Viability of Combatant with No Fighting Skills

General
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So recently had a change of plan with what I was originally going to play on my first event at E1 next year. Long story short, I’m thinking of going Urizen since my friend has switched to a faction I actually have an interest in, so I have one less reason to go Wintermark (on top of several other reasons that were pushing me away). Now, as a Urizen, I’m much more interested in playing a character with more ritual skills (Day and Summer specifically) as sort of a scholar in rituals that are suited to war (Day and Summer being intel gathering and fighting power respectively). Alternatively I’m interested in a sort of omni-mage character with a single point in everything, though both run into the same problem.

I’m going to be battling, can’t not, gotta do my bit for the empire, yadda yadda etc. However, I’m going to have no points to put into anything that actually helps fighting so I’m going to being relying purely on hard skills. Don’t really want to go down the battlemage route as the exp investment is quite high, and I’m quite into the idea of getting some heavy armour so combat magic is kind of out of the question anyway. I do have access to Horizon’s Razor Edge or a bunch of low level Summer rituals to give me access to cleave or a point in endurance, but other than that it’s just armour.

Now, I guess the question I’m trying to ask is, how useless am I going to be on the battlefield? Obviously I can’t use a full shield (though that will likely be the first thing I save points for) so will probably have a buckler and a sword with a ritual granting me cleave. I mean, it’s mostly just for fun, but I am curious as to whether it’ll raise eyebrows or whether it’s something that actually happens more often than I expect.

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I have no combat skills and have it fine. You can still take armour and small shield, and 6 hits is normally enough. You won;t be quite as powerful as others, but not to a point that you will find it an issue.

If you are worried about it, there are potions and magic items that can boost you. A biting blade for example lets you Cleave once per day.

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Get Sound of Drums/Fight Tooth and Nail cast on you and buy a biting blade. Boom, 2 unstoppables and a cleave!

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As noted, sword+buckler, heavy armour and a ritual buff, that’ll do you well. If you’re in heavy, you’ll have less worries from arrows, and thus not need a shield quite so much :slight_smile:

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It’s worth noting that even dedicated fighters (without outside assistance or a good supply of potions) will only be going on to the battlefield with maybe 3-4 hero points as starting characters. Assuming they use all of those on offensive abilities, that’s still 4 calls over the course of a battle that can last well over an hour.

The vast majority of combat involves “normal” blows with no special calls, as long as you have a decent number of hits (preferably via armour) then you’ll be able to pull your weight just fine.

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The thing about the battles in empire is that you fight as a group. It doesn’t matter so much if you don’t have all of the fighting skills as you have allies to rely on. As long as you do your best to help when you can and get a few good hits in, you should be fine. If you were going for a duellist then I would say maybe put some points into combat (depending on what kind of duels you would go for). If you can follow the orders of your commander and you don’t try and be the hero, you should survive and do some good.

If you are able to fight OOC then you should be able to IC. As everyone above me has said, now, the only thing for you to do, is look at the equipment you are taking. If you really feel like you won’t do so well then maybe get some potions from a friend which might be able to help boost you up a bit.

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Good point.

Battlefield performance relies on several things:

The overall flow of the battle and movement of the lines. Not your problem, but stay alert.

The actions of your allies and yourself, as a unit. This is best improved with some planning, and maybe practice, in-character or maybe even OOC. Who’s in charge, who’s looking after whom, a bit of practice moving as a unit, and any group preparations (rituals, herbs, potions). Are everyone’s capabilities, IC and OOC, known?
(Examples here:
Player 1 has loads of hits, is in heavy armour, with reduced speed, agility and hearing. She may not hear orders, and may have trouble retreating.
Player 2 is a mage and very squishy, but has several offensive spells. Guard him from arrows, but be prepared to take advantage is he leans past you to call PARALYSE
Player 3 has specialised in not dying, with lots of Fortitude and Unstoppable and Hero points. If he falls in battle, don’t panic, he’ll be fine for a good few minutes)

Your preparations, IC and OOC. Are you comfortable in your gear? Are all your straps secured, gear ready, and any extras easily accessible? Comfortable boots? (In my case, larp-ready glasses). And this is where those personal rituals, and.or equipment, comes in.

OOC Skills. How’s your swordplay? Is it at the same level as your characters’? How about your stamina? And medical conditions under control (I wear knee braces for combat, for instance)?

As you can tell, your soft skills (the stuff on your character sheet) are but one thing determining your battlefield utility.

3 Likes
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If you want a bit more of a in depth look at combat I have made a topic about it. It has some advice and has the general idea of what larp combat is, just ignore what I said about archer. I don’t know how useful it is to you as I have no idea what your combat skills are like already.

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Thanks guys. I figured I’d be OK, just wanted to double check to make sure people won’t be looking at me funny haha.

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It is good you have done some research as your game will be better and so will that of those around you. I’m glad you are more confident with what to do now.

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So a being able to wear heavy armour, and having some leg and arm protection is a large part of it.

I’d honestly say that Shield use is probably the best bet if you just took 1 skill or Green steel Bracers are really affordable for what they give you, Having fought as a ritualist with and without a shield the shield makes a massive difference to feeling like a fighter, and presenting a threat.

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In general, it’s worth having a shield or a pole arm if you want to be on the front lines. You can buy that skill for a couple XP, or get it from reasonably cheap magic items.

Sword and buckler works fine, however, especially in second ranks or skirmish fighting, plugging gaps or running messages.

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As a ritualist, donning armour and taking the field is big and clever. A single handed weapon and a buckler is useful, doubly so as a back up if you decide to grab a spear or shield.

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The majority of my coven used to take the field in heavy armour, with a sword and shield. Greensteel bracers (which allow you to use a shield without the skill) and a biting blade are your friend.

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How difficult would it be for a new player to get a hold of some Greensteel Bracers? Was considering dropping a lore rank for either shield or weaponmaster, but if the bracers aren’t too hard to get then I’ll likely go that route.

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They’re one of the more plentiful items, at least in Highguard I know several people who can make them.

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Might I suggest fighting with a stab safe halberd? So much fun to use and a very different style from other larp combat?

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You need a skill for that though, OP is asking about fighting with no combat skills.

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this item would allow them to use two-handed wepons without the skill (though they couldnt use the greensteel bracers as well since they are both talismin items).

Out of curiosity, is this item also relatively common?

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Also, I think a halberd (or other polearm or pike) suits the Urizeni attitude of wanting to keep some distance and minimise the amount of enemy blood that gets on you, right?
(My character is in another nation and it’s years since I read the Urizen parts of the wiki, so it’s possible I’m not quite right on that… but for every nation, the wiki has a section describing the common weapon-choices.)

Of course, all these different options have their OOC requirements for physreps, some of which are expensive, and/or potentially challenging to transport.