Combat RP: How do I git gud?

[Kurt S.]

The title says it all.

 

How do I git gud and make it more enjoyable for everyone involved.

 

Because apparently I said yes to pitting Ramen against Caex and hoo boy midway through the fight Aaron goes 'it's turn 21' well shit right? So I wiped and wanna get better.

[Domri Blackblade]

Something I wrote forever ago. I didn't reread it so it may be awful.

 

 

 

So, after reading someone else’s post, I figured it would be good to let people in on a little bit of psychology of the mind when it comes to fighters. To be clear, I have been studying various martial arts and Bushido since I was eight years old. I have formal training in bo, sai, katana, open hand, and have picked up nunchaku and tonfa.

 

While I’m not going to go into how formal physical training is a huge factor, the thing about fighting is extremely a psychological battle. One of your biggest battles? Your eyes.

 

When I’m sparring open hand, I never look my opponent in the face. It is actually for two reasons. One? Where I focus determines how much peripheral vision I can utilize. Two? It’s unsettling. You give your opponent the illusion that you are disillusioned. It immediately can make them believe you are, frankly, extremely confident.

 

I participated in tournaments for about seven years and my trick was to always read the face of my opponent. Reading their eyes, if they are frowning, if they are nervous. It almost always played into how I proceeded with the fight. If someone looked very nervous, I’d immediately go aggressive. If someone looked more or less confident, I’d find a better balance.

 

I find in RP people are actually over focused on the aggressive and physical aspects, but the fact is, nerves and psychological standing can determine where a fight goes. Toss in an /e stares just to the left of his opponent’s head.

 

Also, to toss in, sometimes I find RPers can tend to misread another person’s emote intentions due to inexperience or misunderstanding. For example, if someone sweeps your ankle, that is actually not an opportunity to say you locked legs. A properly executed and successful sweep has one intention and that is to knock your foot from under you. If you miss the ankle and try to sweep higher, then it can become a leverage fight. Grab a friend and give the two techniques a work. There is a pretty significance in difference.

 

Lastly, one rule I was raised on in training is every action opens you up to be struck and the same goes for your opponent. Don’t just throw one technique and don’t throw one technique then stop and reset. Every time you reset, your opponent resets. The key is to know what hits you can take as a trade off.

 

If your opponent’s ribs are open for a very hard strike, take that blow to the shoulder. It hurts a lot less to get punched in the shoulder than getting broken ribs. Never let being hit discourage.

 

BEING HIT IS A PART OF FIGHTING.

 

You will always get hit. If your character somehow blocks and avoids all of their opponents strikes, it becomes extremely unrealistic. Fighting is a mind game of thinking on the spot. What blow can you take to strike back tenfold. What would be the best course of avoiding? He just opened up, can I take advantage of that? Will I reach? What direction is he moving? Can I use that to take him down? Is he extremely mobile? Can I let him tire himself out? Is he not moving a lot? Can I use that to take him down? Is he overly defensive? Can I use that to open him up?

 

After you train this questions aren’t spoken in the mind, it’s just like a process done. You analyze the situation in the moment and you act. It’s all in your brain.

 

And as always, I’m always available as a resource for more realistic melee combat. Just toss me a PM. I’m happy to help out and offer insight. I will say, my studies are more Okinawan and Chinese influenced. I am not the end all be all voice on combat, but I can certainly help you out with a lot of theory if you need.

 

 

[Tiergan]

Something I wrote forever ago. I didn't reread it so it may be awful.

 

 

 

So, after reading someone else’s post, I figured it would be good to let people in on a little bit of psychology of the mind when it comes to fighters. To be clear, I have been studying various martial arts and Bushido since I was eight years old. I have formal training in bo, sai, katana, open hand, and have picked up nunchaku and tonfa.

 

While I’m not going to go into how formal physical training is a huge factor, the thing about fighting is extremely a psychological battle. One of your biggest battles? Your eyes.

 

When I’m sparring open hand, I never look my opponent in the face. It is actually for two reasons. One? Where I focus determines how much peripheral vision I can utilize. Two? It’s unsettling. You give your opponent the illusion that you are disillusioned. It immediately can make them believe you are, frankly, extremely confident.

 

I participated in tournaments for about seven years and my trick was to always read the face of my opponent. Reading their eyes, if they are frowning, if they are nervous. It almost always played into how I proceeded with the fight. If someone looked very nervous, I’d immediately go aggressive. If someone looked more or less confident, I’d find a better balance.

 

I find in RP people are actually over focused on the aggressive and physical aspects, but the fact is, nerves and psychological standing can determine where a fight goes. Toss in an /e stares just to the left of his opponent’s head.

 

Also, to toss in, sometimes I find RPers can tend to misread another person’s emote intentions due to inexperience or misunderstanding. For example, if someone sweeps your ankle, that is actually not an opportunity to say you locked legs. A properly executed and successful sweep has one intention and that is to knock your foot from under you. If you miss the ankle and try to sweep higher, then it can become a leverage fight. Grab a friend and give the two techniques a work. There is a pretty significance in difference.

 

Lastly, one rule I was raised on in training is every action opens you up to be struck and the same goes for your opponent. Don’t just throw one technique and don’t throw one technique then stop and reset. Every time you reset, your opponent resets. The key is to know what hits you can take as a trade off.

 

If your opponent’s ribs are open for a very hard strike, take that blow to the shoulder. It hurts a lot less to get punched in the shoulder than getting broken ribs. Never let being hit discourage.

 

BEING HIT IS A PART OF FIGHTING.

 

You will always get hit. If your character somehow blocks and avoids all of their opponents strikes, it becomes extremely unrealistic. Fighting is a mind game of thinking on the spot. What blow can you take to strike back tenfold. What would be the best course of avoiding? He just opened up, can I take advantage of that? Will I reach? What direction is he moving? Can I use that to take him down? Is he extremely mobile? Can I let him tire himself out? Is he not moving a lot? Can I use that to take him down? Is he overly defensive? Can I use that to open him up?

 

After you train this questions aren’t spoken in the mind, it’s just like a process done. You analyze the situation in the moment and you act. It’s all in your brain.

 

And as always, I’m always available as a resource for more realistic melee combat. Just toss me a PM. I’m happy to help out and offer insight. I will say, my studies are more Okinawan and Chinese influenced. I am not the end all be all voice on combat, but I can certainly help you out with a lot of theory if you need.

 

 

 

Good lordy. Thank you for writing all of this out! I will probably take you up on your rp battle help offer in the future. :>

[Domri Blackblade]

Something I wrote forever ago. I didn't reread it so it may be awful.

 

 

 

So, after reading someone else’s post, I figured it would be good to let people in on a little bit of psychology of the mind when it comes to fighters. To be clear, I have been studying various martial arts and Bushido since I was eight years old. I have formal training in bo, sai, katana, open hand, and have picked up nunchaku and tonfa.

 

While I’m not going to go into how formal physical training is a huge factor, the thing about fighting is extremely a psychological battle. One of your biggest battles? Your eyes.

 

When I’m sparring open hand, I never look my opponent in the face. It is actually for two reasons. One? Where I focus determines how much peripheral vision I can utilize. Two? It’s unsettling. You give your opponent the illusion that you are disillusioned. It immediately can make them believe you are, frankly, extremely confident.

 

I participated in tournaments for about seven years and my trick was to always read the face of my opponent. Reading their eyes, if they are frowning, if they are nervous. It almost always played into how I proceeded with the fight. If someone looked very nervous, I’d immediately go aggressive. If someone looked more or less confident, I’d find a better balance.

 

I find in RP people are actually over focused on the aggressive and physical aspects, but the fact is, nerves and psychological standing can determine where a fight goes. Toss in an /e stares just to the left of his opponent’s head.

 

Also, to toss in, sometimes I find RPers can tend to misread another person’s emote intentions due to inexperience or misunderstanding. For example, if someone sweeps your ankle, that is actually not an opportunity to say you locked legs. A properly executed and successful sweep has one intention and that is to knock your foot from under you. If you miss the ankle and try to sweep higher, then it can become a leverage fight. Grab a friend and give the two techniques a work. There is a pretty significance in difference.

 

Lastly, one rule I was raised on in training is every action opens you up to be struck and the same goes for your opponent. Don’t just throw one technique and don’t throw one technique then stop and reset. Every time you reset, your opponent resets. The key is to know what hits you can take as a trade off.

 

If your opponent’s ribs are open for a very hard strike, take that blow to the shoulder. It hurts a lot less to get punched in the shoulder than getting broken ribs. Never let being hit discourage.

 

BEING HIT IS A PART OF FIGHTING.

 

You will always get hit. If your character somehow blocks and avoids all of their opponents strikes, it becomes extremely unrealistic. Fighting is a mind game of thinking on the spot. What blow can you take to strike back tenfold. What would be the best course of avoiding? He just opened up, can I take advantage of that? Will I reach? What direction is he moving? Can I use that to take him down? Is he extremely mobile? Can I let him tire himself out? Is he not moving a lot? Can I use that to take him down? Is he overly defensive? Can I use that to open him up?

 

After you train this questions aren’t spoken in the mind, it’s just like a process done. You analyze the situation in the moment and you act. It’s all in your brain.

 

And as always, I’m always available as a resource for more realistic melee combat. Just toss me a PM. I’m happy to help out and offer insight. I will say, my studies are more Okinawan and Chinese influenced. I am not the end all be all voice on combat, but I can certainly help you out with a lot of theory if you need.

 

 

 

Good lordy. Thank you for writing all of this out! I will probably take you up on your rp battle help offer in the future. :>

 

Yah, you can always prod me.:3

[Seriphyn]

Fite me IC and I'll show you

[Khadan]

One of the things I've found over the years of RP and reading fiction (both 'fan' and published author, alike) is that no two people write out a fight scene the exact same way. People develop personal styles from the overwhelmingly detailed and accurate description of each footstep to almost abstract and elegant descriptions of stances countering other stances.

 

I guess if I were to answer your question as concisely as I could I would give it my 'catchall' mantra for roleplay and writing in general: "If you want to write well then read well."

 

I.e. read other authors who write combat and are even known for it, no less. See if it lets you visualize a fight while avoiding too many 'anime-esque' tropes and so on where physics and bodies move unlike normal bodies and physics =P

 

Personally I'm a detail-oriented writer when it comes to combat. I want to 'see' the fight in my mind as it's been described to me so it's more like a movie than "John punched Wilson in the head, Wilson groaned and took a few steps back". In reality you don't typically just "Punch someone in the head" or "slash your sword at their chest", you take a stance, you prep yourself, you launch your attack and depending on the simultaneous reaction(s) of the opponent it may or may not land home but even if it doesn't hit there's an action and a reaction and those are equally as important as simply hitting someone or them 'dodging'.

 

One thing if you want a really good exercise in writing combat is to challenge yourself to write out a combat scene from an Asian Martial Arts film, like Ong Bak or even Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It sounds ridiculous, right? But imagine the effort that it took to choregraph that fight, someone somewhere has already written it thus you can as well =) Write out every detail as if you were the author of the story and rewrite it until you can stand to read it without going 'ugh!'. At that point you'll probably be more competent than most people who consider themselves "Lords of the Dance" when it comes to "RP Combat". Think of it as 'writing action' and you're already ahead of the game.

[Warren Castille]

Grindstone.

[Aaron]

I go about it as more focused on my characters way of attacking then the attack itself. Some of this also reflects the MMA I took classes in also. I think Damon got that part for me though.

 

Aaron is supposed to give off a reluctant "silent demon" type vibe when he fights. I describe how he doesn't talk or make a sound when attacking, avoids direct eye contact, and gives off a regretful demeanor when he lands a blow. This sort of reflects me when I do matches. Im not the biggest guy out there lol I can't look someone in the eye when I strike a blow because im a lil too nice for that . I also feel bad if I win, I guess Aaron reflects that.

 

Next is how he goes about the attack. I portray it as he uses his speed and agility to his advantage . His hits almost always target important areas that control sensory or motor movement such as the shoulders, eyes, ears, biceps, right below the knee, hamstrings etc. And when I write it I show in the action that the move if it hits most likely will render that area damn near useless if using physics lol (but I still make it ambiguous so the other person can decide)

 

With the defensive part, it all depends on your character. Do they prefer dodging? Blocking? Partying? Make it unique! Aaron likes to dance around his enemies dodging (he doesn't wear armor and dual wields so blocking is a bad idea). So ill showcase him sidestepping, pivoting or on rarer cases parrying and blocking lesser blows.

 

Honestly I view fight rp as more about how your character goes about fighting over the attack or defense themself. When I see "Goes for a slash at the chest) it feels like my character is fighting a robot.

 

Caex is a absolutely beautiful rp fighter. When I rped with him with Aaron his detail was so goddamn good Aaron is terribly afraid to fight him again IC because he was so savage. 

 

It's also why I said to Ramona Caex is turn 21 if you let him get close to you. He was manhandling her when Aaron got there.

[Hammersmith]

I like me some RP fighting.

 

 

Domri hits a lot of good basic points. Get Hit.  Don't be an asshole.  When in doubt work out the flow with the other player.  

 

These basic OOC concepts lead to a better experience overall.

 

As for WRITING RP fights?

 

Know your char.  Know how they move.  Use references for the styles you're going to engage in.  Your guy an Martial artist? Find a style that moves like they do.  Get words for how that style moves.  Drunken boxing? Ducks, weaves, staggers.  Mantis? Still, sharp, sudden.  Tiger? Aggressive, in your face, powerful.  Words highlight and set a fight on fire, instead of X hits Y.  Work with the moves.  Know where you're going with them.  Set up maneuvers 1-2 posts ahead of time where you can.  Want to get a guy in a corner? The posts before that should involve moving in against, driving at your opponent, and striking to get the opponent there.  Kayellen is right: The best way to get these words is to read A lot.

 

No Free Lunches.  Going to trip them? Do something to get them off balance.  Feint before hand to get them to throw a punch that's going over your head.

 

Going to sock someone square in the jibblies? Focus on making them keep their guard way too high.  Play "fair" ahead of time.  Mislead and make them misjudge.  Then pop their testicles like grapes. 

 

Accordingly you should know your defenses (Protip: Wear a guard.  Testicles pop easy).  Bob, weave, clinch, duck, stagger, block.  The hard flat packing sound of meat on meat is music as well.  Take a Hit. I can't emphasize that enough.  Violence is an art.  An unhappy, angry, furious art, even when practiced by people who regard it as a spirtual thing.  

 

Here's the other thing.  Fatigue.  Use it.  Express it.  Boxes are dangerous fighters one part because they can punch through a brick wall. The other is endurance and stamina.  Fighting TAKES A LOT OUT OF YOU VERY QUICKLY.  Five strait minutes of avoiding and throwing your own attacks? That's a lot of work, unless you're purposefully conserving movement and energy.  A flat out brawl isn't a two hour affair where you both just get bloody and a light sweat.  You're going to be wiped out and it's going to be in a comparatively short amount of time.  Sweat.  Pant. Breathe. Focus. Recover.  Don't just go full tilt forever.  That's almost on the same "Be cool" level as "Take a hit".

 

Have weaknesses in your fight style.  Don't move at speed of light ninja style and still hit like you were Tyson.  Tyson was fast, but he was also compact and got in people's faces, he used the peek-a-boo style to stay in his guard until he saw an opening to shove his fist down your throat.  He didn't bounce all over the place.   Bruce Lee was quick and powerful, but a lot of it was because he was focused, precise and dropped people FAST by hitting them where it hurt, not showing off.  Very few people pulled Lee into an extended match.  Mostly because he took them apart like a puzzle being solved in reverse and in double time.  

 

TLDR; Have a style. Know how you're going to fight. Have words for that style, know how it moves, know what your weaknesses are (HAVE WEAKNESSES) and know how good your stamina works and needs to be managed

[Branson Thorne]

Grindstone.

And.....there it is., ladies and gentlemen! I was waiting on this from you, you did not disappoint good sir!

 

Anyways, others have described fighting styles, techniques and such you, but in my opinion you can know how to fight and your fighting style and still have a horribly boring fight.

 

If you want your fights to be exciting, take a hit, have some damage done. Take that punch to the face, fall to one knee and slowly rise again, spit blood out of your mouth and wipe your mouth with your hand, accidentally smearing blood across your cheek. Stuff like that makes it interesting.

[Nebbs]

Just a few pointers...

Description that adds flavour feeling and colours in the RP

Give enough information for your opponent(s) to respond to and always address what they are doing.

Take blows and be affected by attacks.

 

So now you can RP, what about winning and loosing?

I prefer to let the RP resolve it but you need some trust and raport to achieve that.

Generally I have seen some form of RNG used to determine the outcome, just make it believable in the RP and make it enjoyable. 

 

Also, loosing gets the best RP imo.

[Warren Castille]

Scatterbrained points that might have been mentioned already:

 

*Selling damage is the most fun thing about doing combat roleplay

*State intentions, but don't call damage (i.e. "Ramuhnuh attempts to sweep Warren's leg out from under him")

*Come to the Grindstone

[Kurt S.]

Something I wrote forever ago. I didn't reread it so it may be awful.

 

 

 

So, after reading someone else’s post, I figured it would be good to let people in on a little bit of psychology of the mind when it comes to fighters. To be clear, I have been studying various martial arts and Bushido since I was eight years old. I have formal training in bo, sai, katana, open hand, and have picked up nunchaku and tonfa.

 

While I’m not going to go into how formal physical training is a huge factor, the thing about fighting is extremely a psychological battle. One of your biggest battles? Your eyes.

 

When I’m sparring open hand, I never look my opponent in the face. It is actually for two reasons. One? Where I focus determines how much peripheral vision I can utilize. Two? It’s unsettling. You give your opponent the illusion that you are disillusioned. It immediately can make them believe you are, frankly, extremely confident.

 

I participated in tournaments for about seven years and my trick was to always read the face of my opponent. Reading their eyes, if they are frowning, if they are nervous. It almost always played into how I proceeded with the fight. If someone looked very nervous, I’d immediately go aggressive. If someone looked more or less confident, I’d find a better balance.

 

I find in RP people are actually over focused on the aggressive and physical aspects, but the fact is, nerves and psychological standing can determine where a fight goes. Toss in an /e stares just to the left of his opponent’s head.

 

Also, to toss in, sometimes I find RPers can tend to misread another person’s emote intentions due to inexperience or misunderstanding. For example, if someone sweeps your ankle, that is actually not an opportunity to say you locked legs. A properly executed and successful sweep has one intention and that is to knock your foot from under you. If you miss the ankle and try to sweep higher, then it can become a leverage fight. Grab a friend and give the two techniques a work. There is a pretty significance in difference.

 

Lastly, one rule I was raised on in training is every action opens you up to be struck and the same goes for your opponent. Don’t just throw one technique and don’t throw one technique then stop and reset. Every time you reset, your opponent resets. The key is to know what hits you can take as a trade off.

 

If your opponent’s ribs are open for a very hard strike, take that blow to the shoulder. It hurts a lot less to get punched in the shoulder than getting broken ribs. Never let being hit discourage.

 

BEING HIT IS A PART OF FIGHTING.

 

You will always get hit. If your character somehow blocks and avoids all of their opponents strikes, it becomes extremely unrealistic. Fighting is a mind game of thinking on the spot. What blow can you take to strike back tenfold. What would be the best course of avoiding? He just opened up, can I take advantage of that? Will I reach? What direction is he moving? Can I use that to take him down? Is he extremely mobile? Can I let him tire himself out? Is he not moving a lot? Can I use that to take him down? Is he overly defensive? Can I use that to open him up?

 

After you train this questions aren’t spoken in the mind, it’s just like a process done. You analyze the situation in the moment and you act. It’s all in your brain.

 

And as always, I’m always available as a resource for more realistic melee combat. Just toss me a PM. I’m happy to help out and offer insight. I will say, my studies are more Okinawan and Chinese influenced. I am not the end all be all voice on combat, but I can certainly help you out with a lot of theory if you need.

 

 

 

Alright this actually puts in a whole nother dimension to it that I know for a fact I glossed over/never considered. At the very least I can churn out a lengthier sequence but I still don't get the 'Don’t just throw one technique and don’t throw one technique then stop and reset.' bit?

 

Is it like, Character A throws a punch > Character B parries it > They both go back to their previous stances instead of maybe Character A staying in place after the parried punch which gives an opening for Character B to capitalize on?

 

To that point. I want to try and recreate the flow from the Ramona vs. Caex'ra fight, aka Ramona in Coil Turn 21 wearing level 46 gear. I want to know if I was actually doing it right with Ramona. Though this does involve another idea in my head that involves manipulating and redirecting her aether to focal parts or general regions of her body. 

 

 

>Cakes opens up with an overhead swing outta nowhere at Ramen.

 

>She saw it coming but was too slow all the same and was nearly dragged down by the swing.

 

(I assume the Dual Hakan has more than enough power to slice through Tortoise shell armor and actually kill Ramen then and there. No I will not let that happen. Period. Even if it is logical I'm not killing off someone because I was learning how to fight. So I just let her get dragged down a bit by the force of the swing.)

 

>They're both probably at breathing range and I had Ramen channel a small concentrated heatwave to try and make him ease off.

 

>He backs off, she has time to channel a small yet sustained amount of aether to her arm so she can use her own axe. As well quickly cast Stoneskin 1/32nd.

 

>He goes back in the next second or so, swiping at her neck which she tried to but failed at dodging too, grazing it and leaving a very shallow wound thanks to Stoneskin 1/32nd. At the same time he also thrust the pommel at her. It punches through the tortoiseshell armor scales but was stopped when she shifted most of her aether to harden her skin underneath it. 

 

(Dual Hakan Pommel=Miniature Lancer Weapon)

 

> She had redirected the a majority of the aether to two focal points. Her hand that wrapped and gripped around the lower part of Cake's axe's handle and a pin prick where the pointy end of the pommel made contact with her skin. Around the same time she shifted the grip on her axe closer to the neck and tried to use it ala brass knuckles, punching him at close range. 

 

> Cake's armor turned the swings like they were nothing. Ramen had compromised the amount of aether in her arms to keep from letting the axe's pommel go clean through her, which compromises the overall strength of her swings. Of course he retaliates with a headbutt that almost rocks her. The spiky headband he wore doing a number on her forehead.

 

> The headbutt forces her to let go of her axe and channel the aether to her forehead. A large portion of her aether is diverted to three focal points. Where her forehead connects with his headband. Where the pommel connects with her abdomen. And her hand that's holding the axe in place and denying Cakes use of it. She eats the following two headbutt but has the chance to brace herself for it meanwhile he starts feeling the effects of it. 

 

> The fourth one, she had the sense to lean out of the way and placed her fist where it would land instead of her own face. No aetherical aid for this one, just praying he was stupid enough to not see the last minute shift between her face and her fist. 

 

> Head connects with fist and excess force draws it(fist) back (forgot to mention this but it was inconsequential at any rate). Just as he draws his head back, Ramen lets her fist follow it in a punch, a series of them.

 

> He retaliates by letting go of the axe, thus making her stumble forward due to the weight of it dragging her forward(Forgot to mention but still inconsequential) and then grabbing her face and throwing her to the ground. Her stonegrip on the axe worked against her as it fell and landed on her, weighing her down.  

 

> It just becomes a one sided slaughter at this point as he tried to kill her. (I really have no doubt about this since he didn't once stop trying to crush her face and also because I think he was trying to bury her alive by pressing her down into the ground.)

 

> Shifts her aether to two parts instead. Her face to stop it from being crushed and the rest channeled into her ring which held a focus which allowed her to fire off a few more heatwaves at him. It didn't stop him though. But hey she's actually trying to really burn him...though she could have started earlier.

 

> Get saved by Aaron dropping in mid-ass-kicking.

 

 

Fite me IC and I'll show you

 

You're gonna wipe the floor with me aren't you?

 

One of the things I've found over the years of RP and reading fiction (both 'fan' and published author, alike) is that no two people write out a fight scene the exact same way. People develop personal styles from the overwhelmingly detailed and accurate description of each footstep to almost abstract and elegant descriptions of stances countering other stances.

 

I guess if I were to answer your question as concisely as I could I would give it my 'catchall' mantra for roleplay and writing in general: "If you want to write well then read well."

 

I.e. read other authors who write combat and are even known for it, no less. See if it lets you visualize a fight while avoiding too many 'anime-esque' tropes and so on where physics and bodies move unlike normal bodies and physics =P

 

Personally I'm a detail-oriented writer when it comes to combat. I want to 'see' the fight in my mind as it's been described to me so it's more like a movie than "John punched Wilson in the head, Wilson groaned and took a few steps back". In reality you don't typically just "Punch someone in the head" or "slash your sword at their chest", you take a stance, you prep yourself, you launch your attack and depending on the simultaneous reaction(s) of the opponent it may or may not land home but even if it doesn't hit there's an action and a reaction and those are equally as important as simply hitting someone or them 'dodging'.

 

One thing if you want a really good exercise in writing combat is to challenge yourself to write out a combat scene from an Asian Martial Arts film, like Ong Bak or even Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It sounds ridiculous, right? But imagine the effort that it took to choregraph that fight, someone somewhere has already written it thus you can as well =) Write out every detail as if you were the author of the story and rewrite it until you can stand to read it without going 'ugh!'. At that point you'll probably be more competent than most people who consider themselves "Lords of the Dance" when it comes to "RP Combat". Think of it as 'writing action' and you're already ahead of the game.

 

So, stance>wind-up>attack>reaction instead of just straight up attack > reaction?

 

But how about when it comes to defensive techniques?

 

Is it notice tell/wind up> predict opponent action> act on prediction> pray to RNGesus almighty you brought your hands up at the right spot?

 

Also I think that whole write out a martial arts fight sequence ala Ong Bak might actually help. Just not doing a 15 minute Muay Thai fight though. So when I have the brain power I'll take up that suggestion and maybe use youtube as reference. That works right?

 

Grindstone.

 

I was somehow waiting for this plug If only my times agreed with it beyond one round. Really wanna try it out, also really scared shitless I'll look like a fool, but that's beside the point. The Grindstone happens on a Sunday my time like 11am, which usually means I've got less than an hour to be there then I'm gone for a few hours because family lunches.

[N'velhi Tia]

I've personally seen a couple too many fights where the characters' players wanted their characters to win too badly, which usually resulted in a boring to watch, unrealistic scene.

*Dodges*

*Evades*

*Backflips*

*Barrel rolls*

 

Know your character. While I'm fond of having RNG fights from time to time, they can also be somewhat unrealistic, for example when you've got a Grand Company officer pitted against a 5 year old. The 5 year old will still have a 50% of winning. 

 

Do fight RP with people you're comfortable with, with whom you can easily communicate, lose every now and then, and you'll get the best out of the experience imo.

[Maril]

I can recommend making/keeping a spellbook/abilitybook for your character. My own guild's forum has a section for them, with a template. The idea is that as you fill it in, you map your characters spells/abilities (Spells obviously for mages/healers, ability melee oriented) and get yourself an overview of what you're playing around with. It works wonders for maintaining a balance in your character - and allows you to write down descriptions which can help you when you're out fighting. During RP it can be hard to remember all of the tricks your character has up their sleeve. As your character learns new things, you can update and adapt - maybe your character learned something really powerful, but in doing so they failed to maintain another of their strong abilities which subsequently became less strong. You can also work out how to balance having several strong moves by making rules such as, if my character uses this move, this other move can't be used in the same fight due to exhaustion.  

 

I keep an ability book even for my non-fighting characters, most of them would do okay in a barbrawl but would be no match against anyone that is trained (or alternatively, not drunk). As an addition for those non-fighting characters, I decided to map their network of people as well, because I consider a characters political reach (just to give an example) an ability as well. Maybe they'd get beat up in a fight, but then they know someone who could make the offender feel sorry later on. 

 

Otherwise I'd say, remember your environment, remember your characters condition - having had 5 meads at a tavern shouldn't magically not have any effect when you start fighting and remember to take hits. If you end up losing, try not to get sour over it - losing can be just as fun as winning, it all really comes down to what you put into it when it happens. Practice, practice, practice. The more you do it, the more familiar you get with your character, the more quirks you can work in. 

 

To add a fun element.. If you can work your character into a state where they can mentally drive their opponent down during/before the fight, then that can be very fun to both watch and do. I've seen it happen irl to an archery competition, the guy wasn't downright mean to his opponent, but his confidence and belief in himself, his friends cheering on him and I mean /really loud/ cheering made his opponent so nervous they could barely shoot Absolute sorta like, "I am the best and I am letting you know it" style. However, remember that talking during fights can distract your character and make them vulnerable if they're not used to it. It's not the only way to make it fun, more just to give an example.

 

Sorry if I repeated anyone else's points, I just skimmed through the thread so far.

I can PM you the template I've been using if you're interested in it, OP.

[Nebbs]

Nebula dove out of the way of the fire blast, the flames setting the frayed edges of her old robes to flame and scorching her hair. She was ready she had practiced this move for days.... Rolling and coming up on her feet Nebula was already casting as she pulled out her trusty wand to despatch her opponent. Words of power came like song from her lips and the Aether and elements flowed through her.. Spoon! She was holding an old wooden spoon where her wand was supposed to be, maybe cooking before a fight was a bad idea? It was too late the spell was cast and the spoon was wood, how bad could it be?

 

Nebula's hand spun making the spoon follow complex stirring patterns and release the magics. Then destruction was released at her foe in the form of muffins, stone chipped muffins that pelted the target in a cakey soft  pebble dash.

 

"Take that hair scorcher, I am not to be trifled with. Fear my spoon!"

 

Then she ran.

[Branson Thorne]

Nebula dove out of the way of the fire blast, the flames setting the frayed edges of her old robes to flame and singing her hair. She was ready she had practice's this move for days.... Rolling and coming up on her feet Nebula was already casting as she pulled out her trusty wand to dusoatch her opponent. Words of power came like song from her lips and the Aethe and elements flowed through her.. Spoon! She was holding an old wooden spoon where her wand was supposed to be, maybe cooking before a fight was a bad idea? It was too late the spell was and the spoon was wood, how bad could it be?

 

Nebula's hand spun making the spoon follow complex stirring patterns and release the magics. Then destruction was released at her for in the form of muffins, stone chipped muffins that pelted the target in a cakey soft  pebble dash.

 

"Take that hair singer, I am not to be trifled with. Fear my spoon!"

 

Then she ran.

Killing Them with Kindness Limit Break level 1,000

[Berrod Armstrong]

Nebula dove out of the way of the fire blast, the flames setting the frayed edges of her old robes to flame and singing her hair. She was ready she had practice's this move for days.... Rolling and coming up on her feet Nebula was already casting as she pulled out her trusty wand to dusoatch her opponent. Words of power came like song from her lips and the Aethe and elements flowed through her.. Spoon! She was holding an old wooden spoon where her wand was supposed to be, maybe cooking before a fight was a bad idea? It was too late the spell was and the spoon was wood, how bad could it be?

 

Nebula's hand spun making the spoon follow complex stirring patterns and release the magics. Then destruction was released at her for in the form of muffins, stone chipped muffins that pelted the target in a cakey soft  pebble dash.

 

"Take that hair singer, I am not to be trifled with. Fear my spoon!"

 

Then she ran.

ilu nebbs

[Hammersmith]

Also, and this is important.

 

Improv is part of everything.

 

Use the environment.  Use anything mentioned.  If you PLAN on using part of the environment, make sure it's there, already mentioned, or you mention it several posts back before making someone eat it.

 

Recent example: Hammer was talking with a lalafel about...something.  He was nursing a bottle of high proof alchohol, slowly.  During the course of the RP I made it clear the stuff could strip paint and was leaving a haze that burned blue where it hit flame.  Flammable stuff.

 

Near the end of the conversation Hammer lets the lala keep talking, while be pulls a strip of cloth off his clothing, lets them keep talking.  Stuffs the rag into the bottle non-chalantly.  Keeps talking.

 

Shakes the bottle.  Keeps talking.  Lights the rag with the cigar he'd been posting about smoking the entire time, tosses the bottle into their arms, and stands back to see what happens.

 

 

Plan, plot, use what's at hand, but don't just pull a chair out of thin air or have handy dandy dinner knives around to stab someone with (Unless you're like...at dinner).

 

Know what your equipment is.  Know what you're carrying. Know what you can use.  Make sure people know it's coming, even if it's only after looking back and seeing "You set me up"

 

Don't use hammerspace to always have an answer.

[CrimsonMars]

I actually subscribe to this thread. This is a good learning resource.

[Kurt S.]

Nebula dove out of the way of the fire blast, the flames setting the frayed edges of her old robes to flame and scorching her hair. She was ready she had practiced this move for days.... Rolling and coming up on her feet Nebula was already casting as she pulled out her trusty wand to despatch her opponent. Words of power came like song from her lips and the Aether and elements flowed through her.. Spoon! She was holding an old wooden spoon where her wand was supposed to be, maybe cooking before a fight was a bad idea? It was too late the spell was cast and the spoon was wood, how bad could it be?

 

Nebula's hand spun making the spoon follow complex stirring patterns and release the magics. Then destruction was released at her foe in the form of muffins, stone chipped muffins that pelted the target in a cakey soft  pebble dash.

 

"Take that hair scorcher, I am not to be trifled with. Fear my spoon!"

 

Then she ran.

 

Such power...aahhh -fizzles out of existence-

[Sounsyy]

I wanted to second what Domri wrote up. (I don't have as much martial training as him, but I did do over five years of Kuk Sool Won and about a year of MMA.) One point in particular I wanted to point out is you will get hit. You acknowledge going into a fight that you might take a beating. The goal is to take less of a beating than your opponent. Like Domri said, if you see a clear shot to the ribs, take it, but know that you're gonna take a hit in return. A strike will almost always leave you open to a counterstrike.

 

Following through with this train of thought is set-ups. Which I think is extremely important in RP fighting. A few people have mentioned this. Have your fight or RP leading somewhere.

 

In the example of the rib shot, your opponent will counter with a right hook, maybe a grapple. Because the rib shot hurt, he's off balance and his left foot isn't firmly planted, so you put your leg behind him and pull him across the chest to take him down to the ground and into an armlock. Progression. The same can be done with RP battles. For folks who've watched Sounsyy fight at the Grindstone, they're more than familiar with Sounsyy's opener - the shield charge. Whether it connects or not is not important, the primary post is a setup for the rest of the fight.

 

 

Sounsyy Mirke raised her shield up to deflect the blade swinging from the right. It glanced off the shield with a clang and Sounsyy pressed forward into her opponent's open guard. She stepped forward with her right leg, shield still held high on her left, and stabbed low with her shortsword, aiming at her opponent's thigh - hoping to disable the fighter and slow his movements.

 

(I don't claim to be an expert on RP fighting, but I end up doing it a bit with Sounsyy's beat-everything personality. And folks seem to like her?) I think just about every fighter at Grindstone has seen this exact post or something similar to it. So lemme try to break it down.

 

• Hits and Counterhits. Recognize that most martial fighters must get in extremely close to score a hit. If an opponent tries to get around Sounsyy's shield, that means Sounsyy's shield is inside their guard. AKA they've set themselves up for a shield bash to the face.
  
• Not being afraid to take hits. Sounsyy is easy cuz she has a shield about as large as she is. However, if an attack comes from her right or my opponent purposefully writes into their attack that they've ninja'd around behind her shield, I can't realistically block the attack with the shield. So I'll have Sounsyy take the hit to her armor if its unavoidable but I still win the roll. Just cuz you win the roll doesn't mean you have to dodge the attack if it's out of character.
  
• Describe the attack and hint at the lead up. Sounsyy is stabbing at the thigh at close range. I've described that Sounsyy plans to cripple the opponent. This is information your opponent can use to write a descriptive response, regardless of if they win or lose.
  
• Furthermore, flower and flashy is nice, but introspection and poetry can't be used by your opponent. They may misread what your attack actually is. You can be flashy, just don't forget you have to give your opponent something tangible to dodge/eat.
  
• Fight Progression. Note how I wrote "shield still held high on her left" - this is a lead up. One, it lets my opponent know her guard is still raised and they can't attack from that direction and two, it sets Sounsyy up very nicely for a pivot and shield bash to the face for her next attack.
  
• Even though posting back and forth may take half an hour for the fight or longer, remember that in real time, the fight is realistically only lasting a couple minutes at most. Maybe seconds if you win every attack roll. But also remember that even a few minutes of extreme physical exertion is taxing to any character, even an experienced one. Sounsyy's swinging a twenty-pound shield as big as she is. She cannot keep going for hours at a time without rest/water (thank you Jancis! <3 ). After a few turns of successful blocks and back and forths, Sounsyy starts really trying to end that fight... brutally, before she gives out.
  
• Communication is super important! I always try to get into a party with whoever I'm fighting. Mostly just turns into idle chit chat, but if I don't understand an attack, it's best to ask. No harm done in clarifying if that was a roundhouse kick to the head or a dropkick. Sometimes you'll write something that makes perfect sense to you but makes absolutely no sense to your opponent.
  

 

 

Well hope that helps some! ^^ Best way is practice though! Come to Grindstone or Runestone, watch some of the fights. Maybe see what kind of fighting style fits yours. Then jump in and start fighting. You'll really start getting a feel for how your character moves and fights the more you practice. Sounsyy's pretty much got her bash-stab-jawbreaker combo on lock now. So... if you wanna fight her? LOL.

[Warren Castille]

So... if you wanna fight her? LOL.

 

I wish to fight Sounsyy

 

Do not do this.

[Kurt S.]

So... if you wanna fight her? LOL.

 

I wish to fight Sounsyy

 

Do not do this.

 

Noted. Now to actually scrutinize the other posts or pass out trying!

[Domri Blackblade]

Something I wrote forever ago. I didn't reread it so it may be awful.

 

 

 

So, after reading someone else’s post, I figured it would be good to let people in on a little bit of psychology of the mind when it comes to fighters. To be clear, I have been studying various martial arts and Bushido since I was eight years old. I have formal training in bo, sai, katana, open hand, and have picked up nunchaku and tonfa.

 

While I’m not going to go into how formal physical training is a huge factor, the thing about fighting is extremely a psychological battle. One of your biggest battles? Your eyes.

 

When I’m sparring open hand, I never look my opponent in the face. It is actually for two reasons. One? Where I focus determines how much peripheral vision I can utilize. Two? It’s unsettling. You give your opponent the illusion that you are disillusioned. It immediately can make them believe you are, frankly, extremely confident.

 

I participated in tournaments for about seven years and my trick was to always read the face of my opponent. Reading their eyes, if they are frowning, if they are nervous. It almost always played into how I proceeded with the fight. If someone looked very nervous, I’d immediately go aggressive. If someone looked more or less confident, I’d find a better balance.

 

I find in RP people are actually over focused on the aggressive and physical aspects, but the fact is, nerves and psychological standing can determine where a fight goes. Toss in an /e stares just to the left of his opponent’s head.

 

Also, to toss in, sometimes I find RPers can tend to misread another person’s emote intentions due to inexperience or misunderstanding. For example, if someone sweeps your ankle, that is actually not an opportunity to say you locked legs. A properly executed and successful sweep has one intention and that is to knock your foot from under you. If you miss the ankle and try to sweep higher, then it can become a leverage fight. Grab a friend and give the two techniques a work. There is a pretty significance in difference.

 

Lastly, one rule I was raised on in training is every action opens you up to be struck and the same goes for your opponent. Don’t just throw one technique and don’t throw one technique then stop and reset. Every time you reset, your opponent resets. The key is to know what hits you can take as a trade off.

 

If your opponent’s ribs are open for a very hard strike, take that blow to the shoulder. It hurts a lot less to get punched in the shoulder than getting broken ribs. Never let being hit discourage.

 

BEING HIT IS A PART OF FIGHTING.

 

You will always get hit. If your character somehow blocks and avoids all of their opponents strikes, it becomes extremely unrealistic. Fighting is a mind game of thinking on the spot. What blow can you take to strike back tenfold. What would be the best course of avoiding? He just opened up, can I take advantage of that? Will I reach? What direction is he moving? Can I use that to take him down? Is he extremely mobile? Can I let him tire himself out? Is he not moving a lot? Can I use that to take him down? Is he overly defensive? Can I use that to open him up?

 

After you train this questions aren’t spoken in the mind, it’s just like a process done. You analyze the situation in the moment and you act. It’s all in your brain.

 

And as always, I’m always available as a resource for more realistic melee combat. Just toss me a PM. I’m happy to help out and offer insight. I will say, my studies are more Okinawan and Chinese influenced. I am not the end all be all voice on combat, but I can certainly help you out with a lot of theory if you need.

 

 

 

Alright this actually puts in a whole nother dimension to it that I know for a fact I glossed over/never considered. At the very least I can churn out a lengthier sequence but I still don't get the 'Don’t just throw one technique and don’t throw one technique then stop and reset.' bit?

 

Is it like, Character A throws a punch > Character B parries it > They both go back to their previous stances instead of maybe Character A staying in place after the parried punch which gives an opening for Character B to capitalize on?

 

To that point. I want to try and recreate the flow from the Ramona vs. Caex'ra fight, aka Ramona in Coil Turn 21 wearing level 46 gear. I want to know if I was actually doing it right with Ramona. Though this does involve another idea in my head that involves manipulating and redirecting her aether to focal parts or general regions of her body. 

 

Generally that's how a lot of IC fights go that I read. Exactly the 'punch > block > hops away > reset'. So, for example, when I'm roll dueling with someone on Domri, even if I'm just emoting one action, 90% of the time after someone blocks/parries/dodges or hits him back, he keeps going. Keeps swinging. Visualize what opens when Character A opens when he strikes and what Character B opens when he blocks. They both have created openings and in writing fighting, it's key to be mindful of that or the fight becomes harder to follow.

 

When I'm not roll fighting because I hate that, my characters will generally do multiple things in succession as that's really what my philosophy of fighting is. You can't win without being offensive because defense can always be broken, opened, and taken advantage of. (I'm trying to keep it brief because I could easily wall of text explanations.) So my characters actually are hyper offensive in that offense is also their defense. But I'm always mindful of what they are fighting, their disadvantages, and their advantages.