Combat is a large part of REFUGE LARP. Before diving headfirst into the Skills section, it is important to understand how the combat system operates. This section will help you plan better for the Skills you purchase throughout your time LARPing with REFUGE LARP.
This section is important for grasping the fundamentals of our Skill system. Failing to follow any of the rules in the following sections could result in disciplinary action.
This is the single most important rule in this entire book.
Many things can happen while players are on the field. If you see anything that appears to be unsafe, you can call a Pause Game. To do this, you shout the word “Pause” as loudly as you can, and everyone in the vicinity will drop to one knee. If dropping to a knee is unsafe or the player cannot, they must instead stay very still and alert. You’ll probably also hear the call echo down the field so everyone hears it.
Dropping to one knee ensures that combat, and any movement occurring, is paused exactly where it’s at. Every player on Pause is expected to remain in place, on a knee (or sitting) and remain quiet for the duration of the Pause.
If a player, or players, realize that they are backing into a copse of trees or thorny bushes, a Pause can be called to reposition the group into a spot that is slightly further away from the trees giving the players a safer combat position. The same goes for moving towards buildings or something deemed a tripping or injury hazard. Effect Resolution
This usually happens when a large group of players are attempting to kill the “Big Bad” and the Monster is being inundated with more calls than the Cast can process. At that point, a Pause will be called to make sure all the damage is deflected or captured appropriately before moving on with the battle. This kind of Pause is mostly prevented by making sure your calls are loud, clear and you are taking your swings appropriately.
Sometimes, traps or special abilities might call for a Pause Game in order to resolve.
This is the kind of Pause we don’t like seeing IG, but accidents do happen, bees sting, etc, and this is exactly why we call Pause. Once it’s established by a second party it’s an actual medical need and not an IG Healing issue, “MEDIC!” should be called, and any one of our players or staff that is medically trained will come and address the issue. The Pause will last until the player and Medic have decided it is safe for them to return to game or be removed from the field.
To end a Pause Game, once all issues are resolved, a Marshal or otherwise appointed individual will loudly ask “Is there any reason for this Pause to continue?” If there is no affirmative response, you will hear someone call you to return to your last position. Once it appears everything is back as it was, someone will loudly call “3, 2, 1, LAY ON!” Combat then resumes as it was.
We try to keep Pauses as rare as possible as it can disrupt the game flow, but we know they are sometimes necessary. So please, keep them to a minimum, and only call them when they are truly needed. If you need simple rules clarifications during combat, there are other ways this can be addressed, and other players will happily assist.
Safety is a primary concern in all our games; following these rules is imperative, and ignoring them could result in removal from the game.
The only contact allowed during active combat is by an approved melee Weapon. Any other type of fighting contact such as grabbing someone, hitting, or kicking is strictly forbidden. Even when contacting another (friendly or immobilized) creature, for example to pick up a fallen ally, you may only touch the target on their shoulder and indicate your intention with a proper verbal call. You should never actually pick someone up or move them to drag them off of the field of battle, nor should you attempt to make shoulder contact (for a Skill like Healing Arts or First Aid) with a target who is resisting.
Shield Bashing is the intentional use of a Shield to gain physical OOG advantage over an opponent. This might include physically pushing or striking an opponent with a Shield. Shield Bashing is a serious violation of the safety rules. The potential for injury is great. Excessive use of Shield Bashing will result in warnings and possible loss of the Shield Skill.
During combat, you must never come into physical contact with your opponent. If you are crowding your opponent enough that they must step back to avoid body contact with you, you are charging. It’s possible to fight safely with very short Weapons, 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 they can reach out a hand and touch your shoulder or torso, you are probably charging.
If you can hit an opponent over their shoulder from the front, you are probably charging.
“Pinning” refers to a fighting tactic where you trap your opponent’s Weapon so that it is unusable, intentionally trapping the Weapon under a Weapon or Shield so that it cannot be safely pulled back to swing again. Although pinning Weapons is a mainstay of many movies, it is dangerous in combat and as such there are many restrictions as to its use.
Any Weapon or Shield shaped in such a way as to trap Weapons, whether accidentally or by design, is forbidden.
Legal targets include the entire body except the head, neck, hands from the wrist out, and the groin. These locations count for both for Weapon delivered attacks and Packet delivered attacks.
You may not intentionally block a hit with an illegal target such as putting an empty hand up to block a swing and then claiming it hit an illegal target.
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.
You may not hold more than one Weapon in a hand and 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 may not hold a Weapon in the same hand that you are using to carry a Shield and still block with the Shield.
You may hold other small non-Weapon items such as gas globes, spell Packets, coins, potions, etc, in your Weapon or Shield hand and utilize that Weapon or Shield normally. This must be done safely. You may not hold anything in combat that is not combat-safe. Set aside unsafe objects immediately, calling a Pause Game if needed.
Players always need to keep good sportsmanship in mind while participating in REFUGE games. Whether or not your character would act honorably in a fight, it’s important for us as players to respect the rules and work with each other to make the game work properly. When you take a hit, count it against yourself (and let your opponent know that you took it). When you are reduced to 0 Body Points, act appropriately. The game works because we trust our players to act responsibly.
Weapon swings must be safely executed as per the rules below. In combat, a light tap is just as effective as a heavy swing. You only need to apply enough pressure to make sure your opponent is aware of the attack. Hitting an armored person From Behind may need more vigor than a standard tap, and if it appears that your opponent is not taking all of your damage it may be because your hits are not being felt through their armor.
You should mention to your opponent when you think you got a hit in, and all players should acknowledge hits upon themselves whenever possible. Preferably this would mean role-playing the hit, but even something as simple as saying “taken!” can clearly communicate to your opponent that their swing landed. Acknowledging which hits you are accepting and which ones you feel you blocked will help reduce disputes from your opponent. In large melees this is not always feasible but attempt to communicate this whenever possible.
There are several important guidelines to Weapon combat:
Wield your Weapons appropriately. If you are holding a Weapon in a way outside the rule's expectations (such as a Two-Handed Weapon held in only one hand), you cannot use it to strike or block – if an attack hits it, you’ll need to either immediately drop the Weapon or take the damage as though it were not blocked. If you are safely wielding your Weapon or Shield, an incoming attack that you block or deflect away from you will not count against you. Sometimes it’s a question of whether you deflected a blow enough – a good rule of thumb is that if you believe you blocked less than about half the force of the swing, you should count the attack against yourself as though it had hit. If there’s doubt, take the attack and be a good sport about it.
Accuracy counts; power doesn’t. You should never swing harder with the intent to “power through” an opponent’s block. You only need to make contact enough for your opponent to notice it. If you are swinging too hard, you will be called on it. If someone is striking you hard enough to be uncomfortable, take a moment and let them know OOG so they can pull back on their attacks.
Damage calls must be clearly stated. If the target cannot understand the damage being called, they do not have to take the damage. Melee combatants must be clear with their calls just like spellcasters must pronounce their spell incants. If you are swinging so fast that you cannot announce the damage fast enough to keep up with the swings, then you are “Machine Gunning.”
Weapon swings should be an appropriate speed and range. A Weapon swing should progress between 45 to 90 degrees at the elbow. If you are merely moving your wrist back and forth to cause your damage, then you are not fighting properly. Your opponent should count all these swings together as one attack only. If you cannot get your Weapon damage call out before the completion of your next swing, you’re swinging too fast.
Consecutive hits upon the same spot on the body within one second only count as one hit. You must vary your hits on your target. For instance, a double hit upon the right shoulder requires that the target take damage only once. However, if more than two seconds elapses between two scored hits, or if a different location has been hit, then the damage is taken. For instance, if you hit your opponent on the right shoulder, then the Shield, and then the right shoulder, they are required to take the damage twice.
Remember that REFUGE LARP battles are representations of battles and are not meant to be recreations of real battle.
Some attacks may only be performed From Behind. Such an attack must be performed when physically behind the opponent; you cannot reach around from the front. The attack must strike the opponent’s back half; this includes any part of the target, limbs included, which is more towards their rear than their front. If you can see both of your opponent's shoulder blades, you are probably behind them. From Behind type attacks made with ranged Weapons can be made from any direction and still count.
All Packet-delivered attacks are effective on contact with the target or any of the target’s immediate possessions, such as a Shield or cloak. Packet attacks include spells, gas globes, and certain monster abilities. Blue Packets representing Arrows count as Weapon attacks. Packets striking illegal targets do not count.
You may not throw a Packet with any other IG or OOG item in your throwing hand, including other Packets. You may touch-cast on yourself or another with another item in your hand, but this must be done safely and courteously. See the Magic section for details on touch-casting.
Whenever you attack with a Weapon you must call out the amount and types of damage you will do with that Weapon. These calls are OOG. Even if under the effects of a Silence spell, you must still call out any damage you deliver so your opponent knows what damage to take. IG, the damage calls represent the sound the Weapons make in battle. This allows you to hear damage being called and respond IG; for example, “It sounds like a battle is going on behind that building!”
Most basic Weapon attacks will be called simply as a number (the amount of damage the attack will inflict if it hits) and a type (the type of damage which is being done). For example, a basic long sword swing will be made with the call “2 Normal!”. There is an implicit “Weapon” qualifier used when Weapons are attacked with in this way; other qualifiers can also be added through certain Skills or spells. There are many ways to increase the damage and/or change the type of damage. See the Effects and Deliveries section for more details on effect qualifiers and damage types.
If you can swing two Weapons, you must call each swing on its own. You cannot hit an opponent with both Weapons at once from a single damage call, even if each Weapon would attack with an identical call.
Some actions cannot be performed for reasons of safety or reality but must be considered as taking some time to complete. Such actions will have a specific count, usually three, and a definite phrase to indicate what is happening.
For example, to simulate an Undead rising from a grave, the Cast playing the Undead might say “I rise from the ground one, I rise from the ground two, I rise from the ground three.”
During the time in which the player is saying this, they are completely vulnerable to attack and cannot use any game Skills other than defenses. Using a defense from a Skill or Monster Ability will cause the counted action to be interrupted - the Skill or ability is used up, and the count is terminated and must be started again. Dumb defenses such as Spell Shield or Weapon Shield do not interrupt a counted action in this way.
This type of counted action is used primarily when the Cast are within visual or aural range of the players who can then try to affect the monsters. It should only be used when it must be made clear that the Cast is taking some sort of action that the player would not be able to observe or understand otherwise.
Cast who have already come IG away from the PCs do not need to announce their presence with a counted action like this. If you are far enough away that it will take at least three seconds to reach the player, you should not announce your presence. In most cases, Cast should come into game far enough from the PCs that they emerge naturally onto the scene.
Players do not need to use “counted actions” for every action they wish to perform. They are needed only when a Skill or ability specifies such.
Counting actions is OOG and discouraged unless (a) you are performing an ability that has to be counted; or (b) you are IG performing an action that you are not really performing OOG and you are aware that you may be attacked while performing this action.
To better explain (b), imagine that you want to climb down into a cave. If you are in a location where it is safe to climb down into a cave, there is no need to count the action as you will be physically climbing into the cave. If instead a Marshal says that IG, you see a cave entrance, and entering it will require moving OOG to another location, then you should use a counted action to represent the activity of climbing into the cave entrance.
There are many ways in our game to render an opponent completely helpless. These include using effects like Prison and Web or simply attacking them until they fall unconscious from damage. Once a person has been incapacitated it is quite easy to kill them; this is represented by a Killing Blow.
To properly apply a Killing Blow, you must stand next to the target, place your Weapon on their torso, and recite “Killing blow one; killing blow two; killing blow three.” This should be done in a normal speaking style and should take at least three seconds. If anyone makes contact with your Weapon during the count or takes an action which causes you to expend a Skill, then the Killing Blow is interrupted and fails to kill the intended target. Some effects will also prevent the Killing Blow from succeeding, such as forcing you to remove your Weapon from the target during the Killing Blow with a Repel spell, as it requires you to move backwards away from your target.
A Killing Blow is considered a combat action and all applicable safety rules must be followed.
In some cases, a Killing Blow will cause certain effects to take place automatically. If more than one person attempts to give a Killing Blow, the person who starts first who will count as applying the Killing Blow. The second person cannot come along, say the Killing Blow faster, and then (OOG) claim to be the one who applied it. If you are given a Killing Blow and are already dead, no response should be given (not even “No Effect”); merely remain silent. The other person must figure out on their own what is happening.
A Killing Blow must be struck on the torso of the target - an arm or leg is not sufficient. The blow cannot be struck on a moving target; they must be incapacitated, unable to fight back and their body must be at rest. A Killing Blow can be delivered by anyone, whether they have a Weapon Skill or not. If not using a Weapon physrep, touches must be appropriate as per normal combat safety and consent rules, such as a hand on the shoulder.
Some creatures are Immune to various types of damage. To be effective, a Killing Blow must be applied with a Weapon that can harm the creature. For example, if a creature is affected by Silver or Magic Weapons but not Normal Weapons, the Killing Blow must be applied with a Silvered or Magic Weapon to be effective. When applying a special type of Killing Blow on such a creature, you must state the damage type at the end; for instance: “Killing blow one, killing blow two, killing blow three, Silver.”
Monsters using Claws to apply a Killing Blow must always use the Carrier from their claw attacks when doing so.
A Killing Blow cannot be Dodged, Parried, or otherwise avoided through Game Abilities or spells. It will bypass all Dumb defenses (see the Defenses section for more information) such as Weapon Shield.