-WIP- What, you say? An actual formalized ruleset for all the dueling that's been going on at Ragnarok? It can't be possible! Oh, but it is. Rolls and Deficits This is the most basic part of our method of dueling. The victor of a Ragnarok duel is determined not by free RP but by the rolling of dice, allowing for a fairer and quicker fight with less OOC arguments over who, exactly, is the more grizzled mercenary or master warrior. To begin with, both players enter a dice room on the website rolz.org. In general, the room that we use for this is 'Ragnarok', though the only thing that matters is that both player are in the same room (and thus can see each others' rolls). From there, combat goes in a smooth succession of 'turns'. First, both players roll a d20 to determine who goes first -- the higher number gets initiative, and the first attack. Each turn consists of an attempted attack by one player, and an attempted defense by the other. It usually looks something like this: Attacker emotes their attempted attack. Defender emotes their attempted defense. Both players roll. Defender emotes the effect based on the rolls. How do you determine the effect, you say? Deficits. Barring special cases, a defense is a defense -- as long as the defender's roll is higher, be it a 5-4 or a 19-4, the defender is successful. On a successful attacking roll, however, the difference between the rolls determines the amount of damage done. A deficit of 10 is much more damaging than a deficit of 2. Now that you know the basics, it's on to the more specific mechanics! Attacking Your method of attack is determined primarily by the type of weapon which you use. Different weapon styles have different bonuses and drawbacks: One-handed weapon: The most common fighting style, this fighting style gives no benefits or drawbacks to combat. However, it allows for the usage of a shield, the benefits of which will be discussed in the defending section. One-handed weapons can also be wielded alone and without a shield, granting +1 to parry rolls (which will be covered in the defending section as well). Two-handed weapon: While the usage of a two-handed weapon does not allow for a shield, it has its own benefit for the more offensively-inclined: Namely, a +2 bonus to all attack rolls with the weapon. When striking with a two-handed weapon, you roll a 1d20+2. Dual-Wield: An uncommon tactic is to use two weapons, one in each hand. The primary benefit of this is that if one weapon is disarmed, the attacker still has another that they can then use in a one-handed-with-no-shield style. Melee: Melee attacks are almost solely a last resort of the disarmed. When melee-attacking, you take a -2 penalty, and cannot deal piercing damage or attempt to parry. Another facet of attacking is the magnitude of deficits. Each successful attack deals damage to the body part attacked, or to its armor. To determine how much damage is dealt, you look to the deficit: 1-3: 1 damage. 4-6: 2 damage. 7-9: 2 damage, 1 piercing damage. 10-12: 3 damage, 1 piercing damage. 13-15: 3 damage, 2 piercing damage. 16+: 4 damage, 2 piercing damage. What is piercing damage, you ask? Piercing damage is damage dealt to an attacked body part that negates armor. If your enemy has an armor piece with [5/5] health and their limb also has [5/5] health, and the offensive deficit is a 7, your enemy is decreased to [3/5] armor health and [4/5] limb health. When an armor piece is destroyed, the body part beneath becomes vulnerable, and all damage dealt is done directly to the body part itself -- however, piercing damage no longer applies. A 16 deficit against an armorless body part, then, does 4 damage rather than 6. Defending In this section, we will discuss hit points, types of defense and armor types. Every duelist has six major body parts to be attacked: The left arm, the right arm, the torso, the left leg, the right leg, and the head. Each of these areas encompasses that general region to the body -- a strike at the hand is interpreted as damaging the arm, and slicing at someone's neck deals damage to their head region. Each body part has a certain amount of HP at the start of a battle. Destroying each part has its own unique effect: Arms [5HP each]: A destroyed arm is unable to be used to swing or parry with a weapon. One-handed users must swap to the opposite arm, and two-handed users are unable to properly handle the weight, leading to -2 penalties to weapon attacks and parries. With both arms destroyed, a fighter in a duel that is not to the death cannot attack and must concede. Legs [5HP each]: If one leg is destroyed, the user takes a -2 penalty to dodge attempts, and may be knocked over at the duelists' discretion. With both legs destroyed, a duelist is rendered immobile and must concede. Head and Torso [10HP each]: In any spacefaring species, proper function of the head and torso is necessary to, well, survive, much less participate in a duel. Therefore, attacking solely at either of these body parts can result in a quicker victory, though a riskier one. When either part runs entirely out of HP, the duelist is knocked unconscious, loses the duel, and may be in need of serious medical aid. Striking at the head is generally considered unchivalric, particularly if the helm has already been destroyed. So, how do you properly protect your various squishy organs? With armor! There are four types of armor: Heavy Armor [5HP]: Heavy armor is slow and cumbersome, but provides more protection to the user. While wearing heavy armor, you cannot attempt to dodge attacks. Medium Armor [4HP]: Medium armor has no benefits or drawbacks. Light Armor [3HP]: Light armor provides little protection, but also does not weigh the user down. While wearing light armor, you gain +1 to dodge attempts. Shields [5HP]: Shields can be worn with any armor type to provide an extra boost to defense, but require a free hand to use. When defending with a shield, you add an extra layer of hit points: even if an attacker gets a higher roll than you, they must first crash through your shield. The shield acts as an 'over-armor' in this case: regular damage gets dealt to the shield, and piercing damage to the armor beneath. Shields, like weapons, can be disarmed in special cases. Now, when you try to defend against the screaming Floran charging you with swords in both hands, you have a few options for how you want to go about protecting yourself. In general, three strategies can be employed: Parrying: A parry attempts to knock the enemy's weapon away with your own, and open them up for a counter-attack. A successful parry grants a +2 modifier to your next attack roll. Blocking: A block tries to stop the enemy's weapon against your shield, weapon or armor, negating any damage. When attempting a block, you add a +2 modifier to your defense. Dodging: A dodge is an attempt to dance around or away from your opponent. It can only be attempted in medium or light armor. When dodging, you gain a +1 modifier to your defense, and a successful dodge grants a +1 modifier to your next attack roll. Critical Hits Rarely, a roll may result in a critical hit -- either a 20, a critical success, or a 1, a critical fail. Note that, when determining the extra effects of a critical, the roll must be exactly 20 before any modifiers are applied: a 20 gained from rolling a 19 and adding a +1 modifier does not count, while a 19 from rolling a 20 and subtracting a -1 modifier does. If an attacker rolls a natural 20 or a defender rolls a natural 1, the defender is disoriented -- in addition to taking the damage from their deficit, the defender loses their turn and the attacker gets to take another it. Vice-versa, if a defender rolls a 20 or an attacker rolls a 1, the attacker is disarmed. In this case, the attacker has two choices on their next turn -- they may use it up retrieving their weapon, or attempt to melee-attack at a penalty. Disarmed fighters also cannot attempt to parry attacks. Special Cases In some situations, an attacker may try for something extra -- maybe their goal in swinging is not to damage a limb, but to knock their opponent over or disarm them. These situations are to be agreed upon by both parties involved, and will not be quantified in this guide. --- Alrighty, so there's an hour of my time hopefully well spent. Leave comments and scalding criticisms below. The thing I'm most uncertain about is balacing values -- is the damage to high? Is it too low? Does armor not do enough? Is one particular type of offense or defense overpowered? Try it out and let me know.
