Beata
11-01-2002, 12:04 AM
Some LARP use rock paper scissors to determine the outcome at combat, usually the ones held at conventions. (Understandably so - seeing people waving weapons around, albeit fake ones. can frighten mundanes, plus the chances of innocent bystanders getting hurt and property being damaged is great.)
I thought I'd describe a bit of a battle, so that folks could see how in-game and out-of-game elements work togethter in the Mystic Realms system.
To keep things simple, I'll use a couple of non-magic users. Let's say a Rogue is facing off with a Kravvyn ( an in-game monster). Kravvyn have 6 hit points, so it can take 6 points of damage before it's at zero, lying on the ground unable to do anything more than crawl. One more hit, and it will begin to bleed to death. As in real life, it takes about 3 minutes for someone to bleed to death, represented by counting to 200 (depending on race - some races take longer and some shorter).
My Rogue has 5 hit points, so I can take one less hit than the Kravvyn. Also, since I'm not a good fighter, if I ever encounter a bad guy when I'm alone, I usually run, but let's proceed for an example...
The Kravvyn has a club and I have a sword and a short sword. I fight florentine style - both weapons at once. We both have one-handed, regular weapons so each hit either of us lands will do one point of damage. Neither of us has a shield.
So... The Kravvyn pops out of the bushes along a path and swings at me, nailing me in the leg. I yell in surprise and step back.
*that's the grunt-and-step rule. You must acknowledge that you took a hit. You're responsible on the honor system to keep track of your hit points and damage taken. By acknowledging a hit, you show the other combatant that you're taking your damage.
I block its next swipe with my short sword and swing at it with my other weapon, nailing it in the arm. It grunt-and-steps then swings back. Unfortunately, it nails me in the head. The NPC playing the Kravvyn says "Fumble" and drops its club.
*Head shots and groin shots are not allowed, and breast shots are not allowed on women. they are assumed accidental. However, the person who delivers an illegal strike must fumble their weapon - they must drop their weapon and be disarmed for 5 seconds, to give the victim a chance to recover, or longer if someone is actually hurt. The "damage" from the shot I took does NOT count.
I straighten my glasses and he picks up his club and away we go.
I get a lucky shot on his torso, and I call out "Stun." He is now stunned for 5 seconds and can only defend, not attack. I get in 2 quick shots on an arm and a leg since I don't have to worry about blocking.
*"Stun" is an Action. You learn more actions( and multiples of the same action) as you go up in level. I'm a 1st level rogue, and I know the combat actions Stun, Waylay, and Backstrike. I can only use each of these actions ONCE per weekend. I cannot use stun again at the same event now that I've used it on this Kravvyn. Normally I wouldn't waste a stun on a little critter like a Kravvyn, but I'm all alone at the moment. I can only Stun if I get a hit on a torso.
2 more hits and he'll be at my mercy. however, he knows it and fights back hard, and I take a hit to my torso and another leg shot. I do my best Mcenroe impressionand suddenly run past him, roll, and hit his back, declaring "Backstrike, 3 " He drops to the ground and starts his deathcount by saying "bleeding 1, bleeding 2, bleeding 3" (etc).
*Backstrike is a damaging combat action - it does 3 points of damage. It must be delivered to an opponent's back. In case he didn't know the attack and didn't know the damage amount, I called the damage as well.
While the monster bleeds to death, I search it for valuables - you never know.
*When bleeding to death, (at -1 hit points)you are unconscious an unable to move or do anything. You cannot go lower than -1 hit points - it's just silly. AT zero, you are barely alive, and at -1 you are on your way out. Searching a body takes 60 seconds, represented by patting your hands over a person (gently) or the air above a person, if you're uncomfortable with touching them, as if you were searching every inch of their clothing, while saying "searching 1, searching 2, searching 3" etc to keep the time count semi-accurate.
Any questions/comment/anything?
I thought I'd describe a bit of a battle, so that folks could see how in-game and out-of-game elements work togethter in the Mystic Realms system.
To keep things simple, I'll use a couple of non-magic users. Let's say a Rogue is facing off with a Kravvyn ( an in-game monster). Kravvyn have 6 hit points, so it can take 6 points of damage before it's at zero, lying on the ground unable to do anything more than crawl. One more hit, and it will begin to bleed to death. As in real life, it takes about 3 minutes for someone to bleed to death, represented by counting to 200 (depending on race - some races take longer and some shorter).
My Rogue has 5 hit points, so I can take one less hit than the Kravvyn. Also, since I'm not a good fighter, if I ever encounter a bad guy when I'm alone, I usually run, but let's proceed for an example...
The Kravvyn has a club and I have a sword and a short sword. I fight florentine style - both weapons at once. We both have one-handed, regular weapons so each hit either of us lands will do one point of damage. Neither of us has a shield.
So... The Kravvyn pops out of the bushes along a path and swings at me, nailing me in the leg. I yell in surprise and step back.
*that's the grunt-and-step rule. You must acknowledge that you took a hit. You're responsible on the honor system to keep track of your hit points and damage taken. By acknowledging a hit, you show the other combatant that you're taking your damage.
I block its next swipe with my short sword and swing at it with my other weapon, nailing it in the arm. It grunt-and-steps then swings back. Unfortunately, it nails me in the head. The NPC playing the Kravvyn says "Fumble" and drops its club.
*Head shots and groin shots are not allowed, and breast shots are not allowed on women. they are assumed accidental. However, the person who delivers an illegal strike must fumble their weapon - they must drop their weapon and be disarmed for 5 seconds, to give the victim a chance to recover, or longer if someone is actually hurt. The "damage" from the shot I took does NOT count.
I straighten my glasses and he picks up his club and away we go.
I get a lucky shot on his torso, and I call out "Stun." He is now stunned for 5 seconds and can only defend, not attack. I get in 2 quick shots on an arm and a leg since I don't have to worry about blocking.
*"Stun" is an Action. You learn more actions( and multiples of the same action) as you go up in level. I'm a 1st level rogue, and I know the combat actions Stun, Waylay, and Backstrike. I can only use each of these actions ONCE per weekend. I cannot use stun again at the same event now that I've used it on this Kravvyn. Normally I wouldn't waste a stun on a little critter like a Kravvyn, but I'm all alone at the moment. I can only Stun if I get a hit on a torso.
2 more hits and he'll be at my mercy. however, he knows it and fights back hard, and I take a hit to my torso and another leg shot. I do my best Mcenroe impressionand suddenly run past him, roll, and hit his back, declaring "Backstrike, 3 " He drops to the ground and starts his deathcount by saying "bleeding 1, bleeding 2, bleeding 3" (etc).
*Backstrike is a damaging combat action - it does 3 points of damage. It must be delivered to an opponent's back. In case he didn't know the attack and didn't know the damage amount, I called the damage as well.
While the monster bleeds to death, I search it for valuables - you never know.
*When bleeding to death, (at -1 hit points)you are unconscious an unable to move or do anything. You cannot go lower than -1 hit points - it's just silly. AT zero, you are barely alive, and at -1 you are on your way out. Searching a body takes 60 seconds, represented by patting your hands over a person (gently) or the air above a person, if you're uncomfortable with touching them, as if you were searching every inch of their clothing, while saying "searching 1, searching 2, searching 3" etc to keep the time count semi-accurate.
Any questions/comment/anything?