[OOC] Swordfight

[LeeRoy]

Leaning forward and looking behind his feet, the pillars aren't noticeably thick from what I'm seeing in the picture. So a human being standing would be noticeable behind one of them.

[MelonHead]

If you want to keep this going I'd be happy to enter with a swordsman, I could certainly use the practice.

[Schradinger]

We're just waiting on DoT to post, then we start the cycle again. I don't think we should be adding more fighters after we've started, especially since we've already turned one away. If we hadn't already started though, I'd say go for it. We might just have to do his again if enough people are interested.

Though Vordak is looking for someone to take over his character when he leaves for a few weeks pretty soon, so you could talk to him about doing that if you want.

[MelonHead]

Well, if Vordak is OK with it I'd happily take over for a while, though I'd have preferred to enter my Vampire character.

[Vordak]

Melon, If you're interested, i'm leaving the 18th of June, i'll be absent for at least a week. Though now that Zarkith is without an opponent, we might accept a new combatant, as the setting is perfectly fit for that; or, if DOT doesn't show up, maybe Le'Vash could use some help/be replaced.

[DamageOverTime]

Sorry guys I'm going to have to drop out. Feel free to molest kill my character anyway you want and have fun.

[Schradinger]

Alrighty then... Before I post, there's a few things I need to clear up.

Firstly, does anyone know if you're allowed to cut your own previous post? I'm pretty sure you're not, and I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Vordak just did. My post didn't do anything to alter his until my feet started moving, yet he was responding to what I was going to do well before that.

Secondly, even if you can cut your own post (or if what Vordak did isn't considering cutting his own post), where did all Meats' momentum go? He lunged forward, then swung his sword forward (a sword which almost weighs a full tenth of Meats himself), while leaning and twisting his torso forwards to give more power to the blow. All of that happening in less than three seconds. Then, without any shifting of momentum or prior set up, he's instantly moving backwards faster than David's feet can cover the distance between them (the feet should have been hitting him just as the sword came to a stop inside the pillar, and the attack was launched as it struck it). I'm sorry Vordak, but I've gotta call BS. Physics still apply in this fight, and you put way too much behind that blow to pull out of it with no consequences like you did. Your sword is just too plain heavy to wield like a rapier, it has a ton of momentum that you're completely disregarding (most of it in the tip where the largest amount of weight is), and given how little Meats weighs there's no way you could pull off what you do in that post. And that's without the impossibly physics defying dodge maneuver you performed.

All that said, I'm not trying to be an asshole here. We're doing this to get better at writing melee combat, and I'd hope you would also call me on my BS if I tried something you saw as impossible. Also, the other duelists opinions are welcome. If I'm way out of line and off the mark, let me know.

[MelonHead]

You can usually cut your own post provided you have enough cause. For example, if you're posting your character taking aim and shooting a character in the head and their head is immediately behind cover, you can't realistically expect the character to aim up and shoot thin air.

Basically, you can interrupt your post if your opponent does something which significantly interrupts your post, or if you leave an 'if' statement like Khan likes to do to specify when his character would do something different.

Personally, this problem is pretty much the main issue with post-by-post arena RPing in my opinion.

I also just realised what thread this is in, and that I'm still subscribed despite not being in it, nevermind, still posting.

[Schradinger]

Well we just lost two fighters, and are about to lose a third, so feel free to either take over Vordak's guy when he leaves or submit your own app.

Drallinix: If you're still reading this, you could submit an app too if you want.

[GreivousKhan]

Well considering ppl are dropping I have nothing against Melon joining.

His melee is still rusty. :P

[Schradinger]

GreivousKhan said
Well considering ppl are dropping I have nothing against Melon joining. His melee is still rusty. :P

Any opinion on the issue of Vordak's post?

[MelonHead]

Specifically my sword fighting, I've never really had any opportunity to do it in real life.

I'll enter with Vanarus, going to quickly tweak him and make sure he's on par with the fighters still playing.

[MelonHead]

Alright, he seems about on par, but have a look and see for yourselves.

Vanarus

Vanarus Sallein
Race: Vampire
Age: Ancient
Appearing age: Thirty-Forty

Height: 6ft
Weight: 85kg

Physical attributes
His speed is clocked at roughly four times that of a peak human, with reflexes to match.
His strength is four times that of a peak human, with a stronger body to withstand this strength.
He can see clearly in the dark.
His vision is superb, more than twice as acute as any human, and his reflexes are four times as quick as a result.
He can hear heartbeats from roughly 100 feet away, when concentrating.
He can hear twice as well as a normal human.
He can smell blood from 100 times the distance of a normal human.
He has light regeneration, wounds etc can be healed by drinking blood.
Though he can feel pain, he has a greater resistance to its crippling effects and can outright choose to ignore it if he wills.
He has short claws, with nails that are almost impervious to damage and as sharp as steel daggers.
His bite inflicts a foe with the vampiric curse, though consumption of his own blood is required to finish the transition. In the short term, it can cause significant nausea and minor paralysis in any foe, strange visions, and eventual transition into a familiar, barely human.
His body is very resistant to frost, poisons and diseases, due to being undead. He is however doubly effected by holy magics.

Learned Skills: Vampires have an innate ability to carry out a wide number of superior physical acts. Expect anything humans are capable of from the vampire, be it superb swordsmanship, acrobatics, and other skills applicable to ending the lives of mortals.

Weaknesses: The sun hurts his eyes, and depletes his abilities to half their normal state. If he has not fed within 12 hours, he burns in the sun.
Bright lights damage his eye-sight for a short time, almost like a flash bang effect.
Being stabbed in the heart is instant death.
Having his head cut off is instant death.
Fire is twice as effective against him as an ordinary human.

Powers: As an ancient, Vanarus has greater resistance to the sun than most of his kind, but it is matched with a greater blood lust. He also has the ability to enter a mist like form, and burst forward about 10 feet (which can be extended). This move can only be used when the sun is either obscured by a cloud, or in the shade. Using it over ten feet hardly affects him, twenty fatigues him, and thirty cripples him for a short time, and leaves him completely worn out. In his mist form, he is completely impervious to physical damage.
Vanarus also has access to a wide variety of vampiric magical abilities he seldom uses, out of his own sadistic sense of superiority.
Shadow Cloak - Relatively effective invisibility, most effective in darkness or low light levels, comparably less effective in lighter conditions.
Muffle – Prevents footsteps from being heard, takes very little magic or concentration.
Silence - Prevents an opponent from talking or casting spells, it is launched as a green hex which flies as fast as an arrow. The time it lasts is usually very brief, only five or ten seconds depending on an opponent’s mental constitution.
Seduce – Basic vampire ability, coerces someone to do as the vampire wishes, usually works on mortals at close ranges, can be resisted by PC’s.
His other powers are many, but don’t expect to see them, Vanarus doesn’t rely on magic.

Weapons: The Chalice.
The Chalice is a dark Rapier, its history tarnished with blood and misery. A fact reflected on the blade itself, which is stained with a line of blood, from where it was forged from the ashes of the last ancient. The most curious thing perhaps, is that the hilt of the blade is reversed. Forming a cup from which the blood spilt by the blade runs into.

The blade itself is 100cm in length, and resistant to all forms of damage. It has been tested in the past, hammered, melted, burned and smashed. It could not be tarnished, it could not be destroyed. It could only be hidden.

It weighs roughly 2kg.

Any wound opened by the Chalice is instantly purified, the blood runs clear, and constant. The wound will take days to close naturally, unless the afflicted has some form of regenerative magic they are doomed to leave a trail of blood. It can cut a groove through three inches of steel, but it’s most useful against bare flesh making its user reliant on finding the inevitable weak points in all armour.

The picture below is a reverse image of what the Chalice’s hilt looks like.


Clothing: Vanarus is often seen wearing dark nobleman’s attire, with a dark cape lined with crimson red. It offers little protection, for he has his speed and reflexes to account for that inconvenience.

Equipment: Vanarus sometimes carries with him a small container filled with blood, to heal minor injuries in a long fight, and to revitalize his flagging strength. However, if he opens a wound on his opponent, he can easily drink from the Chalice.

[GreivousKhan]

Schradinger said
Any opinion on the issue of Vordak's post?

You pretty much nailed it on the head, though good news either way is Vordak's vanishing soon in either case so at least we avoid an argument.

[GreivousKhan]

MelonHead said
Alright, he seems about on par, but have a look and see for yourselves.

Holy racial abilities batman!

His physical skills should be fine with the set up of characters so far, though I'm very iffy about this mist ability. How fast does it take him to transition to mist form and how long can he remain so?

Also what are these 'other powers'?

[Schradinger]

We're going for peak comic book human stats here, so his physicals will need to be nerfed to fit the bill, especially since he's enhanced in every area. All of the other characters have to sacrifice something to get another thing, like how Khan's guy is the biggest and strongest but also the slowest, or how Vordak's guy is fast and strong but doesn't have the mass he needs to utilize his full strength most effectively, or how my guy has speed and power, but less strength than Khan's or Vordak's guys.

In conclusion, I'd say nerf his physicals by half, and remove the magical abilities (including mist form), for the duration of the fight (after all, we're here to focus on melee, not powers). That should put him slightly below the strength or speed based characters within their area of specialization, but slightly above them outside of it. Basically a jack of all trades, master of none type fighter.

[Vordak]

Meats is meant to be immensly strong. He was shifting most of his weight on his right foot, meaning that if he pushed off with it, the force would transfer directly to his body, throwing him backwards. This maneouver is performed thanks to his muscle, not weight, as he pulls the sword back with his torso and leg, while continuing the clockwise motion to expend the momentum instead of immediately halting it. The dodge is also tied into this action.

Plus, the attack initialy was just 6/10 of his maximum potential.

[Schradinger]

And that would work wonderfully if he had the time to do it, but he doesn't. That's the point I'm getting at. He phycisally cannot pull back in time to dodge the kick or avoid hitting the post. By the time he would be able to start reacting to my attack, the sword would already be hitting the post.

[Vordak]

In order to not hit the post, Meats would have to start pulling back as soon as David's feet leave the ground, giving him enough time to move. Which is perfectly fine, as testing and observing David's fighting style and true speed was part of his tactic at that time. Otherwise, there would be no holding back from the very start.

And mind you, with that motion his chest will move backwards a good 2 feet. Maybe less, but not by a great deal, 2 inches at its best.

[Vordak]

Actualy, as he swung at waist level (his own waist level), the very moment David would bend his knees to jump, Meats could devise that he were about to jump, as David is too tall to avoid the attack by crouching.