Being that most of the combat scenarios I have been involved in have all been freeform, I will add my two cents.
The most recent scene, it was as Osric said. Who ever typed first in their action, went first. Then they would wait until the person they were facing typed back. We all typed in our action in that "round" and would wait until most contributed with their post before entering our next post. I say most because you and the person you are facing off can exchange off a few things at a different speed than the rest depending on context (dialogue for example). This is usually the norm for me, but sometimes we would actually designate a specific order and wait for that person to post before moving on. The latter was necessary if a particular player or two were slower in typing just to make it fair.
I always assume that one person can defend against multiple. Or they can't, depending on their skills. It is freeform though so it is left up to the player. Realistically if you are outnumbered, you are at a disadvantage, and I have yet to see those I've played with not take this into account.
When it is NPC vs PCs, and I am DMing the NPCs, as a DM I decide how skilled the NPCs are. Some are more formidable than others to be sure. I haven't had problems with overpowered characters, most of the scenes I am involved in are not very overpowered (but not too mundane either, as Osric described).
Player character that faces off with each other, they must MUST have some trust in each other entering the scene. Allowing themselves to inflict but ALSO take damage, adjusting for the situations, the armor, the defense, the strategy, the environment, it all affects the fight! I think every scene I've done freeform combat with, ALL the players knew it was for a story, not "I wanna see who is more powerful." I never do combat scenes for the latter anyways.
It is whatever the character would do. RP has to be fluid. But! A group can come in with a preformed plan. For example, in the last scene, two people were supposed to sneak through the defense to go rescue someone. They weren't supposed to stay in the fight. Due to the dynamics of what happened, only one person got through but it worked out fine for the story.
I let the players decide. Although if I was DMing NPCs sometimes I will engineer friendly fire if the circumstances seems appropriate. (careless or haphazard firing... OR an explosive in the wrong place combined with a clumsy civilian NPC!)
Definitely, when it comes to combat RP amongst people who don't know each other or there is no established trust. Then I would use dice. But for all of the combat scenes I've been in for any story I was involved in in depth, I trusted the players to carry it out freeform.
My suggestion for freeform combat that involved multiple players? That they quickly set OOC parameters on what is off limits (death, amputation and such) or they already loosely set a predetermined result.
Quote:1. How do you address posting order and initiative in freeform mass combat? Who goes first, and how often can they attack?
The most recent scene, it was as Osric said. Who ever typed first in their action, went first. Then they would wait until the person they were facing typed back. We all typed in our action in that "round" and would wait until most contributed with their post before entering our next post. I say most because you and the person you are facing off can exchange off a few things at a different speed than the rest depending on context (dialogue for example). This is usually the norm for me, but sometimes we would actually designate a specific order and wait for that person to post before moving on. The latter was necessary if a particular player or two were slower in typing just to make it fair.
Quote:2. In situations where one group is outnumbered, does the other group allow them to have an edge in terms of how often they can attack and defend themselves for fairness' sake, or does the larger group press the weight of numbers?
I always assume that one person can defend against multiple. Or they can't, depending on their skills. It is freeform though so it is left up to the player. Realistically if you are outnumbered, you are at a disadvantage, and I have yet to see those I've played with not take this into account.
Quote:3. How do you handle disparities in character strength? The Powerlevel thread shows that some characters consider themselves strong enough to take on much larger groups. Do you take these disparities into account when trying to resolve a mass combat?
When it is NPC vs PCs, and I am DMing the NPCs, as a DM I decide how skilled the NPCs are. Some are more formidable than others to be sure. I haven't had problems with overpowered characters, most of the scenes I am involved in are not very overpowered (but not too mundane either, as Osric described).
Player character that faces off with each other, they must MUST have some trust in each other entering the scene. Allowing themselves to inflict but ALSO take damage, adjusting for the situations, the armor, the defense, the strategy, the environment, it all affects the fight! I think every scene I've done freeform combat with, ALL the players knew it was for a story, not "I wanna see who is more powerful." I never do combat scenes for the latter anyways.
Quote:4. Do you assign individuals to specific targets to the best of your ability, or do you prefer a more chaotic melee in which it's possible for everyone to strike everyone else?
It is whatever the character would do. RP has to be fluid. But! A group can come in with a preformed plan. For example, in the last scene, two people were supposed to sneak through the defense to go rescue someone. They weren't supposed to stay in the fight. Due to the dynamics of what happened, only one person got through but it worked out fine for the story.
Quote:5. Friendly fire: It happens, and it's unfortunate, but how do you involve accidental strikes on someone friendly when there are very few accidents in freeform?
I let the players decide. Although if I was DMing NPCs sometimes I will engineer friendly fire if the circumstances seems appropriate. (careless or haphazard firing... OR an explosive in the wrong place combined with a clumsy civilian NPC!)
Quote:6. Do you feel some of the difficulties in addressing the above have a cooling effect on this kind of combat RP? If so, how can they be corrected?
Definitely, when it comes to combat RP amongst people who don't know each other or there is no established trust. Then I would use dice. But for all of the combat scenes I've been in for any story I was involved in in depth, I trusted the players to carry it out freeform.
My suggestion for freeform combat that involved multiple players? That they quickly set OOC parameters on what is off limits (death, amputation and such) or they already loosely set a predetermined result.
