1 Introduction
If there are any elements of the rules which you are unclear about then please raise the issue either by emailing our umpiring email account, assassins_umpire@hotmail.com or asking on the forum for clarification.2 Who Can Play?
To play the games you have to be a member of the Assassins’ Guild society at Warwick University.3 How Do I Play?
You will receive an email from the society informing you of when games are beginning and when to sign up to play. The Umpire will then issue you with targets, and after the specified start time you may begin attempting to ‘assassinate’ them, and the Players targeting you will begin their attempts to remove you from the game. Details of all successful or unsuccessful attempts must be emailed to the Umpire, whether they were by you, or on you. As Assassins are killed, targets are redistributed, and the Inquisition grows in size and strength. The last one standing is declared the winner, although accolades are also given out to other Players who performed well e.g. for most kills made.4 Signing Up for the Game
When you sign up to play the game, you need to provide the Umpire with the following details, which will be passed onto the Players targeting you via email. All distribution will occur in this way, and no personal information will be posted on a website or any other media available to the general public:- Your full name, indicating the name/nickname by which you are usually known.
- Your department/course.
- The email address you which to receive emails from the Umpire at. (This will not be passed onto the Players targeting you.)
- Your address at University. If in halls, this includes the room number. If you are going to be away from this address for a length of time, you need to inform the Umpire of this. If you lived in shared accommodation, e.g. shared rooms, it is your responsibility to make you housemate(s) aware of the game so they do not believe someone is genuinely trying to kill you.
- If you live off-campus, please provide brief details of trips to campus that you regularly make. This is to make the game more even between the Players living on and off campus.
- A starting pseudonym that you can opt to use when you report to the Umpire.
- Any other details of relevance such as if you live in a shared room.
5 Targets
The following Players are legitimate targets for you:- The two targets the Umpire assigns to you. The Umpire will inform you via email as and when these change due to Players being eliminated etc.
- The two Players who are targeting you. You will not be told you these are, but if you have a Sherlock Holmes streak in you and discover their identity, you may choose to protect yourself by killing them pre-emptively.
- Anyone involved in or having just made an attempt on you.
- Anyone openly carrying an assassins weapon. If the Player conceals the weapon they are no longer a legal target, but you are at liberty to follow them and hope they reveal it again.
- Any Player who has been placed on the Wanted List by the Umpire.
6 Competence
The object of the game is for Players to ‘assassinate’ other Players using legal methods outlined in the Weapons section of the rules. However, not all attempts to do this will be successful. In order to keep the game moving, the Umpire asks Players to make frequent attempts to ‘assassinate’ other Players, these do not have to be successful. To encourage frequent attempts there is a ‘competence period’ in which a Player has to make an attempt or else they will be placed on the Wanted List. This period is set to 5 days initially, although the Umpire may choose to alter it at their discretion. If changes to the competence period are made, all Players will be informed. Kills of Inquisitors or non-legal targets do not count towards Competence.7 Death
When a Player is killed, they are required to report their death to the Umpire, as they would any other attempt. Dead Players should remember that they are dead and as such cannot participate in the game or affect its outcome except by choosing to be resurrected into the Inquisition. Players in the Inquisition are bound by their own rules, but other dead Players must refrain from influencing the game in any fashion, such as giving information to still active Players.8 Reporting
Any time a Player is involved in an assassins incident, such as making an attempt on another Player or another Player making an attempt on them, they must report the incident to the Umpire as soon as possible, via email to the Umpire account. Reports can be dramatised, but may never contain lies. The Umpire does need to be clear as to exactly what transpired. If Players are unsure as to exactly what happened or the result of the attempt they should email as much detail as possible to the Umpire who will make a ruling on the issue, although it is preferable that Players resolve issues at the time. When making a report to the Umpire it is vital that the Players state explicitly whether or not they wish to have their real name or pseudonym (or which pseudonym) used when the incident is made public knowledge. The Umpire will not be held responsible for a Player’s pseudonym being revealed through use if the Player did not specify their preference in the report.9 The Wanted List
Assassins who fail to meet the competence deadlines, or who break minor rules such as attacking a non-legal target will be placed on the Wanted List. Players on the Wanted List are legal targets for every other Player in the game, including the Inquisition. If a Player continues to infringe upon the rules, or another competence deadline passes without an attempt, the Player may become ‘Most Wanted’ and a priority target for the Inquisition and other Players. Wanted Players are legal targets from when the email is sent, and a kill will stand even if they are unaware of their status due to having not checked their email.The Umpire will, when making a Player Wanted, specify conditions for the Players removal from the Wanted List. These will depend on the circumstances and the Players offence; the usual conditions are two legal attempts within a single competence period. Variation of this is at the Umpire’s discretion, an example of a previous variant is the killing of another Wanted Player.
Wanted Players are legal targets for all other Assassins, however, Most Wanted Players are a priority target for all in the game. For other Assassins, they will earn that Player another pseudonym in their own right.
10 The Inquisition
The Inquisition is a force which exists with the sole objective of hunting down and killing any Player made Wanted by the Umpire for whatever reason. It is led by a Chief Inquisitor who is selected before the game begins and operates in that role for the duration of the game. The ranks of the Inquisition are filled by dead Assassins, when a Player dies they have the option of being resurrected into the Inquisition, please inform the Umpire as to whether or not you wish to join the Inquisition when reporting your death.Inquisition Players are out of the main game but compete in their own internal competition. Inquisitors can only attack Wanted Players or those who are openly bearing weapons. They can, of course, defend themselves if attacked. Inquisitors may collaborate with living Assassins.
If an Inquisitor is killed they cannot take further part in the game for 3 days, this represents an injury sustained in the attempt on the Player and the time necessary for the Inquisitor to recuperate. It is the duty of the Chief Inquisitor to oversee the recovery period of their Inquisitors and inform them of when they become active again, Inquisitors have infinite lives. Inquisition Players should make their reports to the Chief Inquisitor who will then inform the Umpire of the events. The Inquisition email address is assassins_inquisition@hotmail.com and all communications from the Chief Inquisitor should be sent from this address.
The internal Inquisition competition works on a points system. Each Wanted Player has a points score and the Inquisitor who kills the Player gains that many points, if working in teams, all present Inquisitors gain the points each. If an Inquisitor is killed, they lose 2 points in addition to the 3 day inactivity period. The points for Wanted Players work as follows:
- A Player made Wanted due to Incompetence is worth 1 point.
- A Player made Wanted for infringement on minor rules is worth 2 points.
- If the Wanted Player kills any Inquisitors during their Wanted time, this adds 1 point per Inquisitor slain.
- If a Player is made Most Wanted by the Umpire then 3 points are added to their score.
- The Chief Inquisitor has the authority to assign priority targets to the Inquisition by modifying the point value of each Wanted Player by up to 2 points. It is the responsibility of the Chief Inquisitor to keep track of Player points values and to inform the Inquisition as and when they change.
11 Pseudonyms
Each Assassin begins the game with one pseudonym of their choice. They have the option of using the pseudonym in their reports to the Umpire, as reports of events will be made public. This enables the assassin to conceal their identity and position within the game. Every three legitimate kills made by the Assassin entitles him or her to another pseudonym, which should be registered with the Umpire prior to use.Pseudonyms can be any string of characters, whether actual words or not, but they may not be the real name of another Player involved in the game. Pseudonyms may look like a real name, however. Nor may the names be offensive etc. If a kill is made in public, (i.e. there are a half a dozen or more other people present) then the Players pseudonym may not be used in the report, it will be published under their real name.
12 Accomplices
Non-Players may assist Players in their attempts on other Players to a limited extent. Non-Players may not kill anyone or even carry an assassins weapon on the behalf of a Player. If your accomplice is killed while acting on your behalf, you will be placed on the Wanted List. Accomplices must be informed prior to their involvement in the game of the rules governing their actions; this is the responsibility of the Player on whose behalf they are acting.13 Out-of-Bounds Areas
Any Player may request to be considered out-of-bounds for a specific time or event by emailing the request to the Umpire who will pass details on the Assassins targeting that Player. Essentially, Players may not kill or be killed in Out-of-Bounds areas. If you think somewhere should be out-of-bounds, that currently is not please email the Umpire. Out-of-bounds areas are:- Lecture theaters and seminar rooms whether or not a lecture or seminar is in progress.
- Practicals and laboratories.
- Hospitals, libraries, museums and sports halls.
- Churches, Chapels, Synagogues, Mosques, Temples, Stupas or any other official places of worship or religious buildings.
- Any dining arrangement in which you are obliged to wait for the attention of staff in order to be seated is out-of-bounds. Anywhere you get food yourself from a Servery is in bounds.
- Any Ball, Event, or similar is out-of-bounds. Regular union ents are in bounds.
- Seminars, supervisions, tutor meetings and the like are out-of-bounds. A supervisee is out-of-bounds from the time they meet their supervisor until the time they part ways. The pre-arranged supervision location is out-of-bounds for the arranged duration of the supervision.
- Persons engaged in 'serious' activities on the water, such as rowing or canoeing, are out-of-bounds. Similarly, they are out-of-bounds while transporting substantial, related equipment to or from such an activity.
- Anyone working in a job is out of bounds while at work. Anyone working at a union bar or ent is also out of bounds.
- The RaW radio station is out-of-bounds.
- Government buildings, banks, building societies and shops are out-of-bounds.
- Anyone in a car or other motorized vehicle is out-of-bounds and cannot attack or be attacked. Players on bicycles are in bounds, but please be careful only to attack if there is no possibility that you could cause an accident or injury. Players should also avoid water-fights etc across busy streams of traffic, both to avoid risk of injury and to prevent aggravating drivers.
- Public transport vehicles are out-of-bounds. The same is true of airports, train stations and their vicinities.
- Auditoria of theatres/cinemas and concert halls are out-of-bounds. Any area in which a scheduled public play is being performed counts as an auditorium. Areas in which backstage preparation work is taking place are also out-of-bounds.
- Any persons performing/practicing with fire poi/fire sticks/fiery juggling implements or juggling knives are considered to be have a rather large out-of-bounds area surrounding them which should encompass all those in the immediate vicinity who are primarily engaged in watching/teaching/heckling said persons. This is entirely a safety concern.
- Organized sports activities are out-of-bounds. This will usually be taken to mean tournament matches at inter-uni level or higher. This does not include impromptu 'kickabouts'. However, pre-arranged training sessions of officially recognized teams or societies are out-of-bounds. Non-spectating participants are out-of-bounds for the duration of the match and during any preparations immediately before or after.
- Players working with or riding on horses are out-of-bounds.
- Computer rooms are out-of-bounds.
14 Code of Conduct
This is very important and all Players must be familiar with this. By playing our games, you are accepting this Code of Conduct. Breaches will be taken very seriously by the Umpire and the Society and potentially lead to trouble with authorities including those at Warwick University or even the Police. The society reserves the right to ban members from taking part in our games if they repeatedly breach this Code of Conduct.- Players are responsible for their own actions and must exercise common sense at all times, avoid inconveniencing non-Players especially university staff.
- Honesty is required for the game to work. All Players must make honest reports including their own deaths to the Umpire. Any Player discovered to be intentionally lying to the Umpire will be removed from the game. Players must be honest with each other, they cannot lie and claim they are already dead when they are not to avoid an attempt, or claim they are not playing etc.
- Do not use non-Players to ‘scare off’ Players who are targeting you.
- If you feel another Player is acting unreasonably or not in accordance with this or any other section of the rules contact the Umpire or a member of the society exec.
- This game is non-violent. There is no excuse for strength to be used on another Player. Do not indulge in any action that could lead to injuries for yourself or any other Player, or damage to private or university property, such as trying to force open a shut door.
- Be aware that not everyone is aware of the game. In the current political climate, people are easily alarmed. Do not indulge in any activity that will frighten members of the public, do not use weapons that could be mistaken for real weapons, do not dress up in an intimidating fashion.
- The RaW radio station is out-of-bounds.
- You are not allowed to impersonate university officials including cleaners for the purposes of the game. Nor are you allowed to impersonate non-university authorities such as the Police. No one is allowed to impersonate the Umpire, any messages from the Umpire should be sent through the official account, assassins_umpire@hotmail.com any suspicious messages should be reported to this account.
- Fire alarms, security alerts, and medical situations may be neither manufactured nor used for game purposes.
- Do not undertake in any action that is either illegal, such as breaking into your targets house, or that could be construed to be illegal.
- Dead Players are not to become involved in the game by disseminating information they acquired through the game to other Players still involved with the game.
- Above all, remember this is just a game to be played for fun. Players who act in a manner that has a detrimental affect on the enjoyment of others may be reprimanded or removed from the game by the Umpire.
15 The Umpire
Contact to and from the Umpire should be made through the official Umpiring account ONLY. This is assassins_umpire@hotmail.com This is the address which you should send any queries about rules or other aspects of the game to, it is also the address used for signing up to the games. It is forbidden to impersonate the Umpire. The Umpire is immortal, invulnerable and cannot be bribed or intimidated. Players who wish to test these propositions will cease to be Players.The rulings of the Umpire are final. There is no right of appeal against a disqualification, being placed on the Wanted List. In turn, the Umpire has a duty to familiarise themselves with these rules and must enforce them fairly. Any serious complains about the Umpiring of the game, such as victimisation, should be brought the society exec, principally the Chief Umpire (currently David Robb) or the President (currently Richard Snowdon) who can be contacted through the society email account or in person through their university email addresses. Umpires who abuse their position will be removed from the position and will not be permitted to Umpire another game at any time.