Victorian Combat Rules
As it's on my Ruin Mikey's Life List, I am writing a LARP. I'm trying my hand at writing the rules at the moment and my initial watchwords are to make it FUN and SIMPLE. I think the best way to make an enjoyable system is to have as many people as possible throw thier opinions into the pot. It might not be the LARP for you. I'm pretty sure NERF weapons will put people off however take a look and let me know what you think. I'm not completely happy with it at the moment, for example, I'm wondering if we need a death count rather than just leaving it up to the players to decide if they are dead. However, here's the Combat rules as they stand:
Life
Unless augmented by Perks or Backgrounds, all starting characters begin the game with a total of three Body Hits. Whilst these Body Hits are global you are expected to react to being hit by carrying the wound on the location that the blow landed.
For example, if Lord Hawthorne is hit soundly on his bowling arm with a cricket bat after an altercation with an unruly batsman his total Body Hits are reduced to 2. He has however taken a hit to his arm and will therefore not be able to bowl out the blighter until he's had medical attention.
When a character's Body Hits are reduced to zero is considered crippled and cannot move or use any Perks. A crippled character able to talk, but roleplaying the crippling injury is essential. A crippled character stays in this state until medical attention is received.
Crippled characters that take any further Body Hits are driven to unconsciousness. An unconscious character cannot be roused until appropriate medical attention is administered.
Death
An Unconscious and Crippled Character can be killed with at least 30 seconds of appropriate roleplay by the assailant. This does not have to be repeatedly hitting the fallen character but must be at least 30 seconds of obvious roleplaying.
Dramatic Death
At any point an unconscious player can decide that his character has succumb to his wounds and died. Once this is decided the character is considered Crippled up to thirty seconds whilst the player enjoys a suitably dramatic death scene.
The only rule to this dramatic death scene is that anything a crippled character says during his death scene must be vague and cannot incriminate his assailants directly.
For example, Professor Mackenzie has been violently stabbed by cultists whilst on his appointed tasks of recovering the Benghazi Emerald stolen from the British Museum and replaced with a cunning forgery. Professor Mackenzie's player decides that there's no way that he could have survived such an onslaught of blows and decides that he's a goner. Spluttering from unconsciousness Professor Mackenzie says his goodbyes ending the soliloquy with "...the Green (cough) The Green Eye... is... blind" before dying in anguish.
At no point will any medical attention save a character in the throes of Dramatic Death. This rule is written with the supporting cast in mind, but there is nothing stopping the players from using it to pass into the great beyond.
Characters driven to unconsciousness solely through Fisticuffs (see below) cannot use use the Dramatic Death rule.
Weapons
Weapons in Victoriana are split into three separate categories; Fisticuffs, Melee and Ranged.
Melee weapons are anything that can be used in close combat and can be phyrepped by appropriate LARP safe weapons. All single handed weapons do a single point of damage, where as double handed weapons do two points of damage. If you get hit by a weapon that you do not see (for example by a dastardly Frenchman hitting you with a baton over the back of the head) then assume that the weapon was a two handed weapon and take two hits. Weapons can only connect a maximum of once every second. This rule is immutable. Please roleplay the appropriate weight of your weapon.
Fisticuffs describes the noble (and sometimes not so noble) art of causing injury with nothing but your fists. There are no rules for martial arts in Victoriana. Touching MUST be light, no more than a gentle pat. Anything other than the force needed to indicate to your foe that he has been hit will be frowned upon significantly.
Ranged weapons in Victoriana are represented by foam dart firing weapons (Nerf Weapons being the most easily available). These weapons must must be dressed appropriately and should be checked before play for safety. A Guide to modifying a Nerf gun to the appropriate aesthetic standard can be found here. All Nerf weapons do a single point of damage, however they are not limited to a the single second rule like Melee weapons.
RULES OVERVIEW
To make the above make a little bit more sense. A character is created first by choosing a Social Class (Criminal, Working, Lower Middle, Upper Middle and Upper) - this denotes what Career Background the can pick (there’s about 10 different careers per Social Class.
The Career Background are basically a prewritten base character. It gives a few Perks, a selection of basic equipment and such.
You then get to pick additional perks and quirks. Quirks and Perks have prerequisites that are based on all the above. For example Exceptional Hardy can only be picked if you already have the Hardy Perk AND if you’re in the Criminal or Working Social Class. The Quirk “Retired” can only be taken if you have the Military Officer Background.
You can then buy extra equipment, your starting cash based on your Social Class
From this you can write a rounded character.
Life
Unless augmented by Perks or Backgrounds, all starting characters begin the game with a total of three Body Hits. Whilst these Body Hits are global you are expected to react to being hit by carrying the wound on the location that the blow landed.
For example, if Lord Hawthorne is hit soundly on his bowling arm with a cricket bat after an altercation with an unruly batsman his total Body Hits are reduced to 2. He has however taken a hit to his arm and will therefore not be able to bowl out the blighter until he's had medical attention.
When a character's Body Hits are reduced to zero is considered crippled and cannot move or use any Perks. A crippled character able to talk, but roleplaying the crippling injury is essential. A crippled character stays in this state until medical attention is received.
Crippled characters that take any further Body Hits are driven to unconsciousness. An unconscious character cannot be roused until appropriate medical attention is administered.
Death
An Unconscious and Crippled Character can be killed with at least 30 seconds of appropriate roleplay by the assailant. This does not have to be repeatedly hitting the fallen character but must be at least 30 seconds of obvious roleplaying.
Dramatic Death
At any point an unconscious player can decide that his character has succumb to his wounds and died. Once this is decided the character is considered Crippled up to thirty seconds whilst the player enjoys a suitably dramatic death scene.
The only rule to this dramatic death scene is that anything a crippled character says during his death scene must be vague and cannot incriminate his assailants directly.
For example, Professor Mackenzie has been violently stabbed by cultists whilst on his appointed tasks of recovering the Benghazi Emerald stolen from the British Museum and replaced with a cunning forgery. Professor Mackenzie's player decides that there's no way that he could have survived such an onslaught of blows and decides that he's a goner. Spluttering from unconsciousness Professor Mackenzie says his goodbyes ending the soliloquy with "...the Green (cough) The Green Eye... is... blind" before dying in anguish.
At no point will any medical attention save a character in the throes of Dramatic Death. This rule is written with the supporting cast in mind, but there is nothing stopping the players from using it to pass into the great beyond.
Characters driven to unconsciousness solely through Fisticuffs (see below) cannot use use the Dramatic Death rule.
Weapons
Weapons in Victoriana are split into three separate categories; Fisticuffs, Melee and Ranged.
Melee weapons are anything that can be used in close combat and can be phyrepped by appropriate LARP safe weapons. All single handed weapons do a single point of damage, where as double handed weapons do two points of damage. If you get hit by a weapon that you do not see (for example by a dastardly Frenchman hitting you with a baton over the back of the head) then assume that the weapon was a two handed weapon and take two hits. Weapons can only connect a maximum of once every second. This rule is immutable. Please roleplay the appropriate weight of your weapon.
Fisticuffs describes the noble (and sometimes not so noble) art of causing injury with nothing but your fists. There are no rules for martial arts in Victoriana. Touching MUST be light, no more than a gentle pat. Anything other than the force needed to indicate to your foe that he has been hit will be frowned upon significantly.
Ranged weapons in Victoriana are represented by foam dart firing weapons (Nerf Weapons being the most easily available). These weapons must must be dressed appropriately and should be checked before play for safety. A Guide to modifying a Nerf gun to the appropriate aesthetic standard can be found here. All Nerf weapons do a single point of damage, however they are not limited to a the single second rule like Melee weapons.
RULES OVERVIEW
To make the above make a little bit more sense. A character is created first by choosing a Social Class (Criminal, Working, Lower Middle, Upper Middle and Upper) - this denotes what Career Background the can pick (there’s about 10 different careers per Social Class.
The Career Background are basically a prewritten base character. It gives a few Perks, a selection of basic equipment and such.
You then get to pick additional perks and quirks. Quirks and Perks have prerequisites that are based on all the above. For example Exceptional Hardy can only be picked if you already have the Hardy Perk AND if you’re in the Criminal or Working Social Class. The Quirk “Retired” can only be taken if you have the Military Officer Background.
You can then buy extra equipment, your starting cash based on your Social Class
From this you can write a rounded character.