Alright, for all of those who are new to roleplaying (and some who may have been doing it for a while) and have NO idea what to do or expect in a combat thread, this guide should hopefully help a little!
So first of all the biggest rule of thumb no matter where you go, Combat or Non-combat, is God Moding! God Moding is when a person decides he’s going to whatever he wants to do without care of the other person involved in the thread or physics for that matter! Now there are branches off of God Moding that may explain this a bit better for you;
Auto Hitting/Auto Controlling: This is almost exactly as it sounds, please don’t walk into your fight and land all of your hits on someone without even giving them the chance to control their own character!
Examples:
Gary punched Sue in the face, making Sue bleed and run away crying for her mommy
See how this can be annoying for the other person who is also trying to have a good time?
The correct way to do this: Gary went to throw a punch aimed at Sue’s head, if it hits it would likely make her bleed in the temple.
Auto Dodging: This is when someone thinks that they can dodge every attack thrown at them! When someone does this it leads to fights OOC which can then lead to both players doing the aforementioned Auto Hitting! Both are no-no’s; so what does Auto Dodging look like and how can you avoid it? Good question, here’s the answer:
Example of incorrect use of Auto hitting:
“Joseph threw a flame blast at Mary.” Mary dodges “Joseph rushes up and throws a punch at Mary’s face!” {Mary ducks.} “Joseph tries to kick Mary.” Mary jumps over it “Joseph throws another flame blast as she jumps” {Mary stops in mid jump and flings herself sideways to avoid it}
Example of proper ways to dodge:
“Joseph threw a flame blast at Mary” {Mary dodges} “Joseph rushes up and throws a punch at Mary’s face!” {Mary ducks} “Joseph tries to kick Mary” {Mary is kicked in the stomach and falls} “Joseph throws another flame blast at her” {Mary rolls out of the way}
This is a perfectly acceptable (minus the one-liners of course) to avoid Auto Dodging.
Power Moding: Power Moding is when you expect your character to be the most powerful of them all and basically make them incredibly OP (Over Powered). You want to avoid doing this in a fight at all costs, believe me it’s frustrating for everyone in the end.
Example of Power Playing:
Example of this: “Abraham summoned the God of the War and made him step on Elizabeth, making her into a cream pie.”
Now I doubt anyone would go this far but that’s the gist of it! Please don’t do this!
Ok now that the different kinds of God Moding are out of the way, let’s talk about what to do and not do in a Combat Thread! Some of this may be a little difficult to hear, but in the long run it will make fighting more enjoyable for everyone and function a bit more smoothly!
Quit Trolling: First of all just because your character may be cocky, does not mean that you have to troll someone in your filler constantly (filler is everything that isn’t direct thoughts or dialect) as that often translates into OOC trolling. Sometimes it boosts everyone’s confidence and enjoyment when you throw the occasional IC compliment in there; remember the idea of Rping is to have fun, not to demoralize someone’s artwork (their character) just ‘cause you think yours is better.
Number of Attacks Per Post: Usually its polite and goes smoother when you limit it to a basic system, really it’s whatever works best for you and your opponent. Honestly it gets confusing when you make more than three attacks in one post (or two technique attacks) but there no real limits beside your life force so put all techniques used in spoilers, and confusion in a combat thread can lead to OOC fighting and Auto Dodging.
Fighting OOC: If you can’t figure out your issues by yourselves, be good kiddies and go to the teacher please! A staff is typically only a PM away to helping you solve your problems and get back to an enjoyable combat thread!
Follow the Rules of your Items: If you have a hard time remembering all the weaknesses and systems you set up with your weapons, skills, or techniques, it’s relatively easy to set the links of each item in your signature so you always have easy access to them as well as your opponent! This will keep things fair for everyone!
Killing This is a sensitive topic for most people, but it must be shared anyways. Please be fair, if there is no earthly reason that your character should still be alive after a fight, it’s a tough call but you have to let your character die. No one wants to see you alive if half your body is chopped off! You will be allowed to make a new character once your previous one is dead.
Death:Some deaths aren't immediate here on HF some takes time. Here is a example of such as deaths. Burning(low temperatures), suffocation, bleeding out, drowning, these are examples of not instant death these death takes an standard of 3 post depending on attack at hand. This is still a very highly debatable topic as the degree of things can change the severity. If one has a question regarding this timer, a staff should be contacted before the next post of the one in question comes.
Voiding:Voiding occurs only after a moderator has made an official ruling on a dispute. When there are inconsistencies or rules broken in a post, it can be voided if a dispute about it is made. Voiding results in the post being ignored/erased and the person who got their post voided losing that turn. In other words we have the power to fuck ya up lol so don't be caught slipping in combat fam.
Vague Manipulation: Vague Manipulation is supplying details where details isn't supplied. Say Chris ran at Todd and tried to kick him. Vague Manipulation would be Todd specifying Bobby punched with his left or right hand. This isn't to be confused with God Modding, it may seems like it but it is not. Because Chris is not taking control of Todd's character, he is simply providing details that Todd left out while still letting Bobby execute his kick. Vague Manipulation is allowed, but in modest moderation and definitely not used as the sole cause of someone's demise. Excessive Vague manipulation is frown upon here on HF as it will be explain why down below.
Excessive Vague Manipulation: Here is an example of Exessive Vague Manipulation that is frown on here at HF. Chris Decides to fight Todd once again. But this time Todd decide to abuse this privilege of VM. So in his post he describe that because Chris didn't say he was breathing within his post then within his post says that he is choking because of he never write that he was breathing. This isn't allow if any players feel that someone isn't properly using this privilege like God we will smith thee, and punish the pc in question. Another example is if it storm, and out of nowhere the user decide to say that lighting strike his foe. We all know the likely chances of lightning hitting an target on the ground, and as I state before like Gods I will descend and crush ya.
These are just a few helpful tips and reminders, all in all the outcome of how smooth a combat thread goes is entirely up to you! Try to have fun!
Its that time again people! This month we are doubling the pay from advertising and giving double cash for contracts! Lets give it our all! !!!ENJOY!!!