MelonHead

The Rook Versus the ROCK: a Tanking Slugfest.

Updated Rook's CS a little, changed the length of the baton (made it slightly shorter) and increased his overall weight, that's about it.

Arena FAQ/Advice

In the interest of saving time, here's some general information and some answers I've given in the past about all this arena stuff.

Hi everyone! I'm new to the arena, so I don't really know how things work, and this seems like the best place to ask.

1. How exactly do you start/join/organize matches? I'm used to using Interest Checks, but I looked at a few and apparently that mostly goes on in the Chat and HQ threads. How does that work?

2. Do characters persist across roleplays? Again, I'm used to characters that are made for a specific RP, but a few things I've read here suggest otherwise.

3. Is there a place for story fights? That is, fights where the goal isn't for one character to win over another, but to write a story about the characters with the battle as part of the plot.

4. I'm sure I'll have more questions later, but for now, is anyone willing to RP with a newbie? Experience is the best teacher, after all.

Hey there, yes this is the best place for these sort of questions.

1. There are two main methods, one is using an interest check to send out a general challenge (ideally with a character, an arena, and a fighting style mentioned so people know what they're getting into.) Then, once a compromise is made on character selection and everyone is happy, you can upgrade to an OOC/IC and get started. Oh, or if you simply want to join a fight you can look through interest checks and declare your interest in the normal fashion.

The second method is to send out a challenge in the ranked area or the Arena chat thread, which most of the ranked people tend to frequent. The same process as before will also take place, where you will decide on characters etc.

2. Completely up to you, the Arena does allow for multiple instances and therefore unless you've joined a specifically persistent world (the Multiverse for example, which pops up from time to time, or a tournament) every arena fight is a self contained story. So, if a character dies you don't have to make that 'canon.'

3. Hopefully every fight will be a story fight, it's a misconception that Arena isn't still predominantly about telling a story, it's just through the medium of battle. Still, if you favour strong story telling elements over the competition, avoiding ranked battles and going for unranked instead is the answer. In an unranked fight the rules are more flexible and with very little on the line people are going to be more applicable to story elements.

4. Depending on what sort of power (tier) you want to fight at I might be able to indulge you in an unranked battle to cover some of the broad Arena concepts if you want. Tier is a little subjective, but I personally don't stray over the 'high powered' bracket with my characters. Which is somewhat applicable to street/city level destruction. I'm more around the powered/low powered bracket, think Vampires, Werewolves, Cyborgs etc.

These are the two important threads for talking with Arena peoples.
Ranking Headquarters http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/79678-rpguild-ranking-headquarters/ic
Arena Chat Thread http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/78452-arena-chat-thread/ooc

Melons Arena Cheatsheet

Ye Olde Board of Tips and Tricks for the Arena

The Writing Side

1. Accuracy, thoroughness and coherency are your greatest weapons in the Arena, prettying these concepts up is difficult and comes with time. Try and ensure you’ve been accurate in your description of the scene, haven’t forgot to mention any important details, and most importantly read it through from your opponent’s point of view and made sure they can understand it.

2. KISS – The beauty of the T1 system is you don’t have to try and predict any number of an opponent’s moves and write out what if clauses for every eventuality. (Though you may want to pre-empt one or two moves to worry them.) Simply ensure that your character can logically pull out of a manoeuvre with a single statement of their actions if the unexpected ensues. For example, ‘John was ready to abandon his strike at his prone opponent if he instead made any sudden movements.’ Remember though, you only have so much time to work with, if you’re mid-swing it may already be too late.

The follow up to this is that in combat, the more moves you string together the greater the opportunity you're granting your opponent to interrupt and strike you at your most vulnerable. Try not to overcomplicate your post both for ease of reading, and also to keep your cards hidden and your character safe.

3. The CS is key, remember that what you throw into that CS and post in the introduction of a fight is all your character alone has to work with. If circumstances allow, you may be able to pick up one or two advantages from the scenery, but so can your opponent, so ensure your character is thoughtfully constructed and stick to that character throughout. Magic and abilities will be a major point of contention, so remember tip 1 in the construction and you’ll be alright, though a more complex CS construction walkthrough may appear in the future.

The Combat Side

At the risk of sounding condescending, these are some tips for actual combat I’ve picked up in my lengthy years (lol, 3) fighting in post-by-post. Many of these will be contentious, and yes, there’s probably a number of exceptions to every rule.

1. Match your character carefully, this means you should be aiming to fight opponents with a character roughly within your character’s limits. Remember, this is a beginner’s guide, and ensuring you get a beneficial match-up isn’t going to be possible in a tournament setting. Ultimately, avoid bringing a grounded melee character up against someone who can fly or attack effectively from range, because the experience will likely be frustrating and un-rewarding. Some may argue that this is a learning experience, but from what I’ve seen personally it always ends with an unsatisfactory fight.

2. Don’t Jump. No, literally, probably the most common mistake on which I’ve been fortunate enough to capitalise on a number of times (and seen capitalised on, I might add.) is people considering diving into the air (usually anime style) an effective move in combat. Unless your character can control themselves in the air (and change direction) this will probably end incredibly badly, and should be avoided at all costs. Keep both feet on the ground, you can move your body freely and dodge better. Ironically acrobatic ‘speedsters’ should particularly look to avoid jumping in the air, as they tend to be at their most vulnerable.

3. Be careful with melee combat, melee combat is by far the most difficult skill to master in writing combat, especially if you’re like me with scant access to swords and spears and people who know how to use them. Read up on some of the basics of real combat before trying to use a sword, it helps a lot. Fighting hand to hand is somewhat easier, but try to dissuade yourself from flashy movie style martial arts.

4. Don’t spin around. I’ve only ever made this mistake once and it caused me more heart ache than a sick puppy (and I actually had my character spinning to generate centrifugal force). Your opponent will capitalise on it, and without the power of meta-gaming at your fingertips most characters are going to be shit outta luck.

5. Treat the Arena and its combat like an even bigger Arena. No, seriously, this is a contentious point but I would generally recommend imagining every battle like a gladiatorial contest. You’re attempting to make real gritty combat entertaining, you know what Gladiators seldom did? Tried to stab their opponent in the face the moment the battle started. If you try for deadly attacks early into a fight your opponent is –highly- likely to find any excuse to avoid it. Honestly, as the fight tends to work on an honour system of give and take you should try and wear an opponent down before going for any killing blows.

OOC Shiz

1. First rule, be respectful to your opponents, and I mean this in IC as well. For some strange reason (and I’m sure I’ve been guilty of this in the past, though I’ve been working on it.) Arena denizens have a bad habit of insulting the person behind the character in fights. They know exactly what they’re doing, no one is fooled, if you find yourself typing ‘Couldn’t quite believe the stupidity of blocking that move with’ you’re probably not in character anymore. This is a fine line to tread, and may seem trivial, but I’ve seen some Arena fighters who other people (not me, I have authority issues) have called respected and experienced essentially come to verbal blows over this shit. Not even joking.

2. Arguments will happen. If it’s an unranked fight, try and look past the conflict and compromise for the greater good of both of your entertainment and enjoyment. If it’s ranked, seek a judge as soon as possible, an unbiased reading is the fairest and most effective way to clear up any issues. I’ve argued until my fingers have metaphorically bled, and honestly I have no idea why, this is the freaking internet. No one is likely to admit their wrong doing in a ranked Arena battle, so have a judge mediate.

The Rook Versus the ROCK: a Tanking Slugfest.

Typical super bracers, can't say I'm surprised.

Still, for an ordinary human, the guard over the lower torso is fairly weak, our arms are better suited to guard the upper torso, because that's where all the important shit is.

Also, just to clarify, Rook is shooting for the belly button again, so if your character is jogging forward like you said he is going to have to move his arm to block the round, it's not just getting fired straight into his right side.

The Rook Versus the ROCK: a Tanking Slugfest.

Good to see how a foe will deal with a threat. In a world where magic exists, it is an awful crutch not to have any of your own. A lesson Rook learned early in his career. Magic is like any weapon, except when it’s not, because the main threat in magic is that it can manifest itself in so many forms, and unlike a gun, you don’t know what it’s going to do until it does it. By which point, it’s sometimes too late. So, it was good to see how his foe would deal with a threat. He avoided it, partially, so he evidently felt he needed to. But was he harmed by the graze? Not discernibly, something around his torso seemed to mar, almost like dry glue flaking away. So, he had some defence against physical impact.

The guy still had a lot to learn about fighting for real, anyway. He just stood there looking dumb for a moment after impact, probably showing off some more magic, and then he had the audacity to run straight at Rook. The Mercenary had to bite back the urge to tell him how bad a plan that was, but he figured it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth and frankly, he had a reputation to maintain. At least until it was convenient to reveal that he was more than met the eye.

The second barrel of the shotgun, primed and aimed directly at his incoming foe, as it had been since the first shot, erupted as another beanbag hurtled towards Quebra. This time, he was certainly ready for it, but his action didn’t really suggest he had considered the fact that running right towards a projectile significantly reduces your options. Especially when said projectile is aimed right for the same spot as before, where the armour is weak and your guard is too, the lower torso.

That was it for gun-play, at least for now, though it would have been over even sooner if Quebra learned to use his environment to his advantage. Success or failure, it was irrelevant, Rook had gotten his digs in cost-free, save a couple bean-bag rounds. He slid the shotty back into its holster with a practised flourish, presenting the shield toward the charging Greek, and then calmly braced against it with his right hand wrapping around the side handle. Two hands on his shield, and a lot of bulk, the Rook was ready for whatever Quebra could manage when he finally got into range.

The Rook Versus the ROCK: a Tanking Slugfest.

I'll fight as long as you keep posting.

The Rook Versus the ROCK: a Tanking Slugfest.

@Vordak Dude, if you can't even commit to a mess around fight like this, you really shouldn't join the GCL.

If it'll make things easier for you, I'll ditch half my weapons, but you're going to have to learn to fight characters with ranged potential, or play different characters yourself.

Arena Chat Thread

Well, she probably just wouldn't lie on her back.

If she got knocked on her back, her tail would just be an advantage in getting up, or it would naturally turn her to one side or the other. If she's getting hit into the ground hard enough that her tail would be damaged, she has bigger problems, probably her broken ribs.

Aegis Faces the Man-Eater

Two quick breaths, in and out, in and out, get back on your feet you’ve still got work to do.

Aegis stood, muscles in his legs straining to lift his lithe body, mostly because of all the additional metal strapped to it. The grass was slick with blood, and his wrist ached, two pieces of evidence that suggested that despite everything he had made good with his spear thrust. All those years of training must have paid off, to pull off a strike like that in such poor circumstance, that was no small feat. The wannabe hero gave himself a metaphorical pat on the back as his eyes glanced over the stricken beast, writhing on the ground less than ten feet from him. Perhaps it would be wise to focus again, things weren’t quite over yet.

The monster was in pain, it was wounded, but it could still move. His spear might have damaged some internals, it might not have, but something of the size of the creature would not go down too easily. And if his experience had taught Aegis anything, it was that monsters always surprise you.

So, he was going to surprise it. Rather than advancing straight on the stricken creature and risking being cut in half by a swinging tail or having half his bones broken by a stray leg, he was going to give it something else to cry about. In his free hand, an orb of solid rock suddenly materialised, the celestial orb of moon to be exact. It bobbed up and down as he concentrated upon it, staring down the beast, waiting for it to regain its footing, he took one step backwards while he waited to see if it got up, but in truth, he was concentrating on the orb for a different reason. He was going to turn it into a net.

Arena Chat Thread

Here is a brief description of Molecular Dissipation. It is the ability to cause solid objects to lose their molecular cohesion by absorbing the energy within their atomic bonds. Thus making objects disappear.

My character didn’t have the ability to do that with his body so I added it to an external force, a projectile.

@Liaison

In other words, you had a dick-waving contest, seeing as how that concept is entirely pseudo-science. Your knowledge of physics was generally irrelevant. You could have just as easily have said your character can fire rounds that displace what they hit from existence, seeing as how the end result is exactly the same. You've just buttered it up to seem somehow less overpowered. For example, how did the rounds contain that much energy over such a brief period of contact? What could possibly stop such a projectile, isn't it non-interactive by its very nature? How did you avoid immediately causing your own weapon to disappear when you fired said bullet (i'm assuming it was a firearm, it could have just been your hand or something, but same logic applies)? How did you stop the bullet absorbing so much energy on route that it exploded?

I assure you all the rules you apply in lower tier fights are the same as high. Here’s what I mean. The simple rules of no Godmoding, Metagaming and Powergaming still apply. Its not like they disappear. You cant control another person character, the amount of damage they take is on them unless you have a logical claim and you cant just overpower and demean others peoples powers because you think you’re “stronger” everything is logic based still. In the case of the armor he couldn’t say his armor would just deflect it because I provided a logical counter which forced him lose faith in his armor and have to evade out of fear of taking lethal blows.

Those general rules apply, but none of the things that actually allow you to determine what actions are possible and impossible do anymore. In my mind, your character is already metagaming if he managed to put together this round apparently for the first time that can in theory penetrate any defence that anyone could conceivably concoct. Did he try and fail to pierce the armour at first? Did he know that its only weakness was the super reality warping round of doom?

Superman has no personality so of course he’s boring.

Actually, Superman's personality is one of the few things that make him interesting. His challenges mostly come from the fact that unlike Batman, he actually aspires to be Heroic. He embodies the concept of a superhero more thoroughly than Batman ever will, because he tries to be a symbol and inspire people to do good, where-as Batman only cares about punishing those who do bad. He's boring because people like to see people overcome physical adversity, they don't like their all-american heroes being confounded by moral issues, they want them to fight through the pain and beat down the British bad guy, throwing him from the tower with a 'yippy ka-ye motherfucker'

I prefer Batman was well but that has nothing to do with Clark Kent. With your logic the comic the Infinity Gauntlet would be as uninteresting as it could be, no? It is entirely possible powerful beings can have extensive back stories and lore’s that would be a pleasure to read.(Ex:Darkseid & Dormammu) Also even characters like Galactus, The Living Tribunal and Thanos have losses at the end of the day as well. Strength is not a indicator of less interesting themes.

None of those characters are heroes, you don't want to relate to them, you want to fear them or hate them and be glad they die. Its pretty common in a narrative sense to make the big-bad big-tough big-big sai.

Also, in most cases when you explore the backstory of an incredibly powerful character, you're usually experiencing their road to becoming that strong. I can't think of many enjoyable stories that involve a character powerful as fuck from the get go.

In addition lets take into account that when Superman fights opponents such as Doomsday, Darkseid and Mongul those tend to be extremely interesting bouts and those beings have vast wells of power. Its because the villians are examples of interesting high powered beings. Lets go back to Darkseid. I find his backstory to be really interesting because he like many rp characters I’ve seen grew to that strength. It was a progress. A lot of these extremely powerful RP characters I’m referring to have become stronger from assets they acquired from thread to thread in one continuing story.

Anyways, I’m about done going back and forth (at least for now). I just wanted to give an alternate view point to the high powered bashing that was going on because I think it would be good if both forms of fighting thrived here. I really mean that. A healthy debate hurts no one at the end of the day.

Those fights are great to read and watch, they're always explosive and fun spectacles, but I can't think of any time where I've been impressed by some tactical move or strategic element employed within them. And comic heroes and villains tend to be better balanced than higher tier characters actually are in Arena, they are usually far narrower in scope than the characters with answers to everything, like your reality warping bullets.

No hate, I appreciate the debate, just saying why I think there's some skill lost in higher tier battle. I can't remember exactly why this discussion started. Still, nothing breathes life into this place like me picking fights with everyone, so I thought I'd give it a new lease for a bit.

Arena Chat Thread

@MelonHead

Perhaps this is all just conjecture based upon our own personal experiences. For me and from what I've seen, low tier fights end more quickly on the whole. But, go back and read what I said more closely. You're missing the point I'm getting at, nay, skipping entirely over it. If you catch my drift, then mayhaps if you want to, your next post can address what I had actually been typing.

@Doc Doctor

I think maybe you missed what I was saying, also. What I'm getting at is that it's all relative, superheroes shrug off blows from other superheroes, humans shrug off blows from other humans, neither fight has to end with only a very brief exchange of blows, superheroes can also manifest powers of greater lethality than weapons humans conventionally use to overcome supernaturally durability. Humans compensate with tools, if you give a human a knife to end a fight quicker, you should give the other a chain vest. All things being equal.

It's all relative.

'People tend to be just as durable as they need to be for the most satisfying cinematic or narrative experience.'

True at any power level.