In a system with few rules it can seem, at first, tricky to work out how combat works.

In other larp systems it’s pretty easy (unless you can’t count or remember a billion damage calls) so we’ve put a few notes down to help you on your way. As long as you remember the ‘big three’ rules you won’t go far wrong.

So. Combat at EYE Larp is dead easy.

1. Take your [insert weapon name]
2. Hit your opponent [not too hard!]
3. Repeat [until someone is dead]

What? really?

That’s right. But here’s a few bits of advice/info to help you

1. There are no damage calls in EYE Larp, but it doesn’t hurt to scream out dramatically to give the person a clue you’re hitting them.
2. If you’re doing a weird ranged effect (shooting a latex/non-airsoft pistol, casting a weird curse etc) it probably doesn’t hurt to get your targets attention so they know you’re a) doing something to them b) doing something OFFENSIVE to them
3. Try and express the weight of the item you’re using – sword blows should be BIG DRAMATIC SWINGS etc. We promote Hero Fighting – dramatic, OTT, swings and visceral, theatrical reactions when you’re hit! If you go in doing ‘tippy tappy’ fighting then don’t be surprised if your heavily-armoured enemy doesn’t react other than to curse the fact you’ve muddied their pauldrons. On the other hand, if a Greeblie Monster latches on to your arm with its mouth full of Really Sharp Teeth, it’s going to have hurt – so roleplay like you’ve felt it!
4. You’re dead when you think you *should* be dead. Uber-Tough Berserker Barbarian? You’ll keep going until you run out of blood. Timorous Techy Bookworm? Careful with that paperknife, you might hurt… oh. HEALER!

What about unarmed combat?

Most EYE Larp games accommodate close combat, but if in doubt ask a ref or try and ask your adversary (ahead of time) if they’re cool with it.

1. If someone is wearing a RED armband/sash they are NON-UNARMED COMBAT – no physical contact.
2. Even if someone ISN’T wearing a red armband it’s polite to check with the target if they’re comfortable with hand to hand fighting and don’t assume because you’ve seen them fight unarmed once that they’d be happy to do it again; people have off-days, injuries or simply might not want to fight you.
3. Be SAFE: this isn’t MMA. Think dramatic play fights;  you don’t need to connect! And if you’re in a grapple, it’s likely you’ll fall over eventually – so use common sense, be aware of tree stumps and the like, and remember, 16 stone of roleplayer landing on top of someone will hurt, no matter how well you know them!

And what about guns?

Some of our systems use airsoft weapons. These systems have strict rules on eye protection, power limits on the airsoft guns themselves, and firmly enforced safe areas where all weapons must be unloaded, cleared, and put away. Every event using airsoft has a specific safety briefing at the beginning of the event, and clear information in its rules. If in doubt, ask a ref!

Taking hits is both simple and extremely complex and depends entirely on a few things.

1. How ‘tough’ your character is – aka are they ‘weak’, ‘standard hero’ or ‘extra tough’
2. What armour your character is wearing
3. Where you are hit
4. They quality of the blow/shot that hit you
5. DRAMA!

What?

Okay, let me break it down really simply and make it more complex.

Toughness (assuming un armoured)

If your character is ‘weak’, they take one hit and drop to the floor screaming

If your character is ‘standard’ they take one hit as a flesh wound (remember to react!) and the SECOND hit drops them to the floor screaming

If your character is ‘tough’ they take two hits as a flesh wound and the THIRD hit drops them to the floor screaming

Armour (assuming you’ve bit hit on an armoured area)

Think of armour as adding an extra hit or two depending on the type of armour it is. Metal armour would naturally be pretty damn good against most stuff but potentially less use than a paper bag if you’re shot point blank with a pistol or longbow.

Again leathers could be fairly basic and not great in most fights but if someone comes at you with a piddly slashing knife then you can be pretty comfortable you can take a few cuts before it’s not doing its job anymore.

In essence think about what’s hitting you and react appropriately.

Where you are hit

It doesn’t matter how tough you are, if you’re hit in the face with a two handed axe then you’re probably going down. Same if you’re hit in any other vital area. Key to this is roleplay, and reacting improvising accordingly. A leg hit’ll make you limp and maybe even break a limb, a torso hit might have less obvious damage but give you internal bleeding or simply be a dramatic cut. Don’t be afraid to give your friendly healer some prompts as it’ll give them a chance to get busy with the surgery roleplay and spreads the love around. Equally your healer might decide a wound is worse (or better) than you think it is.

In the end roleplay is king and queen.

They quality of the blow/shot that hit you

Along with your toughness, armour and location you have to consider the kind of hit you took and that’s where things can get more complicated. We always hope that a good dramatic blow will hit you and that you’ll react accordingly but sometimes it doesn’t pan out that way or perhaps you move into an odd position at the last moment (or a sword gets caught on branches) and instead of that solid hit you get a glancing blow, light slash or minor gut. Perhaps the person that’s fighting you is playing a weakling or someone unused to weapons – again you might not get that solid hit and instead get something that in your mind is more like a flesh wound or 1/2 hit.

If that’s the case, and you’ve roleplayed accordingly, go with it. Just remember that if you keep on getting flesh wounds to the same location then they’ll SOON mount up into really real damage.

Also remember, don’t take the piss.

DRAMA!

The final ingredient can mess up all of the above but is no less legitimate.

Sometimes no matter how tough you are it’s appropriate to drop like a sack of spuds (especially if it gives others some good game).

Equally for the berserk fighter who’s just watched his friends die it’s more than appropriate to take a few more hits (especially if this is YOUR dramatic death scene). And if you’ve set something up in advance through magic, roleplay or other means – ham it up, let the other players and crew know that something special is happening and hopefully they’ll just go with it. This is a story, after all, and everyone deserves their badass moment…including the bad guys!