Threads Boffer Rules
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Disclaimer: There may be special circumstances not described in these rules that are unique to an NPC or scenario. The GMs will try to make those special circumstances as clear as possible at the time of the effect.
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Boffer Combat: General rules
At the beginning of each game, make sure you have someone check your boffer weapons. There is also a boffer certification process that you should pass before doing any boffer fighting. You should frequently check your own weapons throughout the weekend for structural integrity and to make sure none of the foam or tape has split.
When hitting someone with a boffer weapon, the goal is for a “light tap”. No baseball bat swinging and no “drum rolling”. Try not to hit the same spot on someone twice in a row – make each hit a distinct attack. DO NOT AIM FOR THE HEAD. If you are hit in the head, do not count the hit and tell the person to watch their swing. If you are hit too hard, tell the person to lighten up their swing.
Boffer Combat operates entirely with Hits or Boffer Hit Points (BHP) not red and yellow stars of damage. One Hit of damage reduces your current BHP by one. When entering and leaving boffer combat, you will need to convert back and forth from HP(stars) to BHP(hits) and back. When you run out of BHP, you are knocked out and incapacitated. Keep track of damage past this point for later healing, and for GMs to determine if you die from over damage (this may vary by situation, but if someone stands over you and mutilates your body for a while, you will probably need to spend survival points.
BHP in Boffer Combat
BHP(hits) equal to half of
- HP + HTH Def + HTH + (better of Armor or Resist Damage)
- Major advantage applies to Boffer combat +1 hit(Remember, players round values up)
- Hit Points when leaving combat equal
- Lower of (2 * BHP) and (normal unwounded HP)
Other Effects
Resist Supernatural - ignore 1 spell effect (beanbag hit) per level. Ignore Major advantage bonuses. Magical healing will only heal you a number of BHP equal to the caster’s level in magical healing minus your level of resist supernatural. Other Ranged Weapons – you may carry two arrows per LVL of skill. First Aid – stabilize a character who has lost all his hits, or restore 1 hit. One use per combat engagement. Field Medicine – restore a number of hits equal to the normal level of red stars healed. Number of uses equal to your level in field medicine per combat engagement.
A hit is a hit is a hit.
One hit to anywhere on the body does one BHP of damage (Except the head, remember: don’t hit the head). Everything does one hit, or a special effect (in the case of spell packets). If your BHP fall to zero, you are unconscious.
Spells in boffer combat for non spell casters:
Spells are cast by throwing small bean bags called “Spell Packets”. Being hit by one counts as being hit by the spell. The person who throws them will yell some descriptive word when they throw a spell packet. If you are hit by one, and can not figure out the word because of noise, ask if you can and if not pick whichever of Harm or Root you want to be effected by. If there was no word at all, then there is no effect. You can dodge spells, but not block them. For instance, if you see a spell packet coming at you, feel free to duck out of the way, but if you block it with your shield, you still have to take the effect. If you are hit in the head, do NOT take the effect of the spell and ask the spell caster to watch their aim. If a spell packet is thrown too hard, ask the spell caster to lighten up their throw.
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Word |
Effect |
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Take 1 BHP of damage if you are a supernatural creature.� No effect otherwise. |
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Take 1 BHP of damage. |
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Your feet are stuck in place for 30 seconds. |
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You are frozen in place for 30 seconds OR until taking a hit of damage. |
Note that with “Root” you can still move around and fight otherwise, it’s only your feet that are stuck to the ground. Note that with “Freeze” you can be unfrozen by a friendly hit, but you still have to count that hit as one point of damage. Being hit by Root or Freeze while already under the effect resets the 30 second count. Note: For both Resist Supernatural or any sort of applicable Shield spell, if you are hit with a spell packet, but don’t take the effect because of your ability, yell “resist” back, so that the caster knows that their spell failed and that you didn’t just ignore it.
Spells in boffer combat for spell casters:
Use spell packets, bean bags, whatever you want to call them. Do NOT aim for the head. Head shots do NOT count and you will have “lost” that spell. Do NOT throw too hard so as to hurt people. You can only have physically in your hand the number of spell packets equal to the sum of your offensive spells. For instance, if you have Harm 4 and Major Disadvantage 2, you can only ever be holding 6 spell packets – this represents the spells you have ‘ready’. However, you are free to pick up spell packets, take more out of pockets or acquire more later once you have ‘discharged’ your spells. If you did not hit your target with the spell packet, you “lost” the spell. This is akin to failing your die roll in RTLB. Likewise, if you forget to shout the effect, the spell is also lost as your concentration faltered.
Remember that if you’re in back to back combats, some spells DO NOT refresh. They only refresh with a new game period.
The Spells
The following is the current list of spells you can use in boffer combat. This list is subject to change at any time and may differ between scenarios (ie, you may be told that you can not use shields in a scene). Please read this list thoroughly and memorize your mechanics well as it is hard to reference the rules in the middle of a combat.
Healing
Shout: N/A
Effect: You can heal 1 BHP per level of healing and it takes 1 minute per BHP to heal. For healing someone with resist supernatural, you can only heal a number of BHP equal to your level of magical healing minus their level of resist supernatural. You only spend a number of minutes equal to the number of BHP healed.
Number of Uses: Once per person per game period.
Supernatural Shielding against Supernatural Damage
Shout: N/A
Effect: You (or the person you cast the spell on) may ignore a number of supernatural BHP hits up to your level in shielding. This includes the spells Harm and Expel, as well as any other undetermined damage-causing spell. This does NOT include regular boffer hits.
Number of uses: Unlimited, but you may only have as many shields “active” as your level in shielding. To re-cast a shield during a boffer combat, you and the person you are casting the spell on must perform a ritual for one minute. Any ritual you come up with is fine. The hokey pokey, the macarena and the mexican hat dance will all work in a pinch. Note that you do not have to do this at the start of a scenario – you are assumed to have all shields up already.
Supernatural Shielding against Supernatural Influence/Attack
Shout: N/A
Effect: You (or the person you cast the spell on) may ignore a number of supernatural effects up to your level in shielding. This includes the spells Root and Freeze, as well as any other undetermined effect-causing spell. This does NOT include regular boffer hits.
Number of uses: Unlimited, but you may only have as many shields “active” as your level in shielding. To re-cast a shield during a boffer combat, you and the person you are casting the spell on must perform a ritual for one minute. Any ritual you come up with is fine. The hokey pokey, the macarena and the mexican hat dance will all work in a pinch. Note that you do not have to do this at the start of a scenario – you are assumed to have all shields up already.
Summon, Bind or Expel Supernatural Creature
Shout: “Expel”
Effect: target takes 1 HP if it is a supernatural creature
Number of uses: Level of Ability per game period
Harm
Shout: “Harm”
Effect: target takes 1 HP of damage
Number of uses: Unlimited
Minor Disadvantage
Shout: “Root”
Effect: Target’s feet are stuck in place for 30 seconds.
Number of uses: Unlimited
Major Disadvantage
Shout: “Freeze”
Effect: Target is frozen in place for 30 seconds OR until hit.
Number of uses: Level of Ability per game period
Pyrokinesis
Shout: “Harm”
Effect: target takes 1 HP of damage
Number of uses: Unlimited
Other: Divide your level of Pyrokenesis by 2 to determine how many spell packets you may hold for this spell. This modification is due to in RTLB, Pyrokenesis doing yellow stars of damage, not red.
