Page 163 of The Alchemists

Physical combat is allowed in the circular zones and magical combat in the triangular zones.⁠* The type of permissible attack is dependent on your opponent’s zone. For example, if you are in a physical zone but your opponent is in a magical zone, you may use magical attacks, but not physical ones.

Basic Objectives

The goal of Cantrèa is to score points through both physical and Ætheric attacks. The game ends when one player has smashed the other’s Orb.

Attire

Cantrèa is played wearing light knee and forearm guards, and a light half-helmet with a visor that protects the temples and eyes. Gloves are optional and may be worn to protect the hands. Shoes or boots with a flexible sole are recommended.

The torso is protected by a high-necked plastron that is either padded or made of stiff cloth and enchanted to protect the duelist. The uniform may be worn in the official colors of one’s dueling club, league, or school.

The official colors of the professional Cantrèa league are black and gold. Black is used for the plastron, pants, and helmet; gold is used for guards, piping, and embellishment. The plastron may display your organization’s crest on the left-hand breast.

Equipment

Only two pieces of equipment are allowed in the Cantrèa ring—the Foil and the Orb.

The Orb

The Orb is a delicate glass sphere measuring ten centimeters in diameter for professional play. It is filled with colored smoke or vapor and often filled with looping filament to aid in the storage of spells. The Orb is carried in the player’s non-dominant hand through non-magical means only.

The Orb may store a player’s environmental and attack spells.

The Foil

So called based on its origins in fencing, an official Cantrèa foil is a thin, flexible rod of composite material. The foil must measure one centimeter in diameter, and its length is variable dependent on age and play level.

The foil is wielded in the player’s dominant hand and fastened around the wrist and the Saturnal finger. The foil must begin sheathed and may be extended once play has been called. The foil is extended through an external flicking motion and sheathed through an upward flick of the wrist. The foil may be used for physical attacks, defense, or the casting of spells.

Basic Scoring

Physical Points

Physical play is not allowed until the spell-seal has been broken (after the casting of the first spell).

A valid hit is worth two points.

Acceptable target areas include the torso, back, and arms. Lunges, extensions, and slashes are all permissible hits as long as the tip of the foil makes contact with the body. A slapping hit along the arm with the midsection of the foil, for example, would not count as a valid hit.

Magical Points

Magical hits may occur on any part of the player’s body excepting the head, face, and groin. Your opponent must be visibly affected by a spell for it to count. Only magic cast through the Orb count toward points.

Magical hits are worth ten points.

Orb Points

Smashing your opponent’s Orb is worth one point.

Spells and Magics

Prepared Spells

Players may prepare up to seven spells for storage during gameplay. These may consist of:

Four attack spells—elemental attacks; beams, spears, and strikes; illusions; or spells to weaken, confuse, or disorient. Stored in the Orb.

Two defensive spells—shields, absorption auras, or fortitude modifiers. Stored in the foil.