armor for a number of classes. Armor grants anywhere from 1 to 6 points to a covered hit location. Armor receives a rating based on the type of armor and materials and techniques used to construct it. Each class is able to wear armor ranging from 0 to 6 points. A player may wear armor that is rated higher than the maximum allowed by their class, but it only grants armor up to the class maximum. Regular weapon hits to covered locations remove a single point of armor, however, several classes, spells and creatures are able to remove additional points per blow. Combat involving armor is simple in Amtgard. There are essentially three kinds of damage armor may be subject to. Normal melee attacks remove a single point. Armor breaking attacks will remove one point of armor from a location with more than three points, and all remaining points from a location with 3 or less points. An armor destroying attack will remove all armor from a location struck. Other class abilities enhance all armor worn to "Ancestral Armor", which is removed one point at a time, regardless of the type of damage it is being struck with. As armor in Amtgard is not physically functional, realism and aesthetics are encouraged with armor in Amtgard, in order to enhance atmosphere and balance the substantial benefits offered by armor. Non-period, modern-looking materials and shoddy construction can reduce the protection granted by the armor. Battle games Battle games range from one-on-one tournaments to team battles of forty or fifty people to mass warfare with hundreds of players. The largest "grand melees" are held at the major annual events and can incorporate hundreds of members from chapters all over the world. Conversely, scripted "quests" can involve just a dozen or two participants, and may involve puzzles as well as combat. The ditch battle, or trench battle, is a simple form battle that involves weapon use only, not full class play. Setting Unlike many other fantasy roleplaying games, Amtgard has no established "backstory" to its world. The setting encourages and incorporates elements of historical Europe and Asia as well as the high and low fantasy genres. Elements from steampunk and post apocalyptic fiction are not unheard of, and the only real rule governing a characters back story is that they be compatible with a swords and sorcery setting. Society Amtgard has a cultural side