From: taylorje@rintintin.Colorado.EDU (TAYLOR JASON EDMOND)
Subject: Re: LARP: close combat
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 20:41:16 GMT

In article <1992Sep23.210956.6268@msdhsv.ingr.com> foxx@foxxjac.b17a.ingr.com writes:
>I have a question about live-action role-play games in general.  
>What methods/mechanics/means-of-resolution have you experienced 
>which were good for characters to resolve close combat?  I mean 
>extremely close conflict like a fist-fight in a bar or knife 
>fight in an alley.  These are situations where acting out normal 
>combat even with padded/fake weapons could still cause injury.
>
>It seems that there are some genres of role-playing where such
>conflict would be expected at least infrequently.
>
>One post mentioned a simplified rock/paper/scissors variation to 
>resolve what happened when a character in a bar was surrounded by
>a number of others.  How did this work?
>
>I've also heard of all parties declaring actions to a GM and then
>acting them out in slow motion.  That sounds okay, but rather GM 
>intensive.  Any other methods?
>--
>   ] Andrew "AJ" Foxx           
>   ] foxx@foxxjac.b17a.ingr.com 

IFGS has actually worked out a close combat system that allows
players to really "fight" with padded weapons. Of course, safety is
of the utmost concern, so it's not the most realistic system, but
it works pretty well.
   IFGS weapons are usually closed-cell foam over a bamboo or fiberglass
core. They're very light and soft, and unless you swing like a madman
it's difficult to hurt someone. Some general rules are: *NO* head shots
(this is probablt the least realistic part of all, but it's necessary).
Also, merely a touch is sufficient to score a "hit." That way, people
try for quick, light touches as opposed to baseball-bat swings.
   Hit points are kept track of by the player, with a certain amount 
of points allotted to the character's torso and limbs. When a character
swings, he calls out the amount of damage he does with his weapon (which
is a fixed amount for each blow), say "6." If he hits another character
in the arm, and that character only has 4 limb points, then the arm is
considered useless (and that character can't use it until its healed).
Armor can be used to absorb some of the damage. If the victim above
would have been wearing plate mail, which grants 3 points of protection,
it would "absorb" 3 points of the 6 point blow. He would only take 3
points of damage, and since he originally had 4 points in the arm, he
would still have 1 point left, and his arm would still work.
   It's a lot of numbers to keep track of, but you get used to it after
doing it a few times.
   Spells and arrows are called out verbally, usually identifying the
target by the color of their costume. If I wanted to shoot an arrow
at someone, I'd call out, "ARROW, x points, (color), HIT!" and if they're
within range (60 feet) they'd be hit with an arrow. Not all arrows hit.
players usually have an "archery score", which is something like 70/10.
These are percentages, the first being what % of arrows hit, the second
being what % of hits are "critical." For instance, 70/10 means that
7 out of every 10 arrows should be called as "hits," with one of those
being a critical. Spells work the same way, except I'd call "LIGHTNING BOLT, 
x points, (color)!".

   It can all seem very complicated, but, strangely, it works most of
the time, and makes for very exciting, fast-paced combat. And believe
me, it's much more of a thrill to try and fend off someone *really*
swinging a sword at me than it is to roll some dice.

-Jason Taylor
taylorje@rintintin.Colorado.edu

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc