Combat

Rule Book

**How Combat Works**

Combat is divided into two main categories, physical and magical. Physical combat is performed by using a LARP safe weapon to make physical contact with another person. When a person is hit by a physical weapon it causes damage to your character causing pain and reducing your hit points. There are two main types of weapons used: melee and projectile. Weapons with cores cannot be thrown under any circumstances.

When attacking with a weapon you must call out how much damage is being done with that strike. How much damage you do depends on your skill choices but everyone does at least 1 point of damage with a physical weapon. When attacking you strike your opponent and call out vocally “single”. On doing so the person will feel the attack on the location struck and know to reduce that location’s hit points by 1.

Magical combat uses spells and is used as either ranged or touch. When someone casts a damaging spell they will call out the person targeted, type of damage done, how much damage is done and what location the damage is affecting. Here is an example of a ranged magical attack: “DAVE, FIRE BOLT, LEVEL 1, TORSO”. Upon hearing this Dave will take one point of fire damage to his torso. Touch attacks are done in the same way as a physical attack, except that the target must be physically touched and only the type and amount of damage needs to be called out. Upon touching Dave’s left arm I would call “Flame touch DOUBLE.” So Dave then takes 2 points of damage to his left arm.

**Hit/Health Points and Locations**

When you create your character you automatically start with 3 hit points per location. These can be extended by taking skills such as toughness, which raises your health pool by 1 allowing you to have 4 hits per location. If the head or torso is reduced to 0HP you become unconscious and must fall to the floor and begin your death count. If a limb reaches 0HP then you are bleeding out but still conscious, the limb becomes useless until healed.

You can restore hit points in several ways. This can be via a potion, life magic, faith magic or surgery. If you are unconscious then you must rely on someone else to help you as you will be unable to act.

**Death Count/Dying**

When your head or torso reaches 0 hit points you become unconscious and begin your death count, which is 10 minutes. You must count down from 600 seconds to 0. If you reach 0 before anyone has had the chance to bring your torso/head above 0HP your character dies and can no longer be saved. If this happens then it’s time to start again with a new character. While unconscious you cannot call out for help, doing so may lead you to losing blood at a faster rate because this counts as cheating and as a result a ref may reduce your death count.

**Equipment**

**LARP Safe Weaponry**

LARP weapons are specially made props, made from carbon fiber/ fiberglass cores surrounded by foam, covered in latex and sealed by a special protection (often Isoflex). These weapons have been tried and tested to be very safe when enacting LARP battles. It is important however that you practice with them so you know how to use them safely.

**Daggers –** Daggers are small weapons that can inflict a massive amount of damage from being able to wield them in close combat and quickly. It is one of few weapons that can get the “through” damage call.

**Medium Sized Melee –** Medium sized weapons are the most commonly used as they are wielded in one hand allowing use of a shield or second weapon. They are versatile but offer no particular advantages. The most common weapons are swords, axes, clubs and hammers.

**Great Weapons –** These huge weapons must be wielded in two hands to represent the weight of a weapon that size. They give you a lot of reach and can often help breaking through a shield’s defence. Great Weapons used with skill can even get the “sunder” call. These weapons come in several forms, often in the shape of great Swords, axes, battle axes and hammers.

**Pole Arms -** Pole Arms are long weapons used to reach over shields and support shield walls. The most common pole arms are staves often used by spell casters to store magic. These weapons can be formidable with a vast amount of reach in which to keep your foe at bay.

**Spears (stab safe) -** These weapons are one of few weapons that can be used to thrust in combat and can be very powerful behind a shield wall.

**Bows/Crossbows -** These weapons gain the call “through” and also start as a “double” call for damage. They are devastating weapons but require skill to use effectively.

**Thrown -** Thrown weapons must be coreless. Thrown weapons come in all shapes and sizes from daggers bottles or even food. Special rules for thrown weapons may come into effect depending on the weapon.

**Shields -** Shields come in all shapes and sizes from bucklers to tower shields. Shields can protect you from just about any attack. There are of course exceptions to this when dealing with magic spells and certain skills, such as sunder.

**Armour**

Armour is important for those planning on getting close and personal with the enemy. Armour is measured in armour Points (AP) and is used similar to HP. Wearing armour on a location will give you a set amount of AP on top of your HP equivalent to the type of armour adorned. If your armour is struck it receives the damage dealt instead of you. If your AP reaches 0 then you begin to take damage to that location normally as if you had no armour. To get armour repaired someone needs to have the correct skill later described in the skills section of this document. If you are struck in an opening in your armour you take damage to your HP rather than AP.

If you wear more than one type of armour on a location the AP of both types will be added together (stacking) to give you a total amount of AP for that location. For example wearing a padded shirt (1AP) and a chain mail shirt (3AP) on top of one another would give you 4AP to the locations covered. However you cannot stack multiple armours of the same type, e.g. light armour will not stack with more light armour. You can stack all 4 types of armour giving you a max of 10AP.

**Light -** Light armour gives +1AP to the location. Light armour counts as fur, padding, light leather or leatherette.

**Medium -** Medium armour gives +2AP to the location. Medium armour counts as ring mail or studded leather.

**Heavy -** Heavy armour gives +3AP to the location. Heavy armour counts as chain mail or reinforced leather (metal plates).

**Extra Heavy -** ExtraHeavy armour gives +4AP to a location. Heavy armour counts as plate mail only.