Basic Rules

These are the rules you need to begin playing the game. After reading this, and the safety rules, you're ready to make a character or crew.

Hit Points and Basic Combat

Beings have one or more hit points. Weapons do SINGLE damage by default - that is, being hit by a weapon causes you to lose one hit point. You don’t need to call this when you strike with a weapon, but you may if you wish to make it clear that you intend to cause a point of damage.

Player characters begin with 3 hit points.

You can only make one call or successful attack per second.

Noncombat Characters

Some players may be unable to take part in physical combat or not wish to for personal reasons. In this case, they should make the organisers aware so that they can brief other players to not attack them. Instead of attacking a non-combat character, you should call damage against them once per second once you are in range to make an attack. Do not mime swinging your weapon. If someone mistakenly thinks you are a noncombat character and tries to do this, politely correct them and continue.

Wounds and Dying

If you are reduced to zero hit points, your character is now incapacitated. You can’t fight or use abilities and can only stagger around. You should make it clear that you’re wounded, incapacitated and (mostly) helpless. If you regain hit points, you cease to be incapacitated.

If you have been injured in combat to the point where you were incapacitated during an encounter, ask a ref for a wound card at your earliest convenience, usually after the encounter has ended.

If you have been incapacitated for at least two minutes and are not under pressure, you may recover one hit point on your own. If you do this, notify a ref and they will give you an additional wound card.

You can spend 30 seconds of appropriate roleplay to call HEAL at touch range.

Wound Cards

From being heavily injured, and through many other sources, your character may receive wounds. These are represented by a wound card that will be handed to you by a ref. It will specify the roleplaying effects of the wound, along with any mechanical effects that it has.

A character has a Dire Wound limit of two. If they gain a third Dire Wound, that character is dead or beyond saving, and must retire by the end of the current event. Not all wounds you receive will be dire wounds, but the chance is quite high (around 2/3 of wounds are dire).

At the start of each interactive, your character naturally recovers from one wound of your choice. Some more severe wounds may have additional requirements to recover from them.

Range

• Touch range is close enough that you could reach out and touch the other character. This does not require you to actually touch them, and you should not touch another player unless you already know they’re comfortable with you doing so.
• Close range is five metres.

An ability can be used on yourself unless its description says you can't.

Under Pressure

Some abilities can only be used when not under pressure. If a combat encounter is occurring, you are always under pressure. Some other situations may count - in this case, a ref will inform you.

Appropriate Roleplaying

Some abilities require appropriate roleplaying. This can be chanting, calling on the gods or the power of runes, hammering a weapon back in to shape, or anything else you consider appropriate. An ability requiring appropriate roleplay fails if you attack or use another ability other than one that calls RESIST.

Encounters

Many abilities have uses that refresh each "encounter". These abilities refresh after 5 minutes. On a linear also after a clear change of location.

Looting

You can simply take game items that you can see from an unresisting character.

You can search an unresisting character when not under pressure. To do so, approach to touch range and inform them you’re searching them. They will give you any resources that they have on them. You should not touch another player when searching them.

You can call SHATTER on weapons of defeated opponents when not under pressure (regardless of size) to deprive them of their weaponry rather than taking it.

Calls

This is a list of the calls that you might hear and what they mean. A call is a word or phrase with a specific OC meaning. If you hear it directed at you, your character takes a specified effect.

Calls might be:

• Used alongside a melee attack, to indicate that the call is associated with that strike.
• Used with a description of a character. E.g. “You in the blue hat! TRIPLE!”
• Used as an area of effect - see the MASS modifier.

Some calls may be preceded by a descriptor. This is mostly to let you know how to react to it - e.g. THUNDER REPEL! might be a blast of thunder and lightning knocking you away, or LIGHT TRIPLE! a damaging beam of light. Unless you've been briefed to take these differently, you just take the rest of the call as normal. The most common descriptors are THUNDER, EARTH, FLAME, WATER, ICE, LIGHT and DARK.

You do not take the effect of a call that you block or parry, unless the call description says otherwise.

If you use a call on someone and they don't appear to react to it and they don't call RESIST (there are many legitimate reasons for this; they didn't hear the call, they parried it, they think you missed or that they weren't the target, etc.), any resources used to make the call are refunded.

STOP THE GAME

This is an “emergency stop” call to indicate that there is an OC reason to halt gameplay and sort something out. This can be used for any hazard, not just injury. Lost glasses, a player panicking OC, or someone looking like they’re about to fall backwards over a log are all valid reasons to use the call.

TIME IN

Used at the start of the session to begin play and after a STOP THE GAME, TIME FREEZE or TIME FAFF to resume normal play.

TIME FREEZE

The refs need to change things around you, or describe something that can't be physically represented. If a ref starts to address you, listen. Otherwise, close your eyes and try not to listen too hard while they change things. Play resumes with TIME IN.

TIME FAFF

Usually used on linears. The refs need time to set something up up ahead, please roleplay amongst yourselves and don't go forward until you hear TIME IN.

SINGLE

Lose one hit point. This is the default for melee weapons, and can be omitted unless it’s needed for clarity.

DOUBLE

Lose two hit points. You should roleplay a reaction so the caller knows you've taken it.

TRIPLE

Lose three hit points. You should roleplay a reaction so the caller knows you've taken it.

IMPALE

Lose all of your hit points. IMPALE cannot be resisted except by abilities that specifically say they can.

SHATTER

If this hits a shield or polearm, it is broken. If it hits a limb, it is ruined and cannot be used until healed. If it hits the torso or an already ruined limb, take it as DOUBLE.

If delivered by a strike, it hits whatever the strike hit. If it's delivered by ranged call, it hits a shield first, otherwise an unruined limb of your choice, otherwise the torso. If the caller specifies, i.e. SHATTER WEAPON, it affects that.

Ruined limbs are unusable and in pain. You must roleplay accordingly. You cannot use a weapon, buckler or shield with an arm that has been ruined. If one leg is ruined, you cannot run or walk, only limp. If both legs are ruined, you can’t use them to move, only stand in place.

A shattered weapon or shield can be restored with 5 seconds of appropriate roleplay repairing it.

HEAL

This effect restores all hit points and ruined limbs.

REPEL

This effect knocks you away. You must move away from the source for 5 seconds. If you block a weapon blow with this effect on your weapon, buckler or shield, you are not damaged but must take the rest of the effects of the call.

FREEZE

You cannot move your feet or make calls other than SINGLE for 5 seconds. If you block a weapon blow with this effect on your weapon, buckler or shield, you are not damaged but must take the rest of the effects of the call.

Would You Kindly

This call, which can be inserted into normal conversation, indicates mind control. Your character does their best to obey the command, by default for 30 seconds or until you take damage. When the effect ends, you’re aware that something unusual happened.

MASS

This call affects every target within close range. If the user indicates a cone with their arms, it instead affects everyone in that cone within close range.

RESIST

This is called to indicate that your call was taken, but had a lessened or altered effect.

CURSE

See a ref at the earliest convenient time, usually after the encounter has ended, and tell them you took this call.

Visual Cues

• Anyone with one hand in the air and their index finger pointing upward is not present IC and should be ignored. If you are monstering, you should use this when moving between encounters.
• Anyone in a high visiblity vest is also not present IC. They are typically worn by referees to oversee activity without being present as a character.

Equipment

You can use any melee weaponry, a buckler (15" diameter or smaller) or shield. You may wear armour but it has no effect unless magically enhanced.

Weapons longer than 42" must be used in two hands, unless they're used as a one-handed spear.

Polearms are vulnerable to the SHATTER call. You cannot use a weapon longer than 60" that is not a polearm.

Polearms greater than or equal to 60" can be used to thrust with if they have a thrust-safe tip. You must present a weapon you intend to thrust with to a ref or the safety officer for inspection.

A spear greater than or equal to 60" can be used in one hand, if held within 6" of the mid-point and used for thrusting only. You may not dual wield one-handed spears.

You may use a runic symbol in one or both hands for +1 hit point each. This can either be a rune drawn on the hand, or on an object held in the hand. If you benefit from a runic symbol that hand cannot be used to wield a weapon, buckler or shield in that encounter.

If you wish to use a bow, contact the refs.