Lorien Trust

Chapter One:

About the Rules

Section Three: Refereeing and Adjudication

At all LT Main events, in all cases, the organiser?s decision is final. The Referee department will act on behalf of the organiser to adjudicate certain Game and safety issues as detailed below At all LT Sanctioned events, an LT Sanctioning Officer will work with the event organisers to ensure certain minimum standards are met. This includes having insurances etc, as well as LT qualified Referees and Marshals to adjudicate game and safety issues as detailed below.

Referees and Marshals at LT events are responsible for combat safety, running plot, ensuring that players and monsters play within the rules, answering any queries that players may have regarding the rules and helping to make the game enjoyable and fair for all participants. If you ask a Referee or Marshal for help, particularly with regard to the rules or specific monsters, please bear in mind that they may have to consult with a senior or more experienced colleague before they can assist you. All Referees and Marshals will make every effort to answer your questions accurately within the shortest possible time. LT Referees and Marshals fit into a number of categories, each of which has different responsibilities. These categories are detailed below.

Should you have cause to question a decision from a Referee or Marshal at a Main LT event, you must accept their decision on the spot. You may then ask for their details and refer to Game Control or the Head of Referees, please note that you should at least take a note of their tabard/card number. Without the number of the Referee or Marshal, it may be impossible to deal with your query. All Referees and Marshals must have a number on display when on duty. At a sanctioned event, you should direct any such questions to the Sanctioning Officer and or the event organiser. A Referee or Marshal may temporarily overrule the published rules when running an LT plot, for safety reasons or at the specification of a Senior Referee.

Any interpretation or ruling given by a Marshal, Referee, Sanctioning Officer or Senior Referee will be valid for that occasion only. Permanent rule changes or clarifications can only be made in a valid LT publication.

No Marshal, Referee, senior Referee, Sanctioning Officer, Head of Department, NPC or plot representative may be considered on duty for refereeing decisions whilst playing a character or monster role. To make such decisions, they must be clearly OOC and must be wearing an identifying badge. On-duty Referees and Marshals will be wearing a high visibility vest as detailed below. Note that at sanctioned events, Referees and Marshals may be wearing variations of this attire, but will still be carrying their card and any significant variations will be noted in that sanctioned events literature.

BATTLE MARSHAL

Wears: Un-numbered yellow high visibility vest. A Battle Marshal can make safety calls but cannot make rules decisions. The primary responsibility of a Battle Marshal is to monitor combat situations, particularly large-scale battles, when Battle Marshals may be stationed at specific points to direct the fighting away from any OOC hazards. You do not have to pass a Lorien Trust test to become a Battle Marshal and if you wish to volunteer to help for large battles please go to Game Control where you will be instructed on your duties. For end of event battles, particularly at the Gathering, Battle Marshals are always needed.

MARSHAL

Wears: Numbered yellow high visibility vest. The number will be preceded by the letter "M". A Marshal may answer rules queries, but may not pronounce a character dead at Main LT events. Marshals are primarily responsible for answering general rules queries and overseeing small-scale combats and monster encounters, and they will not overrule another Marshal. Marshals do not have the authority to pronounce a character dead at a Main LT event but may do so at sanctioned events; if a character is at risk of dying whilst being overseen by a Marshal, the Marshal will ask for the assistance of a Referee or Senior Referee. Marshals may have a limited knowledge of current plot. All Marshals have passed the Lorien Trust Marshals? test; anyone may take this test, ask at Game Control for details.

REFEREE

Referee or Marshal before making their decision. Referees have the authority to pronounce a characterdead, after checking all the details of the situation. All Referees have passed the LT Referees? test; this testmay be taken only upon invitation from the Head of Referees.

SENIOR REFEREE

Wears: Numbered orange high visibility vest. The number will be preceded by the letter "S".Senior Referees have all the same duties and powers as Referees and may temporarily overrule theGame Rules. Senior Referees are chosen from the Referee team for their experience and provenRefereeing skills. Senior Referees may make judgement decisions on complex rules queries. A SeniorReferee in specific situations can and will overrule the Game Rules if needed, they may also direct a Refereeor Marshal to do the same. They will only overrule a Referee or Marshal in situations where it is clear to theman incorrect decision has been made and they will consult with the Referee or Marshal before making theirdecision. A Senior Referee may choose to escalate an issue to the relevant Head of Department and will notoverrule them on issues relating to their department.

SANCTIONING OFFICER

A Sanctioning Officer has the same role and responsibilities as a Senior Referee at the event they areSanctioning. Any questions about Game decisions made at that event can be referred to the SanctioningOfficer for an impartial decision. This decision will be valid for that occasion only.