Combat

 

“The Play’s the Thing LRP” is a “roleplay over rulesplay” system - whilst there are hit points and damage effects, the “rule of cool” is more important than the numbers; without pushing into the realms of cheating, if someone does some really dramatic/theatrical herofighting or particularly impressive-sounding spell vocals, these should generally have more of an impact - especially if someone Monologues.

 

You can use your intuition a little as to what you think the most appropriate reaction is, which may mean taking a critical hit even if you still had a couple of hit points remaining, or shaking off the effects of a spell with relative ease if your character appears to be in more control of their environment than the spellcaster.

That being said, the following combat mechanics apply to this system:

• Everyone has the ability to wield one small or medium-sized item in one hand AND one additional small-sized item in their other hand (e.g. a sword and a dagger, a sword and a buckler or two daggers are all allowable by default).

  • Casting ranged spells requires your main hand to be free (i.e. you could have a spellcasting hand as your “medium weapon” and a small buckler or dagger in your off-hand).

  • You can gain an additional skill or item to increase your off-hand capability to medium-sized e.g. for another sword, a full-sized shield, or to cast spells whilst holding a medium-sized sword or shield.

  • Large (two-handed) weapons such as staffs and polearms require an additional skill to use, and strike for “double” (2HP).

 

• Everyone has the ability to “hold wounds”, pausing a bleed count until either they are healed or wounds stop being held, at which point the bleed count will resume from where it paused. Holding wounds requires both hands, and you must be on at least 1HP to do so (you cannot hold wounds on yourself!)

  • You can hold wounds on a target that is being moved, but you cannot simultaneously hold wounds and move someone (unless you have an additional skill or item to do so)

 

• Everyone has the ability to move an unresisting target (conscious targets on 0HP and unconscious targets on -1HP are always unresisting) - this requires use of both hands, and you must walk with them at a slower pace.

  • If two people move a target together, they can either:

    • move slowly but use their off-hand to defend with a small item such as a dagger or buckler, or

    • Move at normal speed, each using both hands to hold wounds.

  • You cannot use three or more people to move a target together for any additional benefit (i.e. you cannot move at normal speed, holding wounds AND parrying - other people can defend you nearby, but you must hold wounds as above).

 

• Everyone has 8 global Hit Points (HP) by default - these can be increased with additional skills, lammies or enchanted items.

  • If you are on at least 1HP and rest for 30mins/an encounter (without casting any spells or engaging in combat) then you return to your maximum HP level.

  • If you drop to zero hits, you must fall to the ground and you are unable to fight, defend or perform any actions. You are conscious, and able to scream for help, but you cannot move or cast any spells until you have been healed at least 1 HP.

  • If you drop to -1 HP, you fall unconscious and begin your bleed count (this is 3min by default). If you are not healed (or are executed) within this timeframe, your character will die, and you must take a new character sheet to be “recast”. You cannot have a lower HP level than -1HP.

  • If you die, any items you had on your person are left with your body - any special skills you had are lost and do not carry over to your new character.

 

• Everyone can call “execute” (either via melee blow for 0MP or as a touch-ranged spell for 1MP) on a target on either 0HP or -1HP after 30 seconds of appropriate roleplay/Monologuing; if this roleplay is uninterrupted and “execute” is called, the target character is permanently killed, regardless of how far they were or were not into a bleed count, and cannot be revived; the Plothole world they were tied to becomes permanently fated for Tragedy. If the execution Monologue is interrupted during those 30 seconds, it has no effect on the target, and the intended executioner must restart the attempt from the beginning.

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• Everyone has 6 Mana Points (MP) by default - these can be increased with additional skills or items.

  • Mana replenishes to your maximum level 1 hour after casting your first spell (regardless of how active or restful you are in that time) - you can cast up to your max MP in that hour. There is no other way to regain mana (besides ref calls of “...and scene”); it is not health and cannot be “healed” by player actions.

  • Each standard spell cast costs 1MP and distanced-ranged spells must be accompanied by appropriate spell vocals (eg “by the power of magic, I bind you”, “in the name of love, I silence you”).

  • Spells can (usually) only target one person, but there is no maximum “range” for single target distanced-range spellcasting other than earshot/eyeline. Spells can never target oneself.

  • For rare “Mass” effects, the maximum range for this is either approx 3m/10ft, with a “Mass” call accompanied by a directional “arc” of the caster’s arms of about a 90° angle (affecting anyone in range in the given direction), or by the caster holding both hands above their head to indicate a 360° effect that hits everyone within a ~2m/6ft radius. “Mass” calls cost 3MP instead of the usual 1MP and are not available as starting player character skills, with the exception of the unique “Uncanny Valley” skill from the “Unnatural Ability” archetype.

  • Mana can only be used on spells - other magicks, such as alchemy/sonnets, monologues and masques, do not use MP, although MP may be needed to use some enhanced/magical (lammied) melee weapons (essentially casting a spell as you strike with your weapon).

 

• All small and medium-sized weapons do a single point of damage, and all large (two-handed) weapons strike for 2HP. You do not need to call “single” or "double" when striking for melee damage.​​

  • If another call accompanies the blow, such as “silence" or “fling”, you take both a single point of damage and the corresponding roleplay effect, unless you parried - do not take either effect if you used a medium/large shield; if you blocked with a buckler or any-sized weapon, take the RP effect but not the damage.

 

• Everyone can (if safely prenegotiated with other parties) stagefight grappling/unarmed combat - actual physical contact should be avoided when roleplaying this.

  • No matter how many blows you take via unarmed combat, you cannot drop below zero HP from fisticuffs.

 

• Everyone can use (coreless, weapons-checked) throwing weapons. Note, no guns, crossbows or other fired projectiles are allowed at “The Play’s the Thing LRP”. All thrown weapons strike for 1HP/”single” damage.

  • It requires an additional skill (gained via magic in-game, if a player character) to throw explosives - these are rare and powerful; when thrown, the thrower should call “tick, tick, tick, tick, BOOM”, at which point everyone within a <1m radius of the bomb will drop to -1HP, everyone within 1-3m radius of the bomb will drop to 0HP and everyone within 3-10m radius of the bomb will drop to 1HP.

    • Explosives cannot normally be Resisted.

    • If you were already on 1HP or below and are caught in any element of the blast radius, you drop another HP i.e. from 1HP to 0HP at <10m away and from 0HP to -1HP at <3m away.

The head is not a safe target for LARP combat. Avoid aiming any weapons at anyone’s head, face or neck. Any accidental blows to the head do not count as HP loss (and unsafe blows should be reported). Only 1 hit per weapon per second will “count” - this is to encourage heroic (and safer) fighting.

After you have been offered a player ticket and cast as a particular character, there will be the opportunity to choose additional abilities and personalise your character’s starting skillset - each character begins with 3 set skills from their “archetype”, and 3 more starting skills of choice.