Duel Combat With Multiple Combatants

Introduction

There is no ideal Combat RP style for a combat involving Multiple Combatants, but Duel Combat is as close to ideal as any style that has been produced to date.
Before we continue, it should be understood that the following lessons on Multiple Duel Combat are explained with the assumption that the lessons and concepts discussed in the Duel Combat texts have already been read. If you have not yet read the texts on Duel Combat and do not understand the process involved it is suggested that you go back and read.
To make the RP of the Multiple Duel Combat easier, it is highly suggested that the Combat be moved into a Private Room away from Public distraction. Duel Combat with Multiple Combatants follows a pattern like this:

1. ALL DIRECT FIGHTERS FOLLOW DUEL COMBAT RULES.
2. ALL INDIRECT FIGHTERS FOLLOW DUEL COMBAT WITH PREPS RULES UNTIL ENGAGED DIRECTLY.
3. WHEN AN INDIRECT FIGHTER IS ENGAGED DIRECTLY, DIRECT DUEL COMBAT RULES ARE FOLLOWED UNTIL THE CHARACTERS DISENGAGE.

Lesson One: Time

During Duel Combat with Multiple Combatants, TIME becomes a little more confusing than it is in normal Duel Combat. This is commonly because some characters may be in actual combat while other characters are moving and positioning themselves around the battlefield, or making PREPs in order to attack. One of the most important Rules in Multiple Duel Combat is that when ONE player character goes OOC:
ALL COMBAT STOPS.
Going OOC distorts the TIME flow in Multiple Duel Combat faster than anything else in RP Combat does. This is because during that Turn a player character goes OOC in order to ask a question or state a point and get a reply, all other player characters are still fighting and taking their Turns. The end result is that the player character who went OOC, and his/her opponent, has only completed one attack/defense while the other Combatants may have completed 2 or 3 full Turns during combat. Not to mention the mage who may have completed 6 or 7 PREPs!
Honestly, the best way to solve the problem of TIME in Multiple Duel Combat is to have EVERYONE take one turn at a time, Attacking and Defending under the rules of Duel Combat. But, understandably, those playing INDIRECT CHARACTERS will protest to this since they will be at the disadvantage with respect to PREPs.
So use your Common Sense and Courtesy to RP out a good, TIME managed, Multiple Duel Combat.

Example of Multiple Combatants

Here is an example of Duel Combat with Multiple Combatants between Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica, Mikhail_of_Atlantica, Jim_the_joker, and Dan_the_DeathKnight.

Important Characteristics that should probably be known prior to RP Combat:
Dan_the_DeathKnight is your average Death Knight, if Death Knights can be average. Dan carries the same weapons he had in life, a short sword with a +1 magical enhancement of “quickness” and an averaged sized shield. Dan wears scale-mail armor with a metal helm and armor protected boots. Being a Death Knight, Dan is undead and constantly generates “fear” in a 5-foot radius, but he can still be damaged by normal attacks. In this scenario Fang, Mikhail, and Jim have wandered unknowingly into Dan’s old abandoned tower, a place Dan has been cursed to guard for the rest of eternity.

Note: the PREP counts shown in parenthesis (PREP ONE, etc.) are editor’s marks for teaching purposes only and is not part of the actual Combat Transcript.

You are in: Dan’s Tortured Tower(RPG)(A Shadowy Candlelit Castle of Death)
You see here: Dan_the_DeathKnight

Mikhail_of_Atlantica enters

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica enters

Jim_the_joker enters

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlatnica: pads out of the forest and heads for the Tower along side his two buddies, Mikhail and Jim, his golden werewolf eyes keeping watch along the horizon as he sniffs the air for any possible sign of danger.

Jim_the_joker: is rather nervous as he approaches the tower with his friends…not knowing what may be there to greet them when they get inside.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: keeps pace beside the werewolf…his blood-red robes flowing about him as if by their own will…the Atlantica Falcon crest embroidered upon the front. In his right hand, he holds an intricately carved staff with a gold orb embedded into the top.

Jim_the_joker says: I don’t like this place…it feels creepy.

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica says: You no worry. Fang is here. Yep yep.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: waves his left hand before him as he begins to speak in the magical tongue.(PREP ONE)

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: steps up to the front gates of the tower…forcing them open with his brute strength.

Jim_the_joker: looks at Fang a little uncertain about this.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: his left hand begins to glow slightly with a golden hue as his irises seem to match the color…still concentrating upon the “detect evil” spell.(PREP TWO)

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica says: No worries, Jim. It be all okies. Me here got me trusty staff, yep yep.

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: holds up his 6’ long battle staff with the 1’ double edged blades on either end for Jim to see.

Jim_the_joker: nods, still not so sure.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: completes the spell, speaking the word “detect” softly and moving his left hand back to his side.(PREP THREE/ CAST)

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: walks into the Tower and looks around the main room…his golden eyes catching what little light there is available in the room, being able to see more clearly than his two companions in the dim light.

Dan_the_DeathKnight: sits in a wooden chair in the second room of the main hall…now awaking at the sound of the front Tower gates being forced open.

Jim_the_joker: walks in following Fang and doesn’t see shit. Heh.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: enters the tower as well and senses the presence of evil nearby…he stands near to Fang.

Jim_the_joker says: You expect me to sleep here?? This place is freaky.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica says: Jim’s right, there is an evil presence nearby. We should leave.

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica says: Well, justa tell me where it is and me goa kill it. Okies?

Jim_the_joker: looks at Fang like he’s crazy.

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: moves farther into the room and towards the staircase leading to the second floor of the Tower.

Dan_the_DeathKnight: crashes through the door into the main room causing a resounding echo of destruction to flow about the Tower…his red dot eyes staring like death at the intruders some 20 yards in front of him.

Jim_the_joker: OH shit Fang! What did you do??

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: steps back near the wall putting as much distance between himself and the DeathKnight across the room as possible as he reaches into a pouch on his belt, grabbing a piece of bat guano and sulfur.(PREP ONE)

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: I didn’t do nuthin, Jimmy! There’s a DeathKnight in here!

Dan_the_DeathKnight: advances at the intruders…charging at Jim and drawing his short sword simultaneously as he closes the distance from 20 yards away.

Jim_the_joker: pulls out his long sword and faces the shadowed figure as it races towards him…is not shaking in his boots cause of his long sword of Courage.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: begins to speak in the magical tongue as he closes his hand around the bat guano and sulfur.(PREP TWO)

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: races towards the DeathKnight and Jim at full werewolf speed.

Dan_the_DeathKnight: Slows down and stops in range in front of Jim and with a massive heave…slashes his short sword down at Jim’s head putting all the force of the forward momentum into it.

Jim_the_joker: brings his long sword up over his head to block Dan’s attack, but realizes Dan’s strength and force is too great as the short sword punches Jim’s long sword back against his own helm with a metal clank. “AHHHH!!”

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: Dives just in time, catching Jim around the waist and out of the way of the DeathKnight’s attack…rolling away with tremendous speed and hitting the wall on the other side of the room some 20 feet away.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: grins as he raises his left hand…the bat guano and sulfur burning into a smoke cloud, and points with his index finger. A red flash shoots from his finger to a point on the floor near the DeathKnight and, suddenly, a fireball with a 20-foot radius flashes around Dan.(PREP THREE/CAST)

Dan_the_DeathKnight: Screams in agony as his bones and armor are charred as the fireball burns around him. The spell not strong enough to “kill” him…and angered by the attack, Dan now rushes at Mikhail with his short sword raised.(DEFENSE TURN)

Jim_the_joker: has a major headache and is lying under Fang’s big furry ass?

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: gets to his feet now seeing Dan rushing at Mikhail.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: quickly speaks in the magical tongue to his staff and the golden orb embedded into the top begins to flash as if it’s speaking back.(PREP ONE)

Dan_the_DeathKnight: gets into range of Mikhail, standing in front of the wizard, and thrusts forward at Mikhail’s chest with the tip of his short sword.(MIKHAIL’S CONCENTRATION WILL BE BROKEN DUE TO THIS ATTACK. DIRECT DUEL COMBAT IS NOW INITIATED)

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: starts in a full force rush again towards Dan and Mikhail..realizing he’s not going to get there in time.

Jim_the_joker: looks wide-eyed in amazement at what he’s seeing.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: ‘s spell concentration is broken and falls quickly to the ground sideways to the right, having no other escape, just barely getting away from Dan’s blade as the short sword cuts his left arm badly.

Dan_the_DeathKnight: spins the short sword in his hand and quickly makes his second attack, thrusting the blade directly down at Mikhail’s chest as he lays upon the ground…the red beady eyes in his skull like cold dots of death.

Fang_Warrior_of_Atlantica: leaps through the air at Dan_the_DeathKnight from Dan’s left side with the midsection of his battle staff leading horizontally like a bulldozer’s iron bar for Dan’s left ribcage…hoping to hit Dan before Dan’s short sword hit’s Mikhail.

Jim_the_joker says: Mikhail!!

Mikhail_of_Atlantica says: Well…damn.

Dan_The_DeathKnight: is hit by the leaping Fang with such force that the attack on Mikhail misses completely as both he and Fang go tumbling across the Tower floor stopping after 10 feet.(DIRECT DUEL COMBAT BETWEEN MIKHAIL AND DAN HAS BEEN DISENGAGED IN THIS TURN. MIKHAIL MAY BEGIN DUEL COMBAT WITH PREPs AGAIN)

Jim_the_joker: gets to his feet and stands ready again from across the room, making his way towards Mikhail…hoping his long sword of Courage will be of good use against this DeathKnight.

Mikhail_of_Atlantica: lays there slightly shocked…just barely saved by Fang’s leaping attack…but quickly realizes where he is and starts to get up to try another spell.

Wow! This example displays excellent Multiple Combat RP by both sides and covers almost every aspect of Duel Combat and Duel Combat with PREPs mentioned in these texts. Notice specifically how Mikhail began the combat using Duel Combat with PREPs to engage Dan from a distance, but then had to convert to Direct Duel Combat once Dan engaged him. There were several Successful Hits made, several Range and Position changes, and there were a number of instances of IC Conversations in Combat.
Also notice how the Characters had to interact with each other in battle and, in some cases, even defend each other. If not for Fang’s actions, Mikhail would have been killed quickly by Dan’s last attack. All players in this Multiple Combat worked together and managed TIME very well. Furthermore, there was one example of how the Concentration of an INDIRECT FIGHTER was broken when Mikhail was forced to dodge Dan’s attack just after he had completed the first PREP to his second attack spell.

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