Combat and Healing

• You must not grapple, trip or make bodily contact with another player while fighting, including grabbing their weapon or shield. However, prior to a small fight you and your opponent might agree to allow grappling or other techniques. You must personally have explicit permission from your opponent beforehand.
• You may hook a shield with an axe or similar hooked weapon, to pull it out of the way. You should be aware that some LRP axes are specifically designed and built to support this, the axe head is heavily reinforced with leather to allow it to withstand the force. If your weapon is not designed for it, you will break the weapon by doing this.
• You may push with a shield, if you are moving at a slow walking pace or less but you must not shield-barge, you cannot run into another player using a shield or other similar item. You may not use a shield as a weapon to strike another player.
• You must avoid striking the groin, neck or face, and you should try to avoid hitting the breasts or head where there is an alternative target. All weapons must be checked by the team before use, and you must pull all of your blows so that they land with virtually no force.

You may have health reasons that mean you wish to avoid becoming involved in combat. If this is the case you may put two hands in the air to indicate that you do not wish any player to make physical contact with you. This is called being non‑contact and, while its use is uncommon at events, it is important that you understand the rules so that you can ensure the safety and well-being of other players.

If a fight starts near you then you can put your hands as high in the air as you can and keep them there, to indicate that you are non‑contact. If you indicate that you are non-contact, then you immediately lose all your body hits and start dying. You may move yourself out of the immediate melee before lying down or leaning against a tree or similar or may remain standing with your hand clearly raised. You may cease being non-contact at any point by putting your hand down, but you should not do this if you would become involved in the same melee.

It is up to the individual when or if they choose to go non-contact. There is no requirement at all to go non-contact at the start of a fight, or because a fight has happened near you. It is perfectly acceptable to move away from a melee while remaining in-character and mobile and only become non-contact if a character moves to attack you.

If you see any player indicate that they are non-contact then you must not hit them with a melee weapon, fire a bow or crossbow at them, or touch them. The player is still IC and you may roleplay with them normally but you may not hit or touch them while they are non‑contact.

It is important to note that nobody can guarantee that you will not be hit while you have indicated that you are non-contact. A live-roleplaying melee is a deeply confusing experience and mistakes can happen. If you have health reasons that make it critical that you are not hit with a latex weapon then you may need to avoid combat entirely and you must decide whether the event is safe for you to attend at all.

• Each time you get hit in the Physical Orb, you lose one point of Physical Health, no matter what sort of weapon struck you.
• When you are struck, your attacker may use a call that has a special effect. Some calls can be used at range, simply by indicating the target.
• When either sort of Health reaches zero for any reason, you are incapacitated and you start your death count (5 minutes).
• If you reach the end of your death count before someone sorts you out, you die.
• Alternatively, someone could spend five seconds roleplaying appropriately and deliver a fatal blow that executes you immediately.
• Armour adds directly to your physical health except in the following three circumstances - the amount of food you require between events, the effect of the drugs Hazers and Ragers, and the effects of gaining a deep wound.

What happens during your death count? You're mortally wounded and probably bleeding quite badly at this point. The world is moving in and out of focus and things begin to seem more distant as your awareness dims. Sometimes you are able to interact with things around you but as time progresses you are increasingly unable to summon the energy and focus to do so until it all fades and everything goes dark.

• Each time you get hit, you lose one point of Spiritual Health, no matter what sort of weapon struck you
• When you are struck, your attacker may use a call that has a special effect - see the next page. Some calls can be used at range, simply by indicating the target.
  • Note that while you are in the River of Dreams, the Prowess skill provides half as many Manoeuvres as usual. The only exception to this is if you somehow find yourself physically present in the River, which carries with it its own grave risks.
• When you reach zero Spiritual Health, you are Disconnected and begin a 2 minute 'spiritual death count' during which time you can only have Spiritual Health restored to you with the aspect Anima. You are then immediately ejected from the River. You find yourself incapacitated back in the Physical Orb and you start your remaining three minutes of death count (time taken to 'return' to your body's location ooc is not counted in the death count). Any long-lasting Dreaming effects (like Synthesis or Aspects) disappear at this point.

What is death by disconnection? There is just less and less you you present to the world. First you stop moving about, then you stop looking around, then you stop standing up, then you stop even just sitting up, and finally, as you begin to reach the end of your death count, you just stop breathing.

• While you are incapacitated, you must roleplay being either unconscious or in a semi-lucid state. You are unable to move unaided, speak coherently, attack, defend, or use any skill or item - you are dying. You should start your death count immediately, counting the seconds until five minutes have passed and you reach the end of your death count.
• If you reach the end of your death count before someone sorts you out, you die.
• Alternatively, someone could spend five seconds roleplaying appropriately and deliver a fatal blow that executes you immediately.
• If you get healed from 0 to 1 before you die, you draw a bead from the bag your healer has. The bead will be either white, red or black. These have different meanings depending on whether it was Physical or Spiritual Health; your medic will have a show-me lammie explaining what the different colours of beads mean and their ongoing effects.
• Please note that you only have one death count at a time, meaning that if you are at zero in either Physical or Spiritual Health, commence your death count, and are then reduced to zero in the other type of Health, you don't need to keep track of two counts. Instead, both sets of wounds must be treated (taking twice as long as normal) and you receive a bead of each type (which is to say, you draw the bead for one, return it to the bag, and then draw again for the other sort).

• If you draw a white or red bead for a Physical wound, this represents a “Flesh Wound,” in which case no further action is required.
• If you draw a black bead for a Physical wound, this represents a “Deep Wound.” If you get a Deep Wound then your maximum Physical Health is reduced by one until and unless someone with the relevant Medicine skill does what is necessary to solve the problem. If your maximum Physical Health is reduced to 0 by Deep Wounds, you are incapacitated and cannot be revived until the Deep Wounds are treated. Any further damage done to you will kill you.
• You should roleplay the effects of a Deep Wound as appropriate to the way in which you became incapacitated - it must be apparent to other people that something is different/wrong; your medic will have a stack of Treatment cards, which contain information about the specific effects of various types wound and what roleplaying is appropriate to fix them - you may ask for one of these if you like;
• You should keep note of the number of Deep Wounds you have untreated at all times, and report this to the Guides after the event if you leave without having them all attended to;
• If you leave an event with more untreated Deep Wounds than your normal maximum Physical Health, you gain a Permanent Wound, which will take the form of a phys. rep. requirement or roleplaying effect, but will have no mechanical consequences;
• All your Deep Wounds heal between events.

• If you draw a white bead for a Spiritual wound, this represents a “Light Wound,” in which case no further action is required.
• If you draw a red or black bead for a Spiritual wound, this represents a “Critical Wound,” in which case you should return the bead to the bag and draw again.
  • If the second bead is white, this represents “Sympathy”: your Physical self has mirrored some of the damage your Spirit took. Until someone with the relevant Medicine skill does what is necessary to solve the problem, you are reduced to a maximum of 1 Physical Health and cannot enter the River of Dreams;
  • If the second bead is red, this represents “Distortion”: your connection to Spirit has become twisted somehow. Until someone with the relevant Medicine skill does what is necessary to solve the problem, you must pay double cost to gain protection from or apply your Eminences, or to use Conjunctional Synthesis, and you cannot enter the River of Dreams;
  • If the second bead is black, this represents “Separation”: your Spirit has almost become entirely disconnected from your Flesh. Until someone with the relevant Medicine skill does what is necessary to solve the problem, you are entirely unable to gain protection from or apply your Eminences, use Conjunctional Synthesis, perform Rituals or enter the River of Dreams.
• You should roleplay the effects of Sympathy, Distortion or Separation as you see fit, so long as it is apparent to other people that something is different/wrong.
• You should report any instances of Sympathy, Distortion or Separation cards at the end of the event if they go untreated;
• Sympathy, Distortion or Separation do not resolve themselves naturally between events, and they will carry over to the next event you attend.

You regain all lost Physical and Spiritual Health overnight by sleeping unless you explicitly use a skill to go dreaming etc. instead

This skill represents your understanding of the human body. Anyone can apply immediate first aid to an injured person (not themselves), pausing their death count for as long as they continue to roleplay doing so to the exclusion of all else (including Medicine skills! Although another person can move the casualty if you continue to staunch). The first purchase of Medicine grants you the ability to perform appropriate roleplaying for one minute to restore one point of Physical or Spiritual Health to someone on zero Health. You can never use this or any other Medicine ability on yourself. Each subsequent purchase allows you to select one of the following:

• Perform appropriate roleplaying for two minutes to restore all lost Physical Health to one person, expending one dose of Healers (they must have at least 1 Physical Health currently in order for you to do this);
• Perform appropriate roleplaying for two minutes to restore all lost Spiritual Health to one person, expending one dose of Libs (they must have at least 1 Spiritual Health currently in order for you to do this);
• Perform appropriate roleplaying for two minutes to restore all lost Physical Health to one person per hour per purchase (they must have at least 1 Physical Health currently in order for you to do this);
• Perform appropriate roleplaying for two minutes to restore all lost Spiritual Health to one person per hour per purchase (they must have at least 1 Spiritual Health currently in order for you to do this);
• Perform appropriate roleplaying for five minutes to treat one Deep Wound per hour per purchase (requires a dose of Healers and that the patient be indoors on a flat surface like a table);
• Perform appropriate roleplaying for five minutes to treat one instance of Sympathy, Distortion or Separation per hour per purchase (requires a dose of Libs and that the patient be indoors on a flat surface like a table);
• Perform appropriate roleplaying for five minutes to restore the use of one Severed limb per hour per purchase (requires a dose of Healers and that the patient be indoors on a flat surface like a table).

Rules for Drugs are detailed here.

Note that certain calls are labelled either Sundering or Synthesis - this is simply a note to people with certain powers that react differently to Sundering or Synthesis and is not relevant to most people.