Safety & Weapons Notes: Weapons Colors, Packets, Charging, Lights

[Traceroo]

Weapons Colors
To clarify, there are only two restrictions on the color of physreps for melee weapons in Alliance:

1. Claws must be red. Anything that's not a claw can't be mostly red.
2. No using out-of-genre tapes with paisleys, peace signs, patterns of baby cats and so forth

If your weapon is silvered IG, the physrep does not have to be silver in color. You can silver IG a wooden weapon represented with brown tape, or a steel sword represented with black tape, as examples.

There was an early rumor going around that all magic weapons were white, and all white weapons were magic. This turned out to be bogus. By cultural choice, there are two magic weapons in PC hands right now which happen to have white blades. This is just fashion choice. Make all the white weapons you want.


Packets
Safety checks on packets went well this weekend. Most players have got the right idea. If anything, some packets tended to be a little too small rather than big honkin' ones that can fell Skeld with one shot. Make sure they're wrapped up nice and tight, so no birdseed is leaking out the end. Otherwise, looks like everyone is on the right track.

Packets safety check will not be required in May as a result of everyone's awesomeness in April.

I observed a shocking number of packets delivered to the head or face in combats this past event, however. Aim slightly lower. Don't try to throw them so far by lobbing them into a crowd; your target is never going to hear what you called verbally at that distance anyhow.


Charging
Charging is described on PDF p. 93 of the ARB.

While Charging can be difficult to explain in its refined form of forcing an opponent to back up while you are taking an aggressive stance in a fight, here's a very easy place to start:

If you are running full speed at another human being, you are Charging them. This is not allowed at Alliance.

You may run after someone who is running away from you, but be in control of your own momentum. Be able to stop yourself. If you can't stop without physically colliding with that person, that's one aspect of Charging. Nobody wants to be run into, or over. At its most simple, this is the lesson your mama told you about running over your brother in the living room. Don't run over your brother, or I'll have to separate you two!

In field battles, with lots of people, lots of chaos, and other humans making unpredictable moves in front of and around you, please be especially mindful when you're running. Obstacles which you didn't anticipate may suddenly enter your path. On Saturday's afternoon field battle, in broad daylight, I bounced an NPC bodily off my own shield when he was running full-tilt and didn't see me in front of him... or the kneeling guy fixing his armor on the other side of me. That could've been bad -- fortunately it wasn't. Please be careful.

If you have more specific questions about the refined aspects of Charging which are a little harder to nail down, such as not pressing your opponent too aggressively while squaring off, please come to one of our Sunday fighter practices at Ladybug Park in Arvada if you can. We have a number of very experienced fighters who'd be happy to go over this for a quick lesson in person where this is easier to demonstrate.

Lights
Don't shine bright lights in other people's faces if you can avoid it. Nuff said.


Thanks everyone,
Trace Moriarty
Safety & Weapons Marshal
Alliance Denver

 

[llywelyn]

A note on the matter of charging to help clarify things.

Charging is clarified in this post. The essence of the Charging rule is that it codifies a good bit of the spirit of the "No Body Contact" rule and basically can be presented as "if you are moving at your opponent in such a way that they have to move to avoid being hit, you are charging."

A lot of things get called as "charging" that aren't actually and it is a bit of a "reasonable person" standard. If Alice intrude's on Bob's personal bubble and Bob feels the need to back up because their adrenaline is running high? Not charging, especially if they wouldn't make that decision if their adrenaline weren't up. Alice moves full speed at Bob but is sufficiently in control of their motion to stop in weapons range? Also not charging. Alice is inside of the point of Bob's weapon, meaning that Bob has to back up to hit Alice but Alice can still hit Bob safely? Not charging.

Careening blind around a corner such that people have to dive out of the way to avoid being run into? Charging, even if no contact is made. Flying across the battlefield out of control and depending on someone moving so that you don't run into them? Charging. Walking, slowly, forward toward a line of people because they are going to have to move to get out of your way to avoid touching you? Charging.

There's also a lot of unsafe behavior that people like to call charging that should just be called out as unsafe behavior, not all of which are clearly enumerated in the book. These are a separate matter from charging and should be called out separately.

 

[Alex319]

Here is another question about charging. Consider a field battle with a line of several NPCs spaced a few feet apart - sufficient space such that someone could physically fit between them but they would have to get very close (say within a foot or two) to one or the other to do so. If a PC tries to run through the gap to get behind enemy lines, is that considered charging?

If so, does that mean that by standing that way in the first place, the NPCs are using the "no charging" rule to gain a tactical advantage (i.e, that they can create a line to block off a larger area than if they had to stand shoulder to shoulder to stop someone getting through, which they would if there were no "no charging" rule) and that is not allowed (it's my understanding that you are not supposed to use safety rules to gain a tactical advantage)?

If not, and the PC tries to run through the gap, can the NPC try to sidestep to block the PC's path (potentially risking a collision) or does the NPC have to let the PC through the gap?

 

[Traceroo]

With the caveat that every situation has unique circumstances which deserve individual consideration, and therefore hypothetical situations are difficult to construct effectively for safety purposes: I would say that trying to run through a gap of "a few feet apart" sounds generally unsafe.

The players (NPCs in this case) who are standing a few feet apart are - as a general point keeping in mind the above caveat - no more using their position to gain tactical advantage as, say, two individuals standing next to each other, who might present an obstacle to charging. It's not against the rules of the game to stand next to someone (so long as both persons agree, and this is consensual use of personal space). It against the rules of the game to try to physically force one's way into that person's space, such as the charger. The burden of not charging is not exclusively on the charger -- the person being charged must also take responsibility for their own safety. The main weight of that burden to act safely is on the person doing the charging, however.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," and this is also true when it comes to safety in boffer combat. If the charger tries to run through the gap between players standing a few feet apart from one another (which is a "wrong"), the defenders should not try to sidestep to block the charger's path (which would be the second "wrong"). That potentially risks, and indeed invites, a collision. We don't have to get caught up in the false dichotomy of thinking there are only the two choices of risk the physical collision, or accept the tactical disadvantage of opening the line for the charger. Were I one of the defenders in that position, I would step aside for safety, and then - I hope politely and calmly! - point out to the charger that act was unsafe, and kindly ask that person to reposition themselves outside the fighting line. I consider this exchange a matter of good sportsmanship. This is where my original caveat about the uniqueness of every situation and its many variables comes into consideration, however.

Trace Moriarty
Safety & Weapons Marshal
Alliance Denver