Game Designer: Unknown
Game Designer: Unknown
Nerf War Rules For
Helm's Deep
Player Count:
8+
Playing Time:
5 Min
Age:
12+
Untested
Game Designer:
Adam (Game Mode Repository)
Description:
This is a castle defense game mode using a Lord of the Rings theme. During the game the defending team takes on the role of the Human's and Elves defending Helm's Deep and the attackers act as Saruman's Orc Army. The attacking team must attempt to blow up the outer wall and breech the main gate. While not as focused on melee weapons as Tolkiens battle, this game mode still gives the players the sense of defending against over whelming odds.
Quick Reference Rules:
The defending team is not allowed to leave Helm's Deep.
The attacking team must pull a bomb (plastic bin) to the area known as the water gate.
The attacking team must carry the torch (rod) to the bomb at the water gate.
Once both the bomb and torch are at the water gate the outer wall is blown up.
The attackers need to place 20 flags in the bin at the main gate in order to breech it.
Attackers can only carry one flag at a time.
The main gate can only be approached from the area known as the ramp.
Defender's respawn is 5 seconds. Attackers respawn is 10 seconds
Detailed Rules
Is there any kind of specific order to the objectives?
Yes and No
The bomb must be placed at the water gate before any of the attackers can pick up the torch.
The attackers can place flags in the bin at the main gate at the same time they are working to transport the bomb and torch.
What should happen when the outer wall gets blown up?
The outer wall barriers are removed so they can no longer be used as cover for the defending team. Usually a moderator or someone in charge should be the one to lay flat or move the barriers for safety reasons.
Any defender's that were standing behind the outer wall should go respawn.
The attacker who blew up the wall should go respawn (they did just blow themselves up).
Each group will need to decide if the attackers will be allowed to move beyond the outer wall after this occurs. This mainly has to do with safety concerns.
Can flags be handed to other players or thrown?
No. A flag must remain in the players hand until they either place it in the bin at the main gate or return it to the starting bin.
Is the attacking team allowed to enter Helm's Deep?
This will depend on your field set up and whether it can be done safely.
What if an attacker gets tagged out while transporting the bomb, torch, or flag?
For the Bomb they leave it where it is.
For the torch or a flag they must return it to its starting location at the attacking teams respawn
What is the point of the desk call bell?
If a desk call bell is used, then before placing a flag in the bin an attacker must first ring the bell to signify that they hit the gate with the battering ram. This really just adds a little theme and helps provide awareness to other players about how often flags are being placed in the bin.
Can the bomb (plastic bin) be moved without a player holding onto it?
No. Also in general the bomb should be pulled rather than pushed.
Group-Specific Rules
Decide On...
who has the final say on a disagreement about someone getting hit.
rules for jumping over or climbing on bunkers
what types of ammo are allowed
a dart velocity limit (I like 120 fps)
whether blaster hits and friendly fire count
rules for shields and melee weapons
what signifies that a player has respawned
Other General Rules
Be respectful. It’s only a game.
Use common sense
Before touching someone's gear ask for permission
Everyone should have eye protection
Don't move bunkers
Ricochets don't count
Players shouldn't discuss what's going on if they haven't spawned back in.
Victory Condition:
Attackers win if the following two objectives are accomplished before the timer goes off, else they lose.
Objective 1: Blow up the outer wall by placing the bomb (plastic bin) and torch (rod) in the area designated as the water gate.
Objective 2: Breech the main gate by placing 20 flags in the bin at the foot of the main gate.
Supplies Needed:
plastic bin (usually a large storage bin works best)
rod (PVC pipe or similar)
20 flags or similar
2X small bin for flags
timer
desk call bell (optional)
air cannon (optional)
More Information
If you have some kind of air cannon or something that launches a bunch of ammo at once it can be fun to place it at the watergate so the attackers have something that feels more like an explosion. The desk call bell adds some nice awareness to the game by letting players know when a flag is placed in the bin. While you can use any timer, I personally like to use the iOS app Audio Countdown by Jason Everett. There's just something about hearing those last few seconds get counted down that makes the game more exhilarating.
Learn More
Basic Supplies
Foam Blasters (e.g. Nerf)
Extra Ammo
Bunkers (e.g. cardboard)
Copy of Rules
Team Indicators (Optional)
Setup Required:
This is one of the more complicated set ups. See the figure below for an example set up.
Build the Helm's Deep keep first.
This should be a well-fortified bunker that is easily defendable by only a few people. The attackers should not be able to flank around the back side of the bunker. The best way to handle this is probably to call areas to the side of the bunker out of bounds.
Helms Deep is essentially two bunkers, the "keep" and "outer wall". The keep should comprise a third of the bunkers length and be on the right side. I suggest first starting with the "keep" as everything basically revolves around this. Remember that the outer wall will not always be in place so the defenders need to be able to defend only using the part of the bunker known as the keep.
Place a flag bin (and optional bell) at the foot of the front of the keep and designate it as the main gate.
Designate on area behind the keep as the defender's respawn.
Build the outer wall
You will need to find some barriers that are easily laid flat or moved out of the way. These should act as the outer wall. The outer wall should make up about two thirds of the bunker and should be to the left of the keep.
If you are going to allow players to pass through the outer wall once it is blown up then only a section of the wall needs the ability to lay flat or move. If you don't allow players to pass through the wall then I suggest making the entire wall moveable.
Build the rest of the field
Mark off a path to the main gate of the keep and designate it as the ramp. The ramp should not have very much cover. The ramp doesn't actually need to be a hill although if you can incorporate a hill that might make things more fun.
Around the mid-point of the outer wall, mark off a small area and designate it as the water gate.
Set up bunkers surrounding Helm's deep but leave a decent amount of open space that the attackers must traverse in order to reach the Helm's Deep bunker.
At the attackers respawn place the bomb (plastic bin), torch (rod) and flag bin with 20 flags.
Dividing up teams
The preferred method is to have about 1/3 of the players act as defenders and the remaining players act as attackers.
Generally the defender's use high rate of fire blasters and the attackers get springers
Variants:
Example Field Setups
