Deliveries
Packet: All Packet attacks are delivered by throwing a Packet or by touching a Packet to a target. This includes spells, gas globes, and attacks using pure elemental forces. The Packet only needs to touch the target or any possession of the target to take effect.
When using any Packet delivery, the full call must be made before releasing the Packet. “Say, then throw” is a good reminder of the proper order. A Packet must be thrown immediately after finishing the verbal call.
Poison Packet attacks (whether through Alchemy or from a monster) are represented by orange Packets. Arrows and Bolts are represented by blue Packets. Spell Packets may never be orange or blue.
Note that ranged Weapon attacks made via blue Packets act as physical delivery (see below), not Packet delivery.
Physical: This includes all blows from Weapons including Arrows, Bolts, Thrown Weapons, and Claws. A physical attack must connect with a valid target. If you swing with your sword, and your opponent blocks your attack with their own Weapon or Shield, they won’t take the attack. Similarly, if you swing and only hit your opponent’s loose clothing or cloak, you’ve missed. Keep in mind that we play with the Good Sportsmanship rule: If someone intentionally tangles your Weapon with their cloak, but your Weapon swing would have connected with some part of them, they should still take the hit. More details about Weapon combat can be found in the Combat section.
Note that even if an attack is made with an unusual qualifier or effect, as long as it’s made with a physical delivery, it will only connect if it hits you, and not if it’s blocked or only hits garb.
If you hear a physical delivery attack made with the Strike keyword, it will effectively use the Packet targeting rules for that attack only. The Strike keyword can be added to any qualifier attack and is announced directly after the qualifier in an attack verbal. For example, a character may swing a Weapon with the call “Spell Strike Prison” and affect the target with a Spell Prison even if they hit the target’s Shield; the target may of course call any applicable defenses. For clarity, if a Strike attack uses the Weapon qualifier, it must explicitly announce the Weapon qualifier with the attack.
Ingested: All ingested attacks are delivered by placing a potion or elixir physrep next to the mouth of the target or by having the target consume a prepared item. Ingested deliveries always ignore Spell defenses, even if taken while unconscious. Valid defenses include Resists, Cloaks, Banes, <Type> Guard, and Immunities.
Radius: Radius deliveries include traps, contact poisons, and monster abilities such as eye contact or sound of voice. Generally, a Pause Game is called when a radius attack takes place, and everyone partially within the radius is affected.
Note that Radius delivery effects should always include an explicit qualifier and Effect.