In order to participate in Project: Valhalla, you must be authorized by a member of the Safety Team.
If you are not authorized with any weapon types, you can participate in all activities but cannot use or pick up weapons of any kind. Authorization is a privilege which may be revoked if you are later found to be playing unsafely.
Authorization is a relatively brief process during which you demonstrate that you know the basic rules (including safety do’s and don’ts) and is required for every player regardless of whether you want to fight or not.
You must authorize with each weapon form you wish to use. If you authorize with a 1-handed sword and later switch to a different 1-handed sword, you do not need to reauthorize. However, if you later decide to fight with a spear, you must authorize with the spear. Thrown weapons and bows also have separate authorizations.
If you are not yet authorized with any weapon forms, you may choose to participate in combat via spells (and you may be struck by weapons; however, you may not wield weapons or shields. If you desire to avoid combat entirely for safety reasons, see Non-Combatants below.
Someone with minimal or even no combat experience will likely be able to pass a melee or thrown weapon authorization with no prior preparation (besides reading the rules) because authorization is about safety, not skill.
Bow authorizations, however, require a much higher degree of preparation due to the skill needed to safely use a bow. Expect to spend 6+ hours practicing with your own bow and boffer-safe arrows before attempting a bow authorization; loaners will not be provided. More practice time may be required if you do not have prior target archery experience.