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HoBLotH Battle
Capture the Keg!
This is it! You've made it through martial training, you've taken pointers from Iolo, you've sparred with friends, you've quested, you've spent hard earned coin on upgraded weapons and spells, and possibly participated in the combat bracket. Now it's time for all of that to come to a head! You'll be participating in a massive team battle between Lord British and Blackthorn. The fate the countryside depends on you!
The winning team will receive a chest full of riches to divvy up!
(Remember, not everyone has to drink but everyone has to play!)
Objective
Capture the Keg is played similarly to Capture the Flag except that the ultimate objective is to be the team that drinks the most beer in 50 minutes of play. Intrigued? I hope so.
The Field of Play
The battle will take place between the fort (brown) and the pirate ship (brown). Chalk lines will designate the boundaries of the battle field (green). Eight feet outside of the field of play, half way between the two structures, a ten-foot diameter circle will hold a keg of beer, cups, an NPC, and a chalkboard (white). There is a narrow strip of starting zone just outside of each base (yellow) used for resurrecting and entering/exiting the field of play. There is no fighting outside of the green, yellow, or brown areas.
Scoring Points
To score a point, a member of your team must drink and finish a beer. However, in order to have access to the keg, your team must be in possession of the flag and it must be inside your team's home base. (i.e. the brown area on the map) When your team has the flag safely inside your base, any member of your team may yell "ALE!" and exit the field of play directly toward the keg. As long as you enter the Keg Circle before your team loses possession of the flag, you may stay and finish your beer. Once in the circle, the NPC will pour you a 7 oz. beer (in order of arrival). Once you have finished the beer, turn the cup upside down over your head to show that it's empty, and the NPC will give your team a point. Once you have finished your beer, you must immediately leave the Keg Circle and re-enter the field of play from your team's starting zone. A player may not re-enter the Keg Circle before re-entering battle and repeating the "ALE!" process.
If the flag has changed hands while you're in the circle, you may be in the circle with an opponent. No combat of any kind is allowed in the Keg Circle. You may not do anything to interfere with another player's drinking or scoring. If there is no standing room in the circle when you get there, you must return to the battle immediately from your starting zone.
Capturing the Flag
The flag will start out half way between the two home bases. Once the flag has been picked up, it may only be taken by killing (or cutting off the limb of) the person carrying it. (Refer to the Combat Rules for more information) Players may NOT grab the flag from an opponent's hand and may not attempt to knock it loose with a weapon. The flag may not be used as a weapon! If the flag is struck by a projectile weapon or fireball, it must be dropped immediately and may not be picked up by the same person. A flag may be handed to other team members but may not be thrown. For a team to have access to the keg, the flag must be held by a living team member in their home base. For safety, the flag may NOT be taken up into the rigging of the ship or up the stairs or into the keep of the fort.
Resting and Safety
Resting A player may take a rest at any time by exiting the field of battle from their own starting zone. Players outside of the field of battle may not engage in combat of any kind. A player may only exit the field of battle when they are not engaged in a battle. (i.e. you can't jump out of bounds to avoid taking damage) If you are close to the edge and need a break but are engaged with an opponent, you may request a break and a virtuous foe may grant you reprieve to exit the field of play and take a breather. Players may not ask for a break to try to fool their opponents. When you are done resting, you may only re-enter the field of play from your starting zone (similar to resurrection). Please do not decide to leave the game by simply resting the entire time. This is not fair to your team. If you want to sit out for the remainder of the game, see Quittting below.
Injury/Emergency In the event of injury or emergency, the battle may be stopped by shouting "HOLD!" When you hear the word "HOLD!" shouted, you must stop play immediately and pass the call of "HOLD!" until all play has stopped. Play does not resume until the situation has been taken care of. Anyone fighting during a hold will be removed from the game. Because calling a hold is reserved only for emergencies, it is imperative that no player yells the world "hold" unless it is needed. (e.g. Do not yell "hold the line" or similar phrases) Misusing hold will result in ejection from play. Players in the Keg Circle may continue to drink and score points as long as it doesn't interfere with resolving the emergency.
Quitting If before the end of the battle you have decided that you've absolutely had it, you may leave the game permanently. This may be from aggravating an old injury, being completely tired, had too much to drink, or you're just sick of getting whacked. However, it is important that your team knows that they're losing a player permanently. To permanently leave the game, shout "HOLD!" as described above. When the action stops, simply yell that you're done for the rest of the battle and why. You're welcome to quit, but you have to own it.
Strategy and Whine Preempting
Everyone has to fight but not everyone has to drink. (See Decree Five) You may want to designate certain team members (or yourselves) as drinkers, fighters, flag protectors, flag bearers, or other specialized positions that work best for you. Obviously as a team scores more points, they will be less likely to be able to score more points. (which is the whole idea) Depending on how the game goes, a player may reach the point of having had too much alcohol and exercise.
If you need to barf, please do it outside the field of play on the side opposite the Keg Circle!
A barfing player may exit the field of play from anywhere.
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