Amtgard is a battle gaming and live-action fantasy roleplaying and boffer combat game with chapters primarily based in the United States and Canada as well as Germany, Croatia, and South Korea. History Amtgard was created by Jim Haren Jr, also known as Peter LaGrue, in El Paso, Texas in 1983. Taking pieces from the rulebooks of both Emarthnguarth and Dagorhir (both of which he had played previously), he advertised in the newspaper for an event known as "Attila the Hun's Birthday Brawl." Though only a few people showed that first day, it was a hit, and soon the game spread throughout the state and then the country. The largest concentrations of Amtgard chapters are in Texas and the Central United States, but groups are found throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Croatia, Japan, Finland, Germany, Korea, and Russia. Contrary to urban legend, Amtgard is neither a Scandinavian word for "the middle ground," nor an acronym for the founding members. Amtgard is named after two very good friends of Peter La Grue's from his Emarthnguarth days, Matthew and Katy Amt, who now participate in Roman Legion recreations on the east coast. Amtgard has given birth to a few splinter groups, notably the High Fantasy Society. Ruleset Current version of the rulebook can be found at http://amtgard.com/documents/. Classes Character creation in Amtgard is class-based; that is, players choose an archetype with pre-established abilities, similar to systems used by Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games. For instance, one player might play an Assassin, and another, a Warrior. Players can increase the abilities of their characters by going up in level; a player's level is determined by the length of game time they have played that particular class and by the passing of a guild test given by the head of the guild to which their class belongs. Advancement in a class is not tied to a specific character. Players may play different classes at different times, and levels have no relation to in-character deaths. Combat The primary focus of the rules of the game is combat. The abilities of the classes are generally related to combat. Non-combat oriented talents and attributes are often left up to the imagination and actual capabilities of the players or rules specified in a scenario. Amtgard combat is resolved with actual physical fighting, though there are some rules in place to enhance safety.