Combat

Fighting in Imperia is done on a turn-based system. Let's state a small scene and see the battle roleplayed out in chat terms. To set the scene:

Sometimes, the scene will be set ahead of time. In this case, the scene is outside the Twisted Blade Inn, near a dark alleyway. Save for guards, few patrons from the TBI would be passing by. Meanwhile, your character watches and stalks in silence:

* Reisas_Maiel looks outside the alleyway for a second, grinning a bit to himself. The fool dared to brag about his slaughter of an innocent werewolf. Now he would pay. He threw a potion in his left hand further into the alleyway, causing a loud hiss as it began to eat away at the ground. The man quickly leaned against the wall, pressing tightly against it so Sebastian could slip past him without touching the man at all, which would have blown his cover. He clutched a dagger in his right hand, waiting for Sebastian to either pass by or investigate the mess.

Note here that Reisas recognizes that Sebastian is the character he is about to attack, not Zarak. He also was fair and stated the kind of weaponry he has on him at the time.

This, again, ties into realism. Unless Sebastian was watching the alley like a hawk, he probably would have not seen Reisas throwing the potion, nor would he have seen him leaning against the wall. Besides, if everyone could see/dodge everything, then fighting wouldn't be so darn entertaining.

* Reisas_Maiel turns to face Sebastian as soon as he passes, stalking up to him and lunging at the knight, attempting to stab him in the shoulder and tackle him to the ground with his weight.

Note that Reisas announced his attack but did not state the end result. The one you are attacking will then state the result of your attack as well as state his own attack but not the result of his attack.
Author's Note: This doesn't exactly follow the story given earlier, but so what?

<Zarak> <Sebastian grunts as he is hit, falling to the ground. He wrestles with the pain, attempting to twist his body and thus toss Reisas near the wall to the right of him.>
* Reisas_Maiel growls as his body is pushed to the side, the dagger wrenching from Sebastian's shoulder. He hits the ground with a dull thud, snarling out: "You won't get away with murder."

In the attack above Sebastian stated the actions for his character but DID NOT state whether the attack succeeded or not. Reisas decided that knowing where his character was, what his focus was on, and his current strength. Reisas's typed action acknowledged the attack.

Whether an attack succeeds depends mostly on common sense. Since Reisas was on Sebastian's back, focused on stabbing this man to death, he was distracted and pushed off his back. If you cannot decide if a hit connected or if you think the attempt was unfair in any way, ask a channel operator to judge the matter for you.

Powergaming

As a Role Player, we assume you already know what Powergaming or Godmoding is. So we will just state that we do not allow it. However sometimes a person may assume an Op is "Godmoding". They are not. They have a right to state stuff regarding the setting. No pulling stuff out of your ass, like saying some 12 thugs appear out of nowhere to defend you cause you resisted a criminal charge. To explain, allow me to present to you an actual event. This player was being arrested for not aiding a person when a group of Githyanki attacked the Inn and killed several, an actual crime in the eyes of Axius. So the guards arrested him and was escorting him to the guardhouse. The player in question is refered to as "Seath". Zarak was the Plotmaster/Op on Duty.

* Seath chuckles a little, giving them no problem. He pulls a small pin from the cloth on his sleeve, easily working the locks on the handcuffs, but keeping them on, to appear as if they were locked.

((The statement he was able to unlock the cuffs was a Powergaming move))
<Zarak> <The handcuffs start emitting a beeping sound, a magical lock detector triggered. The lead guard speaks>:Try anything and I'll have you killed. Got me?
* Seath nods with a slight chuckle,
<Seath> I doubt you will make it another 30 steps.
* Seath shuts his mouth and continues walking.
<Zarak> <The guards continue to guide Seath towards the guardhouse, the lead guard just nodding>:Yeah yeah yeah..
<Zarak> <Lead guard>:Listen..we got some Damocles Commandos in town. You really want me to give them permission to stomp your face in?
* Seath shrugs, glancing sideways, his eyes peering into the shadows of the alley next to the Inn. He nods slightly, 7 rough looking men rushing out into the street, weapons drawn.

((There was no reason for these seven men to come rushing out, also common sense dictates you don't try and fight a city's guard. Anyway Zarak decided to be a sport and go along.))
<Zarak> <The Axius guards stop, the lead one perking a brow>:Maybe you didn't hear me..Damocles..Commandos..in town.
* Seath chuckles.
<Seath> 4 of these men are ex Commandos sir.

((Damocles citizens are very loyal, and Commandos take alot of years to train. A Commando just doesn't quit a high paying job and becomes a thug. So Seath's statement was not only IC nonsense, but was attempting to override the Plotmaster's Authority on the matter. Zarak put his foot down, then Seath decides to argue.))
<Zarak> ((Nope))
<Seath> wtf))
<Seath> dont god play man))
<Seath> its gay as fuck))
<Zarak> ((PM Authority))
<Seath> ?))
<Ield_Mydell> ((You can't 'god play' if you OWN the world...))

((Ield Mydell brings up a very good point, however it falls on deaf ears as Seath decides to mix IC and OOC))
<Seath> man,))
<Seath> im not going to jail for something that happened when i was afk))
<Zarak> <The Axius guards continue forward, intending to walk past these seven thugs>
* Seath sighs a bit as 5 more men walk out in front of them, barring the path. One of them speaks up, " You will let our brother go, or we will ", he pulls from his pocket a small metallic orb, pressing a button, the orb begins beeping.
* Seath chuckles, " A grenade "

((Not only does he bring in more men from out of nowhere, but now he has a futuristic grenade. Modern grenades of the year 2000 surely don't make beeping sounds. This grenade reminds me of the device that bounty hunter used in "Return of the Jedi" when negotiating for Han Solo's release. Anyway Zarak lays down the law))
<Zarak> <The Axius guard reaches into his pocket, pulling out a glowing shard of green crystal. Any and all magic items on the thugs would die>:Talasium.
<Seath> er, grenade = non magic ))

((Assuming if the grenade was magic, then Talasium emits Anti-Magic. It would nullify any and all magic around it. However Seath now states the grenade is NOT magic.))
<Zarak> ((Oh? Then how can it work?))
<Seath> man))
<Zarak> ((If it's high technology..then it simply would'nt exist. Primal Tech Eddict))
* Seath sighs, waving the men off.
<Seath> Go home.
<Seath> Tell the rest I am okay.
<Zarak> <The Axius guard arches a brow>:Sorry..all of you are under arrest.

((They threatened the guards, drew weapons on them, they would face arrest, a small jail sentence and a small fine. Don't believe me? Go and threaten a cop and see what happens.))
* Seath protests, " For what? "
<Seath> These men have done nothing.
<Ield_Mydell> "Criminal problems, gentlemen?" <the voice came from further up the street, calm and composed. The combination of red and dark brown of the man's clothing, the crimson cape and the pair of weapons on his belt - a black whip and a sword much like a straight-bladed katana - easily gave away his identity. He was Lord Jack Sinclair, relatively known nobleman and valiant fighter in Tantallon's times of needs. He smirks slightl
<AzureDragon> --(cut) He smirks slightly, a cigarette in hand, leaned casually on a building.>
<Zarak> <The Axius guard puts away the Talasium, motioning to another to call in backup on his comm crystal>:We know a gang of thugs when we see one...attempting to aid and abit an arrest.
<Zarak> <One guard nods to Lord Sinclair, motioning at the twelve men>:Seems we have some riff raff to arrest. I tell you..this shift never gets boring.
* Seath (livevil@4238edc3.aberdn01.md.5aa6454b.net.hmsk) has left #TwistedBlade_inn

((Seath's last resort was, ultimately, a lame one and a rules violation. He left OOCly out of an IC Situation. It's the same as people who play Everquest and, when facing possible death, they quickly log off. In Imperia, if you pull that, then your character faces possible death. Anyway Seath soon proceeded to "protest" this by threatening to hack the website and attempt to break into Zarak's Nickname password. Morale of the story kids: Don't be as lame as Seath. ))

So I hope the above, true example, as helped explained our stance regarding Powergaming and Godmoding. However, do not confuse powergaming with powerful. If a character has an anti-magic sphere around it, don't scream powergaming when your fireball spell doesn't harm it. Some characters require brains rather than brawns to defeat, and some characters are simply too powerful for a novice warrior.

Combat

As stated above, most fighting is done turn style. Fighting, for better or for worse, is a part of Imperian roleplaying. Even lovers' stories have strife and conflict. Fights tend to start fights among the players if the fight isn't played out well, making fighting a sensitive but important topic to discuss. Initiation, patience, realism, conclusion, and aftermath all play a critical part in roleplaying a fight. We will be referring to the previous example with the Damocles knight and the werewolf story as a situation for this section.

Initiation is especially essential to roleplaying a fight well. If the beginning of the fight isn't played skillfully, it ruins the whole fight. Let's say that your character was secretly a werewolf, and he over heard the Damocles knight bragging about slaughtering a wolf. Your character would naturally be angry, but unless your character had the brains of tapioca pudding, he wouldn't dive for the kill at the first chance. And unless the knight is planning to kill again, you don't have too much motivation. The Inn is usually occupied by other soldiers, who would promptly shoot you and arrest you if you fought inside, especially in broad daylight. However, if you catch him in an alleyway at night, you may have a better chance. Finally you get the chance to do some damage, and you lure him into the alleyway by giving out a mock call for help, then lunging at him with a dagger in your hands.

The second essential thing is PATIENCE. This is turn fighting, and it tends to be the longest and most tedious part of roleplaying. A ten minute fight might take an hour to roleplay, for instance, This is due to the fact that it takes two to five minutes between posts. We may be talking about characters who can move fairly quickly as well. In respects to the other player, you should not make more than one post in between replies, unless you are correcting an action or a typo. This is called "reaction time," aka not rushing five moves on them while a ten second lag keeps them from responding quickly. Now, let's say that the knight swings his fist to punch your werewolf in the face as he reaches for his communications crystal, which he could use to call for help. You block his fist with your palm and try to stab him in the gut. The knight is stabbed, but his com crystal was activated, letting out a cry of pain before he passes out. You get up, only to meet the eyes of three advancing Damocles soldiers trying to arrest you. You are given orders to surrender, but you have different plans.

Try to think realistically when fighting. This has turned into a three on one fight in a narrow alleyway. Chances are if you block the blow from one of the soldiers, the others would take this opportunity to get a blow in on you. Any blow to the ribs or stomach would knock air out of you and disorient you. Blows to the head would also disorient you. More time for the guards to land a few more blows and knock you out. The alleyway makes it hard to move or retreat, especially a dead end.

The background also plays an important part in realism. A dark alleyway again makes it difficult to see or move very far, especially if you're being cornered into a dead end. If you were in an Inn, there would be tables, chairs, soldiers, citizens, and the Inn's staff. Don't be surprised if those in the background join in, especially if it's a fight between two popular characters. Fighting considered "Disturbing the Peace" by Tantallon City Law and you'll find guards ordering you to stand down or be arrested, turning a simple one-on-one fight into a barroom brawl, probably causing you more damage than your opponent could have caused and getting a jail sentence slammed on you to boot.

Finally, you fall down after repeated blows, where you are promptly cuffed. Fortunately for you, the knight was not killed, so you spend a mere two weeks in jail for disturbing the peace and attacking a Damocles guard. Even defeats in battle lead to good plots and further develop your character. In this case, your character would probably learn something from the experience and never do it again - or he could swear unholy vengeance upon Damocles and join up with the Shadow Knights. The point is not to always win, kill something, or get some experience points, and rise in levels. Since Imperia is free form roleplaying, we do not give out experience points or ability points. The point of fighting lies in the story that surrounds it and the plots that begin in the aftermath.

More complex forms of turn based fighting exist, such as arbitration and chance.

Arbitration - This style is only used when players cannot trust each other to fight fairly. In this case, the fight mediated by a channel operator who does not participate in the battle. The actions and attacks are typed out for a round and the op decides on which attacks hit and how badly they hit. Then the mediator tells the players what the round results where and who suffered what damages. The players then RP out the damage results as well as their next round of attacks. Repeat till the battle is declared "over" by the mediator. The decisions made by the mediator are final.

Chance - This style is used when powerful spells are used that have random effects or could cause catastrophic damage. Although this style is most tedious and not as realistic as regular turn fighting, it takes random effects into account and adds a degree of suspense and complexity to fighting. It also makes otherwise unavoidable attacks avoidable in some cases - that is, if you can master the dice.

In this style, an attack is initiated by an attempt. The dice rolling occurs in the #Grinding_Stone , where a dice bot is put in place by one of the channel operators (but is NOT controlled by the channel operator). The player reacting to the attack rolls the dice to a certain number of sides, and damage is done according to the numbers the channel operators set. Then the roleplayers play out the damages caused and future attacks, if any. This is best shown through the following example:
* PabloDiablo sends an ice spell to strike Huffenpuff, hoping to freeze his body.
--- Back at Grinding Stone ---
<Zarak> Roll a 1d100, Huffenpuff. If you roll above a 50, your character is frozen.
<Huffenpuff> !1d100
* DiceBot - ** Huffenpuff rolls a 1d100 and gets a 90.
--- At the Twisted Blade Inn ---
* Huffenpuff is hit by the ice spell, falling to the floor as his body freezes, a thick coating of ice spreading over his body and chilling his veins. A shock of expression is frozen on his face.

We do not endorse speed fighting however. Speed fighting is a very idiotic concept that whoever types the fastest is the winner. Imperia stands for quality, and Speed fighting is seen as the bottom of the barrel when it comes to RP Combat.