Fighting

[SQJ]

Fighting

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss341/SQJPure/6fdac2c3-61eb-4686-9ab7-d565be85e704_zpsa7b86160.jpg





There's a somewhat universal format involved when it comes to fighting.


You, the poster, swings your fist(sword/baked potato)

Time stops

And your opponent decides whether or not it connects.

How it connects

How hard they connect

(but do not over play the attack by saying more than what's really there... because then you're controlling the other character.)


This is the basic and fundamental law of all battle posting.

Obviously there's more to it but that is the main process( the skeleton you could say).


You post an attack

tell someone where you would hope it would hit.

or

You post your reaction and you decide what to do with the attack.


It makes the writing process easier and the judging process easier.

Depth in writing comes from how you use this process.


How's it's being done is the difference between a high scoring match winning battle and the disastrous low scoring match losing battle.

A high scoring battler posts in such a way that makes his words flow perfectly and make an eloquent showing.
Their posts are pretty, descriptive and very easy to read.

Low scoring posts likely by pass and neglect those core principles.



Understand the parts in bold and you're half way to being a great battler.

[SQJ]

The Death of the Auto hit rule.


http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss341/SQJPure/a2d354a3-5f88-4a70-834f-e43ed22b6709_zps643d7a56.jpg?t=1379363434


So it pains me to admit it but it looks like this is a rule I'm going to have to give up on in the name of aiding confusion. It's function once had been to get things going and add drama but ironically it was doing exactly that, which quickly became a bad thing.

And so the rule dies a glorious death.

And we return to conventional RPA and general RP methods of posting and attacking post.

Do not touch your opponent, rather launch your attack and allow the opponent to react to it and then you can react to their attack as you see fit.

The details of which are explained in the first post.

[SQJ]

Making 75 Words Work

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jalm22zr-80/S-s4ADNOJ_I/AAAAAAAAAm4/K0bCCQjrQUo/s1600/kick-ass1.jpg

Part 1
Extending through your CS.

One of the simplest ideas that goes behind making an attacking battle post is being as descriptive of an attack as humanly possible.

Not a simple task when you consider the fact that you have seventy five words to do it in.

This is where your CS can play a vital role in helping you win a battle.

Every ability and weapon a character has has to be registered in their character sheet. This is a rule set for the purpose of ensuring that you as a player aren't simply 'making shit up as you go along'.

Have you considered using this as a method of reducing the amount of words needed to describe a post?

A good example would be this good post.


9/10
18/20

Xehanort backed away from Choji, who aimed to strike at Xehanort with a missile dive. In mid-air, Xehanort's Keyblade lit up again, this time with a red raging flame covering it. For an old man, Xehanort could feel his heart pump and his adrenaline rush. Finally, he took his chance and performed a Meteor Strike.

The key words to look out for are


Finally, he took his chance and performed a Meteor Strike

If you look at the character sheet itself you see a premade description.





Darkness Reborn





Name: Master Xehanort (or just 'Xehanort' for short)

Where They are From: Kingdom Hearts

Appearance: http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120221095356/kingdomhearts/images/7/7f/Master_Xehanort.png

Weapons:
-Keyblade (http://www.khwiki.net/images/thumb/f/ff/Master_Xehanort%27s_Keyblade_KHBBS.png/480px-Master_Xehanort%27s_Keyblade_KHBBS.png)
-Elemental Magic (Fire, Ice, Earth, Wind)
-Dark Magic

Abilities:
-Can summon a Guardian of Darkness (http://images.wikia.com/kingdomhearts/images/5/5f/Xehanorts_Guardian_BBS.png) to aid/protect him.
-Keyblade Storm: Can summon a giant tornado made of Keyblades that circles around in a default pattern. (He can't control it)
-Teleporting

Moves/Attacks:
-Meteor Strike: It allows the user to leap high into the air and bring their Keyblade crashing down on their opponent, followed by a barrage of meteors.
-Ars Arcanum: It allows the user to attack enemies with a series of powerful slashes, usually thirteen in number.
-Dirge of the Thirteen: A technique used to send thirteen waves of darkness at the opponent, each one stronger than the previous.









Was it a good idea of getting an attack through without writing it out?
Yes

Should it be a move a person uses all the time?
Can it be expanded upon?
Can it be used differently?
Does it apply to every scenario?

Now that's something you have to ask yourself as a writer.
It's not something that can be told but figured out.

But I will tell you this.
Putting detail into your thread isn't something to sneeze at.

[SQJ]

Picking your fights

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss341/SQJPure/619fe99d-c424-420f-b242-75b1a6f73610_zps9ea48df5.jpg

All Fights are judged equally

BUT

Not all fighters are equal

One of the key aims in SMUT is balance but through gaming experience it becomes clear that not all battles can be fought straight down the middle.

Some characters are simply more powerful in their own worlds than others.

But does that mean a high powered character cannot be defeated by an average character?

The first thing you have to understand about the elements of power within the fighting inside of SMUT is BALANCE.
There's always supposed to be a give and take of power within SMUT.

But again, some characters are simply more powerful than others.

So how is it possible for Peter Pan to defeat Superman?

Creativity.

(Superman isn't only vulnerable to kyptonite, he's also vulnerable to magic, so logically he'd be vulnerable tinker bells spells, my point, make something up. The more in line with Susan and flow it is, the better your chances. And obviously superman would have to play less powerful than he would in a battle against Ie The Hulk so both players have to alter the game to match the other with peter pan playing up while Super man plays down.)

But if you cannot think of a creative reason as to why and how a character you're fighting with could sustain a 14 to 30 post battle with a conventionally stronger opponent.

Do not accept or create the challenge.

Skip that battle.

Although not originally intended that way; balancing battles where there is a large difference in power between the characters is actually an advanced and difficult thing.


Going up against opponents who do not mark an even match up, just by looking at it, is perfectly legal.

But not recommended by the Council, as it makes evening the scales harder for both parties.

[SQJ]

TIME TRAVEL

http://www.yourcollegeplanners.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/time_travel.jpg


An important element to bear in mind is the combination of general posting limitations and SMUT character selection freedoms.

Though you are absolutely allowed to pick any character you like to fight with.

But there are SMUT rules you have to bear in mind.

You cannot control a character.
You cannot control another players actions.

With time travel that is exactly what you do, severely limiting your opponent's character with your character's power, most especially when combined with the seventy five word limit.

What you can do is suggest, like one would with a regular attacking post.

So Basically phrase your time based attacks like normal attacks (i.e. with the ability to be dodged or miss) with a description of the effect that would occur if the attack hits.

The other more effective method or time travel would be to effect the environment around an opponent or effect an oppent's attack without controlling the opponent themselves.

Eg

Your opponent throws a fire ball, and you make the fire ball age a hundred years making it die out.

Or

Your opponent throws a fire ball, you freeze it in time.

Or

Your opponent throws a fire ball, you freeze it in time then reverse the time space in which the fireball flew to send it back.

Also

As time is really an incredibly power source which makes it possible to do what I just said with potentially all attacks since all attacks travel through time and space, such an can attack could be considered a high powered attack by a judge.

[SQJ]

Combos




Combo attacks are something that although legal go against general battle posting law since the basic idea behind a battle post is;

You attack
Your opponent attacks
You attack
You're opponent attacks

The idea behind a combo attack is;

You attack
You attack
You attack
You attack

It goes without saying that that, in a game aimed at balanced fighting, is utter bullshit and therefore completely illegal.

Plus successfully pulling off a combo attack would rely on the idea that you post this one attack over multiple posts.

You're post(Attack)
His post(Thank you I'd like some more)
You're post(Attack)
His post(Thank you I'd like some more)
You're post(Attack)
His post(Thank you I'd like some more)

This is of course painfully lopsided and such a dysfunctional set of posts that if you managed to pull it off then either you would get punished for over powering or your opponent would lose major power points.

No player would logically make that sacrifice or feel remotely obliged to take that sacrifice leading to;

You're post(Attack)
His post(Thank you I'd like some more)
You're post(Attack)
His post(Counter)

End of Combo(You could choose to ignore it but that would likely work against you.)

This nulls pretty much any special combo moves for characters who rely on combo attacks(Such as Neji from Naruto who's attacks either incapacitate or weaken in the form of a combo attack.)

Is it possible to connect a seeming unrelated combo of attacks?

Absolutely, I recommend it it's great.

Building up with an attack and then waiting and hoping for your opponent to fall into your trap before you pounce with the bigger attack is fucking awesome.

But 2 hit or a build up attack is different from a conventional combo.
Also fighting with a 'build down' where you break your opponent down with specific attacks is great strategy, combos aren't though. Connecting attacks, great, combo attacks, bad.

So think very carefully before choosing a character who relies on combos.

[SQJ]

Making one hundred and fifty words work.

http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss341/SQJPure/426e3d61-6228-4298-85da-64d5b3512c42_zpsa0b17ed6.jpg?t=1379361315

As I'm sure you've guessed by now one of the newest SMUT features is the option to fight a 150 word battle or a 75 word battle.

75 words still has the 30 posts per battle rule whereas the 150 words has a 20 post per battle rule.

Will there be a difference in the way they are judged?

YUSH!!

Will there be a difference in the way they should be posted.

Of course.

The first elements to consider is that you now have twice as many words to pretty much follow through with the same actions as before. You have more leg room for you to use your writing expertise.

You have more leg room to cross from one post to another effecting your FLOW.

You have more leg room to have the reader connect with your character and to improve upon your own character's history and personal arc which is entirely up to you. This of course effects your Susan. Remember your characters now are a part of the SMUT world and can the retain their memories from battle to battle.

Will your attacks be richer? More powerful? Will they leave a stronger mark on your opponent and the reader as a whole? I do not know but I do know you will have the leg room for it.

Now you have more space to do more which means tougher judging but unfortunately you also have less posts to do it all in.

Only 20 posts. Which of course means ten posts each. Believe it or not I actually think this is a bonus for a fighter.

Why?

Because with thirty posts there is an element of struggling to keep the reader interested as the plot/story arc of your battle needs to rise and drop. If done badly it rises and drops constantly. Thereby making for a fight that has boring parts and exciting parts instead of just a good fight.

With less posts you have less strain with balancing your character's power over a whole battle.
But it's still up to you to make that work.

My recommendation?

Experiment. Find the fighting style that suites your character, this of course runs the risk of you losing but if you haven't found a way that suites you do you think you'll be winning for long anyway?

Also in your character sheets.

Detail Detail Detail! The words you use there could save you words in your posts.