Cottington Woods RulebookWeapon & Packet Guidelines
From the Accelerant Rules: Combat is resolved with a staged system that uses props for weapons and spells. In order to ensure that these props are safe, certain guidelines on their construction are necessary. Weapons and packets must be checked at each and every event where they might be used. You are responsible for the safety of any prop you swing or throw in combat, so you should check them yourself during the course of an event. Every player, both PC and NPC, is responsible for bringing their own weapons and packets. We will try to have weapons and packets to rent at our events, but we can make no guarantees about the availability of these props. We reserve the right to fail any weapon or packet we deem unsafe. It is not uncommon for weapons to fail or break, so you should try to bring a backup weapon and materials to repair your props. WEAPON CONSTRUCTION As the art of LARP has progressed, the techniques used to construct safe and effective weapons have grown more sophisticated and more varied. As such, we no longer publish instructions on how to construct weapons. Instead we post guidelines detailing the requirements needed to pass our weapon check. While we do not intend to discourage our players from learning how to construct their own weapons, we encourage new players to obtain weapons from or to seek the advice of experienced weapon makers rather than trying to construct weapons from a set of written instructions we might provide. At Cottington, we encourage the use of sock constructed weapons. These weapons are constructed with kite pole cores, custom fitting foam, and have a crafted hilt or haft with a sock fitting over the blade or striking surface. For players new to LARPing, we suggest that you purchase a weapon from an approved supplier. Modern weapon makers often use materials acquired from specific suppliers that need to be ordered and delivered. Cottington does allow the old duct tape style weapons, but these weapons tend to be heavier and, when it is cold, harder so we get more complaints about players using them. If you choose to create and/or use these types of weapons you will need to fight accordingly. Cottington also allows plasti-dip style constructed weapons – if they adhere to our guidelines for weapon foam thickness and have soft rounded thrusting tips. These weapons are time consuming as they require sanded foam, DAP glued blades and thrusting tips, and multiple layers of thinned plasti-dip before they are painted. Experienced weapon makers can make beautiful weapons using these techniques. We do not normally allow latex weapons, so if you wish to introduce one of these weapons as a playtest you should contact us before the event. These weapons rarely have the foam thickness or tip construction to pass or safety inspections. In addition, any latex weapon we would consider for a playtest would need to be sealed so the raw latex is coated.
~ The thickness of the foam on the striking surface of the weapon should be at least 5/8” around the core. We do allow for a flatter blade construction, but players using these types of weapons should not strike with the flat of the blade. ~ The thrusting tip should be soft foam and be flat or rounded. It should not be hard foam, and it should not be crafted so it comes to a point that is less than 90 degrees. Ideally it should be rounded with no point at all. ~ A weapon should pass the “push the tip against my eye” test. If the weapon, when gently pressed against the eye, has a thrusting tip that is painful or potentially damaging then the weapon won’t pass. ~ A weapon should have a soft enough striking edge that it cannot harm a player if it strikes them in the throat with force that might be generated by a running player. ~ The weapon cannot be too “whippy” – if we hold the end and shake it the weapon should not noticeably bend. ~ All weapons must adhere to the guidelines below to size, length, and striking surface proportion. WEAPON STATISTICS Weapons are divided into categories based on their construction requirements and the techniques required to use them. The following section outlines the various weapon types, the lengths and/or dimensions required in their construction, and notes on how they are used. Blades These weapons represent daggers and all types of swords. A bladed weapon has a striking surface that covers at least 2/3 of its entire length. The weapon may have a cross guard or hand guard, but the guard must be made entirely of pipe foam or the equivalent. Weapon Lengths Axes Weapon Lengths Hammers Weapon Lengths Glaives These types of weapons are not included in standard weapon skills; the weapons do not share a weapon group with other weapons. The skills needed to use these weapons are, in many games, more exotic. You can choke up to one end and grasp the blade of a glaive only if you are wearing thick gauntlets. If you are skilled with a war glaive (the 64” weapon) you can hold the weapon along the shaft and block attacks with one hand. You cannot normally attack while using a war glaive held in this fashion unless you have some special skill that specifically allows you to do so. Some games might have skills that allow you to fight with a War Glaive in one hand and a short or medium sized weapon in the other. The great glaive is a two handed weapon. You cannot use it with one hand. Weapon Lengths Staves Because both ends of the staff are striking surfaces, the middle of the staff is aluminum and each end has PVC or CPVC. The staff has a thrusting tip on both ends. Weapon Lengths Spears Weapon Lengths Polearms Weapon Lengths Clubs Weapon Lengths Claws A claw needs padding that covers at least 2/3 of its entire length. The striking surface is the padded area of the weapon above the grip. Claws are not affected by Disarm effects. If a claw is affected by a Destroy effect, the character will take a Maim effect to the limb holding the claw. Weapon Lengths Thrown Weapons Larger thrown weapons may be weighted with birdseed, but at least 5/8” of foam must be between the birdseed and the surface. These weapons need to adhere to the “eye” safety check. Weapon Lengths Bows Weapon Lengths We also allow B3 Imagination Studio Packet bows, thought bows used for blocking must be padded. Shields A small shield cannot be more that 24" at its longest dimension. A large shield cannot be more that 36" at its longest dimension. Shield Maximum Dimensions Chemical Bows (Guns) Chemical bows are NERF™ guns used to fire “bullets.” They
cannot be used to strike another player. Bullets are represented by NERF™ foam darts (not foam balls). While we understand the desire for range and accuracy, we ask that players do not use the NERF™ Elite or NERF™ N-Strike Mega series, as these bullets can be painful when shot at close distance. The NERF™ Maverick, Hammershot, Strongarm, Doublestrike, Rebelle Messenger,
are all good NERF™ weapons to use for chemical bow phys reps. PACKETSPackets are small bean bags that are thrown to represent magical attacks or special powers. They should be made of stretchable fabric and filled with birdseed. You should use only small birdseed with no larger or sharper seeds. A square of fabric is pulled around the birdseed and its corners are gathered together to form a “tail” and closed up with strapping tape. You may also sew a packet shut. Sealing the packet with rubber bands or other types of tape will be allowed on a case by case basis, and the packet should have give in any case. Packets with any other material inside will not be allowed. The head of the packet should be between 1 and 1.5 inches in diameter, and the tail behind the tape should not be longer than 3 inches. The fabric must be stretchable and cannot be pulled so tight that it no longer has give. You should be able to squeeze the center of the packet and almost touch your fingers together. ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION NOTESIf you do intend to learn how to construct your own weapons, here are the materials that are common in the construction of our LARP weapons. .414 Ultralight The core this refers to is actually called spiral wound fiberglass tubing and can be purchased from a number of online vendors. Intended to be used as a kite pole, the core is light, durable, and has give. This is only appropriate for one handed weapons with no head. .505 Ultralight The core this refers to is actually called spiral wound fiberglass tubing and can be purchased from a number of online vendors. Intended to be used as a kite pole, the core is light, durable, and has give. One handed weapons use the .505 diameter pole. .610 Ultralight This core is a thicker version of the spiral wound fiberglass tubing used for two handed weapons. Ultralight two handed weapons require extra padding on the striking surface. The weapon should have at least 1” of foam padding on the striking surface of the weapon. 3/4” PVC Although not ideal, this common core can be used in a pinch for one handed weapons. It is too generally too heavy and whippy for anything longer than a short sword. You will want to find schedule 20 PVC pipe with a thin wall. There are schedule 40 pipes with thicker walls that are too heavy to make good weapons. This core can also be bent into bows by applying very hot water, or softening it if you are good with the heat of a stove or gas burner. CPVC usually has more whip than PVC. 1/2” PVC This core is too whippy to use for longer weapons, but can be used for small weapons or even short swords. This material is not good for any other type of weapon. Aluminum This material has no give, so it cannot be used for one handed weapons. The purpose of aluminum is to give two handed weapons with older construction less whip. It have fallen out of use in favor of .610 spiral wound tubing. Some older two handed weapons use a 7/8" galvanized aluminum and 3/4" CPVC core. The cores should be picked so the CPVC fits snugly into the aluminum. They should overlap about three inches and be secured together with an adhesive like Plumber’s Goop or with a good amount of strapping tape wrapped around the seam. Weapon tips are generally constructed from open cell foam. You can purchase this foam at most fabric stores. Tips are generally affixed to the end of the weapon with glue and reinforced with a small amount of tape before the weapon sock is put over the blade.
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