Dueling 101

From HollowWiki

The dueling system, and death-dueling in general, is somewhat flawed with subjectivity and bias, whether that be to or against a particular duelist or dueling style. That being said, I (Donovan) believe that while duels are not the end-all-be-all of RP, they are necessary to foster RP, and are the best way in which to settle RP conflicts between characters. So as to minimize the flaws (as there is no way to completely eradicate them and still appease all parties), here are a few guidelines designed to help understand when duels are necessary and what goes in to determining a victor.

Procedural Guidelines

• Duels should only take place for IC reasons which have been properly RPed out. Spars can take place at any time, for any number of reasons, but there are to be no judges for such events unless mutually agreed upon for the purpose of side-wagering (i.e. betting gold or items or whatnot). Note: if a spar takes place with judges, RP items should probably not be risked.

• Either three or five judges, agreed upon by BOTH duelists prior to the contest, should panel a given duel. This way both duelists have equal say in the full panel, so the use of 'pocket judges' is less likely to occur. Terms of the duel should be stated and agreed upon by both parties for all judges to see prior to beginning.

• A time limit per post should be agreed upon by both duelists. The time limit should not exceed 15 minutes per post, as this is more than enough time for even an average duelist to comfortably complete a post. The first attack and final defence should take up half the time limit of a normal post, as there is half the material to include in said post. A given duel should last anywhere from 60-90 minutes.

• OOC conversation within the room should be restricted to tells and RP emotes should be severely limited during the duel, out of respect for the duelists. OOC commenting about the duel itself should be restricted to tells, and should not include duelists at all. Judges are free to privately communicate with each other about the duel in its midst should they elect to do so.

• The judging decision is final, and completely irreversible. Judges are encouraged to share their personal viewpoint on the duel with both duelists after the outcome is revealed, but are by no means obligated to do so.

Dueling Criteria

Now I by no means claim to be an expert on dueling. However, I'll give my viewpoints on some of the things judges look for when looking at a given battle. Keep this in mind when you duel, and you'll win your fair share of contests.

Attacks

• Originality - Attacks should not replicate themselves over the course of a duel, nor should they be mundane and boring. However, they should reflect the character's RP past. The goal of a duel is to beat the tar out of the opponent, but it is not a contest to see who can create the most interesting attacks at random.

• Clarity - The attacks should be well thought out and executed. Description should be concise yet clear. Paint a picture in the judges' minds, make it easy to see what the intent is. Be specific and descriptive, but not overly technical or verbose.

• Realism - See above. This is not a game of 'who can invent the coolest mage-warrior-spell blade-wizard-druid-ranger-sorcerer of DOOM' attack whilst never having RPed a lick of it ever. Also bear in mind that one's attacks should get far less potent and accurate as the duel progresses, due to the wear on the character's physical and mental state.

Defences

• Originality - Defences, just like attacks, should not be repetitious or overly boring. They should be made interesting, yet keep consistent to the RP created for that character.

• Clarity - In the same fashion as attacks, defences should be written in such a way that clear thought and intent is conveyed, so as to not force the judges to guess what is happening.

• Realism - No one is capable of dodging any and every attack thrown their way without incurring any damage whatsoever. Just as attacks should grow less potent and accurate, defences should likewise slow down and become more basic as the duel progresses. As a general rule of thumb, more damage should be taken with each passing post than the one prior, though this is far from canon, as some attacks will be more basic than others depending on the opponent's IC potency.

Other important aspects

• Continuity - It is CRUCIAL that a duelist not contradict themselves in a duel. Damage that occurs in the first defence should still be exhibited in subsequent posts as well. There is nothing which makes a duelist look more foolish then if their character attacks with a right-arm blade swipe when that arm was shattered in the prior post. Bluntly put, remember what you've posted in your first two posts when you go for the third (and fourth, if you've posted first).

• Conduct - Nothing irks judges more than a duelist insulting their intelligence. Pointing out a fault of the opponent IC is toeing the line, but generally allowed. Pointing out faults OOC is unacceptable under any circumstances. Judges are smart, and they will pick up on errors the opponent has made. Noting them for the judges will cause anything ranging from a minor roll of the eyes to an automatic vote against the duelist pointing it all out.

• Separating of IC/OOC - This might seem a minor trifle, but the judges are there out-of-character. Don't address them in a first or last post, as they are really not ICly there, they are only OOCly deciding the outcome of the battle. It annoys some judges, and makes the one doing it look a tad foolish.

• Spelling and grammar, overall writing content - Many believe this is made too big a deal, but it is nonetheless a HUGE component of dueling. Poor spelling and grammar can hinder a judge's ability to decipher exactly what it is the duelist is intending to do, and a reduction in clarity can cost dearly (hint: Type the posts in a word-processor with spelling and grammar check. It's a life-saver!). Overall writing is important as well, but not necessarily to the degree some make it out to be. Flowery words and descriptions that have nothing to do with the duel mean little to the judges. Wrapping those same descriptions tightly around the main action of the duel is what duelists should strive for.

• Authenticity - Believe it or not, judges do read other duels, and have a sense of a reasonable typing speed and the dueling capability of each duelist, in most cases. Odds are if a duel is not authentic, either in part or in whole, it will be recognized by one or multiple judges and/or spectators. This goes for pre-writing a duel, either in part or in whole, copying of the duel from another player or that player's previous duels, either in part or in whole, or another player dueling on the character's owner's behalf. If any of these offences are proven DURING the duel, the guilty player is usually declared to have forfeited the duel, and be bound to the stakes therein.

Autohits (a.k.a. Powergaming) vs. Control Moves (Yes, there IS a difference.)

A control move is something utilized in the midst of a duel, but is not the foremost attack of the post. A lot of times a duelist will be opposed to allowing these types of moves into the duel, though they are perfectly acceptable and should be encouraged, to a large extent. It makes things a little tougher when they are used, yes, but it also forces one's mind to expand in imagination as well. There is ALWAYS a way out of a controlling move, even if used in coordination with the attack. Here is a post with an example of a reasonably-executed control move:

"Baron blinks, visibly confused as his gauntlet strikes nothing but ground; the spikes stick momentarily in the flooring, again leaving the teenager vulnerable to attack. His shield is placed upon his back at the sign of leaves, the prince sensing an overhead assault, of sorts, though it avails him little; fireballs rain down upon Baron, the heat baking skin and organ as the iron of mail and shield serves only to conduct the inferno further. Amid the writhing and pained screams, Conroy's gauntlet detaches from its prison, enabling the agonized knight to fortuitously roll out of the gargantuan weapon's strike. Scrambling to a knee, his frenzied gaze finds Hayabusa, once again sprawled on the floor from a heavy blade's momentum. All notion of a coordinated attack appears lost as the knight savagely growls for all to hear, then dives upon the ninja, grappling fiercely to hold him down, determined to pin him long enough for heated metal to sear Ryu's skin as it has Baron's."

It should be noted that whilst Baron did dive on and grapple with Hayabusa, the out was given with the phrase 'to pin him long enough'. All Hayabusa would need to do is post that he broke free, or he could still take the damage, whichever the player so chose.

If Baron had determined the damage Hayabusa took (i.e. Baron dives upon Hayabusa, holding him until his internal organs are cooked and he dies!'), then it would have been classified as powergaming, more commonly known as the 'autohit'. Basically an autohit is when Player 1 delivers a blow and identifies the exact extent of the damage Player 2 incurs in the same post. As a general rule, autohits are only to be used in two circumstances: 1) As the victor's deathstroke in a death-duel; 2) If the stakes of a duel are what some people call 'an autohit frenzy'.

Note: If a duelist attacks, and the attack is not defended, the attacking duelist has full right to exact the damage in the following post, as the defending duelist had full opportunity to defend it and did not.

That's dueling in a nutshell. Rather, as close to a nutshell as it can be whilst coming close to being explained in full. Happy dueling!