The world of Aurum is governed by a unique rules system for a rich, intriguing lore, and is designed to be flexible, player-responsive, and a launching pad for player creativity and inspiration. Everything a player needs to know to play can be found on this page, but as always, questions are welcome and to be expected so please feel free to Contact Us at any time!
Please feel free to download a copy of the official Rulebook PDF (updated yearly), and familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct. For World-building, Culture Packets, or other Plot information, visit our Story & Plot page.
While creating a new character may seem intimidating at first, the process can be broken down into several simple steps:
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Choose a Species/Culture, a Class List, and a character name. While certain Species/Cultures may have boons or cultural inclination to certain classes/professions, there is no out-of-game restriction on which class a character chooses, so pick a Species and Class that you as the player will have the most fun roleplaying!
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Every new character begins with 10 Experience Points (plus any additional XP either purchased or earned from FTNPCing) to spend on learning skills from their chosen Class (up to 20 XP total; additional XP beyond 20 is not lost, but cannot be spent at character creation). You are not required to spend all available XP at character creation; any XP unspent will be banked for later use/learning at events. However, regardless of how much XP a character has, they cannot start with any skills higher than Rank 2 at character creation.
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Choose your starting equipment for your new character. Every character begins with 5 Kroner (our in-game currency), and chooses their starting items based on what skills their character has. Each bullet point below is a separate category the character may choose items from if the bullet point applies; if the character does not have a skill which applies that category (or if the player chooses not to take an item from that category), they gain an additional 5 Kroner to start with.
The starting equipment categories are:-
One melee weapon of choice applicable to any one of all the melee weapon skills the character knows [Simple Weapon, Great Weapon, Florentine, 1-Handed & Shield]
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For Florentine, the character may begin with two Simple Weapons of choice
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For 1-Handed & Shield, the character may begin with one Simple Weapon and one Shield
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One ranged weapon of choice and six units of ammunition applicable to any one of all the ranged weapon skills the character knows [Firearms, Ranged Weapons]
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One piece of armor in each location applicable to any one of all the Armor skills the character knows (Light Armor, Medium Armor, Heavy Armor]
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Locations are: Head, Left Arm, Right Arm, Left Leg, Right Leg, Torso
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Additionally, the player must have an appropriate physical representation for each piece of armor they wish to have at character creation, regardless of purchased skills; players will not be given cards for armor pieces for which they do not have Marshal-approved representation
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Two schematics/recipes and enough Components to craft one of each item from among all the Crafting skills the character knows [Alchemy, Occult, Poisons, Aetheric Science Theory/Practice, Chemistry Theory/Practice, Natural Science Theory/Practice, Physics Theory/Practice]
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Submit your character to Logistics, either online using the New Character Submission Form or with a Logistics Marshal at an event!
Sometimes after finally playing a new character, a player might realize the character that was designed isn't quite what they thought it would be and might wish to alter some or all aspects of the character, and that's okay! Players are permitted to change any number of aspects about a character (including Class and/or Species!) freely using all of their available XP up until the character is played a total of three events. These events do not need to be consecutive; if a player misses an event, plays a different character, or they choose to FTNPC, those events do not count against the tweaking-period for the new character.
Once the character has been played more than three times, the only alterations to the character that can be made are new skills learned at events as normal. If the player is still unhappy with the character, or no longer wishes to play the character, they may "re-roll" the character into a brand-new one. However, any earned XP beyond 16 XP (Starting XP + XP earned from three events) is lost and cannot be applied to the new character. Furthermore, the new character does not have any of the memories, relationships/contacts, knowledge, or experiences of the "re-rolled" character, and any money, items, or non-public plot information obtained by the old character is not transferred to the new character; should such still exist in-game, it must be earned by the new character through roleplay at events.
For re-rolled characters only, if the new character is submitted prior to the cut-off date for the previous-event's Story Development Action submission period, the player may replace the old character's SDA with a new SDA for the new character instead. If the player does not submit a new character prior to the cut-off, the SDA is forfeited for that event.
Player Service Rewards
Aurum is not only a game, it is a community of volunteers working together to provide the best experience for all members of the Aurum family. The Service Points System is the most common way Aurum rewards and thanks its players and staff for contributions they make towards our goals of producing immersive, high-quality content. In most cases, such contributions are in the form of prop/costuming donations, taking voluntary NPC shifts or full-time NPCing, post-event cleanup, or performing some other kind behind-the-scenes support for running events smoothly. Because contributions can vary greatly, it is impossible to list the specific Service Point (or "SP", for short) amounts awarded for each possible option; however, players are encouraged to ask Aurum staff before committing to a donation/service assignment and Aurum staff will endeavor to provide a general idea of the reward amount for the intended service.
Service Points can be exchanged for special rewards (including, but not limited to, Components, unique items, SDA bonuses, and temporary skills) for their characters through the "Goblin Black Market". While Service Points are an out-of-game reward for players, the Goblin Black Market is an in-game entity which exists to help explain where and how Service Point rewards are acquired by characters. At events, players can visit the Goblin Black Market by visiting Logistics to have their purchase noted on the player's character card and receive any item cards and/or marshal notes (as applicable). However, as Service Points are earned by the player and not individual characters, players can make Service Point purchases for any of their characters at any time up to their current SP total.
The offerings on the Goblin Black Market may periodically update, so check back frequently for new rewards to purchase!