Rules

The following is an abridged version of the rules we will be using. it includes everything you need to start playing but there are more complete rules at http://www.realmsnet.net/omnibus/omnibus2017.html

Sections:

• Combat & Safety Rules

• Combat Rules

• Combat Calls

• Magic

• Spirit of the Rules

• Link to Realms Magic Rules

Combat & Safety Rules

One of the first things you need to know about lightest touch combat is that no matter how safe your light weapons are, if you don't play by the rules, people may end up getting hurt. Anytime you start new into this sport, it is your responsibility to know how to do it right. This begins with making sure that you know and understand the safety rules you are playing by.

Different groups that participate in lightest touch combat have different safety rules they fight by. The rules listed below were originally written by Shannon Slate and are being used by eventholders who throw events for the Realms of Wonder and Imagination, as printed in the 1996 Omnibus to the Realms.

1. We should all be doing this to have fun. If you get mad or uncontrolled it is up to you to remove yourself from the fighting. A Marshal may pull you off the field if you do not.

2. You must listen to the Marshal(s) at all times (they are the referees).

3. If you have any questions it is up to you to ask (most accidents happen because some people don't have foresight).

4. This is a sport of honor. Treat it as such. If you are caught cheating, a Marshal may remove you from any combat. Remember that honor begets honor.

5. There is to be contact with weapons only (i.e. weapons hitting weapons, weapons hitting bodies and weapons hitting shields only).

6. There is no rule number 6!

7. If you see a harmful or unsafe situation, yell the word "HOLD!" (i.e. someone has an unsafe weapon, gets their glasses knocked off, is about to fall off a cliff, etc...). It is the primary responsibility of a person who is hurt to call a hold. Before calling a hold for someone else in an otherwise safe situation, you must first ask them if they are OK.

8. If you hear the word "HOLD!", stop immediately! Then say "HOLD!" until everyone else has stopped moving. Do not move from where you are until the problem has been taken care of and the Marshal or the person who called the hold signals play to resume by yelling "3... 2... 1... LAY ON!!!"

9. Holds should only be called in the event of a dangerous situation and may NOT be used to discuss rules.

10. There is to be NO body contact of any kind (i.e. no punching, kicking, biting, grabbing, etc...)

11. There is to be NO grabbing of an opponent's weapons and/or shield.

12. There is to be NO throwing weapons unless they are specifically designed for that purpose.

13. There are to be NO "Louisville Slugger" (Baseball Bat like) swings.

14. There is to be NO charging. You DO NOT run at or advance towards someone so that they have to get out of your way or get run over.

15. There is to be NO unsafe shield maneuvers, that in any way harm anyone else (i.e. NO punch blocking, shield bashing or contact with another person. Your shield is NEVER to be used as a WEAPON).

16. Only "Safe" weapons & shields are to be used. A qualified Marshal may be requested to check the safety of any weapons or shields at any time.

17. There is to be NO live steel in any combat situation at any time (live steel being metal knives, swords, axes, darts, spikes, spurs, etc...)

18. You may ask a Marshal to inspect anything at any time if you feel something is unsafe.

19. There is to be NO firing of arrows from a full draw, and arrows should never strike a participant above the shoulders. Bows should NEVER be used to parry an attack.

20. Use your common sense. If something looks unsafe, it most likely is unsafe. (If it runs like a fish and barks like a fish then it's a fish.)

21. HAVE FUN!!!

Combat Rules

In addition to the twenty-one safety rules, there are also rules for how damage from contact with weapons is simulated.

All hits - even the lightest touches - count as successful strikes, with the following exceptions: the face following the eyebrow ridge to the ears, throat and hands (from the wrist bone down to the fingers - and only when they are holding a weapon) are all off target.

Do not try to hit off target areas. If you do, it won't count. Groin strikes on men and women and breast strikes on women are counted as kills, but are not honorable and abuse may result in the removal of the offender.

Hit Locations

Your body is separated into seven locations of which there are two kinds. Your arms and legs are "limbs," while your head and the front and back of your torso are "kill locations." If you become confused about exactly where one location stops and another begins, thinking of a Barbie™ doll may help. The buttocks of a person are considered leg shots. If you are hit in the buttock(s), you lose the appropriate leg(s).

Killing Blows

If you are struck in a kill location your PC is dead. If you are hit on the top of the shoulder, your PC is dead. If you are wearing armor, a blow to the top of the shoulder is considered a blow to the front or back depending on whether your opponent is in front of you or behind you.

Limb Shots

If you are struck in a limb, your PC loses the use of that entire limb. If you are struck in a limb that has already been lost, and that limb blocked what could have possibly been a legal shot to another location, then that location should be considered hit. You cannot protect the side of your PC's body with a disabled arm or by lifting a disabled leg up to block. Once your PC's limb has been disabled, it should be put behind you. This keeps it out of the way as well as provides a visual cue to other players that your PC is hurt. Once you have lost a limb, your PC cannot use that limb at all. Don't limp on a damaged leg.

Hand-on-Weapon

If you are struck on a hand that is holding anything that is legal to block or parry with (weapons and shields, but not bows, javelins or arrows), it is considered gauntleted and immune to damage. When this happens, call out "Hand" or "Hand-on-weapon." If you are struck on a hand that is not holding anything you can parry with, even if you have just taken it off for a second, it is considered a legal limb shot and your PC has to suffer the consequences. Your hand is considered everything below the wrist bone.

How to Take Multiple Hits

Should an opponent's weapon (be it a melee weapon, missile weapon, or spell prop) hit you in more than one location with the same swing, all points of contact count as hits.If you aren't sure whether or not your opponent hit you, it is honorable to take the blow. Likewise, if you aren't sure if you were killed or you just lost a limb, take the blow as a kill.

Armor

Armor is protective equipment such as leather or chainmail. Armor allows you to take additional blows to the location covered. There are two types of armor: Light armor which is made of more flexible material and gives 1 point of protection, and heavey armor which is made of ridged meterial and confers 2 points of protection. Armor is specific to the location worn but counts as covering an entire hit location if it has 75% coverage.

Etiquette

When a location is hit you should call the damage out loud. if a blow strikes your arm you should say "Arm", if you are hit in the chest you should call "Dead". if you have armor, call "Armor"

If you think your opponent hit you before you hit them, and they should therefore not take the wound you gave them because they had already hit you, tell them not to take the blow.

However, if you think you hit someone you should never tell them that you hit them. It is extremely bad etiquette. You may ask them if you hit them, but telling them that you hit them is an insult.

Anytime you spar with a new group of people, it is your responsibility to make sure that you have a thorough understanding of the rules they are fighting by.

Combat Calls

Combat calls are what you may hear yelled in combat, and you must know how these calls affect your PC.

Armor

Negates a hit attack. When "Armor" (or "Armor 1,” "Armor 2," or "Armored Cloak") is called in combat, it means that the person calling armor is protected against the attack that landed on them, usually by means of armor or a spell effect.

Armor-Piercing

Armor cannot always protect a PC from certain attacks. If an opponent attacks a PC in any way and calls out "Armor-Piercing," any of the armor that is struck by the attack is completely destroyed, and the PC suffers the effect of the blow as if they were not wearing armor. For example, if a PC is wearing heavy armor on their right arm, and an opponent hits it while calling "Armor-Piercing," the PC's armor is destroyed on that arm and they lose the limb.

Poison

There may be occasions where a PC is struck with a blow and the wielder calls "Poison." If this strike damages a PC in any location, be it torso, arm, leg, etc., then the PC is killed. When the blow does no damage to a PC, such as a hit to an off-target area or a hit to armor that protects the PC, then the poison has no effect. Armor struck with a poison blow is still used. If a PC is under the effects of a spell that protects them from poison in some fashion, the PC still takes the normal damage from the blow but the poison will have no additional effect. Players should also call "Immunity to Poison," to allow an opponent to understand that you recognized that the blow was poisoned.

Disease

If a weapon strikes a PC and the wielder calls "Disease," wounds on their body take twice as many spells to be healed until the disease is cured. This effect only damages a PC, not their armor. For example, if you are hit by a diseased blow to the leg, Heal Limb would need to be cast twice on the leg for it to be healed until the disease is cured. Similarly, if you are killed by a disease shot, the spell Raise Dead will need to be cast twice on you until you are cured of the disease.

Regeneration effects will still affect a diseased character with a single use, but the regeneration time is doubled until the disease is cured. Disease can affect both live and dead characters.

Boulder

A PC can encounter a boulder call in one of two ways: being hit with a physical boulder prop or by a weapon simulating the effects of a boulder. In either instance, the same call of “Boulder!” is used.

If you or any of your equipment are hit by the call of “Boulder!”, you suffer the following effects: your character is dead, any armor hit is “broken” where the boulder touched the locations, magic items hit by the boulder are disenchanted, and any non-monetary equipment (i.e. non-enchanted weapons, bows, and shields) that is hit by the boulder is “broken.” It is the player’s responsibility to see that items damaged this way are not used until the appropriate repair spells are cast upon them.

A boulder prop is often represented by throwing large duct-taped chunks of foam or beanbag chairs with the zippers duct-taped over. When thrown, the boulder is active until it comes completely to rest. PCs may not throw or pick up boulders. Four or more PCs, using a total of eight hands on the boulder, may work together to "push" a boulder along, to free trapped gear and companions, but not to cause damage.

Fireball

If you or any of your equipment are hit by the call of fireball, your character is dead. Armor and weapons hit by the fireball are not broken, but also do not protect against its damage.

The fireball call may come in the form of a thrown prop (as with a magic missile) or as a weapon blow. Fireball is magical in nature.

Flat

To “knock out” an opponent, the attacking player must call out the word "Flat" prior to their attack. Should a successful killing blow be struck, they have instead rendered their foe unconscious for a steady count of 300 seconds. The unconscious PC may be wakened sooner by having another PC come and wake them up by touching the unconscious PC and saying "Wake Up.” The PC can also wake up when any damage is inflicted on them. You may call "Flat" at any time, even in the middle of a fight. This form of attack deals no damage to armor.

Lightning Bolt

If you are hit by any part of a white boff arrow and the thrower calls "Lightning Bolt," your PC is struck as if by a magic armor-piercing weapon (see the Magic and Armor-Piercing calls in this section).

Impaling

Impaling is the act of holding a weapon in an opponent's kill location after death, and saying the word "Impale." It counts as continuous, non-scalping blows to that location. The act of impaling will bypass any armor, damaged or not. While impaled, a character cannot be raised or animated and is unable to regenerate. The results can vary when impaling NPCs.

Weapon Type and Material Calls

Occasionally, more powerful monsters are only affected by certain weapon types or by certain materials. For example, axe-mace trolls are typically only injured by axes and maces; werewolves are only affected by weapons made of silver. It might be a good habit when using a melee weapon other than a sword, to call the type of weapon you are using as you swing. If using a mace, say "Mace" with each swing. When you are wielding a non-normal weapon (e.g., magic or silver), that weapon will always strike with the same effect therefore you must call that effect with every swing.

Magic

If a weapon strikes you and the wielder calls "Magic" (or "Magic Missile"), it means your PC has been hit with a magical blow. Generally, being hit by magic doesn't affect your PC any differently than being hit by a normal weapon, but sometimes PCs are under spell effects where it makes a difference.

Silver

If a weapon strikes you and the wielder calls "Silver" it means your PC has been hit with a silver blow. Being hit by silver doesn't affect your PC any differently than being hit by a normal weapon

Magic

Magic rules are quite complex. and if you wish to knw more you can find it in the complete omnibus. for immediate purposed we ar going to only adress Basic Magic Effects Everyone Should Know:

Even if you are not a spellcaster, and have no desire to become one, there is still some basic information that you are responsible for understanding. The following are some rules about spells that can have an effect on your character on a day-to-day basis. They are included here with some basic information about how they affect you both IC and OOC.

Healing Spells

When your character is injured or killed, only magic can fix the damage. To raise a character means to return a character to life. Raising a character repairs any injuries to limbs the character may have taken prior to their death and also nullifies the effects of any poisons in their system at the time of their death..

Combat Raise Dead: this three-word spell will raise a character.

Cry of Life: the call of "All in the sound of my voice, rise and fight" raises all dead who hear it.

Group Healing: allows a spellcaster to make a large circle through which they cast a healing spell upon every character in it.

Heal Limb: this spell allows one wounded limb to be magically healed. The spellcaster will let you know when your character's limb has been repaired.

Raise Dead: this spell raises a character. This spell will not work if there is a weapon within 10 feet of the spellcaster. Inform a spellcaster the spell has failed if you know about a weapon near enough to disrupt the spell. A bow is not considered a weapon, but arrows are considered weapons.

Combat Spells

Certain combat calls (see Lightning Bolt and Magic Missile in Section 3.11: Combat Calls) involve a prop that is thrown at a combatant. After the prop has come to rest it is only a physical representation of magic and cannot be moved or touched other than by the person who threw it. It may be seen and guarded but not purposefully hidden (e.g., putting a bucket over it). The prop is not considered a weapon and does not cause Spell Failure except while the spell is active (i.e. from when the prop is thrown until it comes to rest).

Necromancy

Certain spells make your character undead for their duration. Your character will remember what happened to them while they were undead. While undead, your character cannot cross a Circle of Protection, other than one they created themselves (represented by a circle of rope on the ground), or advance within 5 feet of someone casting Ward: Undead or Ward: Enchanted Beings. This family of spells does not give you the ability to ignore weapon restrictions, nor can you be compelled to forcibly break them. If you have any questions about this, ask the spellcaster when they cast the spell on you.

Animate Undead General: if this spell is cast upon you when your PC is dead, your PC becomes an undead creature under the spellcaster's control. You may not refuse to have your PC turned

into an undead, unless under certain magical effects (see Protect the Soul). You are now playing a greater undead version of your PC and have access to all their spells, abilities and knowledge. In addition your PC now has the ability to cast Animate Lesser Undead with unlimited castings. The Undead General will die to any damaging magical attacks regardless of location. Your PC must follow the orders of the spellcaster. The spell ends if your PC is slain and raised or simply raised.

Animate Undead: if this spell is cast upon you when your PC is dead, your PC becomes an undead creature under the spellcaster's control. You may not refuse to have your PC turned into an undead, unless under certain magical effects (see Protect the Soul). You are now playing an undead version of your PC and have access to all their spells, abilities and knowledge. Your PC must follow the orders of the spellcaster. The spell ends if your PC is slain and raised or simply raised.

Animate Lesser Undead: if this spell is cast upon you when your character is dead, your character becomes an undead creature under the spellcaster's control. Lesser undead cannot use any armor or spells regardless of what they normally have. You may not refuse to have your PC turned into an undead, unless under certain magical effects (see Protect the Soul). Animate Lesser Undead can be used to raise an undead (see Animate Undead), but returns the character to un-life, rather than life. Like Animate Undead, the spell ends when your PC is slain and raised or simply raised.

Walking Dead: certain spells will make a PC's dead body walk without either returning them to life or fully animating them as undead. When a PC is under the effects of these spells, follow these guidelines:

Walk at a steady pace, do not run.

Keep any items on you that you would retain if picked up and dragged.

Move to the destination as directly as possible without taking an OOC unsafe path. If the only option is to move into an OOC unsafe situation, then the spell ends and the body falls to the ground

If another character interferes with the body, such as by attacking them or physically stepping in their way to block them, the effect of the spell ends.

The PC cannot take any actions other than walking; no attacking, searching, picking up items, using magic items, or drinking potions.

The PC is considered to be Undead while the effect lasts. See the Undead Caveat.

The main difference between various Walking Dead spells is in where the PC must walk to.

Beckon Corpse: the PC will stand and walk to the spellcaster as long as they are chanting. If the PC is forced to stop, the spellcaster may have the option to regain their attention and resume chanting, at which point the PC will get back up and continue walking to the spellcaster.

Zombie Send: the spellcaster will tell the PC where to go and the spell will end when they arrive.

Zombie Walk: the PC will follow the spellcaster until the spellcaster either ends the spell, the spellcaster attacks someone, or they are attacked.

Potions

Potions are disposable magic items that anyone can use. Common forms that potions can take include, but are not limited to something that must be consumed or a scroll that must be read or ripped. In all cases the potion needs to be administered by a living or animated character, and after it is used, cannot be used again.

Potion of Acid: if your PC is dead, and someone indicates they are using an acid potion on you, your PC takes 200 scalping blows. See Create Potion for details.

Potion of Armor Repair: it repairs a hit location of damaged armor in 15 seconds when applied to it.

Potion of Combat Raise Dead: it raises a dead character when used.

Potion of Heal Limb: it heals all of a character's injured limbs when used.

Blacksmith Spells

Blacksmiths repair damaged armor and broken items.

Repair Armor: this will restore one hit location of non-magical armor that has been damaged. For example, the armor on one arm, the chest of a shirt of chainmail, head armor, etc.

Repair Item: this will restore non-magical armor, weapons, and other items that have become damaged or destroyed. This spell has a VC, and it fixes the entire item. For example, all hit locations of someone’s armor, a bow, a boulder-crushed weapon, a shield, etc.

Other Spells and Things You Should Know

Create Poison: if you ingest food or drink that is poisoned through the use of this spell, you will be handed a scroll upon which is written the poison's effect. You must follow the scroll's instructions completely. It will either kill your PC, cause them to fall in love with someone, sleep deeply, or tell nothing but the truth. All effects other than death are short-lived. A player that ingests a love poison always has the option of allowing their PC to die if they are OOC uncomfortable with the situation.

Cure Disease or Create Potion: Cure Disease. these spells cure a character of a disease (see Disease in the Combat Calls section).

Immunity to Poison: his spell makes your PC immune to the very next poison or poison attack that would otherwise affect them. It works only once per use of the spell. Call "Immunity to Poison," when you use this spell's effect (see Poison in Section 3.11: Combat Calls).

Light: you may not take the light out of verbal communication range of the spellcaster.

Pas: this spell creates a temporary truce. If you accept the offered bribe you are magically bound to not attack the spellcaster for 60 seconds unless you are attacked.

Protect the Soul: this spell will protect your PC from possession, Animate Undead, and the like.

Speak With Dead: this spell will allow the spellcaster to ask a dead character a single question per casting. Your PC MUST answer truthfully or abstain, using the words, "Yes," "No," or "Abstain."

The Spirit of the Rules

Every set of rules has loopholes and can be exploited by individuals who are trying to win. The Spirit of the rules we play by is that anyone should be able to play, and we should all be playing to have fun. The sport of lightest touch combat should be accessible to anyone, of any age and almost any ability. Your ten year old sister should be able to compete against a muscle-bound hulk of a man and not get hurt. The game stops being fun when people get hurt, and when people feel like it's too dangerous to play. The rules are there for the safety of the participants. Any exploitation of those rules should be dealt with harshly. As an example, I have seen people looking around at their opponents and revising their tactics when a HOLD has been called. I have also seen people lower their opponents' defenses in combat by pretending to ask questions about rules or the safety of weapons. People who demonstrate an inability to conduct themselves responsibly should not be allowed to participate.

For the Realms magic system, please look here.