You need to be authorised as a combat archer in order to be able to be on the warfield – shooting at other combatants and being shot at.

The authorisation form has a number of categories which apply:

Plumed Participant

Having this ticked means that you are authorised to be on the field as a participant and not be struck by melee weapons – the  plume signifies that you cannot be struck, but you can still be shot at by archers, and hit by thrown weapons or siege munitions.   This category includes banner bearers.  If you only have a Plumed Participant authorisation then you may not use any weapon (melee or missile) on the warfield.

You need to be familiar with the Rules of the List,  the armour standards, the conventions of combat relating to war, know how you are killed, and show that you can behave safely on the warfield.

Minors over 14 years old can authorise as plumed participants, but there are some extra requirements – check the Lochac Fighters Handbook for details on authorising minors.

Combat Archery

Having this ticked on your authorisation card  means that you are authorised to shoot at other combatants with a bow.

You need to be familiar with the Rules of the List,  the armour and weapons standards, the conventions of combat relating to war, know about target areas, how you are killed and kill others, and show that you can behave safely on the warfield.

You have to be over 16 years old to authorise as a combat archer.

This is a weapon-specific authorisation so you also need to hold either a Heavy Combatant or Plumed Participant authorisation to be on the field.

 

Plumed Participant + Combat Archery = Plumed Combatant

If you are acting as a Plumed Combatant, you can use and be targeted by missile weapons.  You may not be targeted with melee weapons, and you cannot use any melee weapon either. You must wear a plume on your helmet so that people know not to strike you with melee weapons.

Plumed siege crew are another type of Plumed Combatant – they have both the Plumed Particpant and Siege Engine authorisations, and use siege weapons rather than bows.

 

Heavy Combatant + Combat Archery = Heavy Archer

Those acting as Heavy Archers may discard of their missile weapon safely, and grab a melee weapon to continue in combat as a heavy combatant.