[Coda]

Actually, on my field, the most popular choice of weapon was a graphite golf club shaft (metal is prohibited as a weapon material, but graphite is legal) with a thin spiral of foam taped to it to make it big enough to screw into the hole of a pool noodle, then one inch of foam taped to the end for the thrusting point, then half of a pair of pantyhose for the cloth cover, with whatever pommel construction technique you want. A 3' longsword made this way only weighs a few ounces. INCREDIBLY fast weapon (and probably the kind of construction that prompted the "one pound per foot of blade length" rule) to the point where the leader of the field was capable of delivering a strike to your right shoulder, left arm, and left leg so fast that it looked like a single swing despite the audible "pop-pop-pop" of the distinct blows.

Letiel: Go ahead. XD

[Letiel]

I was just gonna say:
1. Everything you people are saying is going over my head
2. There's a Belegarth house just down the street from me

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by Hermes

Yep. You want LARP? Try SCA, Dagorhir, NERO....ESPECIALLY Dagorhir

Seriously? My post just erased again when I tried to type, lost it so I'll have to retype.

My apologies that I didn't know that what you're talking about wasn't associated with these larps and isn't a larp at all...

The friend I mentioned before played dagorhir. It seemed too boring and rigid in their rules and when he talked about it I was generally uninterested.

But if the stuff you guys play is just combat I'd DEFINITELY be interested in learning more and I learned a lot already. Thank you. --That foam/graphite sword you mentioned sounds awesome...

[Espy]

-got really sucked in to all this-

....This sounds really interesting....but...I'd probably be no good at stuff like this (no matter how much I'd love it)...

[Bonnie]

Yeah, I thought about that. I'm not really sure I'd be good at combat, especially with people that are already far above my skill level. Or do they put beginners together?

[Coda]

It depends on your field. Generally everyone just throws down together and the weaker players generally do get killed pretty fast, but a good field will also spend time training people in addition to the big mass melees. I for example did eventually learn how to do that multi-pop technique, but I'm only good enough with it to get two strikes out of it instead of three. (Of course, Brandon also is perfectly competent at swinging at your front and hitting you in the back. I never mastered THIS trick. I suspect it's just me being too hesitant to get THAT close to my opponent.)

[Hermes]

Here's the thing though: I came in with minimum swordplay and staff treaining, in real life, and not much upper body strength. Our fastest player is Skyler. Let me tell you about our most ridiculous weapons: Boneshaker and B.A.M.F.A. (Big Ass Mother ******* Axe) Boneshaker is about my height (I'm 5'11"), and weighs about as much as a small child. I can wield it, like a pro. The BAMFA is also about my height, and weighs more than the damn Boneshaker. I can now wield it like a pro, with one hand if necessary, though that gives me much less stylized fighting XD


You think you're no good? Try practicing, learning. I guarantee, we can turn almost ANYONE into a fighter. And hey, Archery isn't the hardest thing in the world, I think it's more fun than close-quarters anyway, and it's incredibly easy to kill Red fighters with(Hence why Red fighters should wear head armor XD)

[Coda]

Heh, ultra-heavies? Like I said, my field moved to ultra-light weapons. They require much less upper-body strength to wield; they purely rely on skill and finesse. This helps teach new players because the weapon is more likely to go where the player expects it to go, and it helps experienced players because less inertia means it's easier to bounce back after a parry.

Edit: Even the largest weapon I ever built, which my field dubbed Ludicro (because it was ludicrously large), was only a few pounds. The Giant Mallet o' Doom is heavier than that, true, but I don't know if I'd say it weighs as much as a small child.

Edit 2: Actually, I forgot about the buster sword I tried to make once. Due to a mistake in measuring the core, what was originally supposed to be a weapon that was 6' from tip to pommel ended up being about 7' all told. That thing was like swinging an airplane wing, because it was designed as a flat blade and it was fairly heavy.

[Hermes]

Haha no, no, we're a lil ragtag band, but we specialize in light weaponry XD Even our greatswords, and the one great axe(My personal project named "Denied") are all fairly light. You swing our red captain's sword, and it feels like swinging a flail: Just friggin effortless.

[Coda]

I made a pair of nunchaku once. Those were FUN. The reeve said it couldn't be done legally. I proved him wrong. XD See, the rules for Amtgard require that chain weapons (1) can't have anything solid in the striking area, and (2) can't have a chain that could wrap around (and therefore seize/break) a weapon or a limb. (Rule 2 also prohibits weapons like tridents, three-section staffs, and other weapons that can entrap other weapons.)

So how did I resolve this problem?

I didn't put a core in it at all! I rolled the foam densely enough in the middle to give it some structure, but the handles could be bent (because there was nothing rigid in the middle) and squeezed (because it's all foam) so there wasn't anything that could cause injuries in the striking area. And as for the chain, I made it from a cord about five inches long (simple math will show this isn't long enough to wrap around a 2.5"-diameter weapon) and included some large round foam "links" both for visual appearance and to further ensure that it couldn't wrap around anything.

Because the only cloth I had for covering was white, they looked a little absurd, but they were a lot of fun to use with my monk.

[Hermes]

Nunchaku are actually mentioned as illegal in Bel XD

[Coda]

If I recall correctly, at least in 6.0 rules, the only weapon prohibited by name in Amtgard is a punching dagger, because you can get too much force behind it -- makes it WAY too likely to accidentally strike too hard or blow through the stabbing foam. Everything else is only prohibited by function, and functionally nunchaku are no different than a threshing flail, which is legal as long as it meets the aforementioned requirements.

*laugh* And thinking about fun weapons, I just remembered the Doink. It was my mage's dagger. It was about six inches long, tip to pommel. It didn't have a pommel guard -- but the reeve allowed it because the pommel would always be in the palm of the wielder's hand due to how short the handle was. I actually was surprisingly effective with it -- perhaps because it forced me to close into a range closer than most of my opponents were used to fighting. Its small size also made it convenient to tuck into my sash when I needed to cast spells. (You can cast with one hand in Amtgard, but if you're scrambling to collect used spellballs (or if you've had one arm lopped off) being able to stash the weapon is useful.)

[Hermes]

Hah XD I have no way to stash weapons, as you say, but I do well enough., I usually just keep one in the back of my shirt, and then I have my bow with my arrows also in my back. I usually just arch, but, when necessary, I'm incredibly effective with hammers and axes XD

[Coda]

Other weapons I liked... *ponders* Well, I really loved my glaive before its core started getting too flexible. (Lesson learned: PVC pipe isn't rigid enough for long weapons, and it only gets worse over time!) It was about 4'6" from tip to pommel, and I DID put courtesy padding over the entire length because it looked good and felt good. I put a stabbing point on the pommel for close combat and surprise attacks. It was easier to work with than my staff (and hurt fewer knuckles :P) and had almost as good of reach in actual use. If I ever get back into it, I'll build another one and reinforce the core.

And then my sort of trademark weapon was a madu. Two 12" blades with a grip in the middle just big enough for the wielder's fist. (There's SUPPOSED to be a small shield covering the hand for a madu, but Amtgard rules assume weapons have hand guards even if you don't physically put them there, which simplifies construction and reduces the number of parts that might hurt someone. Besides, monks can't use shields.) I used it in my left hand paired with a sword in my right hand (ideally one between 2'6" and 2'10", since 3' brings it into the realm of a red weapon, which introduces usage restrictions) and used it both defensively and offensively.

[Hermes]

Both those things? Illegal in Bel XD Stabbing Pommel and Madu~

[Coda]

That's curious, why would a madu be illegal?

As for the stabbing pommel, it's technically just a 4" striking area on one end and a 2' striking area on the other end, and therefore mechanically equivalent to a staff (just a weirdly-shaped one). So while I can understand the reason you might want such a rule, it's also really arbitrary when you look at it. (And of course if you BUILT it like a pommel guard instead of a striking area of course it wouldn't be legal, but I built it like a proper striking area.)

Edit: If a madu isn't available I tend to hold a dagger reverse-grip in my left hand instead.