Decimator Hybrid LARP Weapon System

There were two aspects of the design here.

Firstly the design specifications for the Decimator system included the ability to strike opponents at a distance, catching them at surprise and knocking off hit points before direct engagement to give the user a distinct advantage. 

Secondly the side of the shield surface area also gives lots of space for under shield add-ons. Accessories to be purchased separately, included as revenue raiser or deluxe packages and add to the overall show off bling of this premium product. As well as some sort of shooting system , additional weapons, lighting, potion holders, snack bar holders could all be added, maybe a pocket for a music player.

What was first looked into one or more dart gun system firing official regulation safety spec LARP arrows. It is thought wiser to incorporate 3rd party projectiles here due to the importance of safety so the shaft cannot go through the head of the projectile and penetrate a human, especially the eyes.

Toy dart guns would be the basic concept.  You would insert the projectile into a shaft with a sprung plunger. On the plunger some sort of notch sloped on one size so a sprung bolt can hold it in place after clipping in place. This could be controlled with a cable system linked to pull rings or triggers on the handles.

Other than the complexity expense of incorporation of a bank of these systems into the shield structure, they would have to be configured precisely. They have to have a power level of 15 to 20 lbs. This balances power, range and projectile speed with safety limits for striping humans at short range.  However the head weight and drag limit the arrows or bolts limits range severely.  Other options were looked into.

An alternative to the mechanical projectile system was simply hand thrown items such as daggers, throw stars or rings etc. Daggers were chosen here as easy to shaft and draw, plus small enough to fit several.

A bank of dagger sheaths could be easily added to the shield underside. This could additionally be used as close range secondary weapons to draw and stab or slash a pinned opponent.

Additional design specifications for these would include:

• Thick and blunt rear pommels and blade tips.  These would need to be wider than an eye socket.
  
  
• The balance would need to be good ideally more blade weight.
  
  
• Ideally a lack of core to meet safety restrictions , but a well buried core in the foam that is well plated could be safe enough if too wide to enter eye sockets and if light enough.
  
  
• The blades would need to be smooth to easily be drawn and not to flat to create drag or bank to left or right.

In this prototype only one dagger was made, in final versions there would be several.

To add value a light weight single handed sword was added that could be sheathed into the sword under the arm. This would give the advantage of surprise, suddenly turning one confusing exotic weapon into two. Given the Decimator’s primary purpose is to grab and trap opponent’s weapons and opponents themselves, once trapped it helps to have something to hit them with ergo the secondary weapon sword. Alternative weapons could be sheathed but the swords would be easiest to draw.
A lightweight sword also balances the heavier shield weapon with a light weight fast and manoeuvrable weapon.