Equipment Construction 7.5
Contents
Taken directly from the 7.5 rulebook
The previous section is "Combat, Weapons and Equipment"
Equipment Construction
(Visit the Arts and Sciences forum at www.ElectricSamurai.com for more construction ideas and tutorials.)
Weapon Construction Notes
A safe weapon is one that will not mark, bruise, or break bones or teeth when it strikes a person. If your weapon hurts you when you are struck, it is not safe. The entire surface of a weapon must be padded as per the weapon descriptions in Weapon Types. Cross-guards must be padded. For a core the best things to use are carbon/graphite rods (such as from non-metallic golf clubs), kite spar, bamboo, PVC tubing or fiberglass. Other materials will be checked for safety on a case-by-case basis. Metal and wooden cores are not acceptable and will never be considered legal.
Use good, stiff foam to pad your weapon. Ensolite™, a type of closed cell foam, is good to pad the base. Funnoodle™, a preformed pool flotation device, is a quick and easy alternative to Ensolite™, however it wears out much faster. Foam is best cut with a razor or sharp scissors. Stick the foam to the shaft with adhesive glue or tape.
Weapon tips (points, guards, pommels, etc.) and striking surfaces must be at least 2.5 inches in diameter (flat blade weapons must not be able to pass their tip through a 2.25 inch diameter ring) in diameter. The ends of all weapon cores must be blunted by capping them with a layer of foam and tape. Stabbing weapons should include extra padding on the tip to ensure safety.
Shield Construction
Shields should be made from light, firm materials, should be well padded, and require a cloth cover. Hard edges may not be exposed. Good materials to use include substances with some give, such as plywood and high impact plastics. An interesting alternative is to use a plastic snow toboggan, which will produce a light shield that requires less padding. Another popular shield design uses only a thick foam disc, thus negating the need for additional padding (just a cloth cover). Be careful with these however, as not all foam materials are the same. Plank foam is a particularly durable and safe variety that makes for an excellent shield; while foam such as what ‘boogie boards’ are made of is effectively a rigid material and requires padding. Thick strips of leather make good arm straps. When using a non-foam shield, bolts should be attached with the head affixed to the exterior of the shield with washers, and then heavily padded with foam. All rigid-core shields must either have foam folded over the edges or have the shield edges recessed into the foam. All rigid-core shields must be covered with a layer of foam that is at least 1 inch thick on the face, and 1 inch on the edge. Shields must be at least as safe as the weapons we use.
Sword Construction Tutorial
(with Funnoodle™ or Camp-pad foam):
1. Use a length of Fiberglass, Kite spar, PVC, or a golf shaft for the core. Remove all sharp edges and points from both ends of the core.
2. Cap both ends of the core with alternating layers of tape and foam until the cap is secure and decidedly dull. Cover the pommel with enough closed cell foam to ensure that it is at least 2.5 inches in diameter. Note that all pommels must meet this minimum size requirement regardless of your specific fighting style.
3. If you are making a …
- a. … flat blade, sandwich the core between several layers of camp-pad foam.
- b. … round blade, you can use a piece of Funnoodle™ that has a factory hole in the center, and cut it to be the length of the blade. If your core moves back and forth within the hole, you can tape a long strip of camp pad foam to the shaft to reduce the noise and prolong the life of the blade. Tape the base of the Funnoodle™ to the shaft very well. Fiberglass strapping tape is recommended for strength and weight.
4. Tape several pieces of closed cell foam over the top of the sword with fiberglass strapping tape. You should have at least 3 layers of closed cell foam (1.5 inches) on your stabbing tip (and even more for a two handed stabbing weapon, such as a spear).
5. For the cover choose a light, durable, opaque, fabric. Cut it to length plus three inches, and outside diameter plus one inch.
6. Fold the fabric across and sew the side and top.
7. Roll the cover like a stocking, and then roll it down the sword.
8. Secure the cover to the hilt with tape.
Arrow Construction
Arrows are generally fragile and are often broken under the constant rigors of fighting. Arrow shafts made from graphite offer a flexibility and resilience not found in their aluminum or wooden counterparts. Wooden arrows must be taped along their entire length. All arrowheads must be removed from the arrow, and the base of the arrow at the tip must be built up with a sufficiently strong material to at least the diameter of a penny, which is used to cap the arrow. Arrows may not be drawn beyond 28 inches, and must have a stopper in place if they are longer. Arrows must have a minimum of 2 inches of closed cell foam on the tip, and it must be at least 2.5 inches in diameter. It is suggested that you also incorporate a layer of open cell foam to reduce the recoil of the arrow when it strikes a solid surface. Arrow fletching and nocks must be in good repair, and arrowheads should be checked regularly for degrading foam. All arrows must be clearly labeled with their owner’s name on the shaft. Properly colored head covers may be used in lieu of strips to denote special arrow status.
Projectile Construction
A blow by any part of a throwing weapon, boulder or rock counts as a hit; so all parts of these weapons need to be Strikelegal. The tips of all projectile weapons must not be able to fit through a 2.25 inch ring. Projectiles may not have solid cores. Materials you may use for projectile cores include foam, sweatshirt material, and other soft, non-granular and non-rigid materials. Pennies, batteries, sand, and the like may never be used as cores.
Armor Construction
The Monarch, Champion and Guildmaster of Reeves rate armor. Damage that exceeds the remaining armor value (i.e. arrows, Berserk Barbarian weapons, Great Weapons, etc.) wounds or kills the target. Armor that is mixed (multiple types of armor covering the same body area) will be averaged. Armor may not be stacked or layered to increase or add value unless explicitly stated here. Armor worn under tabards or garb must be partially visible, and must be announced if asked. Armor should weigh close to actual historical standards to receive full value. Straps and other such material that hold your armor on do not count as part of the armor, for either coverage or averaging purposes, unless they are specifically built as such. Example: the leather strap across your back holding on your steel breastplate does not protect you from hits.
All armor must be safe, with no protruding edges that could injure someone. Armor values may never be rated at more than 6 points. The standard baseline for metal armor is steel. Armor is rated as the material that it most resembles, thus plastic and other non-metallic armors can never be disguised nor passed off as plate or chainmail.
Armor Definitions
Armor in action
- Example 1: A person with two points of torso armor covering his chest and back is struck in the back with a regular sword: One point of armor is removed from the torso armor, leaving one point on the armor covering the chest and back (chest and back are included together under torso armor).
- Example 2: A person with two points chest armor and no back armor is struck in the back with a sword: Person is dead.
The next section is "Battlegames"
