Warbands is built to be walked into. No experience required, no gatekeeping. Just show up, sign the waiver, and swing a foam weapon at people who are doing the exact same thing back.
The photos below show what a battle looks like. Take care of three things before you step onto the field for the first time.
What a Battle Looks Like
These are real battles, not staged photos. Click any photo to see it full size.
Your First Battle, Step by Step
Find an Event
Check the Calendar of Events for a battle near you. Events are outdoor and seasonal. Mark the date, check the weather, and if you're unsure who's hosting, ask in Discord.
Get Geared Up
The only hard requirement is garb. See What to Wear below. You don't need to own a weapon to show up: new fighters regularly borrow one from another participant. Ask on Discord before the event and someone will likely set you up.
Don't let a lack of weapons keep you at home. Most hosts have lots of loaner weapons. If you build your own, make sure it adheres to Warbands' stringent safety requirements: no weapon should cause bruises, and you shouldn't be able to feel the core with a squeeze. The key to a properly padded weapon is progressive resistance, easy to create using a fiberglass or PVC core and closed cell foam. Some weapons require open cell foam too, to achieve progressive resistance.
Sign the Waiver
Every participant signs the Warbands Waiver and Release of Liability before taking the field. Bring it signed, or sign at check-in. If you're bringing a minor, their legal guardian must sign too, and it must be notarized.
Check In and Weapons-Check
Check your own weapons over before bringing them to the weapons checkers.
Bring your signed waiver to check-in at your first event. Weapons checkers inspect your weapons, whether borrowed or your own, for construction, padding, measurement, and balance before marking them safe and legal to use. They check any armor you wear too, for safety and rules compliance.
Take the Field
A Marshal (referee) enforces the rules on the field and has final say on any dispute: safety first, courtesy second, then playability, then "realism." If you're not sure what just happened in a fight, ask; nobody expects a first-timer to know every rule cold. Rule Zero covers the rest: nobody's here to win on a technicality.
Getting Hit (and Getting Back Up)
Warbands runs on an honor system: you're expected to react to hits fairly, not shrug off a solid blow. Take a hit and you'll know it! If you're hit in the arm, drop what you're holding and put that arm behind your back. If you're hit in the leg, drag the leg. If you're hit in the torso, or lose two limbs, you're dead. If you're "killed," fall or kneel with your weapon over your head.
Expect to die a lot your first time out. Many of our veterans have been fighting this for decades. It's okay; dying is part of the game too. By your third event, you'll start developing combat reflexes that help you stay alive. And you'll learn to watch your back!
This is a simplified walkthrough. The full combat, weapon, and wound rules are on the Rules page. Skim there when you're ready for the details.
What to Wear: Garb
Garb is the one hard requirement to show up. Everything else, you can borrow or build later. It just means clothing appropriate to a fantasy or medieval setting, avoiding anything obviously modern.
You'll need, at minimum:
- A tunic, shirt, dress, or vest of crotch length or longer (bare chest is fine if the rest of your garb meets minimums and local law or camp rules allow it).
- Non-obtrusive pants, kilt, skirt, or leggings. Even neutral-colored sweatpants work. Bare legs are fine.
- Non-obtrusive footwear: moccasins, earth-tone shoes, boots, or sandals. Bare feet are fine if the event allows it.
Not allowed on the battlefield:
- Obviously modern clothing (jeans, pajama pants, modern skirts).
- Neon or fluorescent colors, or clearly modern logos.
- Cleats or spikes, white tennis shoes.
- Real swords, knives, or weapons of any kind, even sheathed.
The bar to meet minimum garb is genuinely low. A simple linen tunic and plain trousers will pass. Don't let garb stop you from showing up.
Armor is optional and doesn't add extra protection from injury. It's there for the game mechanic and the look (see the Rules page). If you wear it, it just needs to look like real armor from five feet away; sprayed cloth or costume plastic won't pass inspection.
Before You Go
Read the Rules
Start with Rule Zero, then the weapon, armor, and combat basics. The full ruleset is at your own pace after that.
Sign the Waiver
Required for every participant. Sign it ahead of time or at check-in. Minors need a guardian's notarized signature.
Find an Event
Check the calendar for the next scheduled battle near you, then bring (or borrow) a weapon that passes safety inspection.