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OOC Rules
1: Please refrain from behaviors that require me to add more rules.
2: As this is a group that will (hopefully) involve a great deal of in-character conflict, it is vital one respect fellow role-players OOC. Failure to do so will result in removal from the group.
2a: I have zero tolerance for OOC drama in general, regardless of what or who it's directed towards. Airing it here will result in removal from the group. To reiterate:
OOC drama = NOT ON MY WATCH.
3: This group is for players aged 18 or older. If evidence should arise suggesting one is not eighteen, they will be removed from the group and reported to RPR's moderation team.
4: While the setting of this group is such that a large degree of flexibility is allowed in terms of character types and designs, I will take a dim view on (and likely not allow) Time Travelers, Time Lords, and other brazenly non-medieval/fantasy characters and objects.
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Rules For Combat
Premise:
Combat RP can be fun in small doses. It gives certain types of characters an opportunity to strut their stuff. While I hope the following system is helpful for spurring RP, my sincere hope is that it is a a driver for other RP and not an RP end unto itself.
Scope:
The Grand Arena is for recreational combat RP. Recreational, in this instance, meaning the characters are just competing for glory and not actually trying to murder one another. The emphasis is on keeping things simple so there’s a functional ruleset in place that’s easy to use while simultaneously not stifling RP.
Base concept:
Each combatant rolls 1d10. Agreed upon modifiers are added or subtracted (more on this below). Whoever rolls the higher number posts first and is the attacker. In general, the higher the number the more elaborate or effective the attack. Likewise, the higher the number of the defender, the more elaborate or effective the defense.
An example:
Fighter 1 rolls a 7.
Fighter 2 rolls a 9.
Fighter 2 posts first and is the attacker. While what their character does is entirely at their discretion, a 9 is a fairly high role and some amount of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon aerial kung-fu may be appropriate (provided its appropriate for the character).
Fighter 1 posts second and a seven isn’t that bad a role. Again, the form the defense takes is entirely at their discretion. A defense where the defending character doesn’t get hit is perfectly acceptable, though ideally some indication should be given that they “lost” the exchange.* There may be an audience, after all, and the purpose is to give them something to RP with, too.
*Doesn’t get hit meaning, in this instance, that the character isn’t RPing any damage**. It’s still a point against them for the purposes of the battle.
**Since combat in the Grand Arena isn't to the death, there really isn't a need for hit points. Hit points would also add huge levels of complication to the system.
Length of Combat:
Agreed upon prior to start. Possibilities include:
Short: Best out of 3 (~2 to 3 posts per player in total).
Medium: Best out of 5 (~3 to 5 posts per player in total).
Long: First to 5 (~5 to 9 posts per player in total)
Modifiers:
Why modifiers? Obviously, not all characters are equal in single combat.
To keep things simple, modifiers to rolls should be kept to -3 to +3. Lets use a character driven example:
A young adventurer badgers a giant into the arena. Raw size probably gets the giant +1. Martial training probably gets him another +1. Meanwhile the adventurer, while untrained (-1) is generally scrappy (+1). Ultimately, the giant gets +2 to whatever he rolls while the young adventurer ends up with no modifiers whatsoever.
It is important to note that modifiers are relative and not fixed. Another character driven example:
The giant and an elven warrior, for whatever reason, enter the arena. The giant has martial training. The elf has martial training. The giant is strong. The elf is fast. They’re free to dither as long as they want, but at the end of the day it may make the most sense for them to just go, ‘Meh – it’s a pretty even fight’ and disregard modifiers all together. Thus, while the Giant may be adding 2 to his rolls against the minotaur, he isn’t adding anything to his rolls against the elf.
Obviously the use of modifiers relies heavily on the ability of players to objectively evaluate their characters in a given context. Communication and willingness to compromise/be reasonable is key. Once again, this is for recreational combat RP and not for, “MY CHARACTER WANTS TO KILL YUUU!”
Further additions and subtractions might include a magical character deciding not to use magic (-X), a warrior using a weapon they’re particularly skilled with (+X) or a not-quite-healed injury slowing/weakening a character (-X). As they say, the sky is the limit.
Wound Modifiers:
In a longer match, it might make sense for modifiers to shift as the match goes on and character become wounded or tired. When used, every time an attackers roll exceeds a defenders by more than 5 they subtract one from their modifiers (up to a maximum of -3.)
If combatants wish to play with wound modifiers, it should be decided prior to the start of the match. It, like everything else, is entirely optional.
CRITICAL HIT:
Another optional rule – in the (very) rare situations where the attacker rolls a 10 and the defender rolls a 1, the attacker receive two ‘points’ instead of one.
Again, if playing with this rule it should be decided BEFORE a match begins, as it could result in a best out of 3 situation being won in a single roll.
Losing Without Losing:
Not really part of the proposed rule set. Just an observational aside.
Obviously, dice combat has its limitations, chief among them that characters who do not typically lose… lose! I would just like to take a moment to emphasize that there are a number of ways combat can be conducted without the losing character having their character concept (be it deity, undefeated warrior, or something else) undermined.
Combat can be to “first blood” with only a drop or two being spilled in the final post. If fate hands you a series of shitty roles, RP that your character isn’t trying all that hard or have them get distracted by something in the environment or a convenient NPC. They could even be condescending and praise the ‘winner’ while making it clear they (supposedly) weren’t trying that hard.
All of these, and more, are permissible. The purpose behind this very tenuous ruleset is not to determine who’s character is better but to give all characters involved an experience to enrich their RP outside of combat and maybe have a bit of fun in the process.
