Combat is one of the most common forms of interaction in Solaris RPG. To make Solaris RPG a more enjoyable game, there are many rules that all characters must follow during combat. Although there are several reasons for fighting in Solaris RPG, the end result is almost always advancement in level and capabilities for the victor. If you are attempting to calculate the experience gained from a battle and you are confused by the rules, please ask for assistance from the staff member in charge of judging battles and combat.
Before we get into the details of everything, you must know one very important thing. You WILL NOT gain experience for battling (sparring or fighting) with anyone that is more than 10 levels higher or lower than your own level. There are three charts below and the last one, the "Multiplier Guide", will show you what you get for battling characters that are of the same level as you, ten levels under you, and ten levels above you. Characters get a set amount of experience for battling characters of the same level and get a bit more for characters that are above their level, and less for those that are below. The multiplier guide is very important when determining how much experience you get after a battle.
Fighting in Solaris RPG
A fight is clear and simple. Two characters battling to the death, be it for honor, power, hatred, or love. Sometimes fighting is frowned upon and sometimes it is exalted, but it usually always ends in the same way. Death.
Power gains from Fighting
The following chart shows how experience points are distributed after a battle classified as a fight takes place. Fights can end in either a) Kill, b) Win, or c) Loss. Obviously, a kill will net the most experience points after a battle. A kill occurs when a character kills another character in a battle that takes place outside of the Arena. A win is when two (or more) characters battle anywhere outside of the Arena and one beats the other into submission, but does not kill him. A loss is when a character loses to his opponent but is left alive after the battle.
The first column shows what level you should look at for your character. This chart is very simple when used alongside the "Multiplier Guide" listed below. Using the guide, the player can easily figure out how much experience their character will receive after a battle. Examples will be given following the three charts. The only exception to the multiplier chart rule is when characters battle on the Kel'Djorn Isle. All characters are considered equal on the isle and points are figured by their own base level without the multiplier.
Sparring in Solaris RPG
Sparring is a little different than Fighting in Solaris RPG. Sparring can only take place in the Arena of the Elites (located in Elyndrel Village). This is because when a character dies in the Arena the special orbs lining the inner walls will restore them to their previous state AFTER the battle is over. Death and permanent destruction simply CANNOT occur within the Arena's walls. It is the only truely safe area in all of Solaris.
Power gains from Sparring
Much like the gains from fighting, sparring works off of the chart below as well. For a spar, locate what your character would gain from a normal fight, use the multiplier chart below for any level differences just as you would with a fight, and then take the final amount and multiply it by .75 to receive your sparring gain. Gains for sparring aren't as much, but the risks are not nearly as high.
|
|
Multiplier Guide
This is probably the most important part of determing how much experience a character will recieve after a battle. Characters can battle with other characters that are only within TEN levels of their own level. As you can see, the table below shows from -10 (which would be a characters own level minus ten) to "BASE LEVEL" (which would be a characters own level) to +10 (which would be a characters own level plus ten). Basically, if a character fights another character that is the same level as him you should multiply his points from the table above against the multiplier shown below.
| Level Difference | Multiplier |
| -10 | 0.0 |
| -9 | 0.1 |
| -8 | 0.2 |
| -7 | 0.3 |
| -6 | 0.4 |
| -5 | 0.5 |
| -4 | 0.6 |
| -3 | 0.7 |
| -2 | 0.8 |
| -1 | 0.9 |
| BASE LEVEL | 1.0 |
| +1 | 1.1 |
| +2 | 1.2 |
| +3 | 1.3 |
| +4 | 1.4 |
| +5 | 1.5 |
| +6 | 1.6 |
| +7 | 1.7 |
| +8 | 1.8 |
| +9 | 1.9 |
| +10 | 2.0 |
Examples of chart usage...
Need an example of what to do, read the following:
EXAMPLE:It's a very simple setup, and the only reason players need to know how to do it is so they can tag their battles when posting them on the forums. Tags are a bit of information added to the bottom of every battle post on the forums by the player that posted. It includes information like: the winner, the loser, the point gains, item steals, and anything else that should be noted such as a level gain. Every battle should be tagged on the forum. This makes it easier for staff members, even though tags are still checked for accuracy.
Let's say Character A fights Character B and loses. (YOU play Character A.) Character A is level 12 and Character B is level 14. First, you would look at the fighting table. Second, you would find your own characters level, which is 12. Third, you would scroll over to the "Loss Gain" column. You will find 1,684 at this point. Next you would look at the "Multiplier Guide" table. Base Level is your own level. Character B is level 14, which is TWO levels above your characters own level. You would move to the +2 and then find the multiplier next to it, which is 1.2. Next you would multiply 1,684 by 1.2 and you would get 2,020. This would be the TOTAL gain your "Character A" would receive for fighting with Character B.
If it were a spar you would add an additional step after receiving the value of 2,020. Spars aren't worth as much because the risk isn't nearly as high as it is for a true fight. You would simply multiply 2,020 by .75 and you would get 1,515. This would be the TOTAL gain your "Character A" would receive for sparring with Character B.
Dying, but living...
Another thing to remember is that if a character carries an item that revives him just after death (such as a Rebirth Stone, Life Stone, etc... NOT a Dawnstone or Duskstone) and his opponent takes off before making sure that he is COMPLETELY dead, power will be distributed to the characters as it is for a battle without a death. A characters opponent gets points for winning the battle but not killing his opponent, and the character will lose the item that revived him (but happily keeps his life). On a final note, if a character has been beaten and he possesses a Rebirth Stone or similar item, then it immediately brings him back. It does not wait until the character is free from danger. After “awakening” the character will then have a small chance to escape. In some cases characters can die completely, but another character can revive them with an item that they might have. For instance:
EXAMPLE:There are also certain instances when a character dies, and a character such as a CLERIC is near enough (and high enough in level) to use the ability of Resurrection. This works similar to when a character dies and is revived by an item. However, on occasion, this doesn't occur and characters fully die. Check the subsection of the Fighting Rules about all the details of "Death in Solaris" for more information.
Bob kills Joe and is standing over his lifeless corpse. Larry shows up and kills Bob. Larry then uses his own life restoring item to revive Joe. Larry's item is gone, and Joe is alive... but Bob is now dead. Bob would get no points, even though he did kill Joe. Larry would get KILL points for killing Bob, and Joe would get LOSS points for dying, but living. All in all, a very BAD situation for Bob....... until Fred shows up, and kills Joe and Larry, recieves points for KILL on both of them, and leaves Bob to rot. Fred WILL NOT get points for Larry's NEW power level after he had killed Bob, he will get points according to Larry's CURRENT power level BEFORE the RP session.
How to Battle
The above explained how characters gain from battling (either by fighting or sparring), but the following explains HOW TO fight in Solaris RPG. The following sections explain attacking and defending. If you need anymore help than you can find here you should ask a staff member or another player (of high level, so you KNOW that they know what they're doing).
Attacking with Weapons
Any attack made with a physical object such as a sword, club, bow, or even a fist is an attack with a weapon. To make an attack, a character must give a short description of the action of swinging the weapon or firing the bow and where he is aiming. The better the description, the better his opponent will understand what he is trying to do. This can avoid great confusion if an opponent wants to react to an attack but is unable to understand what has happened. Alternatively, describing every attack with too much detail will slow down game play dramatically, in other words, don't get too technical.
EXAMPLE:Any physical attack may be enhanced with energy from a character's power level after he learns the Plasma Focus special ability, and this also increases his weapons ATT attribute. For each one click (a click is a single point of energy from a beings power level) a characters expends, the weapons attack attribute increases by one. Although this sounds great, the energy charge limit of 10% (for most races) still remains in affect. All damage from an attack with an energy enhanced weapon counts as a physical strike, it is not both physical and energy. Once a successful attack is made, though, all of the energy used to enhance the attack discipates, but it can be charged again as long a character still has enough power to do it. The use of energy to increase the ATT attribute does not count toward the weapon's maximum attack bonus allowed because of level as shown in the Item Rules.
Dave: *After drawing his longsword, Dave leaps at Kenneth and makes a wide, horizontal swinging motion with his blade aimed at his opponent’s abdomen.* (700 ATT)
Attacking with Energy
Any attack that does not require the use of a physical strike is considered an energy attack. Energy attacks are usually used by classes that do not favor physical strength, but still are used by the more developed classes, such as Knights, as an auxiliary tactic. A character must be of the Sorceress or Wizard class or have the Plasma Focus special ability.
EXAMPLE:
Kenneth: *Kenneth forms a small orb or energy in the palm of his hand and fires it quickly at Dave with the intent of striking him directly in the left shoulder.*
Damage Dealt with Attacks
The numbers in the parenthesis in the above examples show the damage of the attack which has just been described. Calculating damage is one of the simplest mathematics that has to be done in the game of Solaris RPG.
For physical damage, add together a character’s strength attribute and the currently used weapon’s attack attribute. ATT and DEF directly affect how much damage your character can dish out and how much damage they can take. All ATT and DEF ratings are shown as a percent. They work directly with a characters Str (strength stat) and his END (endurance stat). Basically, a weapon ATT is added directly onto a characters Str stat to get his overall attack rating.
EXAMPLE:An armor DEF rating is added directly onto a characters END stat to get his overall defense rating.
Jack has an ATT rating of +40%, and his Str stat is 5,900 points. To figure out how much damage Jack does with a single blow (using this particular weapon) all a player must do is take 5,900 and add 40%, which is 8,260 total. This means that if Jack were to strike another character he would do exactly 8,260 damage, which would be directly stripped from their HP if they didn't have proper armor with a DEF rating. That's explained next though.
EXAMPLE:As you can see, it's all fairly simple to do and you might notice that if you aren't wearing any armor and are attacked by a powerful character, you will probably be dead quick.
Gary has a DEF rating of 30%, and his END stat is 4,300 points. To figure out how much damage Gary can take from a single blow all a player must do is take 4,300 and add 30%, which is 5,590 total. This means that if Gary were to be struck by another character, Jack for instance (from the example above), he would take exactly 5,590 away from the amount of his opponents attack rating, which in this case is 8,260 points, which means that Gary would take 2,670 points of damage because his armor blocked the rest. Gary would then take 2,670 and subtract it directly from his HP.
If the character is level 10 or higher and uses his Plasma Focus to imbue his weapon with plasma energy, and then also add the number of clicks charged into the weapon. For a physical attack without a weapon (punch or kick, etc.) or with an improvised weapon without an attack attribute (rock found on ground, burning torch taken from the wall, etc.) then the damage is just the character’s strength attribute. For energy damage, the attack value depends on the amount of charged energy added to the attack which is usually a 1:1 ratio (at least for plasma energy).
Here's an example of attacking using a weapon and charging it up. Dylan has an Str of 15,000 and is using a weapon with an attack attribute of 2,500. He imbues his weapon with 1,000 clicks of energy. On a successful strike, he will have a physical damage value of 18,500. Remember, after the successful strike, the plasma energy in the weapon will diffuse and then attacks made will deal 17,500 points worth of damage.
EXAMPLE:Sometimes, a character will wish to "spiff-up" his attacks with quick slices and multiple attacks. If a character makes multiple attacks with one prep, then the total damage dealt with that prep is the same as if it were just one attack.
Dylan: *Dylan falls from the sky, putting all of his weight into his downward thrust aimed directly downward onto Kenneth.* (18,500 ATT)
EXAMPLE:The use of these this tactic never deals more damage, but if used by a character with greater agility, then he is more likely to land one of the blows. When taking a hit from an attack like this (see taking a Hit below), your character can be hit by only one or all of the attacks and still take the same amount of damage.
Kenneth: *Kenneth lunges like an experienced swashbuckler, making several swift strikes with flicks of his wrist. First a swing for the neck, then one at the chest, then at the arms, and continuing with a random flurry of attacks.* (18,500 ATT)
Dodging
Dodging is the action of avoiding or reducing a hit or the damage from a hit. Dodging is an art, to be practiced and executed with finesse and thought. Many times, a dodge that is badly typed, poorly executed, or just plain small may be ignored, resulting in a character taking the damage even after the fight has been finished. This can occasionally produce a drastically altered result to a battle- even to the point of changing the winner; plan dodges carefully!
EXAMPLE:Usually, a character will immediately attack after a dodge. In that case, the above example might look like this:
Maxwell: *Maxwell jumps swiftly to his left and watches Barney's arrow fly past his head.*
EXAMPLE:
Maxwell: *Maxwell jumps swiftly to his left and watches Barney's arrow fly past his head. In one fluid motion, Maxwell reaches to his belt and grabs a couple of his shurikens. He quickly targets his throwing shurikens at his attacker's neck and releases them with deadly speed and accuracy.* (35,000 ATT)
Taking a Hit
Taking a hit is what happens when a character doesn't dodge. This results in the attack successfully hitting a character, injuring him and reducing his HP. The formulas for damage are outlined below, as well as examples. Usually, a dodge is combined with a hit, like in this example as a reaction to the previous example:
EXAMPLE:Barney takes damage from the attack (as explained below). Once again, this could be combined with an attack in the same turn as the dodge or hit.
Barney: *Unable to completely dodge the metallic stars, Barney raises his left arm to catch them. He grits his teeth in pain as the weapon enter his flesh and his blood begins to flow."
Damage Taken from Attacks
Damage is calculated after an attack has made a successful hit. Damage comes from two sources: physical damage (damage taken from a physical weapon) and energy damage (damage from an energy source or similar attack).
Physical damage is determined by an opponent’s weapon attack and strength stats combined. A character's physical defense (his endurance plus his armor’s defense stat) is subtracted from this total, with the result being the total loss in his hit points. As you may probably guess, it is a good idea to have these numbers figured up BEFORE getting into a battle with someone. To make things really easy, do it for both characters in the battle.
Energy damage is the result of a successful energy attack on a character. This is the more complicated of the two, so pay attention. Subtract half of a character's defense staf (rounded up) from the damage total, and the result is the total loss in HP.
From the "Taking a Hit" example. Maxwell's physical damage is 35,000. Barney is hit in the arm where he has no armor, but has an endurance score of 15,000. Therefore, he takes 20,000 damage. Players are held responsible for keeping track of his or her character's remaining hit points. When a character's hit points reach critical levels, the player should describe with each continuing action of his character's condition.
EXAMPLE:
Barney: *Barney slowly rises to his feet and stumbles a brief distance to retrieve his dropped sword. He wearily raises it into a defensive position.*
Escaping a Battle
If at anytime the player feels that his character is fighting a hopeless battle, his character is allowed to run, but it is risky. First off, if a character is being attacked, he must first type a decent dodge for the attack before he can run. Then, the player must type a decent exit. No, "_____ runs out of the forest…" will not count as a decent exit. An example lies below. Tom and Jacob are fighting. Tom has 100,000 points, Jacob has 11,000 points. The odds are against Jacob, and he wants to run, this is what he'd have to do.
EXAMPLE:Jacob has now dodged the attack. He can attempt to run. In order to do so, he must type a DECENT exit. It is a good idea to put it right there at the end of the prep to avoid Tom thinking it is once again his turn. If a player feels that another character has indecently escaped from battle, when the fight is posted, he must reply with a paragraph explaining why he feels the way he does. This must be very descriptive and mature. If the combat review staff member(s) agree unanymously, then the runner will be removed and the winner will receive all power level and items as if he had killed the opponent. If they disagree, the escape will be valid and points will be awarded for a fight without a death. If a character constantly complains about characters indecently running and constantly fails to woo the judges, he will be disciplined in a way seemed fitting by the staff.
Tom: *Tom quickly swings his large double-edged sword forwards at Jacob with brutal strength, the blade swishes through the air, homing in to strike a death-blow on Jacobs neck...*
Jacob: *Jacob quickly rolls back, attempting to avoid the sharp blade and ends up several feet back from where he stood, successfully dodging the attack...*
Once again, it's all about details. A horribly prepped escape will not count and a character will be considered dead. The player should also remember that during battles he should always keep track of his characters stats and to be safe, even his opponents. It is a good idea to look over the opponent before a battle has begun, figure out his stats according to his job class and then figure ouences in his stats from your own character's stats.