General Weapons Regulations

1. All weapons must be checked by the Champion for safety before they are used on the battlefield. Any weapon deemed unsafe may not be used. Violators of this rule are subject to expulsion from the game.
2. Equipment belonging to other players may not be used without the express consent of the owner. This includes, but is not limited to, shields, arrows, thrown missiles, spell components, and melee weapons.
3. The entire surface of a weapon must be padded except for the hilt (where the weapon is held). Hafts, cross guards, and pommels must be padded.
4. Hafts, pommels, cross guards, and hilts are not legal striking surfaces and will not be counted as a hit.
5. Pommels and any other exposed non-striking surface must be a minimum of 2" in diameter.
6. Striking surface on all melee weapons, rocks, spell balls, javelins, and arrows must cloth covered.
7. Stabbing tips on all melee weapons and arrows must be composed of a compactible foam cap, and be designed in such a way to prevent the core from penetrating tip. Tips must be minimum 2 1/2" diameter.
8. No metal of any kind may be used in the construction of melee or thrown weapons. No rigid materials may be used in the construction of spell balls or thrown weapons except javelins.
9. Only factory manufactured aluminum and wooden arrows may be used. Wooden arrows must be protected by strapping tape along their entire length. Arrows that show any indication of structural damage must be removed from play.
10. The dangerous tips of all arrows must be removed. The surface area of the arrow shaft must be broadened before placing a foam head on the shaft. A penny taped to the tip of the shaft works nicely.
11. The full draw weight of a bow may not exceed 35 pounds. Compound, Composite, and Crossbows may not be used. Metal bows and metal bow strings are not allowed. Champion may require some surfaces of bows to be padded.
12. No weapon my be "weighted" to increase to force of shots by any means including but not limited to: Wrapping the blade with duct or other heavy weight tape, adding sand, water, or other materials to the inside of the core.

Weapon Types This section is a general description of the weapons that are being simulated. The descriptions are simplistic and are used mainly for role-playing purposes. All weapons are considered to be made of the listed materials and any magic that affects those materials will affect the weapon. The materials are listed may NOT actually be present in the simulated weapon (Exception: Arrows may actually be made of wood).

Only weapons or equipment given out by the Monarchy can be considered of a different material. These will be rare, special items that will be effected differently by some magics (i.e. a Warp Wood spell will not function on a crystal sword, but it will affect a wooden dagger).

Melee Weapons
Dagger: A heavy, steel knife used for stabbing or slashing.
Sword: A steel, bladed weapon of various lengths. May be a short, medium, long, or great weapon.
Axe: A short or medium length slashing weapon composed of a steel head and hard wooden haft.
Mace: A short smashing weapon with a weighted, often spiked head, forged entirely of steel.
Flail: A hinged smashing weapon composed of an wooden haft, a steel chain, and a heavy steel head.
Club: A heavy wooden stick used for smashing. May be short, medium, long, or great weapon.
Pole Arms: A weapons category composed of Spear, Staff, and Pole Axe.
Spear: A stabbing pole arm composed of a sharp steel head on one end of a long wooden shaft.
Staff: A long wooden smashing pole arm. Generally both ends are used in melee combat.
Pole Axe: A long wooden haft with a single heavy steel slashing head. May also be padded for stabbing.

Projectile Weapons
Javelin: A light spear with a wooden haft and a single sharp steel tip. Stab only thrown weapon.
Thrown Knife: A small steel dagger used for throwing. Stab only thrown weapon.
Rocks: A large heavy stone used for throwing. Smash only thrown weapon.
Bow: A flexible piece of wood used to propel arrows. May NEVER be used as a melee weapon.
Arrow: A very light wooden shaft with a sharp steel tip propelled by a bow. Stab only projected weapon.

Shields A shield is considered to be composed of wood reinforced with steel.

Weapon Damage All normal melee weapons do one point of damage to armor unless modified by a class ability or enchantment. Great weapons wielded in two hands do two points of damage before any modifications. Improved weapons, Rune Weapons, and melee weapons carrying magical enchantments that increase damage do an additional point of damage; multiple conditions are cumulative, so an Enchanted, Sharpened Great sword does four points of damage. All weapons wound in the same manner against unprotected flesh.

All normal thrown weapons do one point of damage unless modified by a class ability or enchantment. Arrows fired from a bow do two points of damage, unless fired by an Archer. Arrows fired by an Archer do four points to armor. Arrows and javelins must strike point first in order to do damage; all other projectiles damage if they hit the target before hitting anything else. Any projectile weapon deflected off of any wielded melee weapon, javelin, bow, or shield, or any stationary object (e.g. trees or the ground) is spent and does no further damage. Arrows striking any weapon (not natural weapons), unless the weapon is wielded by a Monk or is Hardened, destroys the weapon or the arm wielding the weapon. The victim decides which is lost, the arm or the weapon.

Shield Breaking
Some melee weapons (Great Weapons, Warrior Shield Breaking Weapons, Rune Weapons, and some weapons bearing enchantments or wielded by certain classes) may gain the ability to damage unprotected shields. Enchanted Shields, Rune Shields, Hardened Shields, and Sharpened Shields are considered protected against shield breaking by melee or missile combat. A blow that destroys a shield will never wound the arm holding the shield, although subsequent blows will affect the arm normally.

A normal two point damaging Great weapon that is wielded in two hands (or equivalent) will break an unprotected shield with three solid blows. A three point Great weapon will destroy a shield in two solid blows. Any Great weapon that does more than three points of damage will destroy a shield with a single solid blow. Solid blows must be complete swing hacks (thrusts may not be used to break shields). Sharpen does not add a point towards shield damage until the Shield Breaking ability is gained. Shield Breaking abilities are cumulative, so that a Great weapon (wielded with two hands) bearing the enchantment Enchant Weapon does three points of damage to armor and breaks an unprotected shield with two blows.

Weapon Categories
Melee Weapons

Weapon Type	Dimensions	Allowed Attacks	Requirements	Notes
Dagger	12"-18"	Stab or Slash/stab (see requirements)	Requirements: Minimum of 10" striking surface to be considered a slashing weapon.	Note: Daggers are the only melee weapons that are allowed to be less than 18" in total length. Must follow all general melee weapon requirements.
Short	18"-36"	Smash or Slash/stab	Requirements for mace/axe: Minimum of 6"-8" striking surface and 6"-12" padded haft. (This depends on overall length of Short weapon, a 18" mace must have a min. 6" striking surface and a min. 6" padded haft, while a 36" mace will require a min. 8" striking surface and a 12" padded haft.)	Must follow all general melee weapon requirements.
Medium	36"-48"	Smash or Slash/Stab (as per weapon type)	Requirements for mace/axe: Minimum of 8"-12" striking surface and 12"-18" padded haft. (This depends on overall length of Medium weapon, a 36" axe must have a min. 8" striking surface and a min. 12" padded haft while a 48" mace will require a min. 12" striking surface and a 18" padded haft.)	Must follow all general melee weapon requirements.
Long	48"-72"	Smash or Slash/Stab	No mace/axe allowed.	Minimum of 2/3 of entire length must be padded. Must follow all general melee weapon requirements.
Great	48"-72"	Smash or Slash	Restrictions: Must meet Long weapon requirements. Requires additional padding and thorough examination.	Pole Arms are not Long weapons and therefore cannot be Great Weapons. Does additional damage when wielded with both hands (see Weapon Damage).
Pole Arms	72" minimum	Smash or Slash/Stab (as per weapon type)	At least 1/2 of entire weapon must be padded. Pole Arms may never have "butt spikes".	Must Follow all general melee weapon requirements
		Requirements for staff: Minimum striking surface 12"-18" and 6"-12" of padded haft on both ends. Staves may be shorter than 72". Players may grip staves by the striking surface that is closest to them.
		Requirements for spear: Minimum striking surface 6" and 18"-24" of padded haft on stabbing end, with 6"-12" minimum padded haft on non-stabbing end. Stabbing tip must have a minimum diameter of 4".
		Requirements for Pole Axes (any slashing pole arm): Minimum striking surface 12"-18" and 12" minimum of padded haft on slashing end, with 6"-12" of padded haft on non-slashing end.
Flail	24"-36"	smash only	Restrictions: Striking head of flail must be a minimum of 4" in diameter (spherical) and may not contain any rigid materials.	Minimum length of haft is 12", with maximum length of 18" (1/2 of haft must be padded). Minimum length of ball chain portion is 12", with maximum length of 18". (Chain material must be padded so as to expose no more that 1/2" of unpadded material in any one location) The striking head is the only legal striking surface of a flail. A hit (or wrap) with the chain does no damage to the target. Must follow all general melee weapon requirements.

Projectile Weapons (Thrown) Restrictions for Throwing Weapons:
No rigid materials in any thrown weapon (except javelin).
No portion of thrown knife may be less than 2" in diameter.
Spell balls, rocks, and large thrown knives must be cloth covered,
small thrown knives may be tape covered.
Spell balls require streamers.

Type	Dimensions	Allowed Attacks	Requirements
Thrown Knife	6"-12"	Stab only
Rock	12" min. diameter	Smash only
Spell Ball	6" max. diameter	Special
Javelin	48"-60"	Stab only	Requirements for Javelins: Must be padded entire length, may have a light weight rigid core, striking surface must be a minimum of 4" in diameter. Striking surface must be covered with cloth.

Projectile Weapons (Projected)

Type	Attack Type	Dimensions	Restrictions
Bow	Bows may NEVER be used in melee combat.	No bows under 36" in unstrung length.	No compound, composite, or crossbows. No metal bows or metal bow strings. Maximum full draw weight 35 pounds. please note temporary archery rules for our home park.
Arrows	Type: stab only	Padded arrow heads must have a minimum diameter of 2 1/2" and must be cloth covered.	Restrictions: Wooden and aluminum arrows only. All arrow shafts must be factory manufactured. Wooden arrows must be protected with strapping tape along entire length.

Weapon Construction
Weapons in the High Fantasy Society are safe foam replicas of the real thing. The materials used reflect our concern with safety. The General Weapon Regulations list individual rules for weapon safety and should be carefully read before any attempt is made to construct a weapon.

A HFS melee weapon has three very important elements: the core, the padding, and the cover. The best core to use for a melee weapon is PVC pipe (Do not use metal or wood). The best padding used for melee weapons is a combination of Insulite (closed cell pipe insulation) and packing foam (thin closed cell white foam used for shipping). The Insulite is glued to the PVC core and then the packing foam is wrapped around the Insulite core. The tip must have additional padding if it is to be used for stabbing. The hilt must be constructed following the weapon regulations, and the finished melee weapon must be covered in cloth.

As new and better weapon construction techniques are constantly being developed, you should consider contacting an existing HFS organization for more information on weapon design. They can provide you with personal instruction or demonstrations of the weapon making process.



Shields
Shields are basically a specialized piece of armor worn on the forearm to deflect or block blows. Shield construction consists of the backing material, the padding, the forearm strap, and the handle. The most popular and lasting backing material is plywood. The most successful padding is a combination of dense closed cell foam and open celled foam. The forearm strap and handle can be constructed out of just about any material that is not dangerous to the user. Shields are divided into three size categories. Warboards are a sub-class of shields that are actually armor, although they must follow all the rules of shield construction. Warboards are any shield-like object strapped to the forearm (lacks the handle).

General Shield Regulations

1. All shields must be checked by the Champion for safety before they are used on the battlefield. Any shield deemed unsafe may not be used. Violators of this rule will be subject to expulsion from the game.
2. Shields must be well padded on any exposed surface.
3. No hard edges may be exposed on any side of the shield.
4. Shield backing must be made of firm materials that will not shatter or splinter if broken.
5. Shields will be placed in three categories, by total outer face surface area. The categories are:
   • Small: three (3) square feet
   • Medium: six (6) square feet
   • Large: nine (9) square feet
6. Shields must have a minimum outer face surface area of one (1) square foot.
7. In order to be considered a shield any object must have a handle and be held in the hand, with a strap to hold the shield to the forearm. Hand held bucklers are the exception, and have no arm straps.
8. Any object strapped only to the forearm is considered a warboard, and may be rated as armor by the Champion (maximum 4 points). Warboards are considered armor for the purposes of carrying passive skill and enchantments and must conform to the safety rules for shields and armor.

Armor
Armor is essentially clothing designed to protect the wearer from attack. Armor has taken many forms and this armor section is not designed to cover every possible type of armor. Other materials than the ones listed below were certainly used in armor construction (such as bone, reed, wood, and cord), but since this is not an essay on types of historical armor, they will not be included. These anomalies must be rated on their own merits by the Champion and the Monarch. This section will, however, give the reader access to a wide variety of armor types and the rules governing the use and construction of armor.

Armor is generally rated on its ability to stop or deflect blows. The rating ranges from 1 to 6 points of protective value. Each hit to an armored location will remove the appropriate number if points for that weapon. The damage applies only to the location that the damaged armor covers. If the amount of damage exceeds the value of the armor, then the blow penetrates the armor and damages the target.

Heavy Armor Armor Type Materials Rating Chain Mail 16 gauge steel 3 Double/ Bar Mail 16 gauge steel 4 Scale 18 gauge steel 4 Scale 1/4" overlap of plates 5 Brigandine 18 gauge steel 5 Brigandine 1/4" overlap of plates 6 Plate 18 gauge steel 6

Light Armor (light armor may never exceed three points in value) Armor Type Materials Rating Padded Layered Cloth 1 Quilted Cloth and Padding 1 Soft Leather 1/16" to 1/8" 1 Hard Leather 1/8" + 2 Studs 18 gauge metal +1 Rings 18 gauge metal +1

Armor is divided into two major categories: Light Armor and Heavy Armor. Light Armor has a low metal content and therefore the protective value is limited. Heavy Armor has a very high metal content. These are the acceptable categories of armor ratings:

Light armor may NEVER exceed three (3) points in protective value. Protective value for heavy armor is based on 16 gauge steel. Smaller gauge or weaker materials may reduce overall armor rating. Larger gauge MAY increase armor value, but never past six (6) points. In HFS there are no materials stronger than steel (i.e. no increase in armor value for titanium, etc.).

Studs and Rings may be made out of any metal to get the additional protective value. Scale Armor and Brigandine armor can increase their value by overlapping the scales/plates by a minimum of 1/4".

Armor Types

Aluminum Armor
Plastic Armor
Padded Armor
Quilted Armor
Soft Leather Armor
Hard Leather Armor
Ring Mail Armor
Chain Mail Armor
Studded Leather Armor
Double Mail Armor
Bar Mail Armor
Brigandine Armor
Scale Armor
Plate Armor

General Armor Regulations

1. The Champion must check all armor for safety before the armor is used on the battlefield. Any armor deemed unsafe may not be used. Violators of this rule will be subject to expulsion from the game.
2. All armor must be safe with no projecting points or edges. This is especially true of metal armor.
3. The Champion rates armor, with assistance from the Monarch and Guild Master of Reeves.
4. Armor made from lesser materials may receive a lower rating.
5. Armor that is worn under clothing must be at least partially visible, and must be announced if asked.
6. Armor may require padding to gain full value. Heavy armor, any armor mostly composed of metal, and armor that is rough or hard points/edges on the interior require sufficient padding to prevent injury to wearer.
7. Armor only protects the actual area that it covers. Armor that covers a smaller area may also receive a lower rating.
8. Front and back torso armor are counted separately.
9. Armor must be authentic looking and must have been designed as armor.
10. Armor may not be layered to gain additional value (i.e. you cannot wear two suits of chain mail to gain 6 points of armor protection).
11. Any armor that does not fall within the express outlined types of armor will be rated for protective value by the Champion, with the assistance of the Monarch and Guild Master of Reeves.

Game Items
Game items are objects or locations that are important and specific to a particular battle game. These might include such things as flags, bases, treasure, or a magical healing fountain. Game items may not be affected by magic or class abilities, nor may they be harmed by any means unless specified by the specific scenario. Game items may not be transported or contained by magic or class ability (e.g. a Wizard cannot Teleport with a game item, a Healer cannot take a game item into a Circle of Protection, and a Druid cannot take a game item into a Plant Door, etc.)

Rune Weapons
Rune weapons and other rune objects are relics of great power that are carefully introduced by the Monarchy by means of quests or as boons to favored individuals. Rune items are created by the Monarch with the careful consultation of the Guild Master of Reeves to determine feasibility and impact upon the game. Rune Weapons are retained by the recipient for no longer than six months, before they are lost or passed on to another by a similar bestowal or quest. A Paladin's Rune Weapon and Rune Shield are examples of basic Rune Items. Rune Items are generally restricted in frequency of use, depending on the overall impact of the item. Barbarians and Paladins may never use a relic of any sort.

Rune Weapons generally have these basic characteristics: A Rune weapon is considered a Great weapon, regardless of size or weapon type and even if wielded with one hand. The weapon cannot be damaged or otherwise affected by magic (i.e. cannot be Heated, Dispelled, etc.) nor can it be improved by any means. Rune Weapons may have more than these basic abilities. For example:

The Spell Sword is a short melee weapon that has all the basic qualities of a Rune Weapon, as well as the ability to be used as a Focus. It does not have a weapon cost and therefore may be used by a spell caster without losing any spell points.

The Black Blade is a medium sword that has all the abilities of a Rune Weapon, as well as the special power to Sever Spirit on any creature or player killed by the weapon. It compels the possessor to attack Paladins in preference to all other creatures

Lesser Relics
Lesser relics are rune items that have a set number of uses or have generally weaker abilities. They range from one use potions and scrolls that mimic existing magics to minor rune weapons and shields. They are generally given under the same restrictions as Rune Weapons, but are often found in greater numbers and with more frequency. Lesser Relics are common in quests and specific scenarios. For example:

Wand of Dooms is a focus that allows any spell caster to cast seven Doom spells. Once the spells have been cast the wand crumbles into dust.

Bandages of Binding are found in sets of seven and generally come in a pouch. The bandages allow the owner to bind wounds as a scout using the First Aid ability. Once a bandage is used it is lost, and once all seven have been used the pouch is nothing more than a normal bag.

Foci
A focus is an aid to magic use usable by spell casters. It is required for any spell that has a range of 50' or greater and some other spells. A focus may be no longer than 12" and no shorter than 6". Foci (plural for focus) must be approved by the champion for game safety. Is a game item and may never be destroyed, however it is considered carried equipment and may not be used to block shots.