International Fantasy Games Society
Encyclopedia
The International Fantasy Gaming Society, Inc. (IFGS) designs, runs, and sanctions various fantasy
based live action role-playing game (LARP)s. IFGS is notable for being both a very early LARP group, as well as a very long lived one. IFGS is named after the fictional group described in the Dream Park
series of novels (by Larry Niven
and Steven Barnes
) and bears many similarities to the organization in the novels. The authors attended an early IFGS Convention and Steven Barnes later played in an IFGS licensed game in Colorado and Larry Niven played in a game in California. The authors adopted the "real" IFGS as the historic background for their future one, and provided the "real" IFGS with publicity in subsequent "Dream Park" novels, as well as donating the original manuscript of one of the "Dream Park" series novels, for fund raising purposes. Similar to the organization described in the novels, the IFGS designs, runs, and sanctions various fantasy based live action role-playing games. For several years they also ran "Undercover", an espionage LARP.
The IFGS was founded in 1981 in Boulder, Colorado
. It is a non-profit member run corporation. It employs a live-combat system with foam weapons and a complex rules system.
The damage system is based on five separate hit-locations (torso, L arm, R arm, L leg, R leg) like many LARPs. Any time a character takes damage, a pool of Life Points is drained, until the character goes unconscious. Each limb has a number of points it can take before it becomes useless. Thus, if a person takes 3 points of damage to a limb (for example) it would drop the character by 3 Life Points, and, if that limb only had 3 points, it would become useless. Once a limb has been disabled, it no longer takes damage.
Armor complicates the issue, since it subtracts from all damage taken. Thus, 5 points of armor would reduce damage from each blow, spell, and other effect by 5.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
based live action role-playing game (LARP)s. IFGS is notable for being both a very early LARP group, as well as a very long lived one. IFGS is named after the fictional group described in the Dream Park
Dream Park
Dream Park was originally a novel set in a sort of futuristic amusement park of the same name.The books describe a futuristic form of live action role-playing games , although the term was not in use when the original novel was published. The novels inspired many LARP groups, notably the...
series of novels (by Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
and Steven Barnes
Steven Barnes
Steven Barnes is an African American science fiction writer, lecturer, creative consultant, and human performance technician....
) and bears many similarities to the organization in the novels. The authors attended an early IFGS Convention and Steven Barnes later played in an IFGS licensed game in Colorado and Larry Niven played in a game in California. The authors adopted the "real" IFGS as the historic background for their future one, and provided the "real" IFGS with publicity in subsequent "Dream Park" novels, as well as donating the original manuscript of one of the "Dream Park" series novels, for fund raising purposes. Similar to the organization described in the novels, the IFGS designs, runs, and sanctions various fantasy based live action role-playing games. For several years they also ran "Undercover", an espionage LARP.
The IFGS was founded in 1981 in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. It is a non-profit member run corporation. It employs a live-combat system with foam weapons and a complex rules system.
Rules
The IFGS Fantasy rules are class-based and allow for Clerics, Druids, Fighters, Knights, Magic-Users, Monks, Rangers, and Thieves. Each class has a list of powers and abilities that are either fueled by points, or, in the case of Fighters and Thieves, can be used a specific number of times per day.The damage system is based on five separate hit-locations (torso, L arm, R arm, L leg, R leg) like many LARPs. Any time a character takes damage, a pool of Life Points is drained, until the character goes unconscious. Each limb has a number of points it can take before it becomes useless. Thus, if a person takes 3 points of damage to a limb (for example) it would drop the character by 3 Life Points, and, if that limb only had 3 points, it would become useless. Once a limb has been disabled, it no longer takes damage.
Armor complicates the issue, since it subtracts from all damage taken. Thus, 5 points of armor would reduce damage from each blow, spell, and other effect by 5.