Hello, and welcome to the website for Ultimate Monster Battle Arena, the Michaelmas Term 2018 to Hilary Term 2019 Oxford University Roleplaying Games Society Game. If you've never played any sort of roleplaying game before, never fear! Here's a quick introduction. If you're a seasoned roleplayer, feel free to check out the quick guide to sections of the site at the bottom of this page.
One important thing to be aware of first: you don't need to read this entire website!
There's a lot of material here, and you certainly don't need to know all of it to start playing (although if you do want to, that's great)! Read only what interests you and what's relevant to a character you might like to play. You will find a guide to sections of the website and what they tell you below.
Any questions, concerns and character concepts should be e-mailed to the The GM Team.
There are a few acronyms used throughout the website which might be a little confusing if you've never played before. Don't worry - help is at hand! And if you're confused by anything, feel free to email us to ask questions!
A roleplaying game is somewhere between amateur dramatics and collaborative storytelling. You turn up, create a character to play, and play them! There are no scripts or lines, no set outcomes to what will happen - just a setting, a bunch of other characters to interact with, and some GMs to make sure it all runs smoothly.
Ultimate Monster Battle Arena is specifically a freeform roleplaying game, which means that instead of narrating your character's actions during game sessions, you actually perform them; you turn up each week, walk around and talk to other characters, make deals, gamble, trade news, gossip, diplome, eavesdrop and orate. This doesn't mean you need to be a great public speaker, or even a particularly good actor - just speak as your character would!
Sessions in Ultimate Monster Battle Arena occur during League Conferences, where etiquette is respected at all times. Combat and fights are not roleplayed, and attempting to attack other characters during session will result in severe consequences for your character.
Most importantly - roleplaying is about having fun and creating stories with other players. Absolutely no experience is required to play the Society Game (indeed, it's designed to offer an easy route in for new roleplayers!), and there will be plenty of supportive people on-hand to help you out if you're confused about any aspect of the game. Turn up and enjoy yourself!
Each session, players meet in the Vernon Harcourt Room in St. Hilda's College. These meetings represent League Conferences of the Ultimate Monster Battle Arena; players represent the attendees at these meetings, picking their fights, placing bets, planning how to be the very best. The world of Ultimate Monster Battle Arena is a “post-post-apocalyptic” setting1) with comic book and anime amount of ham - overexaggeration is encouraged! (See Style and Tone for more information.) The GMs will be on hand to offer help, advice, information and to keep the game running smoothly, as well as playing various NPCs every session.
Each gap between sessions represents three weeks of IC time. That's the period during which your character has the most freedom to act; you can fight your Monster in the Arena, take action against other PCs, fight, trade and politick! Each turn, we ask that players send in a summary of what they want their character to be doing in that three week period, known as a 'turnsheet'; the GMs will then judge the results of your actions and report back to you on how everything went.
Importantly, downtime is the only time during which you can interact with your Monster - you can't bring them to the Conferences!
There is a system for these turnsheet actions, detailed here - but don't feel you need to memorise it all; we're more than happy to help you out if you're having trouble working out what you want to do in the early turns.
We'd suggest starting in the following places: