Medieval & Fantasy Minecraft Roleplaying

Greetings Explorer, Navigate into the Lobby!

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Be sure to "Get Whitelisted" to join the community on server!

Combat RP Guidelines

Status
Not open for further replies.

HollowWorld

HollowWorld's Announcer
Lore Staff
Server Outreach
Staff
Tyo2ESV.png
Copy of Copy of ICEANDFIRE.png

Introduction:
Combat RP is the art of transcribing actions of a matter of seconds into an event that takes several hours. There are approximately as many technical styles of it as there are practitioners, ranging from largely theatrical to aspirations of hyper-realism. This post does not seek to promote one over the other, but rather to promote a framework and concepts that make it easier to work differing styles together.


The Basics:

While the rest of roleplay interactions are slightly so, combat RP is highly turn-based. Turn 'length' isn't a fixed time and I'll get more in to that later, though as a general rule for every turn Player A takes, Player B gets equivalent opportunity to act. It doesn't necessarily matter how much real time each emote should take, so long as they're compatible in context. For instance, two folk going serious at swordplay may swap minute counters over the course of a single exchange of swings, or a sprinter and pursuer may cross a courtyard over the course of a turn. If those involved wish to change the scale of time progression (abruptly fleeing from a fight, for instance), it's polite to either transition gradually or make an OOC note of intentions.​
Keeping pace with each other is nice and tidy when there are a limited number of combatants. However, there are rarely a limited number of combatants. With all sorts of notions about appropriate turn length, you can see how this gets messy real quick. The short version of advice for this is "don't be a jackass." The long version is as follows; move in time with the shortest actions: in your immediate vicinity, of those that your movements are threatening, those that you're moving directly to attack, or those of someone chasing you. Establish who your actions influence or are influenced by, and extend respect in the form of keeping pace with each other. For instance, if two swordfighters are going hard in their realism and microactions, it's decent to give them a fair amount of time to resolve their business if your character is moving in to engage. Nobody likes being flanked over the course of a parry from someone that was on the other side of their opponent.​


Turn Composition:
The easiest way to structure turns in combat RP is to include an action, reaction, and statement of intention in order appropriate to context. React to your opponent's previous action, offer a counter if appropriate, and declare what your character is hoping to accomplish with this. I can hardly stress that last part enough for effective RP; it makes it very easy for the other party to understand and react to what you are trying to do if you explicitly inform them of what you are trying to do. It does not matter if your character is pulling some advanced martial arts, so long as they know what you hope to happen it's simple to respond to. This isn't to say that these intentions are to be successful- rather, that stating them smooths things along.​


Powergaming (and how to avoid it):

The King's Law doesn't presently offer a concrete definition of powergaming beyond a few examples; it's a bit of an abstract concept, and at times difficult to reconcile with realism. To give it a shot, powergaming is emoting in a manner that either denies your opponent reasonable opportunity to react or unreasonably disregards actions taken by your opponent. This is usually expressed through emotes that go straight for serious consequence without foundation ("*Draws his sword and swings to decapitate*") or their converse, avoiding serious consequences through unfeasible action ("*Backflips over the crossbow bolt*"). This definition also ties handily to the theory of one action and reaction per turn; most powergamey emotes entail taking multiple actions per turn without affording opportunity for opponent reaction.​
Powergaming also covers taking unreasonable action considering the condition and constraints of the character. While the actual actions taken by both parties in a combat RP are more important than their respective character's experiences, an inexperienced fighter is not likely to meet success in a duel with a professional. It's largely a matter of personal moderation to behave appropriately, though a general guide for combative progression may be found [here].​
Physical condition is another consideration; badly injured characters are not likely to maintain combat skills from their top shape.​
Should you find yourself in a situation where you feel that you aren't given reasonable chance or you're fighting a character that you do not believe to be acting appropriately, best thing to do is mention it to them OOCly, and call in a staff member to review if they continue on unreceptive to it.​


Technical Concepts:
Here we're going to delve a bit more in-depth into how realistic combat works, and how it can be applied to RP. This isn't a tutorial on how to swordfight, but I will cover some concepts used to discuss it.

Armor:
The ever-popular. Effectiveness of weapons versus armor is an entirely different discussion that has to do with our current HollowCrafting system. If you are curious what that may be, please take a look at the HollowCrafting Section or ask a staff member for help.​
Exchange:
An exchange is a beautifully literal term meaning to engage your opponent and 'exchange' a strike or series of strikes. While it usually takes a turn or so for each attack, a full exchange is a quick affair; characters not already within or nearly within attacking distance would not likely have the opportunity to join a pair of combatants while one is going on.​
Initiative:
Not strictly your tabletop turn order. Initiative in combat is defined as having the opportunity to act before your opponent and thus determine the immediate direction of the fight. "Gaining the initiative" entails starting a new action while your opponent is still reacting to your last, and confers a tremendous advantage in determining the outcome of the fight. Without experience or superhuman reflexes, it's very difficult to negate or reverse a lost initiative without being overwhelmed by it.​
Regaining initiative is usually accomplished by interrupting the flow of combat through various means: relocating as to force an opponent to pause their series of attacks, countering in a manner to force a recovery period, or countering with technique to rather rudely change their offensive disposition.​
This is once more a case of roleplay trumping character standing; the offensive character needs to take advantage of their initiative in order to make it effective.​
Voiding:
The preferred tactic for meeting a melee attack wasn't to parry it, it was to avoid it. Dodging does not damage the equipment used to block it, and decreases threat by maintaining distance between the two combatants. Mind, this isn't a concession to dodge attacks without discretion; avoiding something fast and sharp that's trying to cut you is still a daunting task. It's a viable strategy for a prepared opponent; alert, watching the attack, and well on his feet. As a general rule, the more desperate the dodge, the longer it will take to recover from. Behave accordingly.​

RNGesus and You:

The use of rolls to supplement RP can go a long way in resolving conflicts. The extent of rolling is a matter of personal preference, and should only be used when both parties agree it necessary. Standard protocol is to roll against each other, usually with a /roll d20, when the outcome of an action is in question. The higher roll generally gets the favorable outcome and the following emote. The use of modifiers to the roll may be applied if appropriate, as discussed and agreed upon by the players involved or a nearby staff member if they are unable to decide.​
The nature of the beast is agreement between both parties. Should all involved wish to forego rolling, or use rolls to decide everything and emote later, they're free to do so.​

Credit:
Written/Edited by Lannis!
Reviewed by the 2015 Council Members
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top