ALL WEAPONS MUST PASS A SAFETY INSPECTION EACH EVENT.
Safety inspections are held at events by the Safety Team in the dining hall while Logistics is open Friday 6pm - 11pm. Weapons cannot be inspected between events. Please be prepared if your weapon does not pass.
Approved weapons are marked with a color-coded ribbon for the event. Any weapon without that ribbon cannot be used during the event.
What to Bring for Inspection
LARP melee weapons, Brawling weapons, blasters (Nerf, etc), blaster ammo, shields, bows, arrows, toy bows/crossbows, LARP throwing weapons, bird seed packets, and automated / remote controlled weapons.
All items must be built and painted appropriately, and DRY. Building and repairing with paint, adhesive, sealant, and lubricant cannot be done at the event.
New Weapons
You can bring any LARP weapon, shield, and blaster not listed below to potentially have it added to the list. There are no guarantees such items will pass, so be prepared!
Combination Weapons
Attaching two Nerf blasters with their tactical rails as Hasbro designed is allowed and counts as a single weapon. Otherwise, weapons cannot be combined i.e. no bayonets or ‘gun-blades’ and no taping two weapons together.
Loaned Weapons
Galaxy Awaits does not loan or rent weapons, props, and costumes to players. You must bring your own to use for your character.
Learn how to make your own weapons! Get started at Plastidip Artists Facebook group.
**************************************************
ARCHERY
Real Bow & Arrow
Bow - real straight bow, from any store, with a 26 pound pull or less.
Arrow - padded LARP arrow from Calimacil, Palnatoke, Epic Armory, IDV, or Windlass.
Fire only one arrow at a time. No multi-shots.
NOT ALLOWED:
Homemade and Etsy arrows
Compound bows and real crossbows, including from LARP equipment websites.
Toy Bow / Crossbow
Nerf Chewbacca Bowcaster, Nerf N Strike StratoBow, Nerf N-Strike Blazin Bow, Nerf Zombie Strike Wrathbolt, Nerf Zombie Strike Crossfire Bow Blaster, and any other Nerf bow or crossbow that shoots foam arrows or darts.
Must be painted black or grey minimum, realistic ‘Star Wars-esk’ colors preferred. Cosmetic mods and orange safety tip optional.
Must fire one arrow / dart at a time.
Must be original and out-of-the-box stock. Functional mods of any kind are not allowed.
NOT ALLOWED: any toy bow / crossbow brand that is not Nerf.
BLASTER
Only Nerf, Air Zone, and Buzz Bee brands are allowed.
Must be painted black or grey minimum, realistic ‘Star Wars-esk’ colors preferred. Remove the orange from Star Wars Nerf blasters. Cosmetic mods and orange safety tip optional.
Must fire ONE dart per trigger reset regardless of flywheel, spring, battery operated, etc.
Must be original and out-of-the-box stock. Functional mods of any kind are not allowed.
Customization of stocks, handles, and barrels as well as additional decorative pieces are allowed.
Light and audio modifications are allowed. Lighting must not be blinding.
NOT ALLOWED:
BoomCo, Nerf Rival, Australian Nerf, disk shooters, and homemade blasters.
Internal blaster parts in a custom shell.
Blasters that shoot more than one dart per trigger reset.
BLASTER AMMUNITION
Only Nerf, Air Zone, and Buzz Bee brands, and generic made-for-Nerf, are allowed.
Ammo Types: standard darts for Nerf, Air Zone, or Buzz Bee, Nerf N-Strike Mega darts, Nerf N-Strike Elite Missiles, and Nerf Ballistic Balls.
NOT ALLOWED: disks, Rival rounds, homemade ammo, and any other ammo type or brand not listed above.
BRAWL WEAPON
A Brawl Skill weapon is a coreless 12 - 20 inch section of ¾ inch pipe foam insulation with ½ inch wall. No core, paint, coverings, or decorations of any kind is allowed.
MELEE WEAPON
Melee weapons must look as realistic as possible, within the theme of the game, using foam and paint described below. Boffers are not allowed.
Overall Length: 14 - 80 inches overall length. Overall length of 50 inches or more must be made by a Pre-approved LARP weapon manufacturer.
Blade: 10 inch minimum length. ½ soft foam minimum on all striking edges. 2 inch minimum coreless soft foam tip.
Foam: any closed-cell foam soft enough to cushion a strike, yet hard enough not to feel the core when squeezed. Foam types can be mixed. Examples: pipe foam insulation, pool noodle, blue camp mat foam, LED EVA foam, EVA/craft foam, or Plastazote.
Core: graphite, fiberglass, or 1"OD 3/4"ID 1/8" walled polycarbonate clear tube.
Crossguard: coreless foam.
Handle & Pommel: can be plastic, metal, foam, leather, cloth, etc. as long as the finished piece is permanently attached to the core and no sharp or pointed edges.
Paint: latex or Plastidip base, acrylic colors (optional for electronic weapons), and a flexible clear sealant such as Frog Juice, Through the Roof, or Krylon Low Odor Clear Finish.
Lightsaber colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. White means the weapon is “off”.
Pre-approved LARP weapon manufacturers: Calimacil, Palnatoke, Epic Armory, and Windlass.
Electronics
Homemade lightsabers and other light-up weapons are allowed following the specifications above. Batteries and electronic boards must be built into the handle.
External lighting is allowed on the pommel, handle, and crossguard. Ensure such lighting is not blinding. Internal lighting is diffused by foam and can be as bright as needed.
Lightsabers with removable blades are allowed only if purchased from SaberForge, UltraSaber, or Kyberlight. How to Pad a Removable Blade.
Not Allowed
Nerf melee weapons and Hero’s Edge weapons.
Homemade removable blade weapons.
Tape and/or cloth covered weapons.
Structurally modified Professional LARP weapon manufacturer weapons.
PACKETS
Use a piece of cloth (roughly) 8” squared in size, insert 1 or 2 tablespoons of birdseed into the center of the fabric, lift the edges, and seal closed with a rubber band. The packet should be soft and pliable. The birdseed must be free of corn or sunflower seeds.
Optional: use a Throwable instead of a Packet.
SHIELD
Shields must look as realistic as possible, within the theme of the game, using foam and paint described below. Boffer shields are not allowed.
Overall Length: 12 to 36 inch diameter, or 12 by 12 inch minimum and 24 by 36 inches maximum.
Edge: all edges require a closed-cell foam trim extending at least one inch from the edge of the core. Foam types can be mixed. Examples: pool noodle, LED EVA foam, EVA/craft foam, blue camp mat foam, or Plastazote.
Face: foam is not required on the shield face. If foam is used, only LED EVA foam, EVA/craft foam, or Plastazote is permitted.
Core: thick corrugated cardboard, non-brittle clear acrylic sheet, foam board (double layer), and plastic from storage bin lids and sleds.
Paint: latex or Plastidip base, acrylic colors (optional for electronic shields), and a flexible clear sealant such as Frog Juice, Through the Roof, or Krylon Low Odor Clear Finish.
Pre-approved LARP weapon manufacturers: Calimacil, Palnatoke, Epic Armory, and Windlass.
Electronics
Homemade light-up shields are allowed following the specifications above. Batteries and electronic boards must be built onto the back side of the shield.
External lighting is allowed anywhere except the edge. Ensure such lighting is not blinding.
Not Allowed
Nerf melee weapons and Hero’s Edge weapons.
Homemade removable blade weapons.
Tape and/or cloth covers.
Structurally modified Professional LARP weapon manufacturer shields.
THROWABLES
Throwable weapons must look as realistic as possible, within the theme of the game, using foam and paint described below.
Overall Length: 4 - 20 inches overall length, or 2.5 inch minimum diameter ball.
Foam: any soft foam that springs back when squeezed. Foam types can be mixed. Examples: pipe foam insulation, pool noodle, LED EVA foam, EVA/craft foam, or Plastazote.
Core: none, but can be weighted with up to 10 pennies.
Paint: latex or Plastidip base, acrylic colors, and a flexible clear sealant such as Frog Juice, Through the Roof, or Krylon Low Odor Clear Finish.
Pre-approved LARP weapon manufacturers: Calimacil, Palnatoke, Epic Armory, and Windlass.
Representation
Skills, Techniques, and Items that use the Projectile Method can be represented by an appropriate painted foam Throwable instead of a birdseed Packet. Force Lightning, Pyrokenesis, Thermal Detonators, Flash Bangs, and Sonic Detonators are examples.
AUTOMATED & REMOTE CONTROLLED
You can use remote controlled toy vehicles, non-sentient droids, droids that cannot be played by a player, and foam dart shooting turrets.
Drones can be mounted with foam dart shooters, cameras, night vision, and distraction sounds, but not melee weapons or strobe lights.
All drones must be ground vehicles, never flying, and approved by Safety Staff before being used in the game.
