RPR Archive Tips/Advice Articles: Lightsaber Dueling

In this thread, you may post tips and advice on the subject of lightsaber dueling. For character-creation-oriented tips, please use the Force-User Characters thread.

 

Here are some tips from the old "Training Grounds and Informational Thread" to start us off!

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[b]LIGHTSABER DUELING[/b]
[ul][li]Lightsaber Dueling[/li]
[li]Sword/Lightsaber Dueling[/li][/ul]
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[i][b][color=blue]Lightsaber Dueling, by [link=http://boards.theforce.net/pm_send.asp?usr=921480]exodus411[/link][/i][/b][/color]

Alrighty.....

For the lightsaber dueling, I always envision my character in my mind. I then envision his/her opponent, and depending on who makes the first move, I react or attack. Create a mental picture of the setting, and include nature, wildlife, civilians, droids....anything that would be nearby. It's not dishonorable to use outside forces in a duel, (heck, I do it all the time) and in fact, that could be the deciding factor. Chunck a log or a disabled droid at your opponent with the Force, and see how he/she reacts. Basically, it's all about what you want your character to do. If he/she is powerful enough, there are literally tons of things you can do.

About the Force....what is it that you need help with? If it's using abilities, again, just envision your character and his/her surroundings, and write what you think he/she should do.


I hope that helps. If I need to explain further, just ask.
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[b][color=red]Sword/Lightsaber Dueling, by [link=http://boards.theforce.net/pm_send.asp?usr=952742]milney[/link][/b][/color]

Sword/Lightsaber Dueling
[i]-What are some common stances, what are their strategic values, and how can one illustrate the use of footwork?[/i]
Commonly accepted stances are 'ready, salute, attack, defend, rest'. They are fairly self explanitory how they are used. To illustrate their footwork, you simply have to describe their movements.

[i]-How does one keep track of the endurance of a character in a long fight, and how do various wounds and maladies affect staying power?[/i]
Endurance can usually be tracked by reading the opening statements of the post. The author will usually describe if their character is tired, resting, building up energy or the like. How wounds affect staying power varies on the RPG, the RP-ers and the type of wound itself. I can't say for certain how a wound will affect you in a given circumstance, but if you wish, you can PM me with some specific ewxamples and I will do my best to describe how they would affect the person.

[i]-In duelists who are not force sensitive, can eyesight keep up with the flurry are a fight or are they assumed to be anticipating at all times and watching the movement of the opponent's arms?[/i]
It's usually accapted as being both, depending on the characters an situation.

[i]-What are the advantages and disadvantages of long swords over short swords?[/i]
Long swords can be used to keep the fight at a greater distance from the character, but they are larger and more cumbersome to use. A short sword allows the user to use more power, but in very close proximity with the opponent.

 

Upping in case anyone would like to add to our tips/advice!

 

Some people prefer a Fencing style, as opposed to the acrobatics of the Prequel Jedi. I am going to copy a few articles from an official classroom text on Fencing; keep in mind that the text is meant to actually teach one to Fence, but with a little ingenuity, it can easily be adapted to RP.

First, let's begin with Lines

Line (Ligne): Theoretical lines of defense of defense which divide the target area into four scoring areas, including the outside, inside, high and low lines (shoulders, chest, and stomach areas). Lines are the portion of the target considered by their relation to the fencer's blade.

The Target Lines and Parries That Protect The Lines

There are four target lines: 1.) high inside, 2.) high outside, 3.) low inside, and 4.) low outside. Each line area is protected by two or more parries. For each parry, the hand is placed in or toward either suppination, with the palm of the hand facing up, or pronation of the palm of the hand turned toward the floor.

[image=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/TheCosmicCastaway/lines.jpg]

High inside line is protected by:
-First or high prime parry with the hand turned past pronation; the point is low line but the hand is high line.
-Four parry with the hand toward pronation; the point above the hand
-High five parry with the hand in pronation and the point is above the hand

High outside line is protected by:
-Six parry the hand toward supination; the point is above the hand (six is the classic on-guard position for foil)
-Three parry with the hand in pronation; the point is above the hand (three is the classic on-guard position for saber)

Low inside line is protected by:
-Prime parry with the hand tutned past pronation; point is in the low line
-Five parry with the hand in pronation; the point is below the hand
-Seven parry with the hand in suppination; the point is below the hand

Low outside line is protected by:
-Eight parry with the hand in supposition; the point is lower than the hand
-Two parry with the hand past pronation; the point is lower than the hand


Basic Attacks and Defenses

The attack is the initial offensive action executed by extending the arm and continuously threatening the opponent's valid target area. Attacks may be either be simple or compound.

Simple Attacks
A simple attack is one that is performed in one movement or tempo. They may be either direct or indirect. There are three simple attacks:
1.) Straight Thrust or lunge is a direct simple attack that begins and ends in the same line.
2.) Disengage (Degage) is an indirect simple attack. Disengages may be made from a line that is closed to a line that is open. The disengage is executed as the blade disengages or leaves engagement of the opponent's blade and passes to an open line.
3.) Cut Over (Coupe) is an indirect simple attack. The cut over cuts over the tip of the opponent's weapon. The cut over in the high line withdraws the foil blade up and over the tip of the opponent's blade and scores in the opposite line. The cut over in the low line draws the blade down the opponent's blade to clear the tip and then to attack the opposite open line.


Simple Defenses
The parry is a defensive movement with the foil that deflects the opponent's blade from reaching the target. Like attacks, parries may be either simple or compound. Simple parries (those executed in one movement) stop simple attacks while compound parries (two or more parries combined) stop compound attacks that are composed of one or more feints.
The major principle of defense is to use the forte or strong part of the blade and bell guard against the foible or weak part of your opponent's blade to control and move the attack out of line.

There are three types of simple parries in fencing:
1.) The Blocking Parry
2.) The Beat Parry
3.) The Yielding Parry

The Parries are executed by moving in one of four directions:
1.) Lateral or horizontal, from side to side. The lateral parry is a type of parry

 

Some of how you fight will depend upon how skilled a fighter your character is. A more experienced fighter will not react so much as adapt. In a real fight, hands move too fast for the eye to see* and a trained fighter will rather read the movement of the core, followed by the base of the extremities. For example: if a Jedi feints by swinging at you, but is moving away, an experienced fighter would notice the movement of the shoulders indicating a _blank_ strike, but would also notice the legs and hips leading away. An inexperienced fighter would react to the sword, often only barely, and cannot usually fend off a concentrated attack for long, if at all.

Put in context, a young jedi, or someone unfamiliar with melee combat would be constantly "against the ropes" when facing an opponent who is experienced with a sword/lightsaber. Hand to hand and melee weapons require a different thinking process than ranged combat.

In addition, an experienced fighter wastes no movement. Why swing downward when a simple thrust would be more effective? Generally speaking though, a short foreward thrust is a more advanced move, because for it to be effective requires both a strength and speed which can only be acquired with time. A poorly placed thrust leaves you open for attack, while a skillful thrust is one of the most deadly strikes. In a similar vein, spins and other wide-arc attacks are probably the most powerful, but require either excellent timing, or a great advantage of speed and/or skill over your opponent. Any attack that takes your weapon from between you and your opponent is very dangerous, despite their power.

You want your strikes to have a point. They go for either a vital point on the body, or seek to eliminate a defense guarding a vital point so that you may strike it. An attacker does not try to hit his opponents weapon, rather he strikes at a point and the defender stops the strike with his weapon(or not). Some choreographed fights make it seem like the attacker is going for the weapon, because the defender knows the sequence of strikes and places his weapon in the way almost like he read his attackers mind.

Why does all this matter in an imaginary, written fight? As NaboosPrincess pointed out, envisioning the fight helps a lot in your narration. Also, having a more technical knowledge of the mechanics of a fight will make your telling much more convincing. Read a fight done by R.A. Salvatore (who has experience in hand to hand fighting) and you see a writer who includes details such as the position of a foot, or the direction a wrist turns in a swing, wich ultimately leads to a reaction based on this seemingly unimportant information.

Stuff like this was helpful for me, as does sort of acting out your attack sequence physically to see if the movements translate to a feasable attack. If the character you are writing for has a sword (not lightsaber) try holding something heavyer and lopsided, like a cast iron frypan(or practice swords if you spar), and move with it to feel how it would feel to use in a fight. A lightsaber has no weight save the handle, wich lends itself to different failings, such as under/overswing due to the lack of force from the blade itself. Try to imagine how this affects your fight.

Hope it helps all of you. Or not, maybe I just need to get a new hobby. Like choreography.
*One can argue that a Jedi would have enhanced senses that would allow them to react directly to the blade. While this may or may not be true,(they could be facing another force user, who would boost their speed such that essentially, the rules are the same, everything just goes faster) any fighter who only reacts to the weapon (hands, sword, saber, etc) is setting themselves up for failure. Contrary to popular beleif, movement does not begin at the arm, leg, or even the hips or shoulders. Rather, it begins at the center of gravity, ususally(I say usually because some non human species a character may play may not be humanoid) the abdomen. The muscles around the stomac and lower back contract, and the

 

Some Notes on Lightsaber Forms

What follows is more by the way of reference material in relation to the known forms of lightsaber combat by the time of ROTS. It is provided in general terms in the hope of providing material for duellists in their chosen styles.

What's a lightsaber form?
In essence it is a system of techniques that a Jedi uses to protect himself from attacks from others or overcome the defences of others. The look of each system is said to be distinct, although it may be noted from the films themselves that telling some forms from others is a futile exercise for the non-Jedi. The lightsaber form is not something created by the Force; it is a set of movements that the Jedi chooses to utilise against his opponent.

Form I: Shii-Cho
The first and most basic form of lightsaber combat. This is the style that padawans first learn before moving out to the other forms. It is not particularly elegant or flashy, but the view is that mastery of this simple form can be as powerful as some of the more specialised forms. Some criticise Shii-Cho as lumbering, even ungainly, but its techniques are the foundations of all the remaining forms. With Shii-Cho one usually sees the saber in basic attack and defence stances, and usually held close to vertical or horizontal. The strikes are likewise reasonably simple and without a great deal of subtlety. Virtually every Jedi practiced this form at some point in their lives. It is not particularly an attacking style.

Form II: Makashi
Makashi is the second form by reason of its age rather than its primacy among lightsaber styles; the art was rare by the time of the fall of the Jedi, and is believed to have died with Count Dooku and the Emperor's deaths. Shii-Cho was the most basic form of lightsaber use, and Makashi developed in an era before blasters were commonplace. Makashi is much directed primarily towards precise and thrusting movements rather than wide sweeps; its appearance in action is similar to 'fencing' on Earth, and typically marked by use of the saber with a single hand rather than two hands. It emphasises thrusts and quick, flicking strikes, using the point of the saber to do the most damage rather than the 'edge'. It is not as useful in blocking blaster fire or withstanding particularly powerful strikes, and the Force use in it is predominantly directed towards guiding the tip of the saber to its target.

Form III: Soresu
Soresu is called by some the ultimate in defensive styles. It developed due to the increasing use of blasters by the enemies of the Jedi and was primarily designed to defeat oncoming attacks. As a result it is a two-handed style directed towards creating a 'wall' of moving saber around the user to protect him in firefights and against other sabers. It shares one thing in common with Makashi: it, too, emphasises the positioning of the body as much as the saber in meeting an attack. One sees defensive wheeling movements from this style, several ways of blocking the same attack, and attacks of opportunity, particularly when one's saber is locked with another (such as sliding the blade down the opponent's blade to destroy the opponent's saber at the hilt.) The Force use in it is primarily directed at sensing and intercepting strikes as they arrive, with very modest counterattacks designed for the opponent's recovery from attack or as the opponent tires out.

Form IV: Ataru
Ataru is an acrobatic style; it emphasises clearing large distances in battles using the Force and the attempt to strike at several spots in rapid succession -- effectively to overload the opponent's defence. Yoda's use of the style is well-documented, and Anakin Skywalker also made use of it -- albeit to lesser effect given his larger size. The form is an aggressive style in that it takes the fight to a defender rather than awaiting the attack. Acrobatic movements, physical kicks and punches are seen as parts of this style. The Force in it is directed to the movement required to bring the

 

The secret of thrilling lightsaber duels is simple, if you ask me . . . it is the characters.

The common duel against random Sith/Jedi never really get spectecular to read. But when people connect, when the story is changed through the very fact they fight and will be even more affected by the outcome . . . what is done beteen the enemies becomes thrilling.

Anyone remember the first time we saw Ep VI? Today, after Maul and Episode III I think the duel is lame, considering choreography. But first time I ´ve seen it. I couldn´t sit still. I didn´t wanted Luke to loose, I didn´t wanted him to kill him. I didn´t knew what I wanted. But I needed to know, how this would work out! I had to!

If you can rise such a tension, your duel will be incredible. Description of techniques can add to the atmosphere (actually I have seen many examples were they ruined the fight). But the drama is what a duel is about.

Two people fighting. Only one will life to see it´s end.

 

Indeed,Characters really make the duel.

 

In terms of how one converts a visual duel to the text-based RPG format, IMHHO one should look to the duel between Count Dooku, Anakin, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Matthew Stover's novelisation of Episode III.

Leaving aside the fact that most duels between players will be the result of 'tagging' one another with techniques and moves, and therefore written by two authors instead of one vision, Stover's account of this duel still leaves a tremendous amount of useful material on how to put a character 'inside' a battle, since he tells the duel pretty much entirely from Dooku's point of view.

The result is a duel which on paper, IMHHHO, sounds better and fits more snugly into the story than the film itself. So how does Stover do it? Some of the elements that I perceive are these:

(1) Dooku discusses why he chooses particular techniques to fight with. And it's not just a matter of 'this technique should beat Anakin'; he frankly assesses that his style has certain weaknesses that force him to choose certain techniques. This is a measure of how well he knows the character and why the character uses the style he does. At no point does he ever simply say 'He used Makashi and overwhelmed Anakin's defences, and his last blow didn't look like it could be blocked.'

(2) There isn't a blow-by-blow recitation of every strike that's thrown. Instead the description of the fight stays general -- where Anakin and Obi-Wan are positioned relative to Dooku, whether Anakin's attacking low, or high. Stover uses 'punctuation' moves -- a well-described kick here, a 'near-miss' there -- to mark out shifts in the direction of the battle. Remember, in doing lightsaber duelling scenes, you're not choreographing the fight; you're telling the story of the fight.

(3) There's as much inner reflection during the fight as there is action. Dooku's perceptions and ideas are marked with short musings on Anakin's nature and Obi-Wan's 'obsolete design', as it were. This is important for a text-based RPG, and it reinforces one of the most basic points of character play: there is always room for inner reflection by a character -- even in the course of a duel.

One could do worse than looking for good fantasy authors who know how to write sword duels. This is not as easy as it first sounds. I've never seen a lightsaber duel written as well as Stover does it (and one might note he has a substantial martial arts background to draw on), but some of R.A. Salvatore's books starring Drizzt Do'Urden (The Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver, The Halfling's Gem, Homeland, Exile, and Sojourn being the first six) also have flashy and descriptive sword duels. Other examples would certainly be welcome.

 

I'm double-posting, I know, but I'd like to add a tip that surfaced during discussions on another thread. It's this:

People do lose lightsaber duels!
In some respects this is more about playing your character faithfully and properly rather than lightsaber duelling, but saber duels are the most florid demonstrations of the problem.

All of us like the characters we create. Whether the character has the depth of Marianas Trench or is no more developed than name+age+gender+short bio, we tend to feel very protective of these virtual people that we drew out of our fertile imaginations. We don't like to see them die. Unfortunately, it's the (over)protectiveness that we have over these creations that can spoil the flavour of a really good lightsaber duel.

Many experienced roleplayers have the experience of reading a lightsaber duel that (stripped of flashy posting) basically goes like this:

Player #1: Now we fight the ultimate lightsaber battle of all time! I attack you!
Player #2: I block. I attack you!
Player #1: I block. I attack you!
Player #2: I block. I attack you!
(Repeat as long as GM and other players' sanity holds out...)

And more often than not, player 1 is a Sith Dread Dark Master while player 2 is a padawan fresh out of the crechè. The real story is pretty easy to see: someone isn't prepared to concede to "reality" as it applies within the game universe because of their attachment to their character. And the result is plain old godmoding.

The problem with such attachment is that it breaks the suspension of disbelief. Other players either get frustrated that their own characters can't pull things off like this, or (worse still) try and achieve things just as unbelievably with their own characters. Result: a little gratification for the first player, grinding annoyance for everyone else.

The truth is that, in every Star Wars movie duel, there was some kind of resolution, and somebody wound up hurt or dead. The parties didn't just bash sabers until the cows came home. In the OT, Obi-Wan gave up and sacrificed his life. Luke lost his hand. Vader was beaten conclusively by Luke. In the PT, Obi-Wan pulled off an impressive technique and cut Darth Maul in half. Anakin lost his arm, Obi-Wan was badly injured, and Dooku fled when he had the chance from Yoda. Anakin beat Dooku. Yoda ran out of strength to face Palpatine and left. Obi-Wan defeated Anakin.

So when your character is in a lightsaber duel, and looks like he or she will lose (and should in reality), please consider putting aside your attachment to the character, and let him go out with style. Yes, if you block and start pulling out that Vaapad technique that you haven't revealed for the whole story, you'll probably survive, but characters can be just as noble and memorable for their end as much as their life. Hell, there's a movement to put Qui-Gon in Episode III as a Force Ghost and he was only in one movie as a living being!

Besides ... if you've been that skilled at creating this character, how much better will your next one be?

 

*Bump*

 

The problem im having in lightsaber battles, is when the person your battling simply refuses to acknowledge any attacks you have done. Im not sure if it is sometimes simply NOT READING it throughtly, or just jumping in, and wanting to post a reply so badly, that they dont take into effect the attacks you hvae done.

They simply blindly attack, without taking into effect any events that should have happened from your attack. If you manage to kick someone in the ribs, they should react as if they felt it. It might not be a rib breaking, but it should at least knock the wind out of you for a second. Nothing worse than playing against a fighter who acts as if he's wearing 40 feet of plate armor, and never reacts to a single blow that you throw..


(unless you are simply SOOOOO Outclassed..you really ARENT doing anything..hehe. In that case...yer on your own!)


So remember, it takes two folks, willing to honestly react to the blows given, to make it a good fight, and something to remember.

 

Among other problems, a problem I see is the other person refusing to acknowledge that they can't avoid certain attacks and if they do allow said attacks to hit them, as Ktala stated, they reduce the effect of the attack and come back.

I have no problem accepting attacks that I see no way out of, unfortunately the line between certain things are blurred, but here's a scenario I have come up with. If Player A swings at player B and Player B blocks Player A, but then is attacked by Player C, shouldn't Player B lose or get hit?

Just wondering, now off to finish a battle of my own.


-BeastoftheWonderand-

 

As we all know, battles around these part are not ever that simple, but all things considered, logic dictates that player B should at least get hit by Player C. I think most everyone that plays fairly can agree to that. As hinted before, such a scenario needs be addressed on a case by case basis. Those are my two cents.

 

Here's a tip for people attached to a specific character; don't duel in the first place.
However, that's sometimes not an option within a storyline, so remember people: your character, with very few exceptions, wants to get out of this as whole as possible.

If, for example, your character is profoundly outclassed in a duel, there are three ways it can go. Option one: You godmode outrageously, are mocked by everyone, and a GM intervention sees your character die anyway. You don't want that one.
Option two: you take whatever damage your character can't realistically avoid. Can end in character death, but is a sign of a good player, being willing to follow the rules.
Option three: Run. Turn and bolt. Scarper. Flee the scene. Getting the idea? You want your character to live, but they're up against the Big Bad. So you start looking for opportunities to escape. There are few things more tragic and pathetic than a Jedi Padawan charging a Sith Lord, intent on duelling to the bitter end despite having no chance to survive. This isn't a game to your character. In their fictional minds, it's life or death. If your character begins having thoughts about their own mortality, perhaps they should try to get away. Last stands are very dramatic, but here's the thing: they're ultimately futile.

Of course, if your character is insane, stupid, incredibly reckless, has a deathwish or simply finds it impossible to believe they could lose, go ahead. You might even get lucky, but it's unlikely.

Matches between characters of similar skill tend to be more fair that way; either person has a chance to win.
And a useful tip for people who want to portray near-misses, because their character is good enough to escape injury but not quite good enough to evade entirely: think about their clothing, hair, skin. If you look at the movies, characters tend to wind up with clothing damage and the odd burn/cut/bruise if they've been fighting hard. Not every blow needs to end in either losing a limb or getting off scot-free. Sometimes your hair or your shirt might get charred, or you might get a superficial burn if a lightsaber comes too close without actually cutting into you.
But that's ok, if you live. That's what bacta patches and new clothes are for.

Unless you utterly outclass your opponent, don't expect to walk away looking dewy-fresh and untouched.
Or, you know...unless you spend most of the duel running away/fighting defensively, but that can be a trifle silly.

 

http://boards.theforce.net/role_playing_forum/b10328/26564678/p7

In the above link, see the dual between the characters Roth Aiden (myself, Sentinel001), and Bryce (weeee123). In my opinion, it was utterly perfect. It executed the use and awareness of the environment and force powers. If you liked it or disliked it, let me know.

 

Roth went through his drawers and pulled out his old weapon, his double-sided red lightsaber, the tool of the sith. This wasn't him saying that he was embracing the sith, but rather that he was rejecting the Jedi. Bryce took it the wrong way when he turned both ends on and readied for battle.
God-moding.
Generally, people don't like it when you say for them how their characters take things etc.

The only time a person can get away with that, is with a preceding OOC that it's been agreed upon privately by the players. Oh, and that has to be the truth, too.

Never think a duel is perfect. There's always something to improve. No, I don't care if you've written the scripts for the SW film fights, look at all the arguments that say those should have been improved too. And for anyone who didn't...no perfection either.

 

My problem in doing a lightsabre fight is that on reading my opponent's description of their move, nine times out of ten, I have no idea what they just said.

What I mean is, I am facing the other character, but the words used don't actually translate into anything that I can visualise. I have no clue which direction the blade is coming from, and often, even if I do, no idea what to do about it, beyond the simple horizontal and vertical parries of the AOTC Visual Dictionary, or whatever that big white Dork-Kindersley "can-double-as-a-teatray" publication was.

 

Fun fact: Nine out of ten times, the players don't know what they're doing either.

 

That's hardly God-modding, even if we hadn't agreed on it, which we did, assuming that someone is gonna react harshly when you turn on a light saber in front of them is more often that not a good assumption.

 

Assuming others behavior is god-modding. I guess we must take it for granted everybody thinks he makes the other´s behavior logical.

Concerning the lightsaber-duel. the question is what do you want to archieve with it, I´d say. Shall it be the dramatic highlight of the RP and the conclusion of a story evolving around two characters. Then find a way to predict who wins, give the other god-modding ability and write a scene that is drama. Thrilling and tensed.

If you want to see "who-is-stronger" ask the GM and let him decide. For the players who say, well yours is by far stronger than mine are quite rare.

Andi n support of Rilwen . . . if you wanna life AVOID DUELS.

 

I had a few free minutes, with nothing better to do, and thinking over the six films, we have seen a lightsabre turned on in front of someone else quite a good number of times, and I think, the only time we have seen harsh was when four or five jedi went to arrest Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith.

By far the majority, reaction-wise, we have relaxed nonchalance (eg. Qui Gon and Obi-Wan facing Maul at Theed; Han Solo in the 'Falcon lounge), to not-taking-a-blind-bit-of-notice (Jar Jar on first meeting Qui-Gon, when the latter uses his to deflect STAP laser fire).

Oops, times up.

 

*bump*

 

Advanced Lightsaber Posting Technique 101 - WARNING. BREAKS MOST NORMAL RPG RULES.

Actually, it's not as dreadful as all that. What this tip fundamentally comes down to is this: lightsaber duels are often done better using combined posts rather than successive posts if you're aiming for a literate and memorable duel.

Combined posts, for the uninitiated, are posts where you agree the content and wording with a fellow player before it's actually put up on the thread, usually headed by something like "This is a combined post between DarkJedi666 and AngelJedi777" or something similar.

The reason this works better is simply because the intent of the two types of posting is different. With successive posts usually you're only throwing one strike per post, or tossing a bench at somebody using the Force. This can get tedious, in that a thirty-second duel takes the better part of three weeks to complete as you and your opponent go back and forth. There are some ways to deal with this and still get a literate duel, but for the most part this style should really be reserved for the more competitive types out there.

Combined posts, by contrast, are more about telling a good story of a duel. You get your techniques and moves worked out off the thread, so the characters then can have a thirty-second duel in less than three weeks. It allows you to be more literate and flashy in that you can go for moves which would ordinarily get your opponent saying "i stab u in back while u iz turned round lol!!!!!1!!!!". It also gives you and your fellow dueller a chance to cook up something that people really want to read.

The Forbidden Form: Godmoding in-thread.
Again, the title should give you some ideas how dangerous this technique is to use without getting banned from your game, but I'll cite it nonetheless. It takes years of maturity and experience on these boards to do it safely, along with a compliant GM, but I'll mention it anyway.

It's where you're duelling someone and you break the classic rule of not posting another person's reactions for the sake of a flashy duel. In doing so you GM in a very limited way, and only for the purposes of making the duel more interesting. And you clearly signal that intention OOC, asking the person's permission as you do.

As an example, I'd like to grab an old, old duel I had with the great Kai_Halicon back in the ancient days of "The Matrix: Flight of the Shenobi". Just to give you the context: Kai's character, Wraith (a Zion human), and mine, Cort (an ex-Agent program) are within the "dojo" scene in The Matrix.

My first post:

Cort raised an eyebrow as he took a quick glance around the dojo program. Version 2.21 of the Hokkaido Environment or some variant of it, he guessed. He turned his eye back to Wraith and let a thin smile cross his lips. "Seraph did always have a...flair...for the dramatic," he said easily. "There is some truth to what he says. Even for programs, perhaps."

Cort took the stetson off his head, tossing it across the room where it caught and hung on the end of one of the katana. "I admit you may find me less of a challenge than within the Matrix. I would imagine I can still accommodate you, though." Cort glanced down at his clothes, then smiled wryly at Wraith. "Forgive me, human. I am somewhat improperly dressed."

He closed his eyes, reaching down into the code--
(skin=987372)
--and opened his eyes again dressed in a white karate gi top, and a long, black pleated skirt that the samurai had once worn, and that some sensei in Japan still "wore". He folded his right hand into a fist, palmed it in his left, and squeezed it in front of his chest in a quick salute.

He selected Wing Chun from his library of techniques, and picked out the Tiger Style.

And exploded, from a standing start, into a long flying kick leading with his right foot, the traditional kiai roaring from his lips as he flew through the air at Wraith...

TAG: Kai

OOC:

 

Time for the annual-ish bump!

For the knowledge, interest, and opportunity for contribution of this new group of players.

-I_H