@Gun: are you certain you want to throw Starfall out? The tournament has already been something of a comedy of no-shows, with precisely
one fight going to something resembling a conclusion. Perhaps you should ask Blunderbuss if she'd like to continue her bout before you throw four of your remaining competitors out the door?
Make no mistake - while I'm trying to be calm and civil about this, I agree with the vast majority of what Starfall has said. I wouldn't have posted what I posted if I didn't think I had a solid case for making it stuck with it inevitably went to judgment. Part of the reason I want to let this die down and wait for judgment is that I'm confident a neutral read of the fight will back up my actions sufficiently to allow the fight to continue largely as written. While I will certainly be told to ask Divinity more questions in the future, I will state that Starfall is, in fact, correct here - I should not be
required to ask Divinity a dozen different "so what did this
actually mean?" questions after every post and in the doing make myself look like an incompetent idiot, simply because he prefers a writing style which leaves critical details to the reader's imagination.
Did I know the lances/javelins were made of controlled and crystallized sand? Yes, of course. That much was plain, but it was not sufficient. Never once was the formation, disposition, or capabilities of those lancelins so much as hinted at - the assumption seemed to be that I was supposed to sabotage my own offense by assuming NQCorban's capabilities to be drastically greater than Meteor's own, for no earthly reason. That is not only bad conduct, it is in fact patently unfair. This is a competition - the rules for every other single combat competition I have
ever been a part of claims that if something is left vague and ambiguous, it is the fault of the writer, not the opponent. Mostly for
exactly this reason - Divinity is now permitted to tell us all what his defense was supposed to be
after I launched an attack around it, and can with the benefit of hindsight reconfigure that defense however he likes to nullify what I've written.
Am I accusing him of deliberately doing so? No. But that's the point. At this juncture no one can truly know if Divinity meant the skewers to be landlocked, as he claimed, or if he's backpedaling because otherwise he's in for a hurt parade. For what it's worth, I believe that yes, he meant the spears to be landlocked -
but that was never once mentioned or made clear in the post, and again, I'm not one to ask a hundred questions, sabotage my own actions, and ensure everyone reading the fight considers me a complete neophyte nitwit because my opponent prefers to utilize a writing style not conducive to clarity of action.
Clarity. Is. Crucial. I should not have to work for it, beg for it, or ask my opponent nicely if he will please explain what it was he did after every post he makes because he wants to write a certain way. It should be my right as his opponent for this match, just as it is
his right as my opponent to demand clarity from me.
I wish Starfall had been less antagonistic in making her points - but I understand exactly why she made them. Throwing her from the tournament, without consulting her current opponent at all, because she is more aggressive than I am in seeking correction for a miscarriage of gameplay is not cool.
@Gun: let Blunderbuss and Starfall decide for themselves if they'd like to continue their bout. Divinity and I will sort this out with judge's assistance, one way or another - but do not mistake my willingness to work within the system for a willingness to lay down and die because RPGuild told me I've been a naughty girl. This tournament has had enough trouble as it is. Let's let the combatants have their fun, eh?