(01-27-2017, 01:14 PM)Maia Wrote: I totally understand the concerns that a mixed tournament might seem to disadvantage non-mixed-fighting-style participants, but if it's all determined by a /random roll, wouldn't it be inherently fair on an OoC level? It was my understanding that the OoC logistics make it so that any participant -could- win, regardless of the flavor text that describes how a character is fighting. So, in that way, I don't think anyone would be less inclined to win a round or the tournament itself.
At its simplest, yeah - what skills and techniques and whatnot are all basically fluff since it all boils down to who rolls better. I think the situation is more for the IC standpoint of explaining away how one fighter could beat the other - restricting them to a similar style of combat helps with this. However, we still have people winning the Grindstone using fishing rods and frying pans, so... it's not a complete catchall solution.
I guess it's inherently more difficult to explain why the wobbly trainee with the rusty sword beat a master of Allagan summoning than beating a seasoned GC soldier? I dunno.