At base, characters have 15 hits. Hits are global, and all areas are valid targets except for the head. Hits to a hand holding a weapon (up to the wrist) count as a hit to the weapon. Hands which are holding non-LARP safe objects should not be hit, as this may damage the LARP weapon.

Against an unarmoured target, strikes with a 1 handed weapon deal 3 hits (TRIPLE) - this does not need to be called.
Against an unarmoured target, strikes with a 2 handed weapon deal 5 hits (QUINT) - this does not need to be called. 2 handed weapons are those above 36 inches and held in two hands, or any weapon above 50 inches¹⁾.

If you cannot tell what hit you (e.g. for a strike from behind), then that strike deals 5 hits (QUINT).

You take at most one strike per second from each person attacking you (e.g. if you have 3 people attacking you with 1 handed weapons, you will be taking at most 9 damage per second).

Light armour reduces melee damage by 1 - so 1h weapons deal 2 hits, and 2h weapons (or unseen strikes) deal 4 hits.
Heavy armour reduces melee damage by 2 - so 1h weapons deal 1 hit, and 2h weapons (or unseen strikes) deal 3 hits.

Being under the effect of the EXPOSE call increases all melee damage taken by 1. Being under the effect of the FORTIFY call reduces all melee damage taken by 1. (See Calls, below)

Ranged damage must be called (SINGLE, DOUBLE, TRIPLE, up to a maximum of OCT). Calls (including both effect calls and ranged damage calls) may only be made once every 5 seconds. Ranged damage is not affected by armour.

Armour type must be physrepped. If physrepped by costume, armour made from a rigid material (e.g. thick leather, metal plate or chain, lightweight equivalents which represent metal, or motocross armour) is heavy, and armour made from flexible materials (e.g. thin leather (with or without studs), or thick fabric such as a gambeson) is light. Alternatively, armour type can be physrepped with the sashes provided in the main kit bags - light armour is represented by a single sash across the chest, heavy armour is represented by two sashes in opposite directions crossing over the chest.²⁾

You may only wear light or heavy armour if you have the appropriate skill. Some skills will indicate that they cannot be used with certain armour types.

Armour protects your whole body, no matter what it covers OC. Where LARP kit is used, there should be a sufficient amount that it is clearly intended to be armour (judged on a case by case basis) - you may be required to wear a sash if the GM running that week does not agree that the physrep is sufficiently obvious. This is no judgement on how good the physrep looks, merely on how obvious it will be in combat.

When you are reduced to 0 hits, you are incapacitated. You cannot be reduced below zero hits³⁾. For the first 30 seconds, provided you are not hit again, you may roleplay being in pain on the ground and call for help, but may not take any other action (e.g. crawling). If it would be unsafe to remain where you are, you should move OC to a safer area, and then go back to the ground and roleplay as appropriate. Hits taken as you are falling to the ground or moving OC to safety do not count, and nor do effect calls. After the first 30 seconds or as soon as you get hit again, your character is unconscious and cannot make any sound or action (except for OC safety - e.g. shouting a warning to someone about to back into you, or moving out of the way). After a further 30 seconds from when your character became unconscious, your character dies.

The STABILISE call will prevent a character from bleeding out. Their death count immediately stops. If they were unconscious, they remain unconscious. Any melee blow or SLAY call to a stabilised character will restart their death count (i.e. as if they had just dropped to zero hits). The HEAL call has no effect on a character who is bleeding out.

All calls last for 5 seconds, unless:

• The call is marked “instantaneous”, in which case it has a one-off effect and you may recover as quickly as you are able to OC after taking that effect.
• You are under the effect of EXPOSE, in which case standard calls last for 10 seconds and instantaneous calls last for 5 seconds.

You may not make a call more often than every 5 seconds.

If you are hit by a call while already under the effect of the same call, then the duration stacks (e.g. if you are hit by SHOCK twice within 5s, then you are SHOCKed for a total of 10 seconds. If you are hit by EXPOSE twice within 5s, then you are EXPOSED for 15 seconds, 5s for the first, then 10s for the second). The effect of the call does not stack (e.g. being hit by expose twice will not reduce your armour by 2 ranks).

Calls may be delivered by a weapon strike to a valid target (the blow does damage as normal, in addition), or at range. Calls which are underlined can be delivered by a weapon strike to a weapon or shield. Calls marked with a target in brackets require that target to be called when used at range (in melee, the target is wherever the weapon struck, or the closest limb if it struck the torso)

For ranged calls, you must clearly specify who you are targeting, either by pointing (if sufficiently clear), OC name, character name, or a brief description - e.g. (pointing) “You, MUTE”, “Ellie, STRIKEDOWN”, “Dammerung, REPEL”, or “Orange cloak, EXPOSE”. This includes ranged calls made during melee combat, where “You, (CALL)” will often be sufficient. If someone does not appear to take the call, you may repeat it once (not counting towards the 5s limit).

Calls delivered by a melee blow will always deal damage (as per a normal melee strike with that weapon). Ranged calls may include a damage component (e.g. DOUBLE STRIKEDOWN). The damage component is a necessary part of the call unless a skill says otherwise (i.e. if you have a skill which allows you to call DOUBLE STRIKEDOWN, you may not call STRIKEDOWN on its own using that skill).

• EXPOSE - You take 1 additional damage from all melee blows. You take 1 hit (not reduced by armour) for every strike which hits your shield. In addition, any other offensive call which hits you while you are exposed lasts for 10s, or lasts for 5s if the call is instantaneous (e.g. staying on the ground for 5s if struck down, not retrieving your weapon for 5s if disarmed).
• STRIKEDOWN - Instantaneous. Fall so that your torso (back or front) is on the ground, you may get back up immediately. If it is unsafe to do so, or you do not wish to, then drop to one knee with one hand on the floor for 5s (10s if exposed).
• DISARM (object or limb or all) - Instantaneous. Drop the specified item, or the item held with the specified arm. You may pick it back up immediately. If your weapons are a part of your body (e.g. claws), then instead take a WOUND. DISARM ALL causes you to drop everything you are holding.
• REPEL - You must move away from the person who called this (if a BLAST, then from the person who was at the centre) until the effect ends.
• STUN - You cannot take any action or make any sound until the effect ends, except to defend yourself with one hand (without striking any blows) or shuffle at a walking pace.
• TAUNT - You must move towards the person who called this until the effect ends, and attack them in melee if possible. You may not make other calls while under this effect.
• ENRAGE - You must move towards the nearest target⁴⁾, and attack them in melee until the effect ends
• WOUND (limb) - The specified limb is useless until the effect ends. If a leg is wounded, you cannot move from the spot. If both legs are wounded, you must drop to your knees. If an arm is wounded, it must hang loosely at your side, but you do not need to drop anything which you are holding.
• MUTE - You may not make noises using your mouth or throat until the effect ends.
• POISON - Instantaneous. You have been hit by some kind of ongoing effect. Keep track of how many times you have been affected by this call, and ask a GM what the effect is after the encounter. If under the effect of EXPOSE, count each POISON twice.
• SLAY - Instantaneous. You immediately drop to zero hits. If under the effect of EXPOSE, you immediately fall unconscious.

All healing calls are instantaneous, and not affected by EXPOSE

• HEAL (number) - Instantaneous. Immediately recover (number) hits, up to your starting hits. HEAL FULL restores all hits. If you are on zero hits and not stabilised, this has no effect
• STABILISE - Instantaneous. This has not effect on characters above zero hits. You are still on zero hits and may not take any action, but will not become unconscious or die. If you are struck with a melee blow (or slay) while stabilised, act as if you have just dropped to zero hits (i.e. 30s of consciousness, then 30s of unconsciousness, then death).
• FORTIFY - Your armour is increased by 1 rank for the duration of the call (none to light, light to heavy, no effect for heavy). Your skills are not affected (e.g. if you do not have the light armour skill, and are fortified, then you still benefit, and may use skills which could not normally be used in light armour).

These may be applied to any offensive or healing call.

• MASS (CALL) - This affects everyone (ally and enemy) within 5m of the caster.
• ARC (CALL) - When calling this, hold your arms out in an arc of at most 90 degrees. Everyone inside that arc within 5m is affected.
• BLAST (CALL) - The target of this call must IMMEDIATELY call MASS (CALL), and then take the call themselves (except for TAUNT or REPEL).
• PARTY (CALL) - The call affects the whole party (and any monsters fighting on the side of the party).
• MONSTERS (CALL) - The call affects all of the monsters (or any party member directly opposed to the party member calling this).
• EVERYONE (CALL) - The call affects everyone in the encounter.

• SINGLE/DOUBLE/TRIPLE⁵⁾ etc. - This call does the specified amount of damage, in addition to any effect. Damage may be called without an additional effect. Ranged damage is never affected by EXPOSE.
• BACKSTAB (CALL) - If the target of the call did not see this coming (e.g. an attack from behind, or a completely unexpected attack), then they take the call as if they were EXPOSEd. Backstab calls are always silent, so you are not aware of someone else being backstabbed if you cannot see them.
• PERMANENT (CALL) - The call lasts until the end of the encounter. If this is applied to DISARM, the target may pick up a different weapon, and PERMANENT DISARM may be called again on anyone who picks up the disarmed weapon (ignoring the normal 5s call limit).

A call may have at most one range modifier, and at most one other modifier, e.g. “ARC BACKSTAB STUN”, “BLAST DOUBLE STRIKEDOWN” or “MASS PERMANENT MUTE”. Multiple range or other modifiers may not be combined (e.g. MASS BLAST TAUNT is not valid, and nor is BACKSTAB DOUBLE POISON).

• DISAPPEARING/APPEARING - When you call DISAPPEARING, put your fingers in the air to indicate that you are out of character. The skill which allowed you to call DISAPPEARING will indicate what you can/should/must do before calling APPEARING, and putting your fingers back down to indicate that you are back in character. You may not deliver blows in melee or make other calls between DISAPPEARING and APPEARING, and you do not take any damage or the effects of any calls unless the skill you are using explicitly indicates otherwise.
• RESIST - If a call does not affect you when you are targetted by it, then you must call RESIST to indicate this.
• IMMUNE - If you would never be affected by a particular call, then you must call IMMUNE when that call is made against you.

• MAN DOWN - Something has happened which means that roleplay/combat must stop. Generally, this is a result of someone losing their glasses or tripping over. Occasionally, this is the result of a possible injury. Remain still, assess the situation, resolve as appropriate, and the GM will time in when ready.
• TIME IN - Begin/resume roleplaying. Where this is called after a pause in an encounter (e.g. due to MAN DOWN, WALKERS, TIME FREEZE, etc), then it will generally be preceded by a short countdown.
• TIME FREEZE - Something is happening which is either occurring too fast for you to react to, or is impossible for us to represent accurately with the tools at our disposal. The GM will give a description of events that are occurring, and time you back in when appropriate. You may be instructed to close your eyes, but should open them when you time in (even if the GM forgets to tell you to).
• END OF ENCOUNTER - The encounter is over, end of encounter effects trigger, monsters move on to the next spot, players roleplay for a bit, then walk to join them.
• END OF ADVENTURE - The adventure is over, players grab the kit and return to the cars, and we all go to the pub for debrief.
• FAFF - The next encounter is not ready yet, players continue to roleplay far enough from the monsters that they cannot hear the briefing.
• WALKERS - Shotover is public woodland, this means that members of the public will occasionally walk past. Stop roleplaying, allow them to go past, and look as unthreatening as possible.
• CYCLISTS - Much like walkers, but faster. Move to the side of the path quickly.
• HORSES - Much like walkers, but more legs and somewhat skittish. Move to ONE SIDE of the path, place all long weapons on the floor, and look extremely non-threatening, backing away further if necessary.
• SPECTATORS - Sometimes, walkers or cyclists will hang around to watch. If this happens, resume roleplaying but keep all language and themes to a PG level. For some encounters, this may require a bit of rebriefing.
• BREADHOUND - A dog is attempting to get at the food for the lunch encounter. Encourage the dog gently away until the owner takes it away from our food.