It's actually T1 rules for prep includes you should have an 'imaginative description of this process' so it is clear you are doing a prep of some kind.
Yeah, that is more for the players benefit, still I feel like it's only sporting to give your opponent -the chance- to avoid something because they know its going to be dangerous. It's like the first idea I had when seeing Arena, I was pretty much convinced I could beat the majority of people by using a sword that is actually twice the length it seems to be, but the end is invisible and impossible to detect without investing time and energy analyzing the sword, which no one would do without meta-gaming. That would essentially allow you to stab someone from twice the range they think you can, with no realistic way for them to defend themselves unless they for some reason expect to be stabbed by a sword when it's clearly out of range.
Subterfuge powers really aren't what the Arena is about, the Arena is about duelling in a gladiatorial sense in my opinion, because with the limitless scope of magic you could easily defeat any opponent by exploiting what they can't know about your abilities.
To put it this way, I'm fairly certain I could make a character with a near impossible to survive skill-set using illusion, power hiding, and magical disease/poison.
That is a pretty neat combination of powers. Don't mind if i do, i'll borrow it for my poison character. :P
Yeah, that is more for the players benefit, still I feel like it's only sporting to give your opponent -the chance- to avoid something because they know its going to be dangerous. It's like the first idea I had when seeing Arena, I was pretty much convinced I could beat the majority of people by using a sword that is actually twice the length it seems to be, but the end is invisible and impossible to detect without investing time and energy analyzing the sword, which no one would do without meta-gaming. That would essentially allow you to stab someone from twice the range they think you can, with no realistic way for them to defend themselves unless they for some reason expect to be stabbed by a sword when it's clearly out of range.
Subterfuge powers really aren't what the Arena is about, the Arena is about duelling in a gladiatorial sense in my opinion, because with the limitless scope of magic you could easily defeat any opponent by exploiting what they can't know about your abilities.
I feel the same way, I'm more of a show boater anyway, if my prep does not have some clear signs, at least hand signs. It just doesn't feel quite right. That's why I feel powers for example; that don't make it clear you're manipulating something, like not needing to even move your hand or look in the place you are, say, manifesting the power to control rock or fire. That just feels cheap to me.
Cause than the majority of characters have no chance to even defend themselves. Sure it would be easier to land a hit or win, but the match itself will be lackluster and your opponent would be quite happy with the outcome even more so.
That's partly way I had my Sand wraith still need to move his hands or gesture to manipulate his sand. Since first of all it looks and feels better, and it aids in making the fight longer. I remember one fight with a certain ninja cyborg that lasted hella long cause of that. Was one of my favorite matches.
A poison user that has poisons that cause illusionary hallucinations, and makes it harder for people to detect the poisoner.
The Arena allows for all kinds of styles, subterfuge or nah. Your sword idea woulda been fine, probably, if you just had to prep or something to get the outer bit invisible.
Yeah, that is more for the players benefit, still I feel like it's only sporting to give your opponent -the chance- to avoid something because they know its going to be dangerous. It's like the first idea I had when seeing Arena, I was pretty much convinced I could beat the majority of people by using a sword that is actually twice the length it seems to be, but the end is invisible and impossible to detect without investing time and energy analyzing the sword, which no one would do without meta-gaming. That would essentially allow you to stab someone from twice the range they think you can, with no realistic way for them to defend themselves unless they for some reason expect to be stabbed by a sword when it's clearly out of range.
Subterfuge powers really aren't what the Arena is about, the Arena is about duelling in a gladiatorial sense in my opinion, because with the limitless scope of magic you could easily defeat any opponent by exploiting what they can't know about your abilities.
Well, the way i see it, there's an unwritten rule that the invisible sword and similar powers are to be included to one's arsenal at the higher power levels, where said sword wouldn't be a one-hit KO.
And, well, if you swing or stab with such a sword, there are ways for a character to dodge without metagaming: if they aren't oblivious to, lets say, such powers as firing energy waves from one's blades or short distance teleporting, they can infer that your character has a means to make up for the distance between them and preemptively dodge.
That's happened before, though people usually use. "After years of combat, their warrior sixth sense alerted them to the danger."
Or worse someone knowing your using an illusion, or which false image is the real one.
A spider sense-like ability would be fair as long as it's in their sheet. I could even see it sensing what is the illusion by the illusions not triggering the sense due to having no real danger.
Poison and disease resistance is becoming more and more common, I think a lot of the time I just happen to be making characters that naturally would be resistant to disease and poison, but other times I suspect I am hemming it in unnecessarily to hedge my bets somewhat. It's ultimately because poison and disease is incredibly difficult to counter, other than natural immunities you're forced to avoid taking any cut or minor injury or risk being poisoned and killed, and some can even be transferred through a cloud or other near unavoidable miasma.
We all take part in a massive battle and a toxic cloud is dispersed. However, only Evvie drops and everyone else looks around in confusion.
The Arena allows for all kinds of styles, subterfuge or nah. Your sword idea woulda been fine, probably, if you just had to prep or something to get the outer bit invisible.
Without that prep you would probably need a character who can take multiple strikes before being killed. Either that or someone with intellect nearly meta gaming and think "why is that person swinging a sword from that range? Aha! I must be in range!" and dodge in the period of time from the sword swinging to when it would have hit them.
The thing is, all you have to do is couple your deadly surprise attack with a bunch of other movements as a smoke screen and it becomes incredibly difficult to avoid. It's why an illusionist would be such a powerful character, though not many people bother with it, I've been toying with a mana-addicted illusionist for a while since mentioning it in the FAQ thread.
The thing is, all you have to do is couple your deadly surprise attack with a bunch of other movements as a smoke screen and it becomes incredibly difficult to avoid. It's why an illusionist would be such a powerful character, though not many people bother with it, I've been toying with a mana-addicted illusionist for a while since mentioning it in the FAQ thread.
Actually, I ended up winning that match with the ninja because of semi- meta gaming my illusion. See I knew early on people meta game. Often without realizing it. But I needed to think of a way my illusions would still matter in the arena. So I devised that, through use of a single prep, my false image doppelganger could be replaced with a real me if it was ignored.
Aside from thinking of some way to IC punish people who meta game, I'm not sure how well an illusionist would work in the arena.
The thing is, all you have to do is couple your deadly surprise attack with a bunch of other movements as a smoke screen and it becomes incredibly difficult to avoid. It's why an illusionist would be such a powerful character, though not many people bother with it, I've been toying with a mana-addicted illusionist for a while since mentioning it in the FAQ thread.
I wouldn't fight it in a ranked fight without "spider sense" but I would consider it in unranked.
Actually, I ended up winning that match with the ninja because of semi- meta gaming my illusion. See I knew early on people meta game. Often without realizing it. But I needed to think of a way my illusions would still matter in the arena. So I devised that, through use of a single prep, my false image doppelganger could be replaced with a real me if it was ignored.
Aside from thinking of some way to IC punish people who meta game, I'm not sure how well an illusionist would work in the arena.
Well, the simple way to utilize illusions works in exactly that fashion, you use it to disguise the real threats, or just to generally mess with your opponent.
Why not fight a character who specializes in illusions with a character who can't detect them and I wouldn't meta game them? That would be...problematic.
Actually, I ended up winning that match with the ninja because of semi- meta gaming my illusion. See I knew early on people meta game. Often without realizing it. But I needed to think of a way my illusions would still matter in the arena. So I devised that, through use of a single prep, my false image doppelganger could be replaced with a real me if it was ignored.
Aside from thinking of some way to IC punish people who meta game, I'm not sure how well an illusionist would work in the arena.
How does that work, exactly? Sounds like a damn if you do, damn if you don't scenario
Why not fight a character who specializes in illusions with a character who can't detect them and I wouldn't meta game them? That would be...problematic.
There are always going to be problems, just seems off to go in ahead of time with an ability to counter it. Sounds kinda metagamey to me. Like saying I wouldn't fight a lightning user without a way to ground myself.
It depends on how their illusions work if it would make it impossible for me or not, depending on the character. If they have area of attacks for cheap energy cost they can spam that onto every illusion and hope it's the right one, but if not and they get swarmed by a bunch of illusions and the real one, managing to focus on the real one and defeat them out of the entire group would seem meta gaming so they'd need a way to focus on every illusion coming at them at once.
It depends on how their illusions work if it would make it impossible for me or not, depending on the character. If they have area of attacks for cheap energy cost they can spam that onto every illusion and hope it's the right one, but if not and they get swarmed by a bunch of illusions and the real one, managing to focus on the real one and defeat them out of the entire group would seem meta gaming so they'd need a way to focus on every illusion coming at them at once.
I feel like illusions should generally come with some type of drawback, or way to know(even if your character can't easily figure it out) that it's an illusion. For instance, even in Bleach, Aizen - a well versed illusion guy - had some fatal flaw that allowed the 4th Captain to figure it out(and also to activate it, you had to have made eye contact with his Bankai).
At high levels, you may not need any significant weaknesses in it, because at that level people will probably be busting out of illusions relatively easily. But at lower levels, there should be some drawbacks.
I believe for it to work there had to only be one false image present. Along with some other conditions. Can't really remember exactly it being several years ago now and RPG dying causing me to lose the character. :K
Skallagrim told me to come here to preview my character idea, see if it was suitable for an arena fight. Think this is something that would be good in an arena fight, and what power level do you guys think. I'd assume normal, right?
Name: Trimeac Mikusch
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Race: Half Dwarf, Half Human -- his father was a human and mother was a dwarf
Class: Rogue
Physical Description: Gashes and scars jag across Trimeacβs arms, running deep as rivers. He is a burly black male with shrewd eyes and a bulbous nose. He is short for a human, but tall for a dwarf, standing at five foot exactly and weighing in at 190 lbs. He has a very big and dense build, although not exactly a muscular one. Just above his very thick and bushy black eyebrows, in the middle of his forehead, is a bright, burning red tattoo -- the Mikusch family crest, a symbol that brought respect. He wore a dark blue cloak, which at the bottom was tearing up, and at the top was lined with fur. He had a pair of matching, thick blue gloves and boots with gold accents. A furry green bandana is wrapped around his mouth.
Skillset: Lightfooted - Trimeac can easily sneak by unnoticed and clandestine due to his many years of learning the art of stealth. Craftsmenship - His excellent smithing and craftmanship can both be attributed to his dwarven blood, but also to his many years spent face to face with the undying heat of the smoldering forge. Knife Throwing - Trimeac can aim and throw daggers with border-line disturbing accuracy, being able to hit a moving target from as far as fifty yards out. It is a skill he slaved away at to master. Swordsmanship - He has mastered the art of the sword and the dagger -- something which is practically required in his line of work. Although he prefers the quick jabs and dodges of the dagger, he is adept with the sword as well.
Natural Abilities: Agility - Born with strong legs, Trimeac is capable of propelling himself out of the way of most attacks. Although he is no parkourist, he certainly can dodge. Thick Skin - Because of his tough dwarven skin, Trimeac is resistant to extreme temperatures and is hurt much less by blunt object hits.
History:
Equipment:
Molotov cocktails -- made of discarded wine bottles, a lonely rag, and oil used to light lamps, these homemade cocktails are deadly, leaving a plateau of fire wherever they land.
2X Steel Dagger - a simple dagger, used when he sneaks up on his foes. It is shiny steel, and measures in at 7 and a half inches, being 2 inches wide. The knife is curved, harken to a karambit.
5x Throwing Knives - They are 3 inches each, made of simple iron.
A lighter
And as for this one, I'd assume Powerful?
Name: Raymond White, but when he puts on his mask he becomes his alter ego; Akumetsu. Age: 19, almost 20 Gender: Male Appearance:
(5"10, 140 lbs)
Masked appearance:
Masked powers: β Firemorphing β - Firemorphing is not the ability to shoot fire and such as is popular in most fire based powers but is actually the ability to be able to morph ones limbs or body parts into fire. For example, Akumetsu could engulf his fist in searing flames (these would not harm him) and punch someone to cause extreme damage. Another extreme example would be morphing his entire body into flames or something of the like. It, also, would not be uncommon to see him morph his arm into a fiery sword or halberd. The fire burns at approx 1000 degrees farenheit.
β All Around Improvements β - The mask also affords Raymond some all around enhancements to his basic abilities. He is able to run a three thirty mile, he can dodge and has adept agility, and his strength enough so that he could lift things up to 225 lbs.
Personality: Raymond is shy and timid without the mask. He likes to make jokes and so forth but only once he's come out of his shell, which he rarely does. His mother once said, "if you know your way to Raymond's heart, you know the secrets of the universe."
Masked personality: When masked, Akumetsu is fiery and cocky, always talking back and looking for any possible fight he could pick. He likes to make snide remarks and retorts and always defies authority, if only to be an arse. Akumetsu is not to be played with for fear that you might set him off into a frenzy. Akumetsu is not totally without reason however. He can work with others towards a greater goal, but he will always be a fuse waiting to be lit by a stray spark.
Background:
Raymond was not born to a broken home. Raymond was not born to a hood family in the projects. Raymond was born to a perfectly normal suburban white home. His childhood was smooth sailing, nothing wrong with it. Sure, Raymond had always been a timid kid ever since a young age, but his parents expected that this would fade. Besides, even if it didn't it wasn't that big of deal. His family was very close knit, always going out for family outings and trips around the continent for "family bonding time" as his mother put it. Raymond's childhood was a pleasant one, and there was nothing wrong with that.
However, oddities began to occur when he was just thirteen. His mother had taken him to a industrial area to return a few cans of paint thinners she had bought. She left Raymond in a pawnshop next door, instructing him not to touch anything for fear he might break it. He was allowed to look around and if he was on good behavior maybe his mother would buy him something as a special treat. After looking at several old flowery dresses and ceramic vases with much disinterest, something caught his eye. It was a mask, one that would shape his life. It was glistening red and smudged black, and it was quite possibly the most extraordinary thing he had seen in all his life. He felt an almost immediate pull to it, almost like something was gravitating him to it. Like someone was pulling on the strings that controlled his muscles and was simply dragging him to the mask. He looked at the price tag, thinking to himself that he had to buy the mask, to find it a walloping 1500 dollars. Something possessed him and he did something he would have never done in his life and he swiped the mask and hid it in the breast of his jacket.
Over the years, the mask got lost and found and lost again, and finally stored in a secluded and musty corner of his garage. By this time, Raymond was 18, just about to leave for Westpont College of the Arts to get his degree in Art History. As he was packing his things and going through boxes he discovered his old mask again. And the rest is history.
Yup, you got the power levels right. However, since we, arena folk, just love all sorts of measurements, it'd be nice to know how hot exactly does Akumetsu's fire burn, if it is actually solid, and how much more does his physical capability improve compared to human. It's those kind of details that are used to determine how characters interact in combat: who is faster, who is stronger, will a character be capable of taking a hit or not and et cetera.
Yup, you got the power levels right. However, since we, arena folk, just love all sorts of measurements, it'd be nice to know how hot exactly does Akumetsu's fire burn and how much more does his physical capability improve compared to human. It's those kind of details that are used to determine how characters interact in combat: who is faster, who is stronger, will a character be capable of taking a hit or not and et cetera.
Okay I'll edit that kind of stuff into it. Thanks for clarifying. EDIT: There, think I got it
