Race Marshals and Racial Coordinator

Not open for further replies.

Jesse Grabowski

Chief Executive Officer
Denver Staff
Race Marshals

General purpose and role

The general idea of a race marshal is to provide a one-stop location for information both about a race as it exists in Alliance, but also more specifically the local flavor of that race. A race marshal can provide you with information that will help integrate your character into the world and help give you avenues for growth and personal plot that relates to that race. Additionally, a race marshal’s role within the game is much the same as a weapons marshal…they advise players on problems and help fix issues they see.

What is the benefit of going to a race marshal?

There are a few specific benefits to talking with your race marshal before bringing your character into the game. The most important is world integration. Your race marshal can usually help you tweak your character concept to better blend with the game world and possibly give pointers to appropriate origins or stories in-game that you could tie your history to. The second way a race marshal helps before play is that they can tip you off to any potential problems. You might have a great backstory, but if it runs counter to things already seen in-play, that could be really uncomfortable in-game. The race marshal can often alert you to these issues before they become a problem.

Example: MarySue has talked to friends and decided she wants to play a mystic wood elf, whose dislike of slavery has a basis in-game. She isn’t really sure who to name, but she needs a villainous group that enslaved her, earlier in her life. She skims the player’s guide briefly and decided that Duchess Tiberion sounds evil, based on her name and writes into the history that the Tiberion line has always enslaved her people, going back generations and all of the mystic wood elves from her village are at war with Tiberions. What MarySue didn’t realize is that the Tiberions actually are the main good-guy nobles for the area where the game is based. She might want to know that before declaring war!

What can race marshals do? What’s their authority?

A race marshal is, ultimately, a marshal like any other. Just as weapons marshals can remove an unsafe weapon from game, a race marshal can mandate changes to a character that is in violation of the game rules or pull the character if they refuse to abide by those game rules. Generally, a race marshal is an advisory role, but in extreme cases can require changes to a character. This is normally only when the national race packet or APG is not being followed or the player refuses to abide by costuming requirements.

When issues are found with a character that violates national rules before game, the race marshal will help work with the player to resolve them. If the issues are found in game or the player does not consult a rules marshal and brings in a problematic character, the player will normally get a warning. This warning will explain what they need to do to abide by the rules. If they are unable or unwilling to make the needed changes, the race marshal may require them to change race to human until they can abide by the national rules.

Example: JoeBob the gypsy warrior is having fun at his first game. He has not gone to his race marshal, because he’s pretty sure his black-wearing accentless Selenari is fine as-is. During game, the race marshal approaches him and explains that the rules require colorful costuming (APG p43) and an accent (also APG p43), but given that the game is already underway, the marshal is willing to ignore the costuming for that event, so long as JoeBob makes an attempt to have an accent. If JoeBob showed up at the next game still looking like a human, rather than a Selenari, his card would be adjusted to human and he would lose any racial benefits of Selenari.

A race marshal’s authority comes from the same place that all marshals’ authority comes from…the chapter owner. Trust has been placed in these people to help maintain the game atmosphere that Alliance Denver has grown to embrace. Race marshals aren’t there to punish players or trash character concepts. They’re there to help improve the game atmosphere and make the game better for everyone by assisting players in finding character stories that fit the game world.

What if I disagree with a race marshal?

As with any dispute over any marshal’s decision, the best thing to do is abide by it until the end of game. Once game is over, talk (politely and constructively!) with the marshal about the decision and why you feel it was incorrect. If possible, cite the APG or racial packets. It’s always possible the race marshal misremembered something or made an honest mistake. It happens from time to time.

Should you be unable to reach a resolution with the marshal themselves, the topic should be escalated to the racial coordinator. This position helps monitor issues with the race packets and the race marshals themselves. Think of it as the racial manager. This person can work with the player, marshals, and staff if necessary to resolve the issues. The racial coordinator is the final point of arbitration in such disputes.

To cut down on “the chapter owner said” rumors, the racial coordinator will take extreme disputes to the owner themselves. Anything not written down by the owner is considered rumor and plays no part in resolving disputes. In nearly all situations, the racial coordinator is the last line of appeal over problems with race marshal decisions.

What is a racial coordinator, beyond dispute resolution?

The racial coordinator role helps direct players to the proper marshals for their race and advises when a marshal is unavailable. This person is both a universal race marshal and a point of contact for arbitration.

Who are the race marshals and racial coordinator?

Racial Coordinator- Jim Galford

Wylderkin - Jim Galford
Mystic Wood Elves- Jennifer Beach
Dark Elf- Jesse Grabowski
Dwarf - Jesse Grabowski
Dryad - Jesse Grabowski
Selenari -
Barbarian -
High Ogre - Mac McCammon
High Orc - Jesse Grabowski
Stone Elf- David Clements
Sarr - Jim Galford
Biata - Jennifer Beach
Hobling - Jesse Grabowski
Elf - (High, Wood, Wild) - Jesse Grabowski
Last edited by a moderator:
Not open for further replies.