Plan C

Combat Rules

Armed Combat.

If you’re wielding a larp-safe golf club and someone charges at you, consider the following approaches to fighting him:

A) You could tap-tap-tap him on the shoulder as fast as you can, treating the “golf club” like the foam and fibreglass prop it is, aiming to make contact as often as possible in the few seconds it takes him to close the distance with you and get into his combat range.
B) Or you could whirl your improvised weapon around your head as though it weighs and handles much like the real thing, give out a wordless roar of defiance and anger, and strike him on the shoulder (still safely and lightly, but with a real “telegraphing” of your intent).

So, which do you think looks better? (B) of course. And which will do most damage, and so be most effectively in the game? The answer is (B) again. Those little taps you did in (A) will be treated as the minor, paper-cut-like flesh wounds they would be if you used a real weapon in such a tentative manner. No one will be stopped by such an attack. With (B), on the other hand, if you do it right, you may well find your opponent is stopped dead in its tracks; at the very least, it will likely react and stagger a little, perhaps giving you sufficient time to get in another, more fatal blow.

Combat should observe the following three rules, to better facilitate a realistic style:

1- The One-Second Rule. You are not allowed to carry out several swift attacks, one immediately after the other. This is to preserve the play balance of the system. To provide an easy mechanism for every player to understand what is an acceptable speed for repetition of attacks, you must leave one clear second between delivering one blow and beginning another. It does not matter how many weapons you are wielding or what they are, you must leave one clear second between finishing one attack and starting another. This rule is not intended to be measured with stopwatches. It exists to allow players to legitimately ignore blows that follow each other without drawing breath.
2- The Different Locations Rule. When attacking an opponent, you may not hit the same location twice in succession, except the torso.
3- The Two Feet Rule. The weapon should be drawn back two feet after each blow before beginning a new attack. If the weapon length is shorter than two feet then you should endeavour to draw it back about the length of the blade or haft.

These three rules together ensure that much of the game’s combat will be realistic and theatrical in appearance, rather than a purely competitive attempt to land as many blows as possible. Oh… and PLAY NICE! Pull your blows. Do not try to actually maim your fellow players or members of the crew. If you attempt to use a burning log as a weapon and you get hurt don’t blame us, it’s your own damn fault. Fight only with larp-safe weapons, or we will laugh at you and kick you off site.

As with all these rules, the most important factor is role-playing, rather than the letter of the rules. No one is going to be getting a ruler out to check that you drew your weapon back a full two feet. Likewise, if your opponent is cowering behind a door and you can only see one part of his or her body, feel free to aim at it repeatedly, rather than worrying too much about the Different Locations rule. Make the combat dramatic, and no one will complain if you don’t always stick to the letter of the rules in the heat of battle.

(The armed combat rules (above) are adapted, with permission, from the rules for Hyborian Tales (© Hyborian Tales 2004)).

Grappling, Martial Arts & Unarmed Combat.

You may in PLAN C fight unarmed with another character.

You should role-play the fight. If your character is injured then please weaken as the fight continues. Remember, there are no hard-and-fast rules for simulated unarmed combat, just role-play the results. There are only three real rules for unarmed combat:

1- PLAY NICE. Play-fight and role-play the outcome rather than actually fighting and hurting people.
2- If you are outnumbered you loose.
3- If you are fighting someone who is armed you loose.

PLAY NICE! Please do not actually harm the other person while grappling. Do not grab at groins; do not gouge out eyes or elbow people in the face; do not kick people in the head. The intent is to SIMULATE hand-to-hand combat rather than for you to actually fight. If you are martial-arts trained and feel that in combat your training is likely to cause you to hurt someone, then decide beforehand that you will play a character who will go limp in a fight rather than “spac-out like a ninja”. If you punch someone make sure you telegraph your blow well beforehand and pull the punch to a gentle tap, rather than actually thumping someone… and do try not to aim for a vital area. Try not to kick people in the knees (try not to kick in boots at all, it is hard to pull kicks in combat boots). Basically you are expected to play-fight rather than actually wrestle, bludgeon and bite your fellow players. PLAY NICE. If you feel that you cannot fight safely then please do not fight. Remember also that a well-telegraphed blow in daylight could become a dangerous punch in the dark. If necessary just place your hands on the other persons shoulders and grunt a bit. Please do not flying-tackle players down slopes in the dark, please do not flying-kick people in the head while leaping from trees. Be sensible. Do not fight someone if the ground is slippery or people are likely to fall over. Your own safety and the safety of others is your responsibility. If someone might get hurt: don’t do it. Remember: PLAY NICE.

Home