New guy to Knight Realms

Hey everyone My name is Tristan Koch (Real Name) and i'm new to larp in general and ive been looking around for one for quite sometime. i found this site and it looks good and im planning on coming to the july 1-3 event with my best friend. but i have a few questions 1. i sent in my character history sheet to 2 different emails and i want to know exactly which one im supposed to send it to seeing as i have found 3 different ones to send it to 2nd i have a very week compound bow it was one of the little kids bows if i turn the power all the way down can i use it with larp safe arrows i will post how far it shoots with normal arrows later. Thanks for the help hope to see you in july!

Hi and welcome.  I hope you have tons of fun when you make it to your first event.  I'm including an excerpt from the rulebook in regards to archery & bows. I think the highlighted portion can asnwer your question.

Archery (Bows & Crossbows)
For the purpose of archery, Knight Realms allows players to use real bows with boffer-padded arrows (boffer archery). While we allow and encourage real bows for realism and the all important coolness factor, we must stress that safety always comes first.

Boffer arrows do a base of 8 damage. The base damage is high to encourage people to put the time and effort into making a good looking set of props and weapons.

Because they look poor and are inaccurate, Nerf weapons are not allowed at KR. "Packet Archery" (holding a bow in one hand, and throwing spell packets with the other) is also not permitted at KR.

In order to use a bow, you must first pass a test under the supervision of a Rules Marshal. Also, a Marshal will pick one of your arrows at random and take it apart to check and make sure they are safely made – please bring an extra for this purpose. Note that the Marshal picks one arrow randomly, so that you can’t make a good one for the Marshal and skimp on the others; they all need to be top quality.

Bows need to be simple recurve bows with no more than 20 pounds at full draw, and with a Draw length of no more than 26”. Arrows should be fitted for this (26”), keeping in mind that the end will be covered in foam, so you may want them a bit longer.

What about say a bow made of pvc/cpvc would i be able to use that?

What about say a bow made of pvc/cpvc would i be able to use that?

Do you mean a homemade bow who's material is PVC/CPVC? Or bow bought from a manufacturer which happens to be made out of PVC/CPVC?

Homeade its cpvc with a metal bar on inside where the handle is so it wont snap with spray foam insulation inside and a 3/4 inch thinwall piece of pvc  overtop approximately half of it

The only additional information regarding archery & combat can be found here.  A Rules and/or Safety marshal can answer your question regarding a homemade bow.

I cant take ranges of it but estimating by the length of my house the bow shoots 200-250 feet at optimal angle with real arrows im assuming its gonna be worse with heavier arrows with foam and stuff

I'm sure there is a way to use the range to calculate the pull, but I don't know it off hand.  It's up to the Rules & Safety Marshals to judge your bow & shooting skills/technique to see if you're safe enough to go around shooting.

Welcome to Knight Realms, I hope you enjoy the experience. I am you point of contact for all things to do with the kitchen, it's use, and the person you want to talk to about any food allergies if any.. My name is Luis, Quan Liu in game. See you soon...

Given that you're rarely going to be shooting at people more than, say, fifty feet away, especially in line fights, it's probably overkill to bring a 200-250 foot range bow... I'd follow the guidelines they give you for making arrows: Have someone shoot you with it, then shoot them. If either of you show any concern, it's not safe.

I can't find it in the rulebook, but there is a statement that "no weapon is garaunteed to be accepted" by Staff.  Usually this applies to latex weapons, but if you bring in a homemade weapon & the Staff view it as unsafe, you cannot use it.

No one intentionally targets bows in melee combat, but chaos reigns in fights.  A stray hit could whack your bow and the idea of metal bar on the inside handle doesn't sit well with me.  Just my personal opinion...

If you're looking for a bow for game, check the web links on the left menu bar of the website.  There are lots of sites that offer bows.

Yeah those ranges are with real arrows with the ones I made I let my friend shoot me from five feet and it was fine and for the metal bar in handle problem it's inside the PVC two layers deep

We've use "Pvc" bows back here for NPCs. Baisically 3/4 or 1" with aa leather rap handle. Taat 28" they're 20#. We don't re-inforce the core.

Grant it, that's what we do here, you need to check with KR staff. I"m just documenting poundage we have on ours for general information.

thanks im gonna make one like that because the one i hand creased and is now useless

I might suggest covering the the bow in Brown duct tape.
1) I've never seen one break, but..just in case, it holds everything together.
2) It takes away the 'white' color, doesn't rub off like paint, and would match a boffer staff

and lastly-even though we've used them in IN, I can't stress enough.... my information is only that... information. Approval can ONLY come from the KR staff. Don't be surprised (or put off...) if they decline the bow.

Let me repeat that one more time...

Even though we've used them in IN, I can't stress enough.... my information is only that... information. Approval can ONLY come from the KR staff. Don't be surprised (or put off...) if they decline the bow.

understood but yeah im gonna make one anyone and they will probably let it in if i let them shoot me from five feet with my arrows and  the bow would not be my main weapon it would be my sidearm so it wouldn't be detrimental  ya thanks for the help info also could someone confirm the email to send character history's too

also what was that length for the bows you use again because i find it hard to believe anyone uses a 2 foot long bow

5' length when straight

thanks and approximately how much do you personally bend them when they are strung but not pulled back??? cuz i have a spare bowstring and i want to know if it will fit otherwise i will go buy one the right length anyway thanks for the help

Also 3/4 inch PVC or CPVC cause 3/4 inch CPVC is around the same as 1/2 inch PVC if you could clarify the exact pipes you use that would be great or if you could link me to it once again thanks!

I believe it's  3/4 Schedule 40 PVC. It's the stuff that fits the pink/biege Pipe insulation a lot of games use for boffer weapons. (Available at Menards/Lowes/Home Depot)

As far as the Bend goes, I believe there's about 8-10" between Bow string and Handle at center of Bow.

If I have room, I'll throw one of ours in the car. No guarentees.... I have a lot of stuff to pack, but I'll try.

Please don't try and answer any questions about rules if you're not a Rules Marshal. 

Since we only allow the use of real bows for Archery at KR we take safety very seriously.  The specific draw weight is very carefully inspected and we ensure that everyone that uses a Bow adheres to our safety policies.

You're welcome to bring whatever you have with you, but make sure that a staff member inspects your weapon and how you will be using it.  Also per our policy, be prepared for a staff member to dissect one of your arrows to ensure they are created correctly if they are not store bought LARP arrows. 

Send your character history to

Sry Andy, didn't mean to step on toes. 10 years running a Game and Boards... are very hard to get out of your system.

Also thanks for the character background info, I sent mine to a different one.

In Defense of ravn i didn't feel he was being a rules marshal just helpful he even said that a rules marshal could not approve it just my opinion and thanks for the link to the new character history thing thanks for the help everyone!

Also andy do the arrows HAVE to be made in a certain way or can they be made a different way that is just effective the arrows i made i have been shot by a compound bow from 5 feet and it feels like someone gave you a rough pat on the back but it has no open cell foam on it

Still need the above Questions answered

No arrow, boffer weapon, or spell packet should ever be able to fit into someone’s eye socket

if thats the main regulation im fine

www.knightrealms.com/weapons-a-armor/268...g-boffer-arrows.html

i know i have read that do they HAVE to be made like that or can they be made another just as affective way?