Cloak & Dagger The Assassins' Guild: Michaelmas 2013 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) and non-alarming to bystanders, 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 can 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.Killing bystanders may result in sanctions being upheld against the player by the umpire.

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 though 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 strongly discouraged - if you wish to use a modified weapon you should present it to the Umpire for approval. Modifications in this case refers to altering the function of a weapon, not its appearance.

A. Direct Weapons:

This section is a list of all direct weapons which kill a target either by shooting at (using a pellet or a 'bang') or by contact.

A.1. Point-blank shots aka Bang-kills

If you are using a rubber band gun, nerf weapon or water pistol and are pointing it at the head or torso of your target, which you can clearly see and are within 1 metre 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 banana or a hair-dryer. If you are unsure whether a certain weapon is allowed, feel free to contact the Umpire.

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).

Bang kills are 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. They can only be used on occasions when you are surprising your intended victim and NOT in combat. It is the duty of the attacker to ensure that they are demonstrably fulfilling the above conditions when they say the word, "Bang!".

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.2. Projectile Weapons - Non Water Guns

Most rubber band guns, Nerf weapons, pea-shooters, toy pig catapults and rubber bands fired from the fingers all count as non water guns and are direct 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 deliberate 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.3. Projectile 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.

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.3 Projectiles - 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 ballons 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 or the floor 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 balloons 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", 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.

A.3.4 Wands

If thrown while waving a suitable wand, you may enchant your throwables to have various magical (and often hilarious) effects by saying the magic words. Upon being hit by such a projectile, the target has the choice to either do the action, or (if the action is too humiliating, or they simply don't want to do it because they know they're going to die anyway), they can make the spell default to an ordinary projectile. Always inform you victim of this choice if they are unaware of it. Note that if a limb is hit, only that limb is affected by the spell (so if your spell causes death but hits an arm, only the arm is incapaticated, as per the usual rules). No spell effect can last more than 5 minutes (except for effects that kill the target of course). A 'suitable wand' must be labelled, be roughly wand-shaped and of course be safe.

Examples of spell effects are:

This list is not exhaustive and you are encouraged to come up with your own spells. If you do make up your own spell, be sure to check with the umpire beforehand.

A.4 Melee weapons

This category includes all weapons which must be brought into direct contact with their taregt or thrown from short range in a controlled manner to be efective. When using melee weapons it is important to exercise care, especially when in combat, to not use excessive force. A light touch of the ewapon should be sufficient to claim a kill. Any melee hits which cause the weapon to buckle due to excessive force (except paper knives) will be disallowed. Repeat offences may make the player Wanted or disqualified if the behaviour persists. Any player wishing to check how to 'pull' a blow such that it does not cause harm is welcome to conatct the umpire.

A.4.1 Knives

Knives made of foam, rubber or cardboard and plastic knives with retractable blades, provided that they do not look too realistic, may be used as knives for the purposes of stabbing or throwing.

Lidded pens with no metallic components or sharp ends may be thrown or used to gently stab with. Avoid headshots. These should be labelled "KNIFE". Be extra-careful when throwing knives and avoid headshots.

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.4.2 Coshes and clubs

Represented by a cardboard poster tube or a newspaper rolled up and stuck with Sellotape. Either should be clearly labelled "Cosh", otherwise such items used in attempts will be treated as such. 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.4.3 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.4.5 Costumes

Players may wear a costume and become a weapon themselves. The costume must be of something that could kill a human in real life (or an attack animal, as described above). The costume must be decent (i.e. have taken some effort to make) and must include a clearly visible label saying "killer [whatever you've dressed up as]". Players wishing to use costume weapons should apply to the Umpire with a picture of themselves in their clearly labelled costume. The Umpire will then judge whether the costume is sufficient.

Any player using such a costume counts as a contact weapon: the touch of a finger may be used to kill a player. Note that a player counts as bearing for the entire duration of them wearing the costume weapon.

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. be prepared to present the weapon for personal inspection by the umpire in order to get it licensed. 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.

Creativity is encouraged. The Umpire may award points and biscuits to those making kills with interesting weaponry

C.2 Disallowed weapons:

None of the following weapons will be allowed under any circumstances. Please don't even ask.:

Shields are banned (the default shield for the Shield Blaster range should be removed before using this weapon). This includes any extensions onto guns that could be used as a shield.

History

The history of this set of rules is fairly short:

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