Amtgard V9

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Official Status

Amtgard V9 is still in development.
The rules are currently in open alpha playtesting.
Visit the Playtest Disclaimer for more information.

Release Timeline

• Amtgard V9 is scheduled to be voted on for a year of mandatory playtesting in July 2024.
• Open Alpha playtesying of the Class Rules began in October 2023.
• Open Alpha playtesting of the Militia Rules began in August 2023.
• Closed Alpha playtesting of the Militia Rules began in October 2022.
• Official Research and Development has been on-going since August 2019.

The Amtgard V9 Committee

The Amtgard V9 Committee, also known as the V9 Team works for Amtgard International as a branch under the Executive Committee and reports to the Circle of Monarchs. The V9 committee is responsible for research and development of the Amtgard V9 Rules of Play.

Core Membership

The core members act as the primary decision-makers for the committee. They are the official committee members recognized by the Circle of Monarchs and bear all the responsibility for the success or failure of the project.

CURRENT MEMBERS

• Wunjo Ballo - Committee Lead / Director of V9 Development
• Manama Proster - Committee Member / Rules Representative Organizer
• Korderellin - Committee Member / Legacy V8 Committee Member
• Gorovan Dramsson - Committee Member
• Heron - Committee Member

PREVIOUS MEMBERS

• Wat
• Rel

Extended V9 Team

Members of the Extended Team are supporting contacts chosen by the Core Members to provide guidance, insight, advice, or to promote idea generation. Extended members are not part of the official V9 committee and hold no official power or responsibility in the Amtgard V9 project other than those granted to them by the core team.

• All Kingdom Rules Reps
• All supporting Amtgard International Boards and Committees
• All internal Focus Groups, Advisory Councils, and Playtesters

Development History

Before 2019: Unofficial Teams

Prior to 2018, the idea of Amtgard V9 development was being explored by two separate, unofficial teams. One led by former Amtgard V8 developper, Korderellin, and another by Rising Winds Rules Rep and eventual RRO, Manama Proster.

2019-2020: The Merger

At Gathering of the Clans 2019, with approval from the Circle of Monarchs, the two teams merged together and were christened as an official committee under Amtgard International. Over the next year, the team would refine it's membership and slowly put together an operational structure and long-term development plan.

During this time, the team was led jointly by Korderellin and Manama Proster.

Shortly after, Rel left the committee to pursue work overseas, and the global COVID-19 pandemic forced the world into lockdown, including all Amtgard Kingdoms.

2020-2021: Phase 1 - Comprehensive Surveys

At Gathering of the Clans 2020, with unanimous approval from the Circle of Monarchs and his committee peers, Wunjo Ballo was promoted to Committee Lead and Director of V9 Development. Under Wunjo's leadership, the V9 team began Phase 1 of their four-year development plan.

Phase 1 was a pure research initiative that involved mass distribution of comprehensive surveys about the Amtgard V8 rules of play. From these surveys, they also selected and invited a diverse group of over 100 players from across all Kingdoms to participate in online focus groups and act as idea generator and general feedback for early stage ideas. Lastly, the V9 committee established the V9 webpages and numerous other outreach initiatives to engage as much of the active Amtgard population as possible and mitigate the effects of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

Also during this time, Heron was recruited to the core team and Wat stepped down but continues to contribute as an extended team member.

2021-2022: Phase 2 - Field Research Program

At 2021 AICOM meeting, the committee presented an annual report to the Circle of Monarchs and officially entered Phase 2 of development.

Phase 2 focused on On-Field Research as the greater Amtgard community exited the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to field. Parks were invited to join the program and take part in special experiments and testing, providing feedback directly to the committee via park-appointed Research Ambassadors.

2022: Green Light to Proceed

At the 2022 AICOM meeting, the V9 Committee was on the docket to either be dissolved or empowered. The vote to dissolve the committee failed by a super-majority (14 votes to 8) and the vote to empower the committee passed with over 81% approval (18 votes to 4).

The results of this meeting updated the V9 Committee's mandate from just "research V9" to "playtest, build, and present a complete V9 ruleset to the AICOM for consideration in 2024".

With fresh wind in their sails and support from the AICOM, the V9 Committee entered Phase 3 of development - Alpha Playtesting.

2022-2023: Phase 3 - Closed Alpha Playtesting

Heading into 2023, the V9 Committee launched the closed Alpha playtest of the Militia Ruleset. This was an opt-in phase of playtesting that required parks to register to gain access. The intent was give the on-going V8 Development breathing room (at the request of the AICOM), however leaks and misinformation began to run rampant among the unregistered crowds who were curious and anxious about what they couldn't see happening behind the closed doors.

This culminated at the 2023 AICOM meeting, where the V9 Committee was once again on the docket to be dissolved, this time including a second proposal to release all the survey data to the public. Worse yet, both of these proposals were heavily influenced by waves of misinformation and a growing fear of the unknown.

Thankfully, the AICOM vote to dissolve the V9 committee failed (13 votes against, 10 votes in favor), and the vote to release the data also failed (13 votes against, 10 votes in favor); however it was now clear that closed playtesting was doing more harm than good and a new approach was necessary if the team wanted to secure the 75% support needed to become the official ruleset.

With another dissolution vote behind them, the V9 Committee entered Phase 4 of development, ready to squash misinformation with the move to Open Playtesting and release of the Class Rules, the most anticipated release since the inception of V9.

2023-2024: Open Playtesting

Amtgard V9 Development is currently in this phase.

Useful Links

• Official Amtgard V9 Playtest Rules
• Official Amtgard V9 Webpage

Videos

• 2023 Annual Report
• 2022 Annual Report
• 2021 Annual Report
• 2021 April Fools Video
• 2020 April Fools Video