Source will be using a simplified armor system. Armor comes in 5 categories, defined
generally by how difficult they are to make and/or repair. The categories are Simple,
Composite, Modern, Advanced, and Futuristic. The armor value for this armor is derived
from the entire set, and it gives 2 points per level. For instance, if you have simple
armor, you have two points of armor, and Modern would be 6. Armor is a value that
applies to the body as a whole. If you have 2 points of undamaged armor, the armor
absorbs the first two hits you take, regardless of the location hit. After the armor
has taken two hits total, it is damaged and must be repaired by a person with Handyman
before it will provide protection again. During a game, barring special circumstances,
Armor cannot be repaired beyond a "Simple" rating.
Since Armor provides a protection value for all hit locations combined, make a reasonable effort to
represent both coverage and quality with props/costume, while avoiding heat exhaustion.
That said, if you take a hit at a
location where you have no armor prop, it'll look a bit weird if you call Armor there...a *real*
survivor would suck it up and take the wound. Just saying.
Example: Mark is wearing "Composite" armor. This provides him with four points of protection. In combat with Infected, he takes two hits to his left leg, and one to his Torso. Armor absorbs those three hits and leaves him with one point of protection. When he gets back to camp, he sees his friend James to get some armor repairs. The armor is field repaired back to "Simple" meaning that it offers two points of protection. In a twist of bad luck, the next time he fights Infected, Mark takes another two hits to the torso, and then one to the right arm. Armor absorbs the first 2, but the third gets through. Hopefully, Mark has some combat options that allow him to otherwise negate the wound, or he is in trouble.
Natural Armor functions differently than normal armor. Natural armor represents a toughness of the body and spirit, enough to shrug off wounds as superficial. This is reflected by the character gaining 1 point of natural armor to each valid hit location (Left Arm, Right Arm, Left Leg, Right Leg, Torso). Natural armor is always considered to be underneath actual armor.
Example: Mark has one point of natural armor, and simple armor. In combat with Infected he takes two hits, both of which are absorbed by his armor. Before he can effect repairs, he is struck in his right leg by an Infected and then again in his right arm and chest. Each of those blows would be absorbed by natural armor, since it provides a point to each location. If he is struck again in any of those locations whose natural armor is depleted, he takes the wound normally unless he uses a combat ability that would allow him to negate the hit.
- Refresh times - *NOTE* For Game ONE only, you are considered to have consumed a Meat Resource before game and start the game with one point of natural armor (two if you bought the Like Iron advantage).
You may consume meat resources or other In Game food at any time, but you only gain the Natural Armor benefit of the Meat Resources if at least 6 hours have passed since the last time you gained the benefit. This means that in the instance of game one, you will be able to gain Natural Armor at 6PM, Midnight, and 6AM (assuming you have and use one MR at those times), in addition to starting the game with Natural Armor. Natural Armor from MR does not "stack" with itself - if your previous NA has not been removed through use, using more MR will not grant you "extra" NA.
Bullets are not stopped by "Simple" armor, and Energy damage is not stopped by "Simple" or "Composite". Natural Armor, and the "Tough" Combat Option (but not Dodge, for bullets) can be used with regards to bullets and energy damage without restriction.
This restriction applies to the "original" value of the armor. I.e. Modern armor damaged to Simple will still be effective vs bullets and energy (just for less hits).
The rules of combat are simple. The targets on a human body are the arms, the legs, the hands, the feet, and the back and chest only. Illegal targets include the head, neck, and groin. If someone does get hit in an illegal target area take a moment to make sure the person struck is okay, and resume the battle when it is agreeable to everyone involved. Accidents happen, but if this becomes a consistent problem, a safety violation will be assessed against the offender. See the following combat safety section for details on violations. If there is an actual injury seek a GM or Game Official Immediately.
Weapon swings should be hard enough for a person to feel and/or hear, but not so hard as to cause an injury. No baseball bat-like swings (Bruises are bad). If you hit someone and think they didn't feel it, you can call out where you caused the damage. If the target feels that the shot was too light or hit only clothing, they can call out "Light" or "Graze" respectively. "Light" is the keyword to let you know you have permission to hit a little harder.
Any time you are struck but have armor or use an ability which negates the hit or wound you *MUST* call out the name of that ability (or Armor) to let your attacker know why you are not affected by their strike. Such calls are "Dodge", "Tough", "Armor", "Natural", "Immune" (from Immovable or Resilient - note these Advantages do not negate the weapon damage, only the extra effect), etc. If you do take a wound, you should make an obvious noise, in addition to RPing the appropriate disabling effects.
The heat of battle can cause people to strike a little too hard. Give people the benefit of the doubt, and point it out if it reoccurs. Accidents happen, but if this becomes a consistent problem, a safety violation will be assessed against the offender. Multiple or serious violations may result in a player's ejection from the game at the discretion of Source staff.
No melee attack should be used faster than once per second ("one-one-thousand..."). Attacks from a single opponent faster than this are considered "machine-gunning", and should be verbally noted as such, and disregarded.
By way of simulating firearms, Source will be primarily using light powered Airsoft guns. The ammunition for these guns will be controlled, and may not be picked up and re-used. Once a round is fired from a gun, it is expended. Ammunition will be available by being located in game, or scavenged as appropriate with character abilities. To quote a great man "Bullets is Bullets". Any pellet located in a supply depot or on the corpse of an enemy (or survivor) can be used in any airsoft gun (but for reasons of sanity you should avoid splitting a single source of ammo among multiple different gun types). Source will be providing ammunition for the game, so there is no need to provide or bring your own.
Eye protection is a vital part of Airsoft combat. Eye Protection must be worn at *all* times in a combat zone. This is defined as *any* area that is not defined as a no-combat or conditional-combat zone. Even in a no-combat or conditional-combat zone, eye protection MUST be carried with you at all times.
If airsoft combat is actively occurring and you see anyone nearby *not* wearing eye protection, immediately call a Game Stop, then yell at them (in that order).
Airsoft guns may not be fired at an opponent closer than 10 feet (15 feet for Infected). If an enemy combatant charges to within point blank range, you *MAY NOT* continue to shoot them with airsoft. This does not mean your gun is useless. You may call "Point Blank X" to an opponent once every second (where X is determined by the type of gun as defined below). The enemy combatant takes X shots to their torso, unless you define otherwise. If you have at least a rating of 2 in Combat Points, you may specify a hit location, such as "Point Blank X Right Leg". You may never specify the head with a Point Blank shot, unless you have the Headshot ability. If you do, call "Point Blank Headshot" and you expend a use of your Headshot ability as normal.
There will also be a visual reminder in camp denoting 15 feet so that people are aware of the distance. Anyone who fires an airsoft weapon within the minimum safe distance (15 for Infected, 10 for all others) or in an "Eye Protection Off" location will be warned. If this occurs three times, the player will lose the privilege of firing their weapon for the remainder of the game or longer at the discretion of Source Staff.
Point Blank Shot Ratings:
For safety reasons, guns may not be rated above 300FPS with .2g airsoft ammunition. Even with that restriction in place, take care not to fire higher powered guns at low ranges, and to avoid aiming high. The people you are shooting at are not really bloodthirsty Infected, they are cast members trying to have fun and help you do the same. Be cognizant of that.
No-Combat zones are marked areas deemed too hazardous for live combat to take place. This will typically be locations where there are physical hazards, or extremely unsafe ground. Combat MAY NOT TAKE PLACE in these areas. Additionally, players may not retreat to or hide in these areas to avoid combat. Any attempts to do so will result in arbitrary In-Game punishment at the discretion of the Source Staff.
Conditional Combat zones apply primarily to the use of Airsoft combat. These are areas where there will be "Eye Protection On" and "Eye Protection Off" signals. An EPO signal means you have 30 seconds to put on your goggles. Please realize that there are *NO* in character reasons for this, and this should not be used as an excuse to find or ready weapons or take any other tactical moves. This is simply to provide an area and a method wherein goggles need not be worn at all times. If for any reason you are without your eye protection when a signal of goggles on is given, and you are unable to reach them in your allotted time, immediately call a Game Stop and then quickly get your damn goggles while people verbally berate you. If a particular player causes this problem repeatedly, they may be asked not to attend at the discretion of Source Staff.
Some sites for Source games will not permit the use of Airsoft weapons. Other sites will allow Airsoft use, except inside of structures. In these cases, Nerf guns may be used. The use of Nerf guns does not remove the requirement for the use of Eye Protection. NO Point Blank rule exists for Nerf gun use. Nerf guns do exactly the same kind of bullet damage as Airsoft guns.
In order to provide a method of combat resolution that is not instantly lethal or particularly long lasting in it's effects, Source is including an Unarmed Combat System. In order to attack someone unarmed, a player must use a boffer weapon of a clearly non-standard color (orange, red, blue, etc). This boffer weapon must be no longer than 18 inches *total*, and may be cored or uncored at the discretion of the player. This weapon must still conform to the standards for thrusting tips and padding for all Source legal boffer weapons.
In-Game, Unarmed Combat includes anything you might expect - punches, kicks, etc to the entire body including the head, groin, etc (which is part of why it ignores Armor). For safety and simplicity, the only valid UC targets are the arms and torso - just assume IG you're occasionally giving and receiving face-pounding.
Each person has a base of 3 Stamina Points. Several advantages give additional SP, and a character gains a bonus to their Stamina Points equal to 1/2 their "Combat Points" rating (*real* Survivors round down!).
Characters regain 1 Stamina per 30 minutes of Rest. Rest is defined as "Not Running, fighting, or engaging in any other physically demanding activity." This includes any Challenge that has a physical component. Some Challenges which are purely mental may be considered rest - please consult a GM to make this determination. A character will naturally recover from 0 SP to 1 SP after 5 minutes of unconsciousness or complete inactivity (or the application of smelling salts). When consuming a Meat Resource, a character regains 4 SP.
At the end of each hour of gameplay, characters lose 1 SP if they have run for more than a few seconds or been engaged in combat. Being engaged in combat means being hit with a melee weapon (or shot), even if the hit did not cause damage or only struck a weapon or shield.
At the end of each hour of gameplay, characters lose 1 SP if they have fired an automatic weapon, fired a shotgun, called a Headshot (with any ranged weapon) or engaged someone in melee combat (swinging a melee weapon with the intent to damage, whether or not it does so).
The above checks are separate but comprehensive - they cover all occurrences within that hour, so you may lose up to two SP each hour (if both checks are true) from fatigue, but never more than two.
Stamina loss from fatigue (the above hourly checks) which causes a character to reach 0 SP will not cause unconsciousness (unless the player wants to faint dramatically).
Having a low SP total (1 or below) has the following effects: (these effects occur whether SP loss was from fatigue, Unarmed Combat or otherwise):
Armor (or Natural Armor) has no effect on SP damage. The Dodge and Tough abilities work as normal (in the case of KO, Tough will only negate 1 SP of the 3 SP damage). "Parrying" a UC weapon with another UC weapon does not cause SP damage to either opponent. Additionally, each arm can "Soak" 2 SP of damage (to represent blocking swings - call "Soak").
A character struck by a unarmed boffer weapon takes 1 point of Stamina damage. When a person is reduced to 0 stamina points, they fall unconscious. After 5 minutes of unconsciousness or the application of smelling salts or the equivalent, a character regains 1 stamina point (smelling salts/time will *only* restore SP from 0 to 1, not beyond) and consciousness. If you are struck by the "KO" power, you take 3 points of Stamina Damage (see below for "waylay"). You may engage in unarmed combat against armed components, though parrying a normal weapon with your Unarmed Combat boffer weapon results in you taking a hit to that limb per the normal combat rules.
You may engage in unarmed combat with Infected as you see fit. Their strengths and weaknesses will be revealed in game, but they are clearly vulnerable to fisticuffs.
However, *all* strikes from Infected, Unarmed or otherwise, should be considered melee weapon attacks - they do lethal damage, and do *not* ignore armor. "Grrrr, aaargh."
If you call "Waylay" and strike someone in the back with a normal weapon, it will do 5 SP if the victim was not expecting an attack (either due to inattention or betrayal), and 1 SP otherwise. A character with Armor which includes a helmet may ignore this effect (In-Game, this attack is a firm whack to the skull).
Source has no system for wrestling or "mob rules" or any other mechanics for characters to restrain each other while remaining conscious - if you must, just knock them out first and then "tie them up" (under no circumstances should a *player* be genuinely restrained).
All attacks in Source must be delivered by either a legal boffer weapon, a bean-bag, an airsoft pellet, a Nerf dart, or a "Forsooth:" call (including "Point Blank!" which omits "forsooth"). Any contact firm enough to feel/hear that does not hit an invalid hit location (head/neck, groin) is a "hit". Use good judgement as to whether a "clothes hit" would have penetrated or not, or been effective regardless (fire, for example).
Some attacks can be negated or partially negated by various items or abilities - see the chart below. Remember that a Combat Option called with a normal attack (melee, gun or H2H) has its normal effect *in addition to* the Option (unless one or the other is negated).
Melee weapons, guns and energy attacks, if not negated, will cause a wound. Melee wounds represent deep cuts/stabs or broken bones. Bullet wounds, obviously, are penetrating wounds with possible collateral damage. "Energy" wounds are typically burns, heat or chemical.
| Condition/Attack | Dodge? | Tough? | Armor? | Natural Armor? | Minimum First-Aid | Minimum Doctor | Non-Lethal Damage (SP) |
| Melee Wound (Blunt/Edged) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 1 | 1 | No |
| Bullet Wound | No | Yes | Composite |
Yes |
2 | 2 |
No |
| Energy Wound | Yes | Yes | Modern |
Yes |
N/A | 3 |
No |
| Systemic Condition | Maybe | No | No | No | N/A | 4 | Maybe |
| Unarmed Combat, X Stamina | Yes | Yes (1 SP) | No | No | N/A | 1 | 1, X |
| "Waylay" | No (if surprised) | No |
Yes (helmet) |
No | N/A | 1 | 5/1 |
| Break, Disarm, Knockback, KO | Yes | No (KO: yes, 1 SP) | No | No | N/A | N/A | No (KO: 3) |
| Headshot | No (except for thrown weapons/attacks) | No | No | No | N/A | 5 (see: Death) | No |
| Pierce | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | As wound type | As wound type |
No |
| Grenade/Burst | Yes (2 steps/dive) | By damage type | By damage type | By damage type | As wound type | As wound type |
By damage type |
| Immobilize X, Stun, Trip | Yes | No | No | No | N/A | N/A |
No |
| Tazer | Yes | Yes (1 SP) | Composite | No | N/A | N/A |
5 |
| Death | No | No | No | No | N/A | 5 |
No |
Combat Points represents the character's training in the combat arts. This training may have come formally pre-Collapse or something learned the hard way in the post apocalyptic world in which you now find yourselves. Practically speaking, Combat Points is representative of training in the abilities you have chosen as "Combat Options". Each game day (starting at dawn), a player may use their Combat Options in any combination a number of times equal to their Combat Points total. All Combat Options cost 1 Combat Point per use, with the exception of Dodge, which costs 2. Each ability is explained below.
To use an Option, the player should loudly call the name of the Option as they hit (or shoot). If an invalid location for the Option is struck, the Option does not take Effect.
There are other calls which may occur during gameplay (usually combat) for specific reasons (often, special items).