Legends of Belariath

Freeform Combat Tutorial

Guidelines to Good and Enjoyable Freeforming Without Godmoding or Stupidity

These are meant to be used as a general guideline, not the rules, when it comes to combat roleplay. Being that freeform is my preferred method of playing fights out, this is not meant to aid the dice system but to enjoy a method that involves far less number-crunching and calculations but without the irritation of powergaming. Keep in mind that while these guidelines are meant to apply to pure freeform, the principles herein can also be applied to freeform-ish type fights using rolls, such as in case of a fight between two equally (or nearly so) powerful characters.

Introduction

First off, the basic frame of a fight is as follows...

1. Initiation - this is when the aggressor takes the first action upon the defending party. there is always a first person to attack; even in the case of a simultaneous attack, whoever posed first will have the initiative, so to speak. initiative usually grants an advantage, with the element of surprise adding to its effects: if a defender is ambushed, the initiative and momentum of a fight is with the ambusher, who can possibly end the fight in one stroke.

2. Execution - this is the main "meat" of a fight, where all of the action occurs. this is usually the longest phase in case of a straight up battle, although in the case of a high-initiative fight (i.e. overt assassination attempt through backstabs, ambushes, etc.) it may be very short.

3. Termination - this is the end of the fight, pure and simple, where the victor drops the "fighting mode" and goes back to regular roleplay, more or less.

One must roleplay each and every action between these three phases in order to conduct a good fight that flows smoothly from the first swing to the last footstep over the loser's body. Now, for some more detail on each of the phases:

Initiation...

The first part to any fight is... what are the circumstances? An arena fight is not going to be played out the same way as an assassination attempt (failed or not), and your setting *will* affect the way things are played. let's take a look at a few examples.

Example #1a: Bashbash the Orc versus Smashsmash the Troll, inside the Inn

- The first thing to note here is that Bashbash and Smashsmash are inside the Inn. The Inn is an environment with a bar, lots of tables, chairs, couches, a fireplace, a slave pole, a staircase, and so on and so forth. There will be obstacles and obstructions. it is also a wide, enclosed room.

- Bashbash and Smashsmash are both slightly inebriated. The two are getting sloshed at the bar, sitting perhaps three to four feet away from each other on stools; a typical bar fight starts after some uproarious bragging and trash-talking. Bashbash pulls out his Phallic Club of Bashing, and Smashsmash pulls out his Limp-Wristed Whip of... Whipping.

- This is the initiation of the fight: the two are sitting close to each other and need to give each other room to swing their weapons. Both of them know full well what they're getting into, so the element of surprise is nonexistent; if either one of them made a move, they would be able to see and intercept it (through their misty haze of ale, of course).

Example #2a: Sneaky the Assassin versus Reddie the Recyclable, somewhere in the forest

- The first thing to note here is that Sneaky and Reddie are *not* indoors. Thus, there will be various trees, bushes, rocks, and other nature-related things to duck and dodge behind. Note that this isn't quite the same as the interior of the Inn, where one can pretty much be found eventually (albeit with a bit of hassle) due to the enclosed nature; if someone hides and chooses to run away, they more or less have a good chance of doing so if they have the skills and proper actions to do so convincingly.

- Reddie is walking along in the forest while Sneaky is hiding somewhere behind a tree or up on a limb. The initiative is wholly on Sneaky's side as Reddie is unaware that he's there. if this was stat-based, Reddie could make a detection roll of some sort. Sneaky will be ready to strike with weapon in hand while Reddie is... well, ready to die.

- The initiation of the fight is when Sneaky decides to strike first, using the element of surprise to more or less make an unhindered, undetected (ideally) first strike. If the first strike is good enough, Reddie is done with. If not, the fight proceeds in Sneaky's favor due to his attack, which should have done some amount of damage.

Example #3a: Wingy the Mage versus Reddie the Recyclable, right outside the Inn

- First thing to note here is that while these two are not indoors, they are in the vicinity of a building. This means the building itself comes into play as an obstacle/haven; one can hide behind it, move on top of it, or go inside for refuge. depending on the actions of the combatants, the fight may take place either inside, outside, or a combination of both.

- Wingy the Mage is a winged person, and as such happens to be attacking Reddie, who's just exiting after a nice blowjob from a slave. (Retribution, or some such; remember, characters need motive to fight too, otherwise, they're just being randomly and stupidly violent, which really serves no purpose except to show that they're randomly and stupidly violent.) While Reddie can see Wingy just fine as she's divebombing towards him, he really can't do anything about it since he's a fighter type and has no magic, while Wingy is a flying mage.

- The initiation of the fight takes place once Wingy does something. despite the fact that Reddie is aware of her presence, he cannot *do* anything about it since he is out of range. Wingy, on the other hand, can fly right up to his face or skirt around him and remain out of his sword reach.

Positioning, environment, and motive all come into a fight; one must clearly understand and establish this in a combat situation. something such as this:

--> Dumbarse (idiot@AC8BA9DE.aol.com) has joined #the_lonely_inn
* Dumbarse_the_newbie walks into the inn
* Wingy_the_Mage looks up at Dumbarse from the other end of the room
* Gushy_the_Bartender looks at Dumbarse from the bar. "Welcome to the Inn! Can I get you a drink?"
<Dumbarse_the_newbie> no thanks. can i grab your ass
* Wingy_the_Mage looks up at Dumbarse. "Are you always this much of a dumb arse?"
<Dumbarse_the_newbie> bitch
<Dumbarse_the_newbie> ill kill you
* Dumbarse_the_newbie impales Wingy on his katana killing her dead blood pooling on the floor as he laughs
<Dumbarse_the_newbie> hahahahahahaha

- Things to note here... first, Dumbarse ignored the fact that Wingy was on the other end of the room. Second, he had little motive to go after her tiny insult (someone that touchy would die in minutes, especially a newbie.) Third, he auto-hit her somehow without even pulling out his katana or moving over to her, giving her no chance to retaliate or defend. all of these are, of course, no-no's and why the dice/stat system was put in place (in my opinion, anyways; I could be wrong)... but being that I find freeform generally more fun I prefer to eschew the numbers for words. These are, of course, all things not to do when starting a fight.

Let's move on to the next stage:

Execution...

As previously stated, the execution is the brunt of a fight where the initiative is distributed equally on both sides. I will be using the previous examples here as well, to continue them out and show what I feel to be good freeform. (I may just be pretentious and full of it, though; feel free to inform me if I am.) This is where the action and the escapades occur, and there are a few guidelines that are sore points with me...

I mentioned that positioning is a very important detail with me, and given the differences between pure magic and pure fighter (and all the gradients in between) types, where one stands and moves can make the difference between life and death. A fighter type, by all means, should dominate a magic type in close combat since a magic type would be too busy being attacked and cut up to focus on magic. (I subscribe to the theory that one can *not* properly cast magic unless one is in a readied state of mind; heightened levels of pain and lust distracts one from these.) A magic type would simply tear a fighter type up in ranged combat, though, being that the fighter type has *no* recourse to hit a distanced mage if she keeps herself spaced out of sword's reach. This is classic melee vs. magic at its simplest, however; the tactics and strategies involved are far more complex once missile weapons (a blend of melee and magic) enter the equation.

One of the more important aspects of a good fight is giving and receiving actions. When posing an action, you can really only reasonably do a certain number of things in a given space of time and in a certain way before you begin to godmode. One has to take in racial limitations, first of all: a troll is not going to be as nimble as a nymph, and either way you cannot do something like dodge, parry, and retaliate all in one action. For example...

* RandomPC1 thrusts his rapier at RandomPC2's chest
* RandomPC2 weaves aside from the blow carefully, then hooks his sword around the rapier to try and disarm RandomPC1 while kicking at his crotch

Or, similarly...

* RandomPC1 runs the hell away from RandomPC2
* RandomPC2 gives chase, pulling out his sword
* RandomPC1 dives behind a rock and peeks out, pulling out his rapier and raising his hand to release an Ice Shards at RandomPC2

In both cases, the number of actions is rather exceeding for the capabilities of a fighter; by throwing all these actions at someone, you're basically forcing him to deal with them all at once and making your character seem like some sort of octopus-armed monstrosity capable of juggling all these actions at once. Be a bit realistic in the poses... but just enough to make the roleplay enjoyable for all, not too much to start debating the physics of the fight or some other silly thing.

Let's go back a bit and discuss spacing now, turning to example #1 again:

Example #1b: Bashbash the Orc versus Smashsmash the Troll, inside the Inn

- By now, Bashbash and Smashsmash are ready to duke it out. They've shoved the stools and tables aside to clear a little ring for themselves in the middle of the Inn, with some NPC patrons making a wider ring about the various furniture. The environment, then, is this ring, which is perhaps fifteen to twenty feet in diameter. The boundaries are not set in stone, as Bashbash can pick an NPC up and fling him at Smashsmash (assuming the NPCs' existence is verified; one cannot simply pull a NPC from thin air without specifying it first in a previous pose) or charge through, breaking the ring. However, this is the "arena" for now.

- Bashbash and Smashsmash have this ring to work within. They cannot "charge across the room", "leap high into the air" (they'd probably hit their head), or any such dynamic motions. The ring is there and the boundaries have to be acknowledged at the very least.

- While the fight goes on, Bashbash and Smashsmash have to specify where they are at any given moment. They cannot "knock someone back across the ring" and then "smash his club at his chest" because... well, the other guy's knocked back on the other side of the ring. The sense of movement is important. If Bashbash is going to make an attack at Smashsmash after having bashed him down to the ground seventeen feet away, he's going to have to take a bit of time to cross that gap or leap over it.

With this in mind, here's a fabricated version of what would be a rather bad freeform...

* Bashbash swings his Phallic Club of Bashing at Smashsmash
* Smashsmash gets hit and slashes his Limp-Wristed Whip of Whipping at Bashbash
* Bashbash screams in pain and flies back
* Smashsmash grins evilly and drives the handle of his whip at Bashbash's chest
* Bashbash blocks and drives his club up at Smashsmash's head
* Smashsmash dodges and kicks at Bashbash's crotch
* Bashbash is dead from the pain overload

Note the overall lack of detail here. There's no sense of direction, spacing, or impact. It's a very generic and very 'blah' fight. Now, with proper details and spacing concerns...

* Bashbash roars and stands up tall, lifting an arm and swinging his Phallic Club of Bashing at Smashsmash
* Smashsmash is unprepared for the blow and is hit in the shoulder... fortunately, it's not his wielding arm and he manages to lash out at Bashbash's torso with his Limp-Wristed Whip of Whipping after stumbling back, gasping in pain
* Bashbash takes the slash across his chest, screaming in pain as he trips over an errant bottle and falls back a couple of feet
* Smashsmash grins evilly, capitalizing on Bashbash's position and dashes forward with a burst of speed to drive the handle of his whip at Bashbash's chest
* Bashbash snakes his leg up and at Smashsmash's ankles, trying to trip him up as he swings his club in the general direction of Smashsmash's head
* Smashsmash falls down from the trip attempt and narrowly dodges the swing, one of his knees pitching forward at Bashbash's crotch
* Bashbash 's nuts are cruelly abused and crushed by the Troll's weight, and he immediately faints from the overload of pain

All jokes about Bashbash's fate aside, the second fight has more of a sense of an actual scuffle without vague, undefined actions (* Bashbash attacks Smashsmash or something equally dumb) and lack of spacing the first example displayed. Since this was a straight-up brawl, there was very little strategy or tactics involved... that will change in the next two examples. Straight-up brawls are basically a contest of whoever can take more pain and survive, which usually tilts the fight in heavy favor of the higher-levelled characters. This is, of course, not advisable if your character is lower-level... however, how your character decides to fight and when he does so is up to you to decide. If he is a stupid, brainless fighter, using strategy and tactics would be OOC of him; if he is reckless and hotheaded, using caution would be OOC as well. Just keep in mind that you may lose and be prepared to deal with the consequences.

Example #2b: Sneaky the Assassin versus Reddie the Recyclable, somewhere in the forest

- As shown from last time, Sneaky is off hiding in a tree somewhere and Reddie is walking around the forest unaware of his presence. When doing something of this nature, it's best to either have this planned out in some form (not scripted, but planned as in PMing the person and saying "hey, my char's been contracted to target yours"; however, as always, this hinges on the other player not using OOC knowledge and suddenly having his char act suspicious of everything or being generally dumb and no-selling) to avoid unpleasantry. Killing people tends to piss them off or at the very least annoy them.

- Reddie is unaware. He should stay that way. Since Sneaky is off hiding in a tree and presumably doing well enough to not be noticed, Reddie cannot magically see Sneaky unless Sneaky screws up somehow.

The execution of this can go a number of ways depending on how well Reddie takes the hit. For example...

* Sneaky remains in the trees waiting for Reddie to come by
* Reddie strolls past a particularly tall tree, whistling a merry tune
* Sneaky waits a bit more as Reddie moves directly under him, then leaps down from the branches, his knife extended to stab directly at Reddie's exposed neck

From that point on, it really is all up to how prone Reddie feels to being hit. A couple of possibilities...

* Reddie screams in pain as the knife enters his throat, then gurgles weakly before collapsing to the ground, blood gushing from his neck

* Reddie shrieks as the blade penetrates his flesh, barely missing his vital points, and in a panic flails and kicks at Sneaky

* Reddie feels something coming from above and manages to narrowly step back before Sneaky descends on top of him [note that for this option, one would not go further than this since your detection and dodging already counts as "an action"; an extra attack would just be piling up too many effects]

This sort of ambush-type attack needs to be done carefully as it piles the advantage massively on top of the ambusher, assuming the characters are at close levels. Higher level characters would obviously be able to detect and defend better; however, the headstart may prove a bit irritating for those who consider it unfair (unfairness isn't the issue; what is effective and is proven to work, is.) Either way, assuming you can set up the circumstances properly, this is a possible tactic to employ in a fight. If the target is not quickly dispatched, the fight turns back to a consideration of environment, spacing, distances, and tactics once more.

Example #3b: Wingy the Mage versus Reddie the Recyclable, right outside the Inn

In this example, the principles from the previous two are applied. The fight can go any number of directions, indoors and outdoors, from ranged to melee (Wingy ideally wants Reddie in ranged combat, and Reddie wants to close in on Wingy to gain melee advantage). For the sake of evenness, let's assume that Wingy and Reddie are both armed with throwing knives, with Wingy being less proficient than Reddie.

This fight can go any number of ways, really. It depends on Wingy's motives (as mentioned before, Wingy wants to thrash Reddie for retribution of getting a blowjob from a slave) and personality, as well as Reddie's. For this example, let's say Reddie isn't unwilling for a good fight (it's how he became known as Reddie the Recyclable) and Wingy is a pissed off instrument of vengeance.

Now, Wingy is going to want to take the fight magic-wise, as she knows Reddie's magic is completely lacking. This means that if she's smart, she's going to remain at a distance and since she's winged, she'll be in the air. These circumstances completely screw Reddie over, so Reddie's going to want to narrow the gap. observe...

* Wingy swoops down from the air towards Reddie as he comes out from the Inn, her hand raised as she prepares to cast a spell.
* Reddie looks up and blinks in confusion, unsheathing his sword as the winged girl comes at him.
* Wingy arcs upwards right before reaching Reddie's sword range, flicking her hand out to send a Fire Bolt [3] lancing at him.
* Reddie yelps and dives off to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack as he starts to scramble inside. He grips his sword firmly, pulling a throwing knife out from his brace.
* Wingy swoops back up, keeping her distance in the air and circling slowly as she fires a volley of Ice Shards [2] at the crawling Reddie
* Reddie rolls onto his back and to the side, taking a few ice shards in his shoulder and shouting in pain. He then continues the roll and flips up on his knees, flinging the knife at Wingy's wings
* Wingy hisses as the knife grazes her right wing, causing her to lose balance in the air for a moment. She struggles to regain stability
* Reddie quickly takes the time to scramble inside as Wingy's busy

Now notice here that while Reddie dies a lot, he's certainly not stupid. Wingy hasn't engaged in melee, so he's quickly figuring out that she's probably going to use her flight advantage to throw magic down at him all day. However, flight takes room, and if he's inside, she won't be able to move around as much--which means she gets grounded, and he gets to take the fight to her (assuming she still wants to; running away isn't a cowardly tactic at all when one is outclassed. Think of it as changing the playing field.)

Wingy, however, is on the warpath and wants to kick Reddie's butt. She knows she can't take Reddie in melee, so she's not going to even try. However, the interior of the Inn is still a big place, and she'll want to remain near the entrance so as to make a quick exit should try to come after her--and Reddie would most likely be running inside in fear, so would be a good distance aways from her. With this in mind...

* Wingy finally settles down, watching Reddie scutter inside, and walks into the Inn
* Reddie looks up from behind the bar briefly before ducking back down
* Wingy notices Reddie and raises her hand, sending a blast of golden energy shooting at the bar to try and drive him out
* Reddie curses as glass explodes around him, showering him with shards. He quickly moves away from the bar, taking another throwing knife out from his brace and flinging it at Wingy
* Wingy barely manages to avoid the knife by twisting to the side, her wings flattening to avoid being grazed again
* Reddie quickly charges towards Wingy's direction, diving down and flipping a table up as a shield, scattering mugs and dishes on the floor
* Wingy hangs back and pulls out a throwing knife of her own, lifting her hand to blast the table with a Fire Bolt [3]
* Reddie jerks back as the table is incinerated, winging a glass at Wingy's direction
* Wingy gets hit in the face nicely, stumbling back and clutching at her nose
* Reddie leaps up and charges at Wingy once more, his sword slashing out at her midsection

A few things to note here... the first rule of good freeform is to take hits. You will only come off as godmoding and annoying if you don't, and it makes the action more exciting. Second, notice how Reddie didn't magically cross the room in one bound. The entrance lies a fair way from the bar, and so Reddie had to bide his time and try to coax Wingy to come in to him. Since she wasn't doing so, he needed to get some way to distract her so he can get in where it counts. The advantage now is currently in Reddie's favor, as Wingy is recovering from being hit with a glass in the face and is taking a sword slash.

(Bit of a side note... stat-wise, Wingy would be expending a LOT of stamina to constantly throw spells around. However, in freeform stamina is more of an issue decided by the fight and not by stats, as long as one is realistic about it.)

* Wingy twists away just in time to avoid being gutted, the sword cutting a gash across her stomach. She growls in pain and jerks her hand away from her nose, throwing a volley of Ice Shards at him
* Reddie was expecting something similar to that, already aware that Wingy is not a melee fighter, and leaps to the side to dodge the blast. He swings his sword again at her neck
* Wingy stumbles back and avoids the blow, but ends up losing her balance and falling on her ass. She quickly scrambles backwards and out the door once more
* Reddie quickly strides over and tries to plant his foot on Wingy's chest, his sword snaking down towards her throat
* Wingy gets pinned down nicely, looking up at Reddie with venemous hatred
<Reddie> Well, now. Any last requests?
<Wingy> Not really.
* Wingy 's gaze shifts past Reddie's shoulders and up to the roof of the Inn as she concentrates. She blurs and then seems to simply disappear, reappearing atop the roof. [Dimension Door]

Being that Dimension Door is used in combat, it has a high stamina drain; even though this is freeform, the drain is mentioned specifically enough to need to be played out. The playing field is once more reset--however, it's neither in Reddie nor Wingy's favor. By this point, Wingy should be tiring from the drain of her magic, while Reddie is at a range disadvantage once more. If Wingy wishes to press the fight, she will need to start being less reckless with her spells and cautious as Reddie pursues.

The termination of the fight can go any number of ways, so for the sake of brevity the possibilities will not be listed here.

Termination...

So, once the fight is over, what happens? Well, first of all, that depends on exactly what occurred in the fight: the actions, as well as the victor. Let's go back to the examples once more to see how each one could be (not *should* or *would*, but *could*--one possibility out of many, depending on the characters, their moods, and surroundings) resolved.

Example #1c: Bashbash the Orc versus Smashsmash the Troll, inside the Inn

Bashbash lost this fight by being kneed in the groin, so he's out cold from the pain and the liquor. Being that this was a bar fight, Smashsmash probably isn't going to press the issue; it's a friendly (in that belching, drunken male way) little scuffle and will most likely be recalled over another night at the bar. No lingering repercussions, perhaps a few faint twinges of pain.

Example #2c: Sneaky the Assassin versus Reddie the Recyclable, somewhere in the forest

Depending on the outcome that Reddie chose to do, this can go any number of ways: Reddie could be dead (most likely), Reddie would be seriously wounded but the victor, Reddie could be seriously wounded and the loser (and at Sneaky's whims), Reddie could be wounded and the fight is a draw, or Reddie could be lightly/not wounded after beating Sneaky (which means either Reddie's a godmoder or Sneaky is a *really bad assassin*). each one of these results has an obvious aftermath, from Reddie needing resurrection to prolonged hostility and suspicion between the two.

Example #3c: Wingy the Mage versus Reddie the Recyclable, right outside the Inn (again)

Let's say that Wingy managed to pull through in this one. After hiding behind the chimney for a while, she recovered much of her stamina and began to snipe at Reddie from above, finally hitting him with a well-aimed Ice Shards. Now, Reddie is at Wingy's mercy, subject to do whatever she wants... what this entails would depend on Wingy's player.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, here are the points to remember...

1) Be fair. Don't overload on the attacks or excessively dodge, for that reeks of godmoding.

2) Take into consideration the effects of swinging weapons or casting magic, and the tactics involved in both. Remember that you can't last forever and you will tire.

3) Keep a sense of where people are in a fight. One can't cross a room in a single step; it takes time. There will be things in the surroundings to take advantage of in most fights, so use them.

4) Don't fight without a motive. If your character's motive is to join in "for the hell of it", then don't be pissy if (s)he gets injured or killed; you were asking for it.

5) Keep in mind the consequences involved in a fight and be prepared to deal with it should you get involved.

That's all for now. Hopefully I've managed to say something that will enlighten people in some way.