V9: Madu

This page is part of the Official Amtgard V9 Alpha-Playtest Rulebook.

• The Amtwiki is the official home and primary source for Amtgard V9 Rules as of February 25, 2023.
• These rules are currently in Open Alpha Playtest. See the Playtest Disclaimer for more details.
• To learn more about Amtgard V9 Development, please visit Amtgard.com.
• To view the current Amtgard V8 ruleset, please see the Amtgard V8 Rulebook.

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Madu

• Must meet the Universal Equipment Requirements.
• Total length must be between 18" up to 108" (9ft).
• Is a hybrid Melee Weapon and Shield.
  • Any shield with weapons permanently affixed to it will be considered a Madu and must conform to these rules.
  • Any weapon segments must be easily recognizable as weapons, and the shield portion must be easily recognizable as a shield.
  • The division between weapon and shield segments must be visually distinct.

Madu Shield Portion
The shield portion must be a legal shield.

Madu Weapon Segments
Madu weapon segments are measured from the point where they extend beyond the shield.

• Must not extend outward from the face of the shield.
• Must not articulate or have a chain like a Flail.
• Must not mimic or offer similar protective coverage to that of a shield. If this is a case, the offending segments will count as part of the shield, not a weapon, and be forced to adhere to shield construction rules.
• Segments intended to be Stab-Only must be at least 6" long.
• Segments intended to both slash and stab must be at least 12" long.
• Segments that measure 18" or less must be entirely Strike-Legal.
• Segments that measure greater than 18" must have at least 18" of Strike-Legal Padding and have Incidental Padding for the remainder.
• Padding Substitution can only be used on segments greater than 18" and cannot reduce the amount of Strike-Legal to less than 18".

Two-Hand 'Great' Madu Variant
If the total length of the Madu is 72" (6ft) or less, the following variation can be used:

• Any weapon segment that is greater than 48" (4ft) and is at least 2/3 Strike-Legal or has at least 18" of Heavy Padding gains Armor Breaking and Shield Crushing when the weapon is wielded with two hands.
• Stab-Only segments require just 6" of Heavy Padding to gain this benefit.

Two-Hand 'Reach' Madu Variant

• Any weapon segment that is greater than 72" (6ft) and has at least 18" of Heavy Padding gains Armor Breaking when the weapon is wielded with two hands.
• Stab-Only segments require just 6" of Heavy Padding to gain this benefit.

Madu-Specific Combat Rules

• Madus do not have access to the variant options or gameplay rules of other weapon or shield categories, even if parts of the Madu are constructed to mimic those weapons or shields.
  • Example 1: A Madu constructed with a small-size shield will still take up a free hand and cannot be strapped to the arm without a handle.
  • Example 2: A super-heavy padded Madu that is between 36" and 48" will not gain Armor Breaking when wielded 2-handed because that variant is only available to Long weapons.
• A Madu can only be wielded if the player can wield both a non-staff weapon of the Madu’s total length (weapon portions + shield portions) and a shield equal to or greater than the Madu’s shield's size.
• The weapon segments can be struck and affected by weapon-specific effects such as Weapon Destroying, and the Shield portion can be struck and affected by shield-specific effects such as Shield Crushing and Shield Destroying. Once affected this way, the entire Madu is affected, for better or worse. If the weapon or shield portion is destroyed, the entire Madu is destroyed. If one part of the Madu is restored, the entire Madu is restored.

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• Image Gallery
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  Various Legal and Illegal Madu builds

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  Example 2

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  Example 3

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  Example 4

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  Example 5