While Charm City is not meant to be considered a combat sim alone, IN CHARACTER conflicts are going to occur. We know this adds to the adventure and drama of the experience and hopefully to the ongoing story of your character. We do not employ HUDs or Meters at CCRP so any form of combat will be done exactly as the rest of our RP unfolds: good, thoughtful freeform roleplay. So with that in mind, these are some guidelines to adhere to for combat so we can keep conflict IC (In Character) and hopefully never have it spill into OOC (Out of Character).
YOUR CHARACTER IS NOT YOU. We get invested in our characters, and honestly that is one of the things that make for great RP, however please remember that if your character is being attacked, it is not the same thing as you being attacked personally. We do realize that sometimes there can be OOC feelings thrown into the mix and that is strongly discouraged from any party involved.
BE MINDFUL OF THE LIMITS OF YOUR OPPONENT/PARTNER. It is not mandatory, but it is strongly encouraged that each player have in their profile a list of roleplay limits. This includes things like DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT OR OTHER INJURIES, CAPTURE, KIDNAP, SEXUALITY AND OTHER ADULT SITUATIONS, ETC. Please remember limits go both ways, Charm City is an adult themed sim and therefore adult situations can happen between other players that won’t involve you, so long as this is within SIM rules and doesn’t involve you directly, no player has to cam or remain within chat range of RP (combat or otherwise) that makes you uncomfortable.
COMMUNICATE. In large format events, sometimes posts get missed. Sometimes a particular move needs to be explained further. All the time good communications through IMs help a scene go smoother and will help scenes end up with a more satisfying or exciting conclusion. Questions are usually better than comments if there is confusion. Don’t assume you or your posts are being ignored, ask if a post was missed. AND PLEASE BE KIND with both questions and answers, we are only making enemies IN CHARACTER, we want to encourage friendships OOC all around.
CHESS NOT CHECKERS. Combat scenes that are only for the purpose of winning or proving the “toughness” of a character will usually end up not very satisfying. At CCRP, we encourage character development and furthering storylines even in combat. Sometimes that comes as much through defeat as it does winning or using strategy as much as force. We have set up our powers list so that no player has a supreme advantage over another (Except for “Boss-style” characters regulated by sim management which are universal threats and intend to add to the over-arching storyline of the sim and encourages team-work from the participating players). It is important to employ strategy as much as powers or proof of combat acumen.
KNOW YOUR CHARACTER’S LIMITATIONS. By this point, you’ve spent time putting together an amazing character to play, you likely agonized over your powers, put together uniforms or costumes or outfits, and come up with a backstory that is going to set the stage for some amazing RP experiences. Don’t forget your character’s weaknesses or limitations. There is a section regarding power level usage and the limitations and cooldowns that may be involved, so be sure to go over that. The point is, remember in combat, and in particular in SUPERS combat, you are not only going to be using powers and attacks, you will be having powers and attacks used against you. Play accordingly.
RESPOND AND REACT TO ATTACKS LEVELED AGAINST YOUR CHARACTER. In my early days in SL, I started in a sim that had a “Rubber Chicken Rule” in their combat guidelines. Put simply, every attack deserves a response, and that response needs to be more than always dodging, even if you are attacked with a rubber chicken. Now, this is not meant to be ridiculous, it is simply a respectful way to play. While this is not suggesting that you take every punch thrown, it is saying that simply dodging every attack leads to a very boring scene and will likely cause people to avoid you in the future. More than three consecutive dodges in three consecutive rounds is deemed excessive. Instead of “dodges the fireball then stands up and grins saying, ‘You missed.’” Try this: “The fireball narrowly misses, the heat singes the hairs along YOUR CHARACTER’s arm, his sleeve still smoking when he gathers himself, reeling from the near-miss and pawing for any loose object of weight that he can hurl at his ferocious attacker. The park bench he finds takes a little effort to break the bolts anchoring it to the ground, but it is flung at the flamethrower…” The first post was dismissive and can be considered taunting OOC to some, the second makes both characters mighty… In super style RP, make your opponent mighty as well as yourself. Watch as most players will respond positively to this sort of interaction because it breeds respect.
TAKE TWO. We ask that if your character is using firearms that you follow the two round post rule (one post per round). Drawing, aiming, and firing your weapon should take two rounds of RP posting to happen. For instance in your first post, your character will draw their weapon from the holster and begin to present the firearm. The second post will consist of aiming and firing. If your character already has their weapon drawn, “Bill slowly exited the police cruiser as a sense of unease settled upon him, his hand slowly moved to the butt of his service pistol, his eyes keen and sharp as the Beretta slid from his hip holster and into his hand.”, then be sure to adequately RP aiming and firing the weapon so your RP partner has a chance to respond.
COMPLETE YOUR TURN AND WAIT FOR POSTING ORDER BEFORE POSTING AGAIN. We discourage “rapid fire one line” posts as a general rule for RP at CCRP. In other words things like: “Bill looks up”....”He dodges the bullet”...”smiles”... “aims his gun”...”shoots the bad guy”. All short posts in quick succession (with a dash of powergaming) before anyone else has a chance to respond. We don’t require multiple paragraphs, but it is the player’s responsibility to put all their actions and reactions into one post during one round. If it is one line or three paragraphs.
DISENGAGE. If you are in the midst of chaos and find yourself surrounded by enemies, you may want to get out of dodge. To flee, you must first use an action (one post) to actively try and disengage from the scene. Please keep in mind, this may be difficult if you are not surrounded by allies. After your attempt is made and if it is successful, you may then use your next post to flee the scene.
If you do not disengage before leaving the scene, this will provoke an attack of opportunity. An attack of opportunity means your enemy gets one free melee attack that HITS automatically. If you are surrounded by more than one person, and are visible to those people, this means EACH person gets a free attack against you.
BE REASONABLE. If you enter a scene as the aggressor and end up surrounded by enemies, prepare for the consequences. While we understand it may be frustrating to be put into this situation, please recognize you have put yourself there. Do not attempt to end a scene just because you're losing. That's not fun nor fair. If a member of our team sees this occurring, it will result in your character being apprehended by the authorities immediately.
