Weapons Check

This is by no means a comprehensive guide to weapons check. It is a huge topic that is better left to geddon.org for completeness.

Mist lingers on the ground as the chill of early morning claws its way through your garb. You've been roused from your tent by urgent voices shouting through the camp. Gear gathered, you make your way to weapons check, carefully placing each of your finely crafted weapons into their respective piles.

"Fail, core. Fail, pommel. Fail, twist. Fail, for...well...everything", shouts a surly weapons check marshal as he tosses each weapon over to be failed. You head to the field with your shield and the one sword that made it successfully through weapons check, your least favorite one to boot.

This is a typical template used to check weapons

 

 

Sound fun? Probably not. You can avoid much of this hassle by checking your own gear ahead of time. Some weapons will fail during the course of an event, but some will be close to failing before ever getting to there. Check your gear far enough ahead of the event to give you enough time to make repairs.


Not sure what to look for?

Here is a list of common signs a weapon fails:
-gentle pressure against the palm of the hand on the tip of the blade allows you to feel core

-light twist of the tip causes it to stay twisted, meaning the core likely isn't attached there

-pommel is falling off/poorly secured

-dropping sword pommel first, on hard surface, results in "clank"

-gentle pressure with thumb on stabbing tip allows you to feel core

-"squishy" blade, probably will fail a hit test

-dead spot or divot on striking surface, might fail hit test

-easy to cause blade to flex 90 degrees

-pommel or blade look narrow, probably fails weapon template test

-excessive weight, probably fails hit test

-no cover (yes, it has happened)

-wrapped in duct tape (yes, it has happened)

-your weapon has a fail sticker on it (yes, it has happened)

Odds are, if you think your weapon might fail in one or more of those ways, it probably does. Always be extra strict in testing your own gear, and leave anything questionable at home/camp. The less questionable weapons that make it to check, the sooner everyone can be fighting.