V9: Transition Guide

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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Read Me First

When to Use this Guide
This guide is intended to help Amtgard V8 players orient themselves to the Amtgard V9 ruleset.

This Guide is presented in RAS (Rules-as-Spoken)
In an effort to help everyone more easily digest the contents of the new ruleset, the V9 Team has created this page to try to explain the changes as if they were being told to you by word-of-mouth. We call this “Rules as Spoken” or RAS. This page will not cover the details of every specific change but it should give you a general overview and basic understanding so you can keep them in mind as you read through the actual V9 rules.

Non-Gameplay Stuff

• Only Militia rules have been released so far (as of Feb 2023 update). No class stuff yet.
  
  

• There’s a new, detailed Introduction and Getting Started section to help new players get oriented.
  
  

• A lot of rules pulled from V8 had their text updated to be clearer.
  
  

• The Official Amtgard Rules Clarification facebook page has no bearing on V9. All the non-ROP clarifications and ‘tribal/communal knowledge’ have been given proper sections and definitions. There's even a Glossary now!

NEW - Garb Section

• Garb has its own section with more details about what garments are preferred and what folks should try to avoid.
  
  

• Pink sashes are now reserved for Non-Melee Participants.

NEW - Honor System Section

• This is the 'Don't be a Dick' section. It's a whole section talking about the Honor System and how it is integral to making Amtgard work.
  
  

• It has a list of responsibilities that everyone is expected to uphold for the sake of the game.

NEW - Safety Section

• All the safety bits from V8 have been compiled into their own section and expanded upon.
  
  

• The “HOLD!” call is back from previous editions. It replaces 'Emergency' as the ‘Stop Everything!’ command.
  
  

• The “SAFETY!” call remains the same as in V8.
  
  

• There's some extra safety tips for handling various situations as well as suggestions for safety equipment.

Acceptable/Unacceptable Contact

• There are new forms of unacceptable contact.
  • You can’t use your garb to intentionally block shots.
  • You can't attack in a way that makes people think they are getting punched. They want the combat experience to stay firmly in the realm of fantasy swordplay, not MMA.

Core Combat Rules

• Foot on Ground is now completely invulnerable, not just immune to wounds.
  
  

• Shot in Motion applies to launching projectiles too, not just melee.
  
  

• The new ‘Torso Priority’ rule clearly defines that strikes ‘on the line’ between two locations will count against the torso.

Wounds

• Dead legs are immune to further wounds for 2 seconds after being wounded. Since Posting is optional, they don't want two quick leg taps to force players to ‘kneel or die’.
  
  

• You can switch between Kneeling and Posting at will as long as you don’t do it in the middle of fighting someone.
  
  

• You can hobble around (drag the leg) to move slowly while Posting if there’s no enemies within 20’.
  
  

• The 'Forced Movement Accommodation' from V8 sticks around, but now you can choose to get up and hobble if you still want to attack while moving.

NEW - Death Section

• Death has a whole section now.
  
  

• There’s no longer a penalty for moving after you die. Since there's only militia rules so far it doesn't really have any bearing yet.

Equipment (General)

• There is now a set of Universal Equipment Requirements that every piece of equipment must meet. It's basic stuff like safety, durability, and looking like what it's supposed to be.
  
  

• 'Weapon Checks' are now called ' Equipment Inspections.
  • There's a full guide to help check equipment properly.
  • Hit-Tests against a volunteer are now required.
  • New players must also take Weapon Competency Assessments before they can use certain weapons on field. The details of this aren't laid out yet.
    
    

• There's a Color Code system that gives swatches and symbols you've got to use for anything with a mandatory color, like sashes and spellballs.
  
  

• There are now definitions for ‘Carried’, ‘Held’, ‘Free Hand’, ‘Worn’, ‘Wielded’, ‘Unwielded’, ‘Unattended’ and ‘Destroyed'.
  • Unattended is new. Unattended equipment can't be destroyed or affected until it is reclaimed. There’s a delay timer so people can’t just drop their weapons to make them instantly immune.

Weapons

• All weapons now have a Flex limit of 45 degrees max.
  
  

• Open-Cell and Closed-Cell foam are now better defined.
  
  

• All weapons need to be at least 50% padded in some way.
  
  

• Any weapon can now be multi-ended and the rules for weapons construction have been built with multi-ended and oddly shaped weapons in mind.
  
  

• Super Heavy padding is a new type of optional padding that needs a 8” cross-section but lets you substitute strike-legal at a 2:1 ratio.
  
  

• All projectiles, not just arrows, need to be labelled with their owner's name.

Melee Weapons

• Daggers can now be up to 24”.
  
  

• Long Weapons can be Super Heavy Padded to gain Armor Breaking when wielded with two hands.
  
  

• The V8 'Great' Category has been turned into ‘Great’, ‘Reach’, and ‘Pike’, each with their own maximum length.
  • V9 Great Weapons can only be up to 6ft long and get two-handed SC/AB for being Heavy Padded (as V8) or by being 2/3 Strike-Legal.
  • Reach weapons can be up to 9ft long and Heavy Padding only gives them Armor Breaking when wielded with two hands.
  • Pikes are the longest weapons in the game. They can be up to 12ft long and Heavy Padding only gives them Armor Breaking when wielded with two hands.
    
    

• No melee weapon in V9 can be longer than 12ft.
  
  

• Hinged is now called Flail. Their handles now have a minimum size.
  
  

• Madu’s have a maximum size to match the length of a Reach weapon (9ft).
  • Madu's can be Heavy Padded for SC/AB or AB based on size.
    
    

• Javelins can be double-ended.
  
  

• Javelins are now melee weapons except when thrown. This is the reverse of V8 (where they are projectiles except when being wielded.)
  
  

Projectile Weapons

• Projectiles need to stop/deflect to count. No more grazing.
  
  

• Deliberately batting projectiles back at the other team is listed out as unsafe and not allowed. Accidental ricochets are fine.
  
  

• Light and Heavy Thrown are now called Small and Large Thrown.
  • Large Thrown has a minimum length of 6” (down from 9”) closing the V8 gap.
    
    

• Rocks are Weapon Destroying (in addition to SC/AB) but now they always have to be thrown with two hands.
  
  

• Bows & Crossbows can be wielded with a shield strapped to the arm so long as the shield does not interfere with the use of the bow.
  
  

• Hitting Bows and Crossbows is now off totally limits and the rules have been adjusted around this.
  
  

• Arrow and Bolt construction rules have been overhauled.
  • Wooden shafts are not allowed.
  • Penny tech is gone. Blunts must be 0.75” diameter steel or aluminum. Any other material (like 3D printed) must be impact resistant and 3/16” thick.
    
  • Arrow heads need at least 1" of open cell foam.
  • Arrowheads must be 2.5" wide throughout the entire head, not just pass the Ring Check. (This was actually intended in V8 as well but wasn't spelled out properly so people just started using the 2.5" ring and calling it good.)
  • Domed Arrows need to be at least 3" hemispheres. (2.5" balls are illegal).
  • Covers for regular arrows must be either Blue or a combination of contrasting colors.

Siege Weapons

• Siege Engines are now left entirely up to Game Organizer discretion. The only requirement beyond being safe, durable, and recognizable is that they have to use Amtgard-legal weapons for their striking portions.

Shields

• V8 Small Shields have been broken into ‘ Buckler’ and ‘Small’. The smallest possible shield is still the same dimensions as the smallest shield in Version 8.
  
  

• There’s a new Experimental Tower Shield size that covers anything bigger than a large shield, not exceeding 54x36”.
  
  

• Shield faces can’t have holes in them.
  
  

• Shields can't be domed more than half their width.

Armor

• Armor now takes priority when someone is hit in both an armored and unarmored area at the same time. In a nutshell, you can only strike a gap if you can hit JUST the gap.

• Natural and Magic armor are just listed as existing but will be fleshed out with the class rules.
  
  

• Armor materials now have minimum thickness requirements. If the material doesn’t meet these requirements, then it can’t be used as armor.
  
  

• The V8 penalty for ‘Non-Standard Metal’ has been removed. The base standard for metal armor is now Aluminum. Steel and similar metals get a bonus.
  
  

• Armor-Specific modifiers are gone. All piece-specific modifiers are merged into either Appearance and Construction.
  
  

• The V8 Gambeson bonus has been replaced with the "Layered Armor Bonus”. It's basically the same with some quality of life tweaks.
  
  

• The V8 Helm bonus has become the ‘Supplemental Armor Bonus’ and it has been expanded to include hand and feet armor so you can now get a global +1 armor to all locations if you wear the supplemental armor in all those locations.
  • There is only one type of Supplemental Armor, no light/heavy like in V8.
    
    

• Armor is now categorized by TIERS instead of by style.
  • Tier 1 is base 1, max 2. // Tier 2 is base 2, max 3. // And so on.
  • Each tier lists all the styles of armor that fall under it. Ambiguous armors are placed where they fit best.
  • Light Leather is worth more. It is Tier 2 (base 2, max 3) – UP from V8.
  • Butcher's Mail/Ringmesh/Sharkmail/ are now specifically listed as Tier 2 (base 2, max 3).
  • Heavy Leather is worth more. It is Tier 3 (base 3, max 4) – UP from V8.
  • Rigid Non-Metal/Synthetic Armors are now specifically listed as Tier 3 (base 3, max 4) – UP from V8.
  • Chainmail is Tier 3. - SAME as V8 due to its superior coverage ability.
  • V8 Scale has been split into Light Scale (Tier 4: Base 4, max 5)) and Heavy Scale (Tier 5: Base 5, max 6). - UP from V8.
  • Butted Plate, Splint, etc. are worth more. They are Tier 5 (Base 5, max 6) – UP from V8.
  • Brigandine, Lamellar, and Plate are all worth more. They are Tier 6 (Base 6, Max 7) – UP from V8.
  • There’s Metal and Non-Metal Catch-All categories to handle previously hard-to-categorize armor types.
    
    

• Even though some pieces can be rated for more than 6pts, nothing is allowed to exceed 6 pts after averaging and bonuses. The point of 7pt+ armor is to get more favorable averaging so you can wear less pieces and still hit the 6pt cap.
  
  

• Averaging works exactly the same as V8.

Effects

• Effects that happen on hit, such as Armor Breaking, etc. are now called ‘Strike Effects’. Only Militia-level effects are included so far.
  
  

• Declarations for Strike Effects have been cleaned up a bit.
  
  

• Armor Breaking is the SAME as V8. As is Armor Destroying, Weapon Destroying, and Shield Destroying.
  
  

• Shield Crushing is functionally the same but you can repair crushed-but-not-destroyed Shields with Mend effects.
  
  

• The ‘Siege’ effect is a thing now. It’s an engulfing death that also destroys all your equipment and armor. Nothing can prevent death or trigger from dying this way. The only way to avoid it is to not get hit.”

Combat Activities

• The section about battlegames and combat activities has been expanded.
  
  

• A ‘Dead Zone’ (previously known as ‘Nirvana’ in V7) is defined but doesn't have a good name yet.
  
  

• ‘Repair at Base’ is now called ‘Replenish at Base’ and restores everything: armor, wounds, equipment, and per-life abilities with a single count.
  
  

• Game Modes (Ditch, Militia, Class, etc..) are more fleshed out and several other common modes have been added, mostly roleplay-oriented ones.
  
  

New Rules Authorities Section

There’s a section for Rules Authorities like Reeves, etc.

Best Practices for Rules Authorities

• The ‘Gray area’ section has been expanded on to provide more guidance about how to navigate weird rules and interactions. It’s similar to the Honor System but directed at reeves more than players.
  
  

• Players are explicitly never immune to combat while they are discussing or clarifying rules in the middle of combat.