Hits are global. Armour gives you extra global hits, but there is no difference between 'armour hits' and 'body hits' - both are lost and regained in exactly the same ways (see the injury and healing section). A basic PC has two body hits, and can wear armour for up to four extra: see the skills and abilities section.
There is no need to call damage when you strike an enemy: they will take one point of damage from each attack. Without any extra skills you may use a one-handed weapon and a buckler - see the skills and abilities section for more information.
If you are struck with a weapon or magical implement it will do one point of damage. When you run out of hit points you are 'incapacitated' and must fall over. For more details, see the injury and healing section. There is a one-second rule in place - only take one point of damage per second from an opponent, even if they hit you much faster than this.
You must always fight safely, and pull your blows so that they only land with negligible force. Never grapple an opponent or attack them without a weapon. Never attempt to parry or catch a bolt or arrow, as it can cause serious injury. Be careful of environmental hazards such as trees or ditches, and try and refrain from manoeuvering your opponents into them.
If you have taken (or are planning to take) the battlefield as your character at an event, you are required to monster the other battle at the same event. Monstering will normally involve playing a barbarian orc, but there are opportunities to instead play human slaves, be a water carrier, or help with the logistics of equipping hundreds of orcs quickly. "Because I don't want to" or "because I was tired" are not valid reasons to avoid monstering if you have been (or will be) a character on a battle. If you are injured or the like and consequently cannot monster, speak to GOD.
Roleplaying effects at Empire compel you to respond. You must roleplay appropriately for the effect - e.g. running away from an aura of fear. Certain crafted items, magical enchantments, religious anointings, or lineages will allow you to act unusually to certain roleplaying effects. You can also spend a hero point (if you have them) to justify reacting as you choose.
There are ten calls which someone may make when they strike you, four heroic and six magical. They are:
There are also two call-like effects which you should know, but these are not strictly speaking calls:
Every time you are struck in combat you lose one global hit, to a minimum of 0 hits. While you are at 0 hits, you are incapacitated and must fall over. While incapacitated you can speak, scream for help, and so forth, but cannot effectively move or use most skills. You also cannot activate items or enchantments, or drink potions.
While you are on 0 hits you are also bleeding to death. By default you have a 3 minute bleed time, so after 180 seconds you will be 'terminal'. Terminal is like incapacitated, and you are subject to all of the same restrictions. While you are terminal, there is no possible way for you to be healed, you are mortally wounded and may die at any point you feel is appropriate. It exists primarily to let you utter last words to your friends and so on.
If you are reduced to 0 hits while under the effects of the Venom condition you are immediately terminal.
You can also be executed if you incapacitated or otherwise don't resist. Executing takes 5s of obvious roleplay, and makes the victim immediately dead.
If you remove armour while injured, you immediately drop to one global hit (unless you were on 0). You do not gain any global hits if you put on armour while you are injured, but you will be healed up to the appropriate total if you are then healed.
If you are raised above 0 hits, by means of a chirugeon's treatment, being fed a potion, or being subject to any other form of healing, you are immediately no longer bleeding to death.
Chirugeons are one of the ways to heal a dying character. They can treat you for 30 seconds, during which your bleed count is paused (but resumes from the point you paused if they are interrupted e.g. by being shot). At the end of the 30 seconds you are healed to one global hit.
Potions may heal you. You may drink one yourself, or be fed it if incapacitated. Either way it takes 5 seconds, and the effects will be written inside the potion card, which you should rip open and read.
Magicians can cast spells to heal you. The typical one will take 10 seconds, and breaks if either you or they are struck or injured during the time it is being cast. You also continue bleeding during this time. At the end of the spell (assuming you aren't terminal) you will be restored to full global hits.
A heroic character can use a skill called Stay With Me to restore one hit to you with 5 seconds of roleplay. You continue bleeding during this time, but will gain one global hit at the end of their roleplay. They may also be able to restore 3 lost hits if you are not incapacitated by using a similar skill called Get it Together.
Finally, you will regain all lost global hits after two hours of rest and relaxation, assuming you are not terminal or dead.
A Cleaved or Impaled limb will not be fixed by restoring hits. It must be treated by a physick, who can explain what they're doing at the time, or by a magician, ditto, or by drinking the correct potion, which will tell you on the inside of the card.
Removing the Venom and Weakness conditions similarly requires a potion, physick, or magician, who can again explain what is going on at the time.
A shattered weapon can be repaired by a magician with the correct spell. There is no other method to repair a shattered item during the game.
All of these effects (shatter, cleave or impale, venom, and weakness) will persist until cured or fixed - they do not wear off at any point.
Without skills, you may wear armour, use a one-handed weapon (but not fight ambidextrously), and use a buckler.
Armour comes in three types. While you are wearing armour you cannot cast spells or perform magical rituals. You cannot stack multiple suits of armour for bonus global hits.
To count the global hits from a suit of armour, you need to be wearing enough to cover most of your torso, and at least one of the following locations: head, legs, arms, or partial coverage on both arms and legs. Medium and heavy armour also has extra effects which only apply against blows which strike the physreps, so more coverage is generally better.
If you are mixing and matching pieces of armour to make up the coverage, you get the lowest value of hits provided by a necessary piece - so a plate cuirass (heavy) with aluminium scale upper sleeves (medium) and thin leather vambraces (light) will only count as a suit of light armour, as without the light armour there isn't enough coverage to count as anything.
There are five classes of weapons at Empire.
By default you may use a One-Handed Weapon. This is any larp-safe weapon physrep from 8-42" inclusive. It may be wielded in one or two hands, and may not be used to thrust even if it is stab safe. You may not wield multiple One-Handed Weapons simultaneously without the Ambidexterous skill. Suitably constructed flails of no more than 42" length at maximum extension count as One-handed Weapons.
There are also:
To use any of these additional types of weapon you require the Weapon Master skill.
All shields at Empire must be held with a hand. They can be strapped to the arm as well, but without a hand being used to hold and control them, all blows which hit the shield count as hitting the bearer.
By default, you can use a buckler to parry or block blows. A buckler is a small shield of up to 15" maximum dimension.
If you take the shield skill you can also use larger types of shield:
A basic PC does not possess any inner heroism. However, it is a very common type of skill to have bought, and so here is a quick primer on the heroic abilities.
Hero points power heroic skills. You get 2 for the first time you buy the skill, and one more each further time. They refresh to full at sunrise.
Using a heroic ability costs a hero point. They can also be expended to power some types of magic item, or to respond unusually to a roleplaying effect as discussed in the Basics section.
If you use any offensive heroic ability and the target doesn't take the effect, you do not spend the hero point. All heroic abilities require appropriate roleplaying when they are used - a Shattering Blow should be a mighty swing, not a quick tap.
Two more heroic abilities use your natural heroism to enable you to continue fighting longer:
The last two allow you to reinforce the morale and fighting effectiveness of your comrades. These take 5 seconds of appropriate roleplay, and can only be done at touch range.
This is intended to be a short summary of what you need to know about the empire rules to go onto a battle. I think it may have too much detail in some areas, and not enough detail in other areas. Please provide suggestions for revisions or adjustments. --Tea