The Mêlée System
Our mêlée rules are reasonably straightforward. All characters have a number of hit points (HP) that they begin the game with. Characters take damage by being tagged by an opponent's weapon, or from the effects of a spell. Taking damage lowers hit points, and when you have none left, you are dead. This does not necessarily mean you are out of the game, because you might be Raised by a team mate, or be turned into a Skeleton and forced to work for your enemies !
We try to keep the fighting safe, and encourage light tagging if at all possible. No grappling, tripping, shield charging or any other dangerous play is tolerated. Head shots are discouraged by making them heal your opponent rather than damage them.
If you are tagged, you must state your new hit point total - this keeps everyone honest, and allows players to assess how much damage other players have taken.
At any point in time, you may say "status" to another player; they must respond with their character type, hit points, any spells they are casting, and any spells that they are under the influence of.
Counter-stiking
We have a rule about counter-striking that makes our mêlée system slightly unusual. If you are tagged, you cannot lash out with a counter attack. This is because your character is deemed to be dealing with the pain and shock of the injury. Neither you nor your opponent can attack each other again until a pause has taken place of a couple of seconds or so.
In practice this usually means the tagger takes a couple of steps back while the tagged player states their new hit point total. However, if both of you attacked at the same time and tagged each other at (or near) the same time, then both tags count and you both have to state your new hit point total and step away from each other. It gets slightly complicated when it's two on one, but you get the gist…
Missile Combat
We have little bags of rice that act as arrows. They are designed to flatten on impact and spread their energy over a larger area. Unless they are thrown with excessive force, they should not hurt. They are also used to deliver the effect of some spells (e.g. Lightning Bolt, Finger of Death).Arrows may be used by some characters, such as Goblins and Elves. If you get hit by an arrow, you take damage. You can deflect and arrow with your shield (if your character has one) or with your weapon. Accidental headshots with arrows are allowed, although opinion is divided on whether headshots should be outlawed for arrows.
Some attack spells require the magic user to strike their intended victim with an arrow. Anyone hit by the arrow suffers the effect of the spell. Unlike normal arrows, spell arrows can not be blocked by your shield or weapons. If the arrow hits your shield or weapon, you are affected by the spell.
Surprise Attack
Because SKIRMISH is a confrontational kind of game, there is not much scope for a thief-type character (in common-or-garden LARP, thieves often have a backstab or surprise attack type ability).
However, you can employ surprise attack to do extra damage on someone. Anyone can do this as long as they are sneaky enough. To make a successful surprise attack you must attack someone who does not know you have attacked them until they feel you strike them. They might know that you are nearby, but if you attack them and they did not see it coming, then you have made a successful surprise attack.
A surprise attack does 3 hit points of damage (4 if done by a Goblin character because Goblins are deemed to be super-sneaky !).
NB: you may only surprise attack someone who is not already in mêlée. Mêlée means hand to hand combat; but it does not include missile combat at range or any kind of stand-off situation.