Cloak & Dagger The Assassins' Guild: Lent 2011 Weaponry Rules


The following gives an outline of the various weapons which can be used against enemies. It is not an exhaustive list and players are encouraged to use their imagination; however, any weapon not on this list must be shown to the umpire and approved before its use on the field. In general, all weapons must be completely safe (for both people and property), defensible so as not to unbalance the Game and materially and tangibly do something, to indicate to the victim that he/she has been killed. All non-obvious weapons must be clearly labelled: if you were carrying a real knife, you wouldn't be able to convince your target that it was a pencil by holding your thumb over the label, so don't do that either.

Messy weapons and water weapons should be used sensibly; they should be carefully aimed and not used to excess. Don't use messy or water weapons against people carrying something expensive or wearing formal clothes. Any kills achieved in this manner may be annulled and the players responsible disciplined.

Weapons should be specific to the victim; killing bystanders is to be avoided even when the effect is harmless.

Police should take extra care not to use any weapon that may endanger innocent civilians. Kills made by police using illegal methods will be invalidated and the officers in question disciplined appropriately by the Chief of Police or the Umpire.

Except where noted below, most weapons will kill the target instantly if they strike any part of the head or torso. If a limb is hit then it should be declared openly that it is ‘injured’ and so it can no longer be used for the duration of the encounter for any game-related purpose, including to fire, reload or hold a weapon, to block a projectile, to open a door or window or to run away (although if you have to run away you may use your wounded arm/s to carry your weapons with you rather than leave them behind, as long as you don't use such weapons again in the encounter). Any assassin who continues to use a limb with the knowledge that it has been injured will find that any associated kills are invalidated and possibly that the exertion is deemed to have caused death from blood loss.

If fire is obstructed by an injured limb or an weapon being carried by an injured limb, the players should act as thought it were not there. i.e. if the shot would have hit the torso or head, the person is dead etc.

Likewise, if fire is obstructed by objects such as bags, the players should act as though the object was not there. The only exception to this is if fire hits a weapon held by a non-injured arm of the defending player. If that occurs, the assassin is not injured.

Modification of weaponry is discouraged - if you wish to use a modified weapon you should present it to the Umpire for approval.

A. Direct Weapons:

A.1 Guns

Most rubber band guns, Nerf weapons, pea-shooters, toy pig catapults and rubber bands fired from the fingers all count as guns and are projectile weapons. Other similar weapons may also be allowed, but you must contact the Umpire before using one so it can be approved. A direct hit is required; projectiles rebounding off walls, etc. do not count.

BB guns and pellet guns are NOT allowed so don't even bother asking. You should not use any weapon that looks at all realistic. "Firewheel" rubber band guns are not allowed. Try to avoid head shots with all projectile weapons.

Cap guns or other toy guns which produce a noise without actually firing anything may be used to kill people with a clear shot (under the same conditions as a Bang-kill). In the case of cap guns, the cap must go off for the shot to count.

If you are found to be using a realistic-looking gun you will be made Wanted or removed from the game. No matter how safe it is, the law is quite strict on this matter, and the Guild has no desire to see its members arrested.

A.1.1 Point-blank shots aka Bang-kills

If you are using a gun, water pistol, water gun, or a banana clearly labelled "GUN", and are pointing it at the head or torso of your target, which you can clearly see and are within 1 foot of touching with your weapon, you may say, "Bang!" rather than actually firing your weapon to claim the kill.

Anything else shaped roughly like a gun and labelled “GUN” can also be used for a Bang-kill, for instance a hair-dryer. If you are unsure whether a certain weapon is allowed, feel free to contact the Umpire.

The AK47 app. on smartphones and iphones is also licensed as a bang kill, subject to the following conditions:

You cannot make a Bang-kill if your gun is out of ammunition, is jammed or is otherwise unusable (although if you only discover later that the gun is not working then the kill stands). This is intended to stop you causing unnecessary harm to a target from close range and to avoid public nuisance, a waste of ammunition or the risk of a misfire. It is intended to be used on occasions when you are surprising your intended victim and NOT as a piece of combat. It is the duty of the attacker to ensure that they are demonstrably fulfilling the above conditions when they say the word, "Bang!". However, keep in mind that the Game does not involve the use of physical force. You may NOT make bang-kills with water weapons if the water status of an area would not allow you to fire the gun. You may not make a bang-kill through a wall, door or other substantial medium.

By the same principle, Bang kills are not valid in no-projectile areas (e.g. shops, college dining halls).

A.1.2 Water weapons

Almost any water pistol or water gun may be used as a weapon.

Players may decide as to what extent they wish to allow water-based weapons to be used in their own rooms; this information should be supplied to the Umpire at the start of the game. The default state is no water.

In-bounds areas have restrictions placed on what sort of weaponry may be used in them, and are divided into three categories:

Note that water weapons inappropriate for the water status of the area may not be fired into or out of that area.

Storm Force 2
A Storm Force 2, the largest allowable water with care weapon

All areas should be considered No Water unless specified otherwise.

The following areas are Water with Care:

The following areas are Full Water:

If small water pistols are used, it is a good idea to confirm the kill immediately with the victim who might not have noticed the hit if wearing thick clothing. This avoids arguments later, when the water has evaporated. For reference, a hit (with any water weapons) is wetness roughly the area of a 5p piece in the case of Water with Care weapons and a 50p piece in the case of all larger weapons

Bottles of water etc. may be used to represent flame-throwers. These must be clearly labelled, and should only be used outdoors in warm weather. Shaken-up bottles of lemonade or similar should not be used as the drink becomes sticky and unpleasant as it dries.

A.2 Melee weapons

A.2.1 Knives

Knives made of foam, rubber or cardboard, plastic knives with retractable blades, pens with lids on (not metal) and without a metal barrel or sharp ends, may be used as knives. Anything which is not very obviously a knife should be labelled "KNIFE". Please do not use anything very pointy, and be careful with anything slightly pointy. Pens must have their lids over the nib at all times. Be extra-careful when throwing knives. Knives may only be thrown one at a time.

Arbitrary objects may not be turned into weapons simply by writing "KNIFE" on them; this may only be done to vaguely knife-shaped objects. No metal objects including cutlery knives may ever be used as knives.

A.2.2 Coshes and clubs

Represented by a cardboard poster tube or a newspaper rolled up and stuck with Sellotape. Either should be clearly labelled "Cosh". The effect of a cosh depends upon the location of the hit:-

HeadUnconscious for 5 minutes.
BodyImmobilised but conscious for 5 minutes.
Arm or LegThe limb is immobilised for 5 minutes.

A.2.3 Swords

Plastic or cardboard swords may be used as swords; cardboard ones must be labelled "SWORD". Toy lightsabers may also be used. Rolled-up newspapers or cardboard poster tubes are coshes, not swords.

Latex LARP swords and knives (or other LARP weapons, not including LARP bows or crossbows) may be used if they are labelled very clearly, and you bring them to the Umpire so that he can check that they are safe, and that you can pull your blows correctly.

In the interests of safety, with all melee weapons, you should be careful to avoid attacks of a stabbing nature (particularly with LARP weapons) and should never aim for the head. Swords may not be thrown. Remember that this is a game of subtlety rather than combat.

A.2.4 Killer Attack Animals

Fluffy animals may be used as attack animals as long as they are labelled "ATTACK ANIMAL", "KILLER RABBIT", etc. These work just like knives. Ideally all attack animals should be presented to the Umpire first as he likes to see what embarrassing fluffy animals Players keep in their rooms.

The Umpire also condones the use of socks stuffed with polystyrene or other socks to be used as attack animals, so long as they are labelled and have googly eyes attached to them. Be creative with ways to use them, but if you wish to try something unconventional, then check with the Umpire beforehand.

A.2.5 Death's Robe

Any player dressed as Death counts as a contact weapon: the touch of a finger may be used to kill a player. Note that Death has a skull white, skeletal face and wears a long black robe. Carrying a scythe is optional.

A person dressed as Death does count as bearing, but do be careful around Halloween: it is perfectly possible that the skeletal person in black robes carrying a scythe has no idea that they are a walking weapon! If you meet the actual incarnation of Death, feel free to run/pray/other. You are beyond the help of the Umpire.

A.3 Throwables

All thrown weapons are deemed as projectile weapons and so should not be thrown in the non-projectile areas. Throwables may only be thrown one at a time.

A.3.1 Grenades

Confetti in bags made from tissue paper or water bombs may be used. Use common sense with all of these. They will kill if they strike any part of the head or body. If they hit a wall and splash your head or body appreciably (i.e.. if you're wettish) you are dead. If you are only slightly splashed, you survive. Being splashed on the arms or legs will disable the limbs in question as normal. Water bombs are for use only in Full Water areas.

A.3.2 Boulders and safes

An empty (large) box or sizeable lump of expanded polystyrene may be labelled 'safe', 'fridge', 'anvil' or similar, and then dropped. It can kill if it falls at least a metre before impact. An anvil that falls a foot or more stuns the target as if it were a cosh blow to the head. A beach ball or balloon at least the size of a football may be labelled as a boulder and then rolled, dropped or thrown as a weapon (not kicked, however - that would break your leg) - any impact with significant speed may kill, including from rebounds (although most other weapons do not count on the rebound).

A.3.3 Other Throwables

Many other items that can be used as throwables. So long as they are safe and unlikely to cause injury then they may be thrown. Such throwables must be also labelled as the weapon they represent.

For instance, you may choose to use paper aeroplanes labelled ‘kamikaze bomber’, stress balls labelled ‘moon’ and so on.

Snowballs (provided they do not contain ice or rocks) may also be thrown as weapons. Snowballs are a full water weapon and should only be used in the appropriate areas.

B. Indirect Weapons:

All indirect methods of killing (contact poison, poisoned food and drink and poison letters/exciting cards) have been removed for the Lent 2011 game. If a player attempts to use them, any kills will not stand, they will be made wanted, or may even be removed from the game.

C. Miscellany:

C.1 Other weapons

It is possible to use many other weapons not in this list. However, you must contact the Umpire to register any other weapon first so that the Umpire can decide whether it is fair and safe. Any kills you make with an unlicensed weapon may be disallowed. Examples of previously-licensed novelty weapons include poisoned umbrellas (such as that used to kill Georgi Markov), double-decker buses and poisoned lipstick. In general you can probably license anything that is completely harmless, and more difficult to kill with than the items in this list.

C.2 Disallowed weapons:

None of the following weapons will be allowed:

Shields are banned (with the exception of the default shield for the Shield Blaster range when attached to its appropriate gun). This includes any extensions onto guns that could be used as a shield.

The Wipeout gun had been removed from the game as it is deemed hazardous. At short range, it is capable of bruising in minutes.

As a temporary measure, all and any weapons purchased from the Discovery Store are banned. This is because a variety of weapons available at the store have all been deemed unsuitable for the game, and until we can give a clearer picture of what is suitable at the store, we're erring on the side of caution.

This list is not exhaustive; any weapon not explicitly allowed must be personally checked by the Umpire before being used in the Game.

History

The history of this set of rules is fairly short:

[Back to assassins index]


Home / Email
Valid XHTML 1.1