Battles/Dueling/Combat

[Ephinie]

Because of the format of forum, there is no way for us to install a "fight" system. Therefore, what we will be using is a form of purely roleplayed combat that follows a set pattern. If you have any questions or confusion about how this works, please post the questions here.

Before you duel, specify how many "rounds" you would like the duel to last. The typical length is three, but you may choose to fight less or more.

Each round consistes of a "defense" and an "attack." The person who begins the duel is obviously going to begin with an "attack," so they will finish as well with their "defense" to make sure that is one complete round. Thus, the format will look like this:
Combatant A: attack
Combatant B: defense/attack
Combatant A: defense/attack
Combatant B: defense/attack
Combatant A: defense/attack
Combatant B: defense/attack
Combatant A: defense.

Using this format, each player has the opportunity to write attacks and defenses.

The next important question becomes... how is the victor decided? Obviously each player can write that anything they want to happen can happen in their posts. This is where judging comes in. Both combatants must, before beginning the duel, decide upon three judges (preventing the possibility of a tie). The judges read the duel and cast their "vote" for the winner. The combatant with the most votes wins.

Because the judges are determining the outcome of the duel, this means that the criteria by which they judge is incredibly important. If you are a judge, you cannot just pick the person you like better or pick the winner based on what you personally want the outcome to be (such as always voting for the good guy or always voting for the evil guy). As you read the duel, you decide which combatant did better overall based on the following:

Auto-Hitting: This is frowned upon. The person attacking should describe in detail where they mean to hit the person, what their intent is in the attack, but it must be left open for the person defending to get out of it. So, for example - "Snowbell chomps down on Starfire's muzzle" is bad. However, "Snowbell lunges toward Starfire's muzzle, attempting to bite down on it," would be correct. This lets Starfire determine whether or not the hit lands, how hard it lands, and what damage she takes from it when she writes her defense.

Creativity: The more creative a person's attacks and defenses are, the better. Is someone just lunging forward with a sword, or are they using something more well thought out? This is one of the most important (if not THE most important) features of judging.

Believability and Godmodding: If you see a unicorn fighting with a sword, that's not very believable. If you see some other character using an attack that is SO far-fetched that you just don't see them logically being able to do it, this is also not good. If someone uses an attack that is way too powerful, really not good. Keep in mind that the person fighting has the best idea about how competent their character is, so this applies mostly to extreme examples.

Writing Skill/Grammar/Spelling: Generally speaking, the combatant that writes better and is more well polished will fare better than the one who isn't. This isn't always the case, though. If the combatant who is writing better is also auto-hitting and god-modding, they should not win just because they can write better. Small mistakes in grammar and spelling are excuseable, but a combatant who has gross errors and repeated spelling mistakes should be counted off for that.

Description: Finally, how well you describe what you are doing is key. The goal is to paint a picture in our minds of what is happening - preferrably a clear picture.

Responsiveness and Damage: How well is the combatant responding to what is being thrown at him or her? Failing to answer parts of the attack, overlooking it, or never taking any damage no matter how well-executed the attack was is bad.

Once the judges decide who they want to vote for, PM a mod (usually myself or Inkling) with your vote. Make sure every judge sends his or her vote to the same mod, though! We will then announce the winner.

And finally... This system is more easily understood when you can see examples. So I am going to post a few of my old duels below this so that you can see how it works.

[Ephinie]

Juliet won this duel.

Thaeloc grabbing the hilt of his long sword and pulling it out f the ground, he stretches his shoulder getting loose. As the light hits his skin and armor the shine of oil can be seen covering his body. Closing his right hand tight he walks slowly towards the ranger keeping an eye out for mussels tightening ready for a strike. Moving with in range of his sword he swings from the left sideways towards her midsection.

Juliet pulls her quarterstaff from her back and drops into a typical defensive stance as her opponent approaches her. Light glints from the side of it, indicating that this staff is likely not made from wood as her previous ones had been. She swings it in a simple verticle arc, blocking the blade perpendicularly as it swings at her left side. Using her staff as a pivot, she pushes herself back, sliding her hands to one end of it as she does so. The metal of her quarterstaff makes a sound like nails on a chalk board as it slides down the length of the blade and straightens out, jabbing the opposite toward the chink between her opponent's breastplate and leggings - hard. The length of her staff is probably twice of a typical longsword, putting her out of range of a swing as she puts all of her force into jabbing it painfully through a chink in the armor.

Thaeloc pivot to the right using the back of his left hand on the side of the quarterstaff pushing away causing the quarterstaff the glance of his breast not transferring all its force into his body. While spinning around he lets the pouch go in his right hand tossing it into the air. Opening in the air above his opponent the contents of the leather pouch fly out. A cloud of finely ground dried wolf banes starts to form in the air, falling towards Juliet.

Juliet slides forward as her quarterstaff glances off Thaeloc's breastplate, carried by her own momentum in pushing it at him. Luckily, it is the staff again that prevents her from falling face first, catching in the sand on the far end. She straightens up and pulls the weapon back toward herself, repositioning her hands toward its center just as the powdered wolfsbane descends. She does not know what it is, only that it smells like last week's garbage mixed with moldy gym socks and a side of rotten cabbage. Her eyes water considerably, and she coughs repeatedly. Still, she focuses in on her opponent. Blinking her eyes several times, she focuses her attention on his shape and relies heavily on sound to pinpoint his exact position. She switches her quarterstaff to one hand. Her leg pulls up while her free hand simultaneously lowers to draw the dagger she keeps strapped to her calf. A quick glance at the weapon would show that it is not shaped like an ordinary dagger. It looks more like a metal rod with a sharp tip on the end, designed specifically for piercing armor. With a flick of her wrist, she sends the projectile flying at the warrior, speeding at the weak spot where the helm usually meets the neckline of the breastplate.

Thaeloc twist at his waist trying to avoid the sharpen rod. With her eyes blurry the rod was lower then his neck. Not getting all the way out of the way the rod enters into the bicep on his left arm. The cloud of Wolfs bane now fully has dropped down onto Juliet. Dropping the sword in his left hand from the pain he draws a silver dagger from his boot. Lunging forward hoping the falling cloud of herbs slows her down he aims the silver dagger towards her shoulder not aiming at a vital points.

Juliet 's vision has cleared by this time, though her eyes are still a bit red. Her nose krinkles up in disgust, clearly disliking the scent of the rotten herb clinging to her. Still, she maintains her focus. She crouches, ready to spring, again moving her staff to her right hand as her other pulls a small crystal vial out of her belt. When Thaeloc flies toward her with the dagger, she twirls around him in the opposite direction quickly, though not quick enough to avoid taking a nick to her outer arm in the process. Now in close proximity, she flings the vial foward at the back of her opponent's head. The vial - where ever it manages to hit - shatters on contact and releases a puff of noxious fumes into the air along with the sound of something sizzling. It is a fast-acting acid that can eat a hole through metal in seconds, and its affects on flesh are even more disturbing.

Thaeloc stopping quickly after the ranger moves out of the way of his lunge feels the vial hit him in the back. The sizzling sound coming from behind him lets him realize what had hit him. Using the dagger in his right hand he quickly cuts the straps under his left side causing the armor to fall from his back before the toxic substance reaches his skin. Turning to Juliet he tells her, ?There is a couple of water skins in my belt if want to wash some of that stuff off.?

[Ephinie]

This was a test for Voix.

Juliet removes her cloak first, so that she will not have any stray material whipping around during the fight. Then, she takes her quarterstaff firmly in her hands and narrows her eyes as she gauges her opponent. Moving forward swiftly, she pulls her staff up horizontally with her body and pulls it back along her side. Then she jabs it fowars swiftly, in a movement similar to striking a pool ball, aiming to stab Voix directly in the center of her gut with the blunt end of the weapon.

Voix watches Juliet carefully, and when the staff is jabbed at her she hesiates for a second, then moves to the left. The staff hits her in the arm and she yelps quietly in pain. Before thinking about it she pivots on her foot, swinging her fist towards Juliet's upper torso.

Juliet pulls her weapon back quickly, locking it to her side for a moment. Then she whips it up to knock the on-coming fist out of the way, effectively blocking the punch. She blinks in confusion for a moment, as she notices that her opponent does not seem to be using any weapons yet. Still, she remains alert as she circles Voix, looking for her next opening. She settles down into this circling stance, just watching the other girl for a long time. One might begin to wonder if she intends to advance again at all. Then, her eyes flick up for a split second. In a flash, her staff shoots out again, but this time it is not directed for Voix. It goes straight up, banging hard into a low-hanging tree branch. With a shudder, a long, deadly-looking icecicle that just happens to be positioned exactly above the other girl's head cracks away from its spot on the branch and speeds down on a collision course for the crown of her skull.

Voix tilts her head in confusion as the staff shoots upwards. She goes to ask what she was doing, but she then heard the cracking of the ice. Voix looks up, her eyes go wide and she quickly rolls out of the way. She blinks, shakes her head and stands back up, her right hand grasping the knife. She posistions herself for a moment, then runs at Juliet, swinging her left fist at the woman and her right hand slashing after.

Juliet jumps back several feet, narrowly avoiding the punch. The dagger is just barely blocked as it nicks into the side of the also retreating quarterstaff. In her hasty retreat, she discards the weapon altogether, disappearing from sight behind the thick foilage. Silence descends on the small forest clearing, then a slight rustling is heard. Then another. Though very faint, a good ear would be able to pick out the Ranger's swift movements somewhere just beyond sight, but what could she be doing? A small sphere of white suddenly whips past Voix, smacking soundly into a tree trunk behind her. The fluff falls away on impact, revealing that this snowball was hiding a solid rock that now thunks to the ground with a thud. Ut oh. Following the first, a barrage of rock-filled snowballs jet out from behind the foilage, aiming to hit the Ranger hopeful hard.

Voix winces as the snowballs hit her, each leaving a welt on her arm or leg. She quickly hides behind a tree, and regains her composure. She listens closely trying to pinpoint the exact location of Juliet. Voix peers around the tree, throwing a snowball like made with a few small hidden stones, where she believes Juliet is at.
Juliet tumbles out from behind her hiding spot, just barely by-passing the stone-filled snowball hurling her way. She scrapes around on the ground for a few minutes before finding her staff and replacing it. After dusting herself off, she nods, "That's that, I guess."

[Ephinie]

Friendly Spar

Kasmira takes two small knives in her lefthand and grips a warhammer in her right. With a little grin she effortlessly sends all three weapons flying toward her opponent. The warhammer heads straight for your neck, while the two knives aim a little to your right to prevent movement in that direction. Without hesitating even a moment, Kasmira leaps up into the air and toward you right side, her heavy boots reaching out to crush anything they make contact with.

Elsie quickly ducks to the left, the warhammer just barely missing her as it whizzes over her head. The daggers also fly past, a near miss. Having ducked to the left, the strong kick of one of the boots manages to smack the young squire squarely on that side of her head. She blinks and shakes her head to clear her vision, instinctively reaching for her longbow. The moment she has it firmly within her grasp, she spins around and sees her opponent just a couple feet from her. She thrusts it straight forward, intenting to stabb the butt end of it into Kasmira's lower spinal cord.

Kasmira hits the ground rolling. With an ease from years of practice, she twists her body midroll and lands squating down and facing her opponent. Surprised, Kasmira sees that she only has a split second to move if she does not want her head impaled by an arrow. Her momentum barely stopping, she rolls again, this time to the right and toward you. Ending the roll with a strong kick out and upward from the ground, Kasmira threatens to shatter your knee. At the same moment she slashes upward with a small shimmering sword that looks as though it may be made of ice.

Elsie pulls her longbow back as it misses its target and takes the other end in her other hand. She stands up and thrusts the weapon forward in front of her to block the incoming kick. The wood splinters, but the length remains in tact. She then slides her hand down to grip it at the end, twisting it around in an arch to meet the oncoming attack from the curious-looking sword. As the already weakened oak of the longbow meets the blade, it severs completely, even the string snapping with ease. Luckily, though, it gave just enough resistence for the girl to avoid being cut. Still clutching a half of the ruined weapon, she twists around to the left, coming out behind her opponent. She rips the dangling string off the piece of wood, drops that piece of it, and tosses one end of the string over Kasmira's shoulder. She then reaches her hand around the other side of the woman's neck, intending to grab it and use the broken bowstring to choke the life out of her.

Kasmira stays quietly in place as you make an effort to strangle her. As the string begins to tighten around her neck, what is left of the damaged weapon shimmers blue for a moment, turns icy cold, then quickly melts into nothing. Strangely enough, no water is formed in this process. Kasmira, from her half-sitting position quickly draws her feet in and kicks out as her hands reach for your wrists. Counting on your losing your balance from having been leaning toward her in your attempt to strangle her, she makes a deft effort to roll you head first into the ground, hoping to use your momentum to pull her upright and on top of you. Gripping her sword with her free hand, she shoves it upward toward your stomach, while her attack should pull you down and into the blade.

Elsie gasps when the string melts away, and suddenly jerks forward when Kasmira grabs her wrists. She is not completely unprepared, however,and pushes off with her feet, using the attack to her advantage. Because of the extra momentum gained, she manages to twist her weight at the last second so that the sword grazes her right side; and she lands on the ground with a soft thud. The moment her wrists are free, she reaches up and grabs two arrows from her quiver. Being now in close quarters with her opponent, she grips them frimly at their bases, near the feathers, and thrusts them upwards towards the center of the older squire's diaphram.

Kasmira ducks to the side, dropping to the ground next to you. The arrows almost miss her, hitting and sliding off the side of her breastplate. "Well, I suppose this is useful stuff." With a laugh Kasmira slides out of her armor, quite happy that arrow didn't go through her dress instead.

[Inkling]

Thanks, Ephinie. Seems clear enough, and we'll do our best to keep combat as realistic and fair as possible given the forum constraints. Family friendly, of course, as far as how graphic the combat gets.

On another note, I didn't realize what fierce fighting moves I've apparently learned. They didn't teach /those/ in my MA program. :rolleyes:

[Simetra]

How does this work in battle (particularly fights to the death)? Does the judge decide if a person dies? What if a player is doing reverse godmodding... not necessarily fighting ridiculously well, but always avoiding a big or relatively unavoidable hit? I imagine this wouldn't be a huge problem in a duel or spar, but it would be frustrating in a battle...

[Copperfox]

Okay, since we got unlocked and were told to come here, allow me to set up a still-hypothetical combat.


Gripstone, male tiger, is standing on a gentle slope, watching four wolves advancing uphill and fanning out as they come closer to him. Let's imagine that the largest of the four wolves is one of the middle two, on Gripstone's left. Here is the tiger's initial intention:

Tigers being able to leap much farther than any wolf can, Gripstone will spring as soon as his first target is within forty feet. His aim is to come down by the left shoulder of the biggest wolf. A swat by Gripstone's left forepaw against the side of the wolfs' head will aim to deflect a biting attempt, and almost simultaneously he will go for a bite into the wolf's neck, to sever the cervical vertebrae. While doing this, or when emerging from it, Gripstone will use the first wolf as a sort of fulcrum, to swing the tiger's rear half toward the other middle-placed wolf, so he can slash at this wolf with his hind claws. Gripstone doesn't need to kill every wolf he faces; any wolf he can immobilize (e.g. by breaking one of its legs) will cease to be a threat.

If all of the above goes ideally, Gripstone will be facing to the left of his original attack vector; he will thus leap right over the first dead wolf (IF he's sure he killed it) to attack the one on that end.

If the Mods rule that the wolves are so quick as to be able to mob Gripstone as soon as he lands in the first leap (not something I would bet my money on with actual animals), then the tiger will briefly roll onto his back. This is decidedly NOT a defenseless position for any feline; it means that ALL of his paws can make clawing attacks, and there is no safe direction for an adversary to come from. He won't stay there long, though; wherever he first scores meaningful damage on the enemy, he'll roll to that side to get back on his feet and break into the clear. When he's inflicted some casualties, unless a clear chance arises to achieve major advantage, he'll try to get back near the humans again, lest they be picked off by flankers.

I consider all this tentative, since (1) I don't know if the Gryphon is ever going to arrive, (2) I don't know how effective the Mods will allow Libertas to be with his crossbow, (3) I don't know if Inkling meant for ALL the villagers to be totally useless in a fight, and (4) I don't know how super-duper the werewolves and incubi are going to be allowed to be. But I'm trying to help develop the tactical exercise.