Sickle: Small Weapon or One-Handed Edged? Also, any specific combat rules?

2KO

2KO

Newbie
Good day all!

I'm still working on putting finishing touches on an elf healer/bard (officially, a Scholar) while the San Francisco chapter gets its scheduling and plans together for the year.
As a DnD player, I know it would certainly be handy to have a small weapon on my person for when my spell slots are inevitably exhausted, so I've decided to pick a trusty single-handed weapon and use that for desperate situations requiring melee (as a physically ill/weak disabled fellow, I chose scholar intentionally to avoid fighting as much as possible hahah).

Now, I figure, I could use my foam dagger, or have more fun and get creative with something like a hand sickle?? This poses several questions for me, however, in terms of logistics and combat.

  1. Would a small sickle qualify as small weapon or 1 handed edge for my initial EXP count? I'm stretched to the limit already, so I'm hopeful it will pass as a small weapon hahah
  2. Are there limitations on the fighting style/techniques that I can cheese with such a shapely weapon? A common strategy is to grapple (often by the neck, this being an obvious no-no ofc), but also to potentially attempt to disarm an enemy physically, gently hook a limb (so as to not render them an amputee in-character, and also out of general courtesy)?? My bf, an experienced martial artist who has LARPed in the past, says he can't imagine any useful/common techniques for a sickle-- even forged of foam-- being within the rules of play. Perhaps if I asked a local marshal, and for express permission on a hold before combat??
All that said, I think it would be so much fun to have a less-oft seen and perhaps versatile weapon as my sole weapon.

Many thanks to anyone kind enough to read through this!! :>
 
Pending an official answer from someone from San Francisco:
  1. All weapons are categorized by type (bladed, blunt, bow, crossbow, thrown) and then by overall length, so any bladed or blunt weapon that's between 20 and 28 inches will be categorized as "Small" and usable with Small Weapon so long as it passes marshaling.
  2. I also can't think of a technique that a sickle would be able to perform that a dagger can't that is also within the rules of combat, but I'm not the most up to date on, uh, "non-LARP" combat in general, so I may not be a very reliable source on that. Disarming an opponent by hooking their weapon is against the rules (we have the Disarm Effect for that), as is hooking a limb.
All that said, making a nice one and using it for RP purposes is probably fine, so long as it's otherwise combat safe and you don't actually use it for combat.
 
1. Its purely a matter of length. If the weapon is 20-28 inches long, its a "small weapon". If its 28-48" its a one-handed weapon. You might have issues making a curved blade, because generally we are building weapons off of fairly rigid straight core -- but there are techniques that can be used to either evoke a curve over a straight core or to shape a core to not be straight.

2. So grappling is pretty much forbidden in combat. We have occasionally had people pre-negotiate physical roleplay, but that is in a non-combat situation. But in a normal combat, your bf is correct. Physical contact is generally only by consent. Combat is prioritized for safety and avoiding physical contact, partially because unlike in a martial arts setting, we are fighting on uneven terrain with people of vastly different martial backgrounds, usually in a multi-person on multi-person situation. There are combat moves that can take advantage of the unique shape of weapons, and having one that you are familiar with can give you an edge -- as an obvious example, some people used to blocking swings from a sword frequently don't move their weapon far enough to actually block a swing from a hammer. I imagine a sickle might give you some interesting blocking ability (its can be rotated to be a lot wider than a normal dagger) and possibly some interesting ability to swing from a not-usual angle and still hit.

With that said, I love the idea of having an unusual weapon. Often having a one or two very recognizable pieces of gear really helps make a character recognizable.
 
I don't have the weapon creation rules in front of me, but based upon the way a sickle is shaped, I'd prefer if the tip were open-cell foam (you're more likely to hit in a method that lands like a thrust rather than a slash). It depends on the angle of the blade, of course, but it's just one thing that I'd want to consider.
 
Of note grappling/hooking/trapping other weapons is expressly forbidden in Alliance combat. The best way to think of it, is that in combat, unless it is expressly required (like with first aid or weapon attacks) it is forbidden to touch another person in combat. Always work with your local marshals for negotiating safety, but hooking weapons/limbs/shields is definitely a no-go.
 
I've played with this kind of stuff without it being a weapon that causes hooking issues phys-rep wise.

That said it might be a good idea to bring a short sword too!
 
It’s always good practice to have a backup weapon when you are coming in with a new one, in case it doesn’t pass safety. The community is always happy to loan weapons to new players. While we aren’t likely to have a sickle on hand, if your first try doesn’t pass muster or turns out not to work for you, we certainly won’t let you go unarmed.
 
What thems two said!
 
2KO said:
Good day all!

I'm still working on putting finishing touches on an elf healer/bard (officially, a Scholar) while the San Francisco chapter gets its scheduling and plans together for the year.
As a DnD player, I know it would certainly be handy to have a small weapon on my person for when my spell slots are inevitably exhausted, so I've decided to pick a trusty single-handed weapon and use that for desperate situations requiring melee (as a physically ill/weak disabled fellow, I chose scholar intentionally to avoid fighting as much as possible hahah).

Now, I figure, I could use my foam dagger, or have more fun and get creative with something like a hand sickle?? This poses several questions for me, however, in terms of logistics and combat.

  1. Would a small sickle qualify as small weapon or 1 handed edge for my initial EXP count? I'm stretched to the limit already, so I'm hopeful it will pass as a small weapon hahah
  2. Are there limitations on the fighting style/techniques that I can cheese with such a shapely weapon? A common strategy is to grapple (often by the neck, this being an obvious no-no ofc), but also to potentially attempt to disarm an enemy physically, gently hook a limb (so as to not render them an amputee in-character, and also out of general courtesy)?? My bf, an experienced martial artist who has LARPed in the past, says he can't imagine any useful/common techniques for a sickle-- even forged of foam-- being within the rules of play. Perhaps if I asked a local marshal, and for express permission on a hold before combat??
All that said, I think it would be so much fun to have a less-oft seen and perhaps versatile weapon as my sole weapon.

Many thanks to anyone kind enough to read through this!! :>
Click to expand...
it depends on the size of the waepon , there is no triping
 
Without adding anything that's already been said, I'm leary of curved striking weapons because of focused the point of impact such weapons can have. Imho with the majority of first attempt buffers failing inspection for one reason or another I personally would recommend crafting a simple 28" dagger for your first event to get a feel for what weapons should feel like then moving into more advanced crafting tasks.
 
And a player can be triped by mistake
 
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