Combat

Global Hits

• You start with two global hits
• Every time you are struck in combat you lose one hit
• On zero hits you cannot act and are dying
• You regain all lost global hits after at least two hours of rest and relaxation

Every character has a number of global hits to represent the injuries they can endure before becoming wounded so badly that they start to die. Most characters start with two global hits, but can gain more by buying the endurance skill or by wearing armour.

For the purposes of global hits it does not matter where you have been struck. You lose one hit every time you are struck in combat. Once you have lost all your hits then you are dying and can take no further action, as described later in this chapter.

You automatically regain all lost global hits after at least two hours of rest, so you always start each day with all your hits. Chirurgy and magic can both be used to restore lost hits.

Fighting without Skills

• You do not need a skill to use a melee weapon up to 42” (106 cm) long
• You do not need a skill to use a shield up to 15” in diameter
• You do not need a skill to wear armour

You do not need a skill to wield a weapon up to 42” long, either to attack or to parry. You do not need a skill to wear armour or to use a small shield to block attacks. You do need a skill to use large weapons and shields as well as to use thrown weapons or a bow.

The One Second Rule

• You can only lose one global hit per second from multiple attacks from one enemy

You may attack an opponent as swiftly and rapidly as you wish, but a flurry of swift blows is not as dangerous as a full swing. To represent this, if a single character hits you more once in a single second then you lose one global hit to that flurry of blows.

This rule is not meant to be measured with a stopwatch, it exists to give you a rule of thumb to decide how much damage to take from a swift flurry of blows.

This rule applies to blows from a single target regardless of how many weapons they have - ambidexterity does not allow you to cause more than one hit every second. Attacks from multiple opponents do damage normally.

Dying

• When you reach zero global hits you fall over and start dying
• You become terminal after three minutes
• You are automatically unresisting while you are dying
• You must roleplay that you are dying
• You must not take any action other than talking or screaming

If you are reduced to zero global hits then you are so badly wounded that you fall over and start dying. You can sense what is happening around you and you can talk or scream but you cannot take any other action. You cannot attack, defend and you cannot use any skill or magical item unless it explicitly says that it can be used while dying. You must roleplay the fact that you are dying of your wounds.

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You must fall to the ground at most two steps from where you were last struck. This rule allows you to avoid having to fall over in unsafe or particularly wet areas; it does not allow a tactical retreat from combat. Once you have fallen over you must not move from that spot unless you need to for reasons of OOC safety.

A character who is dying can be executed, killing them immediately. To execute a character you should spend at least five seconds appropriate roleplaying delivering a fatal blow to execute your target.

A character that is dying will become terminal after three minutes. The fortitude skill and some magical items increase the time it takes to bleed to death in this way.

Terminal

• A character who is terminal is dying and cannot be saved
• You must roleplay that you are dying
• You can choose the point in the event for your character to expire

A character becomes terminal after they have been bleeding to death for three minutes or more. A character who is terminal is so badly wounded that they are beyond any magical or medical help. The character is covered by all the rules for dying but they can no longer be saved by any method.

You can choose the point during the event at which your character dies, provided you continue to roleplay the fact that they are mortally wounded. There is a limit to how long your character can survive, your character dies before the start of the next PD Empire event, at the very latest.

Traumatic Wounds

• You may receive a traumatic wound in battle
• Traumatic wounds can only be healed using the physick skill

In battle your character is at risk of receiving a traumatic wound. Traumatic wounds represent things like broken bones, internal bleeding, punctured lungs and the like. These wounds are particularly difficult to treat and cannot be healed magically, you must receive the aid of another character using the physick skill to treat your wound.

If you receive a traumatic wound you will be given a wound card by a referee or crew member. This card will state the approximate nature of your wound. If you show the card to a physick then they will know what resources are needed to heal your wound.

A referee or crew member may assign you a traumatic wound card if your character is soundly beaten while fighting. Some large or magical monsters are notable for causing traumatic wounds when they connect solidly with an opponent.

Heroic Calls

• Character can buy skills to inflict one of four heroic blows
• Characters must purchase hero points to power their heroic blows
• Each time a heroic blow is used one hero point is expended
• Hero points recharge overnight
• Heroic calls do not affect enemies that are larger than human-sized

If you purchase hero points and an appropriate heroic skill then you can inflict one or more heroic blows in combat. These are indicated using the appropriate call which lets the target know what they have been hit with and how to react. Every time you make a heroic blow your character expends one hero point from their daily allowance. Your character’s hero points replenish overnight.

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If the target does not visibly respond to your heroic call then your blow has not affected them and the hero point is not spent. You only expend a hero point if the target is affected by the call.

There is no way to resist an effect in Empire, but heroic calls never affect any creature that is larger than human-sized. Any monsterous creature whose phys-rep is expressly designed to make them taller or wider than the wearer would normally be counts as larger than human-sized. Player-characters (all PCs) always count as human-sized - no matter how large the player is.

CLEAVE

• Target loses all hits if the blow strikes the torso
• Target loses the use of a limb until cured if the blow strikes a limb
• Target loses one hit if the blow strikes the head or neck
• Target loses one hit if the blow strikes medium or heavy armour

If you are hit with a CLEAVE then you have been hit with a blow that is heavy or precise enough to disable you with a single strike. If you are hit in the torso then you are reduced to zero global hits and are dying. If you are hit in a limb then you lose the use of that limb. You must roleplay accordingly; you might fight on with the loss of an arm or defend yourself from the ground with the loss of a leg, but you cannot move around by hopping.

If you are hit by a CLEAVE in the head or neck or if the blow strikes the actual phys-rep of medium or heavy armour that you are wearing then you only lose one hit as if you had been hit by a normal blow.

The effects of CLEAVE and IMPALE are the same, but medium or heavy armour will protect you from a CLEAVE and only heavy armour will protect you from an IMPALE.

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IMPALE

• Target loses all hits if the blow strikes the torso
• Target loses the use of a limb until cured if the blow strikes a limb
• Target loses one hit if the blow strikes the head or neck
• Target loses one hit if the blow strikes heavy armour
• All arrows and bolts cause IMPALE without needing to be called

If you are hit with an IMPALE then you have been hit with a blow that is heavy or precise enough to disable you with a single strike. All arrows and bolts cause IMPALE without needing to be called.

If you are hit in the torso then you are reduced to zero global hits and are dying. If you are hit in a limb then you lose the use of that limb. You must roleplay accordingly; you might fight on with the loss of an arm or defend yourself from the ground with the loss of a leg, but you cannot move around by hopping.

If you are hit by an IMPALE in the head or neck or if the blow strikes the actual phys-rep of heavy armour that you are wearing then you only lose one hit as if you had been hit by a normal blow.

SHATTER

• Any weapon or shield struck is broken and useless
• Shattered items can be repaired with the mend spell

A SHATTER represents a blow that is heavy enough to break weapons and shatter shields. Any weapon or shield struck by the blow is broken and useless. If you are using a shield that is difficult to discard, then any further blow that strikes the shattered shield counts as if it had struck you on your arm.

STRIKEDOWN

• The target is knocked off their feet
• You are struck down even if you parry the blow with a weapon or shield

If you are hit with a STRIKEDOWN then you have either been tripped or hit so hard that you have been knocked from your feet. You must roleplay this appropriately and fall to the ground, you cannot dive into a roll and leap back to your feet.

Weapons

• All weapons must be at least 8” (20 cm) long
• Some categories require you to use a set grip to fight with the weapon

There are five basic weapon categories in Empire. Any character can wield a one‑handed weapon but they must purchase the weaponmaster skill to use a larger weapon. Weapon categories are also important for enchantments and for use with the three skills allowing heroic blows.

One-handed spears, pole-arms and pikes require you to use a set grip when fighting with the weapon. These grips are set for a combination of safety and play balance. You don’t have to carry the weapon like this when you are not fighting, but you must use the mandated grip throughout any fight where you use the weapon.

One-handed Weapons

• Must be between 8” long and 42” long
• Can call CLEAVE using a hero point and the Cleaving Strike skill

A one-handed weapon must be up to 42 inches long. If you expend a hero point then any one-handed weapon can be used to call CLEAVE provided you also have the relevant skill.

Flails up to 42” long are included in this category and can be used by any character. Larger flails are covered by the rules for two-handed weapons.

Two-handed weapons

• Must be between 42” long and 60” long
• Can call CLEAVE using a hero point and the Cleaving Strike skill
• Can call SHATTER using a hero point and the Shattering Blow skill
• You must hold the weapon in both hands

A two-handed weapon must be between 42 inches and 60 inches in length. If you expend a hero point then any two-handed weapon can be used to call CLEAVE or SHATTER provided you also have the relevant skill.

The phys-rep for a two-handed weapon can be any suitable phys-rep such as a great sword, dane axe or similar. You must hold the weapon in both hands during combat.

Pole-arms

• Must be between 60” long and 84” long
• Can have a thrust-safe tip
• Can call CLEAVE using a hero point and the Cleaving Strike skill
• Can call STRIKEDOWN using a hero point and the Mighty Strikedown skill
• You must hold the weapon in both hands with at least 18” separating them

A pole-arm must be between 60" and 84" in length. You can always swing a pole-arm at any enemy but you may also thrust with the weapon if it has a thrust safe tip. If you expend a hero point then any pole-arm can be used to call CLEAVE or STRIKEDOWN provided you also have the relevant skill.

The phys-rep for a pole-arm should be any suitable phys-rep for a pole-arm designed for swinging or thrusting at an enemy such as a bardiche, halberd or bill. You must hold the weapon in both hands at all times and keep at least 18 inches separation between your hands during combat.

One-handed Spear

• Must be between 60" long and 84" long
• Must have a thrust-safe tip
• You must only thrust with a one-handed spear, you cannot swing it
• Can call CLEAVE using a hero point and the Cleaving Strike skill
• You must hold the weapon in the centre of the haft

A one-handed spear must be between 60" long and 84" long. If you expend a hero point then any one-handed weapon can be used to call CLEAVE provided you also have the relevant skill.

The phys-rep for a one-handed spear should be any suitable phys-rep for a spear designed for thrusting at an enemy. You must hold the weapon in the centre of the haft during combat.

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Pike

• Must be between 84” long and 108” long
• Must have a thrust-safe tip
• You must only thrust with a pike, you cannot swing it
• You must hold the weapon in both hands with at least 18” separating them

A pike must be between 7 foot and 9 foot in length but must have a thrust safe tip. You may only thrust using a pike, you may not swing any weapon that is over seven foot in length. A pike is too heavy and cumbersome to be used to make heroic calls.

The phys-rep for a pike should be any suitable phys-rep for a long pole-arm designed for thrusting at an enemy. You must hold the weapon in both hands at all times and have at least 18” separation between your hands during combat.

Shields

• Any character can use a buckler up to 15” (40 cm) in diameter
• Characters with the shield skill can use larger shields
• You can push with a shield, but you cannot shield barge another character

Any character can use a buckler, a small shield up to 15 inches in diameter. If you have the shield skill then you can use a larger shield. The maximum dimensions for a shield are based on the shape, listed in the table below.

Shield Type	Max Dimensions
Bucker	15" (40cm) diameter
Round shield	40" (1m) diameter
Tower shield	40" by 24" (1m by 60cm)
Kite/Heater shield	48" by 24" (1.2m by 60cm)

If you are standing still or walking slowly then you may hold a shield out and push with it. You are not allowed to shield barge other characters; you must not run, shield first, into another character for safety reasons.

Armour

• All characters can wear armour
• Armour that covers the torso and another location provides extra global hits
• Some armour protects from CLEAVE or IMPALE
• Magicians cannot cast spells while wearing armour

Armour protects the wearer by increasing their global hits if it covers the majority of the torso and at least one other location. Valid locations are the head (with a helm), the arms and the legs, or you may cover half of your arms and legs.

E.g. A mail vest covers your torso but does not cover another location. If you wear it with a helm them it would count. A full-length mail hauberk covers the torso, thighs and upper arms so it would always count.

Medium armour protects a character against CLEAVE, while heavy armour protects them against CLEAVE and IMPALE. You are only protected if the blow strikes the armour phys-rep; if it hits an unprotected part of the body then you are affected normally. Your armour continues to protect you in this way even if the hits it provides have been lost.

Any character can wear armour, but magicians cannot cast spells or perform rituals while wearing armour.

To count as armour, the phys-rep must be a phys-rep of a suit of armour. A leather coat or biker-jacket does not count as armour and is not appropriate costume for the Empire setting. Leather armour may count as light or medium armour depending on the thickness; adding studs or rivets does not make it count as heavy armour.

Armour does not provide separate armour hits, it protects you by increasing your global hits. Armour is not repaired separately. Whenever you are healed back to full hits all lost hits are regained.

Light Armour

• Padded cloth or thin leather armour (between 1.5mm and 3mm).
• Provides 2 extra hits only.

Any armour made of padded cloth such as a gambeson or light or thin leather such as a thin leather hauberk provides the wearer with 2 additional hits. It does not provide any additional protection against heroic blows.

Any cloth or leather that is less than 1.5mm thick counts as clothing, it does not count as armour at all. Costume made from foam or karrimat does not count as armour.

Medium Armour

• Thick leather or any light weight armour materials, such as polyurethane or aluminium.
• Provides 3 extra hits and protects against CLEAVE.

Thick leather armour (the majority of the armour is more than 3mm thick) or any armour made from a light weight material such as polyurethane (e.g. Norton Armour), aluminium, or mixed neoprene and steel provides the wearer with 3 extra hits. Light mail, such as modern ring mesh (butcher's mail) or mail with an open weave (sometimes called "ring mail"), counts as medium armour.

If the wearer is hit by a CLEAVE heroic blow that strikes a piece of medium armour rather than directly hitting the wearer then the target loses one hit but does not take any additional effects.

Heavy Armour

• Any armour made from steel
• Provides 4 extra hits and protects against CLEAVE and IMPALE

Any armour that is primarily made from steel provides the wearer with 4 extra hits. Other base metals that weigh the same such as brass would also count, but aluminium and titanium armour counts as medium.

If the wearer is hit by a CLEAVE or IMPALE heroic blow that strikes a piece of heavy armour rather than directly hitting the wearer then the target loses one hit but does not take any additional effects.

Moving a dying character

• Moving a dying character requires both hands free

You may move any unresisting character if you have both hands free. You can move a dead, dying, terminal or paralyzed character in this way. You cannot move a character who has been entangled until the spell effect has worn off.

Searching a character

• You must not touch a player unless they are comfortable for you to do so
• You must use appropriate roleplaying searching for at least 30 seconds
• You may perform an actual search only if both of you prefer to do so

You can automatically take any IC item that you can see from an unresisting character. You can search an unresisting character to attempt to find any valuable items that they are carrying that are hidden on their person. You can only do this if you have both hands free. To search a character you must use appropriate roleplaying for at least thirty seconds. If you complete the count without interruption then the target must give you every IC item that they are carrying.

If you and the target agree that you both prefer to perform a real search then you may do so. You must not touch the player without clear indication that they are comfortable for you to do so. You do not have to phys-rep the search if you are not comfortable doing so. The target must give you any items that you find while searching them.

Capturing a character

• You can automatically capture any character who cannot resist your attacks
• You can escape any bonds with five minutes of obvious roleplaying

If you wish to capture another character while they are at an event, then you must reduce them to zero global hits. If a character is not able to participate in combat because they are non-combat, or need to drop OOC for a first-aid incident or emergency then you may automatically reduce their character to zero global hits without hitting them by telling them that you are disabling their character. We strongly advise that you get a referee before attempting to capture a character.

You may then roleplay taking steps to secure the character with ropes or similar while another character treats their wounds. You should not phys-rep any method of restraint until you have made certain that the other player is comfortable with it.

If you are not on zero body hits then you may automatically escape any bonds after a count of at least 300 seconds regardless of the method used to restrain you. You must use appropriate roleplaying in a way that is obvious to everyone who is watching that you are escaping your bonds. If your attempt to escape is interrupted then you must restart your count. Your character also automatically escapes if they are taken outside the IC site boudary or at time-out unless it is the last day of the event. If you have captured another character at the end of an event then you must both consult a referee who will inform you of your options for keeping the character prisoner during downtime.