This page is here to help you understand the the fighting mechanics on the site, as well as what is expected or assumed when characters are actively fighting. Fighting in Aesseldar is not meant to be hard or only for the eloquent. All judges will be trained to look for specific things in posts, mainly realism, powerplaying, godmoding, attacks and damage taken. Below will be a very detailed guide on how to succeed without the need to write a novel. We offer several different types of judging system, but the majority of fights will be judged by rolling dice, which will be explained below.
The most important part of the fight is realism! Keep in mind the range of movement lions have, and the way that these movements affect the battle. Some common misconceptions are that lions can use their shoulders as 'battering' rams while in close face to face combat, which is physically impossible. For all intents and purposes we will use African lion anatomical diagrams to show you what we mean.
Reference one. In reference to this diagram it is crucial to see that when facing head on, a lion’s head is the first part any opponent will come against. Any attempt to ‘ram’ shoulders from head on, without an offset in position at an angle (or approaching the lion you’re attacking from a non-head-on angle) will result in both heads colliding. It is also really important to understand that because of the way in which lions are physically built, protecting each part of their bodies is impossible and they will find it very hard to protect their necks, shoulders, facts, etc, at all times of a battle. This is why we do not stress defenses, because in many cases they are unrealistic.
Reference two. Warning: This is a video with depiction of animal on animal violence, and blood, though the video is short and it is not gory, it is not intended for all audiences. This video should be your best reference for realistic areas where paws can reach, how the muscles are structured beneath the skin and the approximate proportions of the average lion. This should help you see the kind of flexibility you can get out of the neck and how to realistically respond to attacks that may come and from which angle or direction. Keep in mind that reach and flexibility are very important aspects of keeping posts realistic.
To keep things as realistic as possible you should remember that each body part is only allowed one movement per body part per round Attacks happen simultaneous to one another, and should be treated as such. The diagrams above should prove useful references and are what the judges will default to. With this knowledge, we hope that you can be as specific and as clear as possible in your posts when describing exact locations for damages and attacks and keep in mind that only seconds pass in between each round.
Godmoding references moving the other character or playing out any movement of the other character. You are only in control of your own character unless permission has been explicitly given by the other roleplayer. Do not ever assume that anything you do has succeeded or has had an impact on the other character without their acknowledgement whether by post or by explicit permission. If a character has ignored an attack that yours character has done in a previous post (without offering a counter attack and having it explicitly stated) you may assume that your attack landed. Characters are also not invulnerable to damage and you should be taking appropriate damages for attacks being levied against your characters. Either extreme is inappropriate (too much or too little damage).
Powerplaying is the trickiest part of fighting to remember. You can't ever assume your attacks hit or say what kind of damage is done before the other player has had a chance to response. Because of this your attacks need to have attempts, which can be clarified with the words "attempts" "aiming to" "trying" and even for damage you may say "hoping it would do x". Whatever damage is caused is up to the other player, however taking adequate damage is an important part of battle. Players should always aim to take fair damage and be, you guessed it, realistic.
Defenses are always assumed to the best of the ability of the lions depending on their positioning. These do not have to be stated in your posts due to this reasoning. If you state them that's fine, but remember to be realistic if you do state them. Sometimes it makes sense to ‘counterbalance’ or to adjust a position in order to achieve another result, but saying things such as ‘tucking your neck down and pushing your shoulders out’ are unrealistic and should not be referenced, referencing defenses inappropriately like this will be of potential detriment to your post. If you have any confusion about this, please see how exposed certain areas are, or how naturally protected they are, by referencing the diagrams above. Always keep in mind your positions as well, because certain positions will either naturally protect your character more, or leave them more vulnerable to attack in exposed areas.
Any lion that goes into a fight with previous damages should take these into consideration and act them out reasonably. Damages done to characters may have the healing time reduced only by threading with a character that is working on the appropriate skill tree, alternatively characters may have healing threads to restore their health bars. Please bear in mind that while you are not judged for the amount of damage your character doles out, you are penalized if you do not take appropriate damage. As the rounds of a battle wear on, remember that damages done to your character should affect their fatigue to remain realistic. During short 3 post spars this may not be notable, but during 5+ round matches fatigue is an important aspect of a fight.
Even though lions and lionesses may have varying sizes of manes, any amount of mane will not serve as defense mechanism. Hair around the neck or anywhere else will not do more than cushion a blow; it will not prevent an attack from landing or doing damage regardless of its size. Lion size will also not affect the outcome of the battle much and will only truly be considered if it is an incredibly small lion against a very large lion. Lion size will affect the realism of your posts and the sizes have appropriate handicaps already adjusted for them (see below). Make sure that you are consciously aware of how your lion needs to move and how far they need to reach or the strength behind their attacks, we have provided a size chart in the character creation section for reference. If you are fighting a dwaf lion against a large lion, it’s unrealistic to assume that they’re the same height and weight and should therefore not be treated equally. Judges will look to make sure that a lion’s size is being appropriately referenced in posts. Genders are considered of about equal strength and will not make a difference in the outcome of a fight.
When you have a fight judged by the admins they will make sure that the posts were realistic and take into account the positioning of the lions.
Positioning is one of the most important parts of fighting! Realistically lions may 'rear up', fall on their backs, jump at one another, etc. These are not considered 'faults' and will be taken into judgement with the context. For example a lion on his or her back does not automatically lose a fight, it is up to the roleplayers to go from there and be as accurate and realistic as possible in these situations. Rearing up is also a common occurrence during real lion fights and creativity during fights is encouraged. Unique attacks within the realm of realism are a welcome change from the monotony of battling.
Positioning is one of the most important parts of fighting! Realistically lions may 'rear up', fall on their backs, jump at one another, etc. These are not considered 'faults' and will be taken into judgement with the context. For example a lion on his or her back does not automatically lose a fight, it is up to the roleplayers to go from there and be as accurate and realistic as possible in these situations. Rearing up is also a common occurrence during real lion fights and creativity during fights is encouraged. Unique attacks within the realm of realism are a welcome change from the monotony of battling.
Lions with existing damage from a prior fight or disabilities and weaknesses will be taken into judging consideration as well. Minor wounds won't affect range of motion or attack impact, however if a lion had their limb lacerated and cut deeply then it would affect their ability to fight normally. Other instances include fully or partially blind lions, frail (emaciated) lions, or elderly lions which would be at a disadvantage during battles. This would not make them lose, but will decrease the chances of success if you do not act these out realistically.
Size will be factored in automatically through minor modifiers to dice rolls, and any other modifiers appropriately applicable from lions pursuing specialization will also be automatically applied.
The site will utilize three separate systems for judging which the players may choose from in the applicable situation. This is to ensure fairness across the board and give the player multiple options so that they may feel comfortable when their characters are involved in these situations.
The 5 points in each post that can be earned will be based off of damage, godmoding, powerplaying, attacks and realism. Each category can win or lose you one point. Post legnth has nothing to do with the outcome of the fight. Fight posts can be short, they need to be clear, concise and make good use of attempts, as well as focus around realism.
The only fights that can be judged traditionally are maims, death matches, and pride fights if requested by the players. Every other fight on the site will be subject only to pre-determined outcome (see below) or dice rolls.
