Combat Lesson
An important aspect to many of the plots involved in role-playing is the concept of fighting. Good versus bad, light versus dark, struggle and conflict are an important part of role-playing. To account for this aspect, one must have a means to do so, hence the development of fighting. Many are drawn to RPG just for the fighting part. Lets be honest… sticking a sword into someone's head can be fun. However, the concept of fighting must have some sort of guideline, so that opponents can battle each other on the same grounds. With this thought, we have devised a way to do that. The following document is a summary of the means of how to do that.

Type 1

Explaination/Background
A bit more difficult to learn, yet in my opinion, more gratifying, Type 1 is mostly used in the realm of TirahNosti. Type 1 does not use connections to state that an attack has been succeeded, rather it is left to the opponent to decide whether or not your attack has connnected. Type 1 relies not upon typing ability, but on the mind and on one's ability to role-play and devise characters. Its more of a mind and thinking game, because one must use his or her character abilities and surroundings, to enforce death upon their opponent. The object of Type 1 is to force your opponent into a position where he/she/it has no other options, and is forced to take the hit. If the hit is lethal, death is declared. (By options, I mean ways to counter/dodge/block.)

Fighting occurs in steps:

  1. Positioning
  2. Attempts

Positioning
A concept that T1 use is positioning- moving your character into position where he/she/it can make their attack. Swinging a sword or staff must require a character to be relatively close to their opponent, whereas throwing a fireball or dagger, or other projectile can be done at a distance.

Examples of positioning can be many things… walking or running to your opponent, circling your opponent, diving, rolling, teleportation, shadow-walking the list goes on and on. Basically, the easiest way to keep track of positioning is to envision your character upon a flat playing field, your opponent infront. (This can also be done on a table top if you have trouble picturing it in your mind). As you type in the movements, ie. running, walking, circling, and what not, envision your character, either in your mind, or on the table top, doing the same movement.
Examples
  • Bob walks towards Joe
  • Bob runs towards Joe
  • Bob darts towards Joe
  • Bob circles Joe to the left

The list goes on and on…. Basically, a line to move your character into position to attack. The most important thing, in both fighting styles, is to be specific. Indicate direction.

Attempts
Probably one of the most important things about fighting is the attempt. What separates an Attempt from an Autohit is that an attempt is exactly that. It is an attempt at hitting your opponent, not a pre-declared hit.
What is an autohit?
Autohits, or Neiges, are pre-declared hits that do not give your opponent a chance to block/dodge/defend. Such examples are:
  • Bob slashes off Joe's head
  • Bob impales Joe through the chest with his blade
  • Bob hits Joe with a fireball, burning him like my momma burns chicken, leaving him a crispy and black ash.

What differentiates an auto from an Attempt is that Attempts give your opponent a chance to dodge/block/counter, where as Autohits do not, example: Bob slashes at Joe's chest... Instead of Bob slashes Joe's chest
See the difference? Usually, sticking an "at" or "towards" or "heading for" or something of that nature usually does the job.
Attempts range from firing arrows, slashing with swords, throwing energy balls, or what not. The most important thing about Attempts is that you are clear. Having to explain your attempt in a thought bubble is usually not a good thing. You should go back and word it differently. The attempt should be able to explain itself, without the need for a thought bubble to follow up afterwards.
Some good Examples:
  • Bob releases the arrow, sending it straight for Joe's chest
  • Bob slashes through the air, his blade a small silver streak through the air heading for Joe's chest
  • Bob sends an energy blast from his palms at Joe's chest, the energy blasts booming through the air with unsurpassed speed, parting the water below
  • Bob invokes Potence, slamming his foot towards Joe's chest with the force similar to that of a wrecking ball

Most people fighting like to use descriptions, which is perfectly fine. In fact, descriptions should be used, seeing that they seem to make the battle enjoyable for those involved, and those watching. Descriptions are what give a fighter flavor. They can also decide the battle, depicting the attack's strength, speed, and what not. However, descriptions should NOT confuse the attack. A long, descriptive paragraph can make, or break a fighter. Sometimes, just a simple sentence does the job. It is not the length of the attempt, but the content that counts. (Again, this relates back to the thought bubble thing if a thought bubble is needed after the attack, it probably wasn't specific enough, or worded properly.)

T1 Fights (mostly about taking hits, dodging, techinical stuff, etc)

T1 fights are a little harder to breakdown, because they aren't so easily broken down, step by step, and patterns aren't so easily visible. Although, two major patterns exists: Attempt, then Defense; or Attempt, then Attacking. A few examples will be given, and an analysis with it, but not an entire fight, seeing as though each and every T1 fight is unique within itself, and cant really be classified. *note to reader - this is going to be REALLY condensed just simple attacks with hardly any description in the examples, because I'm really tired at this point. 7 pages worth so far sorry

Condition 1: (Bad Idea)

  1. Bob swings his blade across at Joe's face
  2. Joe slashes at Bob's leg
  3. Bob steps back out of the blade's range
  4. Joe quickly lowers his blade to block

Analysis:
Joe takes the hit to the face, and will probably have a hard time picking up girls from now on. Reason being, the one cannot both attack and block at the same time, ie. pull a blade back to block when its already in full swing/has momentum. Line 4 should be scratched. However, Bob's defense, line 3, should count. He attacked before Joe did, and therefore, should have time to recooperate and be able to dodge. He remains unscathed.

Condition 2: (Good Idea)

  1. Joe swings his blade across at Bob's neck
  2. Bob ducks under the blade, dropping to the ground
  3. Bob rushes in, slashing out at Joe's gut

Analysis:
Joe should take the hit to the gut, seeing as though his blade is in a position where he cannot bring it down to block. This goes back to Countering Joe's weapon is in a position where he cannot bring it back in time to block the oncoming attack. In addition, in order for Bob to rush in like that, he would have to be at close range, shortening chance for Joe to dodge.

A Few Misc. Things on Descriptions and T1 in General

The blocking time given to an opponent in T1 is basically unlimited. However, if the opponent chooses to type several lines of text (ie. talking and so on and so forth) when given the chance to block/dodge/counter, the hit should be accepted. The opponent chose to talk and rant instead of typing in a defense.

Descriptions- fun and dandy. The point of the descriptions is to make the fight more exiting and enjoyable to read, for both the fighters and the observers. However, the basic attack (ie. limbs/body parts that one is aiming for, or the actual attack itself) should be easy to withdraw from the line. Descriptions should not be cluttering. Descriptions should describe, either the fighter's appearance/movements or the physical effects of the attack. If you need a thought bubble afterwards to explain your attack or dodge, then its not clear enough. Fix it.

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