Combat Rules

General Combat Rules | Duels | Melee Rules | Raid Rules

Pit combat in RedTarn's Landfall follows the turn based system. Melee and raid combat Also use this system of combat. There is NO 777 speedtyping.

The Rules of the Turn Based Combat System

  1. The Challenge- When someone issues a challenge in the Turn Based Combat System, which can be anything from an outright 'I challenge You' statement to drawing a weapon against Him, the person challenged has 2 minutes OR two posts (from the time the challenge is made) to ready Himself by posting to the room. If the two minutes passes with no acknowledgement, or the person challenged continues to post in the room without acknowledging the challenge (ignoring them) then the challenger can continue the attack.
  2. The Combat Round- The combat Round in the Turn Based Combat System consists of the following parts: 1) The Attack, 2) Defending the Attack and Counterattacking, & 3) Defending the Counterattack. Each part is described below.
    1. The Attack- In the Attack Phase of the Round, the one who initiated the combat makes His movement and attack. He can ONLY attack this phase as He will have to respond to the 'Defenders' attack when it happens.

      Amendments ~Added 1-29-07~

      1. Positioning Actions- Actions to set up your attack do not count as attacks. For example: Attacker moves forward keeping shield in front of my chest to 3ft distance swinging my shield rt to lft towards {Opponent}s left gladius trying to move it to my left, stabbing gladius hard towards his lft shoulder beside the collarbone from rt to lft. As you can see, nothing was attempted aside from moving his weapon out of the way. Actions to disarm, on the other hand, will be considered an attack and will null your actual attack.
      2. Simultaneous Attacks- Some people carry two weapons in a spar and sometimes attack with them both simultaneously. In this case, some common sense is called for. If a double stab is made to your shoulders simultaneously, that is possible. A stab to the throat and a left to right slash at the right thigh, isn't. Not with any great amount of accuracy anyway. So if you are going to try a simultaneous attack, make it reasonable or it won't be allowed.


    2. Defense & Counterattack- In the Defense & Counterattack Phase of the round, the 'Defender' reacts to the Attack made against Him. He defends against the attack made, or moves to avoid it, and then counterattacks if He is still within range to do so. Defense MUST be made first uless it is one of the FEW cases where an attack is the best defense. The final judgement on whether it works or not is up to the Judges, so dont attempt it unless You are SURE it will work.
    3. Defending the Counterattack- In this phase, the Attacker becomes the defender and defends against the Counterattack. Again, He CAN still move if He has distance left over from His original attack phase, but moving over the allowed 10 feet will null all movement over the allowed 10ft. If this means he does not have the room to pull off his defense, then his defense is not pulled off.

      Amendments ~Added 1-29-07~

      1. Defending Simultaneous Attacks- Defending Simultaneous attacks is the same as making one defense. But use common sense in the doing. Actions that are unrealistic to the judges will be discounted.
      2. Defending Feints- Defending a feint does not count as your defense. But be careful how you do it or the feint will have done its job.
      3. Moving out of range as a defense- Moving to avoid a feint is the same as defending the feint and would not count as your defense. Moving out of range of the attack would count as your defense though, just for the simple reason that if you move out of the range of the attack, you -did- defend it.


    4. Movement- Movement by each person, Attacker and Defender, is limited to 10 feet PER ROUND. On the part of the 'Attacker', He must remember that He gets two 'turns', His attack and defense turns, but His movement is limited to 10 feet TOTAL. For example, if He moves 7 feet in His 'Attack Phase', He only has 3 feet left to move in His 'Defense Phase'. Any movement over 10 feet nulls all movement over 10 feet. This could conceivably allow Your Opponent to close with You dangerously, so watch Your movement.

      Amendments ~Added 1-29-07~

      1. Facing/turning to face- This is, depending on the phrasing, the same thing. If you try to keep facing your opponent who is circling to your left, you will need to -say- that you are turning to your left. Details count here.

      TIME FRAME Each round of combat in this style consists of less than 3 seconds of time, no matter the time it takes to type it out. It may take the Typist 90 seconds to type out a reply to an attack, but it takes the Character only less than 3 seconds to perform all of His actions for that round.
  3. Combat Round Timing- {Pit} The Attacker has 2 minutes to make His attack post. The Defender, having two actions in a single turn, has 4 minutes to make His post. The Attacker then has 2 minutes to make His defense post.
  4. Forced Posts- A forced post in RedTarn's Landfall is defined simply as saying that Your strike hit or Your opponents strike missed. That is up to the Judges to decide. "At" and "To" are NOT considered Forced Posts in the Landfall. You dont have to TRY and draw Your weapon unless Your opponent has grabbed hold of You. You dont have to TRY and walk unless You are trying to get to a set distance from Your opponent and stay there.
  5. Weapons- Your weapons must be in Your profile. The only limit to the number of weapons You can have is what You can carry. Feel free to burden Yourself with two of every kind of weapon known to Goreans. The weight factor will be counted against You in the Judging of the Combat. If You have hidden weapons, they still must be in Your profile and marked as hidden. If You draw a weapon in Your right hand, and later say its a different weapon, any strike made with it will be nulled. If You have a weapon in one hand and then say its in the other without stating that You switched hands, it will be judged that You DROPPED the weapon and any strikes with it will be nulled unless You pick it up again.
  6. Judging Time Limit- To prevent the hours of endless arguing over the outcome of a round of combat, there is a 10 (ten) minute time limit on Judging. If, at the end of 10 minutes there is no decision from the Judges chosen by the combatants, the Neutral Judge has an additional 5 (five) minutes to make a decision. If the 'Side Judges' cannot reach a decision in their time limit, the Neutral Judge is empowered to make the decision alone after his 5 additional minutes.{Added 11-19-07}

*NOTE- Just cupping or Xing out of the room will NOT allow You to evade or escape an attack. You MUST Roleplay an evasion and exit to be able to escape the attack.

Duels ~Added 3-1-07~

Duels in Torvaldsland, as stated in Marauders, come in two varieties, the Formal Duel, or H�lmganga, and the Free Duel, or Einv�gi. These duels are just as described in Marauders and are used for just those purposes as well as a means of avoiding legal action in the Thing courts.

Formal Duel

The formal duel is quite complex, and I shall not describe it in detail. Two men meet, but each is permitted a shield bearer; the combatants strike at one another, and the blows, hopefully, are fended by each�s shield bearer; three shields are permitted to each combatant; when these are hacked to pieces or otherwise rendered useless, his shield bearer retires, and he must defend himself with his own weapon alone; swords not over a given length, too, are prescribed. The duel takes place, substantially, on a large, square cloak, ten feet on each side, which is pegged down on the turf; outside this cloak there are two squares, each a foot from the cloak, drawn in the turf. The outer corners of the second of the two drawn squares are marked with hazel wands; there is thus a twelve-foot-square fighting area; no ropes are stretched between the hazel wands. When the first blood touches the cloak the match may, at the agreement of the combatants, or in the discretion of one of the two referees, be terminated; a price of three silver tarn disks is then paid to the victor by the loser; the winner commonly then performs a sacrifice; if the winner is rich, and the match of great importance, he may slay a bosk; if he is poor, or the match is not considered a great victory, his sacrifice may be less. These duels, particularly of the formal variety, are sometimes used disreputably for gain by unscrupulous swordsmen. A man, incredibly enough, may be challenged by such a fellow for his farm, or his companion, or daughter; if the challenge is not accepted, the stake is forfeit; if the challenge is accepted, he who is challenged risks his life among the hazel wands; he may be slain; then, too, of course, the stake, the farm, the companion, the daughter, is surrendered by law to the challenger. The motivation of this custom, I gather, is to enable strong, powerful men to obtain land and attractive women; and to encourage those who possess such to keep themselves in fighting condition. All in all I did not much approve of the custom. Commonly, of course, the formal duel is used for more reputable purposes, such as settling grievances over boundaries, or permitting an opportunity where, in a case of insult, satisfaction might be obtained.
Marauders of Gor p 146

  • Fighting Area- Formal Duels in RedTarn's landfall are conducted on a flat area of ground on a leather cloak with loops at the corner held to the ground by pegs. This cloak is 10 feet by 10 feet. 1 foot from the cloak on opposite sides of the cloak are 2 squares. These squares are where the opponents enter to start the Duel. When both combatants are standing in the squares, the Neutral Judge will call them to the starting point. In RedTarn's Landfall TurnBased is used for duels. Thus a change has been made in how the Duels start. Formal Duels will start with the Opponents 6 feet from each other (each 3ft from the centerpoint of the cloak). This leaves 2 feet behind each fighter. Thus putting a distance into the prepost is not necessary because the Combatants already will be judged to have moved into the starting position 6 feet from each other
    Note: If you step off of the leather with one foot you will be considered 'retreating' from the Duel. The Duel will be halted and you will be given one more chance. Both fighters will return to their squares and called back to the center of the cloak to begin again. If you step both feet off of the square, or are thrown or knocked off, you will lose the fight automatically. Similarly if you 'retreat' from the Cloak again by stepping one foot off of the leather, you will be judged to have lost the fight. Pay attention to your Position on the Cloak and after each round ask the Judge for your positions on the Cloak if you are not sure.
  • Weapons- At RedTarn's Landfall, for the Formal Duel, swords not over 36 inches will be used. You do not have to use a sword of 36 inches if you don't want to. You can use a gladius as Tarl did. The choice is up to you. But the size of the sword will not be allowed to be more than 36 inches.
  • Shields- In a Formal Duel, each combatant is allowed 3 shields. In Marauders, each person was also allowed a "Shield Bearer" to carry their shield. This was also the manner of the Vikings. In RedTarn's Landfall, to simplify matters, no shield bearer will be allowed, though the combatants will still be allowed three shields. This makes the Duel out to be more like the duel that is depicted in the movie The 13th Warrior, a simple one on one fight.
  • Other Weapons- In a Formal Duel at RedTarn's Landfall no other weapons (i.e. knives, axes, quivas etc.) will be allowed on the Square. Combatants may wear a helm if they wish. That is left to the combatant's wish. It isn't required, but it isn't prohibited either.
  • Fight Length- There is no set length for a Formal Duel. The fight goes with no limit of rounds until Victory is judged for one side or the other. This can be 1 round, or a dozen or more.
  • First Attack- In a Formal Duel in RedTarn's Landfall there is no coin toss to decide who gets what post. The Challenged party takes first post as they have the right, under Torvaldsland Law, to strike the first blow of the match.
  • Victory- Victory in a Formal Duel is declared when 1) blood touches the leather of the Cloak or 2) when an opponent steps off of the cloak with both feet (Including being thrown or knocked off of the cloak), or with one foot twice (See the Note under Fighting Area above for more information). For deciding whether to stop the Duel at first blood, if both Combatants agree, the Duel stops there. If the Combatants disagree but the Judges decide that the Duel should be stopped, then the Duel is stopped. If the Combatants wish to continue, and the Judges agree, the Duel can continue. After First Blood is drawn, the Judges can stop the Duel at any time without the Combatants' consent. If the Duel is continued past First Blood, then later stopped, the Judges' decision on who the winner is determines the Victor, not who drew First Blood.
  • Death- Death can occur during a Formal Duel. It is not grounds for the execution of the survivor as it is not a Southern-style Honor Match. If a man steps between the hazel wands of the Cloak, he is risking his life. This is not to say that death shots should be taken in every Duel. This is just a warning that death can occur in a Duel. Trying to kill a man in a Formal Duel is frowned upon as these matches are commonly to First Blood only. Common sense (I know it's not too common nowadays) should be used in deciding on whether or not to take a potential 'death shot'.
  • Stakes- Anything can be stakes in a Formal Duel. A man can be challenged for his farm, his companion, his daughter, his slave or slaves, his ship, anything. If the Challenge is not accepted, by Torvaldsland Law, the stake is automatically forfeit. Failure to turn over the stakes of a forfeited challenge is grounds for being declared Outlaw and being killed without need for a wergild.
  • Payment- The loser of the Formal Duel, by Torvaldsland Law, pays the winner the sum of 3 silver tarsks. This is called the "Duel Ransom" (Taken from Viking Law, Kormak's Saga Ch 10). This can be paid on the spot or arrangements can be made to pay it later if the Victor agrees.
  • Sacrifice- The Winner of the Duel performs a sacrifice after he wins. If he is a rich man, or feels that his victory was especially noteworthy, a bosk is sacrificed. If the winner is not so rich, or doesn't feel that his victory was that significant, he can sacrifice something lesser, a verr or vulo or something. This is left up to the Victor, but do not offend the Gods by failing to make some sacrifice in their praise for your victory.

Added 3-6-07~ Judging: When Judging a Formal Duel attention needs to be paid to the location of each fighter on the cloak. This is very important in a Duel as it could mean the difference between winning and losing. After each round the Combatants need to be told where on the cloak they are standing so they are aware.

Free Duel

The free duel permits all weapons; there are no restrictions on tactics or field. At the Thing, of course, adjoining squares were lined out for these duels. If the combatants wished, however, they might choose another field. Such duels are commonly held on wave-struck skerries in Thassa. Two men are left alone; later, at nightfall, a skiff returns to pick up the survivor.
Marauders of Gor p 145-146

The Free Duel, or Einv�gi, is not anywhere near as structured as the Formal Duel. Basically the Free Duel is just a fancy name for a Death Match.

  • Fighting Area- The fighting area for a Free Duel can be anywhere. The fight can be taken to a secluded area (A private room containing no spectators, only the Combatants and Judges) or fought just anywhere, including in the middle of a Hall.
  • Weapons/Shields- The Free Duel, unlike the Formal Duel, does not prescribe weapons. Combatants can use whatever they want, axes, swords, spears, whatever.
  • Post Choice- For a Free Duel, the Challenged gets to call the toss for choice of posts. Unlike the Formal Duel, there is nothing that says the Challenged gets the right of first attack. It all depends on the call of the coin toss.
  • Fight Length- A Free Duel commonly lasts until there is only one survivor. Quarter can be offered if it is wished but it is not required. As with the Formal Duel, there is not a set limit to the number of posts that can occur. It goes until it is over.
  • Victory- The Victor in a Free Duel is most often the man who survives. If Quarter is offered and accepted then the winner is still apparent.
  • Death- Death is the most common result of a Free Duel. It does not have to be the end result of the duel. But it is common.

Melee

Melee combat in the Landfall is the same as normal combat with the exception of the judging and post time. Melee will not be Judged until after a set time limit has expired. In the Landfall, this time limit is 30 minutes. Once the Melee time is over, 3 posts will be made saying that the melee is over. Once the last one is posted, only the original attacker's defense action will count. It will all be Judged after the logs have been gathered.

In Melee combat, you have 1 minute to respond to a post before your Opponent can attack again. If you are the attacker, you have to click your 'Local Time' to timestamp the log to ensure that you waited the full minute. You do not have to post the timestamp publicly.

Moofs during Melee: In the event of a moof during a melee a timestamp to the room will be made and combat stopped. The one who moofs will be given 15 minutes to return or to contact someone present in the Landfall if they cannot return. If no contact is made, at the end of the 15 minutes, the attacker can ask the Jarl for a Judgement. Either the fight will be judged as stands, or a meeting in the Landfall on the square will be arranged. This is up to the Jarl of RedTarn's Landfall. If contact is made then arrangements will be made.

    Raids

    Raids in RedTarn's Landfall will follow the guidelines below. These are posted in plain sight so failure to comply with them will result in the negating of any actions taken during the raid.

    Raid Guidelines

    1. Definition- A Raid consists of an armed attack on a Home with the intention of combat, capture, or destruction. People and property may be captured, either to keep or for Ransom, homes and businesses may be attacked, damaged and/or destroyed, but unless a Declaration of War has been made PUBLICLY, the Home Stone* may not be touched or destroyed by Raiders. The Declaration of War need not be posted to the Papers, but a Member of the Declaring Home MUST come to the Home, bearing the marks of a Herald, to bring word of the State of War AT LEAST 20 ahn (24 hours) prior to the Raid.
      *There is no Home Stone to RedTarn's Landfall. This is a Northern Home and homes in Torvaldsland did not have Home Stones. This was put in for cases of the RedTarn going to war against another Home.
    2. Defenders- There MUST be at least 1 Free Man of the Home present before ANY raid can begin. If a raid is planned and the FM of the Home moofs before it starts, the raid must be called off. Raiding without at least 1 FM present is not allowed.
    3. Attackers- There will be no more than 1 more Raider than there are Defenders. If when the raid commences there is more than 1 more Raider than Defenders, the Raid Leader will choose which of the Raiders will leave the room. If the Raid continues with more than 1 extra Raider, the Leader of the DEFENDERS gets to choose which Raiders actions to disallow and state such publicly for the Scroll of Record. No kills, captures etc of those disallowed Raiders will be acknowledged.
    4. Entrance- For ANY raid to be sanctioned, a FULL Roleplay entrance to the Home must be made by ALL Raiders. A full Roleplay entrance is one which takes into account the layout of the Home, including defenses. If a group of Raiders pop into the Home and are immediately attacking those within the Landfall, they will just be ignored as they have not shown how they got into the Landfall through RP. Raiders who fail to Roleplay their entrances properly will simply be booted from the room with a 1 hour ban. No warning will be given.
    5. Non Player Characters (NPC's)- NPC's in the form of Guards, beasts such as sleens, kaiilas, tarns and tharlarions, and the like, can be used by the Defenders prior to the Raiders breaching the Defenses of the Home. To denote that the defenders posts are NPC's actions and not their own, all of their posts must be preceeded by <NPC Type>. Defenders can only use one NPC, no switching from Archer to sleen to Archer again for example. Once the Raiders have breached the Defenses, only FW not directly involved with the action in the room (evading captures etc) can use NPC's and all of their posts MUST be preceeded by <NPC> to show they are using NPCs. Any wounds inflicted by NPC's on actual Personas will be lessened to minor wounds. For example, a shot at the head which strikes will be judged a glancing blow, a cut to the cheek or above the eye or something non-lethal. Wounds inflicted on mounts or NPC's will be judged with full damage dealt.

    Raid Combat Rules

    Raids in RedTarn's Landfall use the Turnbased style of combat. Again, there is NO 777 speedtyping.

    1. Target- Targets in Raids, to aid in keeping a handle on the confusion inherant in raids, must be stated before the actions like so: <Target Name> actions taken against Target. This will allow All involved as well as the Judges to tell who was fighting or taking actions against who.
    2. Combat Posting- Posting in Raid Combat is essentially the same as in pit or room combat with the following exceptions:
      1. Post Timing- There is no time limit to make posts in raid combat. This is for the simple reason that in a raid, nobody is going to have the time to be watching the clock. Posts must be answered in a timely fashion or it may count against You in the Judging.
      2. Noting Targets- <Target Name> must be used to denote the targets of attacks during raids. This will cut down on the missed posts and confusion and aid in Judging the outcome of the Raid.
      3. Post Composition- Posts during Raids will follow the following format: Attack, Defend & CounterAttack, Defend & Counterattack with no break for Judging. Raid Combat varies from Pit combat in the Judging of the entire affair is done as a whole AFTER the fact.
      4. Multiple Attackers- In cases where a Combatant is attacked by two or more Opponents, the combat will proceed exactly as if it was two single combats taking place. Each Attacker will be given His chance to attack, and then the Defender will be given a chance to respond to each attack. The Defenders posts must be continuous, meaning they must flow from one to the other. If He (the Defender) defends and attacks the first attacker, His post to defend against the second attacker must pick up where His first left off.
      5. NPC's- ALL NPC actions must be preceeded by <NPC Type>, for example <NPC Archer> or <NPC sleen> etc. Failure to acknowledge NPC actions/attacks will result in them landing against You. As stated above, NPC attacks which land against PC's will be minimized as much as possible in damage, whereas NPC on NPC attacks will be adjudicated full damage.
    3. Raid Duration- Raids will last a maximum of 1 hour (60 Minutes). At the 60 Minute Mark, a series of 3 posts will be made to the room that say "RAID TIME OVER". At this point, Combat will break off. Anyone still fighting will finish out their rounds of combat (the Attack, Defend & Counterattack, Defend posts) and break off hostilities. Any who continue to blatantly disregard the Cessation of Hostilities will be simply booted & banned and penalized by their actions in the raid being negated FULLY.

    Capture Rules

    Rules

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