Glossary
Out-Of-Character Terms
Encounter
A part of a Mission in which the Players and Monsters interact, overcome some problem, fight, diplome, or various other things.
GM - Game Moderator
GMs are responsible for running individual Missions and are responsible for the goings on of that Mission and making decisions about encounters and their outcomes.
IC - In Character
Events and people in the world of Planetfall. For example, the Missions of Planetfall occur IC on various planets.
In Cover
If an ability refers to being “in cover” you should be behind an obstacle, crouching, and have not exhausted the pool of “MISS” calls you gain from doing so.
See also Cover.
LARP-Safe
Something is deemed “LARP-Safe” if it has passed a safety check by an appropriate Ref or GM and is safe to strike someone with.
Mission
The weekly adventures that are embarked on in Planetfall - each week will be a different Mission.
Monsters (or Crew)
During a Mission, over half of the attendees will be playing Monsters - adversaries to the Player party, obstacles, enemy rebels, alien creatures, and so on. Though we call them 'Monsters', the term here encompasses anything on a Mission that isn't a Player Character but which needs to be roleplayed.
NPC - Non-Player Character
Any character in the world of Planetfall who is not an active Player Character - for example, other survivors, alien lifeforms, people of authority, and rebels, all of whom may be encountered and interacted with. These will be played by the Monster crew during Missions, and GMs are encouraged to add NPCs they create to the NPC page.
OOC or OC - Out of Character
Events and circumstances in the real world. For example, Planetfall Missions take place OOC at Shotover Country Park.
PC - Player Character
You! The characters that Planetfall players create and represent in the fictional world. You may have multiple Player Characters in the game at a time if you choose. During a typical Mission, under half of the attendees will play Player Characters attempting to achieve some objective. The rest will be Monsters.
Phys-Rep
Shorthand for “Physical Representation” - describing props that represent something in the game, regardless of how closely they appear. For instance, the “phys-rep” for a sword is a LARP-Safe prop.
PvE and PvP
Terms to describe the nature of the fight your characters face, 'Player vs Environment' (i.e. the world is out to kill you) or 'Player vs Player' (i.e. everyone else is out to kill you). Planetfall is designed as a PvE game though PvP action may occur.
Refs / Head Ref team
The team of people who maintain the game at a high level - organising metaplot, balancing abilities, and making sure the game runs smoothly. The best people to turn to if you have a question about the game. You can contact them at planetfall.larp@gmail.com.
Uninterrupted Roleplay
If someone requires you to perform uninterrupted roleplay then you must perform appropriate roleplay uninterrupted for the duration. If you are interrupted, you must start again from scratch. See Uninterrupted Roleplay on Combat Rules.
Utility Ability
This describes abilities which aren't generally for use in combat. These should be used out of combat after discussion with the GM on the Mission.
Within Reach
If a skill says something is “within reach” it means that it should be within about 1m of you - as if you could easily hit it with a short sword.
XP (Experience Points)
XP is used to determine how powerful a character is, and is spent on Character Abilities.
In-Character Terms
Borderlands
This refers to any Star System that was seeded by the Galactic Cooperation but has not achieved full membership of the GC.
Example: The Keter Borderlands.
Clout
This represents how favoured you are by different Factions. It is both an IC and OC term.
Galactic Cooperation
See also The Galactic Cooperation. This is the large interplanetary group that maintains technological and physical peace after the Last Interstellar War. Think of it as the Space UN.
Seeding
The process by which barren worlds are rapidly terraformed for settlement.
Settling
Settling refers to establishment of new civilisations on planets with no indigenous sapient life. Adding independent settlements to already settled worlds is only achievable by diplomacy and is generally out of the scope of Planetfall.
Species
When referring to a Species (upper case S) we are referring to one of the Sapient Species of the galaxy. With a lowercase s, we are referring to non-sapient fauna.