As you might know by now, there are different resolution systems in
Combat in the physical form only exists in Practical and Boffer LARPs (Boffers are padded weapons used to stimulate combat) where full contact is permitted. On the other hand, if a game doesn’t allow touching, the outcome of a battle is determined by completing small tasks that challenge the player’s strength, intelligence, and agility.
Thankfully, there are so many different LARP styles for us to enjoy.
Larp Combat Types
- Practical LARPs
- Your character is capable of doing everything that YOU are capable of doing.
- The aforementioned point should cover it, but – There’s no magic.
- Includes reenactments such as the SCA Pennsic – attendants may debate whether it is a LARP or not.
- There may be a lot of realistic combat included in practical LARPs. Well-suited for the fighter who doesn’t mind bruises.
- Not as accessible to everyone as other LARPs because of the high physical demands and risk of injury.
- No combat (Story-driven LARP)
- No combat games are often rules-free, except for the “no touching” rule.
- The primary focus is the advancement of the story, told by the narrator.
- No combat LARPs are approachable by anyone. No matter what. It’s a very imaginative way of LARPing, therefore you are not restricted by your own physical form.
- The lack of combat may be a deal-breaker for those who seek the thrill of fighting.
- Boffer LARPs
- Demonstrative boffer weapons are used to simulate actual weapon hits.
- Oftentimes, hit point systems are used to calculate the damage of hits.
- Ranging from light (soft strikes) to heavy combat (almost full force boffer combat).
- Boffer weapons are popular in the US. In other places, such as Europe, you might see more latex/foam weapons being used.
- Tabletop-style LARPs
- LARPs that draw inspiration for gameplay and rules from a Tabletop RPG.
- Combat exists but in an entirely different form, there are often rules disallowing touching, therefore, combat is simulated.
- Mind’s Eye Theater is a great example of a Tabletop LARP that uses Rock, Paper, and Scissors to randomize outcomes. Others may use cards or shuffleboards for the same purpose.
- Because there’s less focus on combat and more focus on roleplaying, the game is very accessible to anyone.
Different Types of LARP Weapons
Two out of the four LARP styles listed above contain real combat between armed players. But to understand the combat, we must know what kind of weapons you’re allowed to use.
Take SCA Pennsic for example: In SCA’s armored combat, the usage of rattan weapons is very popular. Rattan is a type of grass that can produce very flexible and light weapons, much like bamboo. It’s used because it doesn’t splinter if broken. In comparison to foam boffer weapons, rattan weapons can hurt a little bit.
However, in rapier combat, weapons are made out of unsharpened steel padded with rubber and foam to prevent them from cutting or penetrating. They come in many different forms, ranging from daggers to large two-handed swords. Players who engage in rapier combat are required to wear protective armor all over.
Rapier combat and rattan weapons are a rarity for the LARPer who doesn’t attend reenactments like SCA. Instead, you’ll see these larping weapons.
- Foam Boffers
- A very safe alternative weapon simulator.
- Most part of the weapon is made out of foam.
- Very lightweight.
- Because of the material and construction, boffer weapons are very harmless and quite unrealistic.
- Regular Boffers
- Regular boffers are made using PVC pipe with padding. The heavier variations fill the core of the PVC pipe with wood to reinforce it.
- Boffers without wooden cores CAN still be very lightweight and therefore, hard to wield naturally or realistically.
- Can certainly leave a bruise if a good hit is delivered.
- Mechanic weapon
- Airsoft guns, nerf guns, and laser tag.
- Eye protection must be used in LARPs that allow the use of these weapons.
- When wearing clothing, it can be hard to register a hit as they are absorbed pretty easily.
- To inform an opponent of a successful hit, shooters tend to shout “you over there, hit!” or “you in the green dress, hit!”
- Magic spells
- To simulate a projecting fireball,
larpers use bean bags, ping-pong balls, or hacky sacks. (I’m sure there are a dozen other things used – these are the ones I’ve come across frequently) - The spell (item) is thrown on the target whilst the
mage shouts whatever spell he’s firing. - I present “The lightning bolt dude“. Famously known over the internet for… just that.
- Exactly how these magic systems work is very hard to say, every LARP has its own way of dealing with magic.
- To simulate a projecting fireball,
Boffer Fighting Styles and Hit-Systems
Every game doesn’t have the opportunity to provide enough judges/marshals who can chaperon fights. When this happens, players are trusted to honor the fighting system and acknowledge when they’ve been hit.
Every system is built differently. Your local LARP may have its own system. With that said, these are the ones I’ve come across and heard of over the years.
Larp combat guidelines
- Lightest Touch – Players deliver soft hits and take damage if they “think” they have been hit. The opponent may call miss if the swing actually didn’t hit. Cooperation and trust between opponents are win-win here.
- Judge Calls Blows – In a duel, players will engage in one-on-one combat with a judge present. The judge will count blows.
- Sufficient force – We talked about this earlier, the strike needs to be powerful enough for the opponent to feel it in order to count it as a successful blow.
- Counting specific blows – The number of strikes on a specific body part is counted, when the number reaches a certain amount, that body part is incapacitated. A foot, hand, or toe may not be instant kills when lost, other more vital parts may be.
- Long-range weapon specials – In some games, to increase the effectiveness of archery, an arrow may disable a body part for 15-20 seconds after being hit. Making it easier for an archer to “kite” a player across the battlefield.
The amount of hit-points players are awarded at the beginning of a game will factor in on how realistic the game feels. In games where players only have a few hit-points, there tends to be more thought behind every executed move. Losing a single hit-point can be devastating when you’ve only got 2-3 or even
How Weapons are Used
As I mentioned earlier, practical and boffer LARPs use weapons to simulate/replicate combat. The force and the speed of a player’s strikes are regulated by the system and its rules. Following are some of the different striking standards
- Full force: Players are allowed to wield their weapons to the best of their ability. With boffer weapons, this can leave a bruise, with steel weapons – it can be lethal. Combat may be very life-like but one should keep in mind that the consequences of life-like combat are injuries.
- Full/Half/1/3 Speed: The speed (and logically, the force) of one’s strike is reduced drastically to avoid injury. Wielding a weapon in slower/slow-mo can result in some very dramatic one-on-one duels. The occasional injury may still happen.
Reduced force at 100% speed: Players may strike at full speed, but to compensate, they are required to use less force. Can be hard with heavier weapons.
Generally, sensitive parts of the body are off-limits and don’t count as successful hits if struck.
Full Contact LARP: Heavy, Medium, or Light Touch
Heavy combat LARPs allow combat with boffer weapons to be conducted quite freely. Players are allowed to hit each other with force, enough force for the other player to acknowledge the hit – occasionally, this results in the use of too much force when striking opponents, causing
There can be a bit of pain involved in Heavy combat LARPs, especially at a larger event where players may flock in greater amounts – dealing out blows uncontrollably. Thankfully, the adrenaline you’ve got pumping through your body will take away some of the pain.
Heavy combat LARPs often incorporate a lot of battle in their systems, therefore, the benefits of being a skilled fighter will be more lucrative in comparison to light-touch where strikes aren’t dealt with naturally (because of force restrictions), instead one would spare the other player by lightly dealing a blow.
The heavy-to-medium full contact LARP requires the larper to be agile, strong, and quick, furthermore, having stamina and endurance is advantageous. There’s less roleplaying and more realism on the battlefield. However, safety should always be the main focus when larping – not realism. Finding a balance between safety, balance,
Below are two well-known full contact larps
- Dagorhir
- Grappling, kicking shields, bashing shields, and hitting with shields are allowed at Dagorhir while strikes to the head are prohibited.
- Dagorhir has chapters all over the US with the majority of them located in the Eastern US.
- Strikes should be delivered with enough force for the player to know they have been hit.
- Belegarth
- Allows body-to-shield/weapon/body contact but doesn’t permit strikes to vital body parts such as the head. In addition to that, bare-knuckle boxing seems to be prohibited.
- Strikes should be delivered with sufficient force to count as a hit that dealt damage. Sufficient force is defined as “being both ‘solid’ and having a powerful impact on a target area”. Opponents are prompted to call out “light, graze or garb” if the strike received was too light.
LARP Weapon Rules
There are rules that restrict weapons. It may be the length, the material, the way it’s wielded, and much more. Just like everything else in LARPs – it’s quite hard to say how they deal with this at your event. Therefore, one has to speak very generally.
- Don’t lean on the weapon with the soft tip on the ground.
- Don’t let go of your weapon. If another player incapacitates both your arms – hold your weapon in a manner that shows that you’re unable to use it.
- Bows should have a draw weight of no more than 25-35lbs at 28″ draw length.
- Weapons need to be padded sufficiently. They will be inspected before a game.
- Edges around a shield should also be padded. However, I’ve attended a bunch of LARPs where they ignored this.
- The tip of an arrow needs to be removed and replaced with a padded construction.
Foam that’s appropriate for LARP usage- LD45
- Camping mats work if your game isn’t very strict
- Closed cell foam
- Two-handed swords should be wielded with two hands, if one hand is incapacitated, the sword cannot be used.
- Weapons should be held by the handle, always.
- Don’t strike sensitive areas such as the head, groin, neck, or chest (chest only applies to female
larpers ). - If you are hit in any of the aforementioned areas, you don’t lose hit points.
- Don’t deflect arrows with your weapon. They may ricochet onto nearby players.
- Some games have “friendly fire” – if you are accidentally struck by an ally, you still take damage.
- Unless the game is ultra-light, hits that only land on your clothing doesn’t count as hits.
FAQ
What’s the optimal length for one-handed swords?
One-handers should, according to many sources, graze the ground when you’ve got your arm hanging down to your hip with the tip of your sword pointing downward. This is a great length for one-handers, opting for a long sword may result in a too flexible sword that whips when swung.
Can one-handed swords be held with two hands in LARPs?
The majority of times, the answer to this question is yes. If you choose to hold your one-handed sword with one or two hands is up to you. However, the sword will only deal the amount of damage that a one-handed sword would deal when used. As you can see, there seems to be no mechanical benefit to doing so – just personal preference.
What LARP weapons are the most durable?
With many years of experience, I’ve tried weapons from many different brands and collections. The ones I would deem most durable are Calimacil weapons. You’ll find 8-10-year-old Calimacil weapons that still work flawlessly.
They are also safer than most low-budget or homemade weapons because they seem to withstand most challenges.