Rapier Combat (SCA Fencing)

Combat Staff

Rapier: Don Colwynn Stagghorn, rapiercaid-gww.org
Rapier Deputy: THLady Grainne ingen Lasrach, rapier_deputycaid-gww.org

Example from 2008, Replace with new 2009 information

Combat Schedule

On the Rapier Field

Conventions of Combat

Armor conventions must meet the requirements of the Kingdom the fighter resides in, however weapon and fighting conventions will follow Caidan Rules. See the Caidan Marshallate Publications.

If fighters would like to Authorize during the Inspection Hour, please contact the Rapier Steward or a Provost prior to make arrangements.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

• 11 AM-2 PM: Challenge Field - At this point there is no fighting scheduled but if there is enough interest, we may pull something together. Otherwise there will be pick up fights as people choose to show up. You must have a Marshall or Marshall-in-Training (MIT) present for all fighting.

Friday through Sunday

• 10 AM Friday – 11:30 PM Sunday The Roving Duelists Tournament (Hosted by the GWW Rapier Staff) - Has someone offended your honor or a lady? This is your opportunity to settle it as a true practitioner of the rapier! Find a second, arrange a time and place and settle it as gentlemen and gentlewomen, of course!
• Rules
1. Fighters will be given tokens to represent lives. Fighters and their seconds determine winning conditions (i.e. to the 'death', first blood, etc).
2. Upon winning, the victor receives a token from the loser. When all your lives are lost, you can become a member of the town guard.
3. Fighters (who become town guard) can re-enter the tournament when they get a token by catching other fighters dueling.
4. Find an out of the way, SAFE, location to enact your duel.
• Merchant's area is off limits!
• Many camps may have erics set up. If you can strike a deal...
• Please, be smart about this. If things get out of hand or appear dangerous, then we may have problems. If some one asks you not to fight near their camp, please respect their wishes and move your fight elsewhere. You never know, they may call the town guard on you.
5. Second's are to act as marshals. Remember to keep people at a safe distance and keep an eye out for the town guard.
6. Town Guard
• Remember, dueling is illegal! There will be roving town guard as well. The town guard will be symbolized with a red sash (Sashes can be picked up at the Rapier Marshal's Point at the Rapier Field). You do not want to be caught by them. Each person caught dueling must give up a life to the guard.
• Please do not fight the town guard. Sure, it sounds like fun, but more than two fighters becomes a melee and then safety becomes an issue. Bribes however, might be negotiable depending on the guard. Be careful though, he or she may take offense and who knows, you may have your next challenge duel!
7. Have fun! Play up the mock offense, get seconds involved, enjoy!
8. In the event of a tie, there will be a single elimination tourney with weapon forms determined by the GWW staff.
9. To encourage personae and chivalry, there will be a second aspect to this tourney. Each fighter will be given additional tokens of a different color.
• When a fighter impresses you with persona play, chivalry or just plain fun, you can reward them with a token.
• The fighter with the largest number of these tokens will also win a prize.
• Marshals and onlookers may also participate in this portion of the tourney. If you observe an act of honor, chivalry or particularly good personae play, just reward the chosen fighter with a token.
• Just pick up tokens at the rapier marshal point. There is no limit to how many tokens an individual can have. Please, no "stacking the deck!"

Friday, October 10, 2008

• 9-10 AM: Inspections at the Rapier Field
• 10 AM-12 Noon: Bridesmaid Tournament (Hosted by THLady Cassandre Loustaunau and THLady Meala Caimbeul) - Always a Bridesmaid and never the Bride? Well then, the return of the Bridesmaid Tournament is for you! This tournament is open to all fighters who have NEVER won a major tournament (Queens Champion, Rapier Open, Baronial, etc.). It will be fought as a progressive triple elimination, meaning all fighters will start out single sword. With the first loss, a fighter may use a defensive secondary and with the second, an offensive secondary.
• 12-12:30 PM - Lunch Break
• 12:30-3 PM: Open Field Battles - King Richard has abandoned England to fight in the Crusades. He has left Prince John to run the kingdom in his absence. Through tyranny, oppression and never ending taxes, Prince John attempts to control the people. He does so with the support of men in high places such as the Sheriff of Nottingham. However, there are those who would defend the common man and stand up to oppression. Men such as...Robin Hood and his Merry Men! Sides will be divided evenly between the Merry Men and the Sheriff's men. Let the games begin!
• Warm up Battle
  Meet and greet new friends! Say hello to old ones! Then kill them in a last man (or Woman) standing scenario. We may run this a couple of times depending on how quickly they play out
• Scenario One – "Deer? What deer? Oh, those deer!"
  Robin and the Merry Men need to eat and the deer appear to be plentiful on the King's lands. For some reason the Sheriff and his men take offense at people hunting in this area and feel the need to stop them. By any means necessary.
• To be fought as an Open Field Battle.
• Guns will be allowed. The number of guns and bullets allowed is TBD.
• This will be a timed non-rez battle.
• Robin and his men try to kill/collect deer for dinner and the Sheriff's men try to stop and or kill them.
• A select group of fencers will act as "stags" and use their "horns" to defend them selves and run away if they can. They are frightened deer after all. The number of deer is TBD.
• Deer should move randomly, not cluster or hide behind either side.
• If a deer is killed, they stay where they are until escorted by two fencers with at least one free hand. They escort them back to their sides starting point.
• Hay bales may be fought over and around. Do Not fight on the Hay bales!
• The Merry Men must collect "dead" deer in order to win. Living Deer count towards the Sheriff's men. They want them alive after all. "Dead" deer on the field do not count toward either side. The side with the most deer at the end wins.
• If time permits, we will switch sides and run this a second time.
• Scenario Two – "Find Friar Tuck!"
  The Sheriff needs a Friar to marry the Lady Marian to Sir Guy of Gisbourne. Robin has cleverly hidden the Friar in the forest and to confuse everyone has also hidden 4 phony Friar's as well. Find the correct Friar and escort him to safety. Did we mention that he's been drinking?
• There are 5 volunteer Friars.
• Each Friar has a bag. The Friar with the wood cross in it is the correct Friar.
• Friars cannot be "killed." If wounded or killed, they sleep it off for a 10 count.
• Friars are armed with a "Leg of Mutton." Also known as a dagger.
• If a Friar hits you with his mutton, you are unconscious for a 10 count.
• It takes two people to escort a drunken Friar.
• If time permits, we will switch sides and run this a second time.
• Scenario Three – "Rob from the rich and give to the poor"
  The people's money is spread across the land and both sides vie for control.
• 1 hour resurrection battle.
• There will be flag positions at various stations around the field, (2 flags at each station). One yellow, one red. Set your color flag in the upright position.
• Every 15 minutes the marshal's will call "Hold!" and count the standing flags. Only standing flags will count. No flag, no point.
• If Time permits and people still have energy before the Uber-Elf Tourney, we may run an additional scenario based on the Archery Tourney part of the Robin Hood legend. This will of course include guns and moving targets. Or we may run one based on meeting "Little John" on the log. Details will be explained if we get to these Scenarios.
  
  
• 3 PM-Dark: Uber-Elf Tournament (Hosted by: House of Fallen Oaks) - A true test of endurance for those brave enough to try for the title of "Uber-Elf." Each fighter has to face each opponent in his or her pool of fighters in every weapons form, for each opponent. Double Elims are for sissies. Round robins? A mere warm up! Bear pits? A drop in the bucket. The Iron Man Tourney of GWW is the Uber-Elf!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

• 7-9 AM: Early Risers Tourney ("Stay Up or Get Up!") - (Hosted by THLady Meala Caimbeul) Sign up the night before, but don't oversleep or you'll miss this one! The List will open around midnight during the Known World Rapier Party (Hosted by the Inn of the Crimson Spade) and remain open until sunrise. The choice is yours weather to stay up and party the night away, or get some sleep and rise with the sun. The single elimination tournament will start as soon as possible after dawn. Any fighters who are not present for their first bout are forfeit. The winner of the list will take home one of three very nice swords. The others will be awarded to most chivalrous fighter or, possibly, to whomever helps marshal at dawn.
  
• 9-10 AM: Armor Inspections and Authorizations with prior notice
• 10 AM - 5 PM: After all the fighting yesterday, the Sheriff has discovered that there is spy among his people. After investigating through the night, he has discovered that it is none other than the Lady Marian. He has captured the Lady and had her hidden away by a trusty aid. Unfortunately, that aid has come to an untimely end (hey, it happens) and now the Sheriff doesn't even know where she is. Meanwhile, word of Marian's plight has gotten to Robin and his men through one of Marian's trusty servants. Robin is off to save her but first he must find where she is being hidden. Let the race begin!
• Warm up Battle
  Meet and greet new friends! Say hello to old ones! Then kill them in a last man (or Woman) standing scenario. We may run this a couple of times depending on how quickly they play out.
• Scenario Four – "Have you seen Marian? She's about this tall...."
  The Merry Men and the Sheriff's Men are searching for clues as to where the Lady Marian has been hidden. There are clue stations about the town. Find all the correct clues first and win.
• Each side will be subdivided into squads (size of squad TBD on site).
• One squad from each side will enter the field to search for clues.
• At each clue station, you will find questions about Robin Hood. Answer correctly and you will receive a 'clue'. Answer incorrectly and you get a fake 'clue'.
• Recall your squad when you have your 'clue' and go back the start.
• The next squad will then go and try to get another clue from a different clue station.
• If you are killed with a clue in hand, the clue returns to the clue station you got it from. Clues cannot be stolen, they must earned. However, you can try and stop the other side from getting their clue back to their stating point.
• The next squad cannot go onto the field until all members of the previous squad have returned.
• When a squad member is "killed", they return to their starting point to await the rest of the squad to finish and return.
• If all members of a squad are killed, the next squad in line takes the field after all 'dead' squad members return to their starting point.
• Squads will rotate and may end up going out multiple times. Dead just means until your next turn.
• When you think you have all the correct clues, signal a marshal. A "HOLD!" will be called while the clues are checked. If you are correct, you WIN! If you are incorrect, you must figure out which clue is wrong and retrieve the correct one.
• Scenario Five – "Rescue the Fair Maiden!"
  Both sides have discovered the hidden location of the Lady Marian and are on their way to rescue / capture her. This will be a basic VIP Escort battle.
• Each side will select a "Marian" (Two Marians? Don't ask me how that works. Maybe she has a twin sister.) who is not armed.
• The "Marians" cannot be killed or wounded. If you wound or kill a "Marian", the injury is transferred to the attacker (Oops!)
• Each side will start with part of their force in a room where they have just rescued their "Marian."
• The rest of the army will start outside of town on opposite sides.
• You must escort your "Marian" out through the appropriate exit.
• It takes two people to control a "Marian." They each must have one hand on her to move her through town. They can fight with their other hand.
• If you release "Marian", she cannot move. If there is only one escort, you have control of "Marian" but cannot move her.
• You can 'steal' the oppositions "Marian."
• The side who gets their "Marian" out first wins.
• If time permits, we will switch sides and run this a second time.
• Scenario Six – "Whew! I need a drink!"
  After rescuing the Faire Maiden, one side decides to go to the local tavern and celebrate. The other goes to drown their woes and hide from their oh so miffed leader. You can guess what happens from there. Tavern Brawl. Yep.
• Swords will be checked at the door. This is a 'civilized' establishment. You may bring your dagger in with you.
• The 'Bartender' will recognize some of the Merry Men and call "Lay On!"
• You may fight your way to where the piles of swords are and grab one to fight with. Just don't expect to be able to grab yours in a rush with a coat check.
• Feel free to use the props provided (bread, veggies, etc.).
• Last team standing wins.
• If time permits, we will switch sides and run this a second time.
• Scenario Seven – "The 'Traveler's' Treasure"
  King Richard and his men have returned to England in disguise. They have also brought treasures from the Holy Land to help the Kingdom coffers. Rumor of this treasure has reached Robin, the Sheriff and Prince John. Every one wants it for their own reasons without realizing that it belongs to King Richard.
• This will be a four way 1 hour Resurrection Battle.
• King Richard and his Elite Guard (hopefully consisting of White Scarves).
• The two teams will split into three by borrowing from both teams to keep it fair. The Merry Men, The Sheriff's Men and Prince John's Men.
• The Kings Men will be guarding the treasure and every one else wants it.
• When you steal the treasure, you deposit in your treasure box.
• If you are killed or wounded while holding treasure, it is dropped at your feet. No throwing or kicking it closer to your goal.
• If you are wounded, suicide is legal.
• Every 15 minutes a HOLD will be called to count the treasure and reset it back to the The Kings Men.
• Stealing from other teams is legal. Encouraged even.
• When the King's men loose all their treasure, they are free to try and take yours!
• There is the possibility of additional scenarios ("The Return of the King...Richard that is.") if time permits and people still want to fight. They will be explained at this time if needed

Sunday, October 12, 2008

• 9-10 AM: Armor Inspections and Authorizations with prior notice.
• 11:30 AM: The Roving Duelist Tourney ends - Please bring your tokens to the Marshaling tent at the Rapier field to be totaled. This includes both Life tokens and Most Fun/Chivalrous tokens. Winners will be announced at 12:30 PM.
  
• 10 AM-1 PM: Consort's Heart Tourney - (Hosted By the White Scarves of Caid) The Consort's Heart Tourney is a Pas d'Armes style competition that stresses Chivalry, Showmanship and Inspiration. In order to enter the Tourney Lyste a Fighter must:
1. Be accompanied by a Consort who must attend the entire Tourney. It does not matter the gender of the Fighter or the Consort, only that the Fighter feels inspired to represent their honor on the field.
2. The Fighter and the Consort must wear, or otherwise be accoutered, with a badge, device, or other symbol to distinguish their partnership, and it should be displayed in such a way as that any observer of the tournament would clearly be able to determine which Fighters are accompanied by which Consorts.
3. The Fighter/Consort pair must provide a small gift to present to the Fighter of the Consort's choice, as described below during the Concluding Ceremonies.
• How the Tourney shall be run:
• The Sponsors of the Tourney shall name a Magistrate to oversee and decide all functions of the Tourney.
• A Gallery shall be erected, by the Sponsors, to provide shade, refreshment and a convenient viewing area for all the Consorts in attendance.
• All Participants (Fighters and Consorts) shall be entered upon the Lyste and announced at all times by their highest-ranking title. Non-armigerous participants shall be titled with the honorific, "m'Lord or m'Lady."
• Once all participants have been placed upon the Lyste, all Fighters shall gather upon the field for the Invocation, where they shall pledge upon the honor of their Inspiration to face the coming trials with fairness, honor and gallantry.
• The Tourney shall be run in non-elimination rounds with only one field. The Magistrate shall determine how many rounds the Tourney shall go, judging as many as can be managed, while still including all of the concluding ceremonies, in the time allotted for its completion.
• Opponents in each round shall be determined by any number of methods; Generic Random Draw, Random Draw – White Scarves v. Non-Scarves, Random Draw – Caidan v. Guests, or any method of Challenges, by OP, or not, etc. The Magistrate shall determine which method shall be used for which round, or if there are special restrictions for the Fighters on the field. Always keeping in mind that no Fighter may fight any other Fighter twice (unless absolutely necessary) and that the entertainment of the Gallery and the gallantry of the day is of utmost importance. The Magistrate may even consult the Gallery should they wish to determine a course of action through popular opinion.
• When a Fighter is called to fight, their Consort shall accompany them from the Gallery to the field and shall watch the fight from the side of the field. Each Fighter shall be announced along with their Consort as they take the field. At the conclusion of each bout, the Fighters shall accompany their Consorts back to the Gallery before tending to themselves.
• At the end of the Rounds, any number, usually between 4-8, of the Fighters with the top records shall be selected by the Magistrate to compete in a single elimination competition to determine the overall "victor" of the Tourney. Fighters shall be seeded such that those with top records shall receive 'byes,' if necessary, and bye fights shall not be fought.
• Concluding Ceremonies
• When the Tourney is decided, the victor shall be presented with a prize from the Sponsors via the Magistrate.
• Afterwards, all Fighters will gather on the field and take to a knee in a presentable order and manner. Following that, each Consort, in reverse precedence, (clarity: non-armigerous Consorts first, up to the Royal Peers last) shall one at a time enter onto the field and present their gift to the Fighter of their choice. They may give their gift to any Fighter, as they deem fit for any reason they might have, excepting that they may not present the gift to their own Fighter for any reason. Some Fighters may receive many gifts and some may receive none, all Fighters should strive during the course of the Tourney to inspire as many Consorts as possible with acts of chivalry, bravado, or entertainment in the hopes that they might receive their gifts. The Fighter with the most gifts at the end shall be deemed the "Consort's Heart."
• There is a chance of another Tourney running at the same time as the "Consort's Heart Tourney." If there is, details will be available at the War.
• 1-4 PM: Blood of Heroes Hosted by the League (currently the West Tigers) - The Iron Man of Melee Tourney's! Does your heart beat faster at the thought of battle? Do you love melees but find them a little to slow for you? Do you want a tourney with constant action, free flowing strategic decisions and marshals calling you "Jugger Down!" Then Blood of Heroes is for you. BoH is a fast paced 5-person melee tourney inspired by the movie "The Blood of Heroes" starring Rutger Hauer. A truly quality 'period' film (in a post-apocalyptic kind of way). A special thanks to the crew of the White Star for dreaming this one up. Rules will be explained prior to play for those unfamiliar with them.
• Last but not least - The Hay Bale Party!!! - After a long day of hard fighting don't you just want to jump in and help move all the hay bales? Of course you do.