Safety Concerns

Safety is a primary concern in all our games. Not following these rules is the quickest way to be removed from the game.

Body Contact: The only contact allowed during battle is by weapon. Any other type of fighting contact such as grabbing someone, hitting, or kicking is strictly forbidden. Even when making “friendly” contact, for example to pick up a fallen ally or touch-cast a healing potion, you should take care to only touch the target appropriately (such as on Combat the shoulder) and indicate your intention. You should never actually pick someone up by the scruff of their tunic to “drag them off.”

Charging: During combat, you must never come into physical contact with your opponent. If you are crowding your opponent so much that he or she must step back to avoid body contact with you, you are charging. It’s possible to fight safely with very short weapons (such as daggers), but you must take special care to not force the other person back physically to avoid contact.
If you have moved so close to your opponent that he or she can hold out a hand and touch you, you are probably charging.
Anyone who is reported for excessive charging will be pulled from combat for being unsafe. As previously stated, any contact in combat must be with weapons.

Pinning Weapons: “Pinning” refers to a fighting tactic where you trap your opponent’s weapon so that it is unusable. Although pinning weapons is a mainstay of many swashbuckling movies, it is dangerous in combat and as such there are many restrictions as to its use.

Pinning of weapons can only be done with another weapon, and only in areas where it is possible for the victim to escape by backing up and getting away. You cannot pin the weapon of someone backed to a wall or in a corner, because that player becomes unable to defend himself or herself because the rules prohibit any battle actions except through weapons; shoving or charging in order to escape is not allowed.

Any weapon shaped in such a way as to trap weapons (whether accidentally or by design) is expressly forbidden.

Legal targets: Legal targets include the entire body except the head, neck, throat, hands from the wrist out, and the groin. A player observed to be hitting restricted areas repeatedly is subject to disciplinary action.

You may not intentionally block a hit with an illegal target.

For example: Belthivis the mage is suddenly jumped by his arch enemy Vorin. Vorin swings at the weaponless Belthivis who blocks the swing with the palm of his hand. Belthivis can’t claim that the hit had no effect because it hit an illegal target (his hand); he has to take the damage from the swing.

If you do not have the skill to use a weapon you are carrying, or if you are presently unable to use a weapon in which you are skilled, you must either immediately drop the weapon or take any damage that hits your weapon.

Example one: Belthivis Disarms Vorin and grabs Vorin’s weapon even though Belthivis does not have the skill to use that weapon. Stinky the goblin then jumps up and strikes at Belthivis. Belthivis blocks with Vorin’s weapon. Stinky hits the weapon for 3 points. Belthivis must take the damage from that hit.
Example two: Ena fights against a spectre and is Drained. According to the rules for Drain, she can no longer use her skills. The spectre strikes at her many times and hits both her weapon and her shield. She must take all of the damage called by the spectre.
Example three: Ena is fighting with her favorite two handed sword when she is struck by a “Stun Right Arm!” She drops her right arm to her side and holds her weapon with her left hand. Any strikes against the weapon will affect her since you cannot use a two handed weapon with one hand.

You may not hold more than one weapon in a hand and have the ability to use those weapons. If you are holding more than one weapon in a hand and one of those weapons is hit with a weapon blow, then you must take the damage. This includes shields you can’t hold a weapon in your hand while it’s carrying a shield.

You may hold other small non-weapon items (such as gas globes, spell packets, coins, potions, etc.), either IG or OOG, in your weapon or shield hand and utilize that weapon or shield normally. This must be done safely. You may not hold a glass bottle, piece of wood, a mug, or anything that would be large and unsafe. If a marshal feels your combat has become unsafe because of what you are holding in your weapon or shield hand, they may require you to empty your hand of the item during combat.

Example: Rendal is using a shield and in the same hand is holding three throwing daggers. A troll hits Rendal’s shield with “5 normal.” Because he is holding more than one weapon / shield in one hand, Rendal must take the damage. In his other hand he has his sword and a spell packet. He may use that sword without any problem.