Alright, I've gone through the national manual and copied everyting in there that is not in our MOA. In some cases, this is just a matter of having something explicitly stated, where we only imply it. I have also copied several rules which we do have, but which have been lax in enforcement. To a large extent, this may simply be caused by the lack of distributed hard copy MOAs. The rules as stated in the National document are prefixed with "> " and my comments have no additional markings. (At least when I first wrote this.) If you reply to this, please make sure your comments are apparent. **********************************************************************8 > must be at least 16, must hae parental waiver if under 18 We have this > Costume requirements: tunic, pants footware. No Jeans, white shoes, camo, > t-shirts, modern hats, live steal We have this but enforcement is lax. general rules (copied verbatum): > 2.1. Event organizers reserve the right to eject or exclude any person > from a Dagorhir event for the following reasons: > 2.1.1. Violating local, county, state or federal laws. > 2.1.2. Endangering the safety of persons or property, including excessive > violence with intent to cause actual harm on the Dagorhir battlefield. Having these expressly stated is a good thing > 2.1.3. Endangering Dagorhir's ability to use land or equipment > 2.1.4. Behavior unbecoming of a Dagorhir member. > 2.1.5. Disobeying the Dagorhir-related requests and directives of those in > charge of events. All very good things to have explicedly stated. > 2.2 The herald is the primary authority on the battle field. > 2.2.1 A herald has the right to remove anyone from the field. Excelent to have stated. It's in our MOA, but we do not have active heralds who do not fight and simply refree. > common sence supercedes loop holes OH I LOVE THIS! We REALY NEED TO HAVE THIS IN OUR MOA! :-) > must use weapon to kill someone Kind of obvious, but some people may not realize it. > weapons must be checked and marked by organizers before event This is an important rule that sometimes goes ignored. > 3.2.2. There are five classifications of weapon types: Blue, Red, Green, > Yellow and White that are designated by proper colored tape on the shaft or > pommel. > Projectles are classed as yellow instead of orange (name only) The national rules do not have our yellow (short cutting) or black (massive smashing and axes) clasifications. National Yellow refers to missle weapons. > 3.2.2.4. Yellow Weapons: Weapons marked with yellow tape are projectile > weapons, which are arrows and javelins. Arrows may never be used as hand > weapons. Use the color yellow. We do not allow arrows as hand weapons either. > 3.4 damage ...a hit from a projectile (yellow) weapon counts when > the head of the weapon merely strikes the target, stopping or being > slightly deflected. This is something that is not expressely stated in our MOA. Due to the limited use of archery, it has not yet become a problem. > shields > 3.5.1. Shields are defined as any rigid structure, planar object that is > padded on the front and sides, equipped with handles and used as a > defensive device. A somewhat obvious definition. We do not specificaly define shields. National rules only have one type of shield (cored), while we also allow an uncored variety. The national rules allow for metal cores while we do not. The value of metal cores is debatable. Using an aluminum (sp?) saucer sled should be acceptable, but using a rough sheet of metal, or a man-hole cover is not. > 3.5.2. All Red weapons when used two-handed can destroy a shield with two > solid blows. Light or glancing hits to a shield do not count. National rules require only 2 hits to destroy a shield. I prefer our system of cored and uncored shields, and 3 hits. I believe that a heavy steel shield could hold up to more than 2 hits from a 2 handed sword. > 3.5.3. A shield is a shield is a shield. Meaning that a shield maybe used > in any manner, and it will still remain a shield. Kind of obvious again, but it may save on arguments later. Shields can be proped up in front of a user, or along the side of a viking ship and provide protection. > 3.5.4. A warrior may use only one shield at a time. I don't like this one. I think we should be allowed to use 2 shields at a time. It should probably be a proficiency though. > 3.5.5. A red hit is a red hit is a red hit. If a person is able to deliver > a red hit while wielding a shield, then it counts as a red hit. Kind of obvious...hard to do with the shields available so far. > 3.5.7. When a shield is destroyed, the wielder must immediately drop it. If > a third hack is delivered before the shield is dropped, the wielder loses > an arm. A fourth hack to the shield results in death. These third and > fourth blows may be made with any type of weapon; the shield is already > gone. Again, the 2 red hits destroys a shield. It is nice, however, to see that consequences of shield hits after destruction are listed. > 3.5.8. A shield may not be taller than the distance between the wielders > chin and their ankle nor wider than 3 feet. No maximum size restriction in Anfalas. > 3.5.9 The minimum dimension on the face of a shield is 12 inches. Minimum size in anfalas is 18 inch diameter. > 3.6.2. A person in armor may never initiate a grapple. In our MOA but repeated for clarity. > 3.6.3. Rigid plastic safety equipment is considered the same as armor when > it comes to grappling Not in our MOA as far as I know. This has been in the national rules for years and should probably be added to ours. > 3.6.4. Grappling from behind should be done with great caution and will be > closely judged by heralds for safety. Good safety point. > 3.6.5. A good clean body check is allowed. Body check? What's a body check? Does that mean that Josh can bump us cleanly? > 3.7. Bashing Bashing? We don't have any allowances that I could find for shield checks or bashes. > 3.7.1. A shield bash is defined as using a shield to strike an opponent > starting from a distance further than 2 steps away. > 3.7.2. A shield check is defined as using the shield to strike an opponent > starting from a distance less than two steps away. > 3.7.3. You may shield bash an opponent in their front or side quadrants. > Bashing an opponent in the rear is prohibited. > 3.7.4. You may shield check an opponent from any direction. > 3.8.2. If a blow strikes a sheathed weapon (i.e., one that is hanging from > your belt or over your back), the attack is considered to have hit you > anyway. A weapon must be in your hand to intercept an attack. Our MOA states that a weapon must be in your hand to block an attack. > 3.8.4. Gripping the blade or point of your opponents weapon with your hand > results in the loss of that arm. Done often in Anfalas. But, then again, we have largely single edged weapons. We've also considered our larger weapons rather blunt, relying on the force behind the swing to cut through an opponent. > 3.8.5. Whenever you strike an opponent from behind with a non-blue weapon, > simultaneously call out the color of your weapon so that your opponent will > know how to react. This is a rule that I do not believe is stated in our MOA, but it should be. Had this been done in the past, it would have eliminated several spats. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 4.1.2. A safe weapon is one that will not leave bruises, break bones or > noses, or knock out teeth when an unarmored person is struck with a > full-strength baseball bat style swing. Uh....say it with me Sam.... NO! While it is a nice and simple definition for a safe weapon, I prefer our method of making sure you can swing full force and still not feel the core. I also think that some of the structural requirements we enforce (blades don't spin) are important. Adoption of this rule verbatim is something I will fight to my death. (Frankly, I think a base ball bat swing to the face with ANY of our weapons could break a nose.) I think that a similar rule should be adopted, but perhaps making it the, "absolute minimum requirements for a safe weapon are...." and then adding that "there are other issues which are important in weapon design and function. Just because your weapon won't break a leg, DOES NOT mean it will pass weapon check." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 4.1.4. Two and one half inch rule. No surface on a striking edge (sword > tip,arrow head, spear head, javelin head, etc) shall pass more than 0.5 > inch through a 2.5 inch diameter hole. I think that something like this is in our MOA. The method that Argadon tought me, and I have tought everyone else, takes this rule into account. > 4.1.7. Single-edged weapons such as sabers and cutlasses must have their > non-striking edge clearly marked with a 12-inch piece of silver tape. This might actuauly be a good idea. Even our most experienced fighters can occasionaly get their blades turned around and try to strike with them. (This means me. :-)) > 4.1.8.1. The pommel must not easily go through a two-inch (2.0) diameter > hole. > 4.1.8.2. A weapon tip must not easily go through a two and one half inch > (2.5) diameter hole whether designed for stabbing or not. Same as 4.1.4. Construction techniques take this into account. Might still be a good idea to put it in the MOA. > 4.1.8.3. All bladed weapons must conform to one of the following: > 4.1.8.3.1. Minimum dimensions of 1.25 inch [thick] by 3 inches [wide]. > 4.1.8.3.2. Weigh greater than twelve ounces. Our weapons are generaly heavier than this, with the exception of a couple of daggers. > 4.1.8.4. The shaft or blade of a weapon may not flex greater than 45 > degrees. This kinda scares me. Weapons with this much flex are called "whipsticks" and are considered unfair practice in most areas. When ever I help in the construction of a weapon, I try to make sure that it doesn't flex much. I think the only weapons that come close to 45 degrees are a couple red swords, and our polearms, though 1 inch pipe helps to remedy this. It's probably a good idea to include this in our rules, as much as I would hate to have my glaive not pass. The question is, does this flex apply to a weapon in use, or the max you can force it to bend? > 4.1.8.7. No weapon may have a spike or blade at the butt (pommel) end. > This includes double-ended daggers. This one sucks. > 4.1.8.8. The maximum allowable unpadded handle length for swung weapons is > 18 inches. Probably a good idea? Gives better room for error. > 4.1.8.9. Double-ended weapons such as quarter staves are considered to be > blue weapons. The only double ended weapons we allow are daggers (or pommel spikes), blue polearms, and blue-blacks (staffs). > 4.1.8.10. All hafts of wood weapons must be taped, including bamboo and > ratan. This isn't explicetly defined on our MOA, but construction does it anyway. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, the haft is the handle right? We may want to think about buying some nice padded grip tape for kingdom use, carefully supervised of course. > 4.1.8.11. Disallowed weapons: Nets, lassos, pungi sticks, nunchucks, > tonfas, double ended daggers (this is not an exhaustive list). No comment. > 4.2.2. Blue swords have a minimum blade length of 12 inches and a maximum > blade length of 36 inches. Our min blue is 18. We have yellows from 10 to 18. > 4.2.3. An axe or a mace shorter than 36 inches is considered a blue weapon. We have different length limitations on black weapons. Using this might make things clearer. Of course, it might also resuly in 3 foot poles with little balls on one end. (uh...) > 4.2.5.1. The ball of a morning star has a minimum circumference of 15 > inches measured on separate axes. Our blue ones are 8 inch spheres, or 8 by 6 egg shape. Our red ones are 18 inchs long, 8 inch diameter. No Spheres. Note that that's a CIRCUMFERENCE of 15 inches, which translates into a diameter of about 5 inches. > 4.2.5.2. The end of flail must follow the 2 1/2 inch rule. > 4.2.5.4. The rope or cloth of the flail chain must be covered with > segmented foam (rings) to reduce risk of the chain wrapping a weapon or > limb. Not expressely stated in our rules, but enforced anyway. > 4.2.5.5. Morning stars and flails are always blue weapons regardless of > length. We have reds and blues. > 4.2.6. Double-ended Weapons > 4.2.6.1. Double-ended weapons must not be more than 7 feet long. Our max blue black double ended is 8 feet. Our max blue pole double ended is 6 feet. > 4.2.6.2. Double-ended weapons must have a minimum of 18 inches of padded > striking surface on each end. Blue black between 8 and 18 inches. Blue polearm blades between 12 and 18 inches. > 4.3.4. Red weapons ignore armor when used two handed. Essentialy red weapons are given black status, and blue weapons can never be black. > 4.3.5. All Red weapons when used two-handed can destroy a shield with two > solid blows. Light or glancing hits to a shield do not count. The wielder > of the shield determines the validity of the hit. The 2 hits to a shield thing. > 4.3.6. A sword with a blade length greater than 36 inches is considered a > red weapon. Pretty much same. We also put a 6 foot limit on blade length. > 4.3.7. A swung weapon (axe, mace, glaive, halberd) other than a sword, > longer than 36 inches is considered a red weapon. We have blue polearms which are min of 4 feet. See our MOA for lengths on red blacks and blue blacks. > 4.4.3. To penetrate armor, a green weapon must be thrust with both hands > from the beginning of the thrust until it has connected solidly with the > target. I think this might be a good rule to adopt. We have daggers being blocked by armor no matter what; a "good thrust" from a blue weapon will pierce maile but not plate; and a good 2-handed thrust from a red will pierce plate. The national rule makes things a little less confusing, but detracts from realism. > 4.4.4. Spears must have 1/3 of the haft covered. That's the handle right? So you can make a spear wit 18 inches on unpadded handle and 9 inches of padded handle for a min length of 27 inch handle? This might actuauly be a good rule to include, just for clarity's sake. I pad all of the length of my handles anyway. > 4.5. Yellow weapons Our orange weapons > 4.5.1. General > 4.5.1.1. Arrows and javelin must be half drawn/thrown under 10 feet. We do not allow arrows to be fired inside 10 feet. We also don't require Javlins to be thrown half strength. This might be another good rule to adopt. > 4.5.1.2. Heralds will check all missile weapons on a daily basis. Always check all missle weapons. > 4.5.1.3. A yellow weapon must travel its own length to count as a yellow > hit. Not something we have, but it makes sence for arrows if they are within 10 feet... This would mean that you can't toss a javelin at someone charging you though. Perhaps specifying arrows and full length from full draw would be better. > 4.5.2. Javelins > 4.5.2.1. The maximum weight of a javelin is 1.5 pounds. We don't have a max weight, but do require light PVC. > 4.5.2.2. The maximum length of a javelin is 7 feet. Ours is 6 feet. > 4.5.2.3. The minimum length of a javelin is 4 feet. Same. > 4.5.2.4. All javelins must pass standards for both yellow and green > classifications, no yellow only javelins. This is something we don't specify, but might want to think about requiring. > 4.5.2.5. All javelins must have a yellow cover on the head(not on the > pommel). No non-missile weapons may have a yellow cover. Yeah, yeah, yeah. > 4.5.2.6. Javelins are exempt from weapon flex rule 4.1.8.4. and instead > must not flex more than 90 degrees. > 4.5.2.7. Any block that stops the head of the javelin from striking its > target is a legal block. We have this, but in these words, "Javelins may be caught or blocked by hand; they may also be blocked with a weapon." The national rule allows for a little more flexibility; blocking with an arm, backpack, water skin, tree limb, or opponent's backside for examples. > 4.5.3. Archery > 4.5.3.1. All bows must have a draw weight of 35 pounds or less at 28 inches > draw. We do not specify the 28 inches. > 4.5.3.2. No compound bows. Same in Anfalas...sorry. > 4.5.3.3. Crossbows must have a maximum draw weight when loaded of 15 pounds > or less. a We allow a max draw of 15 pounds. > 4.5.3.5. If an arrow hits a weapon and had that weapon not been there and a > hit would have occurred, the hit is considered good on that location. Wordy. Assumed. Still something good to specify. > 4.5.3.6. The only things than can stop arrows are shields and/or head > armor. Arrows cannot be caught, blocked, deflected, or knocked out of the > air by anything else, including hands, feet and weapons. If an arrow is > blocked intentionally with anything other than a shield or helmet, the > warrior doing the blocking is dead automatically. Good clear description. Does this mean I can't use an opponent's torso to block an arrow? They would technicaly count as a (semi)rigid (semi)planar padded body...err...object. > 4.5.3.7. If an arrow strikes a limb that has already been hacked off, the > arrow is considered to have continued as if the limb were not there, > hitting whatever is in its path. Still good to explicitly specify. > 4.5.3.8.1 An arrow must strike with its head to cause a hit. Duh? But again, nice to specify. > 4.5.3.11. Bows may be used to turn aside thrusts without suffering any > damage. However, if a bow is hacked or smashed by a red or blue weapon, or > used to stop a thrust, the bow is considered broken. A healer may heal a > bow. We have all this too. > 4.5.3.12 Archers are allowed to call shots for clarity. What ever this means. > 4.5.3.13. Arrows > 4.5.3.13.1. A draw stop is required to prevent an arrow from being drawn > more than 28 inches. ok... > 4.5.3.13.2. Arrows may not easily pass (> 0.5 inch) through at 2.5-inch > diameter hole. No part of the arrow face may be less than 2.5-inch in any > direction. > 4.5.3.13.7. All wood and fiberglass arrows must have their shafts wrapped > in tape. This implies that any shaft type may be used. > 4.5.3.13.9. The head of the arrow must not be able to be moved from side to > side. > 4.6. White Weapons > 4.6.1. Rocks must be between 4" to 6" in diameter and constructed of foam > with a little tape as possible. Our rocks must simply be larger than a softball. > 5.1.1. All types of armor provide the same level of protection. We have 2 types... > 5.1.3. Helmets and neck armor protect from yellow/white weapon hits to the > head and neck when worn on the head. > 5.1.4. The front, back and sides of the torso are considered a single > strike zone for armor coverage. We have front and back torso as seperate areas. > 5.1.5. All armor within a strike zone counts as a single piece of armor no > matter how many separate pieces of armor are actually present. This makes a lot of sence if you intrepret armor as "reducing" instead of "blocking" damage. Of course, so then does 5.1.4. > 5.1.8. The second blue hit: > 5.1.8.1. To an armored torso results in death. We allow 2. > 5.1.8.2. To an armored limb results in loss of the limb. right > 5.1.9. A one-handed green thrust has no effect on armor, even if previously > struck with a blue weapon. Our rule is "Armour damaged by non-crushing weapons will still stop any thrust that it normaly would." Which for their damage system is essentialy the same. > 5.1.10. Armor protection against blue weapon strikes is not eliminated due > to a previous two hand green or yellow weapon hit. > 5.1.11. Armor does not offer protection against red weapons or two-hand > green thrusts. Damage system. > 5.1.14. Rigid armor including helmets must not protrude more than 0.5-inch > from the body. > 5.1.15. Rigid armor including helmets must have no points(must be penny > round). > 5.1.16. Rigid armor including helmets must have blunted edges. > 5.1.17. Armor must not catch any appendages. Fingers should not catch in > armor. > 5.1.18. Armor must be passed by heralds from two separate realms, assuming > an inter-realm event. Very specific guidelines on armor construction. These may be good to adopt. Or at least use as guidelines. > 5.2.2. The minimum thickness of metal armor is 16-gauge. We allow 16 gauge helms. All other must be 14 gauge. > 5.2.3. The maximum thickness of metal armor is 1/8 inch. We have no max thickness. > 5.2.5. No metal knee or elbow armor. > 5.2.6. No rigid metal helmet may cover the entire head. Something similar to this has applied to national rules for years. It used to be 2/3 or 3/4 of the head. > 5.2.7. Any corners should be rounded to at least 1/2" radius. > 6.1. If asked a warrior must accurately describe their current armor damage > and wound status. You may never fake death or wounds during a battle to > mislead your opponent. Something we should specify. Most people treat this as a common curtesy in our group I think. > 6.3. If you lose a leg, you must kneel on the knee of the leg you have just > lost. To move from place to place you must either crawl, dragging the > injured leg, or have comrades carry you. Hopping around on the good leg is > not allowed. However, you may make a lunge off the good leg towards an > opponent. Any strike to a leg that has already been lost does not count. > If both legs are wounded, the warrior must either drag themselves by their > arms or be carried in order to move. This is something that will definately add to the realism and roleplay. I would like to see it enforced. > 6.8. Two limb rule: if you lose two limbs to either red and/or blue > weapons, the result is death. Wounds from green and yellow weapons do not > count towards this count. We don't have this. It makes some sence, but makes living a whole lot shorter. > 6.9. At no time may the dead speak to the living. Duh. How many times does it happen though? Should this be part of the Magistrates job to enforce? > 6.10.1. The Healer cannot heal her/himself or their own equipment. This is new to me. It would be nice to have it specified in our rules someplace, whether they can or not. > 6.10.2. To heal a person, the Healer must be in direct physical contact > with the injured person. Something that isn't often done. This can be an excelent roleplaying opportunity, kneeling infront of a wounded warrior, placing your hands on them, and reciting your healing poem. We should definately stick with the healing poem and not the timing thing. Poem just adds so much more than someone standing there staring at a watch. > 6.10.4. A Poem of Healing must then be recited or read aloud. The minimum > length of a poem of healing is 180 syllables and must be approved at weapon > check-in. > 6.10.5. When the healer completes his poem, all wounds and items are healed > or repaired (i.e. armor, bow, shield, etc.) I like this. "...ALL wounds AND items..." If I recall correctly, wounds and weapons must be healed seperatly in our system. I don't think we specify all wounds. Keeping wounds and weapons and shields and armour will serve as a good counter balance to our extra damage from 2 torso hits, and our 3 shield hits, etc. > 6.10.6. If the Healer or injured person is attacked or distracted, or > contact is broken for any reason, the entire Poem of Healing must be read > or recited again Something that is often ignored. Reading the poem will make this MUCH more obvious. National rules do not have provisions for throwing axes or yellow (our yellow) daggers. Nor do they have provisions for hand guards. As stated in the scroll: The ultimate decision on policy rests on the crown. If all three of the viziers object, they may veto the policy. If 75% of the kingdom objects to the veto, then it can be overturned. Because of this, I suggest that we work on rules and getting a new MOA ready to print when classes start. I am willing to arrange for an electronic copy of our MOA so that changes may be readily made. Who's ready to teach newbies?!?! :-) I know I am! We need to make sure that there's a meeting/combat/pratice to review all of the existing rules as well as any new ones.