This video https://www.facebook.com/alexys.oosterhouse/posts/10154832353712668 starting at -6:08
After the last round both team have spread WAY out wide with Wardens taking a horseshoe shape (pushing on the far right and left at an angle relative to the rest of the line). Their polearms are all also stacked on the left potentially giving them the ability to add more pressure to that side. Norcalia as far as I can tell is set up the same as last time, except with Kord positioned one person in instead of on the far outside. Theoretically a horseshoe formation has advantage if they are able to keep applying pressure. A horseshoe is countered by pulling the ends of the line too far out so that they can be killed quickly (ganked henceforth) without suffering a loss or injury. Otherwise the angles provided by flanking grant advantage to the team pushing with angles.
-6:05 to -6:02 8Nv8W
I lied. Kord is still out on the end of the line and gets rushed by Brian. This time however Brian does NOT make the rush as Kord retreats back into Shato. This creates a local 2v1 advantage on Rob/Stark who, moments later Ascher also moves in to create a 3v1 hoping for a gank. If they can get that gank without any further complications this is a HUGE swing for Norcalia as they can then take that +3 person advantage and slam it down the rest of the Wardens flank.
-6:01 8Nv7W
Nope. Ascher has momentum and swings past Stark while neither of the other two aggress meaning that a theoretical advantage is completely discarded. Moments later Force trades a leg with Nos further nullifying any potential advantage as Ascher swings back around looking for backs. Leaving the left side of the Norcalian line in a good position... but not providing the domino they could otherwise have had. Having lost no other members of the group this fight is still going Norcalia's way so far though.
-5:58 to -5:51 7N v 5W
It's hard to tell EXACTLY what happens here but basically both lines collapse in on each other after Stark rushes for the center of the Norcalian line which has pushed past his present location. He runs in to back someone and Ascher follows him behind. The trade doesn't pan out. Norcalia takes a leg and loses Shato. Wardens lose Nos, Karps and a leg on their polearm who also came with the rush. With their polearm legged and now surrounded by gimps and an enemy support weapon, and with his line on the other side of the field it seems unlikely he'll live, let alone score any additional damage meaning that at this point it's essentially a 7v4 which is HUGELY in Norcalia's favor.
-5:48 4N v 3W
Artificer falls to being backed and the Norcalian group reforms now fighting as one conglomerate of 4 against the remaining 3 Wardens. On the other side of the field apparently Marrow and Tarkus traded for Fenrir which means that Wardens trade up on that side. Forming a 4v3 is partially in Wardens favor. Although they are outnumbered all of them have legs while only 2 of the Norcalians can say the same.
-5:34 4N v 3W
In a crucial moment Kord repositions in order to avoid being backed by Stark, however, he does so without communicating to Ascher who is now standing, ALONE in a 2v1 with Stark behind him. This does not bode well for the Norcalians. Steel, seeing the opportunity that he has had handed to him immediately moves to capitalize.
-5:33 4N v 3W
Steel moves faster then Ana carrying the polearm, Ascher dodges away from the fight and Stark pursues but doesn't aggress, setting up a 2v1 that's slow while turning his back to the gimps and Kord.
-5:31 4N v 2W
Steel gets tagged in the back by Kord effectively nullifying the Wardens ability to further pinch and apply pressure, at least until Ana switches out her weapon set.
-5:31 to -5:30 3N v 2W
It seems like for a second there's some confusion and so even though Kord has landed his shot he doesn't regroup with Ascher, nor does Ascher take the moment he is out of the 2v1 to aggress on either the isolated board or support weapon. Moments later Kord goes down, lacking any further support from his allies while standing in between two enemies.
-5:20 3N v 2W
Ascher regroups and Ana swaps to sword and board so she and Stark can work 2v1 angles on the legged Norcalia group. At this point it's anyone's game.
-5:11 3N v 2W
Ascher attempts to feint out the Wardens to hard engage. They aren't biting (which is good because that'd be a terrible idea).
-5:00 3N v 2W
Ascher decides to engage them by stepping too far away from his gimped companions. His fight decides the outcome of the battle if this rolls forward as is.
-4:43 3N v 2W
Ana can't find a good opening so she rotates back to a spear, presumably to try to stab Ascher who is willing to fight outside of the cover of his teammates.
-4:32 3N v 2W
In response Ascher switches to sword and board which is stronger against a spear then florentine and prepares to hard engage as soon as the 2 Wardens begin to aggress.
-4:23 2N v 2W
Ascher gets stabbed after a shot ramps off his shield while he's low. Now the victors are LIKELY the Norcalians as they can simply siege until the spear finds its mark.
-3:59 1N v 1W
Stark goes for Gibbs back and finds it, but is taken out by Force at this moment as well. This theoretically takes an uneven fight and makes it even again as a single spear is unlikely to do much against a sword and board fighter even if they're given a long time to poke at them.
-3:52 1N v 1W
Sword and board vs Sword and board as Ana and Force get to decide the outcome. Ana has advantage in this scenario as Force prefers to be an offensive fighter but now doesn't have the legs to aggress with, whereas Ana is quite comfortable being patient and picking shots so this fight favors her.
-3:43 0N v 1W
Ana trades her leg for Forces leg taking the win for Wardens.
Showing posts with label by request. Show all posts
Showing posts with label by request. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Tactical decision making in action; a cascade of consequences
No plan survives a battle but to go into battle without a plan is just as foolish as trying to stick to the original plan. To do well as a tactician you've got to adapt to the state of the field. So, for this entry I'm going to dissect exactly ONE fight from the Norcalia vs effectively Wardens fight that happened at War of Wrath. You SHOULD be able to see the video here - https://www.facebook.com/alexys.oosterhouse/posts/10154832353712668. I'll be referencing moments by time stamps on the video. The obvious caveats apply, this is only my opinion and I can't see the whole field from the view of the camera, so I may miss things in my analysis.
-8:05 - 8W vs 8N
At the outset the Wardens line up with their fastest flankers on the right side, clearly preparing to try and run that side. Steel sits in back, prepared to strike through any gaps that appear in the middle of the line, run down enemy flankers and generally organize the group. The fighters on the far left tend towards a more defensive alignment, using artificer as a red to buy time and give the rest of the group time to work. As an interesting sidenote Nos (sp?) who normally runs florentine on an edge is in the middle of the line. Assessing the situation from the outside I'm expecting that their main tactic is to use the right side to try and pull the Norcalian line thin to provide opportunities to flank the center of the line.
Norcalia meanwhile runs mostly a counter position to this. The enemy flanker (Brian) fighting florentine is set up against a fleet of foot spear in Kord. He's supported by Shato to prevent him from being rushed, while also allowing for a roughly equivalent opponent to Rob/Stark who is there to support Brian. Zayl takes up the far right to counter artificer, his greater reach with his polearm should allow him to do work. If there's a rush Marrow who is good at fighting in close is prepared to counter engage with a vengeance. Gibs sits in the center of the line next to force who could quite easily punch a hole in a line. Asher floats out back prepared to engage Steel or anyone else who might get around.
At this moment and time I feel like the Norcalian team has the advantage.
-8:00 - 8W vs 7N
Mistakes are made. Zayl, who is prepare to fight artificer suddenly finds himself ALSO fighting Anastasia, wielding a spear behind her board. This means that even though he may have the advantage against Artificer at the outset, for every swing he takes he now has to worry about getting stabbed by two, rather then by one pole. This also cuts of his advantage from a having a support, as Ana's defense is high enough that rushing her is unlikely to get a quick kill. Additionally this means rolling directly into Fenrir who is standing right next to her. Since the main board on that side is Marrow he's going to have a rough time of it, choosing to either try to cover his pole fighting two on one, or engaging and then having to fight 2v1 himself when Ana drops the spear.
Seeing this advantage, Nos moves to the outside to back up his flankers. Meanwhile on the Norcalian left side Kord takes a few BIG steps away from Shato, meaning that suddenly he is without any kind of real support. Meanwhile Asher, seeing the trouble that his right side is on moves in that direction to assist, further cutting off any hope of support for the Norcalian left.
At this moment I expect that the Norcalian left side is going to waffle. After Brian runs the spear he can turn on Shato, along with Nos and Rob. Since it becomes a 3v1 with angles I'm expecting Shato to lose, and quickly (I would too). With the Norcalian left side broken the they'll have to retreat into the right side, which is already briefly outmatched. Unless the Norcalian line can rotate to switch angles they're going to have the door closed on them.
- 7:56 - 8W vs 7N
Mistakes are made, but this time by the Wardens. Brian runs the spear without taking injury and then turns to fight Shato. Nos and Rob turn to fight Force who is now at the end of the Norcalian left flank. If it were my call I'd leave Nos to stall against Force while Rob and Brian 2v1'd Shato in order to try and get a quick advantage. Then they could fight Force 3v1 instead of 2v1. Meanwhile Artificer is legged, effectively taking him out of combat as the rest of the Wardens move forward. Zayl, having taken no injury now has advantage again on that side of the field, having to only outrange Ana's spear while still maintaining cover from his shieldman. Karps moves up on Ana's right side, prepared to engage but is going to run directly into gibs. If he goes too hard on offense he'll leave Ana undefended for Twig to engage who can in turn then rotate onto the Norcalian left flank which is right now in a bad place. Additionally if Gibbs can win his fight then the right side goes from a 2v3 to a 4v3 or a 3v3 if either Force or Shato survive. Steel meanwhile does the right thing and goes hard into the Norcalian right side hoping to take advantage of the chaos. Unfortunately Asher is moving to intercept so that decision is likely to cost him some limbs. If he gets legged in the near future then the Wardens left flank is utterly lost, and it will become a fight between the mobile Norcalian right flank against the Wardens mobile right flank with a bunch of Warden gimps not actually participating in the fight. That fight eventually goes to Norcalia if Zayl can stay alive and uninjured. At this point the fight is even and it's up to each of about 3 individual engagements to determine the winner. If Shato beats Brian, he can back the 2v1 on Force. If Force can stay alive long enough then he'll have help, but if he dies quickly then the Norcalian force will be getting smashed from 3 sides and that's as good as done. If Brian wins his fight but Force survives then that side of the field is a draw. If anyone can get Steel's leg then the pressure to the front and right side of the Norcalian line disappears, which makes the fight a much better place for the Norcalians.
-7:52 - 7W vs 7N
A lot can happen in 4 seconds lol. Brian loses the fight to Shato and is taken off the board. A rush is attempted against Force but fails. Twig loses his leg to Ana, preventing any further aggression on his part. Meanwhile Steel and Asher square off. At this moment the fight is pretty even. Whoever gets a kill on the Norcalian's left flank or the Warden's right flank will have a numbers advantage and can then wrap. If Steel can get through Asher then his team will have advantage again because he'll be able to apply pressure from a new angle. However, if he loses outright and Asher has all of his limbs then he'll be able to turn the battle around by apply his OWN pressure to a relatively immobile pole arm. If someone goes to cover Artificer then the cente rof the line breaks, giving Gibbs a chance to still run the line. But, even if Asher doesn't get a hard engage, even a harass will turn artificer, leaving him vulnerable to attacks by Zayl.
-7:50 - 7W vs 7N
Zayl, seeing that his side is stable switches to the Norcalian left flank, to help deal with the encroaching enemy flank. This leaves a speed bumps on the Norcalian right flank in the form of relatively immobile shields. The fight between Asher and Steel becomes more important while some of the pressure is relieved for the Norcalian left flank, as they now have the ability to hit opponents without worry about losses. This gives them the advantage on this section of the field, and theoretically the advantage overall as the Warden's group has opted to leave their polearm behind in order to press the Norcalians who are starting to back themselves into a corner. Karps has also taken injury at this point (I missed how) meaning that a legged twig is a very sufficient guard. Gibbs in the meantime see's a hole forming and prepares to shoot the gap. Artificer meanwhile tries to limp himself closer to the fight.
-7:47 - 7W vs 7N
The Norcalians, seeing opportunity, seize it. Marrow and Gibbs hard engage into the enemy team. Gibbs shoots passed Karp who is holding only a shield while Twig swings at him. Marrow hard engages into the polearm, while Fenrir moves over to cover. Depending on Marrow's reflexes he may be able to turn that into a 2v1 fight. Meanwhile on the Norcalian left flank there's a relatively even 3v3, but with both lines now broken the next few seconds are crucial to find out which team receives more damage from breaking ranks.
- 7:44 - 6W vs 7N
The Norcalian gambit mostly pays dividends. Fenrir, in an attempt to save Artificer gets knocked over by Gibbs and executed. Meanwhile Marrow doesn't do as well, even though he's able to set up the kill on Fenrir he fails to kill Artificer who in turn takes his leg. Twig, unfortunately is now shafted, fighting 2v1 without cover against both Ana and Nos. Steel, now seeing his back line getting run over turns to break from his fight with Asher to try and score some backs. Zayl becomes quickly irrelevant to the fight for the moment as Rob disengages leaving Shato and Zayl not engaging anyone while their teammates fight in other areas of the field. Still too close to figure out who has advantage as Twig may be about to die, as well as Marrow, which negate their brief one person advantage.
-7:43 - 6W vs 6N
Marrow gets run over as he gets trapped by multiple opponents. An injured Force moves to assist Twig, taking the pressure off of him even as Nos moves over to deal with the still flanking Gibbs. Steel crashes in from behind, completing a 3 way trainwreck for Marrow but also positioning himself to be chased by Asher who he turned his back to and by Gibbs who is still alive and off to the side.
-7:41 - 5W vs 6N
The battle is mostly over at this moment. Steel gets himself sandwhiched between Gibbs and Asher and because he's blocking shots from Asher gets taken out by Gibbs (I think? It's a bit fuzzy). Meanwhile Force wins a hard engage against Ana who is unable to spear him leaving Nos potentially in a 3 way pinch between Force, Asher and Gibbs in a second. The Norcalian left flank can now reform with Shato, Twig and Zayl alive to tank up against Rob who no longer has any support from his team.
- 7:40 - 5W vs 6N
Gibbs piles into an unarmed Karp while Nos moves to back Gibbs and Asher moves to back Nos. Artificer engages a legged Twig but leaves his back to Force. We can't see what's happening on with Shato, Rob and Zayl.
- 7:39 - 3W vs 4N
Asher makes a clutch "watch your back" call which causes Gibbs to block behind him. In the meantime Shato shows up for the fight pilling directly into Artificer who is now as good as dead. Gibbs falls to Nos and Artificer falls to Shato. On the other side of the field, Zayl who no longer has cover gets run over by Rob.
- 7:35 - 3W vs 4N
The initial rush from both teams over the groups reform into lines. Up on Norcalia, an injured Twig and Force with an uninjured Shato and Asher. On Wardens an injured and swordless Karp, and an uninjured Rob and Nos. At this moment there's a slight edge for Norcalia at this moment but it's by no means insurmountable. At this moment the battle is effectively a 3v2 as Twig can't move to engage and Karp can't swing to kill anyone. If the Norcalians fight together rather then go aggro then they can take effectively a 4v2 fight instead, using angles to their advantage.
- 7:30 - 3W vs 4N
Good on you Norcalia. Norcalia groups up forcing an engage into an effective 4v2 for the Wardens.
- 7:23 - 3W vs 4N
Karps arms himself, removing his shield from the wall, and Asher grabs a spear, giving them a sudden extra surge of advantage with gear. Now, assuming he doesn't move to the outside they can poke at the opposing team without having to worry about injury. However... if Asher moves off on his own he runs the risk of being run over, potentially taking their advantage and making it an even fight again.
-7:18 - 3W vs 4N
Asher, as a polearm, steps to the outside and away from his support becoming a bit zealous and costing him his legs. Pro tip. If you're a polearm, don't be on the edge of the line, always have cover. Also, avoid overextending, be patient. If you have the numbers advantage get them to rush you INTO YOUR TEAMMATES, rather then into your defenseless self. Asher calls for help which possibly negates more damage. At this point though he's less effectively a part of the battle and now Norcalia can no longer maneuver because their mobile fighters no longer match or outnumber the enemy team.
-7:14 - 3W vs 4N
Asher manages to be away from his support while legged.
-7:11 - 3W vs 4N
Now that Norcalia is effectively immobilized the Wardens move in for a 3 way pinch. In an ideal situation Asher rotates with Shato so that Shato can move, or Shato hard engages Karps while Force turns around to support Asher. In any case Shato needs to be able to move as he is presently their most mobile and least injured combatant. If he gets stuck in the pinch then Norcalia will lose as he gets hit from 3 directions in spite of his potential advantage over at least Karps.
-7:07 - 3W vs 4N
Asher drops his support weapon and becomes a melee combatant, relieving the pressure on the right side. Force gets engaged as Twig rotates to cover Shato's back. Edge probably Norcalia, as Force's chance of survival against an armored, florentine Nos with one arm already gone seems unlikely. There's enough pressure everywhere else to give him time for that engage. Miraculously however Force wins his fight, taking an arm off Nos while no one else takes injury.
-7:04/6:59 - 3W vs 3N
Nos hard engages onto Asher but not without first drawing the attention of both Force and Shato who aren't fast enough to save Asher. Things are now looking very bad for Norcalia as Shato has to win fight against Rob outright, or take out the other two gimps in order to make the fight advantaged again. Even though it's technically even, because Twig is legged Wardens actually have the advantage.
- 6:51 - 3W vs 3N
Lines reform.
- 6:41 -
Rob looks for an engage on Force because of his limb advantage, while Shato rotates into a similar position against Karps/Nos.
- 6:40 - 2W vs 3N
Rob doesn't hard engage, but Shato does, taking out Karps and regaining Norcalian advantage.
- 6:36 - 2W vs 2N
Wardens seek a 2v1 engage on Shato and Force jumps into the fray to try and make it a 2v2, lining up for Nos's back. The 2v1 quickly turns on Force who gets a leg off Rob before dying. This turns out to be crucial as it's now the Wardens who are largely immobile since Nos doesn't want to fight Shato 1v1 as Shato is still uninjured. This allows Twig to move in for a pinch, since even though he's legged he's still going to be harder to kill then the injured Nos.
- 6:26 - 2W vs 2N
As Rob engages with Twig, Shato creeps into the fight, eventually lining up a hard engage by pressuring Nos away from the gimp fight. Neither side gets any hits though there are a few close calls and they reset to pick at each other. At this moment Norcalia has the advantage because they have higher defense overall.
-6:20 - 1W vs 2N
Eventually as shots go back and forth Shato wins the fight against Nos, leaving Rob in a dire situation. Though, had Nos won the fight would have turned the other way, or if Rob had taken out twig it would have become largely an even fight still. At this moment though you have a flat footed, injured boardsman fighting in a 2v1 so that's likely the match.
-6:14 - 1W vs 2N
Rob manages to take a leg, preventing the Norcalian team from using positioning against him the way they would otherwise have (one behind him, one in front). It still remains a 2v1.
-6:10- 0W vs 2N
With nowhere to go and two people closing on him Rob eventually falls.
--
All in all a good fight for both teams. Both Norcalia and Wardens made some mistakes but were also good at trying to cover one another as well as punish their opponents for mistakes. In the end there's quite a few moments where things could have turned very badly for one or the other team. While field awareness and team tactics are very important in many cases the battle is decided one fight at a time. Crucial things, like Force getting a leg shot on his way out dramatically change the dynamics of the team fight.
-8:05 - 8W vs 8N
At the outset the Wardens line up with their fastest flankers on the right side, clearly preparing to try and run that side. Steel sits in back, prepared to strike through any gaps that appear in the middle of the line, run down enemy flankers and generally organize the group. The fighters on the far left tend towards a more defensive alignment, using artificer as a red to buy time and give the rest of the group time to work. As an interesting sidenote Nos (sp?) who normally runs florentine on an edge is in the middle of the line. Assessing the situation from the outside I'm expecting that their main tactic is to use the right side to try and pull the Norcalian line thin to provide opportunities to flank the center of the line.
Norcalia meanwhile runs mostly a counter position to this. The enemy flanker (Brian) fighting florentine is set up against a fleet of foot spear in Kord. He's supported by Shato to prevent him from being rushed, while also allowing for a roughly equivalent opponent to Rob/Stark who is there to support Brian. Zayl takes up the far right to counter artificer, his greater reach with his polearm should allow him to do work. If there's a rush Marrow who is good at fighting in close is prepared to counter engage with a vengeance. Gibs sits in the center of the line next to force who could quite easily punch a hole in a line. Asher floats out back prepared to engage Steel or anyone else who might get around.
At this moment and time I feel like the Norcalian team has the advantage.
-8:00 - 8W vs 7N
Mistakes are made. Zayl, who is prepare to fight artificer suddenly finds himself ALSO fighting Anastasia, wielding a spear behind her board. This means that even though he may have the advantage against Artificer at the outset, for every swing he takes he now has to worry about getting stabbed by two, rather then by one pole. This also cuts of his advantage from a having a support, as Ana's defense is high enough that rushing her is unlikely to get a quick kill. Additionally this means rolling directly into Fenrir who is standing right next to her. Since the main board on that side is Marrow he's going to have a rough time of it, choosing to either try to cover his pole fighting two on one, or engaging and then having to fight 2v1 himself when Ana drops the spear.
Seeing this advantage, Nos moves to the outside to back up his flankers. Meanwhile on the Norcalian left side Kord takes a few BIG steps away from Shato, meaning that suddenly he is without any kind of real support. Meanwhile Asher, seeing the trouble that his right side is on moves in that direction to assist, further cutting off any hope of support for the Norcalian left.
At this moment I expect that the Norcalian left side is going to waffle. After Brian runs the spear he can turn on Shato, along with Nos and Rob. Since it becomes a 3v1 with angles I'm expecting Shato to lose, and quickly (I would too). With the Norcalian left side broken the they'll have to retreat into the right side, which is already briefly outmatched. Unless the Norcalian line can rotate to switch angles they're going to have the door closed on them.
- 7:56 - 8W vs 7N
Mistakes are made, but this time by the Wardens. Brian runs the spear without taking injury and then turns to fight Shato. Nos and Rob turn to fight Force who is now at the end of the Norcalian left flank. If it were my call I'd leave Nos to stall against Force while Rob and Brian 2v1'd Shato in order to try and get a quick advantage. Then they could fight Force 3v1 instead of 2v1. Meanwhile Artificer is legged, effectively taking him out of combat as the rest of the Wardens move forward. Zayl, having taken no injury now has advantage again on that side of the field, having to only outrange Ana's spear while still maintaining cover from his shieldman. Karps moves up on Ana's right side, prepared to engage but is going to run directly into gibs. If he goes too hard on offense he'll leave Ana undefended for Twig to engage who can in turn then rotate onto the Norcalian left flank which is right now in a bad place. Additionally if Gibbs can win his fight then the right side goes from a 2v3 to a 4v3 or a 3v3 if either Force or Shato survive. Steel meanwhile does the right thing and goes hard into the Norcalian right side hoping to take advantage of the chaos. Unfortunately Asher is moving to intercept so that decision is likely to cost him some limbs. If he gets legged in the near future then the Wardens left flank is utterly lost, and it will become a fight between the mobile Norcalian right flank against the Wardens mobile right flank with a bunch of Warden gimps not actually participating in the fight. That fight eventually goes to Norcalia if Zayl can stay alive and uninjured. At this point the fight is even and it's up to each of about 3 individual engagements to determine the winner. If Shato beats Brian, he can back the 2v1 on Force. If Force can stay alive long enough then he'll have help, but if he dies quickly then the Norcalian force will be getting smashed from 3 sides and that's as good as done. If Brian wins his fight but Force survives then that side of the field is a draw. If anyone can get Steel's leg then the pressure to the front and right side of the Norcalian line disappears, which makes the fight a much better place for the Norcalians.
-7:52 - 7W vs 7N
A lot can happen in 4 seconds lol. Brian loses the fight to Shato and is taken off the board. A rush is attempted against Force but fails. Twig loses his leg to Ana, preventing any further aggression on his part. Meanwhile Steel and Asher square off. At this moment the fight is pretty even. Whoever gets a kill on the Norcalian's left flank or the Warden's right flank will have a numbers advantage and can then wrap. If Steel can get through Asher then his team will have advantage again because he'll be able to apply pressure from a new angle. However, if he loses outright and Asher has all of his limbs then he'll be able to turn the battle around by apply his OWN pressure to a relatively immobile pole arm. If someone goes to cover Artificer then the cente rof the line breaks, giving Gibbs a chance to still run the line. But, even if Asher doesn't get a hard engage, even a harass will turn artificer, leaving him vulnerable to attacks by Zayl.
-7:50 - 7W vs 7N
Zayl, seeing that his side is stable switches to the Norcalian left flank, to help deal with the encroaching enemy flank. This leaves a speed bumps on the Norcalian right flank in the form of relatively immobile shields. The fight between Asher and Steel becomes more important while some of the pressure is relieved for the Norcalian left flank, as they now have the ability to hit opponents without worry about losses. This gives them the advantage on this section of the field, and theoretically the advantage overall as the Warden's group has opted to leave their polearm behind in order to press the Norcalians who are starting to back themselves into a corner. Karps has also taken injury at this point (I missed how) meaning that a legged twig is a very sufficient guard. Gibbs in the meantime see's a hole forming and prepares to shoot the gap. Artificer meanwhile tries to limp himself closer to the fight.
-7:47 - 7W vs 7N
The Norcalians, seeing opportunity, seize it. Marrow and Gibbs hard engage into the enemy team. Gibbs shoots passed Karp who is holding only a shield while Twig swings at him. Marrow hard engages into the polearm, while Fenrir moves over to cover. Depending on Marrow's reflexes he may be able to turn that into a 2v1 fight. Meanwhile on the Norcalian left flank there's a relatively even 3v3, but with both lines now broken the next few seconds are crucial to find out which team receives more damage from breaking ranks.
- 7:44 - 6W vs 7N
The Norcalian gambit mostly pays dividends. Fenrir, in an attempt to save Artificer gets knocked over by Gibbs and executed. Meanwhile Marrow doesn't do as well, even though he's able to set up the kill on Fenrir he fails to kill Artificer who in turn takes his leg. Twig, unfortunately is now shafted, fighting 2v1 without cover against both Ana and Nos. Steel, now seeing his back line getting run over turns to break from his fight with Asher to try and score some backs. Zayl becomes quickly irrelevant to the fight for the moment as Rob disengages leaving Shato and Zayl not engaging anyone while their teammates fight in other areas of the field. Still too close to figure out who has advantage as Twig may be about to die, as well as Marrow, which negate their brief one person advantage.
-7:43 - 6W vs 6N
Marrow gets run over as he gets trapped by multiple opponents. An injured Force moves to assist Twig, taking the pressure off of him even as Nos moves over to deal with the still flanking Gibbs. Steel crashes in from behind, completing a 3 way trainwreck for Marrow but also positioning himself to be chased by Asher who he turned his back to and by Gibbs who is still alive and off to the side.
-7:41 - 5W vs 6N
The battle is mostly over at this moment. Steel gets himself sandwhiched between Gibbs and Asher and because he's blocking shots from Asher gets taken out by Gibbs (I think? It's a bit fuzzy). Meanwhile Force wins a hard engage against Ana who is unable to spear him leaving Nos potentially in a 3 way pinch between Force, Asher and Gibbs in a second. The Norcalian left flank can now reform with Shato, Twig and Zayl alive to tank up against Rob who no longer has any support from his team.
- 7:40 - 5W vs 6N
Gibbs piles into an unarmed Karp while Nos moves to back Gibbs and Asher moves to back Nos. Artificer engages a legged Twig but leaves his back to Force. We can't see what's happening on with Shato, Rob and Zayl.
- 7:39 - 3W vs 4N
Asher makes a clutch "watch your back" call which causes Gibbs to block behind him. In the meantime Shato shows up for the fight pilling directly into Artificer who is now as good as dead. Gibbs falls to Nos and Artificer falls to Shato. On the other side of the field, Zayl who no longer has cover gets run over by Rob.
- 7:35 - 3W vs 4N
The initial rush from both teams over the groups reform into lines. Up on Norcalia, an injured Twig and Force with an uninjured Shato and Asher. On Wardens an injured and swordless Karp, and an uninjured Rob and Nos. At this moment there's a slight edge for Norcalia at this moment but it's by no means insurmountable. At this moment the battle is effectively a 3v2 as Twig can't move to engage and Karp can't swing to kill anyone. If the Norcalians fight together rather then go aggro then they can take effectively a 4v2 fight instead, using angles to their advantage.
- 7:30 - 3W vs 4N
Good on you Norcalia. Norcalia groups up forcing an engage into an effective 4v2 for the Wardens.
- 7:23 - 3W vs 4N
Karps arms himself, removing his shield from the wall, and Asher grabs a spear, giving them a sudden extra surge of advantage with gear. Now, assuming he doesn't move to the outside they can poke at the opposing team without having to worry about injury. However... if Asher moves off on his own he runs the risk of being run over, potentially taking their advantage and making it an even fight again.
-7:18 - 3W vs 4N
Asher, as a polearm, steps to the outside and away from his support becoming a bit zealous and costing him his legs. Pro tip. If you're a polearm, don't be on the edge of the line, always have cover. Also, avoid overextending, be patient. If you have the numbers advantage get them to rush you INTO YOUR TEAMMATES, rather then into your defenseless self. Asher calls for help which possibly negates more damage. At this point though he's less effectively a part of the battle and now Norcalia can no longer maneuver because their mobile fighters no longer match or outnumber the enemy team.
-7:14 - 3W vs 4N
Asher manages to be away from his support while legged.
-7:11 - 3W vs 4N
Now that Norcalia is effectively immobilized the Wardens move in for a 3 way pinch. In an ideal situation Asher rotates with Shato so that Shato can move, or Shato hard engages Karps while Force turns around to support Asher. In any case Shato needs to be able to move as he is presently their most mobile and least injured combatant. If he gets stuck in the pinch then Norcalia will lose as he gets hit from 3 directions in spite of his potential advantage over at least Karps.
-7:07 - 3W vs 4N
Asher drops his support weapon and becomes a melee combatant, relieving the pressure on the right side. Force gets engaged as Twig rotates to cover Shato's back. Edge probably Norcalia, as Force's chance of survival against an armored, florentine Nos with one arm already gone seems unlikely. There's enough pressure everywhere else to give him time for that engage. Miraculously however Force wins his fight, taking an arm off Nos while no one else takes injury.
-7:04/6:59 - 3W vs 3N
Nos hard engages onto Asher but not without first drawing the attention of both Force and Shato who aren't fast enough to save Asher. Things are now looking very bad for Norcalia as Shato has to win fight against Rob outright, or take out the other two gimps in order to make the fight advantaged again. Even though it's technically even, because Twig is legged Wardens actually have the advantage.
- 6:51 - 3W vs 3N
Lines reform.
- 6:41 -
Rob looks for an engage on Force because of his limb advantage, while Shato rotates into a similar position against Karps/Nos.
- 6:40 - 2W vs 3N
Rob doesn't hard engage, but Shato does, taking out Karps and regaining Norcalian advantage.
- 6:36 - 2W vs 2N
Wardens seek a 2v1 engage on Shato and Force jumps into the fray to try and make it a 2v2, lining up for Nos's back. The 2v1 quickly turns on Force who gets a leg off Rob before dying. This turns out to be crucial as it's now the Wardens who are largely immobile since Nos doesn't want to fight Shato 1v1 as Shato is still uninjured. This allows Twig to move in for a pinch, since even though he's legged he's still going to be harder to kill then the injured Nos.
- 6:26 - 2W vs 2N
As Rob engages with Twig, Shato creeps into the fight, eventually lining up a hard engage by pressuring Nos away from the gimp fight. Neither side gets any hits though there are a few close calls and they reset to pick at each other. At this moment Norcalia has the advantage because they have higher defense overall.
-6:20 - 1W vs 2N
Eventually as shots go back and forth Shato wins the fight against Nos, leaving Rob in a dire situation. Though, had Nos won the fight would have turned the other way, or if Rob had taken out twig it would have become largely an even fight still. At this moment though you have a flat footed, injured boardsman fighting in a 2v1 so that's likely the match.
-6:14 - 1W vs 2N
Rob manages to take a leg, preventing the Norcalian team from using positioning against him the way they would otherwise have (one behind him, one in front). It still remains a 2v1.
-6:10- 0W vs 2N
With nowhere to go and two people closing on him Rob eventually falls.
--
All in all a good fight for both teams. Both Norcalia and Wardens made some mistakes but were also good at trying to cover one another as well as punish their opponents for mistakes. In the end there's quite a few moments where things could have turned very badly for one or the other team. While field awareness and team tactics are very important in many cases the battle is decided one fight at a time. Crucial things, like Force getting a leg shot on his way out dramatically change the dynamics of the team fight.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
Realm leadership
The fundamentals of realm leadership definitely fall into a low complexity high effort scenario. That is to say that while the basics are simple they are also require tons of time and energy to execute on properly. Anyone COULD do these things, but most people don't because this is our hobby after all and not our lives. But let's get into it.
Consistency
The MOST important thing when running a realm is making sure that you pick a practice time that you can show up to consistently. That means that regardless of how many people are going to show up, you are out there. Exceptions can be made if 1) the weather is bad enough to permit fighting or 2) there's an event that lines up with your practice time that you encourage your fighters to go to. That's it. Otherwise you show up ON TIME to the SAME LOCATION at every instance that you run the practice. Showing up on time (or a bit early) means that you're always going to be one of the first people there. This prevents someone from showing up, not seeing anyone around, and then promptly heading home. When you're first starting a realm it's going to be super common that you have almost no fighters and the ones that you do have may be lax about being on top of things. As the leader of a realm it's up to you to be the person who is on top of everything. Showing up to the same location is important because you want to make sure that if someone has seen you in the past they are able to find you again. It also means that if you've drawn someone in who isn't able to contact or communicate with the rest of the group they aren't left behind because this week you've moved to a different park. If you want to host multiple practices a week and would like to do so with more then one location that's perfectly fine, so long as for each practice you go to that practice happens in the same place it did the week/month prior. In California we do practices a week, in many other places they do a practice a month.
Location
The place that you choose to plant yourself is HUGELY important. The first piece is finding a good bit of ground. An ideal space to fight on will be soft enough to fall onto which usually means some good grass. It will also be solid enough that a person isn't likely to injure themselves while moving around, either as a result of potholes, mud, or other hazards. Finally you need to make sure you have enough room to actually fight so you aren't hemmed in by people who aren't participating in the combat (a problem at a public park) or by obstacles where a person is likely to take a spill on concrete or get injured by running into a flagpole/bench/etc. An ideal location also has the proper amenities like a source of water to make sure people can hydrate and a bathroom. As far as starting up a new realm you'll also want to pick a location that has high visibility so that there's a lot of foot traffic in that area. This promotes people coming up to you and asking about what you're doing. A sort of final note is trying to find a place that's easy to get to, which includes both having it be a short drive from most locations and making sure that there's also parking once someone gets there.
Gear
First things first, if you're starting a new realm or taking over leading an old one, make sure that you have enough gear to support a bunch of new fighters so that when someone new shows up they can participate. At the very least this means having a stack of blue weapons that are all relatively similar to pass out to people for them to use. In an ideal situation you also have a few company shields and a few polearms. A few spare pairs of gloves is also recommended though by no means required. People who get to beat up or injured because they don't have the right safety gear to participate will sometimes not come back. Encourage early on into any new fighters career in the sport that they pick up (minimally) a pair of knee pads and a pair of gloves. For men recommend a cup.
Ideally if you're starting or leading a realm you should be proficient in all weapon types; single blue, sword and board, florentine, red, spear and archery so that you can teach a person to use any of those safely. If you can't use one of those weapon sets safely or can't teach someone else to use one of those weapon sets safely then don't let those weapons on your field. A person who is reckless or inept with almost any weapon set is likely to injure fellow combatants. While this is true with almost any weapon set the results are particularly nasty when its a board, a spear, a red, or archery. With a board people will commonly slam that directly into a person's face. If they catch a person with the edge or the shield is cored this can be super bad. Spears when used poorly generate really nasty shots to the solar plexus or the face when ramped off a shield. A read weapon just imparts more force because of the way you can use 2 hands so reckless headshots can become concussions and shots with too much force can lead to general injury in almost any other location. Archery gear when mistreated is the only thing on a field I really worry about killing a person because they contain pointy bits that can piece skin.
Finally it's a good idea to have at least one person out in garb on the field. This will provoke a discussion about garb so you can talk to a new person about what it is and why they'll need it. It is my opinion that the best way to promote garb is to have good garb (rather the minimal garb) out on the field and make it easy for a new fighter to acquire garb. I am of the opinion that mandating garb at a practice is an extremely stupid practice that only serves to drive would be fighters away. If you're running the practice it will be up to you how you handle the garb issue but generally speaking encouragement > enforcement.
Culture
Fighting is not just about swinging stick at each other. Fighting is also about the social aspects of spending time with people you actually enjoy being around. You can see this by watching what happens when a field has a toxic fighter that no one likes. Pretty soon either the toxic person leaves because they aren't well liked or the rest of the field leaves because they no longer wish to deal with that individual anymore. Putting that aside for the moment however, part of making a good realm is making sure that you promote a positive social experience for the people who show up. This includes encouraging them to fight and applauding their triumphs. It should go without saying that this involves making sure everyone on the field has good honor as that's one way to quickly have people get angry. Nothing I can think of is more discouraging as a new person then finally managing to kill someone who is more experienced then you are only to have them then sluff the hit. The two easiest ways I know of to promote socializing are 1) to call long water breaks (like 15 minutes) so people have some time to hang out without having the break last so long that fighting completely loses momentum and 2) when fighting is done have everyone gather in the same place for food, drinks and conversation as in most cases after fighting folks are either hungry or thirsty and want to talk about their battles. If you can find a way to bind people together once they're OFF the field that tends to make a realm much more stable. By having people see fighting as a place to socialize this means that your fighters may show up because they hope to see their friends there as opposed to just because they want to swing stick. Let me couch that statement though by saying that, at least from my perspective (as views of this differ), it's important to make sure that socializing doesn't take over fighting so that people who came to fight don't stop showing up because they can no longer do that. Another easy way to bind people together is to help them get organized with a facebook page. This provides a place for people to socialize outside of fighting and provides an easy thing to refer people to if they have questions. If you do wind up having to cancel practice for some reason this also makes it easier to communicate that to the people who would be interested.
Handling problems
All of the above stuff is pretty much setting up an idealized environment from which I would expect a realm to thrive while under some individuals leadership but along the way there are plenty of problems you can run into. So let's touch on those and how to handle each of them.
Consistency - If you know that you are not a person who is good at showing up on time or just bad at making it to practice from week to week (I am one such person) then find someone else who is more dependable then you are to show up on time with your practice's company weapons. You can always have a co-leader or multiple co-leaders if that's what's required to make sure that practice runs on time, every week/month, and is supplied with weapons. If you are consistent but find that one week you can't make it because you are going to an event but the rest of the group will not be going to that event see if you can get someone to show up and lead the practice for just that week.
Location - In some cases you won't be able to get all of these things so you'll have to make due with what's available. If you wind up not having very soft ground to work with encourage people to learn to fight without grappling or really aggressive shieldwork in order to reduce the likelihood of injuries. If you wind up fighting in a constrained space it's often a good idea to set boundaries using rope with hard edges (when you step outside of them you die instantly) to prevent people from getting themselves in trouble. If you wind up with hazards directly on the field you're using it's a good idea to have cones available so you can mark these hazards and to announce at the start of combat why the cone is there. If you find yourself in a place with minimal/no real foot traffic then spend some time outside of practices to promote what you do to get people to come try out your practice.
Gear - If you find that you don't have enough gear to supply the people who have shown up either because you don't have gear, it's been run down, or you simply don't have the things people want to fight with then try to host build sessions often and provide the materials and instruction to new people to show them how to build their own gear. A quick side note on this which is that new people are notorious for 3 things at build sessions. The first is the desire to build bad/unfeasible weapons like tonfas (illegal), punch daggers (illegal) or scythes (impractical). You need to make sure to let a person know ahead of time that those are bad weapon choices. If they still want to build them anyways by all means let them just as long as you've pointed that out ahead of time. The second thing that most new people will do is build the longest blue they're able to because they think that having more reach then their opponents will automatically win them the battle. While this is true initially about a month in it will no longer be the case and instead of winning they'll be losing almost every battle because they've built a weapon that is heavy, poorly balanced, and that they have little to no control over. Encourage new fighters to build a weapon that makes sense for them by figuring out things like weight and length ahead of time. Finally new people are notorious for either missing steps or doing steps wrong, so the first time you build a weapon with them watch over them very carefully and have them construct the weapon a SINGLE step at a time. If you find that you don't have the time to build weapons, either for yourself, the company or for your fighters but you/they have money you can always buy gear online. My personal recommendation being warlord sports for gear or forged foam. In many cases there are also people locally who can smith weapons/garb.
Culture - In some cases you'll have bad actors in your group. This can range anywhere from a person who is fine off the field but a menace on the field to a person who is fine on the field but is a bad actor off the field. Regardless of the issue if you notice a person is a problem then pull them aside and talk to them about it. Sometimes people can be doing bad things without even realizing it and all they need is direction. Other times they won't care that they're doing something bad, and you may need to tell them to leave because 1 fighter isn't worth more then any other fighter. It's better to have 10 new people who are having fun then 5 people with 1 cheating vet who is making other people not have fun. If a person isn't taking hits on the field then pull them aside to spar. Try to get them to calibrate to what a good hit is and be more communicative when you think a good shot has landed but they haven't taken anything. If you don't mind using communal shame you can also do bear pits where everyone watches combat and calls a person out when they get hit. If the person is reckless or overly aggressive while on the fighting field talk to the them about toning it down. If the issue is that they aren't ready to be fighting with a weapon that they're using then take that weapon away until they can demonstrate that they can use it safely.
If a person is being a problem off the field either because they have a bad attitude or because they are creeping on the ladies then have a conversation with them. If they have no intention of reforming they behavior make it clear you don't want them to show up anymore. Everyone who participates in fighting needs to feel safe doing so both on and off the field. As a realm leader it is up to YOU to provide this for anyone who shows up and that may mean removing some people from the community if it's clear that they are going to be bad actors.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
How Not to Get Injured
I got asked for a post on how to avoid injury so that's what you all get this evening. Much of this will be re-hashing bits and pieces of previous posts but now it's just putting everything in the same place. Also if you didn't know you can ask me to write about things that interest you. I have to come up with something to pull out of my brain once a week so I'm happy to take prompts. In an effort to be straightforward I'm skipping any sort of cleverness to let you know that this is serious stuff. While serious injuries in Belegarth tend to be relatively rare when compared with other full contact sports they certainly happen from time to time. If you intend to participate in Bel for the long haul knowing what you can do to avoid any kind of serious injury becomes increasingly important, especially if you are less tall, or less muscular as that makes you more prone to injury off the bat.
The right gear starts with sufficient safety equipment for whatever you do. That varies from person to person based on how they fight and what they expect to be doing. A person who uses a shield in one hand isn't going to require as much padding on that hand as someone who fights florentine or with a red. If you're an archer you need a different set of equipment to protect your fingers and your arm from the bowstring. If you expect to be a very mobile fighter, or are heavy set a nice pair of kneepads is going to be crucial. As a florentine fighter I prefer lacrosse gloves to that end as they don't inhibit the motion of my wrists (after some modification) but still provide me with a lot of protection over the entirety of my hand. A sword and board fighter might prefer lighter gloves because presumably they'll get railed in the hand less often then a florentine or red fighter and may instead opt for some heavy bag gloves. As far kneepads if you plan on falling hard onto the ground a set of kneepads that includes a hard shell is a must, this is what I'd recommend for more mobile fighters. If you are heavy set and planning to drop to your knees in a line it's going to be more important to have kneepads that have a fair amount of cushion so that you can be comfortable pivoting on them for an extended period of time.
The right gear also includes the weapons that you fight with. Step one is to make sure that the weight of the weapon suites you. Fighting with a weapon that's too heavy for you to manipulate correctly will likely cause you to strain some of your own muscles (usually your wrist), especially when you have to deal with other people blocking and manipulating your weapon. Having a weapon that's too heavy to handle is also going to make it more likely that you injure someone else with that weapon. A weapon can also be unwieldy (and thus likely to cause injury) if the balance for it is off in a way that you're not used to. A red weapon that's excessively tip heavy is one example where even if you are strong enough to lift and swing the weapon you may still not be able to control it well. Shorter melee weapons like bats, clubs, swords and the like with a different point of rotation then you're accustomed to may also cause you to injure yourself because they screw up how you throw wrap shots.
If you find that you are a sword and board fighter then the kind of board that you use will also be very important. It's important to make sure that the board you pick isn't too heavy and is strapped in such a way that you can hold it easily. This will reduce fatigue and also make sure you aren't going to mess up your wrist, elbow or shoulder. I highly recommend that shorter fighters avoid using round shields. There is nothing inherently wrong with round shields, but by their shape, shots that are aimed to the left or right of the shield have a higher tendency of riding the edge of the shield up into a face shot. So if your head is already at an opponents waist height and your shield deflects shots up you run the risk of getting hit in the head A LOT even if the other person isn't throwing any inherently dangerous shots. To counteract this you can keep the shield in front of you if you're going to use a round rather then having it rest near your chin. Better yet, flare it out to the side so that shots that ride up the edges aren't angled directly into your face. Ideally though get a square or kite shield. The square edges at the top of the shield make it so that there's no chance that a shot to the shields left or right will wind up riding the edge into your face.
There's some extra gear that you can get that will increase your safety to certain locations. As a man getting a cup comes highly recommended. If you're going to be on a field that has a lot of arrows a helmet or face mask is recommended in order to keep arrows out of your eyes. If you feel like taking a hit from a normal swing is unpleasant you may want to consider armor just for the additional protection it adds. In particular chest armor that covers the solar plexus can save you from some particularly nasty polearm stabs.
One really easy way to get injured is to show up on the field at less then 100%. This can just be that you haven't had nearly enough sleep to be out fighting. It can be that you're not sufficiently hydrated or protected from the sun so you're more likely to overheat. This can also be because you haven't had enough food or water to have the right fuel to be out fighting. Some days it's just that you're too distracted to be able to focus.
This can also be an injury. No matter how safe you are, if you fight on an injury you wind up risking RE-injury, at which point the damage is gong to be much worse then it was the first time. I am not a good example of doing this particular thing, so do as I say not as I do. Realize that there are fighters who are perpetually injured now because they keep pushing themselves to fight before they've healed completely so they never quite get themselves patched up. Don't become one of the perpetually broken. To that end taking the time to warm up with some light sparring and then stretching to stay limber. Some light sparring will make you focused and awake which you'll want to be before jumping into a larger fight.
Most of the basic shots that you can throw are going to have a low chance for self injury. It tends to be the more complex shots that if interrupted can really screw up your joints. It's important for a person to learn to throw shots smoothly before they advance to throwing shots quickly and in combat when another person will be interrupting your swings. If you attempt a shot that you don't really know how to throw properly you are can injure yourself. If you attempt that same shot and someone interrupts your shot mechanics then you can really mess yourself up by having your joints be in a bad place to absorb the impact from your opponents manipulation. Wrap shots in particular, if thrown wrong can apply some bad torque to joints. Throwing shots safely also includes not swinging at an archers arrows, as if those get broken they represent an immediate hazard to everyone in the immediate vicinity.
As a part of shot mechanics your footwork will also be important. Having good footwork and balance as you fight is really important to avoid injury in a game like Bel where there is grappling and shield bashing. If you're standing then having crossed legs makes you more likely to fall when rushed leading to a potential concussion from when you hit the ground. If you are on a leg and you cross your legs then they run the risk of getting mangled if someone decides to do aggressive shieldwork on you in the wrong way. Similarly being off balance may make shield bashing more dangerous when it's used against you, especially if the person doing the shield manipulation isn't very experienced.
How you position the rest of your body as you swing is also important. In particular when you swing, (especially if you're swinging low) make sure that you don't put your head forward but rather keep it back and in line with your body. Any time you wind up changing the vertical position of your head from high to low you run the risk of intercepting a shot that was aimed for your torso. If you know that you're about to execute a maneuver that puts your head in harms way, be ready to block that area as soon as humanly possible. Bel prohibits hopping on one leg for exactly this reason, but if your particular foam sword sports allows hopping on one leg, I'd recommend against it.
There are a million ways to block a weapon wrong and nearly as many ways to block a weapon correctly. If you don't feel confident blocking a full red swing with one hand then it might be worth seeking out a vet to teach you how to really block well. Even if you aren't particularly muscular by leveraging proper body mechanics you can absorb the force of a swing with your body rather then with your wrist or arms which will allow you to block most swings from most people without any kind of significant discomfort. If you find that there's someone who is swinging wildly so that you are afraid to engage them, then don't. Go to another part of the field, find someone else to fight. You may want to additionally alert a herald that a particular fighter makes you feel unsafe. At a time when a fight isn't going on you may also want to approach that particular individual and let them know that the way they handle their weapon scares you. Even as an old vet I occasionally have a talk with someone about the amount of force they are delivering with their weapon seems to me to be a bit excessive and ask them to tone it down.
Certain areas of a field are way more dangerous then others. Being part of the back line in a fight is usually the safest place to be as it's got the fewest bodies in it and as a result the lowest likelihood for there to be a problem. The flanks tend to be the next safest spot because while there are more people on the edges then in the back there's enough room to move around so if someone gets themselves into a bad situation they can usually then get out of the way. The flanks have their own danger in that with everyone moving around quickly it's important to communicate death and get out of the way in a hurry once you've dropped. Usually though there's enough space to evade the fight that's still going on, or you're close enough to the edge of a field to clear.
The most dangerous place to be in any given battle is the line. This is even more dangerous if the field is constrained (like in a bridge battle). A line has the most moving bodies and tends to roll forwards and backwards quickly. If you are killed while being part of a line walk AWAY from the enemy team while dying, or if you're on the edge of the map then immediately off the map as you die. DO NOT drop down in between lines. That is an excellent way to get trampled. Line fights tend to have red weapons that throw shots from high to low aiming for either shields or shoulders. If you are fighting on a line be aware of these weapons and make sure that you are either behind the line and therefore covered, or that if you have a shield your guard is a bit higher then usual. If you know in advance that you're going to spend most of your time on a line I'd recommend a helmet. Not only will this absorb some of the impact should you get hit in the head but it will also keep arrows out of your eyes, which will not usually a source of injury are certainly unpleasant.
We have the hold call for a reason. If you are injured immediately shout hold. If you see someone else go down, immediately shout hold. If you are fighting an opponent and they are about to back into a hazard, let them know. If you see an arrow or weapon break out on the field, call hold, as even if this isn't your own gear it creates a hazardous situation for everyone, ESPECIALLY if that weapon is an arrow. If for whatever reason the wind is knocked out of you, get away from the fighting if you can and throw a hand up, usually someone will notice that something is wrong and help ensure your safety while you recover. Having received some nasty shots to the solar plexus I've definitely been there. Communication is also relevant in a group situation to let your teammates know exactly where you're standing. This can prevent your team from running into you or, as a support weapon having someone sprint backwards right into you. This applies even if you're dead. If you notice a person is sprinting backwards right into you, say something, or, if you can, get out of the way.
Use common sense. Most of us have self preservation instincts so if your body tells you that something is probably not a good idea, listen. If your best judgement tells you that you shouldn't be standing where you are because you're likely to get injured, listen. In the end while there are lots of things the fighters around you can do to try and keep you safe the final custodian of your safety is you.
Start With The Right Gear
The right gear starts with sufficient safety equipment for whatever you do. That varies from person to person based on how they fight and what they expect to be doing. A person who uses a shield in one hand isn't going to require as much padding on that hand as someone who fights florentine or with a red. If you're an archer you need a different set of equipment to protect your fingers and your arm from the bowstring. If you expect to be a very mobile fighter, or are heavy set a nice pair of kneepads is going to be crucial. As a florentine fighter I prefer lacrosse gloves to that end as they don't inhibit the motion of my wrists (after some modification) but still provide me with a lot of protection over the entirety of my hand. A sword and board fighter might prefer lighter gloves because presumably they'll get railed in the hand less often then a florentine or red fighter and may instead opt for some heavy bag gloves. As far kneepads if you plan on falling hard onto the ground a set of kneepads that includes a hard shell is a must, this is what I'd recommend for more mobile fighters. If you are heavy set and planning to drop to your knees in a line it's going to be more important to have kneepads that have a fair amount of cushion so that you can be comfortable pivoting on them for an extended period of time.
The right gear also includes the weapons that you fight with. Step one is to make sure that the weight of the weapon suites you. Fighting with a weapon that's too heavy for you to manipulate correctly will likely cause you to strain some of your own muscles (usually your wrist), especially when you have to deal with other people blocking and manipulating your weapon. Having a weapon that's too heavy to handle is also going to make it more likely that you injure someone else with that weapon. A weapon can also be unwieldy (and thus likely to cause injury) if the balance for it is off in a way that you're not used to. A red weapon that's excessively tip heavy is one example where even if you are strong enough to lift and swing the weapon you may still not be able to control it well. Shorter melee weapons like bats, clubs, swords and the like with a different point of rotation then you're accustomed to may also cause you to injure yourself because they screw up how you throw wrap shots.
If you find that you are a sword and board fighter then the kind of board that you use will also be very important. It's important to make sure that the board you pick isn't too heavy and is strapped in such a way that you can hold it easily. This will reduce fatigue and also make sure you aren't going to mess up your wrist, elbow or shoulder. I highly recommend that shorter fighters avoid using round shields. There is nothing inherently wrong with round shields, but by their shape, shots that are aimed to the left or right of the shield have a higher tendency of riding the edge of the shield up into a face shot. So if your head is already at an opponents waist height and your shield deflects shots up you run the risk of getting hit in the head A LOT even if the other person isn't throwing any inherently dangerous shots. To counteract this you can keep the shield in front of you if you're going to use a round rather then having it rest near your chin. Better yet, flare it out to the side so that shots that ride up the edges aren't angled directly into your face. Ideally though get a square or kite shield. The square edges at the top of the shield make it so that there's no chance that a shot to the shields left or right will wind up riding the edge into your face.
There's some extra gear that you can get that will increase your safety to certain locations. As a man getting a cup comes highly recommended. If you're going to be on a field that has a lot of arrows a helmet or face mask is recommended in order to keep arrows out of your eyes. If you feel like taking a hit from a normal swing is unpleasant you may want to consider armor just for the additional protection it adds. In particular chest armor that covers the solar plexus can save you from some particularly nasty polearm stabs.
Prep For Combat
One really easy way to get injured is to show up on the field at less then 100%. This can just be that you haven't had nearly enough sleep to be out fighting. It can be that you're not sufficiently hydrated or protected from the sun so you're more likely to overheat. This can also be because you haven't had enough food or water to have the right fuel to be out fighting. Some days it's just that you're too distracted to be able to focus.
This can also be an injury. No matter how safe you are, if you fight on an injury you wind up risking RE-injury, at which point the damage is gong to be much worse then it was the first time. I am not a good example of doing this particular thing, so do as I say not as I do. Realize that there are fighters who are perpetually injured now because they keep pushing themselves to fight before they've healed completely so they never quite get themselves patched up. Don't become one of the perpetually broken. To that end taking the time to warm up with some light sparring and then stretching to stay limber. Some light sparring will make you focused and awake which you'll want to be before jumping into a larger fight.
Take Safe Shots
Most of the basic shots that you can throw are going to have a low chance for self injury. It tends to be the more complex shots that if interrupted can really screw up your joints. It's important for a person to learn to throw shots smoothly before they advance to throwing shots quickly and in combat when another person will be interrupting your swings. If you attempt a shot that you don't really know how to throw properly you are can injure yourself. If you attempt that same shot and someone interrupts your shot mechanics then you can really mess yourself up by having your joints be in a bad place to absorb the impact from your opponents manipulation. Wrap shots in particular, if thrown wrong can apply some bad torque to joints. Throwing shots safely also includes not swinging at an archers arrows, as if those get broken they represent an immediate hazard to everyone in the immediate vicinity.
As a part of shot mechanics your footwork will also be important. Having good footwork and balance as you fight is really important to avoid injury in a game like Bel where there is grappling and shield bashing. If you're standing then having crossed legs makes you more likely to fall when rushed leading to a potential concussion from when you hit the ground. If you are on a leg and you cross your legs then they run the risk of getting mangled if someone decides to do aggressive shieldwork on you in the wrong way. Similarly being off balance may make shield bashing more dangerous when it's used against you, especially if the person doing the shield manipulation isn't very experienced.
How you position the rest of your body as you swing is also important. In particular when you swing, (especially if you're swinging low) make sure that you don't put your head forward but rather keep it back and in line with your body. Any time you wind up changing the vertical position of your head from high to low you run the risk of intercepting a shot that was aimed for your torso. If you know that you're about to execute a maneuver that puts your head in harms way, be ready to block that area as soon as humanly possible. Bel prohibits hopping on one leg for exactly this reason, but if your particular foam sword sports allows hopping on one leg, I'd recommend against it.
Learn How To Block (Properly)
There are a million ways to block a weapon wrong and nearly as many ways to block a weapon correctly. If you don't feel confident blocking a full red swing with one hand then it might be worth seeking out a vet to teach you how to really block well. Even if you aren't particularly muscular by leveraging proper body mechanics you can absorb the force of a swing with your body rather then with your wrist or arms which will allow you to block most swings from most people without any kind of significant discomfort. If you find that there's someone who is swinging wildly so that you are afraid to engage them, then don't. Go to another part of the field, find someone else to fight. You may want to additionally alert a herald that a particular fighter makes you feel unsafe. At a time when a fight isn't going on you may also want to approach that particular individual and let them know that the way they handle their weapon scares you. Even as an old vet I occasionally have a talk with someone about the amount of force they are delivering with their weapon seems to me to be a bit excessive and ask them to tone it down.
Know Where You're Standing
Certain areas of a field are way more dangerous then others. Being part of the back line in a fight is usually the safest place to be as it's got the fewest bodies in it and as a result the lowest likelihood for there to be a problem. The flanks tend to be the next safest spot because while there are more people on the edges then in the back there's enough room to move around so if someone gets themselves into a bad situation they can usually then get out of the way. The flanks have their own danger in that with everyone moving around quickly it's important to communicate death and get out of the way in a hurry once you've dropped. Usually though there's enough space to evade the fight that's still going on, or you're close enough to the edge of a field to clear.
The most dangerous place to be in any given battle is the line. This is even more dangerous if the field is constrained (like in a bridge battle). A line has the most moving bodies and tends to roll forwards and backwards quickly. If you are killed while being part of a line walk AWAY from the enemy team while dying, or if you're on the edge of the map then immediately off the map as you die. DO NOT drop down in between lines. That is an excellent way to get trampled. Line fights tend to have red weapons that throw shots from high to low aiming for either shields or shoulders. If you are fighting on a line be aware of these weapons and make sure that you are either behind the line and therefore covered, or that if you have a shield your guard is a bit higher then usual. If you know in advance that you're going to spend most of your time on a line I'd recommend a helmet. Not only will this absorb some of the impact should you get hit in the head but it will also keep arrows out of your eyes, which will not usually a source of injury are certainly unpleasant.
Communicate
We have the hold call for a reason. If you are injured immediately shout hold. If you see someone else go down, immediately shout hold. If you are fighting an opponent and they are about to back into a hazard, let them know. If you see an arrow or weapon break out on the field, call hold, as even if this isn't your own gear it creates a hazardous situation for everyone, ESPECIALLY if that weapon is an arrow. If for whatever reason the wind is knocked out of you, get away from the fighting if you can and throw a hand up, usually someone will notice that something is wrong and help ensure your safety while you recover. Having received some nasty shots to the solar plexus I've definitely been there. Communication is also relevant in a group situation to let your teammates know exactly where you're standing. This can prevent your team from running into you or, as a support weapon having someone sprint backwards right into you. This applies even if you're dead. If you notice a person is sprinting backwards right into you, say something, or, if you can, get out of the way.
When All Else Fails
Use common sense. Most of us have self preservation instincts so if your body tells you that something is probably not a good idea, listen. If your best judgement tells you that you shouldn't be standing where you are because you're likely to get injured, listen. In the end while there are lots of things the fighters around you can do to try and keep you safe the final custodian of your safety is you.
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