Combat in The Shattered Veil is designed to be fast-paced, physical and cinematic, while maintaining safety and clarity. The system uses global hit points rather than location-based damage and all strikes must be delivered with control.
Weapons must conform to LARP-safe standards (latex, carbon fiber core or fibreglass core and foam – no boffer or pool noodle weapons).
All players start with a base of 3 global hits (HP) unless specified by their skills or race. When all your hits are diminished, you are considered downed – bleeding out, incapacitated.
During this time you may call for help, (“Medic”, “Healer”, “Physick”, etc).
During this time you may not move or fight - in special circumstances, you may move yourself; such as being helped by another player.
After 5 minutes without aid, you are considered dead (or as per narrative guidance from refs).
Armour grants additional protection by increasing your maximum pool depending on type and coverage and must be learned as a skill through XP investment.
| Light Armour | Heavy Armour | |
| XP Requirement | 5XP | 5XP |
| Prerequisite | – | Light Armour |
| Minimum Coverage | 3 or more body locations | 3 or more body locations |
| Hit Bonus | +3 Hits | +6 Hits |
| Description | Leather or padded cloth | Metals, poly-plate made to look like metals |
There are numerous calls you can receive and deal out in combat - you must have the prerequisite skill in order to use these, and most of them will cost stamina.
Arrows do not have a call associated with them (unless the call is different) - arrows are implicitly PIERCING.
|
Call |
Meaning |
| SINGLE | 1 point of damage (standard hit) |
| DOUBLE / TRIPLE / QUAD (4) / QUIN (5) | 2-5 points of damage (used for stronger attacks or abilities) |
| PIERCING | Ignores armour entirely and pierces through, hitting HP. |
| SHATTER |
Shatters weapon upon hit, shatters armour upon hit. You cannot use your weapons or armour when this is called on a SUCCESSFUL hit. If parrying, the weapon used to parry is shattered, while a shield blocking will shatter too. Bows are immune to shatter for safety reasons - please do not strike a bow or have it be the target of an attack. |
| CLEAVE |
Ruins the limb hit (this must hit a location - you can roleplay resisting if this hits a shield). A CLEAVE to the torso incapacitates your character (HP hits 0). |
| STRIKEDOWN |
Knocks the target to the ground, in an appropriate manner. Do not hit overly hard with this call, but roleplay accordingly when delivering the blow. The target should be aware of their surroundings; in wet weather or bad conditions, you may take a knee and count to 3 before attempting to get back up. |
| DISARM |
Target weapon is dropped immediately when this call is delivered, on a successful hit or a parry. If this hits a shield, drop the shield instead. |
In LARP, hand gestures are an important way to communicate quickly without breaking character.
For example, if you see a lot of crew members walking with their hand held up in the air; do not interact with them. This hand gesture indicates that they are not in character and that you cannot see them - they should be ignored by players.
Important: Staring, watching, readying for combat, or following the crew members who are OOC would be considered meta-gaming. Meta-gaming is when a player uses OOC knowledge to influence their IC actions. This breaks immersion, ruins the fun and is considered to be breaking the rules.
If your action will lead to some form of PvP - always check in with the other participant first (whether this be a player or crew).
We recommend:
Anything apart from a thumbs up is not an okay and must be resolved before proceeding. This system allows players to check in without breaking immersion and can be used both to escalate or de-escalate situations safely.
Situations to check in with:
Grappling within LARP refers to physical interaction where one person attempts to hold, restrain, or control another person's movements. It is most closely related to hands-on stage combat. It can be used to simulate close-quarters fighting without causing real harm.
Safety first: Always release immediately or when is safe to do so if the other person taps out or signals discomfort.
Progression in The Shattered Veil represents growth through experience, conflict, and divine influence. XP is earned primarily through attending events, roleplay and contributing to the wider story.
|
Event Type |
Description |
XP Award |
| Day Event (1 day) | A single-day story or skirmish event - may include major storylines |
+4 XP |
| Weekend Event | Full campaign event with major storylines |
+8 XP |
While playing or monstering, you’ll have an opportunity to help out with the site, packdown, and helping us further the story. These are not mutually exclusive and you can be awarded additional XP more than once, where appropriate.
|
Action |
Description |
XP Award |
| Monstering (Day Event or half a weekend event) | Helping as a monster / NPC for a day event or half of a weekend event |
+4 XP |
| Monstering (Full Weekend Event) | Helping as a monster / NPC for a full weekend event |
+8 XP |
| Downtime Submissions | Crafting, research or written story updates between events |
+1 XP |
| Exceptional Roleplay or Story Contribution | For standout impact, character arcs, or IC bravery, etc. |
+1-3 XP |
| Helping Setup / Packdown | Staying for physical labour and helping with set dressing, etc |
+1 XP |