Rules: General

INTRODUCTION
Assassins is a game of mock assassination for a large number of players. Each person has to try to survive the attempts of others to kill them whilst eliminating their own targets. The last person to be left alive is, not surprisingly, declared the winner. These rules are adapted from those of the Cambridge Guild of Assassins, which can be found here.

HOW TO PLAY
The game, in brief:

• Sign up for the game, per the instructions at the end of this page.
  
• When the game starts, you will be SMSed the name of your target. Try to kill them using any legal means at your disposal. There will also be one other person after you.
• Whenever you make an attempt on another player's life, successful or not, SMS the Gamemaster with a report. If someone attempts to kill you, report that to the GM as well.
• If your target is eliminated, the GM will send you a replacement target.
• If you die, report this to the GM. The game is now over for you.
• If you are the last remaining assassin - congratulations! You are declared the winner.

The weapons rules describes the various weaponry you may use to eliminate the other assassins.

LEGAL TARGETS
The following are legal targets for any player:

• The target you have been assigned to by the GM.
• The person assigned to kill you (you will not be told who he or she is, but should you find out you may attempt to defend yourself by pre-emptively killing them first).
• Anyone involved in making an attempt on you.
  
• Anyone openly bearing a weapon or setting a trap. The object in question must be clearly visible to you as an Assassins weapon. Players who were previously holding a weapon but have since concealed them are not legal targets.
  
• Anyone on the Wanted List.

GENERAL CONDUCT

• Exercise common sense at all times. Players are entirely responsible for their behaviour. Avoid inconveniencing other people, especially staff members and the general public.
• The game depends on people being honest for it to work. Please inform the Gamemaster if you have been killed.
  
• Assassins is a game about subtlety, not physical strength or violence. There is no excuse whatsoever for pushing people around or forcing them out of your way. Most specifically, if someone is holding a door open or shut, you should not attempt to move that door, and you should never do anything likely to cause anyone (including yourself) injury.
• Don't be stupid. Avoid behaviour that might cause the authorities to mistake you for a stalker, burglar, murderer or terrorist.
  
• For obvious reasons, you are not allowed to impersonate authority figures, such as teachers, police, et cetera. Neither are you allowed to impersonate the Gamemaster. Note that it is fine, however, to impersonate student councillors, CT reps, and other student positions.
• You are at perfect liberty to deny you are an assassin. However, you are not allowed to claim that you are a dead assassin and hence harmless. Also, you may not lie about the vital status of other assassins who are immediately present.
• Most of all, remember that this is just a game. Do your best, but have fun. Please be friendly to other players you meet during the game, even if they may be trying to kill you.

OUT-OF-BOUNDS AREAS
There are some places and circumstances which, for reasons of safety and sanity, are considered out-of-bounds. No one may kill anyone or be killed when they are out-of-bounds, which include the following:

• Lecture theatres are out-of-bounds, whether or not a lecture is in progress.
• Classrooms are out-of-bounds during lessons.
  
• Laboratories (including computer labs) are out-of-bounds.
• The library and the staff offices are out-of-bounds.
• Assemblies are out-of-bounds.
• Toilets are in-bounds with the following conditions:
• Gender boundaries are to be observed.
  
• Players are not to force open toilet cubicles in order to make an attempt.
  
• Anyone in the middle of having their CCAs is out-of-bounds.
• To allow players to lead a comfortable social life, anywhere outside the RJC campus is out-of-bounds.

If you are not sure whether a given time or place is out-of-bounds of not, please contact the GM. Similarly, if there is something mentioned on this list you think should be out-of-bounds, ask the GM to consider it.

NON-PLAYERS AND ACCOMPLICES
Players may, if they wish, make use of non-player accomplices on their attempts. Any person with at least a basic knowledge of the Assassins Game acting to the advantage of a player on their instruction, with their consent or prior understanding is considered an accomplice. Players should not induce one of the authority figures mentioned under the conduct rules to be an accomplice.

Non-player accomplices cannot kill anyone. They may not openly bear weapons nor anything that could be construed as such. Kills in which armed non-players are used as decoys will be annulled. Players are entirely responsible for the safety of their accomplices, and will be held responsible should their accomplices be killed.

Note that if a player instructs, or by deliberate omission permits a non-assassin to put themselves in way of danger on their behalf (e.g. by opening post on their behalf or exiting a room first to ascertain the presence of their attackers), that person will be deemed an accomplice.

Players should avoid killing non-players wherever possible. The usual penalty for killing non-players is to be put on the Wanted List, but excessive and deliberate murder of non-players may lead to a disqualification.

DEAD PLAYERS
If you die, you remain bound by the rules until the conclusion of the game. In particular, you should refrain from bearing weapons, from announcing the fact that you are dead unless directly questioned face-to-face, and from involving yourself in any Assassins activity. Once your death has been posted on the Assassins website, you may consider yourself a non-player with regards to the rules on accomplices.

A dead player may not make known, nor by deliberate omission cause to be known, any information they acquired as a direct consequence of playing the game; most importantly their targets or information concerning the identity of their killer. The only exceptions to this are that they must pass such information on to the GM in their death report and that they may, at their own discretion, reveal their target to their killer, although here they have the option to mislead. Whilst still alive, you are at liberty to pass information onto other players as much and as misleadingly as you so desire.

REPORTING
Whenever a player is involved in any Assassins-related incident, such as attempting to kill another player, or another player making an attempt on them, they must inform the GM as soon as possible.

During the course of the game, reports of events will be published on the website. Reports are encouraged to be dramatic and creative and sometimes misleading (although they may never contain outright lies). However, if a player's report is sufficiently outlandish to make it unclear what actually happened, please explain the raw facts seperately to the GM, as he likes to know what is going on.

If players are unsure what happened during an attack, they may call a "discussion phase" to clarify who has been hit and who, if anybody, is dead. Once a player has made a bona fide call for a discussion phase to sort out the facts of the incident, so long as such a call is not a direct interruption of the event, neither player may kill another party, nor be killed by another participant in the incident that caused the discussion phase. They should take care not to expose themselves to other passing players.

Assassins are strongly encouraged to reach a decision about the facts of an incident at the scene. However, do not be afraid to disagree over the outcome of the incident or the way in which the rules have been applied to events. If there is a strong element of uncertainty as to what the outcome should be, you should make a report to the GM as soon as possible and should avoid directly involving yourself in Assassins proceedings (such as killing anyone) until you have received clarification. The GM will try to be understanding as far as it is possible.

PSEUDONYMS
Each assassin starts the game with one pseudonym, which they may use in news reports to disguise their true identity. Reports can be made under an assassin's pseudonym, or under their real name. If you do not specify a preference, your initial pseudonym will be used.

Kills made in public places with unsubtle weapons may result in the incident being reported under a Player's real name, with no option to use a pseudonym. As a rule of thumb, having six uninvolved onlookers or more would constitute a public kill.

THE WANTED LIST
Assassins who break the rules in minor ways, for instance by killing an illegal target, will be placed on the Wanted List and they become legal targets for everyone else in the game.

A Player is considered Wanted and a legal target for all Players from the moment their name appears on the Wanted List, until it is removed due to their death or redemption.

THE GAMEMASTER
The Gamemaster for this first season of Assassins is Ryan D of 07S03N and he may be contacted by e-mailing ranathalion(at)gmail(dot)com.

The primary method of contacting the GM is through SMS. Players will be given his number upon signing up for the game.

Any queries about the game can be e-mailed to the GM. Players should try to resolve any queries before they become a matter of life or death.

The Umpire is immortal. Players attempting to test this proposition may be placed on the Wanted List.

SIGNING UP FOR THE GAME
The game is open to all students of Raffles Junior College. In order to sign up for Assassins, one should provide the following information to the Gamemaster:

• Full name, indicating the name you are usually known by.
• CT group.
• Email address.
• Handphone number.
• An initial pseudonym, which will be used in news reports to disguise your true identity.
• Anything else your assassins should be informed of, such as allergy to a substance that might be used as a poison.
  

Note that by signing up to play you are agreeing to report any Assassins-related events which you are involved in for the period during which you remain alive, including your death. You are also giving permission for other players to make attempts to 'kill' you, acting in good faith and utilising such methods as described elsewhere in the Rules.

You play the game of Assassins entirely at your own risk. Neither the GM nor any other member of the Guild, past or present, can accept any liability for personal injury, loss of, or damage to, property or other loss incurred during the game. Nothing contained in these Rules should be taken as encouragement or permission to break the law.