Ealdormere--Armored Combat:Conventions - Acknowledgement of blows

Conventions of combat - Acknowledgement of blows

Defining the appropriate calibration level is not easy. With more than 50 years of cultural history and shared experience, this definition is more "learned" than explained.

When fighting new opponents or in a new area, practice strong communication, and check calibration levels.

Effects of blows

1. An effective blow (aka "a good blow") is defined as a blow or strike which was delivered with effective technique for the particular type of weapon used, with proper orientation of the striking surface (e.g. the marked edge of a bladed weapon), and with sufficient force.
2. A blow from a handheld weapon that strikes you with an effective technique, proper orientation, and sufficient force must be considered effective, regardless of what it hits prior to striking you.
3. The effect of the blow depends on where it strikes you. The effects of blows to various legal target areas of the body are as follows:
   1. An effective blow to your head, neck or torso is judged fatal or totally disabling, rendering you incapable of further combat. Don't forget that the area between the neck and point of the shoulder is considered part of your torso and blows to this area are fatal.
   2. An effective swung blow to your face is considered fatal and is lighter than you'd consider for other portions of your head or body.
   3. An effective thrust to your face is considered fatal. Thrusts to the face should be a directed touch, and should be substantially lighter than thrusts to other parts of the body.
   4. An effective swung blow from any two-handed weapon, or a mass weapon which lands on your hip between bottom of the hip socket and the iliac crest, or strikes your shoulder inside the shoulder socket, is judged fatal or totally disabling.
   5. An effective swung blow from any other weapon which lands on your hip above the hip socket, or strikes your shoulder inside the shoulder socket disables the limb.
   6. An effective thrust to your hip or shoulder is not considered fatal, only wounding, regardless of the type of weapon delivering the blow.
   7. An effective blow to your leg above the knee will disable that leg. You must then fight kneeling, sitting, or standing on the foot of your uninjured leg. Kingdoms are allowed to make rules that limit the mobility of "legged" fighters.
   8. Any effective blow to your arm above the wrist disables that arm, so that it is useless to you, and you cannot use it to attack or defend.
4. If you are struck outside a legal target area, it does not count as an effective blow, unless you intentionally placed a part of your body that is not a legal target area in the path of an incoming blow.
5. If you block an effective blow with a wounded limb, that blow is counted as though the limb were not there.
6. You are not required to stop a combination when your opponent is wounded. Thus, if a blow to the limb of a combatant is followed immediately by a killing blow to the same combatant, the killing blow is counted as good.
7. A killing blow occurs instantaneously, so no new offensive action can be started. Blows begun before the killing blow can be completed. A killing blow started before receiving a killing blow is good and is known as a double kill. A blow started after receiving a killing blow should not be counted.
8. Sometimes an effective blow occurs at almost the same moment as an event that would cause the fight to be stopped (a "Hold" being called, the killing of the fighter throwing the blow, etc.). If an effective blow was begun before the event that would cause the bout to be halted, it should be accepted as good. If the blow was begun after the event that would cause the bout to be halted, it should not be accepted.
9. If your opponent drops their weapon at the moment that it strikes you, it is not an effective blow.
10. Ealdormere additions for Effects of blows
    1. When you have been killed, you should fall to the ground as if dead, if you are able. If not, loudly acknowledge the blow as "Good" or announce "Dead". In war and melee the noise might prevent your opponents from hearing you and you should yell "Good" or "Dead" several times.
    2. In a war or melee scenario, if it is safe and you are able, you should assume a protective position until it is safe to leave the field. As you leave the field raise your weapon above your head to indicate you are dead
    3. A secondary weapon that is worn against your body is not considered effective in blocking blows (i.e. it counts as armor, not shield).
    4. When legged, you may rise up from a sitting position or move around on your knees. However the injured leg must remain on the ground if you kneel. If you stand on one foot, the injured leg must not touch the ground. When you are wounded in the hip, you must kneel. You may not rise up from a kneeling position, and cannot walk /move around. You can pivot.

Effects of missiles and thrown weapons

General

1. Due to the safety limits placed on these weapons, including the low mass of the ammunition, missiles will typically strike with less force than a handheld weapon.
2. Missiles and thrown weapons do not need to strike with the same force as a handheld weapon to be an effective blow.
   1. You are not expected to acknowledge a blow that you are not aware has occurred.
   2. This does not transfer the responsibility of judging the effects of blows to the archer, as it is left to your honor as the combatant being struck to judge the effects.
3. The effects of a blow from a missile depends on the type of munition (e.g. siege or combat archery) and where it strikes you.
4. Missiles (e.g. siege munitions, arrows and bolts, and thrown weapons) are considered spent when they strike their first target, the ground or a battlefield structure.

Siege-class missiles

1. Siege-class missiles that have struck you can be identified as siege-class missiles as they are primarily yellow. They include ballista bolts and simulated rocks (1 pound (450 g) foam or 4-tennis-ball clusters).
2. A blow from siege class missile to your shield is fatal or completely disabling, unless otherwise specified by scenario rules.
3. A strike by siege-class munitions from another siege engine destroys the struck siege engine.
4. Handheld weapons struck by siege-class missiles are considered destroyed and unusable.
5. Standing pavises are destroyed by a single hit from siege-class missiles.
   1. If you are behind a pavise that is struck by a siege-class missile, you are not killed, but the pavise must be immediately removed from the field or dropped flat.

Small-arms munitions

1. Small-arms munitions include single tennis balls and tubular-shafted combat archery arrows and bolts.
2. Small-arms munitions fired from siege engines have the same damage and effect as combat archery projectiles, and are effective against the legal target area they strike.

Combat archery arrows and bolts

1. Combat archery arrows and bolts are effective against the legal target area they strike.
2. If you are a ranged combatant, you should be aware that missiles launched against especially heavy armor or from a low-powered bow or crossbow might not be noticed by your target. In which case, give your target the benefit of doubt.
3. If your missile strikes with anything other than the point, you should call, "No good!" or "Haft!" to your opponent.

Thrown weapons

1. Thrown weapons are effective against the legal target area they strike.
2. Thrown weapons must strike properly oriented (i.e. with the point, blade or striking surface) to be effective.

Ealdormere additions for Effects of missiles and thrown weapons

1. Any missile that hits a legal target area that is noticed by the fighter hit by it, that hits with proper orientation and was not impeded nor skipped off any other person or object shall be considered good.
2. Just like in hand-to-hand combat, the fighter who is struck makes the determination. It is "on the fighter's" honor to accept these shots.
3. "Notice." This can mean a lot of things, and is meant to. It can mean that you felt the blow, saw the blow, heard the blow or you inquired about the blow and using that information determined that the hit was good.
4. Since arrow shots are designed for someone in minimum Society armor, those fighters in plate or heavy armour need to calibrate themselves for missile weapons.
5. Siege munitions that hit a tree's branches will not be considered spent until they hit a target, the ground or another battlefield structure.
6. Ballista javelins must hit point first to count as an effective blow.
7. Ballista javelins that hit the ground prior to hitting you do not count as an effective blow.