I thought other people in the sytates may have similar questions and I am therfore offing my services to anwser any Queries that I can!

you may have to bare with me a little as it can sometimes be difficult to describe moves only in words!

(I'm giveing serious consideration to drawing some stick men......)

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For God, King and Lancaster

Actually, I did have some further questions. In specific, if you could clarify how missle weapons are handled in large scale re-enactment. In specific, bow poundage allowed, and the exact construction of blunts (how can you re-create medieval combat without archery?).

It is my understanding that draw weight is limited, blunts are made of a lighter wood like pine or poplar, fletchings are larger to slow the missle, and a rubber ball or cap serves as the head (how big across?)

Also, bows must be fired indirectly - plunging fire (actually historicaly accurate - think of the longbow formations as being massed arrow firing mortars employed in are bombardment - although a skilled bowman could easily act as a sniper). I imagine there is a "deadline", which as troops draw near to the firing formation, fire must cease at so many yards.

Your help would be greatly apreciated (I can almost hear the arrows clicking off my harness - yes, I will volunteer to test the rules!)

Right.

(1) Archery!

As a fighter I tend to avoid big blocks of archers as much as possible!
Because of the expense of the bows archers tend to be Non-Com! Thah means they can kill us but we can't kill them!

As far as I'm aware any poundage of bow is allowed, and the only provisos for safety are no straight shooting (Angle greater than 45^o) and that blunts must be fitted.
The blunts are about 2cm across and rounded at the end!

But that don't mean they don't sting!

As far as I'm aware there is no Dead line!!
The archers tend to form up in front of the fighters and fall back as we approach!

(2)Combat & Kills

Originally posted to the "AA":

(Asked to compare UK to SCA kill rules)

Yes the rules are the same but we have an additional factor known as armour advantage.
This is designed to take into account the mixed kit we tend to face.
with no armour first blow destroys limb
with padded or leater first wounds second destroys
with leather armour the first bloww is ignoed then as before
steel allows one furthur ignore
The bolws only count is felt and also in full plate 5 blows on any seperate limbs is fatal (no ignores though)
Sounds complex but it aint to bad
If people ignore ther blows, You hit them harder

Just in case they didn't feel it the first time!

(Clarification about weapon effects)
Weapons don't make a difference per say: that is they all cause the same damage with the exception of bills:
These are said to penetrate breastplates first go and gut shots are Fatal first time!!

Coats of plae are just treated as another layer of protction!

We wear them just to prevent achual injury as much as for "period" protection.

Right! Hope that clears up some of the questions!

Any more for any more?

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For God, King and Lancaster

As far as taking kills, the thing to keep in mind is that we are not competing with each other for victory in a tourney. You are either on the pre-ordained winning or losing side and can't change the outcome. When you get a fair tag, you ought to go down, if you keep the enemy off of you, but are on the losing side, you ought to be withdrawing as your battle crumbles around you.

Practicaly speaking, if you want to keep some sort of count as to taking a couple of blows, then I would say a counted blow system where a person in a jack could shrug off one blow, etc, up to a fully armoured man taking a couple of good blows before going down. Most UK and US "live steel" groups I know of pull their blows, aiming at the suface of the target rather than through it as in a real blow.

Taking the competitiveness out of it should reduce both the injury potential and "rhino-hiding". Now, there is no reason that a couple of skilled users with blunts in a one on one couldn't have a pre-arranged competitive combat of counted blows - not in the midst of a battle or skirmish though.

BTW, some ACW units (infantry) have their blank rounds distributed by the company officers. The unit is pre-destined to take, say 30% casualties, so 30% of the men randomly get a cartrige coloured red or green. Red signifies killed, and green wounded - when you pull them out of your cartrige box, at the next volly from the enemy, you take a hit. In a good unit, you get a lot of guys who enjoy taking the hit, and trying to make it as realistic as they can.

Sometimes you get what we call ironshirts - very frustrating. I've seen three full batteries drawn up fire a ripple fire at a regimental front at 75 yrds (point blank range) and not a single Johnnie hit the ground. On the other hand, a good unit like the Second South Carolina will take a volly from our battery going over a rail fence and have 30 men go down - very gratifying. I personaly love to take a hit.

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Bob R.

Most of our shows do not have Pedetermined outcomes! If fact of all the shows I did last year only 3 did!!Although we do re-enact known famous battles such as Tewksbury, Most of your shows are of skirmish size and we can therefore decide the show format (or script)before hand usually ending in a final clash to the death!

I justgot back from a show and on the sunday I was Finally Knighted!!!!!!!!! (HHOORRAAYYY)
Butter even than that I was able to win both my "battle of champions" and also was the last Knight standing and was therfore responsable for comanding the surviviours in a last stand!!
We Died to the last man (Me) surrounded and fighting back to back!
I was made into a pincusion by about 7-8 Poles as I went down! My ribs are one big bruise!
But I did Kick ass even if I do say myself!

Sir Joseph Blencowe of Southampton

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For God, King and Lancaster