NERO International

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NERO International is a Live action role-playing game (or LARP) played in the United States and Canada. NERO stands for "New England Roleplaying Organization", but this is actually somewhat of a misnomer, as the game has expanded beyond its original New England roots. It is a "boffer" style LARP that uses simulated combat with padded weapons.

At a NERO game, players gather at campsites on weekends that local chapters designate as events. Most chapters run an average of six to ten events a year. A group of staff members write the plot and story for the event, while a cast of volunteer NPCs play the roles of monsters and townspeople, helping to sustain the illusion that the campsite in the woods is actually a medieval-fantasy town. The heroes of the event (or PCs), play the part of adventurers, nobility, and various ne'er-do-wells that are spending the weekend in the town. Every chapter of NERO operates in the same game world, Tyrra, on the same in-game continent, Avalon.

Players of an event pay $40 - $80 (depending on the cost of living in that part of the country) to play their characters at a typical weekend event (one-day events are sometimes held, as well as the occasional four, seven, or even the nine-day event). Through battle with fantasy monsters, and by solving puzzles and other challenges, characters earn treasure in the form of gold and silver coins (actually brass and aluminum tokens minted for the game), magical components, or enchanted items. Characters also earn experience points for surviving the weekend, which they can use to buy more skills and become more powerful.

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[edit] Origin and History of NERO International

The first gatherings that would later become NERO were held by Ford Ivey in rural Massachusetts, under the names "Weekend in the Woods" and "Weekend Warriors" in 1986 after seeing some European LARP's. Over about two years, along with around two dozen friends, they refined their rules and learned more about running LARP games amongst themselves, until in March 1988 they began to work on a new concept in larping. Instead of each game being a separate game, with separate characters and each game having a single linear plotline, they began to work on a larp with a single game world and consistent characters and many overlapping and long-term plotlines that would require as little oversight from a gamemaster as possible and most players could be player characters instead of non-player characters.

In fall of 1998 they changed their name to the New England Roleplaying Organization and began to operate a larger fantasy LARP event. Promoting his game from the game store he owned, his first event in April 1989 had an attendance of around 150 and it slowly grew over the next three years to be a very popular roleplaying game in the Massachusetts area, until it reached national prominence almost overnight. By 1991 attendance at events was between 300 and 500, over 1,300 members with paid membership dues, there was initial talk of creating franchised local versions of NERO.

In September 1991, Dragon Magazine had a large article about NERO that catapulted it to overnight fame in the roleplaying community. Suddenly, NERO was not a popular local game, now it was a nationally known game, being promoted to the roleplaying (especially Dungeons and Dragons) community. Players came to NERO from around the United States and from Canada. Attendance at events rose rapidly, and 700+ players per event were not unknown.

Many players who came to NERO from afar wanted to play this game back home, without travelling across the entire country for every game. Likewise, some players from the Massachusetts area moved to different areas of the country, desiring to have a local version of the game. Within months, new "Chapters" were licensed by the home NERO game to use their system, name, and setting. Over the next few years, dozens of new NERO chapters would be founded across the United States and Canada, while the original NERO changed its name to "NERO Massachusetts" to make it distinct from other new chapters, and the administrative function of the game became known as "NERO National". It would later come to be known as "NERO International" when Canadian chapters were formed.

In 1998 after several years of hard work by NPCs , Monster Camp and Plot Committees, Ford Ivey sold NERO International to Joseph Valenti. Under Joseph Valentis administration, NERO International has concentrated largely on standardization of rules (earlier, chapters were allowed great discretion on changing the standard rules), as well as unification of the in-game setting. NERO continued to grow rapidly, reaching over 50 chapters in 2005, with most of the United States within a one day drive of a NERO chapter.

A major reason of the popularity of NERO over many smaller LARPs is the expansive "chapter" system. Since NERO shares one game world, player characters can be played in any chapter at any time. Thus, dedicated players can travel to other chapters besides the one they normally play at to play more often, play in a chapter with a style of play that suits them, or to play when it is more convenient for them. There are many players who play almost every weekend by travelling, or those who regularly play at several different nearby chapters.

There are also "non-tyrran" campaigns, which use the basic rules system, but are set in a different game world. These are usually run by Chapters that also have campaigns set in the main game world. Examples include Wildlands (based in Massachusetts), Wildlands South (based in Georgia) and Onyx Hollow, AKA Wildlands West (Based in Kentucky).

[edit] Offshoot LARPS

Some early chapters of NERO later quit the organization to create their own LARP, often with only minor modifications to the game. The SOLAR LARP in Atlanta, Georgia was one of the most successful offshoot larps, originally being NERO Southeast. LIONE Rampant also became a popular LARP in New England.

[edit] The Alliance Schism

 The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

In 1998, at the time when NERO International was being sold from Ivey to Valenti, Mike Ventrella, who edited the NERO rulebook for Ford Ivey, produced a copy of a contract signed by Ford Ivey in 1996 which gave him an irrevocable and permanent license to use the NERO trademark and rules. After a dispute with Ivey and Valenti, Ventrella withdrew his own chapter from NERO International and used this contract to create the "NERO Alliance", licensing his own local NERO games (which he called "Campaigns" instead of "Chapters"). As of 2005, the NERO Alliance has 11 Campaigns, mostly the Northeast, Michigan, and the Pacific Northwest. The circumstances of the schism lead to feuding between players, threats of litigation by both sides, and for years players of the two factions rarely played in the games of the other.

The NERO split is still a sore spot with NERO International president Joe Valenti, who referred to NERO Alliance as "The False NERO" or "The false NERO alliance" some 48 times during the 2 hour radio interview with Ventrella and Valenti on RedHawk Radio's Radio Free Amtgard program in mid 2004.

On November 15, 2005, Michael Ventrella, on behalf of Nero Alliance, filed suit in United States District Court against Nero International Holdings, allegeing copyright infringement and false designation of origin. The suit seeks monetary damages, destruction of all rulebooks, and to cease using the material. Nero International has called the lawsuit "frivilous and an attempt by Mr. Ventrella to take control of Nero International".

On April 4, 2006, Nero International Holding Co, Inc. responded to the lawsuit denying the charges, and filed a counter-suit demanding judgements that the did not violate Alliance's copyrights, claiming that International did not violate the Lanham Act or engage in unfair practices, and attorney's fees.

[edit] The Tyrran Campaign Setting

The setting of NERO is the World of Tyrra, a medieval fantasy world. The normal NERO campaign is set on the continent of Avalon. The world map of Tyrra very roughly resembles Earth, with Avalon being in the position of North America. Other continents generally only appear as elements of rumor and lore, or as the source of travellers (or enemies) from afar.

The largest and most powerful Kingdom on Avalon is the Kingdom of Evendarr, and many chapters depict a given area (typically a Duchy) of Evendarr as their specific region of the world. The standard calendar of NERO dates from the founding of Evendarr (and is equivalent to the real-world calendar subtracting 1400 years, so that the Gregorian Calendar year 2005 is 605 in the Tyrran setting). Other kingdoms also exist, representing the regions depicted by other chapters (like the Kingdom of Stonegate, representing the Ohio and West Virginia chapters), or regions which exist to provide the feel of an alternate setting for characters who want to come from a background other than the standard renaissance European setting (like Draelonde, the Dark Elf homeland that has a culture similar to Edo period Japan, or Myrr, the home of a race of anthropomorphic cats which is culturally akin to ancient Persia). A large in-game organization, the "Nations of Avalon", loosely unites most of these Kingdoms as a fantasy analog of the United Nations to oppose common enemies (like invaders from other contnents) and promote travel and trade (and make it easier for characters to travel by standardizing laws).

The level of technology on Tyrra is roughly equivalent to the early 16th century, with Copernican astronomy, intercontinental navigation, crude chemistry, and clockmaking being on the cutting edge of the sciences. Firearms do not exist, although gunpowder-like explosives have been created (and can be used as traps or bombs). Culturally, there is a blend of societies and cultures, most inspired by various historic sources from the ancient and medieval world, although it generally resembles Renaissance Europe, with small enclaves or regions having dissimilar cultures.

There are two kinds of magic on Tyrra, Celestial Magic (which uses the Classical Elements and casts spells generally related to battle and protection), and Earth Magic (which generally casts spells related to healing and Necromancy). Most magic is "battle magic" which is performed by saying a short phrase to let other players know what spell is cast, and throwing a "spell packet" (a small pouch of cloth and birdseed) to represent the spell. More advanced characters can perform Formal Magic (sometimes called "rituals") which can create enchanted items, transport characters great distances, or perform powerful divinations. Some Chapters allow the use of Harmonic Magic, which is song-related magic typical of the Bards of other fantasy games. There is also Alchemy, which is semi-mystical chemistry and herbalism, used to create medicines and poisons.

Besides humans, player characters can be from a dozen other races, from typical fantasy creatures like Elves, Dark Elves, Dwarves, Half-orcs, Half-Ogres and "Hoblings", races based on typical cultures from Fantasy literature like Gypsies and Barbarians, or entirely new races like "Biata" (telepathic bird people who cannot use Celestial Magic) and "Sarr" (Cat people). Monsters in NERO are generally typical fantasy creatures like Orcs, Goblin's, Vampire's, and Liches.

There is no religion in any typical sense of the word on Tyrra. To prevent a moral panic like that which has occurred with other Role Playing Games NERO made a conscious decision to remove religion from the game world, as well as religiously oriented creatures like Demons and Angels from the game. Characters are not allowed to introduce their own religions into the setting, and displaying openly religious symbols (like the crucifix or Star of David) are not permitted. Metaphysical elements like planes of existence exist, and philosophies and codes of honor are permitted, but worship and organized religion of any kind are not permitted in the game.

[edit] External links

[edit] Tyrran Campaign Resources

[edit] References

  • Ventrella, Michael A. (September 1991, Issue 173). "Out of your chair, and into the action!". Dragon Magazine 16: 46–49. 
  • NERO International (1998). NERO Rule Book, 8th Edition. Mahopac, NY: NERO International. ISBN Unregistered. 
  • New England Roleplaying Organization (1993). New England Roleplaying Organization Player's Guide, 3rd Edition. Somerville, MA: Legends Unlimited. ISBN Unregistered. 
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