contacts to reflect bird-like eyes.

Dwarf Costuming:

(Required) Beards for both men and women. Men typically have fuller, longer beards, while women keep their beards shorter and do not usually grow mustaches.
Hair and makeup should reflect a rugged, weathered look.
Stocky build emphasized through costume padding if necessary.
Metal accents, such as chainmail or plate armor pieces, intricate embroidery or patterns reflective of dwarven craftsmanship.

On Combat

Combat in Portal to Ferrum makes use of a Number-based Health system. In its basic form, when a player is hit in their arm by a weapon, that arm is now lost and they must drop whatever they’re holding in it. If they are hit in the leg, they must drop to one knee (No Black-Knight Hopping). When they are hit in the torso, or if they lose two limbs, a PC begins Bleeding Out (NPCs are killed outright). These basic rules are enhanced with the use of a “Health Pool”. A Health Pool is increased through allocating skill points into the “Health Boost” skills, with each one increases your Maximum Health Pool to a cap of Four (excluding potential inborn bonuses). This Health Pool, or HP, acts as a buffer; before you start losing limbs or being killed from a torso wound, your Health Pool must be drained to Zero, which is shared across your entire body. A PC that has 2 HP can receive hits twice in any combination of any limb before they are at risk of losing limbs or Bleeding Out. By default, a PC has Zero HP at lvl 1.

Players and Monsters may call out how much damage they are swinging for when they attack. That damage call is the amount that is taken away from any HP on a successful hit. These numbers are kept intentionally low (Maxing out at 5 in the rarest of cases) to avoid mathematical confusion while fighting. Higher damage carries over past any exceeded Health, potentially severing a limb or killing with a torso wound. For example, a call of 3 damage against a PC’s Torso who has 2 HP, will reduce their HP to 0, and then also mortally wound that PC. By default, a PC’s damage call is 1.

Survivability may also be increased with Armor, which acts as a buffer that must be reduced to 0 before any Health is reduced. Armor has certain requirements that must be met before counting as Armor, and only covers where the physical Armor is on your body when hit, but is still pooled into one Armor Point system. An exposed leg is not protected and reduces Health, but an armored covered arm and torso both add and subtract from the same pool of Armor when either are hit.

Hit Locations Rules:

Shots to the head are not allowed! Players who are shown to be repeatedly hitting others in the head will be told to stop fighting.
Your wrist to your shoulder is considered your Arm. A strike to your hand does not count if that hand is holding a weapon or shield.
Your ankle to your hip is considered your Leg. A strike to your foot does not count.

General Combat Rules:

Attacks and some spells may also be blocked by shields.
During sign-in, a shield must be declared to be either Wooden or Iron. The shield should look appropriate to what it is designated as, so as to not cause confusion in a fight.
A shield that clearly looks to be made of iron may be automatically designated as such by a GM.
Acid will destroy an Iron shield after 2 successful hits, regardless of the amount of called damage. Acid OR Fire will destroy a Wooden Shield after two successful hits. The hits against must be 2 of the same type.
The shield holder is required to keep track of the number of times their shield has been hit.
When broken, a shield must be discarded, as any subsequent hits are counted as hitting the player’s arm that holds the broken shield.
Shields block attacks from weapons and arrows,
Wooden shields do not block magical “Status” spell bags. Such status-inducing spells are considered to have struck the arm holding the shield.
Wooden shields block the following Damage & Status calls: Normal, Blunt, Dark, Lightning, Magic, Silver, Disease, Hamstring, Disarm (If not from a spell or spell bag)
Wooden shields may be repaired with Magic, or by Mundane means such as the Forging Novice skill.
Iron shields block the following Damage & Status calls: Normal, Blunt, Dark, Fire, Lightning, Magic, Psychic, Silver, Blind, Charm, Confuse, Disarm, Disease, Fear, Freeze, Hamstring, Poison, Shift, Silence, Sleep.
A player MAY NOT cast spells while holding an Iron shield.
Magic cannot repair a broken Iron shield. They must be repaired via the Forging Novice skill, or asking a Blacksmith NPC to repair one.
Holding a weapon in each hand (Dual-Wielding), or holding a shield, causes your maximum damage call to be capped at 2. Different Fighting Style skills can be learned to increase this damage cap in these instances.
Throwing Knives & Javelins deal One damage when thrown, and do not increase with any magic or skills that increase melee damage, unless the javelin is used as a melee weapon in your hand.
Foam “Rocks” may only be used with “Blunt” calls, which may lower HP when struck, but cannot remove limbs or cause Bleeding Out.
All non-magical projectiles (Rocks, Javelins, Arrows, Throwing Knives, and “Dirty Fighting Pocket Sand Bags”) may be blocked by shields without harm or effect to the shield-holder.
When a combatant's arm is lost, they must immediately drop whatever gear they are holding in
that hand, and place that arm behind their back. To avoid confusion during combat, any subsequent
strikes to the lost arm are considered strikes to the torso.
When a leg is lost the combatant must immediately kneel to the ground on the lost leg. In order to
move around, a combatant must either use their disabled leg’s knee to “walk” on, lunge using a
non-disabled leg, crawl, or have other combatants carry them. A combatant may carry another by placing
a hand on their shoulder, while both fighters are limited to a standard “walking pace.” Hopping around on
an uninjured leg is forbidden.
Any subsequent strikes to a leg that has been lost are treated as strikes to the torso with the
following exception: when a combatant has the knee of their lost leg firmly planted on the ground, the
knee of their unlost leg is not touching the ground, and they are in a semi-stable position (not rolling
around, being carried, or in the middle of falling down), the lost leg is immune to all damage.
Attacks that are intercepted by garb or weapons that are not being gripped in the hand
are considered to have passed through and strike as if they were unimpeded.
The act of “Anvilling” is not permitted. Anvilling is defined as “laying a gripped weapon against a
shield or body part in order to avoid taking damage to that shield or body part”. Holding a weapon close to
a shield or body part to block is permitted, but if sufficient force is delivered through the block, the struck
fighter will count the strike.
The act of “Magic-Switching” is prohibited. Magic-Switching is defined as using a disabled arm to
assist moving your weapon into your other arm. If a fighter is able to, they may attempt to catch a weapon
that has been dropped by their disabled arm, using their non-disabled arm.
Kneeling during combat is not allowed unless the leg is disabled, since this is how damage is
represented for a leg. Crouching is permitted so long as neither knee touches the ground.
Punching and kicking are strictly forbidden.
Rigid plastic safety equipment is permitted, but does not count as armor, and must be concealed
under clothing or armor.
Do not intentionally use any part of the arm or leg to pin a striking surface against another body part, including an opponent’s body part.

On Magic

Our system makes liberal use of LARP Magic & spells. These spells are completely made-up by our design & writing team, with heavy influence from Dungeons and Dragons, as well as inspirations from other sources like religious prayers. It is important to keep in mind that these are fake, make-believe spells for entertainment use only. That said, players are encouraged to explore our spell system to whatever extent that they wish. There are a number of ways to gain access to different spells, inspired by different classes in D&D.

In order to cast any sort of magic, you must first have a sufficient amount of Magical Power stored within you (MP) If you don’t have any available MP, you cannot cast spells. MP may be gained on your character sheet, by spending skill points to increase your max MP.
Spent MP is restored to your max at the top of every third hour (3-6-9-12).

The most direct way to obtain magic is to spend Skill Points on their character sheet on a selection of different magical powers, which they can alter directly by spending additional Magic Points. Individuals who take this path are often referred to as Sorcerers

“Spell Scrolls” can be found as treasure or loot, as well as bought from certain NPCs. These scrolls must be translated, and can then be used for a one-time-use spell, or copied into an approved spellbook to allow you to cast it as often as you have an appropriate amount of magical power to do so. Individuals who do so are often called Wizards.

Players may also join temples dedicated to the different gods & goddesses, allowing them access to different magical prayers that they must memorize or write down on their own, in order to cast, acting as a conduit for their god’s power. Such holy spellcasters are called Clerics by laymen

Other paths to magic exist, such as signing a deal with some dark entity (ala Warlocks) as well as gathering the latent magical energy found in certain alchemical ingredients (Alchemists). Players are encouraged to customize their own magical journey however they so choose, by mixing and matching where they receive their spells from. Some restrictions exist, such as certain temples forbidding you from learning magic from certain other sources.

Many Utilize thrown bags called “Spell Bags” that represent projectiles to throw at enemy targets. These spell bags are generally made from cloth and filled with birdseed. More elaborate spell bags may be shown to a GM for approval, as long as they are demonstrated to be safe to throw at people, such as foam balls. All players are responsible for their own spell bag collection. Players should make an effort to pick up any spell bags that may be found scattered on the ground after a fight. When thrown, spell bags may not be intentionally blocked by weapons, nor may they be caught, unless in certain circumstances. Anyone who catches, blocks, or redirects spell bags with their hand or weapon are assumed to have been hit by that spell bag. Certain spell bags, such as thrown status effects, may be blocked by an Iron Shield. Wooden shields do not block spell bags at all, they are considered to have hit the player holding the shield.

The different types of Magic and their effects are gone over in full in the Magical Rules Section.

The Iron Rule

In order for a player to be able to cast any sort of magic, they must always adhere to what is known as “The Iron Rule”. The materials of Iron and Steel have mysterious anti-magical properties, preventing spellcasters from using their magical abilities while in contact with sufficient amounts of either material. This includes, but is not limited to Holding an iron or steel weapon or shield, wearing iron or steel armor of any kind, including helmets, being held by iron chains or manacles. The only known way to circumvent this rule is with the assistance of a powerful Deity. A GM has the final say in whether or not a piece of equipment would invoke the Iron Rule or not. Iron Shields and Helmets may protect the wearer from Magical Status Effects.

Damage Types and Status Effects

Different weapons, monsters, and spells may all have different types of attacks that will be called out. These calls can range from different numbers, types of damage such as blunt or fire, or status effects such as sleep. While all calls have specific uses, it is understandable that a player may not understand what is meant when they are struck by certain calls. Players are therefore encouraged to act out what their reaction may be to such a call using their own judgement, if they are unaware of its specifics, or to ask the individual who called it, if it is practical to do so, for clarification.

Damage Types:

Damage calls must have a number preceding them to denote the amount of damage dealt to a target’s HP, or else they are presumed to do 1 damage. A PC’s default damage is 1. This can be increased with certain skills up to a maximum cap of 5. A PC who wields 2 melee weapons at once has their damage capped at 2 on each weapon. A PC who wields a shield and a melee weapon has their damage capped at 2. The default damage of thrown weapons (Knives and Javelins) is 1. The default damage of Ranged projectiles (Arrows & crossbow bolts) is 2.

The following Damage types are found within the game, each damage call is proceeded by the number of damage it is dealing, or else it counts as 1.

Normal: The normal strikes from swords, axes, arrows, and other weapons. If a number has no damage type said after it, the damage type defaults to Normal.
Acid: Ranging from dangerous caustic liquids, to venomous injections, acidic damage slowly erodes certain objects, and is one of the few ways to break shields.
Blunt: Blunt damage is mainly from staffs, and other blunt objects. A blunt call cannot kill or remove limbs. Any melee attack can be replaced, at will, with a Blunt call.
Dark: Dark damage represents the process of magical necrosis, entropy, and other more evil attacks that slowly eat away at living tissue. Many undead are resistant to dark damage.
Fire: Represents burning flames, cinders, explosions, etc. Certain creatures may catch on fire from fire damage.
Lightning: Represents electricity, lightning bolts. Many creatures made of stone may be unaffected by lightning damage.
Magic: Many spells deal magic damage, a catchall term, ranging from pure magically manifested force to radiant blasts summoned by angels.
Psychic: Psychic damage is any kind of mental stress, or forces that cause horrific nightmares designed to render you insane. It can also be manifested as severe migraines.
Silver: Silver damage is the same in virtually every way to Normal damage caused by weapons. Many monsters that are immune to Normal damage may be damaged by Silvered Weapons.

Other Terminology includes:

Resistance: When damaged by something that you are Resistant towards, the amount of damage is automatically lowered down to 1.
Immunity: You can never be damaged or affected by damage calls or status effects that you are immune to, except in specific circumstances listed in Monster Attributes. Players are rarely able to be immune to things.
Vulnerable: When damaged by something that you are Vulnerable to, any hit may remove limbs or kill, regardless of health. Players are rarely considered Vulnerable to damage types

Status Effects:

Status effects generally are designed to affect how players act for a certain amount of time. As with most things in this LARP, timers are meant to be rough estimates, no one will be standing around with stop watches, use your best judgement and roleplay accordingly. Sometimes a status effect may not be known about by a player until later. A DM or other messenger may relay a certain status to a player, giving information about the status effect and what caused it. A status call generally has the amount of time that you would be affected said after the status (“Blind 10 seconds”, “Charmed 5 minutes”)

If you are unsure what a status does when you are hit with it, you may always ask whomever threw it at you, take your best guess at what you should do, or simply fall down.

The following Status Effects are found within the game. Each will have the amount of time that you are affected by it said in the same call.

Bleeding Out: When a PC has 0 HP and is hit in the torso, or any 2 limbs, they begin Bleeding Out. They must fall to the ground, acting injured. They cannot attack, cast spells, use items of any kind, use skills of any kind, or move. They may still speak to call for aid. This status is removed and they may stand back up after receiving First Aid (The Skill), or regaining any HP through magical means, such as a prayer or potion.
Blind: A Blinded creature must close their eyes. You may squint to avoid real-world dangers, when needed.
Charm: A charmed creature cannot willingly harm the creature that charmed it, and must act as though they are close friends with the charmer. A charmed creature will not automatically fight its other allies, and uses its own judgement when obeying commands, as such, it will not willingly harm itself in any way. If the charmer damages the charmed creature at all, the condition ends early
Confuse: A confused individual must roleplay as though they are unaware of their surroundings. They may attack the closest living thing, or wander aimlessly.
Curse: There are many different Curses, with different effects. Curses generally affect Role Play as well as impose mechanical disadvantages. Players will receive a paper from Logistics informing them of their cursed status.
Death: A Dead character must act completely dead, falling to the ground, eyes closed, unmoving. They may not speak in any way, and must refer to the Death Rules for further information.
Disarm: A disarmed creature must drop whatever they were holding in the limb that was hit. Only affects arms. A disarmed weapon must touch the ground before it can be picked back up.
Disease: A diseased creature cannot restore Health until the Disease condition is removed.
Fear: The feared player must run away, screaming, from the source of the fear condition.
Freeze: A frozen creature cannot move or speak. Fire damage ends the frozen condition early, while dealing no damage to the frozen creature.
Hamstring: While Hamstrung, one or both of your legs are damaged, rendering you unable to run until you receive any sort of magical or mundane healing. You must RP with a limp. This is only applied if the call strikes a leg. This call has no effect when striking an arm or torso. Sitting down for twenty uninterrupted minutes to rest with RP will remove the Hamstring effect.
Poison: There are multiple different types of Poison, each with slightly different effects. Logistics will find you and inform you of your Poison status when afflicted.
Shift: A Shifted creature is removed from this world. A player’s body is to be ignored, as though it is not there. Shifted creatures cannot interact with the world around them, except to explain that they are shifted.
Silence: A Silenced creature cannot make any verbal noises, and therefore cannot cast any spells that require verbal components of any kind, including prayers, scrolls, or other verbal necessities.
Sleep: A sleeping creature must lay down and close their eyes. Any damage done to a sleeping creature instantly wakes them up. A creature may deliberately wake up something that is sleeping by RP shaking it while shouting “Wake Up!” for five seconds.
Severed Limb: When a limb is struck with any damage while you have 0 HP, that limb is considered Severed. It may not be used in any way; An arm cannot hold anything and must be kept behind your back. You cannot stand with a severed Leg, and must kneel instead. Certain spells and abilities can restore severed limbs. Having at least 2 Severed Limbs causes you to begin Bleeding Out (per the Status)

Death

When a PC has 0 HP and is hit in the torso, or when they lose at least two limbs, they begin Bleeding Out. They must fall to the ground, acting injured. They cannot attack, cast spells, use items of any kind, use skills of any kind, or move. They may still speak to call for aid. This status is removed and they can stand back up after receiving First Aid, or regaining any HP through magical means. A player may roleplay feeding a Potion of Healing to another player that is Bleeding Out to heal them, provided they have such a potion.

In order for a player, who is bleeding out, to die, one of the following conditions must occur:

A monster or player must continually attack the bleeding player, yelling out loudly “Killing 1! Killing 2! Etc. Until they count to 100 in this manner.
An hour passes uninterrupted. The finishing of an event IS an interruption, the player is assumed to be rescued.
The bleeding player, who knows how this mechanic works, may willingly die.

When a player is Dead, they may proceed in one of the following ways:

A Dead player may wait where they died as a Ghost in limbo. The character may be resurrected with certain magics, in which case the Player may follow the instructions of whomever revives them. They may not interact with anyone except via a “Speak With Dead” Prayer or other similar magics or skills. Waiting like this allows you to stand up if you were slain in an uncomfortable/awkward spot, for your own comfort/safety. You must remain near the point of death if you wish to wait. After 1 hour, you must proceed to Logistics, per option 2.
A Dead player may walk to Logistics, announcing that they have died. A GM may give them a few options, taking the player’s own wishes into account, as to how they may proceed. Such options may include coming back as a Cthonic, or a Revenant if the player feels they have pressing unfinished business as their character. They may offer a resurrection which will take the rest of the current shift to complete, during such time you may be given tasks as an NPC. This resurrection may include new RP opportunities such as a phobia of what slew the character.

Skills

Skills are found on a player’s character sheet, and can be purchased with sufficient Skill Points.
Skill Points are gained via leveling up your character with sufficient Experience.
When you create your character, you may choose 1 Inborn Skill, which you will write in the labeled box on the character sheet.
A character cannot select more than Two “Fighting Styles”
See the “Skills” Section of the Resources Tab for the full breakdown of each skill!

Harvesting

Harvesting allows the player to gather ingredients for different alchemical recipes from nature and monsters, if they have a container to hold such ingredients. Harvesting from nature requires the finding and collecting of different plants and fungi that are scattered around the viable play areas as special Props during adventures.

A member of Logistics will be responsible for distributing the props, each with a unique hole punch before the adventure begins, as well as collecting any props that are not harvested after the adventure ends.
A Player with the Harvest Skill will be given a paper with all the available Harvestable props hidden around the player area
After finding a prop, a player must use the hole punch, then bring their paper to Logistics and request the ingredient.
A player must have some sort of plastic vial or bottle to hold the Ingredient paper that they collect from Logistics. That container may then be kept to use in different Recipes, or be given/sold to another player.

When a monster dies, a player with the Harvesting skill may simply inform the monster that they are being harvested. The monster will ask to see the empty container that is to be used before handing the player a piece of paper that the player must then place into their container.
Not every monster can be harvested
Harvesting anything from humans is seen as an evil act.
Attempting to harvest from a prop or monster without the appropriate skill will result in the player receiving 2 acid damage taken to their arm, and becoming randomly poisoned.

Weapon and Armor Rules

General Notes:

See a GM at the start of the event during weapon inspections for approval of your weapons & armor.
A GM’s word is final on which equipment may be used or not, or to what extent.
It never hurts to ask if a prop may be used from a different LARP (Custom Spell Bags, etc.), but you must accept the answer given.
Weapons must be declared as Blunt or Non-Blunt during weapon inspections for the purposes of determining if they contain sufficient Iron to prevent spell casting.
A weapon prop that can deal damage without any magical effects or extra skills is considered to be made of Iron and prevents spell casting (Non-Blunt)
A Blunt weapon allows the use of Magic by the wielder. These generally take the form of wooden staves or clubs.
Blunt weapons can only be swung with a “Blunt” damage call, unless the player has the Staff Fighting Style, or Magics that affect the call.

Weapon Construction/Elaboration:

Weapons must have their primary striking surface(s) be constructed out of soft, durable foam. The striking surface can be coated with latex & paint, or with cloth
Duct tape cannot cover the striking surface of a weapon
All cloth covered weapons are considered “Basic” and are not eligible to be used as props for advanced Forging skills.
A solid strike from a weapon’s striking surface must not leave welts or bruises, or sting for more than 10 seconds.
A weapon must not flex along its striking edge more than 45 degrees when swung.
Weapons may not have metal or wooden cores
Premade Latex Weapons may not be stabbed with, only swung. Boffer weapons constructed with a passing stabbing tip may be used to stab.
Weapons must be swung at less than full force at all times. (Hard strikes in boffer combat LARPS such as Hearthlight are considered to be too hard in Portal to Ferrum)
Examples of disallowed weapons: Double-ended daggers, lassos, nets, nunchucks, punch-daggers, tonfas, and compound (pulley) bows. (This is not an exhaustive list).

Armor Construction/Elaboration:

The following table shows the points of armor that each type can give:

Armor Type Armor Points

Cloth Gambesons 1

Leather Armor (3-4oz) 1

Leather Armor (5+oz) 2

Chainmail/Scale Mail 3

Brigandine/Plate 4

Wearing 2 different types of armor at once uses the Armor Points of whichever type of Armor covers the Torso. If 2 types cover the torso, the higher Armor Point is used.
Armor points do not stack with additional armor types.
Armor Points are shared across all areas of the body that are covered. Wearing 1 point of Leather Armor across your entire body does not let you take one hit in an arm and then also a leg, for example.
Armor must be constructed and recognizable as armor. Items that have functions other than armor, such as bandoleers, boots, pouches, scabbards, straps, quivers, masks, etc... (this is not an exhaustive list) do not count as armor for the purposes of combat.
Armor may not have rigid projections that pass more than 0.5 inches through a 2.5 inch circular template.
Armor may not have rigid spikes or points of any size, and must have its metal corners rounded and edges blunted or rolled.
Armor must not be able to pinch or snare any appendages such as fingers.
Metal armor must be made of iron-, steel-, bronze-, brass-, copper-, or titanium-based alloys.
All Metal armor is considered to be Iron/Steel in-game, for the purposes of preventing Spellcasting.
The minimum thickness of non-chainmail metal armor is 0.8 mm (usually called 20 gauge).
Chainmail must not be able to have its weave penetrated by a 3/8” thick rod (dowel) in order to pass as armor.
Rigid metal hand armor must have a smooth, non-jagged surface so as to reduce damage to weapons that are blocked with a closed hand.
Rigid metal knee and elbow armor must be rounded and smooth, in order to prevent damage to weapons and combatants.
Cloth Gambeson armor must be constructed from multiple layers of sturdy fabric, such as canvas or linen, and easily recognizable as such.
Leather Armor must be made of real leather, and meet the minimum thickness of 3-4oz to qualify as “Light” Leather armor (1 Point) or 5+ oz thickness to qualify as “Heavy” Leather armor (2 points)
Helmets may not have face grills that violate the Garb and Aesthetic Standard.
While you are considered to be wearing Metal Armor and a Metal Helmet, you are immune to the following Magical-based Status calls: Blind, Charm, Confuse, Disarm, Disease, Fear, Frozen, Hamstring, Shift, Silence, Sleep
All worn Armor is considered Damaged when your Armor Points are depleted.
Damaged Leather or Cloth Armor may be repaired via magic or Mundane skills.
Damaged Metal Armor may not be repaired with magic.
Damaged Metal Armor will STILL prevent a player from casting any magic
Damaged Metal Armor will STILL prevent a player from being affected by magical status calls, provided they are wearing a metal helmet.

Shield Construction/Elaboration:

Shields must have their front and sides completely covered in at least one inch of foam to prevent injuries or wear and tear against striking surfaces.
Shield Cores cannot be constructed out of Metal.
The surface area of a shield cannot exceed 3ft wide by 4ft tall
A shield’s surface must be covered by Cloth, Latex Coating, or Plastidip.
A player may not strike an opponent with their shield, nor charge at an opponent to push them with their shield.
A player with the Shield Smash Feat may hold their shield arm by their chest and swing it outward while calling “Blunt”, which may reduce HP, but cannot kill, or remove limbs.
NPCs may be equipped with premade latex shields (such as from Epic Armoury) and may not shield bash with them in any capacity. Players may not use such shields.
Attacks and some spells may also be blocked by shields.
During sign-in, a shield must be declared to be either Wooden or Iron. The shield should look appropriate to what it is designated as, so as to not cause confusion in a fight.
A shield that clearly looks to be made of iron may be automatically designated as such by a GM.
Acid will destroy an Iron shield after 2 successful hits, regardless of the amount of called damage. Acid OR Fire will destroy a Wooden Shield after two successful hits. The hits against must be 2 of the same type.
The shield holder is required to keep track of the number of times their shield has been hit.
When broken, a shield must be discarded, as any subsequent hits are counted as hitting the player’s arm that holds the broken shield.
Shields block attacks from weapons and arrows,
Wooden shields do not block magical “Status” spell bags. Such status-inducing spells are considered to have struck the arm holding the shield.
Wooden shields block the following Damage & Status calls: Normal, Blunt, Dark, Lightning, Magic, Silver, Disease, Hamstring, Disarm (If not from a spell or spell bag)
Wooden shields may be repaired with Magic, or by Mundane means such as the Forging Novice skill.
Iron shields block the following Damage & Status calls: Normal, Blunt, Dark, Fire, Lightning, Magic, Psychic, Silver, Blind, Charm, Confuse, Disarm, Disease, Fear, Freeze, Hamstring, Poison, Shift, Silence, Sleep.
A player MAY NOT cast spells while holding an Iron shield.
Magic cannot repair a broken Iron shield. They must be repaired via the Forging Novice skill, or asking a Blacksmith NPC to repair one.

General Missile Weapons Rules:

All bows must have a draw weight of 35 lbs or less when drawn at 28”.
Crossbows must have a maximum power stroke of 420 inch-pounds. This is calculated by the following formula: (Distance between resting position and cocked position of the string) × draw weight. For example, a bow that is drawn back 12" from its resting position may have a draw weight of up to 35lbs.
“Throwing daggers” may not contain a core, be longer than 12 inches, or weigh more than 3oz.
Throwing Knives & Javelins deal One damage when thrown, and do not increase with any magic or skills that increase melee damage, unless the javelin is used as a melee weapon in your hand.
Foam “Rocks” may only be used with “Blunt” calls, which may lower HP when struck, but cannot remove limbs or cause Bleeding Out.
All non-magical projectiles (Rocks, Javelins, Arrows, Throwing Knives, and “Dirty Fighting Pocket Sand Bags”) may be blocked by shields without harm or effect to the shield-holder.

Missile Weapon Construction:

~Arrows:

A “draw stop” is required to prevent arrows from being drawn more than 28". Draw stops are typically made with a ring of tape. Draw stops must be placed between the 27” and 28” mark on the shaft, measured from the inside of the nock.
The face of an arrowhead must be at least 2.5" in all directions. This can be tested by putting a 2.5" circular template up to the tip. The base of the arrow (under the open-cell tip), must be at least 2” in diameter where it meets the open-cell tip foam.
All arrows must contain a circular metal disk measuring at least 3⁄4” in diameter and 1/16” thick (the size of a penny) secured perpendicularly (flat) at the end of the shaft.
All arrow striking surfaces must be constructed of open-cell foam.
All arrows must have at least two full vanes/fletching (feathers) and a nock.
Duct, cloth, or strapping are the only types of tape that may be used in arrow construction.
All wooden arrows must have their shafts wrapped in tape.
There can be no tape on the striking surface of an arrow.
The head of the arrow must not be able to be bent easily from side to side.

~Javelins:

The maximum weight of a javelin is 24 oz.
Javelins must be between 48” and 84” in length.
Javelins may be used as both Missile and Thrusting weapons, and therefore all javelins must pass both Missile and Thrusting specifications.
Javelins must be padded along their entire length.
The striking surface of a javelin may not be less than 3.5" in diameter in all directions. The base of the striking-surface foam must be at least 3" in diameter where it meets the open-cell foam.

~Rocks:

Rocks must be at least 4" in diameter and constructed of foam with as little tape as possible. No part of a rock may pass more than 0.5" through a 2.5" wide circular hole template.
The maximum weight of a rock is 24 oz.

Code of Conduct

All players should have read our Code of Conduct and understand its implications. Ignorance is not an excuse for bad behavior

1a. Harassment of any kind is not acceptable towards anyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, veteran status, genetic information, or physical appearance.

1b. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, offensive verbal comments, deliberate out-of-game intimidation, stalking or following someone, making harassing photography or recordings, and disrupting talks or other events. Anyone asked to stop any unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.

1c. As a blanket statement; Harassment or Abuse as defined by local laws are to be complied with by all members at all times. Use your head and be respectful towards others.

2. Out of game discussions of politics or religion are not appropriate at events, especially in character.

3. It is up to an individual to decide what makes them uncomfortable, any request to stop interacting with them in any manner is to be followed immediately. Failure to respect the personal space or personal comfort of a player may be met with a warning by an event coordinator and in some cases the offending party will be asked to leave and may be banned from further events/practices at the coordinator's discretion.

4. If you feel as though you are being harassed, or if you notice violating ours or a host's policies, it is encouraged to point out the behavior directly to the persons involved. This often solves problems immediately. If you don't feel comfortable talking to the persons involved directly, or talking to them does not resolve the issue, please report it immediately, in person, to an event coordinator or other staff member. We take these conversations seriously, and we will handle them as soon as they are brought to our attention.

5. Sexual activity in public structures is not allowed. A public structure is any building rented by the organization for communal use, including bathrooms, lean-tos, pavilions, or cabins

Engaging in such behavior in public makes those around you uncomfortable. Do not try to ask anyone around you if it is okay, don’t do it.

Please restrict your intimate relations with others to your own tents, or simply do not engage in this level of intimacy at our events or practices.

6. Hate Speech and Symbols: Many symbols have been appropriated by certain hate-groups that we actively condemn. Care must be taken when designing and presenting garb, banners, flags, and even visible tattoos, so that an average onlooker would not believe that we are a part of any groups that would use similar distasteful or offensive symbols. Please see a GM or rules marshal with any questions concerning this!

7. Drugs and Alcohol are not permitted at any Portal to Ferrum events.

Official statement regarding members banned in other LARPs

Our game is small and new. We must make sure that people who want to help build our game know where we stand in regards to suspensions and bans. The player base that we have is largely made up of people that are a part of other LARP communities. We cannot, in good conscience, ignore the reports made against any of our players at game events with a similar code of conduct.

We will trust, honor, and mirror the rulings and punishments found through such investigations. We cannot allow our game to be viewed as any sort of refuge to those who are kicked out from one community. Our player circles are one in the same. We hope and strive to provide a safe playing experience for everyone who partakes in our game, and we obey all suspensions and bans from the following organizations/games:

Hearthlight, Amtgard Goldenvale, and SCA East Kingdom

Cheating

Cheating, whether intentional or not, is bound to happen at an event. We take this issue seriously, so as to ensure that everyone is having fun in the boundaries of the agreed upon rulesets. Please note, do not attempt to call out anyone suspected of cheating directly. Wrong assumptions can lead to false accusations which will breed resentment among players. A character may have skills or spells that you are not aware of. Instead, if you believe someone is playing in a way they ought not be, please speak in-person to a game master or a rules herald, so that they may investigate the matter with the appropriate context.

If a game master or rules herald asks to see your character sheet, you are expected to comply immediately.