Tell me ’bout the fights…

Battles are not the emphasis of the day, but yep, there will be some fighting. Here are the rules:

HITS: Each limb will have 1 Hit Point (HP) while the chest/back will have 2 HP. Meaning, a single hit is all it takes for you to completely lose the use of a limb, but it will take two strikes to the chest/back to render you “unconscious”. Note, if you have lost the use of a limb and are hit again in that same limb, it will count as a hit to your chest/back.
All weapons deal one HP of damage per hit. Exception: “Bullets” shot from a nerf-style gun will be a one-shot kill to the chest/back.
Hits to head and hands don’t count.
[If you don’t die at least once for every 2-3 people you kill, you may not be following the golden rule — “Be willing to sacrifice a personal win for the fun of others.”]
What about Cannons? Use your judgement. The cannons represent shooting a 24 pound ball. One direct hit would likely sink a dinghy, and the occupants would likely be killed by the shrieking eels. Two or three near misses might swamp a dinghy so they must return to port to bail the boat. One hit to a ship would make the ship start taking on water. Perhaps 4 – 8 direct hits would make the ship inoperable. (A hit by a rolling ball is the same as a hit by a flying ball.) Bottom line, do whatever makes the battle fun for all.

REVIVES: When unconscious, drop where you are. When it does not disrupt the story, fall back to a reasonable location. Three minutes after you became unconscious, you are back in the game.

LOOTING: Unconscious people can be looted once for any one item of the looter’s choice, or a reasonable amount (perhaps a max of 500 pounds value) of smaller items.

WEAPONS: Guns that don’t look authentic to the 1800’s are discouraged. If your heart is set on a nerf gun, it should be as reasonable as possible for the time period (no revolvers, no magazines), and you must “antique” it (paint it brown or black). All range weapons are single-shot >> load one bullet at a time. Bullets can be picked up and reused. A typical reload rate should be once per 15 seconds to emulate a flintlock of the 1800’s.

All regular LARP melee weapons are allowed.

If “shot” by a cool looking prop weapon that doesn’t really shoot a projectile, respond as if you’ve been shot, and then keep playing. You don’t lose an HP, but make it look good!

Cannonballs are tennis balls, or a single sock wrapped in duck tape. Each crew must provide their own cannonballs. Cannons should have a reload rate of about once per 30 seconds.
Cannonballs are not reusable. Used balls can be sold to the wharf master who will have them “repaired” and will re-sell them.

Billy Bones — Wharf Master of Port Judas