The Sunfall ruleset is divided into several sections, each highlighting the different aspects of living
in the city of Wonderland.
This page focuses on the rules related to combat and physical LARP.
These rules cover which weapons and ammo you can bring, how to reuse ammo, which types of armor you can have as well as how character injury and death works.
Safety
Please be careful when crafting gear, and always have your fellow players’ safety in mind. In particular, be careful about sharp edges of metal components of armor pieces and equipment. No metal components will be accepted on hand-to-hand weapons, only foam and rubber “boffer” weapons will be permitted at the event. Any piece of gear deemed unsafe by the organizers will be prohibited, and continued use can result in a ban from current and future events.
Weapons
Foam weapons, Edison and foam-projectile guns, and bows (up to 30lbs with LARP arrows) are allowed, if they are modded visually to fit the post-apocalyptic setting. Ranged weapons can be used to shoot, and nothing else – not even if the weapon has a melee attachment. Foam weapons, bows, foam-projectile guns and bows are to be aimed only at torso, arms, legs and hands. Genitals and head are a no-go with ANY kinds of weapons. (Water guns are not allowed)
Foam-projectile guns
You are allowed to modify your NERF for range and power (e.g. removing air restrictors). Please mod responsibly – and use modded weapons with increased consideration! If you have questions about modding, please ask us either at our mail info@sunfall-larp.com or write on our Facebook page and others will gladly help you. If the organizers deem a modded weapon dangerous, we reserve the right to ban them.
Resources and how to craft
For this years Sunfall event, we will introduce a resource system. It is an ingame mechanic
designed to enable players to craft various items, and to strengthen the economic game
mechanics.
We will introduce three resources: Water resource, Mechanical resource, and Chemistry
resource. Each of which can be used for different crafting purposes, and will be represented by
different physical probs at the event. We will further explain the rules and mechanics of the
resource system in a ruleset soon to be released.
Ammo
Ammo generally comes in two types: normal and heavy. Normal ammo are the standard sized
bullets and have no special effects. Heavy ammo is larger ammo for RPGs or missile launchers.
Heavy ammo can penetrate all armor types and being hit always counts as a direct hit. Ballistic
shields are broken by heavy ammo and must be dropped and repaired before any further use. If
you want to bring heavy ammo, you need clearance from the organizers before the event.
Ammo limits
For Sunfall 2024 there will not be a limit to how much ammo you are allowed to bring. You are however encouraged to consider some common sense in how much ammo you bring, and to make use of the resource system as a tool to acquire and reuse bullets. There will be in-game vendors who sell ammo. If you wish to be an ammo vendor during the game, you will need to register your service with the game design team, and you will need to bring a small “machine shop” setup of some sort, to make it credible that you offer this service.
Used ammo
Empty shells (used ammo) may be collected from the ground in-game. It is important to note that collecting
empty shells is an in-game action and you cannot go offgame to do so. Empty shells (of any type) can be sold at a trading post or refilled at some ammo vendors.
Only when a shell has been refilled is it again usable as ammo. Used nerf rounds must be sold or handed off to a gun-smith or trading post for refilling.
They may not be reused without going through this process. Re-using used ammo directly from the ground or from the empty shells without having it refilled first is not allowed.
Ammo modding
You are not allowed to use modded ammo under any circumstances. Only standard ammo for a weapon is allowed. Do not use DIY ammo.
Getting Hurt: Going down and getting up
Getting wounded
The combat rules have been designed so that gunfights are more dangerous than hand to hand
combat. Also, people engaged in melee fighting should be allowed to fight for a while, without
ending the fun early due to injuries. When in doubt: play it out and seek medical attention after the
fight.
Stages of Health
At Sunfall there are four stages of health: Healthy: you are just fine and nothing has happened. Wounded: You have been hit by a melee weapon in a limb, a single time. That limb is now wounded and cannot be used – for instance, if you are hit in the leg, you will walk with a limp until your limb has healed properly. When you are wounded, you can still fight – but your limb needs medical attention before you can use it again. If you get hit in the torso, you move on to incapacitated.
Incapacitated / seriously wounded: You have been hit in the torso with a melee weapon, or shot
by a gun in any limb. When incapacitated you can no longer fight and must seek medical attention.
This stage is more serious than just being wounded, and simple first aid might not be enough.
Unconscious: When you have been in the incapacitated state for roughly 15-30 min without
receiving help, you blackout until you get medical attention.
Think of these four stages as a collective tool for you to play with your fellow players so your larp
is fun, and don’t get to caught up in counting hits!
You will also meet characters who deviate from these rules, but that will only be in instances
coordinated by the organizers.
Character death
In Sunfall, character death is always the choice of the affected player. Therefore, you could
theoretically be mortally wounded by a rocket blast, run over by a car, be set on fire, and still
survive. In order for this game concept to work, a large amount of common sense is required from
you, the players. Please consider whether it would be plausible for you to survive, and please do
not put yourself or other players in obviously deadly situations, if you have not agreed offgame to do so first.
In case your character dies, fortunately, death is not the end.
After your character has died, you have to make your way to the Organizers’ HQ before you can continue playing with a new character.
Remember to always bring a backup costume and character concept.
First aid and medical professionals
If it makes sense for your character to have basic medical knowledge (and it doesn’t necessarily
for all characters), you can treat wounded characters with first aid. This means you can patch up
a knife wound, and it will be good again after some time. If you have more advanced medical
knowledge and equipment (e.g. if you are playing a professional surgeon) then you can also do
operations, surgery and so on, to cure serious wounds. Patching up serious wounds is reserved for
doctors and the like. However, with basic first aid, you can still close bullet wounds etc, to keep
others out of the unconscious state. Performing basic or advanced first aid, should be played out
according to the situation. If you or another player is actually hurt, make sure to yell “off-game” so
everyone knows you’re not just looking for an in-game medic or doctor.
Combat & Armor
Unarmed combat Unarmed combat is all about good acting and keeping control. The winner of an unarmed brawl is determined by playing out your “hits”. Do not actually hit each other unless you know each other well and have agreed to do so! Otherwise use stunt punches where you pretend to hit and be hit. Remember, unarmed combat can cause bruises and small wounds, so don’t forget to paint a black eye or use fake blood for a nose bleed. Also, it is not the end of your badass character to lose a fist fight – but it does make for a potentially awesome show for on-lookers. Do not engage in unarmed combat, unless it has been explicitly agreed to by all parties!
Armor and shields
Armor protects the body only where it covers it. Even if an opponent is wearing an actual tank as armor, you can still take her down if her feet are unarmored. Armor comes in three types: normal, heavy & power armor. Depending on level of the armor, it offers protection against different types of weapons. Being hit on an armored part of your body still leaves bruises, aberrations or cuts. Having been in a fight should be visible on you afterwards.
Normal armor
A body part counts as normally armored when it is covered by kevlar, plate armor, thick leather, chain mail, hard plastic protectors, lead dust inlays, compressed pad protectors, full rubber (e.g. car tires), hard wood, or something similar. Normal armor protects against melee weapons, and nothing else. Being hit with a melee weapon will still stagger you for a few seconds – but will not wound/ incapacite you. Being hit with normal ammunition will cause you to become seriously wounded. Heavy armor Heavy armor is built of metal and/or thermoplastic and represents steel or ceramic composite ingame. It should look and feel heavy, as if it can protect against bullets. Several combat oriented characters wear this level of armor, if they are expecting trouble..
Heavy armor
Protects against melee weapons (without staggering or bruises afterwards), as well as regular bullets. Being hit with a bullet will still stagger you for a few seconds – but will not wound/incapacite you. Being hit several times in the same place, will penetrate the armor and bring you down (just like actual Kevlar). Being hit with heavy ammunition will cause you to become seriously wounded. V 2019-N-1.0 7 If you want to bring heavy armor, you need clearance from the organizers. The armor itself will have be checked and approved on location before the event, in order to gain the advantages of medium armor.
Power armor
Power armor is built from metal and/or thermoplastic and represents steel or “steelplast” (aramid carbon fiber composite) in-game. It should look and feel as a power armor from the Fallout games or a Space Marine from Warhammer 40K – looking almost impenetrable. This type of armor further requires a very powerful energy source, and will only be able to function for a limited amount of time, as designated by game-design. Hits with normal ammo or melee weapons to a body part or torso covered in heavy armor has little to no effect and leaves no marks afterwards. When faced with a firestorm, from several people with guns, or very imposing firearms – the player will still be staggered. Being hit with heavy ammunition will cause you to become seriously wounded. If you want to bring heavy armor, you need clearance from the organizers before the event. It is very important to us that these sets of armor look awesome and fit the background of the character, as they provide a serious advantage in the game. The armor itself will have be checked and approved on location before the event, in order to gain the advantages of heavy armor.
Shields
Shields come in two types: ballistic and primitive. Primitive shields are made from other materials like lighter woods, plastic, car tires or metal. This type of shields protect against melee attacks but are pierced by bullets. Having a primitive shield hit by a bullet will cause a regular wound to the arm, and force the player to drop the shield. Ballistic shields are designed to stop in-game bullets. It must fit a post-apocalyptic setting and it must be safe for LARPing.
For a shield to count as a ballistic shield, it must weigh approx. 10kg/m2 . Lead, solid wood or sand weights are good choices for building materials to make a shield that is heavy and slow to move around but essentially provides portable cover.
If a ballistic shield is hit by heavy ammunition, the player will take a wound to the arm, and force the player to drop the shield.
Explosives, Bombs & Grenades
Explosives
There are many of types of explosive devices in the post apocalyptic wastelands of Sunfall.
For this year’s scenario, the following three groups of grenades will be accepted.
Frag Grenades
Broadly defined as any throwable foam-projectile grenade, these may only be thrown underhand, and never aimed at a person. These normally spray several nerf darts or rival balls across an area. Being hit by one or more of these darts or balls will result in a hit, per the standard rules. Being within one meter of a detonating grenade will result in an unarmored hit to the body, unless you are wearing normal or
heavy armor.
Players wearing normal or heavy armor will be staggered by grenade hits.
If you want to bring frag grenades, you need clearance from the organizers.
The grenades themselves will have to be checked and approved on location before the beginning of the event in order to be allowed to use them.
Explosives
The survivors of Sunfall’s wastelands are most creative when cobbling together improvised
explosive devices. These range from a couple of frag grenades and a remote detonator, to the terrible
improvised dirty bomb that turned the soil around the City of Sunfall into the rad-stained marsh it is now. if you want to bring or build explosives, you will need to utilize the resource system, and get clearance
from the game-design. The device itself will have to be checked and approved on location before the
beginning of the event in order to be allowed to use it. In addition, the planned use of the device should
be agreed on with the game-design before or during the scenario.
Due to the potentially devastating consequences of such devices to other groups in the scenario, we will not accept their use without an
agreement on their use and blast radius.
No Nuclear Bombs will be allowed.
If you have any questions about the combat rules, please write us at info@sunfall-larp.com or ask away on the
Facebook group.
