Combat Rules

Combat Rules

Combat is at the core of the game of Amtgard and represents a significant portion of the time spent at Parks each week.

Hit Location

Players have five locations which may be wounded: left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, and torso.

Arm: From just below the outside point of the shoulder to the tips of the fingers.

A hand is not wounded if struck below the wrist while wielding a melee weapon, shield, or bow. Treat hits below the wrist to a hand wielding a melee weapon, shield, or bow as though they had hit the melee weapon, shield, or bow wielded instead.

Leg: From just below the end of the buttocks in the back, the hip socket in the front, and an imaginary line between them on the sides down to and including the foot.

A foot on the ground is not wounded if struck below the ankle and all effects of weapons, projectiles, and Magic Balls are ignored.

Torso: Everything that isn’t an arm or leg, including the groin, shoulders, and collar bones up to the vertical rise of the neck.

Notes

1. Players may not be struck in the neck or head. A strike to the head is invalid, and will not count as a hit.
2. Players may not block shots with their neck or head. Intentional head blocking can result in being called dead by a reeve.
3. A wounded arm may carry equipment, but may not wield equipment or cast abilities, and must be kept out of combat. A wounded arm is capable of receiving an additional wound.
4. Players who receive a leg wound must decide if they are going to kneel or post with that leg. A player can switch between kneeling and posting by declaring as such with no living enemies within 20', or when instructed by a reeve.
   • a. If a player chooses to kneel, their wounded leg must have the knee in contact with the ground. The knee of the wounded leg may be lifted from the ground briefly to enable movement so long as the unwounded leg has a knee on the ground.
   • b. If a player chooses to post, the player must immediately notify their opponent(s) of this by stating “posting”. While posting, the player may not voluntarily move the foot of the wounded leg, although it may be used to pivot.
5. Players with a wounded leg who are affected by abilities which allow or require movement may choose to ignore the requirement for dead legs to have the knee on the ground (or, if "posting," to not voluntarily move the foot of the wounded leg) for the purposes of completing the movement. While moving in this manner, the wounded player may not attack or cast abilities, but may defend themselves. Once the player has completed the movement, they must once again place their knee in contact with the ground, or re-declare "posting". This ‘forced movement accommodation' may not be used for the ability Blink.
6. A wounded leg is capable of receiving an additional wound (even if “posting”), except when the knee is on the ground or during the initial placement of the knee on the ground after receiving a wound.
7. A player with a wounded leg may ‘hobble' by declaring "hobbling" and then moving slowly, taking no more than one step per second, and dragging a leg as long as there are no living enemies within 20'. While moving in this manner, the wounded player must chant “hobbling” and may not attack or cast abilities, but may defend themselves. Afterwards, the player must either kneel or re-declare "posting".

Combat Contact

A broad range of contact is allowed in combat. The rules below outline what is and is not acceptable. No action is acceptable if it is performed in an unsafe manner. The responsibility for the results of an action always rests squarely on the actor. Unsafe behavior on the field can result in suspension from play at the discretion of the Champion, Monarch, or Guildmaster of Reeves.

Allowed

The following actions are acceptable.

1. Weapon to weapon contact is allowed.
2. Weapon to body contact is allowed on valid Hit Locations using Strike-Legal portions.
3. Body to weapon contact: Weapons may be pushed, swept, and otherwise manipulated with your body so long as the weapon is not trapped or grabbed. Pushing or sweeping a Strike-Legal surface results in a valid hit to the location used for contact.
4. Weapon to shield contact is allowed.
5. Shield to weapon contact: Shields may be used to deflect, move or pin an opponent's weapon.
6. Shield to shield contact: Shields may be used to deflect, turn, or pin an opponent's shield so long as the wielder of the struck shield is not moved. Bashing a shield is prohibited.

Disallowed

The following actions are unacceptable. Some amount of incidental contact is expected in a contact sport but repeated or egregious offenses will result in suspension.

1. Body to body contact is prohibited.
2. Body to shield contact is prohibited.
3. Active shield to body contact is prohibited; passively using a shield to prevent an opponent’s forward movement is acceptable and does not count as body to shield contact on the part of the recipient.
4. Active weapon to body contact using portions of a weapon other than Strike-Legal is prohibited; passively planting the shaft of a weapon to block an incoming opponent is acceptable.
5. Forcing a player’s weapons against them with your body or shield is prohibited.

Inflicting Wounds

Wounds may be inflicted by contacting a Hit Location with the Strike-Legal portion of a weapon. Shots from melee weapons fall into two broad categories:

Slash

A valid slash must be percussive (contact with an audible pop) and stop on or deflect off the victim.

Stab

A valid stab must strike with the tip and stop on or deflect off the victim.

These requirements do not apply to projectiles. Any contact from the Strike-Legal portion of a projectile weapon is considered a valid hit.

Some contacts which partially fulfill the above criteria are listed here as examples of invalid shots.

Examples of Invalid Shots

Grazes

Slashes that are neither percussive nor stop/deflect.

Draw Cuts

Stabs which fail to strike with the tip. These contacts slide against a victim instead of impacting cleanly.

Pushes

These contacts are pushed into or slid against a victim after the initial motion was completely blocked and the initial motion had stopped.

Death

Any two wounds, or a wound to the torso, results in a death. Dead players:

1. May not speak to living players or interact with game play in any manner.
2. May move to avoid mundane danger or interfering with living players. This does not count as moving for the purposes of abilities so long as no game advantage was derived.
3. May retrieve their own equipment from the field while dead, but may not interfere with play in any way and must stay at least 10' from any living opposing players while doing so.
4. May only be affected by mechanics that work on dead players in specific, such as Resurrect or Undead Minion. Otherwise the player and their carried equipment are not affected by combat, abilities, etc.

Combat Notes

Miscellaneous rules necessary for the smooth operation of combat.

1. Shots that only strike garb, armor, or carried equipment do not count as a hit unless:
   1. Said items blocked a blow that would have struck a combatant (i.e. garb, carried equipment, etc. are not shields and do not count as armor). Strikes to unwielded equipment are treated as having struck that equipment as well as whatever they would have made contact with were the equipment not there.
   2. The shot is Engulfing. Engulfing effects do trigger on garb and equipment hits.
2. If a person is wounded in an arm that is throwing a shot, or is killed, shots they threw into motion before being struck still count as a hit if the shot lands within a half second of the throwing arm being struck. In the case of a two-handed weapon, the wielder must remove their wounded hand from the weapon within a half second for the shot to count. This should be a clear case of finishing an already thrown shot, meaning that it requires no change of direction and the last action required to finish the shot has already been started prior to being struck. If you have any questions, ask your kingdom/group level Guildmaster of Reeves. A reeve‘s call is always final in determining if a shot is in time or late.
3. Carried equipment includes both wielded and unwielded equipment in hand, as well as any equipment held or worn on the player's person in any way.
   1. A player may hold more than one weapon in a single hand, but may not wield more than one weapon in a single hand at the same time.
   2. It must be visually clear at all times which weapons are wielded and which weapons are unwielded. If this is not the case, all of the player's weapons are considered unwielded. Example: A player may hold a Dagger in one of the two hands wielding a Great weapon, but could not hold two Shorts in the same hand and only consider one of them wielded.
   3. A player may fire multiple non-Specialty arrows simultaneously, but may not throw multiple thrown weapons, Javelins, or Magic Balls at once from a single hand.
4. Players may always choose to take a death. Players who take a death may not return to play except by respawning, may not cast any ‘on death’ abilities such as True Grit, have all Enchantments removed (including Persistent ones), and do not benefit from any abilities that prevent death such as Phoenix Tears.
   1. Intentionally causing your own death is the same as taking a death. Examples include striking yourself with a weapon, casting Finger of Death on yourself, and jumping into lava or off a bridge.

Combat Etiquette

Combat is fast-paced and highly competitive. In order to minimize misunderstandings and confusion on the field it is important to observe the following rules.

Handling Equipment

1. Never handle anyone's personal property without first having their permission.

Calling Your Shots

1. When you are dead announce it immediately and clearly. A player who does not declare their death promptly will likely be struck again.
2. Communicate early and often with your opponents. If you made a close block or feel your opponent’s shot was invalid, communicate it immediately.
3. If you are unsure if your opponent’s shot was good enough, it was. Only shots which are clearly invalid should be treated as such. If you have to think about it, take it.
4. If an opponent hits you with a shot you think is late, ask them if they think it was in time. If they believe it was in time or are unsure if it was in time, take the shot.
5. When dead, immediately move yourself the minimum distance necessary to avoid interfering with ongoing combat. Visually indicate that you are dead by placing your hand or weapon on or above your head.
6. If asked you must promptly declare your current wounded status.

Delivering Shots

1. Do not call shots on other players unless you are reeving or the player in question asks your opinion.
2. If you have an issue with a player not taking a shot you believe connected, ask them about it politely and directly in the form of a question. If you are not satisfied with their response then bring the issue to a reeve.
3. If an opponent takes a wound from you which you do not believe was from a valid shot, tell them not to take it. If they insist, let it go.
4. If you hit an opponent with a shot that was late, immediately let them know not to take it.
5. If you strike an opponent in the head or neck and derive a combat advantage from it, stop fighting and allow them to recover. If necessary back up to the point of the shot and resume the fight.

Safety

1. If you become upset or angry go take a break. Come back when you’re ready to continue.
2. If you believe a weapon on the field is unsafe, or being used in an unsafe manner, then immediately address it politely with the wielder. If the issue persists then address it with the Champion, reeve, or a park official.
3. If you become injured on the field immediately inform any player engaged with you and remove yourself from the field of play. If you need assistance in removing yourself from play notify a nearby player or reeve.
4. If a player becomes injured in your immediate vicinity move yourself a short distance away and continue play. If the injured player appears unable to leave the field or otherwise requires assistance then remove yourself from play to offer assistance. Under no circumstances should a player attempt to stop the field of play because one person has become injured unless it is necessary to provide for the safety of the injured player.
5. If it is necessary to notify nearby players of a safety situation which requires them to stop play, then the player recognizing the situation should announce loudly “safety” to get the attention of nearby players and direct them away from the situation. If it is necessary to stop play for the entire field a player should announce loudly “emergency”. All players must avoid safety incidents while continuing play. All players must immediately stop play and cease moving until an emergency incident has been resolved.
   Rulebook 8.6.3