How do -you- Combat RP?

[Naunet]

All of this would be a lot simpler if SE just included a _________ like practically any other MMORPG worth its salt.

 

Could be applied to lots of things! /randomthought

 

Though personally I've never really liked RP duels except for silly training events with close friends. Love dueling, but usually not for RP purposes.

[Fates Skein]

I like a good combination of rolls and free-form/pre-determined combat.  IE: OOCly discuss what I and the others in the combat would like it to accomplish, who will end up winning, any major wounds/disfigurements we're open to, then use rolls to actually decide who hits on which attacks.  I've found that my time in the Grindstone has really made the simplicity of a d100 roll appealing.

[Askier]

My normal preference is using rolz.org. Normally I prefer a simple 1d6 system I can up with for my events. Basically, attacker rolls attack first them defender rolls their defense. The higher wins, defender wins on ties. If attacker is higher, defender loses 1 HP. Defender wins, no damage. Then the rolls switch and this exchange goes until.someone loses three ho at which point they lose and rp out result. I find this to feel more organic and makes sure the fight is fair to both sides.

[C'kayah Polaali]

When I started roleplaying online, I played in MUSHes that only used freeform combat, and I tend to prefer that.

 

(...)

 

I don't care for RNG based combat because the combat systems tend to be pretty simplistic and don't cover the sorts of things C'kayah does - he uses poisons, he fights dirty, etc.

 

Ah, MUSHes. I remember (not exactly fondly ) being a wizard on a WoD MUSH and adjudicating multi-hour and sometimes multi-day timestops

That sort of thing is exactly why we stuck to freeform combat on AmberMUSH. The philosophy was "we're writing collaborative fiction, so if we can't agree on an outcome, write something else".

[Zhavi]

When I started roleplaying online, I played in MUSHes that only used freeform combat, and I tend to prefer that.

 

(...)

 

I don't care for RNG based combat because the combat systems tend to be pretty simplistic and don't cover the sorts of things C'kayah does - he uses poisons, he fights dirty, etc.

 

Ah, MUSHes. I remember (not exactly fondly ) being a wizard on a WoD MUSH and adjudicating multi-hour and sometimes multi-day timestops

That sort of thing is exactly why we stuck to freeform combat on AmberMUSH. The philosophy was "we're writing collaborative fiction, so if we can't agree on an outcome, write something else".

Huh. The MUD I used to play on had a sort of half and half solution for those sorts of things. They were called duels, and if anything big was on the table, they'd follow a fairly standard format.

 

Each person would have three posts each. The starter, then the next person would essentially defend and attack, back, forth, back, and the ending post. There would be three judges. Those judges would vote. The one that got the most votes would win.

 

It had an interesting effect on combative rp -- namely, the person who won the most naturally became feared icly. Only others who had similar win rates would act tough around them. Adversely, unless you entered in to the whole duel-thing, your character couldn't really rp as being a fighter of any kind without essentially being laughed at. Either you dueled, or you weren't taken seriously if you played a combative character.

 

It was never really my thing, but one benefit of the system was that people played fair or they didn't get votes. Some judges would be less likely to vote for you if, during the duel, you didn't allow your character to take the damage from the other guy's attacks.

 

Some people even went so far as to go for DD - death duels. IE, whoever wins, lives. Whoever loses, dies. Which is fine, and all, but because of the ooc factor of it, even if your character is there watching any interference is sorta. . .frowned upon. I once had to have my character essentially sitting on her hands and watch her leader die because I was afraid of ooc repercussions for a very ic action (and, well, me being me, it's not like I would have been adverse to my character getting smote for interfering, but the culture of that particular game was err, not very open to such things and that particular fight was a Big Deal -- so I didn't do anything at all).

 

Hell, wars between nations would have battles determined by the dueling system, though not terribly frequently. It was definitely a very pervasive system.

 

Nothing will ever be perfect, but it's a system that definitely has its pros to go along with its cons.

 

 

 

As for me, I prefer the figure-things-out ahead of time approach with people I'm unfamiliar with.

 

If I've been rping with you extensively for over a year? Ehhh, let the rp happen as it will. Auto-hits and all.

[LiadansWhisper]

@Lia

I think you're experience may be a little biased. Combat RP is subject to different player mindsets and scenario's. For example, when most people think of fighting in a game, it means to maim or violently kill. However, this can be different based on subjective scenarios. Players who are just RP training fighting are more likely to play fairly and honestly due to the fact that there are no repercussions in loosing and it is just training for them to "better" each other.

 

While on the other hand, most RP fights are a result of usually conflicting personality's or ideals. People aren't going to want to get along. Some will want to kill each other. Its this imminent threat to their characters mortality that drive's them into a defensive corner.

 

Really, the only good RP combat in my opinion PC vs NPC on a forum thread, because there the violence and gore as well as how big the fights are can be as detailed as possible.

 

I think that people should look at it like this, if you know you're going to have a battle to the death with a person, avoid them. That way neither of you incite each other into a fight. That or just be the better character ICly. You don't have to settle EVERYTHING with violence. (*cough* though it does solve problems quickly. *cough*) In fact, a good way to turn the opposite of this in a positive it to try and find a common ground up to which both characters can relate, that way both characters gain a mutual respect for each other and nobody has to get stabbed/blasted with fire! 

 

Yes, of course my experience is "a little biased."  It's my experience.  

 

9 times out of 10, if conflict RP is resulting in dice-rolled combat, people are already emotional and people get way too invested on winning or losing.  Like I said, I have no problem losing at combat RP - my character is explicitly bad at physical combat.  But I do have a problem with people who only follow the dice rolls that benefit their characters, and either ignore or twist those dice rolls not in their favor.  I just find the entire thing to be incredibly tiresome.

[Aduu Avagnar]

I prefer freeform, but dice rolling tends to be my go to when running a combat based event for people due to speed. they know the outcome of the exchange, so can emote appropriately.

 

That being said, as for the fighting other players and people not wanting to lose, I would hope that wouldn't be said of me, when fighting some members of Nights Blades a while back, Nako tended to use his agility, yes, but when push came to shove, he wasn't trained/quick enough and ended up with a sword nailing his forearm to his shield.

 

When fighting NPC's I have no compunctions about the style of rp I use, and Nako can be quite violent, but I tend to use immobilizing abilties when fighting PC's, risk of massive injury yes, but never risk of death for them.

 

I have heard stories from members of my FC about people who no sell on pretty much anything that was done to them, however, and people like that make me sad. If your not going to risk anything, and just want to find a platform to show how amazing you are, just leave me out of it.

[Flickering Ember]

I don't get into nearly as much RP combat as I used to when I Rped in WoW. I started to make characters who are/were rookies to make rp combat easier on me. I really prefer to leave the resolution of combat up to fate, ie. dice rolls. I don't trust strangers, friends, or even myself to be unbiased to combat outcomes. I don't like knowing ahead of time who is going to win so I don't participate in talking it out OOC. If it is too inconvenient to use rolls or the other person doesn't want to I have my character lose by default.

[CrimsonMars]

Lot of interesting feedback going on. Especially Voltage. :thumbsup: I'm glad I posted this.

[Sophia_Grave]

I think its best to talk it over with whoever's involved beforehand. While dicerolling is fair (unless its me, because I always lose :V), it really can put a damper on your RP when you fail at something really simple. I think combat RP is best when everyone knows the end result beforehand, and things are planned out. That way, you don't have to completely trust that you or the other person won't just ruin things (intentionally or not).

 

OOC Transparency, as usual, is the key.

[Knight Kat]

I don't get into nearly as much RP combat as I used to when I Rped in WoW. I started to make characters who are/were rookies to make rp combat easier on me. I really prefer to leave the resolution of combat up to fate, ie. dice rolls. I don't trust strangers, friends, or even myself to be unbiased to combat outcomes. I don't like knowing ahead of time who is going to win so I don't participate in talking it out OOC. If it is too inconvenient to use rolls or the other person doesn't want to I have my character lose by default.

 

Kinda with Ember on this. I don't like knowing the outcome beforehand. For me, that saps the fun right out of it. There is hardly any surprises in a predetermined outcome. I can see that being best for some situations, but not all.

 

Freeform has its own problems. I do not mind loosing like 60% of the time because I like playing "underdog" characters. But she is not a total push-over. This means I can't totally trust myself to be unbiased. If I am doing RP combat with someone I know, I might just loose because I do not want any hard feelings. However, IMHO, this is not how it should be.

 

That leads me to dice systems. This is what I prefer in most cases. Yes, RNG can be a rip-off sometimes, but if I loose I can often come up with an IC reason that makes sense.

 

If my character is frankly up against an opponent that should not be able to beat her, for example, a chef with no combat experience, she would not put in a real effort to hurt them as she would see them as a minimal threat. In other words, I would RP out a conflict with them, but Kiht would spend most of her time just avoiding their attacks. If they persist, I would just end it in a tie by having Kiht withdrawal (they can consider that a win for all I care).

 

If someone is playing a character not trained in combat, I do not think they should expect to win many fights. If someone is playing a combat character, dice is my go-to. The resolution from the dice would -not- upset me in any way. Even if it is not in my favor.

[LiadansWhisper]

I prefer freeform, but dice rolling tends to be my go to when running a combat based event for people due to speed. they know the outcome of the exchange, so can emote appropriately.

 

That being said, as for the fighting other players and people not wanting to lose, I would hope that wouldn't be said of me, when fighting some members of Nights Blades a while back, Nako tended to use his agility, yes, but when push came to shove, he wasn't trained/quick enough and ended up with a sword nailing his forearm to his shield.

 

When fighting NPC's I have no compunctions about the style of rp I use, and Nako can be quite violent, but I tend to use immobilizing abilties when fighting PC's, risk of massive injury yes, but never risk of death for them.

 

I have heard stories from members of my FC about people who no sell on pretty much anything that was done to them, however, and people like that make me sad. If your not going to risk anything, and just want to find a platform to show how amazing you are, just leave me out of it.

 

Never heard your name mentioned.  I was speaking about specific circumstances to myself, and I only recently joined the Night Blades.  

[Aduu Avagnar]

I prefer freeform, but dice rolling tends to be my go to when running a combat based event for people due to speed. they know the outcome of the exchange, so can emote appropriately.

 

That being said, as for the fighting other players and people not wanting to lose, I would hope that wouldn't be said of me, when fighting some members of Nights Blades a while back, Nako tended to use his agility, yes, but when push came to shove, he wasn't trained/quick enough and ended up with a sword nailing his forearm to his shield.

 

When fighting NPC's I have no compunctions about the style of rp I use, and Nako can be quite violent, but I tend to use immobilizing abilties when fighting PC's, risk of massive injury yes, but never risk of death for them.

 

I have heard stories from members of my FC about people who no sell on pretty much anything that was done to them, however, and people like that make me sad. If your not going to risk anything, and just want to find a platform to show how amazing you are, just leave me out of it.

 

Never heard your name mentioned.  I was speaking about specific circumstances to myself, and I only recently joined the Night Blades.  

It was between the Yatagahns and the Night Blades to see if the two groups got on well enough for some plot, I think there were some disagreements in outlooks.

[Roswyn]

I have a soft spot for freeform but I really only do it with people I know and trust. Otherwise rolling is the way to go.

 

One of my pet peeves with free form is people taking like 5 actions in a turn. Like drawing a weapon, stabbing someone in the neck, dodging an attack, rolling away all in what would have reasonably been like maybe 2 seconds.

 

Also, for some reason, a lot of people tend to forget basic rp etiquette with freeform. The whole "I should give this person a chance to reply" kinda goes out the window and people tunnel on "winning" (I guess?) and get cheesy with 1 hit KO's. On the same token, some people are constantly "evading" like a ballerina.

 

If you've ever played any table top games you know you can only take so many actions in a turn. Think about it that way. I can do 1 complex action then maybe scratch my butt or something. (Not really, but ya get it.)

 

In short, I think freeform opens the door for a lot of awesome things (environmental damage yo) but it also requires some general understanding of weaponry. I.E. "I probably can't parry an axe with this shortsword." Or "Since I'm using fist weapons that means I have to be REALLY careful trying to get close to that Lancer."

 

Also, I straight up walked away from a guy who said he was a black mage once in a combat situation. He literally tried to summon some unidentified mist and lock my character in a box with it, wut?

[Val]

I absolutely love freeform combat. In fact, my original RP playground was made up entirely of freeform. Ayenee was a great place, and those people came up with a lot of the rules that have carried on to the turn-based combat of today. 

 

I will certainly say that it can come with its issues. I have no problem with losing a battle, but I won't let someone just.. well. Win. If the person is going to run around and do backflips and dance around and try to be flashy, that simply isn't going to win a fight--not in any realistic sense. I also have an issue with Dragoons that seem to think that jumping super high into the sky and landing on someone is the best thing they can possibly do. I've ran into more than one that believe that their attack is instantaneous rather than requiring the time to jump, ascend, descend, etc.

 

..But, as others have pointed out, there are some really great and amazing people out there that do it and know how to do it properly. Several of these people have managed to beat Val. He's got several flaws that these people know how to exploit, and it's incredibly fun watching them do so. Others, well--they just don't, and unless there's a specified outcome beforehand, if their characters make mistakes that Val would see, they'll likely pay for it.

 

I try to operate as realistically as possible within the bounds of lore and physics. Val can't do a triple somersault and kick someone. I mean, I suppose with practice he could, but anyone in their right mind would just.. you know. Step away. He knows this, and he knows what works and what to watch for. After all, the majority of his career has /been/ fighting. All of his attacks are precise and quick. He gets in close, does damage, and gets out. 

 

My other character isn't nearly as skilled at combat and, should the poor guy ever find himself in a true situation, he'll likely lose. I also have a caster that specializes in ranged combat and can do some absolutely amazing damage at a distance. However, if anyone ever manages to get in close, he's pretty much lost the fight. I try to find a balance with all of my characters that, if the opponent can find the weakness of said character and exploit it, there's nothing my character can do. If the person simply outsmarts the character (which many have done with poor Val and others), then they're sure to win as well.

[LiadansWhisper]

I absolutely love freeform combat. In fact, my original RP playground was made up entirely of freeform. Ayenee was a great place, and those people came up with a lot of the rules that have carried on to the turn-based combat of today. 

 

Eh hem.

 

T1?  T2?

 

I TYPE FASTER THAN YOU, I WIN!

 

 

Oh god.  Memories...

[Val]

I absolutely love freeform combat. In fact, my original RP playground was made up entirely of freeform. Ayenee was a great place, and those people came up with a lot of the rules that have carried on to the turn-based combat of today. 

 

Eh hem.

 

T1?  T2?

 

I TYPE FASTER THAN YOU, I WIN!

 

 

Oh god.  Memories...

 

Ah, Liadan. I adore you. In fact, I'm actually in touch with some of the old school people that did some RP in Ayenee/Nerima back then  they're apparently trying to start up another thing.

[LiadansWhisper]

 

 

 

Ah, Liadan. I adore you. In fact, I'm actually in touch with some of the old school people that did some RP in Ayenee/Nerima back then  they're apparently trying to start up another thing.

 

 

But on what platform?

 

 

I have great memories of Ayenee, even if NWN was far superior (if only in that we had pixels!  ACTUAL PIXELS, VAL!).

 

Oh man, those channels.  :cactuar:

[Magellan]

I'm going to second Lia in that I don't think I've never had a positive or enjoyable combat rp situation that wasn't pc vs npc. People just love their characters far, far too much to allow them to lose, or even engage realistically in these settings.

 

Its one of the several things that have kind of pushed me away from rp in general.

[Val]

I'm going to second Lia in that I don't think I've never had a positive or enjoyable combat rp situation that wasn't pc vs npc. People just love their characters far, far too much to allow them to lose, or even engage realistically in these settings.

 

Its one of the several things that have kind of pushed me away from rp in general.

 

Not everyone as I said earlier, Val has lost several times. He certainly won't lose if the person doesn't know how to realistically defeat or outsmart him, but I'm not opposed to him being taken out and I know several others that are just fine with it.

 

Loss is actually a great RP opportunity. Your character has to deal with that loss, humiliation, fact that someone is better than them, etc. Others will see it as a reason to get stronger, need more training, whatever. It's really entertaining either way and, arguably, one can say the opportunities of RP from a loss far exceed that of a win.

[Zhavi]

I'm going to second Lia in that I don't think I've never had a positive or enjoyable combat rp situation that wasn't pc vs npc. People just love their characters far, far too much to allow them to lose, or even engage realistically in these settings.

 

Its one of the several things that have kind of pushed me away from rp in general.

 

I think it just depends on the people. The groups I've been fortunate enough to rp with tend towards sadism towards their characters. I have had bizarre conversations where both sides wanted their characters to lose. But, generally, I think it just depends on player mindset. To me, the only time freeform isn't worth it with people you trust is when the characters have similar abilities.

 

I mean, shit, I'm always down for my character to lose. If Zhi gets into a bad situation where someone has the capability to kill her and she doesn't have an out -- she dies. RP is more fun for me when my character is legitimately at risk.

 

(although too, I've also done combative rp with someone who is wayyyyyy better at writing combat -- he would help me with my posts so that I could accurately represent the character (which was just a npc, anyways, fighting against his pc in a bareknuckle boxing fighting ring) -- even if it meant his character got hurt)

 

But not everyone enjoys that. So you just have to find players who match your mindset.

[Val]

I think it just depends on the people.  The groups I've been fortunate enough to rp with tend towards sadism towards their characters.  I have had bizarre conversations where both sides wanted their characters to lose.  But, generally, I think it just depends on player mindset.  To me, the only time freeform isn't worth it with people you trust is when the characters have similar abilities.

 

I mean, shit, I'm always down for my character to lose.  If Zhi gets into a bad situation where someone has the capability to kill her and she doesn't have an out -- she dies.  RP is more fun for me when my character is legitimately at risk.

 

(although too, I've also done combative rp with someone who is wayyyyyy better at writing combat -- he would help me with my posts so that I could accurately represent the character (which was just a npc, anyways, fighting against his pc in a bareknuckle boxing fighting ring) -- even if it meant his character got hurt)

 

But not everyone enjoys that.  So you just have to find players who match your mindset.  

 

I feel the same way. My character needs to have legitimate risks. If someone wants to kill him, and manages to kill him, he's gone. It's more fun that way for me and it gives more opportunities for both my character and those around him, as well as a bit of suspense knowing that I'd be more than happy to let him die should he succumb to his wounds.

[Parth Makeo]

I mix things up but prefer to set a determined winner of a fight with whomever i was fighting on Arala (UNLESS in a rare case i was against someone who is a legacy character in which Arala will not be able to hold her ground upon veterans well).

 

Though Arala is more of a take punishment then dish the equal amount back ala Wobbuffet and her attacks are light mostly with a heavy focus on defending and wearing the opponent out. That doesn't mean she can't fall. 

 

So it works with "Who will win?" question and we debate back and forth. When we know who wins, the fight carries on as such, so it's improvised but the end result is already fleshed out. It proves to be exciting to see what happens next and how a person wins or loses. Sometimes I tend to lose intentionally just to be a good sport....which is something I have seen a lot from other people in this game too oddly enough.

[LiadansWhisper]

I think it just depends on the people.  The groups I've been fortunate enough to rp with tend towards sadism towards their characters.  I have had bizarre conversations where both sides wanted their characters to lose.  But, generally, I think it just depends on player mindset.  To me, the only time freeform isn't worth it with people you trust is when the characters have similar abilities.

 

I mean, shit, I'm always down for my character to lose.  If Zhi gets into a bad situation where someone has the capability to kill her and she doesn't have an out -- she dies.  RP is more fun for me when my character is legitimately at risk.

 

(although too, I've also done combative rp with someone who is wayyyyyy better at writing combat -- he would help me with my posts so that I could accurately represent the character (which was just a npc, anyways, fighting against his pc in a bareknuckle boxing fighting ring) -- even if it meant his character got hurt)

 

But not everyone enjoys that.  So you just have to find players who match your mindset.  

 

I feel the same way. My character needs to have legitimate risks. If someone wants to kill him, and manages to kill him, he's gone. It's more fun that way for me and it gives more opportunities for both my character and those around him, as well as a bit of suspense knowing that I'd be more than happy to let him die should he succumb to his wounds.

 

I'm pretty much the same way.  Of course, my character doesn't want to die, so I generally don't go out of my way to be an obnoxious ass asking for combat.  

[Nero]

Very carefully.

 

Jokes aside, there's two ways I typically approach it.

 

One is just to go with the flow. I'm not an egotist about my character by any means; s/he has their limits, and if my opponent seems to surpass them on those limits (without godmoding--if, for example, my character were attack a steel golem with a sharpened pencil, obviously I'd roleplay that character to lose the fight) then, well, my character loses, and whatever happens from that result happens.

 

The second way is to talk to the other person OOC and discuss the actual fight, if it's a fight that can affect the overall story of the RP. I typically prefer not to do this, as I think RPs are at their finest when developed organically, but doing this can offset any damage from bruised egos about characters losing fights, and can help organise the actual sequence of events in the fight a bit more.