How Combat Works

There are two kinds of Combat Systems in place here: Free-form and Stat-based.

In Free-form combat, your stats are a guideline. We have the standard free-form rules (no God-modding, etc.). But it's also important to note that free-form combat does not follow the same rules. There is no rolling to see who hits, no mapping of movement, etc. A character cannot die, suffer any type of permanent injury, etc. as a result of free-form combat. The only possible exception is if all parties involved agree to allow the outcome of their free-form combat to affect their characters in such a matter.

Stat-based combat is different. Everything that happens in stat-based combat is considered canon - even if you make a terrible mistake or have horrible luck during that particular thread. Generally speaking, stat-based combat will be moderated by Admins, Global Moderators, or Narrators. It may or may not (but ideally will) revolve around maps and grids as well.

The below rules revolve around Stat-based combat.

The Flow of Combat

Player Phase

After the Narrator has posted the map and laid out the scene, the "Player Phase" will begin. All Player Characters in the topic (and on the map) will have a chance to lay out what they do on their turn in their post, and they can post in any order - but only once per round.

At the start of the Player Phase, the Narrator will introduce a time limit for the remaining members (a minimum of 1 day per person). Those who do not post before the time limit expires will be skipped as the Narrator moves onto the next round. It is both expected and required that the Narrator accommodate for any absences or posting delays that they are notified of ahead of time. The Narrator can choose to extend this time limit any time they wish.

Every time a "Player" posts, the Narrator will also post an update, resolving the Player's post and updating the map accordingly with the consequences.

Multiple players can choose to post before the Narrator provides an update. This is encouraged if the Narrator is expected to be slow on their updates (although you can also just do it if you're feeling impatient and prefer to do it this way). It's expected that if your post would be invalidated by somebody else's actions (eg, you go to attack somebody that someone else happened to kill in that same turn) that the Narrator alert you to that fact and give you a chance to edit your post accordingly. However, you cannot retcon any movement you make or actions that would have been successfully resolved. For example, if your character moved up to an enemy that had been killed by someone else before the update, then perhaps your character moves up to strike just as your ally lands that killing blow. The movement cannot be retconned, as you successfully completed the move, but you might still be able to change targets, or to use a different skill to exchange places with your ally, or something to that effect.

Important: If you are skipped and you felt that the time limit was too low, you can attempt to appeal to the Narrator in charge. Failing that, you can try your luck discussing the issue with the admins. HOWEVER, if you are skipped and you did not provide valid notice before the time limit, a reasonable time limit was given, and you have no valid excuse for missing your chance to post, then your appeal will almost certainly be rejected and you will simply have to accept the consequences.

So, basically, don't miss your turn!

Enemy Phase

The Enemy Phase is entirely controlled by the Narrator. It is normally a series of posts, inbetween which the Narrator will have resolved various rolls and attacks. In both phases, all rolls are made publicly to demonstrate that no bias has been affecting the outcome of the attacks (although the actions of the enemies are, ultimately, left up to the Narrators).

Ally Phase

On some occasions, there may be NPCs fighting alongside you. They get their own special turn known as the Ally Phase. This works just like the Enemy Phase, in that it is entirely performed by the Narrator.

Generally speaking, most Narrators will probably choose to skip the Ally Phase altogether by not having other PCs influence the battle in any meaningful way. Please understand this is for the sake of limiting just how much the Narrator has to do in the thread (which is already quite a lot).

On Your Turn

There are, generally speaking, 3 things you can do on your turn.

1) Move
2) RP (dialog, etc.)
3) Perform some type of Action.

Most of the time, any sort of "Action" - be that attacking an enemy, opening a chest/door, activating an Active Skill, etc. - will use up your "Action" for the turn. You only get 1 per turn, so you will need to choose your Actions wisely.

However, some things that might have been Actions are instead Special Actions. In particular, some Skills such as Aether, Sol, or Luna fall into this category. A Special Action does not use up your Action. For instance, if you activate Aether, Sol, or Luna, you are still able to attack on the turn you activated this skill. If you do not attack, but instead perform some other Action (eg unlocking a door), then you may or may not retain the effects of the Special Action on the enemy's turn as well. This is entirely dependent on the Special Action itself.

Resolving an Attack

When one character attacks another - be it you attacking an enemy, or the enemy attacking you - combat stats are compared using the current stats, skills, and equipped weapons of both sides.

• First, the attacker's Hit Chance is calculated:
  
  
  
  
  • Hit Chance = Attacker's Hit Rate - Opponent's Avoid
    
  
  
  
• Then a roll is performed to see who hits.
  
  
• If the hit was successful, a Crit Check is performed:
  
  
  
  
  • Crit Chance = Attacker's Crit Rate - Opponent's Luck
    
  
  
  
• Finally, if the hit was successful, damage is resolved:
  
  
  
  
  • Damage Dealt = Attacker's Might - Opponent's Defense or Resistance (depending on the weapon)
    
  • Damage is then multiplied if a Crit was scored
    
  
  
  

After this, the defender makes an attack back, if they are able.

Finally, Attack Speed is compared. If one side's Attack Speed >= Other Side's Attack Speed +5, then that side gets an additional attack. Otherwise, the combat ends. And of course, the combat ends early if one side dies.