So, I have a combat system I made up that's inspired by dnd combat. I'm not so good at explaining things, though.
To get an idea of your character's stats: https://www.dmingwithcharisma.com/2011/10/dd-stats-in-simple-language/
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1) Each OC/Character has a certain amount of health (100 is average)
2) Strength and Dexterity are the primary stats used, with strength used for attacking and Dexterity used for armor class. For example, my character, Damir, has STR: 15(+2) and DEX: 13(+1). 13 dex means that you'd need an 11 or higher total to hit him(armor class is 10+Dex modifier), and he adds 2 to the number he rolled on a D20.
3) Each person gets 3 rolls per attack, and the damage done is adding up the the roll numbers that were considered successful.
For example: If a 7, 13 and 10 were rolled with his opponent having +1 strength modifier, Damir would have 25 damage dealt.
4) A character is considered defeated if they either reach 0 HP, or the character taps out of the fight.
“If all you’re going to do is stand around and talk then i’m going home...”
His statement was blunt, his tone cold as ice. It was very rare for Saitama to get this serious for a fight. But they seemed strong and he was getting pretty sick and tired of disappointment.
So you find yourself wondering how to make a fair fight when Roleplaying, right? It's difficult to make things fair when someone could potentially knock a character of much higher power on their ass without even realizing it. Your Roleplay partner probably didn't even realize what they were doing-or you didn't when you swiped their katana from them with your obviously superior reflexes.
In any case, it's easy to make mistakes when roleplaying combat, since no one really knows everything about how characters would match up in a fight! I wrote this guide to explain how to have a fair fight in paragraph format, so you too can duke it out without the drama.
OOC Chats
Communicating what you want to happen in an outside, Out of Character chat, such as Skype, or Chatzy is an easy way to keep in touch, and voice concerns! You can coordinate who might win, and who will have an advantage. However, your partner might not always be online, or you may not have access to these modes of communication.
Take Turns
The only way to ensure things are fair is if it's done turn-by-turn, just like a table-top game. Yes, that does mean hit by hit.
-Miss A throws a punch Miss B
-Miss B ducks and kicks at Miss A
-Miss A dodges, pulls a gun and shoots
-Miss B gets shot, and falls to the ground
These would all be written as four separate posts at a length of about one paragraph or more, depending on what your RP group requires, or your personal standards of Roleplay. You might think that it would be terribly boring to only describe one thing, but you'd be surprised what you can come up with! Always consider how your character feels, their surroundings, what they look like, how they view the opponent, and of course, the action itself. Never be afraid to include a brief (or very talkative) inner monologue if you feel that it fits in with the mood.
Avoiding the dreaded God-Mod
This does seem like a no-brainer, right? Well, this is in fact very, very wrong. It's easy to god-mod when you haven't been taking turns!
Say your opponent Ralphy the Samurai has a few swords on hand, and he's swinging them around like a caffeinated hurricane. You don’t know very much about this Ralphy guy, In-Character, and Out of Character. You’ve just got no clue what he can do. Or maybe you do know him quite well, but you’re not sure how your characer, Jenny the Witch can face up to him.
You might just decide to blast a sword away with a burst of magical energy. Simple, right? Not too over-powered? (It’s just one sword!)
You are completely wrong. Stop right there Mister, you just made this poor man let go of his sword, and abandon all his reflexes in the heat of the moment. That, my friend, is god-modding.
Now the question is, how to Roleplay fairly when you can’t make things happen on his side of the field. It’s a simple answer: Only Roleplay what you do, not what happens.
If you decide to throw a punch, you’d never say it knocked back the other person.
DON’T: “She threw her balled fist towards him, growling as it impacted by his jaw, and sent him reeling”
DO: “She threw her balled fist towards him, growling as she caught a glimpse of his expression, and thinking to herself how easy of a target her was.”
The second one is still the same length, if not longer. The point is, it’s better. (Regardless of my writing skills) You get to create a detailed combat post, but avoid tilting the fight in either direction.
Ideally, the posts would each detail their partners actions in react to the last post, just as Roleplaying should be.
(i.e., “He saw her fist flying towards him, and ducked to the side at the last moment, nearly losing his balance.”)
Who’s gonna Win this Showdown?
The winner is really up to the Roleplayers. Always keep in touch through messaging on your RP site or medium of choice, and use an OOC Chat if you have one.
If you completely Roleplay turn-by-turn, without straying from the format, then you’ll have a clear winner if you’re both fair! Remember, never Roleplay to win. RPing is meant to create stories, build sagas, and development characters. If you’re Roleplaying combat with the sole intention of kicking the other character’s ass, then you’re not doing it right.
Roleplaying in Groups
This goes for all Roleplays with more than two people: Keep a post order!
A Post Order is when you keep the order that people first responded to a paragraph. Say Kurt goes first, then Scott replies. Then Jean replies to Scott, and Logan after Jean. This group would continue posting this order, and cycling it. Kurt Scott, Jean, Logan, Kurt, Scott, Jean, Logan...etc.
This ensures that no one’s post is missed! Usually, a post order can be established by making a note at the bottom of the post of those involved. If it’s an Open thread, usually last calls for joining it can be broadcasted over an OOC Post, messaging system, or Out of Character Chat.
Combat and groups can get very, very messy. It’s often a smart idea to let a thread split off into separate sections if you have people facing off to fight. It’s best to begin altogether, and let the main combatants pair off ito duke it out in smaller groups. Later on, when a conclusion is needed, they can join back together. Throughout this entire seemingly complex ordeal, threads can interweave with each other, and characters can enter different areas of the field.
What about uneven teams?
Clearly, you can’t just pair off and start fighting. Wars don’t really work like that.
If Team A has Abel and Adison fighting poor little Team B-Bernard, then Bernard has a right to break post order, and respond turn-by-turn. It would be unfair for Abel and Adison to gang up on him, especially if Bernard is especially powerful. Power levels and combat planning can always be discussed in detail in OOC Chats. Which I still highly recommend.
The Post Order, say, if you want a fair fight with Abel & Adison vs Bernard would be:
This doesn’t mean that Bernard can hit both of them, and dodge an attack all in one move. The pace is slower with turn-by-turn combat, but it’s much more fair. Bernard might be able to dodge Abel’s attack in one turn, but he would get another punch flying towards him when Adison posts. Whatever the case, be reasonable, and imagine the situation as realistically as you can.
That’s all for now, folks. Here are some useful resources for your Combat Roleplaying needs!:
