LARP Weapon User Guide

Best practices for combat, safety, and gear maintenance.
Read this before heading into battle to protect your fellow players and your warranty!

Play Hard. Play Safe.

Live Action Role-Playing (LARP) is a physical activity. While our foam weapons from Nemesis Workshops, Calimacil, and Epic Armoury are engineered to the highest safety standards in the industry, they are still sporting equipment used in simulated combat.

Assumption of Risk: By purchasing and wielding these products, you acknowledge that LARP combat carries inherent risks. Artisans d'Azure, Ateliers Nemesis, and our partner brands are never responsible or liable for any injuries, accidents, or damages sustained by you or other players during the use of our products. You are entirely responsible for your own swings and the safety of your combat partners.

Rules of Engagement

A foam weapon is not indestructible, and it is not a toy. To ensure a long lifespan for your gear and a safe environment for your community, always follow these universal combat guidelines:

  1. Control Your Strikes: Always pull your blows. LARP combat relies on the honor system and light-to-medium touch. Never swing with full force, and avoid using your body weight behind a strike.
  2. Watch the Headshots: Generally, never aim for the head, face, or neck. Most LARP rulesets strictly forbid this, as it is the easiest way to cause a real injury. However, for specific events where headshots are explicitly permitted (such as at Bicolline), we strongly recommend wearing a proper helmet for your safety.
  3. Avoid Stabbing (Thrusting): Unless your weapon is specifically engineered and sold with a "thrust-safe" or structurally reinforced tip designed for stabbing, do not thrust. Repeated stabbing motions with standard slashing weapons will quickly destroy the foam tip and expose the fiberglass core.
  4. Watch Your Targets: Do not strike hard, sharp, or abrasive surfaces. Hitting trees, concrete walls, or real steel armor with sharp edges will shred the foam and instantly void your warranty.
  5. Don't Lean On It: Never use your weapon as a walking cane or lean your body weight on the tip. This will warp the fiberglass core and permanently damage the foam matrix.
  6. Wear Protective Gear: Even with the safest foam weapons, accidents can happen in the heat of battle. We highly recommend wearing safety glasses to protect your eyes and padded gloves to protect your hands and knuckles, regardless of the event's specific ruleset.

Will it pass my LARP's safety check?

Many LARP events require a weapon inspection (often called "homologation") before you can enter the battlefield, though this practice varies greatly by region and local regulations.

While we build and curate weapons that pass the vast majority of safety checks worldwide, we can never guarantee that a weapon will be approved at your specific event.

Every LARP organization has its own unique, evolving ruleset regarding weapon weight, length, flexibility, and foam density. Furthermore, even the safest weapon will eventually degrade with years of heavy combat. A sword that passed inspection last summer might be rejected this year if the foam has softened too much or the tip has sustained internal damage. The organization's safety marshal always has the final say.

Caring for Your Arsenal

Different brands use different materials, but good storage habits apply to all of them.

  • Storage: Always store your weapons flat (horizontally) in a cool, dry place, or hang them by the pommel/handle. Never store them resting on their tips.
  • Temperature: Extreme temperatures are the enemy of foam and latex. Do not leave your weapons in a freezing car overnight in the winter, or baking in a hot car trunk in the middle of July.
  • Latex Maintenance (Nemesis & Epic Armoury): Weapons made with latex coatings require regular maintenance. Spray the blade with 100% pure silicone spray (widely available hardware store brands like Jig-A-Loo 100% Silicone work perfectly) and wipe it with a cloth every few months, or after a rainy event. This keeps the latex from drying out or becoming sticky.
  • Foam Maintenance (Calimacil & Stronghold): Injected polyurethane foam weapons do not require silicone maintenance. Simply wipe them down with a damp cloth if they get muddy.

Respect the Gear, Keep the Warranty

We stand proudly behind the manufacturing quality of our weapons. However, our 1-Year Limited Warranty covers manufacturing defects, not combat abuse.

Failing to follow the guidelines listed on this page—such as leaning on your sword, fighting abusively, neglecting latex maintenance, or leaving the weapon in a hot car—will result in the immediate voidance of your warranty.

Treat your gear with respect, and it will serve you well for countless adventures!

View Warranty Policies