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Message 394:

Date:     Wed Jul  5 04:04:25 2000 CDT
From:     Amaryllis (#5106)
To:       *chat (#803)
Subject:  A few ideas to consider when engaging in combat

* You do not have to ask another player's permission when engaging in 'coded' combat, although if
 you continually attack other players without any good reason and/or steal their belongings, you'll
 find that you won't be particularly popular with the IC or OOC community.
* When you are -roleplaying- combat, keep in mind that there are other players in this game who
 have a certain amount of control over their characters' lives. No player has an -obligation- to
 roleplay with any other player and therefore, roleplay requires a respect of the other player's
 rights when they decide to roleplay with you.
* Powergaming is an easy trap to fall into. Basically, it is "when someone's text thinks, feels, or
 takes action for some other person non-consentually". For example:
	Bob stabs John in the heart and kills him!
	Jane waves her hand and paralyses Kate with her spell!
The problem with powergaming is that it really doesn't take into account the other person's rights
 over their own character and eliminates the need for the other person. The other player has no
 chance to react, to accept the wound, or dodge the blow. They might as not exist in this context
 of 'roleplaying' and defeats the purpose of a MOO which is basically to interact with others.
A better way to phrase the previous two examples might be:
	Bob lunges at John's chest with his sword, aiming for his adversary's heart.
	Jane waves her hand, casting a spell of paralysis at Kate.
These poses do not assume anything of the other player and give them freedom to respond and
 roleplay. John now has a chance to dodge, parry or even receive the blow while Kate has the
 opportunity for a distraction to disrupt the spell or to resist it.
* When Rping combat, other problems can crop up, such as the outcome of the battle. There are
 several ways to avoid a situation where the RP just stops and you end up arguing OOCly that the
 other player can't do that, that they're stronger and that the character's just being unrealistic.
1)	Decide beforehand what the outcome is going to be via pages or some other OOC device. There
 might be a particular goal you want to reach, eg. One character gets a sliced ear and the other
 one will end up with a broken leg and you roleplay the combat until you reach those outcomes. Or,
 you might want to use an overall coded stat comparison, decide who is going to win and use that as
 a basis for your roleplay. 
2)	Judge the outcome on the basis of the quality and creativity of the poses. Usually best with
 someone else in the room to do the judging ;)
3)	Or...um...you could just let the roleplay take you and face the possible consequences ;)

Happy roleplaying ;)