Cloud-Zero:
The first thing I always consider about role fighting is imagination.
Creativity, imagination are the core elements to role fighting.
Especially in a system where there are no HP's, MP's, dice rolls or
anything like that... it is totally unmoderated; both fighters MUST
use their imagination to decide how the fight progresses. There are
no fixed boundaries, only a set of guidelines invented by Number 18that fighters may or may not choose to follow.
I always consider using these rules since they give some kind of idea
as how to progress, without them fights break down into confusion and
often yelling matches... this is not the aim of a good fight. A good
fight should be gruelling, testing the limits of each players
endurance and stamina; it should be enjoyable and exhillerating for
both fighters, or else why bother? It should also be reasonably fair,
although that's an abstract concept. ^_~ Even gods can die... it all
depends on the imagination.
Yes, that's another point... godlike powers can be fun, but skill is
better. If you have godlike powers, you can do very impressive
pyrotechnic displays like destroying the universe, but what does that
serve? If enjoyment (and winnning) are on your mind, it's not how
powerful your character is but how they USE their power.
Try and think of original attacks; don't say "*does a hadoken on
so-and-so*", or "Kamahamaha!"... these attacks are boring and even
frustrating... we can all stick a ranma vid in and watch it with
animated detail, why bring it to the arena?
Be descriptive. Just saying the name of the attack isn't enough, and
most fighters know that and will exploit it to their advantage. If
you say "*does a hadoken*", they say "*Hadoken sputters out before
hitting me, I leap at you and slash you six times across the chest
with my large, nasty katana...*" or something... the best attacks, in
my opinion, should use up all the post-space you have available; by
tournament rules that is two posts, clearly stating you intend to
continue your attack with a "(cont'd)" on the end of your first
post... an interesting parallel is something I heard about attitudes
of pro motorcycle racing; some drivers say the bike should be used to
its full potential, the bike's engine burning out the moment it
crosses the finish line. I agree, but make sure your engine lasts to
the end; some fights can lost a LONG time. ^_~
Be deadly, cunning but not presumptuous.
Don't say things like "*Slices his arm off with his sword in a
skillful wind-slash technique..*"... under tournament rules this is
technically illegal and your opponent can simply ignore it. Your
opponent ALWAYS gets one chance at countering a move before you can
describe what happens (in a tournament the judge will do this for
you, or not, depending on what stage). However, that doesn't mean
you'll never hit them... even the most hard-to-get-to fighters
(Number 18 springs to mind as the hardest fighter to hit I've ever
fought) will admit damage if an attack is good enough. Basically you
just have to be convincing enough... try and impress, stagger and
confound your opponent. Keep them on the defensive so they spend most
of their post-allowance defending against your moves; then they won't
have as much space (or time in a timed match) to counter.
Magical attacks are good.
An impressive physical attack is even better in my opinion; it's very
hard to be impressive with a katana when your oponent is wielding the
power of fire, lightning and holy vengeance... but it can be done;
I'm notorious for my shinken, which is kinda a cheat but still pretty
much a physical attack.
Be wary of using attacks that put you in vulnerable positions... e.g.
"*flies at supersonic speed towards xxxx, swinging his sword with
berserker strength*", to which your opponent could say "*quickly
dodges out of the way and tries to stab yyyy as they fly past,
crashing into the wall in an explosion of flame and bricks...*"
Don't be afraid to describe what your *opponents* attack does as
well as your own; it's all part of your defense. Use their attacks to
your advantage, but be careful not to step over the line into
presumptuousness, e.g. "*absorbs xxxx's attack into his own aura*";
also don't keep relying on throwing their attacks back at them cos
one day you might get a nasty surprise. ^_~ Rely on YOURSELF. Your
"power source", if you feel like thinking of one, should be
independent; if they can cut it off from you then what will you do?
(e.g. if you draw energy from the stars, they cast a daylight spell
or something...)
Be cheeky, even drop the odd insult in if you want (although I think
that's a waste of attack-space, some ppl do and it can work to their
advantage... depends how good you are at psyching ppl out ^_~), but
don't push it too far or it'll spoil the fun.
Don't be invincible or immortal, or you SUCK and you're a COWARD.
Only COWARDS rolefight as immortals. Why would anybody want to fight
someone who insists they can't be killed, i.e. defeated? Take the odd
hit if it impresses you (see earlier). Respect your opponents' skill
and originality. It won't hurt to take the odd hit; I've fought with
a broken ankle, badly burned face and a number of other light to
serious wounds and still came to a draw when we both quit, exhausted,
after a 3 hour epic battle. Part of the fun is improvising when
you've lost one of your bodily functions (try playing Bushido Blade.
^_^)
Finally, enjoy it. You might use role fighting to take out your rage
and frustrations from RL, but be careful you don't offend or piss off
the person you're fighting or they won't fight you next time. I've
made that mistake too many times.
-- Cloud-Zero **RYUREI**