Combat and Injury

DuD is a game where melee combat is Big, Dramatic and Cinematic. The goal of any fight in this game is for it to look impressive and cinematic. The weapons of the 41st millennium are brutal and weighty, and we want to show this. To this end, we want players to react to every blow in a fight, in an overt and dramatic fashion.

Combat Safety

All weapons intended to be used in melee must be LARP safe. This means they have been tested by a member of the Game Team and conform to our safety standards.

Ranged weapons do not need to be LARP safe. However, if converted from firing props/airsoft/nerf weaponry they must be unloaded and made safe so they cannot fire and no ammunition for them may be brought to DuD games. If you fail to follow this you can be excluded from the event.

Where you are using a ranged weapon and enter Melee you are responsible for making your weapon safe this means if you are not using a LARP-safe prop you must move your weapon out of the way even if this involves you hindering your ability to react to an opponent. Accidents happen, but we do recommend that players planning to engage heavily in close-ranged combat consider carrying weapons that are easy to make safe, or physreps that are safer for those around them to collide with (these do not need to follow ‘LARP-safe’ construction rules unless you want them for striking an opponent, but weapons constructed from softer materials are inherently safer at close quarters).

- Ranged Weapons Props made of hard materials or not judged to be LRP-safe by the Game Team must be holstered or placed in a position where you can control their movement. Charging melee combatants will -always slow- give you time to do so, do not use this as a chance to retreat, be courteous

All blows in Melee must be pulled. For anyone not used to LARP combat, pulling a blow is the act of slowing the weapon before it strikes the target, so that it hits with a minimal tap. Sometimes people will misjudge this – it happens – but you should always be trying your best to pull every blow, and slow down or back off from a fight if you begin to find it difficult.

Blows to the head are discouraged, as we believe they are less safe than other elements of combat. You should avoid them – but if they occur by accident, treat blows to the head as if they are striking the body (including the effect of any armour worn).

The use of hands and grappling in melee is specifically restricted to controlled situations where both parties have exchanged enthusiastic consent immediately prior to engaging in this roleplay. This should never occur in a situation where there is a mass combat occurring around the individuals, nor in an enclosed space where there is a danger of their physical roleplay leading to injury to themselves or accidentally striking those who have not consented to participate.

Melee Combat

Melee combat is the simplest and easiest form of combat to resolve, if you swing at a foe and strike an area of the body where they are affected by it, then they will take the blow, or whatever effect call you have called while striking it. However there are some notable things to remember;

When fighting in a melee DuD has a 'three second rule' - this means that you may use a melee damage call once every three seconds - uncalled blows should be reacted to but do not deliver mechanical damage per-strike, instead, in a melee where there are no called blows, you should lose a single point of endurance every three seconds you are engaged in a melee providing your attackers are successfully landing blows on your body.

When charging individuals with hard (non-larp safe) ranged weapons props give them time to holster or safely move their props out of the way to prevent injury.

If your call is not reacted to (this usually happens because it wasn’t heard) and it is a limited-use call, then you retain that use of it as if you hadn’t made the call. Parrying a blow, or calling Deflect or Ineffective so the call has no effect is considered a reaction for this purpose.

Ranged Combat Rules

Ranged combat is ‘calls-based’ in this game, what we mean by that is Ranged calls should be prefixed with the name or an identifying description of the target – so "Ben, Rend!" or "Blue Hat, Blam!" - though as in the last example making it clear WHO you are targeting is good practice (there may be more than one person with a blue hat). There are however a few rules to note;

All ranged weapons may call Blam - to make any other ranged call you need a wargear trait (all weapons may call Blam representing them firing on low power when you run out of standard ammunition so that players do not feel pressured to buy too many props)

You must leave 3 seconds between making ranged calls.

After Ten Shots you must roleplay reloading or preparing maintenance on your weapon for five seconds.

Pistols, herein defined as small ranged weapons small enough to be carried and fired in one hand for simplicity, have a range of five meters - if your prop has been judged to be LRP-safe by the Game Team then you may use it to fire in melee.

Rifles, herein defined as large ranged weapons that must be carried in two hands, have an effectively unlimited range - however, even if your prop has been judged to be LRP-safe by the Game Team then you can not use it to fire in melee, only strike as if it were a regular melee weapon.

Torches and other aids to see in the dark are never viable ways to target someone, this encourages players to turn them off in combat situations which is unsafe, in the same vein we discourage torches affixed to guns as they can dazzle at night, and suggest using costume-affixed lightning that cannot accidentally dazzle individual.

There are no thrown melee weapons in DUD, the only thrown items are Grenades.

Sniping is not always possible, where it is, a radio channel for long-range shots will be made available by the refs.

If your call is not reacted to (this usually happens because it wasn’t heard) and it is a limited-use call, then you retain that use of it as if you hadn’t made the call. Parrying a blow, or calling Deflect or Ineffective so the call has no effect is considered a reaction for this purpose.

Cover (Ranged Combat)

The benefits of taking cover only apply against calls made by a ranged weapon, also notably unless a character has a rule that says otherwise they do not apply against the call Burn or Sunder. To count as Cover, something must be a solid object that cannot be seen through, which covers most of your body. It does not need to be subjectively ‘hard enough to stop bullets’; soft items can still prevent you being hit, simply by meaning the enemy can’t quite be sure where to aim. The Traits Adept Mortis, Vigilator and Aegis Training provide alternatives to using hard cover to gain this benefit.

Cover protects you from the first two ranged attacks made against you from the other side of it, after which you must move to a new piece of cover to ‘refresh’ this protection. Characters with Traits such as Adept Mortis, Vigilator and Aegis Training must take five long steps instead to refresh their unique forms of cover.

Using Endurance and Reacting to Calls

A character is considered to be in a healthy state if they have any points of Endurance remaining. A character can lose endurance to either a damaging call (at range or in melee) or every 3 seconds they suffer continuous strikes in melee, they will lose a single point of Endurance, regardless of how many targets are attacking them. For calls the Endurance lost can vary, some remove multiple points of Endurance, some can remove all of it.

Should a character ever be reduced to no Endurance they will become Bleeding. Unless the cue I’m taking you in, alive! be used (see beneath) which instead reduces them to Subdued.

Endurance is recovered in two ways;

Second Wind - Any character can spend 1 minute of appropriate recovery roleplay (eg. bandaging wounds, praying, etc.) to activate their Second Wind. If they are attacked during this time, all progress is lost. Activating their Second Wind sets their Endurance to half its maximum (rounding up), if it was below half. The character cannot use Second Wind again until they have Recuperated.

Recuperating - this is a ten minute short rest where the character role plays the act of resting, drinking water, and having a Medicae check over the minor injuries and strain of the physical efforts they’ve expended earlier.

A character cannot Recuperate if combat is ongoing nearby or they are Bleeding. or have untreated Complications or another condition that specifies they cannot Recupertate - they need to rest in total safety after being fully treated for physical ailments.

Roleplaying Endurance

When you use Endurance, your character’s reaction should be appropriate to the Traits they gain their Endurance from: a blow to armour should cause you to react to the imaginary force, a blow that is dodged should result in your roleplaying dodging aside, and so on. Whenever you become Bleeding. the reaction should be suitably dramatic as you, a protagonist, are shot.

Always consider what a damage call represents: while the rules do allow you to survive a shot to the face at point-blank range by simply loosing a point of Endurance, you should consider how you manage to soak it. Even if you don’t choose to become mechanically affected, it would at least be appropriate to fall to the ground clutching your face.

Even if you are lucky enough to be able to ignore a call entirely by calling Ineffective or Deflect, some degree of telegraphing why they couldn’t harm you is always welcome where possible as simply shouting calls is unsatisfying and doesn’t allow your attacker to roleplay a reaction – even just a mocking smile and a taunting comment, if you’re that kind of character.

Subdued

Sometimes it is important to take an individual in alive because they are either not acting in their right mind, or you need to take them in for Interrogation and sometimes something is devastating enough to damage your endurance but not kill you. These effects state that when a character hit 0 endurance as a result of them being used, they become Subdued rather than Bleeding..

Subdued is a state of temporary stunned/unconscious roleplay that lasts thirty seconds, after which they return to a healthy state with one endurance.

If a character can reach a currently-Subdued character, they can detain the Subdued Character. Physical contact is discouraged, so if someone informs you that they are detaining you, follow along with the roleplay. While detained you may not attempt to escape unless granted permission by a GM or your NPC briefing sheet, or by the player(s) of the character(s) you have been detained by.

Bleeding.

A Bleeding. character is catastrophically and potentially fatally injured. They must collapse and roleplay devastating injury or, if they prefer, unconsciousness. A Bleeding. character can barely move faster than a slow crawl, only physrep/roleplay their injuries and cannot make any action or use any traits unless their traits specify they can be used while in this state. They can scream or shout for help, unless they were rendered Bleeding. by the I Am A Knife In The Dark cue.

A Bleeding. character should slump somewhere it is safe to collapse – out from under the feet of fighters and on a safe surface – and begin a 100-second Bleed Count. If getting somewhere safe takes a few seconds, it is appropriate to wait to start the count until you are safe. You do not have to follow the bleed out roleplay beneath, you can simply slip into unconsciousness if you prefer;

- During the first 30 seconds a character is able to cry out for aid and help while moving at a very slow crawl (or stagger) while clutching their wounds.

- After 30 seconds a character has experienced so much bloodloss that they are unable to move and are unable to speak above a strangled whisper.

- After 60 seconds a character lapses into an insensiate or unconscious state they are unable to move or do much more than moan (and of course splash fake blood and wound makeup over themselves if they have yet to do so)

- After 100 seconds a character is unconscious from blood loss, see beneath for the consequences.

A Bleeding. character’s Bleed Count can be paused by another character performing First Aid. Any character can perform this. This requires them to use both hands and their full attention to roleplay stemming blood-flow, bracing a limb, or similarly tending to the casualty. If they cease to give their full attention to the task, the Bleed Count resumes from where it was paused. There are chems and traits that also allow the Bleed Count to be paused differently, a character with them will let you know if they are doing so.

A Bleeding. character can be moved by another character’s assistance. They cannot move faster than a slow walk, and while they are upright or in motion, their Bleed Count resumes from where it was paused and cannot be stopped with First Aid. unless the character moving you has the Medicae trait, there are traits and other effects that can alter this.

The only way to stop a Bleeding. character from bleeding out without constant First Aid is for a Medicae to attend to them and perform Triage - this is the process of performing a medical intervention applying chems and bandages and other medical methods to halt the bleeding and prep the individual for movement, this takes 30 seconds.

After this is done, they will perform a Triage Check on you to work out if you are suffering from a more serious injury, if it is passed then a further 30 seconds of roleplay will restore you to a single point of Endurance. If it is failed however you will suffer a Complication that must be treated via Surgery before you can recover any Endurance.

If you reach the end of your Bleed Count without intervention to aid you, you cease to bleed but continue with the movement and roleplay restrictions of the Bleeding. state. However your wounds have left a permanent mark on you, we call this a Scar, a long term injury that will continue to affect your character it is also a measure of how many times you have survived a close call with death.

NPCs who are durable enough to not die when they become Bleeding. will normally simply die if they bleed out.

Maimed

Sometimes a character will be reduced to Bleeding. by an effect that causes them to immediately lose all endurance, this includes the calls Sunder, Burn, Dakka and I am a Knife in the Dark as well as some other effects and GM-directed calls. When a character suffers one of these devastating injuries they are considered Maimed. Characters who are Maimed are unable to use certain traits or benefit from the cue Get it Together! due to their heavy injuries, their roleplay should express more exaggerated pain, crying out in pain is encouraged but be cautious of your volume because it can interrupt the call-space of a combat (a downside of our combat system).

Scars

Unlike traditional systems, DuD operates on the concept that players are far more durable than the average individual in the setting, as a result they have the ability to endure three Scars throughout the life of the character, after enduring their third Scar the next time they bleed out they will become Marked by Death, a state in which they are mortally wounded and will die within a period. This is a Death Spiral in that as it goes on the players will become progressively more able to judge their imminent death and plan for it both in terms of backup characters and in terms of looking for chances to go out in the best way possible. There are effects that can cause Instant death (as beneath) but these will always be clearly signposted as being present.

The effects of Scars are not mechanical, they can be anything you want but they are clear signs that your character has survived death they could be mental or physical or even something else if it’s appropriate at the time. You’ll be able to choose them at an event, or if necessary have them come more into effect after due to a need to prepare a phys rep (perhaps you’ll limp the rest of the event but surgery between events will result in you having to have your leg amputated and a bionic fitted).

A character can simply choose to become Marked by Death at any time they wish if they feel their character has suffered something that would just kill them or wish to use their willpower to make a final stand against foes.

Marked by Death

Becoming Marked by Death is tragic, you are mortally injured, there is no way to save your character and any Medicae or Chirugeon looking at you will be able to quickly work out that there is nothing they can do to save you, at this point you have two choices;

At any point within the next hour after suffering this condition you can choose to pass away, giving you time (if you want it) to make your goodbyes to your friends. You continue to roleplay the Bleeding. state with all the restrictions that come with it, you cannot use this time to do anything but this.

If you have access to Willpower you may draw on it to struggle to your feet, and act as normal, you do not regain any Endurance and you cannot recover neither Willpower or Endurance by any means. For the duration of any situation where you would normally expend Endurance, you expend Willpower, when you run out of Willpower, you die at that exact moment. This is intended to allow characters to throw their last reserves of stubborn will to achieve something.

Instant Death.

There are a select few instances where the rules for becoming Bleeding. or Marked by Death do not apply;

In situations where a character puts themselves in a situation where it would result in instantaneous death (eating a canister of a deadly flesh-eating virus, leaping out of an airlock without a void suit). In these situations a member of the game team is free to rule that a character is instantaneously (or rapidly) killed, they simply die without being able to do anything under marked by death or worrying about how much endurance they had remaining.

In a situation were a player character is Bleeding. and an hostile character continues to deliberately attack them on the ground and informs them via some cue or dramatic and obvious roleplay that they are aware they are dying and are, for example, eating them or sacrificing them to the dark gods, that can cause them (if not rescued from their fate) to die instantly, without gaining any of the opportunities of being marked by death or being able to use Scars.

Characters in DuD have returned from the dead. The vast majority have done so as a direct result of the intervention of some power – or Power – whose attention they had caught by the manner of their death or a pre-struck bargain or deed. This will not be the case for the majority of characters, and if it is possible the Refs will raise it with you. Even if you set out to have your character gain such an ability and take IC actions that give you the option, bear in mind that it will come with significant consequences; most characters who return from the dead become NPCs as a result of the changes wrought to them. Resurrection of any kind will never result in just continuing to play the character as before their death.