Crows Murder

Introduction

Below you will find compiled notes of combat roleplay. These aren’t by my hand, although I might have altered them here and there. Unfortunately I do not know who wrote them originally – or I would have given credentials to their lessons.

A few introductory notes- R/p fighting relies on people being able to type out a reasonably fast, detailed, realistic post describing attacks, movements, and defenses.

And I say reasonably fast because even though at it’s best, a well done text based fight is like a mental chess game, it’s not the time to impress your opponent with how well you know your thesaurus.

Some complaints about text-based fighting are that it’s impossible to have a clear winner/loser and that it takes too long.

To briefly address those two things- good text-based fighting requires people to have their head in the game, to be aware of their limitations, to be aware of their surroundings, and to respond realistically.  We’re all aware that this can be a tall order sometimes.  Some people refuse to lose, refuse to take logical hits, and refuse to respond realistically in order to WIN at all costs.  In these cases- I’d suggest a mod/judge should be contacted and the related r/p suspended temporarily.  I can judge combat if all involved agree to such- and will get together a list of others who can as well.  This should likely be a last resort, ideally, a suitable outcome can be agreed upon ooc’ly keeping things like consent in mind.  If we get a situation where one person wants a mod to judge the outcome and one who refuses- my call would be to retcon or invalidate the entire scene, no harm no foul- both/all parties part ways and move on.  Drama can be avoided this way.

Time.  With a bit of practice and familiarity, a decent typist can toss out a combat post in about 5 minutes.  Some can do so in about 2 minutes.  Most, if they leave off the flowery descriptions and focus on the actual bare bones- movement, intent, etc., can do so in 8 minutes.  So, say 2 people fighting, go back and forth for about 5 posts, 40 minutes or so in this case.  If they start to get bored/tired- one can IM the other and say something like “need to wrap this up soon- what do you say 1 more round and we end this somehow?” 

Does this take longer than meter fighting?  Sure it does.  Meter fights are done in a matter of about 2-3 minutes of furious button pressing and often amusing looking animations.  Text-based fights by nature involve a bit more thought and effort, and in my opinion offer a different type of gratification.  I personally believe it’s worth the trouble and time, and given that our sim is meter optional, I hope that others do as well.

 

Lesson 1 Start – Stance

At the beginning of a spar, both fighters post their stance post, which serves to let their opponent know what weapons they have equipped, how they are holding them, and the general opening positioning of their body.

The stance is important to the judges because it gives them some vital information that they will keep in mind while going over the spar, like each fighter’s size (which may come into play at some points if there is much of a disparity), what weapons will be used, if any armor or protective clothing is worn, etc.

Your stance should have a purpose. Think carefully about how you would set yourself up before a serious fight, where are your hands, where are your feet, how is your torso aligned, how are you holding your weapon, what is your intent with the weapon (be thinking ahead to whether you have first attack or first defense as these should influence your set up). Clarity and detail (two words you are going to get awfully sick of hearing) are key. Conciseness is also important- in a serious spar, leave out any flowery descrition, or any unecessary comments- they often only serve to annoy the judge, which is not a good thing. Focus on saying what you need to say to let the judge see your movements- this is not the time to be concerned about how sexy you look in your tight leather pants if you want to be taken seriously, by your opponent and by the judge.

Stance, should contain:
1. Height

2. Weight

3. What you’re wearing (brief description of any relative items)

4. Weapons on your person, and this part should include:

-Type, relative description (overall size, size of blade, single/double-edged, etc.)

-Where on your person (can have hidden weapons but must state, example: “2 six-inch long double edged daggers hidden on me”)

5. How are you holding the weapon (if you are), which may include:

-Grip (over/under hand)

-Always include your hand’s position relative to your body, and the weapon’s position in your hand (Example: “my sleen knife held in my right hand, my thumb near the hilt, I position my right hand near my heart, the single-edge of the blade facing my right, the point aimed for your heart”)

6. Position of your feet/legs:
-How far apart?

-Orientation (which way are your toes pointing?)

-Knees bent?

7. Position of your torso:
-Facing opponent square on, or turned to side (state which side leading)

-Straight up or slightly bent at waist/crouched?

8. Distance from opponent (feet? Paces? Generally a pace is equal to 3′)

 

Lesson 3 Force Posts and How to Avoid Them

Force posts: This is always frowned upon in sparring or any online combat situation. It is when you attempt to decide how your action causes, or forces, your opponent to react, or when you state the result of your actions, disregarding your opponent’s ability to influence that outcome.

An example of a force post, and how to fix it:

“I lunge forward, stepping forward on my left foot and thrust my spear’s point into the left side of your chest, puncturing your heart and killing you instantly.”
– This is a Force Post, you state the outcome of your attack, when of course you are disregarding the fact that your opponent can and will attempt to block or deflect this strike.

“I lunge forward, stepping forward on my left foot and thrust my spear’s point into the left side of your chest, attempting to puncture your heart and kill you instantly.”
– This works, the addition of “attempting to” states your intent without making it sound like a foregone conclusion that your attack succeeded. You can also say “trying to puncture your heart”, or “in the hopes of puncturing your heart”, or “with the intention of puncturing your heart”. As long as you make it clear that you are stating what you are attempting to do, and leaving your opponent a chance to influence the outcome.

Also, stating how your opponent or their equipment reacts is force posting. You can’t decide that their shield busts into a million pieces when you strike it, for example- if you happen to attack in such a manner that that is your intent then the judges will decide if that happens like you meant for it to or not, it depends on the skill of your attack, and of your opponent’s defense.

“Thorgar slams his mighty axe in an overhead arc down to bury the axeblade in the puny opponent’s wooden shield, the force of the blow splitting the shield and leaving him defenseless.”
— This is a Force Post, because it again, states the outcome of your attack without leaving room for your opponant to react to your post.  Don’t do this.  Instead, try the following.

“Thorgar slams his mighty axe in an overhead arc down to try to bury the axeblade in the puny opponant’s wooden shield, in an attempt to split the shield and leave him defenseless.”
–Notice, the wording change there- adding “try” and “in an attempt to” are often all you need to change a force post to a workable attack post that still allows your opponent the room to decide how their own actions will influence the outcome of your attack. 

Just because you try, you may not succeed.  And your attempt may fail, or may be dealt with in an unexpected manner.  Attacks can be blocked, deflected, minimized, avoided, or evaded.  Attacks can also be accepted and worked with- and the very best r/p’ers can and will do this.  A good rule of thumb- know your character’s limitations and weaknesses.  And for god’s sake, build in limitations and weaknesses- nobody wants to play with an overpowered godmodding ‘can’t lose’ character.  And it’s really got to be dreadfully dull to play that type of character after a while, anyway. 

But when someone types up a simply brilliant attack, and manages to address one of your weaknesses in the course of a battle?  Like say, if my character had a bad knee, an old wound, and whether on purpose or be accident- an opponent managed to type up attempting a really good kick on my knee?  I’d be impressed and inclined to run with it, if they were able to pick out the subtle detail of my favoring my knee or some such.  Also, if I know how fast my character is, and say someone makes a really smart and totally unexpected but still realistic feint and if, when picturing it, I can clearly see how they would manage to get in under my defenses- I will take the hit.  If I am picturing the fight in my head, and can see that “Oh hell, I was already committed to throwing that punch, they’ve got me off balance now and that was a really good move they just did there…” then yeah, I’m going to take the hit.  You should too.

 

Lesson 4- Back posting

A back post is when you try to make an attack on your turn that realistically would have affected your opponent’s attack on his last turn (or Back when he had his last turn). You could also call it a counterstrike.
In real combat, they happen all the time and are often very effective, but in text-based combat they can be incredibly confusing. Counterstrikes are possible in Prodigy, but they are very tricky and I’d consider them an advanced move.  I’d advise most people to try to avoid them to keep the flow of the posts going and to avoid confusion.

The best way to avoid back posting is to always deal with your opponent’s attacks first (defend, accept, minimize) before posting your own attacks.  Another method I’ve found is this formula, from the Circle webpage: http://www.webmaze.com/rooms/3042/back_posting.html

Read post…
1) read post again…
2) type defenses or acceptances of attacks made on You…
3) read post….
4) see where Your weapon are now located and where his are see if he stepped back or You were knocked back….
5) Adjust facing and distance …
6) write Your attacks based on last known positions….
7) read post again and make sure Your post works…..
 post in room…..

This seems like a sound formula for any sparring rules, and a good habit to get into. In Prodigy, your defense, or counter part of your post will always come first anyway. But if you’re ever using the old rules, remember to post your defenses first, then attack.

 

Lesson 5: Prodigy Rules

We’re getting to the more advanced lessons now- so kudos to you if you’ve been following along.  I know a few people have, so I’m going to finish these out for them. 

The following is a breakdown of the Prodigy rules, used in HTML Gor.  As I’ve previously discussed, not everything from Prodigy is relevant to Second Life text-based combat, particularly due to the fact that HTML Combat is generally approached from the standpoint of having the script of the combat judged, whereas in SL we usually don’t involve judges (although we do occasionally have to get Mods/Admins involved when the combat goes awry and tempers flare and the screams of “Invalid” ring in the air.) 

I believe anyone who really wanted to get good at text-based combat posts could do worse than reading and familiarizing themselves with the Prodigy rules, and thusly I’ve included my lesson on them here. 

The Prodigy rules were written by Cicero, the link to the full rules set is here:
http://www.crimson-spear.com/prodigy.htm

This will serve as only the most basic intro to Prodigy rules, we’ll go more in-depth with them in later, but for now, to get you started:

1. Two-Part Posts

Each post (except the final defense) consists of 2 parts- the Counter and the Reaction, which should be separated by “…..” ,or spaces for clarity. It should look like this:

Fighter 1 says: *Blah blah bladdity blah close the distance to stand 3 feet away from you, in a bladdity blah stance with my spear blah blah blah.* ((This is the Counter part of your post and will contain defensive maneuvers, repositioning, movements, changing weapons, etc.))

((Then separate this part of your post somehow from the next part of your post by spacing or by “……………………”))

*Then I blah blah bladdity as I thrust my spear at your blah, and stomp forward on my blah foot, intending to blah your blah up good.* ((This is the Reaction part of your post- and will contain any attacks.))

2. Only Two Actions Per Post:

Each part of your post should contain only one major action (defense is in the first part of the post, attacks are in the second part- one each). More than one basic action is allowed if the movements are small, fluid, and flow together simultaneously or near- simultaneously, but if a judge deems that you tried to do too much, you could have part of your post tossed out.

To clarify, this from the Prodigy pages:

Quote:
…a counter will allow you to use a combination of small simple movements that fit fluidly together to consist of one single counter movement.

Examples:

~*I crouch down by bending my knees while I raise my shield up to tilt it back over top of my upper torso so that your hammer can smash into it’s face instead of my head.*~

~*I pivot quickly on my right foot to draw my left side backward as well as swipe my sheild’s outside lower edge down and to my left to try and deflect your thrust at my knee wide of it’s mark*~

Counter’s should be quick movements that can be done very quickly with over lapping one another or incredibly quick after one is completely then the next, but to be done in a short amount of time. The above two examples show what most systems would call two actions, that over lap one another, happening at the same time. This is the preferred use of counters.
3. The Counter:

The first part of the post is the Counter, and usually contains movement to close distance, reset/change weapons, reposition yourself, etc. OR a defensive move such as a block, parry, deflection, etc.

4. The Reaction:

The second part of the post is the Reaction, and usually contains your attack. If you do not wish to engage your opponent, you may instead use your reaction to reposition or move. You may also discard a weapon (as long as you don’t try to attack with it) to draw another weapon. You may combine a body movement with your attack as long as the movements are fluid and happening at the same time.

From the Prodigy page, some examples of reactions:
Quote:
~*I thrust my gladius forward at the left side of your chest as well as step in firmly on my right foot to try and add more force to the blow*~

~*I drop down quickly to my right knee while I swing my short sword in a crescent pattern down and to my left at the outside of your left ankle*~

~*I press upward and forward to come to stand while in an attempt to drive the length of my short sword up into your stomach*~

~*I quickly begin to shuffle back and to my right to try and put more distance between us to get away from you while I pull my shield and sword back into original positions.*~
5. Number of Weapons:

You may have as many weapons as would REALISTICALLY be available to you- but be careful. I’ve seen many fighters load themselves up with so many weapons they were deemed by the judge to be unable to move effectively. Take into account what you would realistically have access to and be able to wield, and also what you could comfortably carry and still be able to move effectively in combat.

6. Time Limit:

The default time limit between posts is 8 minutes. Beginners shouldn’t worry about time and waive any time limit so you can concentrate on picturing the fight instead of worrying about busting time. For those that want to use a time limit, which should be agreed upon before the fighting ensues- time starts ticking from the first combat post, the second fighter would have 8 minutes (if that’s the time limit agreed to) to respond from the time stamp on the first combat post, then so on.

===============================================

Now, after reading all that, and hopefully at least perusing the full Prodigy rules set from the link posted, I wanted to point out a few things- why I think Prodigy is such an elegant system and what about it I think SL could and should adopt and use:

-The 2 part post.  Counter and Reaction.  The counter used to deal with your opponent’s attack and the reaction used to state you’re uh…reaction- whether to attack in return, disengage, reposition, pull back defensively, etc.  The beauty of the two part post is that by it’s very structure, it encourages post clarity and discourages the confusion of back posts.  It gets you into the habit of dealing with your opponent’s last post first, then formulating your answering actions to such.

-Two major actions per post.  One action for the counter, one for the reaction.  This forces you to be clear, to be concise, and to be more realistic than to attempt a series of combo breaker moves a ninja would be jealous of.  Focus- you only have a few seconds of time to act and react in combat, and need to think fast and think clearly.  Also, of particular relevance to SL- posting time and length are a sticking point to many people, so anything you can do to make your posts of a reasonable length (like say, this paragraph or shorter), and get them out faster (5-7 minutes between posts is a good goal to shoot for, if you can do faster, great!)

-Number of weapons.  It’s good to be realistic.  Personally, I tend to snicker at people loaded up with so many weapons they wouldn’t be able to move quietly or effectively.  Makes me wonder what they’re compensating for. LOL  More weapons does not equal better fighting.

-Time Limit.  This is a big one for SL (see above)  A lot of people dislike text-based combat because it takes too long.  So as I said, anything you can do to keep your posts down to a manageable length, and to get them out as fast as possible, is good.  Wouldn’t be a bad idea to set a goal for yourself and practice, try to beat your best time consistently- your opponents and onlookers will thank you for it.

 

Lesson 6- Sparring Setup

This lesson is on the basic flow of a spar- and while it deal with what we’d consider a practice spar, not a break out of random combat, it’s still a good thing to know if you’re new to text-based fighting.  Practicing is good, sparring is a great way to get a feel for things and I’d encourage everyone to try it, especially you warrior types.  This would be something that would likely be a daily part of a warrior’s life, to keep him in shape and sharp, so not a bad idea to use this IC when you can- find a willing victim and go at it, on the fields, in the arena, in the barracks- where ever you’re supposed to be training, this would be a big part of that training.

Note:  This is written for HTML, using Prodigy, therefore we have the stance posts starting out, we have time limits mentioned, and we have the basic HTML spar set up for 3 rounds of alternating posts after the stance, with the first fighter posting a defensive post only to end the fight.  This isn’t the only way to do it in SL, it’s just a suggestion for those looking for some sort of standardization.

You and your opponent post your stances, then decide how many rounds to go and what, if any- time limit will be imposed (or this can be done before posting stances). A typical spar set-up consists of each opponent posting a stance post, then alternating posts for each round, with the person who attacked first having the final post, which will be defense only. This should look like this for a 3 round spar (typical practice spar), in which they’ve agreed on Fighter 1 taking first attack:

Fighter 1 posts stance
Fighter 2 posts stance
(Combat begins with Fighter 1’s first attack to follow; timing also begins at that time unless a time limit has been waived for the spar)

Fighter 1 posts first attack
Fighter 2 posts first attack
(end of round 1)

Fighter 1 posts second attack
Fighter 2 posts second attack
(end of round 2)

Fighter 1 posts third attack
Fighter 2 posts third attack
(end of round 3)

Fighter 1 posts final defense (no attack)
(End of spar)

 

Lesson 7 Spar Basics:

(Note: these were written for HTML, using Prodigy, hence the mention of judges.  Take what you can from these and disregard the parts that clearly won’t fit with SL.  Most of these tips will still help you improve writing your combat posts in SL.)

– Clarity is of vital importance. Be concise, and leave out any flowery description that is not necessary for the judge to judge the spar. Judges appreciate a clean, concise script without any unnecessary detail.

– Focus on the positioning and movement of your body and your weapons and describe in as much detail as possible to show the judge what you are attempting. If they can’t understand or see what you’re doing, they will count off. Also, if they deem it to be unrealistic, they will disregard it. Keep in mind that women on Gor are always going to be assumed to be weaker than a male opponent.

– Get used to saying left and right, and specify “my left”, or “my right” when applicable. Be as specific as possible about this.

– Also, describe the intended path of your weapon, left/right, up/down, diagonal, counter clockwise, clockwise, etc. as well as the intended effect you want to happen (“hoping to nick your chest and draw a bit of blood” vs. “aiming to plunge my blade into your chest and puncture you lung”).

– Always keep stated distance from your opponent in mind. Try to state each post how far away you are from them, and be realistic in what you attempt in regard to that (for example, a punch thrown at 1 foot away is likely to land, but a kick thrown that close might not be as effective as you don’t have as much room to maneuver.) Keep the length of your weapon and your reach in mind as well.

– It’s a good practice to try to use your strike to reset your weapon at the end of your post. This can be tricky, because if you try to do too much, it will be tossed out. Something like using the momentum of your swing to follow through to bring it back into defensive position is what you’re aiming for, or bouncing it off of your opponent to reset it, but what you’re going for is being able to say where your weapon ends up so that you’re ready for an effective defense/attack for your next post.

– Follow the spar closely and check your last post and your opponent’s last post before posting your next. You want to build on what’s just happened, and to do that you have to know where your weapons are according to your last post, and also where your opponent’s weapons are, as well as your body positioning and his, and the current distance between you.

– Don’t worry about time limits at first. Concentrate on a simple, clear, realistic post. Don’t worry that it’s not fancy or wordy enough, focus on one good defense, and one good attack. Starting off, your main task is to learn to describe how your body moves, now your weapon moves- in a simple, clear, realistic fashion. Once you get that down, the rest will follow.

– Never get angry or argue with a judge about a deduction or a judgment. If you disagree, do so politely. There’s nothing wrong with asking a judge for further clarification on why they deducted, most judges are glad to offer more feedback. Read the judge’s comments carefully, this is the best way to learn. If you’re not sure about something, ask for clarification. But keep in mind that judging is a lot of work (I’ve tried my hand at it and it took me about 2 hours to judge one spar), and the judge is doing it for your benefit. Starting a pissing match with a judge just because you don’t like the outcome is a great way to show your ass and get yourself blacklisted.

 

Lesson 8: Evasion under Prodigy

Evasion!  Every panther girl’s best friend.  Wouldn’t hurt free women to know this sort of thing as well- or anyone who ever plans to “bravely run away” (and now I have that Sir Robin song from Monty Python and the Holy Grail playing in my heat)…this is a suggestion on how to do it well.

I once again pull from the Prodigy rules- and so if you haven’t read over them, this won’t make as much sense, but basically- it involves using the first part of your post to block/evade the attack/snatch/grab made upon your person, and then use the rest of your post to back the fuck up/disengage/retreat.  Do this for at least a couple of posts so there’s actually a realistic chance to react to/block your escape.  Then, and this is the important part- actually leave the area if you really don’t want to be caught.  If you hang around in chat range just out of curiosity and all, well…don’t bitch if you get caught.

From the Prodigy rules page:
http://www.crimson-spear.com/prodigy.htm

“To escape serious combat, You must use your Counters to block, and your Reactions to try and flee to an exit. You must do this twice against your opponent. If you are fighting more then one opponent, You need only do it once to each of them. But once finished, immediately leave. Do not stay there, claiming to be safe, and proceed to run your mouth.”

So, this means- if you’ve decided discretion is the better part of valor and you need to get away-

1. Use your Counter (or the first part of your post), to block/defend as usual, any attacks thrown your way.

2. Then use your Reaction (or the second part of your post) to state disengaging, moving away, and/or fleeing into the forest (or to safer surrounding for those of you not lucky enough to be panther girls).

3. If fighting only one opponent, you must do the above twice (two posts of defending/escaping).

4. If fighting multiple opponents, you need only do the above once to each opponent.

5. Once you have the necessary posts completed (two for single opponent, or one each for multiple opponents)- in which you defend/move away, with NO attacks or any offensive gestures whatsoever, leave the area, and quickly. You are not safe just because you got your necessary posts off, you must actually leave the area.