Basic Rules
From Unusual Haunts
Hit Points and Basic Combat
Beings have one or more hit points. Weapons do SINGLE damage by default - that is, being hit by a weapon causes you to lose one hit point. You don’t need to call this when you strike with a weapon, but you may if you wish to make it clear that you intend to cause a point of damage.
Player characters begin with 3 hit points. You can wear armour for +1 hit.
You can only make one call or successful attack per second.
Noncombat Characters
Some players may be unable to take part in physical combat or not wish to for personal reasons. In this case, they should make the organisers aware so that they can brief other players to not attack them. Instead of attacking a non-combat character, you should call damage against them once per second once you are in range to make an attack. Do not mime swinging your weapon. If someone mistakenly thinks you are a noncombat character and tries to do this, politely correct them and continue.
Wounds and Dying
If you are reduced to zero hit points, your character is now incapacitated. You can’t fight and can only stagger around. You should make it clear that you’re wounded, incapacitated and (mostly) helpless. If you regain hit points, you cease to be incapacitated.
If you have been injured in combat to the point where you were incapacitated during an encounter, ask a ref for a wound card at your earliest convenience, usually after the encounter has ended.
If you have been incapacitated for at least two minutes, you may recover one hit point on your own. If you do this, notify a ref and they will give you an additional wound card.
Wound Cards
From being heavily injured, and through many other sources, your character may receive Wounds. These are represented by a wound card that will be handed to you by a ref. It will specify the roleplaying effects of the wound, along with any mechanical effects that it has.
A character has, by default, a wound limit of three - they can have three Wounds at a time. If they ever have four Wounds at the same time, that character is dead or beyond saving, and must retire by the end of the current event.
At the start of each interactive, your character naturally recovers from one Wound of your choice. Some more severe Wounds may have additional requirements to recover from them.
Range
- Touch range is close enough that you could reach out and touch the other character. This does not require you to actually touch them, and you should not touch another player unless you already know they’re comfortable with you doing so.
- Close range is five metres.
Under Pressure
Some skills can only be used when not under pressure. If a combat encounter is occurring, you are always under pressure. Some other situations may count - in this case, a ref will inform you.
Appropriate Roleplaying
Some skills require appropriate roleplaying. This means that you should act out doing something appropriate to the effect of the skill - for example, if you attend Doctor Gideon Griffiths' Medical Seminars, you can call HEAL with appropriate roleplaying. Examples might include acting out basic first aid that you know, tying bandages around the affected limb, or breaking and re-setting the bone. If you’re doing an effect requiring appropriate roleplaying on a willing target, they are expected to follow your lead as long as doing so isn’t an issue for them.
Searching
You can search a fallen foe when not under pressure. To do so, approach to touch range and inform them you’re searching them. They will give you any resources that they have been instructed to drop. You should not touch another player when searching them.
Calls
This is a list of the calls that you might hear and what they mean. A call is a word or phrase with a specific OC meaning. If you hear it directed at you, your character takes a specified effect.
Calls might be:
- Used alongside a melee attack, to indicate that the call is associated with that strike.
- Used with a description of a character. E.g. “You in the blue hat! TRIPLE!”
- Used as an area of effect - see the MASS modifier.
Some calls may be preceded by a descriptor for flavour. This is mostly to let you know how to react to it - e.g. LIGHTNING! TRIPLE! might be a blast of electricity, or SPIRIT! TRIPLE!, which attacks your Ghost rather than your body. (You still take the damage.)
STOP THE GAME
This is an “emergency stop” call to indicate that there is an OC reason to halt gameplay and sort something out. This can be used for any hazard, not just injury. Lost glasses, a player panicking OC, or someone looking like they’re about to fall backwards over a log are all valid reasons to use the call.
ZERO
This effect deals no damage. This can be used if sparring in-character for deliberately non-damaging strikes.
SINGLE
This effect deals one point of damage. This is the default for melee weapons, and can be omitted unless it’s needed for clarity.
DOUBLE
This effect deals two points of damage.
TRIPLE
This effect deals three points of damage.
SHATTER
If this hits a shield, it is broken. If it hits a limb, it is ruined and cannot be used until healed. If it hits the torso, take it as DOUBLE.
If delivered by a strike, it hits whatever the strike hit. If it's delivered by ranged call, it hits a shield first, otherwise a limb of your choice, otherwise the torso.
Ruined limbs are unusable and in pain. You must roleplay accordingly. You specifically cannot use a weapon with an arm that has been ruined. If one leg is ruined, you cannot run or walk, only limp. If both legs are ruined, you can’t use them to move, only stand in place.
IMPALE
If this hits the torso, lose all of your hits. If it hits a limb, that limb is ruined as if hit by SHATTER.
If delivered by a strike, it hits whatever the strike hits. If delivered by ranged call it hits the torso.
HEAL
This effect restores four hit points, or restores a ruined limb of the target’s choice.
REPEL
This effect knocks you away. You must move away from the source for 5 seconds. If you block a weapon blow with this effect on your weapon or shield, you must still move away from the source but you are not damaged.
WEAKNESS
You cannot attack with weapons for 5 seconds.
Blocking and parrying are fine, as are attacks not delivered by a weapon, such as the SPIRIT TRIPLE call from Tim and Thomas Jones' Nebulism Routines.
SUPPRESS
You cannot make calls for 30 seconds. You can still attack normally for SINGLE. Your Consequences, Wounds, Rite Effects and Relatives are suppressed and have no effect until the end of the encounter.
Would You Kindly
This call, which can be inserted into normal conversation, indicates mind control. Your character does their best to obey the command, by default for 30 seconds or until you take damage. When the effect ends, you’re aware that something unusual happened.
MASS
This call affects every target within close range. If the user indicates a cone with their arms, it instead affects everyone in that cone within close range.
RESIST
This is called to indicate that your call was taken, but had a lessened effect due to an ability. RESISTed calls will always deal at least a SINGLE to the target.
CURSE
See a ref at the earliest convenient time, usually after the encounter has ended, and tell them you took this call.
Equipment
Everyone can use a single one-handed weapon up to 42".
Everyone can also use a weapon up to 24" (typically a dagger) or a buckler up to 15" diameter in the off-hand.
Weapons 42"-84" can be used by those attending Patrick Jones' Gardening Club. They must be held in two hands while being wielded as a weapon.
A shield or weapon up to 42" can be used in the off-hand by those attending Patrick Jones' Gardening Club. A shield must be held in the hand to function.
Anyone can wear armour for one additional hit point. Armour is anything that makes you look armoured. Anyone raiding The Great-Grand-Scott's Personal Knitwear can instead wear a jumper or cardigan for two additional hit points.
Anyone can carry up to three Poisons at a time.