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Updated
Friday August 6th 2008
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"Okay people, this is definitely not Kansas, heads up weapons hot and stay frosty!"
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C O N T A C T !
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Introduction
Welcome to the School's pages dedicated to it's "Stargate" inspired science fiction airsoft role playing campaign. Now, I hear you ask what is a school of swordplay doing running a sci-fi airsoft game? Well, long story short: many, many years ago, I used to shoot, and a friend of mine with whom I used to re-enact the Wars of the Roses knew this, and had become involved in airsoft gaming himself, phoned me up in 1994 and said that a mutual friend was putting a club together, and he thought I might be interested. I was, I tried it, and found that I enjoyed it. Trouble was the organiser, wasn't keen on raising money for things like public liability insurance. This is seriously not a good idea, especially if you own your home, which interestingly he didn't. So eventually after a falling out over the issue I approached the Schools insurer to discuss the possibility of additional cover, so I could get things up and running, and as you can see there were no problems, and in July of 1996 the campaign began.
Colonel David Rhys (the base commander), out in front, armed with a Styer AUG, played by Simon Thomas, Lieutenant Colonel Lara Tachikoma, (the commander's XO - "Executive Officer") to the right of the gunner, played by Ashley Rachel Pollard armed with a Barrett M468 with EoTech Holosight, and Sergeant George Carter, played by Trevor Smith crewing an M249 Light Machine Gun, cover a withdrawl.
Known as CONTACT!, the events are militarily themed role playing weekends, run in a 'campaign' structure, that is, there is a long term 'story arc' into which individual weekend 'episodes' are fitted, much like the 90's TV series "Babylon 5". The inspiration for the game came from the film "Stargate" with a touch of the cult classics; the BBC's series "Dr. Who", from which the UN theme is derived, together with a hint of paranoia from hit film and TV show "The X-Files". Finally, to this was added the gritty realism from the film "Full Metal Jacket", and the horror of "Aliens". We commenced play back in July 1996, and its popularity grew with the later appearance of the TV spin-off series' Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, which managed to revisit and parallel many of our own scenarios, to much cheer and applause from our players; together with questions about the plot team's secrets! Please be aware that the plot is NOT the same as the TV shows. For us, apart from the fact that we do not have the necesary budget, the key show Stargate SG-1 fulfils the role of a source of "plausible deniability",
in the event of premature disclosure of the "truth". Our plot is unique, with plenty for the thoughtful player to get their brains wrapped around, or when that fails them, plenty for them to exercise their trigger finger upon.
Live Role Play
LRP or "LARP" ("A" for "Action") type events are like taking on a role in a play, TV show or movie. But without the benifit of a script, or the hinderance of an audiance. You portray a "character", with a different name and background history and motivations, giving you the opportunity to explore different aspects of yourself, including surviving death, while both providing and being provided with, entertainment to and by your fellow players. Great effort is taken to ensure the suspension of disbelief by maximising realism. The authenticity of the venue, the weapons, uniforms, insignia and general atmosphere, draws you in deep to the illusion that you really are working for the United Nations Star Gate Command, in their most secret and vital project to save the world.
However it is ultimately just a game, your enjoyment, safety and it's quality depending upon the amount of effort that you bring and put in as an individual participant. We provide the plot and the place, you must bring your own costume, equipment and ability to make the event memorable. Others have, and in consequence the campaign is now in it's 13th year. Although we specify a minimum age of 18, the majority of our players are in their late twenties,thirties, fourties or fifties, as this style of play appeals far more to the experienced and imaginative adult player.
Weapons & Combat
Combat is conducted with airsoft guns, the increasingly popular alternative to paintball type weapons. These airsof guns are ultra low powered air weapons discharging 6mm plastic BB's at one twelth of the power of a paintball gun. The BB's contain NO paint, so there is no mess, but it does require complete honesty on the part of all players to acknowledge their hits, and as we are a non-comercial organisation, cheats are swiftly shown the door. The principle models of these airsoft guns are driven mainly by electric motors, and because of their extremely low power, they are legally permitted to be fully automatic, typically shooting at about 600-1,200 rounds per minute, with a maximum effective range of around 40-50 metres. For night fighting "tracer" amunition is used to radically enhance the combat experience. This is achieved by the use of a clever electronics package fitted to the muzzles of our weapons that uses a strobe light to illuminate specially coated BB's, which then glow bright green or orange as they fly through the air at up to almost 300 feet per second, very dramatic indeed.
To add to the realism, these guns are perfect plastic and metal replicas of genuine firearms, with replaceable magazines, varrying in capacity from around 40-100 rounds, depending upon model, which means you have to master the art of fire control and weapons handling. The guns can be fitted with optical sights, including night vision devices, torches, bipods and other accessories. We even have so-called "fragmentation" grenades and command fired "Claymore" mines to make things interesting, plus smoke grenades for signaling and concealment. These grenades and mines are standard commercially available paintball accessories supplied for use with BB's, which meet our stringent safety requirements, see our Rules and Regulations pages, via the links below.
As of September 30th 2007 The Fight School is a registered airsoft site with the United Kingdom Airsoft Retailer's Association, which means that our members are able to comply with the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (VCRA), which came in to effect on October 1st 2007, and controls the purchase of airsoft weapons.
Captain Rosie DeBeer, a Combat Medic patches up Marine Master Sergeant Stephano Vosloo, during a training exercise, played by real world husband and wife team Steve and Shanine Gill. All our in-character medics hold real-world first aid qualifications.
The Venue
Games are run from a genuine ex-government fully operational underground nuclear bunker near Brentwood in Essex, which is now run as a public museum. The owners have been allowing us to live, work and sleep in this base for 48 hours at a time since 1999. Bearing in mind the Stargate inspiration, this venue is the ultimate in set dressing. To which we bring our authentically costumed activity that splendidly complements the bunker's military atmosphere. For directions to or a virtual tour of the bunker click on the links below. If nothing else the bunker itself is well worth a visit, and if you can make it in May, they run a Military Vehicle Show, with numerous displays, including a recruiting stand for CONTACT! Come and see us in 2008 on Sunday May 18th.
The bunker staff provide us with two genorous meals a day, and there are other refreshments available to buy on site. There are excellent toilets and hot showers available within the bunker complex. Although there are bunk beds in the base, these are quite old and form part of the museum's display. Most players prefer not to use them, choosing instead to bring their own bedding, and as the base is quite large, being originally designed to house 600 personnel, there is, consequently plenty of space for sleeping in some degree of privacey. The base is of course warm, dry and well lit.
And what do the public visiting the bunker make of it all? Well they love it, having very heavily armed military type characters "actually" doing things makes the setting really come alive for them. For our part, having the public around makes the base seem far more active than it would otherwise be. We simply write the public in to the background of our scenarios as other base personnel going about their own business. Surprisingly it works rather well, most of the time we don't notice that the public are even there, unless we are giving a talk or demonstration
We have three actual fighting areas outside of the bunker, which itself is a "safe zone". The closest is a woodland area on the same land as the bunker itself that is used by a commercial paintball company during the day, which is used for some night fighting and a few daylight missions. Nearby is a grassland zone that we alone use, and over the nearby road, on another section of land owned by the bunker is our own dedicated fighting area. This is a mixture of woodland and grassland, complete with a fire base with trenches and foxholes, that we have just started building. Also after the paintballers and the public have all gone home the whole surface area becomes our battle space. In addition to this there is another bunker within an hours drive, that we have used to conduct underground encounters, and another paintball site, that includes surface buildings and armoured vehicles to lend credence to the events. In addition we are constantly looking for alternative playing sites to add variety to the campaign.
Event Format
You can arive anytime on the Friday afternoon of an event, giving you plenty of time to gear up before "time-in" at around 20:00, when we start with the evening meal. The food is kept in an oven for late comers, so if you get stuck in traffic, you won't miss out. From then until 23:59 of the Saturday, you are at war! From midnight to 07:00 it is "time-out". This is done to ensure that those who have long drives home on the Sunday, get enough sleep to have a safe journey. This is particularly important as some of our players in the past have come from as far afield as Cardif and Carlisle. Also at this point we tend to break open a bottle or two for some quiet socialising. Game-over is at 14:00 on the Sunday when we break for our final meal and event debrief. We then clear and pack up to be off the site by 17:00, going home usually feeling very happy and tired.
Costs
As the School is a non-profit body, the charges simply reflect the actual costs of running the event. The Full Board fee for an event is £70.00 which covers all food and site fees for the weekend, or if your finances won't stretch that far, there is a Half Board rate of £45.00 if you bring your own food (sorry no cooking on site). A further reduced rate of £20.00 for full day and evenning players (Saturdays only), plus a £10.00 for the Sunday morning, applies to those who are not having food or staying overnight in the bunker. If you need the loan of a protective mask for the event, there is no additional charge. Some special events are subject to a surcharge to cover their increased costs. Pyrotechnics, ammunition and other supplies (badges, metal ribbons etc.) are normally available on site at very low prices for our members. We do not hold stocks of loan costumes, weapons etc., but members will lend or hire out their own spare kit to new players if requested in advance.
Other Requirements
Depending upon your desired role, combatant or non-combatant, civilian or military scientist, body guard, medical or inteligence personnel, you will need to bring suitable clothing for the role, such as battle dress uniform, head gear, gloves and boots, or even a lab coat or scrubs! You'll need your own 'bed roll', that is sleeping bag and matress/air bed or the like. Plus all your own weapons and military/scienctific equipment. Help with getting geared up, or even the loan of such kit can be easily arranged. See the General Regulations and its CONTACT appendices, for more detailed information about what you will need to play CONTACT. Note that the School itself does have limited supplies of the more specialised kit (bandages etc.) available for loan to you as a new player for your first event, so you can try out the campaign. For more information upon where to buy your gear, see the CONTACT Links Page off the table below.
The Members Only Email Lists
As a member you can join our two CONTACT email lists. The official traffic list, through which you can hear about upcoming events, and our "CONTACT Chat" list, where you can join in the discussions with other players about the "scientific" or "military situation", or simply chat about new weapons and kit etc. If you are a current player not yet on these lists, then simply click the first or second of the links below to apply.
Additional Information
If you require any more information about CONTACT, getting equipped etc. please get in touch with me, Dean Wayland, at the School. For event dates please visit the School's diary pages, and for details of the Rules and Regulations governing CONTACT, please see the links below. I can be reached at:
The In-Character Pages
Now for the fun part. The first of the links with the UN logo takes you to the beginning of the in-character pages of the campaign. The second is a short cut for established players. These in-character pages act as a resource for you, helping you to solve the mysteries of the story arc. Please remember that this is a 'role-play' site, and therefore the dire warnings and threats of the first pages are only there to give it credibility and atmosphere. So go on click the link, and enjoy the ride...
Dean Wayland
aka Brigadier General Alastair R. Courtney
RGHQ-51 Support Company.
UNSGC
United Nations Marine Corps
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Link
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Description
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Updated
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CONTACT Admin
Email List
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click here to mail me to request your addition to the CONTACT members only email list, used for official traffic.
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N/A
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CONTACT Chat
Yahoo Group
Email List
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click here to go to the Yahoo Groups site to request your addition to the members only "CONTACT Chat" email list, used for all that not so official traffic.
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N/A
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CONTACT
On Facebook
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click here to go to the CONTACT "Facebook" site run by Simon Doidge, one of our players, to see some of the more light hearted material!
As this is another private group, you'll need to first be a member of Facebook, then apply to the moderator Simon Doidge, to join the CONTACT group.
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N/A
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Directions To
The Bunker
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click here for maps and directions to the Bunker.
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9th October 2007
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Visit The Bunker
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click here to go to the Bunker's own web site.
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See Site
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The Diary
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click here to go to the School's current Diary pages, where there is also a link to the "Quick Ref Diary".
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June 12th 2008
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Rules and
Regulations Pages
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click here to go to the Rules And Regulations pages which include the game rules for CONTACT.
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May 19th 2008
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CONTACT Links Page
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click here to go to the CONTACT links page
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June
24th 2008
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Who's Who In CONTACT
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click here to go to the "Out-Of-Character" page that lists all the player and character names considered as currently "on active duty" or in the "reserve".
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August 6th 2008
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E.R.G.
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The light hearted and somewhat irreverent Enigma Research Group website, carrying information and research related to issues arising from the campaign. Run by Simon Doidge, a regular player.
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See Site
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For NEW players, click here to go to the "United Nations" page, the beginning of the in-character section of this site, read and enjoy the ride...
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April 2nd 2006
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For regular players, this is a shortcut to the home page of the UNSGC's UK base Archive at RGHQ-51.
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August
8th 2008
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As of September 30th 2007 The Fight School is a registered airsoft site with the United Kingdom Airsoft Retailer's Association, which means that our members are able to comply with the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (VCRA), which came in to effect on October 1st 2007.
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