The following rules are to be obeyed by all fighters, at all times, no exceptions save in the case of scenario-specific villains and other non-regular characters of importance.

• A minimum of 7 valid hits must be scored before victory can be claimed. [More...]
• No character may be invincible or fully immortal. [More...]
• A character must have certain weaknesses. [More...]
• God-moding is strictly forbidden. [More...]
• Unless otherwise specified on a profile, weapons and armour are breakable. [More...]
• Players must use a bare minimum of 6 words to be valid, no counting small terms. [More...]
• Players may only commit two typographical errors per line. [More...]
• Obey the laws of physics within reason. [More...]
• Only one action may be taken per line. [More...]
• Do not be redundant and repeat words over and over again. [More...]

Every player is required to write to the best of his ability. Typographical errors are not tolerated, and any more than 2 will render your line invalid. This keeps fights from becoming a frenzied mess and helps both players understand what each others characters are doing. In addition, one should clearly state what is happening. Do not attempt to spice up your lines with fancy words unless you actually know how to use those terms. Here is an example of good and bad writing:

Bad:

Paral says <thrusts her sword with swiftness at the opponent's right> Paral says <hits him stabbingly through the centre of his shoulder>

Good:

Hidoshi says <thrusts his sword forward and to the right of his opponent's collar bone> Hidoshi says <stabbing him viciously through both the tender flesh and sinew of his shoulder>

The first example has two glaring errors in it. One, Paral said the opponent's 'right', which is not a general area. It's a general direction. This alone is invalid. Two, using grammar correctly is important. In this example, "swiftness" and "stabbingly" are used incorrectly. In fact, "stabbingly" isn't a word, although some might assume it is. This is abuse of grammar, and should be avoided at all costs. In the example using Hidoshi, he uses proper grammar, but doesn't try to use long words. Yet his pair of lines are much more refined than those of Paral. In addition, he links the two lines as though they were part of the same sentence, a method often ignored by the general populace of fighters.

It is generally understood that every action has to be on a separate line, but just in case this is unclear, read the following. Minor actions, such as adjusting your feet or rolling your neck from side to side can go on the same line as say, preparing to attack or stepping backward. However, all primary actions must be on separate lines. You cannot block and attack in the same line, nor leap and toss a dagger. One line to block, one line to attack, etc. There are no exceptions to this rule, ever.

When it comes to fulfilling the bare minimum of required words, many people think that 6 is a very small minimum to use, so they say they bump it up to 12 or more. This is done based on the assumption that only small words, three letters or less are discounted from the total. Rather, the minimum of 6 only counts uncommon terms.

Common Terms: The, that, he, she, it, when, why, where, how, up, down, left, right, east, west, north, south, around, about, above, below, hit, block, run, forward, back, look, sight, talk.

Uncommon Terms: Tension, panic, brute, monstrous, divine, demonic, slice, crush, slaughter, maim, hoard, legion, defend, retaliate, swerve, tumble, pretend, disguise, vision, opaque.

These are just a few examples of common and uncommon terms. Please note that names do not count toward the 6 word minimum. In addition, do not fill your line with uncommon terms unnecessarily, but learn to use them properly. Remember, you can substitute "turn" with "swerve", but you don't have to say "vision" when you can say "sight".

A bad habit of many players is that they becom redundant while trying to fulfill the word quota. They self-righteously abuse the list of uncommon terms by flooding their lines with repeated words and synonyms. When confronted about such issues, they generally become defensive and try to use the list of uncommon terms as a crutch. To prevent this from happening, it is advised that players avoid redundancy. In fact, being unnecessarily redundant in the same line will negate the line entirely. Let's have Paral show us an example.

Paral says <charges at her opponent full speed, charging him as quickly as possible> Paral says <coming out swinging with her sword in a wide swinging arc at his chest>

It should be immediately apparently what's wrong with her lines. In the first line, not only are words reused unnecessarily, but the action is restated to try and fake fulfilling the number of words required for a valid line. This has rendered the line invalid. In the second line, swinging is repeated twice, thereby negating that line as well. Redundancy should be avoided at all costs. Certainly, one can use words in seperate lines over and over again, but it should be avoided in the same line. Let's have Paral provide us with a rather glaring example.

Paral says <swings her blade whilst stepping back whilst pointing it toward the sky whilst being enraged>

That's just awful. Avoid doing that.

Another important rule concerns "God-moding". While within a scenario using non-regular characters, this rule doesn't necessarily apply, but freeform roleplayers are bound by it. Characters cannot have over-exaggerated abilities. Examples of this include immunity to temperature changes as well as elemental magic and regular attacks. One of these alone is acceptable, but two or more is just ridiculous. If a person cannot be hurt by magic, then they should be susceptible to physical attacks. Learn to balance your character's strengths and weaknesses, not create an über-warrior who is nearly impossible to hurt. Characters should be based around personality and purpose, not ability and immunity. In addition, it is strictly prohibited for any character to be invincible, or incapable of dying. Even a zombie can be reduced to ash, never to rise again.

Just because you are wearing armour doesn't mean it's invulnerable. Just because your sword is of the highest grade steel doesn't make it unbreakable. Unless your profile states a good reason as to why your weapon is unbreakable, it can be snapped, chipped, bent, and sliced into pieces. Of course, the tougher it is, the more damage it will sustain, and you should make note of that. For instance, if you have a high grade steel longsword, a rapier or shortsword is unlikely to do much damage. On the other hand, someone with a bastard sword or battle axe may be able to shatter it quite easily. Armour on the other hand, save in the case of scenario-specific villains, is always removable or breakable. Even if it was imbued with the holy powers of an ancient magician, it is still vulnerable to a certain level of damage.

The final note is on physics. Physics should be obeyed as much as possible. For instance, a knight wearing heavy steel armour cannot start doing cartwheels, nor can he turn around at the speed of light. No matter how fast he may be without the armour, he will be slowed down while wearing it. This is important to note, as your typing speed should reflect this. For instance, just because you may be in danger of taking a hit, your knight should not instantly gain the ability to wield his heavy shield like a feather. Take the hit and state that you are physically too slow to compensate. That, or find another means to defend yourself. Your armour is there for a reason after all.

 

There are four basic rules to attacking an opponent. First, you must be within range. Obviously a sword will reach farther than a fist, a spear farther than a sword, and an arrow farther than a spear, etc. Simply state that you have come within range of attacking your opponent using whatever means you choose. If your opponent moves out of range, then you will have to re-state your approach.

Secondly, you must swing your weapon outward. This applies to weapons of all ranges, from fists to arrows and lightning bolts. In the case of a ranged weapon, if you are at a distance, you will have to aim before firing. At close range however, this is unnecessary. In the case of a punch or sword swing, you have to state you are attacking a general area of the body, such as the upper torso, or the legs.

The third point is contact. You must state specifically where you have made contact with your opponent. If your sword was swung at his upper body, then you might state you raked him across the chest. If at the legs, then perhaps you'd clip him in the knee or the shin, etc.

The fourth point is movement. If you have your sword buried in your opponent's shoulder, you have to withdraw it before moving away. However you could choose to follow up your initial stab by wrenching the sword out of the wound, thus scoring a bonus hit. This would take an additional two lines, one to apply the pressure and tear through the wound, the second to pull free. Outside of attacking, when you are jumping, you have to state your landing. Many players forget this. You jump, you land, unless of course you use levitation or are planning to attack while leaping. Even after attacking, you must state a landing, be it a handspring, a somersault, etc.

Defending yourself comes in a variety of ways. You can block, dodge, counter, etc. The simplest and most common way of defending oneself is to dodge. Shoulder rolls, somersaults, handsprings, or just simply stepping out of the way are all acceptable forms. However, there are rules that go with this. The best way to start explaining is with an example, using Paral and Hidoshi again.

Hidoshi says <swiftly whips his sword downward at Paral's shoulder in a wide vertical arc> Paral says <quickly moves out of the way of the incoming blade, scrambling for her life>

Hold on, Paral's line is invalid. Why? Just because we can assume she is walking out of the way, doesn't mean we should. She hasn't stated if she's running, rolling, somersaulting, flipping, cartwheeling, or even flying out of the way. All she said is she moved. We can assume, but we aren't going to. Paral needs to state how she moved, just like any player is required to.

When it comes to other forms of defense, such as blocking, the process is a little more complex, but makes things more interesting. Blocking an attack takes one line to defend, and one line to push off. However, the push off line can be traded for a counterattack. For instance, if an opponent comes at you with his fist, you can block it with one hand, then come forward with your own attack. This is where blocking becomes countering.

It is important to note that when you are blocking, you must take into account what your opponent is using to attack. You would not be successful in blocking a sword with your bare hand, nor a heavy club with a thin rapier. Although you yourself may be strong, your means of defense might not be. Think realistically when blocking or countering.

 

Using abilities has often been a topic of debate. Some people separate skills, magic, abilities, etc, and use those technical terms to corner other players. In this case, "ability" is a general term including using inherent qualities such as chi, mana-based abilities, geomancy, etc. Any supernatural quality is ruled as an ability.

Using a low-grade ability such as a simple fireball, which will have the same effect as any direct attack, is considered no different from a regular sword swing. You charge the ability, throw it, and hit your opponent. However, in the case of a high-level spell, such as summoning lightning bolts or creating a firewall, you have to take things a step further. Hidoshi will show you how.

Hidoshi says <begins to recite a guttural incantation, resonating it in the depths of his throat> Hidoshi says <while overhead, the clouds collect and thunder booms across the sky> Hidoshi says ::lightning column:: Hidoshi says <a searing white bolt of lightning stabs downward from the heavens at Paral> Hidoshi says <striking the crown of her head and then sending a shock through her body>

If you'll notice, one of the lines is highlighted in red. This is a bonus description line and not necessary for spellcasting. Rather, Hidoshi chose to use it to further clarify what was happening. This is often a good idea, especially when you want to show off your true abilities as a roleplayer. The spell would still work regardless, as the environmental effects are assumed without necessarily being written down. In short, one must cast the spell, state the name of the spell, then have it manifest and finally do its job.

Healing bones and deep wounds is considered a high-level ability, while mending a light cut on one's arm or a smarting bruise is considered a low-level ability. In addition, using an energy barrier of any kind for defense comes with a stipulation: It can only deflect one attack. Afterward, it collapses and must be re-cast to work again. Normal energy barriers are considered low-level abilities. Energy barriers than absorb energy and transfer it to the caster, or shock whomever touches them and so forth are considered high-level abilities.

 

Winning and losing are part of life, and they are also part of using this system. In this case however, you cannot simply kill someone in the blink of an eye. Rather, you have to get rid of all 7 life points they have before attempting to end their life, or knock them unconscious. After 7 hits have been scored by either player, the person defeated must let their opponent choose how to end the battle. They are not allowed to run away, otherwise by default their fate will be decided by their opponent anyway. Of course, if their opponent let's them run away, that's fine.

Healing in battle, using magic, potions, etc, does not restore life points. Rather, it will only heal the wounds you've taken. You receive no technical bonus from healing. It is also often important to have witnesses present so that you can ensure a clear judgement on who won and who lost.