So you want to learn how to properly fight in an event of an RP combat? Look no further as this is the guide for you! Detailed below is a simple guide helping to better your RP fighting skills and prove your characters strengths. I will list the what to do's and what NOT to do's in a combat scenario so that we will have a fair fight with all combatants walking out happy (most of the time).
I. What to do
II. What NOT to do
III. Advanced tips and tricks
I. What to do
Make detailed posts
The more detailed your posts are the better. The reason for this is because you might want to set up the location of the fight for you and your enemies, and you want to make it absolutely clear whats around you and whats not. Normally people dont like wading through posts that are far too generic or vague in their descriptions with nothing to go at. Then again, no one wants to make extremely long posts that can be a pain to read for other people.
Tips to help you with this is searching for a landscape through google images and describe what you see, hear, smell etc. Make sure you also give some details to what your character is doing.
Write your posts in a Reaction-Action format
This is the absolute most basic structure of any combat RPs that everyone should follow. What this means is the first half of your post may be focused on how your character reacts to an enemy attacking you. Then the next half is how your character retaliates against that said enemy, or what hes going to do next. Some beginners have posted only a few sentences of them either just reacting, or performing an action without responding tocan attack. These are common mistakes that should be avoided since they can confuse a lot of people. This confusion is more obvious in a group fight scenario, where others cant make a detailed post at all due to one person not giving anyone much to go with. Just blocking ir swinging is not enough. What else is happening around your character?
Also be detailed in your action and reaction. Dont just say "A dodged". How did he dodge? Also be realistic and take into account the enemy's attacks. If they shoot a bullet at you with a sniper rifle, I highly doubt you can just walk left or cartwheel yourself away.
Have fun!
Unlike this guide, the purpose of combat RPing is to have fun knowing more about each other's characters, style of RP etc. Its another way of making friends if done right.
II. What NOT to do
There are a few rules that all combat RPers must follow whenever they are doing battle against worthy enemies, especially if they are another user's character. Please note that it is within your responsibility to bring a staff member's attention to a post in question should you think the RPer is breaking one of the rules below. Note the combat conduct below:
Combat Conduct
All posts are considered fact until contradicted by a later one. Only once it is your turn to post again is your previous post considered absolute. This means that if you made a post, you agreed that the latest posts by other members are true and hold nothing disagreeable. The reason for this is because if there is a mistake 8 posts ago, we do not want to void all these 8 posts and it will only frustrate both parties. In the very highly probable event that there is a disagreement find a staff to settle it.
Now that this is out of the way, here are the things NOT to do in an RP battle:
No Meta-Gaming
One of the most common mistakes is that characters know something about the other character when they shouldn't have that information to begin with. This includes mindreading, knowing the weaknesses of a character you haven't met before etc. This is called Meta-Gaming. Outside (out of character) information is not allowed and can be turned down by an appropriate staff member. Example:
A aims his gun at B and shoots him in the head.
B thought this was the end of him, until he remembered he was a god from the land of Deus ex Machima and, thus he was granted immortality. The bullet struck but the wound sealed quickly.
No God-Moding/Power Playing
God Modding is basically dodging every single attack without giving an appropriate reason/explanation for how this happened. This will frustrate some people, especially if they were sure that they would land a direct hit and the dodging wasn't well explained. Be sure to RP your characters fairly, know their weaknesses and limitations, and act on them.
Power Playing is the act of controlling someone else's character or giving your own character things they shouldn't posses like suddenly saying your character has an upgrade thats not even mentioned in your app (Deus ex Machima). Even if its vaguely mentioned, it should still be in your app for strengths and abilities. Not elsewhere. There is one exception to this rule though, which is a little rule we're going to call Vague Manipulation (see Advanced Battle RPing guide).
Powerplaying someone else's character includes manipulating their reaction times, where they move, what they say or how they respond. Example:
A shoots B in the leg
B dodges the bullet, dashes to A before he can react and sends his knife into A's stomach, spilling his blood and forcing him to belch.
B is clearly showing many signs of powerplay because he is controlling A as well when A doesnt belong to him. Note, unless consent is given to powerplay, this is very unfair for A and he may request a judge to look and void it. However, not all powerplays are that obvious. Example:
C is sitting on a rock in a forest, waiting for his opponent.
D comes in from behind him and shoots 10 fireballs. These fireballs travel extremely fast, circling C and cutting all escape.
This is still powerplaying on D's part because he indirectly manipulated C's reaction time by completely ignoring that C had any reaction at all. Of course C would notice the fireballs before they surround him!
Skimming posts without focusing on detail
This one is perhaps another common but most annoying mistakes judges have to deal with. It is important that combatants read every post carefully before they put any post of there own. There could be a change in location, a tree could have grown in between them etc. Posting without knowing fully well what happened could cause confusion. Example:
A is sitting on a wide stretch of sand, with the waves and ocean behind him as he waits for B.
B appears 20metres behind A, smirking at how he left himself wide open and dashes towards him.
B made a mistake of not reading A's post carefully and appeared 20metres behind A, which we know was NOTHING BUT WATER. In this kind of situation, most judges would let the RP go on but B would be underwater because of his mistake. And who would know what A had done to the water? Again, its important that you read the previous posts and not make a fool out of yourself.
Keep Posting Order
In combat rp you must keep a posting order. If a regular rp turns into a combat rp then each person that posts after determines the order in which people post. It would be easier to keep track of it you stuck the posting order at the topics first post.
Breaking posting order can result in the post becoming void. Again, it is up to the combatants to follow their order, otherwise an entire cluster of posts would become void.
III. Advanced Battle RPing guide
These are advanced tips and tricks for those who know the basics but want to further their combat RPing abilities. I wiuld strongly recommend newbies to just stick with the above and get comfortable with the pressures of combat RP before diving deep into this section, as some of it may not make sense at first and would be quite confusing.
Vague Manipulation
Probably the most common trick advanced combat RPers use that ensures victory. What this does is making assumptions in the person's previous posts that will greatly benefit your character and allow you to exploit to make a devastating comeback. This is also the reason why I strongly encourage detailed posts. If you missed a description and an expert picks up on it, they will fill it for you, and believe me, it wont be pretty.
Many people may confuse this with Powerplay. Powerplaying is manipulating the person's CHARACTER, not their post in general. Vague Manipulation refers to the person giving vague details about the setting or the trajectory of his abilities, that the expert may explain those vagueness to their advantage. Example:
A shoots 4 water orbs at B. One directly at his chest and the other 3 covering his potential escape routes.
B runs left, seeing the orb that was fired there was running into an exposed rock, and it exploded on the rock.
Vague manipulation isnt for everyone and in most cases, a lot of people got it wrong. You need to read all posts carefully and watch out for any description that may, say, make putting a rock there impossible. If you are not careful, your attempt at vague manipulation will become a contradiction, and your post becones void. Example:
A walked into an open plains, with nothing but grasd and a lone tree 3 metres in front of him.
10 posts later...
B saw A firing 4 water orbs and rushed left, seeing a rock jutting out of the plains...
All of a sudden, this form of manipulation is impossible and B has contradicted the setting imposed by A! In conclusion, always ALWAYS read posts very carefully before you decide to post anything, because anything you post will become final.
Subtlety
People who can use subtlety effectively can perform a surprise attack that, realistically, the enemy cannot avoid unless Powerplay is involved ir Metagaming. This is perhaps one of the easiest advanced skills to learn in combat RP. It involves luring your enemies to a false sense of security and put them in a position where you want them to be. For example, you character may decide to spend an action to charge an attack that actually really had no charging period, and this can make enemies think this is an opening and will charge towards you, only to get a faceful of energy balls.
Subtlety only works against weaker combat RPers. Against some experts, they know to stay well away and may fight frok a range, rendering this technique a waste of an action and would be forced to dodge again.
Resourcefulness
Expert combat RPers may know how to use the setting and environment to their advantage. Sometimes when abilities are cast, a lot if people tend to forget the effects this will have on the setting. An example of such is casting a whirlwind in the middle if a beach. This whirlwind would cause a huge sandstorm and could block everyone's sights.
Another way of using the environment is manipulating it in such a way that will prove to be advantage for your characters. For example, if your character is an assassin who blends in with the shadows, make the setting night time. If he is a fire user, make the fight near a volcano. This shows that the first to post has a lot of power, being able to change the entire landscape to their character's advantage. Though sometimes this can leave holes, and this is where vague manipulation kicks in. Although the first to post has this power, they are also opening themselves to vulnerability by being the first to introduce his character's whereabouts. The enemy that was next to post can vaguely manipulate he was hiding behind a rock 1metre behind you and will perform a surprise attack.
Overall, use the environment to your advantage if you can. A lot of amateur combat RPers seem to forget what it can provide when they focus solely on what their characters can do. This can be the make or break you need to win.
I. What to do
II. What NOT to do
III. Advanced tips and tricks
I. What to do
Make detailed posts
The more detailed your posts are the better. The reason for this is because you might want to set up the location of the fight for you and your enemies, and you want to make it absolutely clear whats around you and whats not. Normally people dont like wading through posts that are far too generic or vague in their descriptions with nothing to go at. Then again, no one wants to make extremely long posts that can be a pain to read for other people.
Tips to help you with this is searching for a landscape through google images and describe what you see, hear, smell etc. Make sure you also give some details to what your character is doing.
Write your posts in a Reaction-Action format
This is the absolute most basic structure of any combat RPs that everyone should follow. What this means is the first half of your post may be focused on how your character reacts to an enemy attacking you. Then the next half is how your character retaliates against that said enemy, or what hes going to do next. Some beginners have posted only a few sentences of them either just reacting, or performing an action without responding tocan attack. These are common mistakes that should be avoided since they can confuse a lot of people. This confusion is more obvious in a group fight scenario, where others cant make a detailed post at all due to one person not giving anyone much to go with. Just blocking ir swinging is not enough. What else is happening around your character?
Also be detailed in your action and reaction. Dont just say "A dodged". How did he dodge? Also be realistic and take into account the enemy's attacks. If they shoot a bullet at you with a sniper rifle, I highly doubt you can just walk left or cartwheel yourself away.
Have fun!
Unlike this guide, the purpose of combat RPing is to have fun knowing more about each other's characters, style of RP etc. Its another way of making friends if done right.
II. What NOT to do
There are a few rules that all combat RPers must follow whenever they are doing battle against worthy enemies, especially if they are another user's character. Please note that it is within your responsibility to bring a staff member's attention to a post in question should you think the RPer is breaking one of the rules below. Note the combat conduct below:
Combat Conduct
All posts are considered fact until contradicted by a later one. Only once it is your turn to post again is your previous post considered absolute. This means that if you made a post, you agreed that the latest posts by other members are true and hold nothing disagreeable. The reason for this is because if there is a mistake 8 posts ago, we do not want to void all these 8 posts and it will only frustrate both parties. In the very highly probable event that there is a disagreement find a staff to settle it.
Now that this is out of the way, here are the things NOT to do in an RP battle:
No Meta-Gaming
One of the most common mistakes is that characters know something about the other character when they shouldn't have that information to begin with. This includes mindreading, knowing the weaknesses of a character you haven't met before etc. This is called Meta-Gaming. Outside (out of character) information is not allowed and can be turned down by an appropriate staff member. Example:
A aims his gun at B and shoots him in the head.
B thought this was the end of him, until he remembered he was a god from the land of Deus ex Machima and, thus he was granted immortality. The bullet struck but the wound sealed quickly.
No God-Moding/Power Playing
God Modding is basically dodging every single attack without giving an appropriate reason/explanation for how this happened. This will frustrate some people, especially if they were sure that they would land a direct hit and the dodging wasn't well explained. Be sure to RP your characters fairly, know their weaknesses and limitations, and act on them.
Power Playing is the act of controlling someone else's character or giving your own character things they shouldn't posses like suddenly saying your character has an upgrade thats not even mentioned in your app (Deus ex Machima). Even if its vaguely mentioned, it should still be in your app for strengths and abilities. Not elsewhere. There is one exception to this rule though, which is a little rule we're going to call Vague Manipulation (see Advanced Battle RPing guide).
Powerplaying someone else's character includes manipulating their reaction times, where they move, what they say or how they respond. Example:
A shoots B in the leg
B dodges the bullet, dashes to A before he can react and sends his knife into A's stomach, spilling his blood and forcing him to belch.
B is clearly showing many signs of powerplay because he is controlling A as well when A doesnt belong to him. Note, unless consent is given to powerplay, this is very unfair for A and he may request a judge to look and void it. However, not all powerplays are that obvious. Example:
C is sitting on a rock in a forest, waiting for his opponent.
D comes in from behind him and shoots 10 fireballs. These fireballs travel extremely fast, circling C and cutting all escape.
This is still powerplaying on D's part because he indirectly manipulated C's reaction time by completely ignoring that C had any reaction at all. Of course C would notice the fireballs before they surround him!
Skimming posts without focusing on detail
This one is perhaps another common but most annoying mistakes judges have to deal with. It is important that combatants read every post carefully before they put any post of there own. There could be a change in location, a tree could have grown in between them etc. Posting without knowing fully well what happened could cause confusion. Example:
A is sitting on a wide stretch of sand, with the waves and ocean behind him as he waits for B.
B appears 20metres behind A, smirking at how he left himself wide open and dashes towards him.
B made a mistake of not reading A's post carefully and appeared 20metres behind A, which we know was NOTHING BUT WATER. In this kind of situation, most judges would let the RP go on but B would be underwater because of his mistake. And who would know what A had done to the water? Again, its important that you read the previous posts and not make a fool out of yourself.
Keep Posting Order
In combat rp you must keep a posting order. If a regular rp turns into a combat rp then each person that posts after determines the order in which people post. It would be easier to keep track of it you stuck the posting order at the topics first post.
Breaking posting order can result in the post becoming void. Again, it is up to the combatants to follow their order, otherwise an entire cluster of posts would become void.
III. Advanced Battle RPing guide
These are advanced tips and tricks for those who know the basics but want to further their combat RPing abilities. I wiuld strongly recommend newbies to just stick with the above and get comfortable with the pressures of combat RP before diving deep into this section, as some of it may not make sense at first and would be quite confusing.
Vague Manipulation
Probably the most common trick advanced combat RPers use that ensures victory. What this does is making assumptions in the person's previous posts that will greatly benefit your character and allow you to exploit to make a devastating comeback. This is also the reason why I strongly encourage detailed posts. If you missed a description and an expert picks up on it, they will fill it for you, and believe me, it wont be pretty.
Many people may confuse this with Powerplay. Powerplaying is manipulating the person's CHARACTER, not their post in general. Vague Manipulation refers to the person giving vague details about the setting or the trajectory of his abilities, that the expert may explain those vagueness to their advantage. Example:
A shoots 4 water orbs at B. One directly at his chest and the other 3 covering his potential escape routes.
B runs left, seeing the orb that was fired there was running into an exposed rock, and it exploded on the rock.
Vague manipulation isnt for everyone and in most cases, a lot of people got it wrong. You need to read all posts carefully and watch out for any description that may, say, make putting a rock there impossible. If you are not careful, your attempt at vague manipulation will become a contradiction, and your post becones void. Example:
A walked into an open plains, with nothing but grasd and a lone tree 3 metres in front of him.
10 posts later...
B saw A firing 4 water orbs and rushed left, seeing a rock jutting out of the plains...
All of a sudden, this form of manipulation is impossible and B has contradicted the setting imposed by A! In conclusion, always ALWAYS read posts very carefully before you decide to post anything, because anything you post will become final.
Subtlety
People who can use subtlety effectively can perform a surprise attack that, realistically, the enemy cannot avoid unless Powerplay is involved ir Metagaming. This is perhaps one of the easiest advanced skills to learn in combat RP. It involves luring your enemies to a false sense of security and put them in a position where you want them to be. For example, you character may decide to spend an action to charge an attack that actually really had no charging period, and this can make enemies think this is an opening and will charge towards you, only to get a faceful of energy balls.
Subtlety only works against weaker combat RPers. Against some experts, they know to stay well away and may fight frok a range, rendering this technique a waste of an action and would be forced to dodge again.
Resourcefulness
Expert combat RPers may know how to use the setting and environment to their advantage. Sometimes when abilities are cast, a lot if people tend to forget the effects this will have on the setting. An example of such is casting a whirlwind in the middle if a beach. This whirlwind would cause a huge sandstorm and could block everyone's sights.
Another way of using the environment is manipulating it in such a way that will prove to be advantage for your characters. For example, if your character is an assassin who blends in with the shadows, make the setting night time. If he is a fire user, make the fight near a volcano. This shows that the first to post has a lot of power, being able to change the entire landscape to their character's advantage. Though sometimes this can leave holes, and this is where vague manipulation kicks in. Although the first to post has this power, they are also opening themselves to vulnerability by being the first to introduce his character's whereabouts. The enemy that was next to post can vaguely manipulate he was hiding behind a rock 1metre behind you and will perform a surprise attack.
Overall, use the environment to your advantage if you can. A lot of amateur combat RPers seem to forget what it can provide when they focus solely on what their characters can do. This can be the make or break you need to win.
