V9: Theme and Setting
- The Amtwiki is the official home and primary source for Amtgard V9 Rules as of February 25, 2023.
- These rules are currently in Open Alpha Playtest. See the Playtest Disclaimer for more details.
- To learn more about Amtgard V9 Development, please visit Amtgard.com.
- To view the current Amtgard V8 ruleset, please see the Amtgard V8 Rulebook.
Theme and Setting
Theme
The core theme of Amtgard is Heroic Fantasy.
"Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the respective absence of scientific or macabre theme.
Heroic fantasy is the name given to a subgenre of fantasy otherwise called "sword-and-sorcery". It is a story of action and adventure laid in a more or less imaginary world where magic works and modern science and technology have not yet been discovered. Such a story combines the color and dash of historical costume romance with the supernatural thrills of the weird, occult, or ghost story.
When done well, it provides the purest fun of fiction of any kind. It is escape fiction wherein one escapes clear out of the real world into one where all life is adventurous, all problems simple, and there's nothing that can't be solved with a good quest."
- - Paraphrased Excerpts from Fantasy and Heroic Fantasy on Wikipedia
Setting
The shared setting of Amtgard is limited to just a few details, the rest of which are left up to local communities and roleplay organizers.
- All Kingdoms and Parks exist in the same plane, called "Amtgard" or "Amtgardia" depending on who you ask.
- All Kingdoms and Parks are geographically arranged similar to how their real-life locations are arranged on planet Earth, often with similar topography and water features (rivers, coastlines, etc.)
- There are 12 constellations that can be seen in the night sky no matter where you are.
- Phoenixes are sacred creatures.
- Time and space are variable (to account for real-life schedules, travel times, and different story teams.)
"Time and space itself seems subject to the elastic nature of reality. While all denizens can recite the same date without thinking, the actual flow of time itself seems inconstant. At some points many days can seem crammed into a single date, with only a few years separating the present from 'Ancient History', while time in the next kingdom flows in such a way that I would perceive as ‘normal’.
And yet stranger still are the ever-changing, undiscovered wilds between our settled communities and beyond, seemingly riddled with monsters, landmarks, and locales that remain constant only as long as they persist in memory, and travel routes that grow or shorten in much the same way."
- - Journal of Makros the Traveler
Getting Started The ORK · Character Creation · Theme and Setting · What to Expect From Roleplay
What to Bring on Your First Day · Who is Responsible for Helping New Players?
