amtgard v9
frequently asked questions
THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT PHASE 4 OF DEVELOPMENT (2023/2024).
On this page we will try to answer the most common and frequently asked questions that we have received over the course of development. Please use your search function to browse for specific questions. If you cannot find what you are looking for, you can contact the V9 Team directly through [email protected], the Amtgard V9 Discord, or the Amtgard V9 Facebook page
Questions and answers are listed below in no particular order.
Q: WHAT IS AMTGARD V9?
Amtgard V9 is the next major edition of the Amtgard Rules of Play. New editions of Amtgard are released roughly every 10 years and are able to make large-scale changes that would not be possible in a typical update.
Amtgard V9 has the potential to add, remove, or change almost anything game-related in the Rules of Play, including but not limited to: game mechanics, classes, spells & abilities, leveling, magic items, battlegame rules, etc.
The developers of Amtgard V9 want to ensure that the game we are playing after the update still feels like Amtgard, which is why they are investing so much time and effort into Research and Development.
Q: WHAT IS THE ALPHA PLAYTEST AND HOW DO I JOIN?
The Amtgard V9 Alpha Playtest Program is the official playtest program for the V9 ruleset.
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It is a standalone product. It is not designed or intended to be used alongside the existing Amtgard V8 rules. Doing so may yield results that are not reflective of Amtgard V9 or the goals of its developers.
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Alpha-level rules are not final. They are not supposed to look or feel like a finished product at this time. They are a work in progress and therefore subject to change. Changes may occur frequently. Consult the version number and the change log to ensure you are following the most up-to-date playtest ruleset.
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All parks and their players are invited to participate at this time; however Alpha Playtesting is completely voluntary. Playtesting these rough, unrefined rules may not be enjoyable for everyone. It is encouraged that players are given the choice and ample time to familiarize themselves with the playtest ruleset before use. This is still a completely new edition, even if many aspects are similar.
If your players are looking to play a more refined and polished version, we highly recommend waiting until Beta-Playtesting begins in summer 2024.
At the time of writing, the plan is to release the Alpha documents in waves to ensure we are building on solid foundation.
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Militia Playtest Rules are live right now.
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Class Playtest Rules will be released October 2023.
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Roleplay Playtest Rules are earmarked for release once we have had time to stabilize the class rules.
Q: WHEN ARE THE CLASS RULES BEING RELEASED?
Q: WHEN WILL AMTGARD V9 BECOME THE OFFICIAL RULES?
TLDR: Current plan is July 2025.
As of July 2023, Amtgard V9 is scheduled to be brought before the AICOM for a vote to commit to mandatory playtesting in July 2024. If this passes, the AICOM will vote again in 2025 to ratify V9 as the official ruleset or revert back to V8.5.
Our development timeline is split into five (5) phases. Each phase begins and ends at the annual AICOM meeting, typically held in July. This timeline is subject to change.
[COMPLETE] Phase 1 (2020-2021)
Comprehensive Surveys
[COMPLETE] Phase 2 (2021-2022)
Field Research & Class Surveys
[COMPLETE] Phase 3 (2022-2023)
Closed Alpha Playtesting
[CURRENT] Phase 4 (2023-2024)
Open Alpha Playtesting
Phase 5 (2024-2025)
Beta Playtesting
AICOM MEETING 2025
Circle of Monarchs vote to adopt V9 as the official ruleset of Amtgard
Q: HAS TAKING SO MUCH TIME HELPED OR HINDERED THE PROJECT?
TLDR: Helped way more than harmed.
It has:
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Allowed us to do our due diligence while avoiding burnout.
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Ensured we weren’t designing based off recency bias of hot metas or personal experiences.
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Gave us breathing room for low-stress ideation and reflection, which is key to good design.
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Enabled a realistic timeline for the distribution of information across Amtgard and consumption of said information by the playerbase.
We all want a good quality result but since we're all volunteers, time is not something we can demand from anyone.
Q: WHAT IS THE COMMITTEE DOING TO ENSURE TRANSPARENCY?
TLDR: Regularly posting information updates and answering questions.
It is our goal to remain as transparent as we can be during the V9 development process. We have regular meeting with our oversight, the EXCOM, and regularly post information updates here on this website, including the FAQ and the Developer Reports. You can also join the official, on-going, public discussion on the Amtgard V9 Discord Server to engage with us and other playtesters directly.
With that in mind, due to the massive scale of Amtgard community, there will still likely be tons of misinformation going around. While we wish we could ensure everything you hear about V9 is 100% accurate, it is likely that the much of the information being passed around will be speculation, hearsay, misremembered bits, or just wishful thinking.
We highly recommend taking everything you hear with a grain of salt unless the information has been presented on this website or in an official announcement/information post on the Amtgard V9 Discord, Facebook page, or within the Playtest Rules themselves.
When in doubt, reach out to us and we will be happy to clarify any misinformation or answer any questions you may have. If you ever want to know if a piece of V9 information is accurate or not, please reach out us through [email protected], the Amtgard V9 Discord, or the Amtgard V9 Facebook page
With that in mind, even information provided directly by official sources is subject to change. Research and development requires a lot of trial and error. An idea may be “THE solution” one day, thrown into the trash the next, and taken back out the day after.
Q: WILL YOU BE RELEASING THE SURVEY DATA TO THE PUBLIC?
TLDR: No.
The survey data was collected in confidence for the purpose of supporting Amtgard V9 research and development. Much of the data includes and/or is informed by demographic data and open responses, which includes PII, medical information, personal accounts, and grievances that were given under the assumption of privacy.
Citizens of the USA, Canada, Mexico, and other countries are each protected by the privacy laws of their current country of residence as well as the laws of countries to which they hold citizenship. It is practically impossible for us to release the data to the public in any form that would protect the respondents and still allow for accurate analysis and interpretation.
You can view comments from AI's legal counsel on the matter here at 3:17:32.
Q: WHO MAKES THE FINAL DECISION ABOUT WHAT GOES INTO V9?
TLDR: The core V9 committee members.
The core members of the Amtgard V9 Development Team are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the project. As such, they will be making all final decisions when it comes to the direction and content of Amtgard V9.
With that in mind, it is the intention of the team to be data-driven and engage with the populous as much as possible to ensure that their decisions reflect the collective aspirations of our diverse player-base, both old, new, and those who have yet to join.
To support this goal, the core team has enlisted an extended development team which includes the Kingdom Rules Reps, who act as advisors on behalf of their kingdom.
In addition, we have several other Advisory Councils designed to review the V9 Committee's plans and advise them in the areas of:
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Women/Non-Men Insensitivities and Issues
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Disability/Accessibility Insensitivities and Issues
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Ethnic/Racial Insensitivities and Issues
These Advisory Councils were formed with careful consideration and recommendations from players who are directly affected by these issues. Their goal is to be a diverse group of passionate representatives that can be the voice of the voiceless in regards to these very sensitive topics.
Lastly, the Amtgard International Circle of Monarchs will act as a final check-and-balance. The AICOM must vote in favor of the final V9 ruleset before it is official adopted. That said, they cannot directly make changes themselves. They can only vote it down and provide feedback for the V9 Team to use in their revisions.
Q: HOW MUCH IS V9 GOING TO CHANGE THE GAME?
TLDR: It's complicated.
Our goal is to ensure Amtgard still feels like Amtgard when everything is said and done.
To us, Amtgard is the king of its niche between boffer sport and fantasy LARP. We aren’t Dag, Bel, Darkon, Alliance, or any other LARP. We are a 40 year old community that has carved out its own space in the world. We are the masters of our domain and the V9 Committee intends to fortify that position.
To get a proper understanding of what to expect, please watch our Annual Reports. You can find our most recent report (2023) below. We did our best to make them entertaining and informative. If you still have questions, please reach out us through [email protected], the Amtgard V9 Discord, or the Amtgard V9 Facebook page.
Q: WHO IS ON THE V9 DEVELOPMENT TEAM?
Q: HOW CAN I SPEAK DIRECTLY TO A V9 TEAM MEMBER?
You can contact the V9 Team directly through [email protected], the Amtgard V9 Discord, or the Amtgard V9 Facebook page
Q: HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
You can go here to find all the currently available ways to get involved with Amtgard V9 Development.
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR ________ IN V9?
TLDR: It's complicated.
To get a proper understanding of what to expect, please watch our Annual Reports. You can find our most recent report (2023) below. We did our best to make them entertaining and informative. If you still have questions, please reach out us through [email protected], the Amtgard V9 Discord, or the Amtgard V9 Facebook page.
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE CODE OF CONDUCT?
TLDR: Not our responsibility.
The Amtgard V9 Team only handles the “Game” portion of the rules. Any additions or changes to the Code of Conduct or policies of Amtgard as a whole are handled separately by the Amtgard International Circle of Monarchs (AICOM) and the Amtgard International Board of Directors (AIBOD).
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR KNIGHTHOOD & AWARD STANDARDS?
TLDR: Not our responsibility.
The Amtgard V9 Team only handles the “Game” portion of the rules. Any additions or changes to Knighthood or Award Standards are handled separately by the Award Standards Commitee. Kingdom-level award standards for non-ladder awards are handled by each Kingdom's own Corpora.
Q: HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ADDRESS INCLUSIVITY & ACCESSIBILITY?
Our goal is to improve the overall inclusivity and accessbility of Amtgard by tackling key mechanics and systems that unfairly impact certain populations of our player base.
In addition, we have created several Advisory Councils designed to review the V9 Committee's plans and advise them in the areas of:
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Women/Non-Men Insensitivities and Issues
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Disability/Accessibility Insensitivities and Issues
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Ethnic/Racial Insensitivities and Issues
These Advisory Councils were formed with careful consideration and recommendations from players who are directly affected by these issues. Their goal is to be a diverse group of passionate representatives that can be the voice of the voiceless in regards to these very sensitive topics.
At this time, the member lists will remain private until everyone is comfortable in the role and willing to be listed here.
If you feel there are issues within the current Amtgard V8 ruleset related to inclusivity or accessbility that should be addressed in Amtgard V9, please reach out us through [email protected], the Amtgard V9 Discord, or the Amtgard V9 Facebook page. We would very much like to hear from you.