[OOC] T1 Eden Era and T1 Modern (5 different takes)

[Skallagrim]

Type 1: Turn Based Combat (Eden Era)
by Remæus aka Eric Matindale on Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:28 pm at Role Play Gateway

Type 1 [T1] combat is a type of textual combat designed with logic, precision and detail in mind. It’s a turn-based style, allowing every player involved equal time and space to post their character’s move. There are four types of ‘turn’ that a player can make in a T1 fight: Prep, Attack, Defense and Connection. The fight is split in to 'tiers' which often consist of some/all of the aforementioned turns. A tier begins when a prep or attack is posted and ends when either a successful defense or connect is posted.

Prepping
A 'prep' is a turn in which the character prepares to launch their attack. Some special abilities require a certain amount of prep's before an attack can be successfully launched. As a player, it is your responsibility to be aware of which abilities require preps and then to adhere to these rules. Missing a single required prep will probably result in Eden's combat judges voiding the applicable tier of the fight.

A prepping move should state clearly what ability is being prepared for use and provide some imaginative description of this process, whether it be an elaborate ritual or a intense concentration etc.

Special abilities that do not require maintained focus/concentration can be combined with another turn. For instance, whilst a mage is launching a non-magical attack with his sword, he might be muttering an incantation in preparation for using a special ability later. Specifics must still be provided.

If the character receives damage between the preparation and the attack, the most recent prep will be cancelled.

Attacking
An attacking move should be a detailed account of everything vital to the attack: the stance of the attacker, the momentum or direction of the attack, the method of the attack, and it should hint at the desired outcome.

An attacking move must be comprised of one main action, or series of synchronized actions [within the realms of logic please].

Example:Elario_Chinglove braces his right foot against the ground in front of him, screeching like a particularly irritated banshee as he sends his staff sailing down vertically for Crispian_Nohamar's cranium, relying on the weight of the sturdy oaken staff in addition to his own strength for the momentum needed to crack Crispian_Nohamar's skull.

The above move, although containing information about smaller movements of the attacker’s body is centered on one central movement, that of the downward swing of his staff.

Defending
Like an attack, a defensive move must allow for the defender’s stance, method, and desired outcome. It’s no good simply stating that the character miraculously dodges the attack – it must be a detailed account of how this daring escape is achieved.

The defender must be consistent with the position they were in before the attack took place. For instance, if our defender [Crispian_Nohamar] was standing directly in front of Elario_Chinglove with his hands behind his back and his eyes on the ground when Elario swung his staff, that is the stance he must attempt to defend from. However, before he defends he must be seen to somehow acknowledge the attack. After all, he wouldn’t know to defend if he didn’t know of the threat to begin with.

Example:Crispian_Nohamar instantly distracted from his train of thought by Elario_Chinglove's strangely effeminate screeching, he catches a glimpse of the attacker just in time to save his own bacon. His head and upper body reflexively tilt to the left, causing what may have been a fatal blow to the head to land painfully but not mortally upon his leather-armor clad shoulder.

In the above example, Crispian’s player acknowledges that his character was not in the best defensive stance to begin with, and as such appreciates that his character cannot completely evade the attack. Considering Crispian wasn't expecting the attack, it would be unrealistic of him to come out of it without taking a blow of some sort.

If Crispian had managed to completely evade the attack, the player of Elario would not be allowed to perform a connecting move and would instead have to RP the resultant events.

Example:Elario_Chinglove bends his knees in a last ditch attempt at keeping his balance as his staff strikes air and continues towards the ground under its own powerful momentum, the fine polished oak smacking impotently against the flagstones.

However, as Crispian did not completely evade the attack, Elario's player gets to perform a connecting move:

Connecting
A connecting move is a move that confirms the attacker’s success. If the defender was unable to completely evade the attack, the attacker is expected to spend a turn describing the results of their attack.

A connection must describe the initial results of the connection and nothing more about it's effects upon the defending character. For example, Elario’s player could not state that the staff whacked Crispian’s shoulder and then bounced up into the side of his head, as that would be two separate attacks [albeit maybe not both intentional].

It is very important not to ‘auto’ in a connection. Although you can state where the blow landed based on the information offered in the preceding attack and defense moves, you cannot state the exact amount of damage dealt upon another character. Such details are reliant upon the information in the previous moves. For instance, a powerful downward thrust of Elario’s staff would obviously cause some bruising and internal injuries when it hits Crispian’s shoulder [although if Crispian is wearing armor of some sort the damage may be decreased], whereas a sword would have cut the flesh and caused bleeding. A connection may also contain preparation for the next attack, such as a change in stance. Usual Prep rules apply.

Example:Elario_Chinglove tenses his shoulders to absorb the shock of his staff striking down heavily upon Crispian_Nohamar's right shoulder. He lets the staff glance off the shoulder after hitting and swings it back up over his head in readiness for another attack, a victorious smirk mocking Crispian_Nohamar's misfortune.

In the above post, Elario's attack clearly connects, but it is never stated the exact level of damage that is caused. From this point on Crispian's player is expected to RP the character according to the damage which he believes would have occurred. In this instance Crispian is wearing leather armour which may just save his shoulder from being dislocated, but there would still realistically be heavy bruising. As such, Crispian should have less use of his right arm until the wound his healed.

There is another type of move that is often used in T1, and it is a variation on the Defensive move:
Counter-Attack
Rather than simply evade an attack, the defendant may block or counter it with one similarly fluent move.

Example:Crispian_Nohamar had been expecting an attack, and had his trusty dagger ready behind his back the entire time. Upon the thrust of Elario's foot, he bends at the knees, his left arm flying up to catch the blow on its bronze bracer whilst his right arm swings round -- dagger in hand -- to swipe horizontally at Elario's stomach.

The above move would require great skill on the part of the defendant, and therefore only a character who has an established history of combat prowess could realistically pull it off. Most counter-attacks require a similar level of combat skill, as the combatant is performing different simultaneous actions. As long as those actions can be realistically performed at the same time [i.e. one arm can't realistically be in two places at the same time], the move is valid.

It is then up to Elario to decide whether he will defend, counter-attack or simply take the hit. Considering his staff was already sailing down towards Crispian with some momentum, it will probably still cause some damage to Crispian's arm, but a move of that ferocity on Elario's part will have left his midriff defenceless [aside from any armor he might be wearing] as his arms are engaged in holding the staff. As such, Crispian's dagger would most likely strike as intended.

It's not uncommon for both parties of a fight to take some damage, and it is often considered the honourable thing to accept at least some of your opponents hits [if they're realistic].

As you can see, a tier does not necessarily only consist of three moves. Tiers may overlap or extend beyond the original three basic moves. A T1 combat session ends when there are no more attacks to be made, either because one or more sides of the fight have died, one or more sides of the fight have escaped, one or more sides of the fight have been incapacitated or both parties have reached a non-violent conclusion.

[Skallagrim]

(I made an effort to contact James at his site zombieencounter.com. In addition, at the hellsingboard.forumotion.com where these rules presumably were first posted also seem to be a dead end. I have not been able to do so yet. However, I am giving him full credit for these rules as they are fair comprehensive. If James Rascal sees this or anyone alerts him of this posting, I will be glad to remove it if he requests.)

T1 Rules & Guidelines for the Modern Day Role Player
For use With Z.E.S.S.T. RP pages
2/15/2009
ZESST Formations by James S. Rascal

Introduction:

{For those new to the form of T1, it is a common logic way of text fighting. Even though it is based off the imagination, logic in life still exists within the T1. Respect, Honor, and Trust are all key points needed to have a clean fun form of competition amongst one on one, or multiples against one. Order and communication is most important when dealing the starting posts in the T1.}

T1 is a multi-style way of fighting that has been in RP longer then I have been around. First you have the different types:

T1 RM= T1 Realistic Melee. This is the Style that is human against human. With real-life limitations. {e.g. Human capabilities of running, jumping, reaction-time, body integrity, vision, ect.} Ex: Street fighting.

T1 UM= T1 Unrealistic Melee. This is the Style that is an above average human against human that are capable of using things such as Magic attack, Sorcery, Vampirism, Werewolfism. Ex: Underworld.

T1 MP= T1 Moderate Powers. This is the Style that is commonly used now as a more realistic look towards T1 PC. The characters that have special powers, just not ones that have a power that is capable of destroying an entire planet. Powers such as elemental abilities are acceptable, but if there is a power that is capable of using all elements you must keep that power in a moderate use. Ex: Bleach, and Naruto.

T1 PC= T1 Powered Characters. This Style is the most difficult of them all to learn. The complexity of the characters abilities and powers are what get them called "God Moders". The depth put into one character, with the powers, abilities, explanations of terrain, dimension, sub-abilities, character background, and traits will lead an inexperienced opponent to believe there is an invincibility about the character.

Those are the Styles of T1's. Now this is what you have to post in your T1 intros: {Note: Forgetting information that is needed in your intro, CAN NOT be used later in the fight. This is grounds for disqualification under God Moding, showing that you will make up anything to win.}

Preps or Preparations for a stronger move. These are the steps for a stronger move/attack. With Preps, you can either do a power up or a technique with a better outcome in the end. You must either give up your attack attempt, take a hit or both to do this. You must take in step what you are doing in each post.

Posting information for your intro in a T1 {The first posting their intro CAN NOT state an attack. The second to post their intro is advised not to attack in their intro, but have that choice to do so anyways!}

1. You have to post what your character looks like. {e.g. Clothing, hair color and style, skin color, eye color, height, weight (optional), and any armor.}

2. You have to post what the area is that you and your opponent are going to fight in or are in. {e.g. Weather, time of day, type of terrain.}

3. You have to post what type of weapons, powers, abilities, and traits your character is going to use in the fight.

4. If you are posting your intro first, do not state where your opponent is, what they are doing, or where they are to begin, until they state otherwise in their post after.

5. Your character, and only your character is what you are narrating. {Reminder: The reason for T1ing is to test yourself against others and make them believe they have been beaten by your character/skill.}

Rules 1. If you forget to post something in your intro; Power, ability, weapon, trait. You cannot use it at any time later in the fight. Those things forgotten are off limits. If they are used, it is grounds for Disqualification from the match through the No God Moding tolerance. This is a competition between the knowledge of two minds on how well they know their character.

2. No God Moding. This goes towards those that take a hit in the T1 and get up from it like nothing every happened. T1ing is a competition against two different skills. The first to out smart, and out match their opponent is the winner. The easiest way to winning a T1 is to always keep in mind, the first one that lands a hit wins.

3. No Auto-Attacks. This is the statement that your attack landed without letting your opponent counter/block/dodge/avoid/deflect in their posts after.

4. You must post equal length to your opponents attack post if you are to dodge/counter/block their attack. Anything less than the other’s attack section of the post is subject to voiding the move or disqualification. If you get a 5+ para attack post {For example}, you have to fully explain your actions and how you did your counter/dodge/block in your replying post that measures up to the attack section length that was posted previously.

5. Correct spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and over all quality of your posts is the means of gaining a win. Run-on sentences and poor explanations about your character or anything of the sort, you are subject to disqualification or request to do another post if not acceptable. The more effort you put into your characters’ posts the better and smoother the fight will go. T1 Style restrictions: If the one being challenged requests a specific Style, the one challenging needs to either abide by the request or decline the challenge. If accepted, their character has to stay within the restrictions of the Style being stated.

T1RM: Absolutely no powers, mystic weaponry, no spells, no heightened abilities outside of normal human abilities. Ex: Sight{10ft to see clearly}, Speed {30mph tops}, Reaction time {1.5 seconds +}

T1UM: Only slight abilities are heightened. No chakra, energy, or spirit force abilities. Acceptable abilities: Heightened strength{100 body builders}, speed{50mph and lower}, sight{1-2 mile distance}, reaction time{10-15 seconds}, hearing {Slight air ripples}, smell {220 million smell receptors=Hound Dog}, and knowledge {Slight whereabouts of foe}.

T1MP: No powers capable of destroying entire planets galaxies or multi-verse. Energy/Chakra based attacks and combos. Basic abilities of energy and powers are acceptable. All Elemental control is acceptable as long as there is one to two elements being used at one time. You cannot use all the elements in one massive attack!

Rules 2:

1) You post in turns.

2) All attacks are attempted; you do not post attacking and connecting in the same turn. Attempting and connecting in the same turn is an auto.

3) An interrupt is where Person A reacts before the end of Person B's prior turn. As an example, Person B might draw his sword, curse, and then run across thirty feet before stopping, jumping, and swinging his sword at Person A's neck. In response, Person A would post drawing his sword and charging at Person B as Person B is running, therefore rendering the neck strike (in that form) having never happened. Interrupts are often regarded as the backbone of melee.

4) A hypothetical is where Person A posts that, should Person A dodge to the West, he will bring his sword across; a hypothetical is a follow-up, a move that will happen if one or more conditions are met. Hypotheticals imply forethought, so they can be considered planned moves IC, and therefore do not demand the same conscious considering that would otherwise be demanded; also, hypotheticals might account for where a given attack would land if such and such defense were performed, like having a thrust to the stomach being displaced to the neck if the foe ducks.

5) Both interrupts and hypotheticals, and, indeed, all elements of T1 must be logical or else cannot happen; if you're interrupting a nearly split-second move, for instance, as you're looking the other way and engaged in some other motion, you won't succeed. Likewise, if your hypothetical is that your 140 pound axe will be swung left into the ribs if its potent downward blow is evaded, and your enemy is nimble and simply ran to the side at the "last moment," you naturally won't hit him.

6) Meta-gaming is when you use OOC information - or information your character does not have - in a fight, bestowing him that information. It can also be posting your character, after a duel is agreed on and a random room made, somehow having placed explosives exactly where your adversary is standing after he posts. An auto, too, but it can very well likewise fall under the "meta-gaming" header.

7) If we post in turns, and there are three of us, and Person 1 preps thrice over the course of 3 rotations whereas Person 3 preps once over the course of 3 rotations, and these two engage in that Person casts a fireball at Person 3 and Person 3 defends with a dispel, the fireball overpowers the dispel and continues on.

Step One: T1 Intro Information and Precautions.

Organization and character knowledge are the first steps of becoming a good T1er. Not only do you need a good imagination, but a good memory also. As long as you can create an easy, but skillful character you won’t have to rely of pre-written posts. The more you practice with writing up an intro and attacks, the better your posts will get. This is the hardest part of getting started with a developing character. 1. You can write down your powers in Note Pad, Word Processor, or Word Pad to get a visual of your characters powers, traits, weapons, and even looks. To begin your organization and memorization of your characters attributes.

2. Challenge yourself with how you post. Do not over use the "He would" "Would be" and the main word "Would" {Commonly used word, and word combination by beginners that have the mind set on what they want to say, but are limited on the vocabulary to explain it.}

3. Remember the key ingredients in the T1 intro "soup". You have to explain your powers, traits, weapons, looks, actions, surroundings, and dialogue. This is giving your opponent the respect of telling them what you are going to use in your "Attacking posts" so there is no confusion or outside source of power coming unexpectedly. For your safety and honor, informing them of these attributes, you can tell your opponent about your character fully and still be able to defeat them in the end. Creativity and combos will be the breaking points between a win and a loss.

4. The major rule and idea you should always keep in mind is always use Common Logic and Respect in your posts. If you know you have been beaten, you are to still try; but know this if there is not enough information telling about what you did or how you did it, your post can be voided and the match will either end, or you will have to re-do the post if asked.

One more thing you must remember. If you are challenged to a T1 by someone, you have the right to request a certain type of Style of T1 to fight in. This is put so you and your opponent are on an even playing field. This will also keep from, for example: A DBZ character fighting a Vampire character. The gap in powers are way too broad to be fair for the Vampire type character. The different type/Styles of T1 are in our bulletins titled "Improved Rules/Guidelines for T1". That bulletin is a mandatory read for any new comer.

Step Two: Mixing and Creating Your Intro Post

Here is where we throw everything into the melting pot to make our soup smell good. This is when it may get the toughest due to the direction we have to take in order for our character to make actions in unison with our surroundings. The easiest starting point I have found from experience is time and surroundings. The hardest part to any post is the beginning. After that, the ideas just flow from our minds like a waterfall. Also for better organization and presentation for the paras, I advise that you keep it between 5 to 6 complete sentences making up each para.

This will make it cleaner and clearer for your opponent to read and understand instead of posting over-stuffed paras that have absolutely no direction at all. Posting your intro first: When posting first, this gives you the opportunity to create the area in which you and your opponent are to fight in. This can be your ally in the long run. Thinking about a place where you and your foe fight can be, for example, a meadow or a sandy beach. If your character has a special ability that nature can help you with, you can form the arena however you want to give yourself a slight advantage. Try to blend together your looks and your surroundings at the same time. You might want to explain your pants as you walk down a dirt path. Ex: “Taking long strides down an unpaved path, the dirt particle from the dust being kicked up with each step, settles in the tightly woven fibers making up Soki’s black, jean pants.” This may take time to fully understand and make your imagery firm with strong explanations and descriptions.

Posting Your Intro Second: Here is when you get to use your opponents ideas to help you get started. They will already have created the arena/surroundings you both will be fighting in, but this gives you the ability of better explaining what your character sees in that place. Dive deep into your mind to place yourself in that zone to go along with your enemies imagination, while still adding more to the area. Think of this as your ladder.

The beginning steps up the ladder have been made, all you have to do now is continue creating the beautiful meal that you will dish out in the form of your paras. You will still have to explain your powers, weapons, traits, looks, and actions, the only thing that is given to you is the knowledge of your foes characteristics and the beginning point that will get you started in your intro soup. You will still be needed to blend together all your looks, surroundings and powers to your best ability.

{Note: Explaining your powers as you are explaining your surroundings may be a difficult task so the more practice and insight you have about your characters abilities and traits will help you explain them in the future. And always remember Absolutely No Pre-Written Intro's!}

Step Three: Attacking

Now that you have the intro stage pretty much mastered, now comes the hard part. In attacking posts you are to state what powers you will be using what skill you are creating, what combo it might turn into or what prep you will be doing. Much like Intros, your attacks need to follow the same guidelines.

Organization, clarity, direction, and actions taking to do such things. Now, just like domino's, the straighter your tokens are stacked the easier it will be to make them all fall down. Meaning, as long as you keep in a certain direction while attacking you will be fine. {This is what not to do} Ex: Person A attacks full force with his blade of ice in attempt to freeze his foe by slashing at him 12 time in every direction. With this action taken you need to keep in mind that two slashes at the most can be attempted. And your key word in your attacks is "Attempt".

Just because you have a wide based form of attacking all at once, doesnt mean that they will all land or any of them will land at all. There will be defenses, dodges, and counters that will avoid, throw off, or make you look like a flailing fish out of water. Your attacks are to be planned out, not in effects to your enemy, but with your own actions to make sure you have a chance to abort any actions done just in case.

Your attacks are to make sense in both real life and role play. Taking real life into consideration means that if you swing a 50lb sword around, the slashes after the first one will be drastically slowed down because inertia will be pulling the sword to the left if your character tries to swing it in the opposite direction after his entering attempt. Plan out your movements to make sure your can "dance" elegantly with your blade while attacking or make a move that gives you time to dodge a counter if needed. You will have to fully explain what type of power you will be using, what powers involve your combo if you are using one. What its aimed at. How fast you, yourself are going, and what is trying to be attempted in harming your foe.

Keep in mind if you say your attack will slice their arm off if landed or anything of the sort, your enemy has the choice to actually choose what the effect is from your attack. You are to also tell the time span of how long actions take to perform. Say your speed allows you to move quickly being able to close a 20ft gap in three seconds. Information like that will be needed in making actions that your foe will need time to perform their move, may it be a dodge, counter, or block. Each movement must be stated as to how long it takes to make is what I am getting at.

<< ATTACK >> == Within the Battou Jutsu stance, Hanzo presses the front of his right foot down to the ground in an effort to push himself forward into a dash. Less than a second after the foot press, the young warrior dashes using the Flash Step technique, traveling in a single-crescent path of travel to his left side. Reaching the front left side of his opponent, the Hanzo performs a sliding halt with both feet and his once leaned-forward upper body is now slight straight up in posture. Both his sandals press to the ground, creating a scratching and crunching sound as the fine dirt and pebbles grinds with the outsoles of his footwear from the sliding halt. He is about 3 feet away from the enemy's front-left side when he stopped.

== == Already has his right hand on top of the sheathed sword he has in his left side, Hanzo's right foot is about 1.5 feet in front and 5 inches to right of his upper body. He has his right knee bending about 2 inches down. He has his left foot extended to his back and slightly to the left, bending his left knee about 1.5 to 1.8 inch down and pointed to the direction of his right foot. The upper body is once again leaning forward about 2 to 2.5 inches. The look on his face expresses a slight glare yet shows a focus in his dark green eyes. == == Hanzo reaches for the handle as he gently slams his palm towards the clothing fabrics of the handle. Within 0.20 to 0.70 seconds after lightly touching the sword's handle with his right palm, the next set of events occurs.

He grips the sword's handle tightly with his left hand, rotating it slightly downward to make the sheathe in a slightly horizontal position. He releases the sword from its sheathe with a velocity of 450 to 500 mph. The sword's path travel is about is about 150 degrees to the right from its original draw point. The forces of the blow is about as 6, 000 square inch of pressure. The sword is extended to his left, bending the air as the nearby aerial element is absorb towards the path of the travel that the attack is taking, sucking what's in front of it towards the during the attack in a heart beat for as the slicing and crushing pressure will take care of the opposition.

== == The left foot slides about 100 degrees to the right as he twists his right foot to the right, as well. He grunts in a battle-related fashion as effort is being put within the attack. He takes it into account that his right arm will slightly suffer a strain from the quick draw attack that he performed. Feeling the stress that was in his right arm, especially the upper part of it, Hanzo can't help to think but to know what the result of his attack did to his opponent. The portions of seconds ended in blink of an eye as the attack ended its path of travel. ==

Step Four: Attack Defense-

Some of you don’t understand the meaning of Attack Defense because you rather just attack and hope it lands. But in actuality when you attack, you attempt your attack still before you say your character left the attacks and is now in a different area. Your opponent has the right to state their counter before you say you jumped 30ft away in a matter of seconds after your attack. When you attack, you must keep in mind that as you’re attacking your opponent still has to avoid/block/ or dodge your attack. So you stating you have attacked with your blade then jumped back to a safe distance can’t be done until your foe has replied to your attack. So what you need to do is use an attack that will give you a proper escape point from a counter-attack.

This meaning if you attack with your blade, and you leave an open spot, saying you full force swung your sword at the person head, they can say they ducked it and thrust their blade at your exposed stomach, your continuing post won’t hold up with that actually happening. Ex: Increasing his power by manipulating his energy within his blade it gave him an added amount of pressure causing the blade to being able to slice through a sheet of titanium metal. Seconds later Person A ran at Person B, closing the gap of 10ft to only 2ft, then with a mighty swing, Person A’s blade sails to the ribs of Person B, then after Person A jumps into the air and lands 20ft away hoping his attack landed. Ok, that example is what I am referring to. You see, Person A stated all his actions in the post along with his attack but left numerous amounts of openings that person B, in their post, can attack. Just because Person A stated they jumped 20ft away after his attack doesn’t have to be followed by Person B because now you are telling them they can’t attack you because you are already in a safe zone.

This what I mean: Continue Ex: Seeing the power increase of Person A, Person B took hold of his own blade, waiting till Person A came within range to do his move. Seconds pass as Person B takes the time to change his footing to allow himself more maneuverability in doing his next action. Seeing the blade sailing at his ribs, Person B knew the increase in pressure will throw his foe off balance due to its over exertion with effort. Dropping down forwards, to land on all fours, avoiding the colossal blades strike making it gracefully flow above his back unharming his wellbeing, but at that very instance as the blade was out of a dangerous point in time, Person B looked up at the exposed belly of Person A, and lunged forwards with his blades tip, regaining his footing, still in a crouched down manner, and attempted to stab the open area. As you can see the dodge/counter allowed Person B the time to avoid then attack his foe, not having to go by Person A’s statement of him not being there. You must be able to attack and give yourself time or an escape route just in case counters like Person B did won’t have such a huge effect on you.

What person A should have done was: Ex: Increasing his power by manipulating his energy within his blade it gave him an added amount of pressure causing the blade to being able to slice through a sheet of titanium metal. Seconds later Person A ran at Person B, closing the gap of 10ft to only 2ft, then with a mighty swing, Person A’s blade sails to the ribs of Person B. Never over powering his movements to toss himself off balance, he moved his left hand to his wakizashi blade handle, creating a spinning motion to the left, since the attacking blade will increase his twist allowing himself the opportunity to draw his blade at the same time to perhaps block a counter attack that may cause serious damage to Person A’s form, and life.

This example is the meaning of Attack Defense. If you close openings, or make your movements easy to get out of, or make them a continuing motion, you will be able to not leave gaps in your attack that your foe can ultimately capitalize on in their posts.

Length is not the answer

Prancing along the sight of him was most amusing. Chibi at last, Soki only stood about 2ft and 11 inches tall. Quite tall for his age, he gaze on with candy coated eyes. Full of sugar and tea, but the hazel color hid that. "Hehe, what a pleasant surprise!" A squeak of words hummed from his lips on the approach of a gardenie person. Such creatures did exist for the most part, but Chibi Soki never faced on. With his array of colors within his energy, the young lad's ability of elemental manipulation was his greatest ally. By giving 2% of his energy, in a strand like form, it latches onto the most lush of elements there.

Be it; earth, wind/air, fire, water, or even gravity. The usage of gravity was in a flight and close range effect. Having his long gown swaying in the suns rays, the black colored looked to fade some, then resonate back. Enchanted some may think, but no, it was just pretty. Along his feet area, were clouds of black smoke. Bubbling up from the group in replace of his feet. It made him look as though he was a ghost of some sort. Moving so, with what seemed like feet, Soki halted in a redwood forest area. Filled with trees that rivaled sky-scrapers. Massive trunks break forth from the ground and reach high as the eye can see. The branches close in on each other, creating the look of a enclosed area. A bed of dried twigs and crumbled leaves fill the ground, with the intense humidity of the nights rain. Phantom fog lightly covers the flooring as well, moving as majestic as the sea itself.

Breaking its ties together, Soki took a few hovering steps forwards, then stopped again. Grinning with his white teeth, the K-9's show brilliant as thought he grinds them to a point. The cyclonic boy looks on into the abysmal darkness that cuts from the soft rays of the sun that break through from the top of the canvased trees. "Alas, this should be fit for our scuffle." A voice of gruesome shrills combine to words of cheering tongue. Pale white in complexion, Soki's skin turns cold with desire for the exhibition fight at hand, as his spiked purple hair gently bends forwards from the chilled breeze that flowed curiously from behind his form. From his core soul, the energy within his body can be manifested into what he feels will aid him in battle. So thus, the time moves on, as the waiting souls, wait to commence.

Characterization Basic Elements

"Well, here is the main point of the topic . . . to help a fighter last for a longer period of time within a battle. Here is a list of the following that may be taught. none of these are real and none of them have taken place." --Energy Conservation-- Energy conservation can be easily taught by using the surroundings to your advantage. Spotting trees and using the direction of the wind can help out a lot and even change the outcome of a battle. Using the area as part of your technique will save a lot of energy and your stamina will not drop so swiftly.

EXAMPLE: [////::Dust flew up from below Kenji's feet as he moved with speed. His flash step blurred his movements. Each step he took left only dust slowly rising up into the air. A chill reached the area as Kenji appeared in front of a tree and ice particles began to form around the blade of Tenrai-Urufu. Kenji swung his Zanpakutou's blade towards the ground and sent up countless dirt clumps into the air. He struck another blow against the dirt clumps and they were sent flying towards the tree. The ice whipped out like a vine and struck the dirt clumps, freezing them into sharp ice shards. The ice shards flew at an incredible speed, from within Kenji stood and the tree was, the distance was approximately twelve feet.::////]

--Elemental Control & Manipulation-- Elemental control and manipulation. The ability to control an element and the ability to manipulate an element are actually two different concepts. Controlling an element allows to you wield an element to your own needs. Manipulation of an element is allowing an element to be created and roam freely as if it were its own being. Your body flows with the element, and you're not just using it to protect you or for attacks.

EXAMPLE:[////::The ice around the blade danced gracefuly, majecticly forming around to make a chain. It sparkled in the shining light and willowed to the ground. Beams were attracted to the ice chain as Kenji swiftly swung the blade, allowing the ice chain's motion to twirl around him and seem to glitter as it danced.::////] --Combination Techniques-- Combination techniques may be occasionally very difficult to use, simply because it is easy to powermod without consent of what you are combining together. Combining techniques can lower energy exponentially, so using basic combinations are requested to be used more often and it will still be effective. But if in a dilema, combining techniques that involve elements and abilites would be extrememly helpful, but requested to only be used when you are really into the battle.

EXAMPLE:[////::Kenji gripped the hilt of his Zanpakutou tightly in his hands and and released it from its sheathe. The blade swung down on Soki's shoulder and Kenji had his left leg aiming his knee to Soki's stomach.::////] --Two-Post Combination Techniques-- Two-post combination techniques is probably one of the very hardest to successfully obtain control of. It is where you post a technique or an attack and you have a second post to go along with it, but your opponent must first fall for the first post. You must have a very creative mind to use such a powerful force and you must aknowledge what the outcome may be. Obtaining this certain type of strength allows you to gain victory very easily.

EXAMPLE:[////::Behind his four ice walls, Kenji released a total of seven ice dragons heading towards Soki. One ice dragon headed towards his chest, a second one to his exposed backside, another at the direction of his left side, another at his right, and quickly one heading above Soki along with a second one tagged along right after the one coming in from above.::////] |::|Soki formed multiple handsigns and created, within milleseconds, a giant fireball intensely surrounding his entire structure and waited until the dragons had melted.|::| [////::Kenji smirked as there were only six Soki destroyed and he smiled. The final seventh ice dragon dug up from underground and directly it erupted beneath Soki.::////] Of course correct description of these posts must be made, this is just a quick sample. Note that the battle had to actually take place for the example post to make complete sense.

[Skallagrim]

RP - Tier 1, "Paragraph Role-Play"
Post Hisao on Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:26 am on lusiopartis.userboard.net
(This thread is UNDER CONSTRUCTION. Also: in need of reference of everything I have NOT written anything about so far.)

Content:
What is T1/T-1?
History
Not entirely T1
Word Count
Genres
Entrance and departure
(What should I add next?)
Sources

What is T1/T-1?

Tier 1, also called Type 1, Technique 1 or Textual style 1 by some, though not the only paragraph RP style, is informally known as "paragraph role-play". A paragraph is a short piece of writing of about 200 words. Depending on the type and size of the font, the length of the words, and the size of your page/screen, the amount of lines can actually vary.

You can recognize T1 not only through post length, however. Writing paragraphs brings along a certain style: people write more as if it's a story, write with description and detail, add thoughts, use quotation marks for speech and proper punctuation. In T1, meta-posing is allowed or in some cases even obligated.

History:
It is quite hard to define when and where T1 has actually developed, because there is no actual proof of who came up with the style or what were its early uses, likely due to it being under heavy changes during the early stages. However, the role-playing style exists for at least as long as the late 1990s or early 2000s and has possibly originated either from Yahoo! Groups, IRC or other chat clients.

Unlike in other RP styles, combat is very present in T1, as the style has a number of combat-specific rules. Combat and storyline role-play have likely developed together.

Not entirely T1:

What if you actually don't reach the minimum average of 200 words or you write a lot more than that, but you still follow the rules of T1? Not too surprisingly, there is a few styles which, for that reason, get a different name.

The only style with T1 rules that doesn't really get its own technical term, is the so-called "lazy-ass T1" or "semi-paragraph RP". The average post length is still at least 100 words, but that's only half as long as a usual T1 post. In real-time RP, many people in fact try to keep their posts shorter than they would on forums, mostly because the pace there is generally faster, because people don't log off in between the posts.

Multi-paragraph role-play, starting from the so-called "page" or 400 words, is called "T1 elite", "Elite T1" or "T1E". 400 words is not a usual page in programs such as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or Open Office. It's about a full page in a book, which means that it's of the so-called size "A5". To be able to use T1E for regular posts (no fighting), it requires quite a bit of detail already. After all, you put about the same amount of content in a description of twice the length of T1.

Then for the select few "show-offs", if you want to call them that, there is a style called "T00" or "Novellette RP", or even "T0" or "Novella". It's called 'Novellette/Novella' because the length of the posts has become so long that - unless it's a long, vague and boring description - there must be at least some kind of short story in it. It sure requires some skill to make a piece of text as long as this still appealing to the reader.

Word Count:

The exact numbers for T1 and its derived styles are already written under the previous titles. To recapitulate: a minimum of 100 words average for 'lazy T1', 200 for usual T1 and 400 for 'T1 elite'.

These word counts should not only be used for spars/death matches, but also for general T1 RP (dialogues and conversations, travelling, erotic RP, any action the character does). Also, this is an average, so especially as long as it is not combat role-play, you should not be yelled at for writing a 196-word-long post.

Genres:

Dividing T1 differently than what you just read, the genres do not really have anything to do with post length. A genre just defines the kind of powers, pasts, species, etc. of your character. Be careful though! Not everyone uses these divisions, and most of those who do only use them in the case of a role-playing fight.

RM - Realistic Melee:

Realistic melee is human ↔ human role-play. The limitations on this style are the normal, real-life limitations: human running and reactions speed, force, ... Weapons from the real world (knives, guns, ...) are also allowed. These are not necessarily limited to existing weapons, but must realistically be possible to create.

It is important to note that while a character may for instance have a natural talent at fast running, he or she will not be able to run as fast as an athlete at first. Your character will be influenced by the training he or she had in the past, as well as by the diet he or she takes, by the amount of sleep or rest he or she gets, and by age. (Surprise: characters age.)

Limitations guidelines:

Reaction time: roughly 200ms (0.2s)
Speed: roughly 3-4mph or 5-6km/h (walking) — 8mph or 12km/h (running)
Strength: lifting 1-1.5 times the own weight
Sight: 2mi or 3km far for human-scale objects

UM - Unrealistic Melee:
...
MP - Moderate Powers:
...
PC - Powered Characters:
…

Entrance and departure:

Unless agreed on differently on beforehand, a character in a T1 role-playing environment is not present until they entered, and will be present until they left. OOC, this means that you will need to post an entrance post to start interacting with the other role-players and a departure post to finish. People who disappear due to technical issues in chat role-play may be excused.

A fight, whether your character was already in the battlefield/arena/etc. or not (your RPC could've been having a drink already when a quarrel started in the tavern), needs to be entered and departed as well. The consequence hereof is that the action of entering the fight will have to be stated as well.

(I believe the same is the case for erotic T1 sessions? Not sure - need reference on this.)

In chat role-play, there is an exception for the first person to be in the chat room, who will be there automatically and does not have to post an entrance because there are no other characters yet to interact with (unless NPCs). In some forum role-plays, the thread starter may also take this priviledge or allow another early poster to already be present.

Not having to post an entrance has the advantage that you don't have to write your character's entire appearance out (though you will have to if later on in the RP a fight starts) but the disadvantage that your role-playing partner(s) will not know what your character looks like. It is advised to describe your character at least partially in the first couple of posts you exchange with others if you find yourself in such a situation.

Required information:

Entrance

action of entering (+ description)
appearance of character (brief or elaborate)
attire of character (outfit, accessories, everything they carry/bring with them - brief or elaborate)
reference to the environment which they enter (stating where they enter)

Possible extra:
- character background (past; non-visible traits such as personality, thoughts, powers)
- description of the environment
- any relevant information to the area or one of the characters present there (anecdotes, ...) - if vague, the link should be mentioned

Not allowed:
Completely irrelevant information to the area or any of the characters present there (including one's own).

Departure
action of leaving or stepping out (+ description)
appearance and attire of character (no need for full, just everything that has changed throughout the past session)

Sources:

Internet sources:
Alexander, Technique One;, link.
Cetaphil (IMVU)'s group, Roleplay Rules, link, more specifically , link.
Donovan Rodriguez (MySpace), RP Battle Rules, link.
Firaxis Xega, Explanation of T-1(technique one), link.
Ghetto Kid, What is T1/T2/T3?, link.
James S. Rascal, T1 Rules and guidelines, link.
Jayden Melicore, figthing sytles, link.
MinhyrdinWindrose (IMVU), T1, Paragraph, turn-based fighting, link.
Nirmaldasan, Plain Paragraph Length, link.
Online Warriors, -T1, link.
Spades Slick, Rules of Tier-1 (RM, UM, MP & PC) Combat., link
Earlier browsing of internet sources.

Other sources:
Own role-play knowledge collected over the years.
Chat logs to T1 role-players.

[Skallagrim]

This was found on http://anygameroleplaying.wikia.com/wi..

T-Skill Fighting RP
Paragraph, turn-based fighting.

T1 is a type of fighting style generally used by people in chat. These people are generally the more serious RPers. Average time to learn T1 can take anywhere from two weeks to two months, depending on the time spent learning and perfecting the form. It is based off the idea that the paragraphs you use should appear to come out of a book using detailed descriptions so that the people watching can ‘see’ what is happening in chat to make Role Playing a more enjoyable experience.

T1 is probably the hardest way to role-play if you are not good at being descriptive. T1 is turn-based, so you have to wait for your opponent to finish typing his/her attack. It is also paragraph fighting. In a T1 match, your opponent can strike you. You have the ability to reverse the attack or take the hit and come back with one of your own. In T1, you can only type one attack each paragraph. If you type more than one attack in a paragraph, you will be disqualified. You may need to type more than one paragraph, so when this is needed, use at the end and beginning of your paragraph. Once you complete your attack/entrance, put an at the end to symbolize the finalization of your paragraph.

Example:
John: (paragraph) Attacks!
Tim: (paragraph) Defends/avoids/takes-the-hit, counter attacks.
John: (paragraph) Defends/avoids/takes-the-hit, counter attacks.

T2
High-paced fighting style. 7 words to attack. 10 connect. 7 dodge. 12 counter-attack.

T2 is another type of style created shortly after T1 became widely-used by Ayenee shortly after the creation of the ‘Games’ section in chat around four or five years ago. T2 was created by people who felt T1 was too long and took too much time to use. You have to have a minimum of 7 words for your attack. And the same for the outcome. To reverse you need the minimum of 10 words. And the same for the reverse outcome. It takes a minimum of 12 words to post a counter-attack.

Example:
As John jumps up, he ducks the attack and picks Tim up on his shoulders. (counter-attack)
John would attempt to toss him over. (attack)
John then slammed Tim's back very roughly onto the ground. (connect)

T3 -T6

T3: is probably the easiest and most noobish way to role-play. To attack you need a post of one word or more, then another post to connect, then another to "seal", to make one hit. You would block or dodge the same way, but using a blocking or dodging word in place of the attack word.

Posts can be as long or as short as you want. There is no typo limit and no other rules than those stated. The idea is simply to "seal" your attack before your opponent can type "dodge". Because it is considered "noobish", T3 is generally not used much.

T4: is a new fighting style which is a mixture of T2 and T3. It is an S15 fighting style meaning that all posts must have at least 15 words to be valid. The only exception to this is range posts, which merely require 7 words. Also, T4 is based on a point system. You must have at least 5 points to win a match.

T5: is often used in Gor-related RP's in reference to legit kills, and has to do with the number of lines, plus the number of words per line. T5 states that a legit kill is if you post 5 separate lines of 5 words each without being interrupted by a dodge or a counterstrike, ergo making it a legit kill. At any point in turn, the one being T5'ed must post a 5-word dodge before the 5th post drops. The 5 lines of post do not have to be consecutive, though, and sneaking around the posts of others is allowed. Still, a specific set of actions must be done prior to the kill. There must be statement of intent, withdrawing of weapon, approach to intended victim, action of intended attack, and statement of death.
Example:

*I look at Tim with intent to kill*

*I quickly palm my knife*

*Quietly, I walk up behind Tim*

*I aim the blade across his throat*

*As he dies, I drop him to the ground*

At any point in time prior to the last line, Tim could post a five-word dodge and avoid death.

T6: is also referred to as "Freestyle". It is an "anything goes" fight style in which players use whatever is in their power to win. Autos, what ifs, and other forms of attacks generally dismissed as god-modding are considered perfectly okay.

[Skallagrim]

MinhyrdinWindrose posted this on imvu.com
PostPosted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 8:37 pm Post subject: T1- Paragraph, turn-based fighting.

T1 is a type of fighting style generally used by people in chat. These people are generally the more serious RPers. Average time to learn T1 can take anywhere from two weeks to two months, depending on the time spent learning and perfecting the form. It is based off the idea that the paragraphs you use should appear to come out of a book using detailed descriptions so that the people watching can ‘see’ what is happening in chat to make Role Playing a more enjoyable experience.

T1 is probably the hardest way to role-play if you are not good at being descriptive. T1 is turn-based, so you have to wait for your opponent to finish typing his/her attack. It is also paragraph fighting. In a T1 match, your opponent can strike you. You have the ability to reverse the attack or take the hit and come back with one of your own. In T1, you can only type one attack each paragraph. If you type more than one attack in a paragraph, you will be disqualified. You may need to type more than one paragraph, so when this is needed, use <C> at the end and beginning of your paragraph. Once you complete your attack/entrance, put an <E> at the end to symbolize the finalization of your paragraph.

Example:

John: (paragraph) Attacks!
Tim: (paragraph) Defends/avoids/takes-the-hit, counter attacks.
John: (paragraph) Defends/avoids/takes-the-hit, counter attacks.

Further Reading:
Technique 1
Fighting Styles
Explanation of T1
What T1, T2 and T3 are

T2

High-paced fighting style. 7 words to attack. 10 connect. 7 dodge. 12 counter-attack.

T2 is another type of style created shortly after T1 became widely-used by Ayenee shortly after the creation of the ‘Games’ section in chat around four or five years ago. T2 was created by people who felt T1 was too long and took too much time to use. You have to have a minimum of 7 words for your attack. And the same for the outcome. To reverse you need the minimum of 10 words. And the same for the reverse outcome. It takes a minimum of 12 words to post a counter-attack.

Example:

As John jumps up, he ducks the attack and picks Tim up on his shoulders. (counter-attack)
John would attempt to toss him over. (attack)
John then slammed Tim's back very roughly onto the ground. (connect)

Further Reading:
How to Speed Fight and T2

T1 and T2 are referred to "Legal Fighting Styles". T3, T4, T5 and T6 are all generally referred to as "non-Legal Fighting Styles".

T3

T3 is probably the easiest and most noobish way to role-play. To attack you need a post of one word or more, then another post to connect, then another to "seal", to make one hit. You would block or dodge the same way, but using a blocking or dodging word in place of the attack word.

Posts can be as long or as short as you want. There is no typo limit and no other rules than those stated. The idea is simply to "seal" your attack before your opponent can type "dodge". Because it is considered "noobish", T3 is generally not used much.

T4

T4 is a new fighting style which is a mixture of T2 and T3. It is an S15 fighting style meaning that all posts must have at least 15 words to be valid. The only exception to this is range posts, which merely require 7 words. Also, T4 is based on a point system. You must have at least 5 points to win a match.

T5

T5 is often used in Gor-related RP's in reference to legit kills, and has to do with the number of lines, plus the number of words per line. T5 states that a legit kill is if you post 5 separate lines of 5 words each without being interrupted by a dodge or a counterstrike, ergo making it a legit kill. At any point in turn, the one being T5'ed must post a 5-word dodge before the 5th post drops. The 5 lines of post do not have to be consecutive, though, and sneaking around the posts of others is allowed. Still, a specific set of actions must be done prior to the kill. There must be statement of intent, withdrawing of weapon, approach to intended victim, action of intended attack, and statement of death.

Example:

*I look at Tim with intent to kill*
*I quickly palm my knife*
*Quietly, I walk up behind Tim*
*I aim the blade across his throat*
*As he dies, I drop him to the ground*

At any point in time prior to the last line, Tim could post a five-word dodge and avoid death.

T6

T6 is also referred to as "Freestyle". It is an "anything goes" fight style in which players use whatever is in their power to win. Autos, what ifs, and other forms of attacks generally dismissed as god-modding are considered perfectly okay.

Further Reading:

Fighting Styles
Port Kar laws
RPTC (Roles Playing Training Core)

More RP Fighting Etiquette

Source: dpsinfo.com/rufussafer/roleplaying/rpf..

Rule #1: No more than two posts for any one action in a fight. There is no reason to do more than two since any one action that takes more than that is most likely a god move and therefore invalid to begin with.

Rule #2: Magic should be used sparingly. Magic also has to be prepped for each spell cast. Prepping takes several posts but they must not be followed by more because the posts require time given to anyone else. The longer you prep your spell the more powerful it can be. If you are distracted, though, you lose the spell. Magic is best used by people who can type fast since they can hit enter on their first post and write their second post fast before the enemy has time to write something as well.

Rule #3: Portalling. You cannot vanish and appear in the same post. They must be at least a post apart.

Rule #4: Shape Shifting. You cannot shift form AND attack in the same post. They must be at least a post apart.

Rule #5: Remember, an attack post must say "at" or "towards" and doesn’t actually hit (that's an auto). It should be at least 5 words (preferably more than that). Dodges are invalid if they are under 5 words and must make some form of sense.

Rule #6: Grabbing someone in a hostile manner (in attempt to throw, kidnap, etc) is an auto... you have to GRAB FOR and it must be at least 5 words.

Rule #7: NPCs. Non player characters can be killed by autos as long as no one is in direct control of them. Direct control of NPCs is limited to about 3-5 at a time (this can include pets, monsters, dragons, soldiers, etc).

Rule #8: You cannot attack twice in the same post. You shouldn’t combine the casting of a spell and weapon rush at someone, and you shouldn’t use more than one weapon in the same attack. Combination attacks can be seen as unfair and in the event that they are used, the same consideration for the number of attacks used should be granted to your opponent as well, to be used in the following post by your opponent. The same goes for magic spell... you can't cast two at once! you need to prepare them individually... don't forget rule #2.

Rule #9: This is not really turn based in the sense that "you can't post till the other posts". Here's how it works. If you posted an ATTACK you have to wait for your opponent to post before you can post again... but if you posted a defense... or what not... you can put in another post for an attack... prepping.. landing... or what not. It's only after an attack that you have to wait to post. This can lead to an attack and a non defense move clashing... if you post a move while your opponent is attacking and your opponent gets that post in before you get your action. You're may find yourself hit by the move they made, so it can be dangerous.

Source: maxpages.com/rplbook/The_Way_of_the_Sim

1. “The Try, Not Do Policy” THE MOST IMPORTANT SIMMING RULE! When fighting, you do NOT hit the opponent! Rather, you use your weapon on the opponent.

Examples:

RIGHT WAY- *Notches an arrow on his bow and shoots the arrow toward John Doe*
WRONG WAY- *Thrusts his sword into John Doe’s belly*
WRONG WAY- *Knocks John Doe’s sword out of his hands with a thrust in Jack’s hand*
RIGHT WAY- *Taking his sword, John Doe swipes the blade toward Jack Deere’s head*
WRONG WAY- *When he casts the fire spell, he blasts it at John Doe and hits him at full force*
RIGHT WAY- *Finishing the chant, he casts the fire spell and fires it toward John Doe*

If you understand, you do NOT directly hit your opponent; always leave room for your opponent to block or counter the attack.

2. “No one-hit KO’s.” One thing I thought I’d mention is the concept of character death. You can not automatically kill your opponent unless he tells you OoC that you are allowed to. The only person who can choose if a character dies is the owner of the character. Because of this, sim battles usually end when someone has to leave (It’s usually covered up IC by saying something like (“Argh, you have weakened me, I will leave to work my strength up. You won’t be so lucky next time! *Disappears laughing*”), when one stops the battle, (“Enough! You have proven yourself worthy…”) or when some natural thing stops it. (*Suddenly, for whatever reason, an earthquake forms directly in the battlefield and both fall into the vent*).

3. “Never think you are the best and no one can defeat you.” No one can be undefeated. Everyone will find someone who is better than them.

For example, I can never defeat Lloyd. His style is very hard for me, and he can beat me easily.

4. “Don’t do a million things at once”. Don’t cast six spells, slash at someone’s head thrice and at their chest twice, and then kick their chest all in the same turn. In one turn, you do one thing. If you are a mage, you take one turn chanting before you cast the spell. Lately, it has come to my attention that there are now battles are either turn-based or active. In turn-based battles, opponents switch off doing attacks. This is mainly for slow typists and people who prefer to be more organized in battles. Personally, I prefer active battles. In those, you type as fast as you can to get turns in. However, sometimes there can be a problem for if both people type an attack.

For example…

John Doe: *Starts to chant a fire spell to counter the ice spell he knows Jack Deere is chanting*
Jack Deere: *Finishes his ice spell and blasts it toward John Doe*

If the chat is like WoN and the uppermost messages are the more recent ones, there will be a problem over whether John Doe will get hit by the spell or will counter it to save himself. Sorry to say, but in times like this, the attack that comes in first is the one that has to stay; John Doe will have to change his move. This brings us to the next rule…

5. “If doing an active battle, try to be with someone at least your typing speed”. Self-explanatory. It’s not fair if you do six turns while your opponent is still doing their first one.

6. “Remember your limits.” Be rational with your attacks. Doing something like: *Raising his hands, he chants a spell that causes a monstrous energy blast bigger than the world they stand on to head for John Doe* is not only being a lamer, but summoning that much power would kill your character anyway.

7. “Summon wisely”. Summoning is no small matter. I believe that summoning is okay as long as the thing you summon is not a rip-off and does not do such a powerful attack that you would be considered a lamer right off the bat. I say the best way to summon is to chant like a normal spell and then summon an elemental demon.

8. “Armor does not block everything.” Although armor will sometimes deflect blades, a hard swing of a battleaxe definitely will not be stopped by armor. Even if you are a warrior with armor, you need to be cautious and do not block everything, which brings us to the next rules…

9. “Don’t block everything.” A very important rule. Even though the Try, Not Do Policy gives you a chance to think of a creative way to counter or block the attack, don’t just sit there and block everything and expect everything you do to hit your opponent… that is the number one lamerish thing you can do.

10. “Don’t rip off spells/weapons and their effects” Not only is using a spell like Death lame anyway, saying it will automatically kill your opponent breaks Rule 2 anyway. Rip-off spells include things like Blizzaga, Knights of the Round, Luminaire, etc. Weapons are such as Masamune, Excalibur, etc. The effects I mention are things like that using a spell like "Frost" from FF9. You cannot say it automatically freezes your enemy, and your next attack destroys it automatically. My advice is that, when doing a spell from a game, just use the same spell, but only mention its effects.

Say I want to use Ice3 from FF2. *As John Doe finishes his chant and raises one hand, he drops the ground as he starts to summon grand powers. Gasping words of commandments, John Doe drops his hand as a green aura surrounds around him. Having to rest, he does not see as countless numbers of massive and sharp icicles fall down toward the 50-foot radius of Jack Deere*

11. “No healing” Don’t get me wrong, healing is allowed, but only certain types of healing. It is possible to waste two turns healing something. (First turn to chant, second turn to confirm what you want to heal, and then you heal in the third turn), and all you can heal are flesh wounds. If you have a cut across your chest you can heal it. However, you cannot heal yourself as in to give yourself completely refilled health (i.e. Hit Points) so if your opponent is near death, you will be back to how you were at the very beginning of the fight. The use of healing magic is that you are even able to reattach a missing limb if one gets cut off. (Note: Healing is MUCH more practical in RPing. In fact, healing in simming is probably altogether lame)

12. "Limit your spell casting" I got an e-mail and decided to include this. Casting spells does not cost anything like Manna or MP. However, every spell will weaken your character; accordingly by strength. Summoning a dragon will greatly tax the strength of your spell caster. You have to be honest, though, when it comes to tiring yourself out. If you go so long casting all these strong spells and not showing any sign of weakening, your opponent will probably dub you lame and quit the fight. This, of course, would give spell casters a slight disadvantage, but a good strong spell is better than a regular weapon, isn't it? The disadvantage: Warriors will not get as tired from fighting with weapons as mages will do with magic. Remember that spell casters may carry small weapons (daggers, staves), and they should resort to those, too.

(Note: In normal RPing, it really doesn't matter how much magic you use... as long as you don't attack someone outside of a sim battle)

Lesson 2- Details and Variety

“Now I understand the rules… but how do I actually fight the right way?”
This is definitely the hardest section to write. First of all, you don’t need to rip off spells because you use variety in your magic. You say *Casts a spell which makes a freezing wind form around John Doe. The swirling wind starts to encase John Doe in a block of solid ice*. With an attack like that, you are using correct Sim Tactics and you are also following the Try, Not Do Policy. Magic is very hard, at times, to follow the Try, Not Do Policy with. Doing something like *Casts Ice 2 on John Doe* is A) lame, B ) Breaking the Try, Not Do Policy, and C) Breaking Rule 10.

See, with Sim Tactic, you use detail in your attacks. It’s the detail and the variety of your attacks that makes someone have a different style. Everyone will have a different style because everyone will use different details and variety.

The same thing goes with regular weapons. *Unsheathes the Masamune and slashes at John Doe* just doesn’t work because it is A) lame, B ) Breaking Rule 10. But also, you did not use detail. Even if you DO use the Masamune, you need to make it clear it’s a sword, and also, you need to ALWAYS, ALWAYS make it clear where you are aiming your weapon.
Even if I kept the name “Masamune”, the better way to make this attack would be *Unsheathes the Masamune and, as light gleams off the tip of the blade, John Doe slashes the Masamune at Jack Deere’s head*

While it seems that the best thing to do is use loads of detail, that is not true. In fact, too much detail is worse than too little detail: While *Slashes sword at John Doe* is hardly enough detail to use at all, it’s not always preferable to *John Doe, an evil stare in his eye, grimly reaches his gloved hand down toward the hilt of his blade, before quickly taking out the blade from his scabbard, the blade singing as it escapes into the air. John Doe, giving a menacing battle cry, takes the blade back and thrusts it forward toward Jack Deere’s unprotected throat, preparing to watch the blood pour out from the opponent’s throat*.

While that attack may have seemed awesome and you wish you could use detail like that, hold yourself back. That attack was way too long and it will do little good. It will annoy your opponent while he tries to read it while you are already starting your next attack, which will probably make your opponent stop the fight anyhow. All that detail was pointless, and one of the best ways to combine those two attacks into a more balanced detail is something like *Unsheathing his blade, John prepares himself before thrusting his sword toward Jack’s throat*. It doesn’t seem like a lot of detail, but it is adequate and probably the best way to word the attack.

(Note: I just thought I'd mention that even if detail in simming is limited, you can use as much detail in RPing as you want; no one really cares.)

Now that you got detail, let’s get variety… it makes sense that if your character is a knight, he will not be able to use magic, first of all. And if your character is a mage, he will not be able to take a battleaxe and slice off somebody’s head.

If you’re a mage, it’d be tempting to do every single kind of spell you can think of, but remember your limits. In the next chapter, I will add to the lesson book by talking about strengths and weaknesses. You should use your strengths and weaknesses to determine the spells you can use. If you are an elemental, you can use magics of that element without having to chant first. That seems like an advantage, but that leaves you with a weakness that your opponent can use to quickly take advantage of you. If you’re a knight battling a mage, you’ll have to rely on cutting through his weak physical defense to defeat him.

Paladins and fighters both have to rely on their weapons, while mages have to rely on their magic. Fighters can carry more weapons and have stronger weapons, but paladins can use adequate weapons and healing magic.

Now about countering and blocking: Countering is making an offensive move to parry or cancel out your opponent’s move.

Example: If John Doe lets loose a fire spell toward Jack Deere and Jack Deere fires an ice spell to counter, the spells will hit each other, change into a hot mist, and cancel each other out.

The same thing works with swordplay. Blocking is letting some part of your body or your weapon block the blow. (It can hit your armor, or maybe it will hit your weapon. Both of these will block the attack).

What is considered GOD-MODDING in RP Fighting

1: Teleportation of ANY kind, including portals and moving at a speed that is so fast that it might as well be teleporting, if used during a fight or for the purpose of starting a fight, such as teleporting behind someone to hit them or anything like that, is a god mod. It is a mod because it makes it nearly impossible, if not entirely impossible to hit you -- and don't be like "well what if I"... No, no you can't do it because it's a form of teleportation. Don't do it.

2: You cannot block an attack with your body and take no damage from it. No matter how insanely powerful your character may be, if you are directly hit with any attack, you take damage from it that is relative to the attack dealt. For example: if someone slices your arm, and you fail to either dodge it or block it with a weapon or shield or something of the like, your arm gets cut. Depending on how the attacker worded the post, your arm could in fact be cut clean off. Don't make excuses if this happens. If you're retarded enough to stand there while someone slices your arm, you deserve whatever damage it causes.

3: Your attack, no matter how complex, no matter how powerful, no matter how long it took you to charge it, CAN AND MUST be able to be completely avoided in some way. Now, the way it can be avoided can be extremely hard to figure out, or it can take a lot of power to avoid: power equal to the amount of power it took to make the attack. Which means that if you put every last ounce of your energy into an attack and someone manages to avoid getting hit by it, you're out of luck because you just used up all your power and are now almost completely defenseless. Bottom line is, there is no such thing as an attack that cannot be avoided, period.

4: Armor does not protect you from everything. If someone with the strength to punch a building and turn it into a crater slashes you with a sword, no matter how thick your suit of armor is, that steel isn't going to prevent it from penetrating. Armor is almost completely useless in a high power RP fight, and it is recommended that it be used only for show. Another thing, if you're wearing a super thick suit of plate armor made out of some fictional RP material that you made up that is super strong and able to withstand that kind of stuff, you better not be able to move faster than a snail, because if for some reason you're so super strong that it doesn't hinder you, then someone can just as easily cut through it. This rule also applies to barriers both physical and magical. Any kind of protective shielding can be broken through.

5: An attack requires an equal amount of power to create as the amount of damage it causes. The harder it is to defend against, the more power it must drain from you in the process. For example: If someone makes an attack that is powerful enough to take out several people and deal incredible destruction to the area at the same time, that is what we call a "Finisher" move. Such a move usually requires the user to be drained of nearly all power after usage. It is a trump card, if you will.

6: Illusions are a tricky thing to call into an RP fight for several reasons. One of those reasons is that it's so easy to god mod when using one and usually takes a lot of skill and practice in order to use one that is not a mod. In order to use an illusion, you MUST make it possible to whoever it is being used on to figure out that it is an illusion. You can make it difficult to figure it out, but it must be able to be figured out without asking if it is an illusion. Another more noobish way of doing it, is to include in the post itself that it is an illusion. You can't make some kind of super crazy attack that nearly destroys someone and then say "oh it was an illusion, don't worry" UNLESS you make it so that they can figure out what it is BEFORE it is used. They don't HAVE to actually figure it out, but you have to provide what is needed in order for them to have been able to do so.

7: Any weapon can be broken if it is put under enough strain. You can augment your weapon, enchant it, forge it, whatever it to make it stronger both physically and magically, but it is by no means completely indestructible. Even if a weapon can be disassembled and reconstructed, or shattered and reconstructed, it can be permanently disabled/broken somehow. Again, the way to do it can be hard to figure out, but it can be done.

8: It does not matter what race you are, how you got your powers, how old you are, what your blood line is, or anything of the sort. You are not the most powerful being in the universe. You are not one step below god. You are not all powerful. You cannot control the planets. You cannot control the flow of souls. You cannot move a star/planet/anything that huge and powerful. GET OVER IT. Doing so would take so much energy and power that even attempting to do it would drain a person of their strength and cause them to collapse, no matter how strong they are.

9: You do not have an unlimited amount of energy. You do not have the ability to completely drain your energy in an attack, and then absorb energy from something else to regenerate all the energy you used up. You may be able to become stronger or obtain more energy based on certain circumstances, but it is not unlimited.

10: God characters. God characters are known for being just that, godly. However, they can only remain godly when they are within their own domain. For example: the essence of evil is extremely powerful, but it falls under the same rules I have listed here just like everyone else. However, when it is inside of hell it has the ability to break certain rules listed here. Those rules will not be named, but to put it simply, don't go to hell thinking you're going to go kill the essence of evil because it won't happen.

11: This is probably the most important rule on this list. It is also probably the most basic and most important rule ever for RP. It is simple. YOU CANNOT CONTROL ANY OTHER CHARACTER BUT YOUR OWN. To clarify what exactly this means: you cannot attack someone and say in your post that it hits. YOU DO NOT have the power or ability to tell someone that your attack hits them before they even have a chance to defend against it.

There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule. Do not post something like *I shoot you in the chest and you die* because you do not get to decide whether or not they die from it, nor do you even get to decide if it even hits them. They have the chance to defend against it. ONLY if they cannot find a proper way to defend against it does the attack succeed in doing what it was intended to do. Even if you have the gun pointed point blank at their head, you still do not get to decide if the shot kills them, they still get the chance to defend. Only after they fail to do so does your attack hit. THIS ALSO INCLUDES MIND CONTROL. Mind control is not possible unless the person you are using it on willingly agrees to allow you to do it.

12: Self healing is only acceptable in very few ways. For one, it is best never to do it in a fight as it is cheap. Also, there are only a few ways it is not a mod in a fight. One way is if it is a spell that requires a significant amount of time and energy to cast. There is no such thing as a "fast cast heal" when you're in a fight. The amount of damage healed must also be relevant to the amount of energy and time it takes to cast the spell. For example, if your character is bleeding badly with several serious injuries, broken bones, gunshot/sword wounds, etc. it would take at least a full minute of RP time to cast the spell and probably take a TON of energy to complete it. There is such a thing as partial heals, where you only heal yourself for a small amount of damage taken, such as healing one serious wound when you have several left unhealed. These spells take less time to cast but still must be relevant to the amount of damage healed.

Also, healing takes a lot of concentration (and no, you can't say your char is a super awesome healing mage that can cast a full heal in 1 second; it doesn't work that way) and as such, doing maneuvers while casting would prolong the process. There is such a thing as "passive" healing that doesn't require a spell cast, much like how a vampire's body self heals itself. However, this process is extremely prolonged (even if you're a super awesome powerful vampire) and for example, you can't passively recover from a direct gunshot/stab wound within a matter of seconds, or even minutes for that matter. Any damage sustained in a fight will 99% of the time not be healable in this way while the fight is taking place.

If you take too many hits and are still alive to tell about it, REGARDLESS OF YOUR POWERS/RACE/WHATEVER, it is best to flee the battlefield if at all possible. The fight is lost for you if that happens, but you can take the time to heal once you are out of harm's way. RP is NOT like an RPG in that you can have a "white mage" character that sits back and makes sure everyone is at full HP during a fight. Keep that in mind.

13: Hybrid characters. If you decide to make a character that is something like a vampire/human or any other mix of races for that matter, you must abide by certain ground rules. The main of which is how those mixed races powers and weaknesses interact with each other. So let’s use vampire/human for example. If you are this kind of character you will suffer the weaknesses of a vampire, such as vulnerability while in sunlight, burning from holy water, all that good anti-vampire stuff. Just because you are also part human does not mean that you are immune to those weaknesses, although the weakness to it may not be as much as that of a full vampire. For example holy water will harm you, but perhaps not quite as much as it would a full vampire.

Also, any strengths or powers you might gain from being part vampire will also be halved. You will only be half as strong as a full vampire, half as fast, and so on. This rule is based on the percentage of each race that is part of your character. Let’s say a character is human/demon/vampire/angel. You would share the weaknesses of each race and will only be 1/4th as strong as a pure breed. Just because each race shares similar strengths does not mean that those strengths will stack up. Demon+vampire does not mean you are as strong as a pure breed just because both races share increased strength. You may be stronger than a human but a pure breed would still be able to best you in a straight strength contest.

There is also no such thing as switching between the races in order to have 100% of any of them. You cannot be a vampire/demon and have a vampire form and a demon form and be just as strong as pure breed when in those forms, it doesn't work that way. Regardless of what form you take, you are still 50% of each and your attributes will remain the same regardless.

Edit: these rules are made for T1 fighting, but can also be applied to virtually all other styles unless specified differently by whoever is leading the RP, which doesn't happen very often. also, as for the description of T1 fighting, it all looks accurate, however the rules that states that only a single attack can be done per turn is a matter of opinion. typically that rule only applies to less seasoned RPers who don't like things too complicated. However in the higher end T1, multiple attacks can be done per post, however there is still a limit. typically, one attack can be done with each weapon a character has the time. so if you are dual wielding with 2 swords, you can make 1 attack with each individual sword. for a total of 2. also, spells do not always take more than one turn to cast. they CAN take more than one, but as I stated in the rules, a spell's power is directly related to the amount of power used and the time it takes to charge. therefore, typically a spell that is charged and casts in the same turn will be very weak compared to one that takes more than 1. weaker, but still doable.

Further Reading:
God-modding, and Its Many Forms
Sim Battle -- Rules
Godmod
RP Battle Rules

[Innue]

Can confirm that Yahoo Groups was using it in the 90s.

[S T A R S]

All the time I was reading this I was thinking of Fairy Tail and cringing.

[Liaison]

I wonder why these kind of rules arent pinned.

[LeeRoy]

@Liaison
Same reason that tournament with a piss baby host is still pinned. Because nobody's bothering to remove it.