Combat

Welcome to the new News Combat file!

If you have questions, concerns, find bugs or whatever, feel free to send a +request/csys in and someone is going to tend to it ASAP. Please note those are not anonymous.

Syntax: +request/csys <title>=<text>

Please make sure to read this document though! Some stuff is pretty important, especially for anyone who has Aid above 4 right now, and regarding escalation rules (person who goes second always escalates now). PL gaps have also been addressed very clearly in regards to how they affect your chances of winning, in coded AND uncoded RP.

FOR THE TIME BEING, please consult Combat Help Files if you need to see the +help files, as they may not be on the MUSH yet.

If you want to use the old combat system, type +toggle. This command will go away once the trial period is over.

Credits

This new combat system was designed by Himei, with some assistance from Homura. It was coded by Madeline Vance and tested by numerous Staff members and Facheads.

Documentation and help files written by Homura with assistance from Lord English.

For a list of PATCH NOTES, consult Csys Patch Notes. Current version: 3.1.

The patch notes also give an overview of what has changed, been removed, etc. since version 2.0 (Dremarian's).

Overview

At Multiverse Crisis MUSH, it is inevitable that many characters will engage in duels, or even enter full-scale battlefields during the course of the Union-Confederate War or other large-scale conflicts. This file covers our policies on combat and combat resolution. Resolution of combat situations can be handled in a few ways, but the primary two means of doing so are:

• Freeform combat, in which two players simply work out conflict resolution in the course of roleplay without the need of a mediator.
• Coded combat, in which the MUSH's combat system acts as a neutral arbitrator and dictates the outcome of combat.

Whether you prefer freeform or coded Combat, the easiest way to determine the probable outcome of a fight is to compare the Power Levels of the two characters that are fighting. A gap of 1 PL (33 vs 34) roughly translates to a 40% win chance for the lower PL, while a gap of 2 PL decreases those odds to roughly 15%. A gap of 3 PL or more pretty much guarantees the higher PL wins (~5% win chance for the lower PL at best in a gap of 3, and essentially no win chance at 4.)

In the event of boss battles, odds are typically 50% for both parties barring a huge PL gap. For example, a 36 bossing for five 32 characters has a roughly 50% chance of winning, but if he were bossing for five 30 characters instead, his odds would start going up. Please note however that a PL 32 bossing against people higher than them does not benefit from 50% winning odds, and his odds go gradually down the more people outclass them. In other words, bossing provides a fair fight downwards, but not upwards.

+help Combat

For anything not covered here, type +help combat on the MUSH. It will provide you with a full list of csys-related commands, which you can then individually read about. The Combat Help Files Wiki page also contains the +help files.

Stats

Explanation

MCM's combat code (csys) uses four stats:

• SKILL: stands for accuracy, finesse, ability to exploit weak points, unorthodox and confusing fighting styles or other such things.
• POWER: stands for firepower, raw strength, powerful magic, direct damage.
• EVASION: stands for dodging, avoiding, or fully nullifying damage.
• ENDURANCE: stands for tanking, walking hits off, self-regeneration, heavy armor, force-fields, resistance to damage or other ways to dampen rather than avoid.

Stats range from 1 to 12; 1 is a complete lack of ability, 12 is someone who stands out in that field even in the Multiverse. 10 is the maximum you should put in any one stat without a good justification, and most characters shouldn't have a stat as low as 1~3, or multiple stats above 10.

Examples of characters with a stat at 11 or 12:

• SKL: Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid) or Vash the Stampede (Trigun).
• POW: The Hulk (Marvel Comics) or Nanoha Takamachi (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha).
• EVA: Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) or The Flash (DC Comics).
• END: Wolverine (X-Men) or Zelgius (Fire Emblem).

Setting Them, Saving Them

To set stats on yourself, use:

+restat <skill> <power> <evasion> <endurance>

Your stats must follow these three rules:

• Your stat total must be your PL, or less.
• The sum of your SKL and POW must be within a range of 5 (5 included) from the sum of your EVA and END. 10SKL/10POW (20) is fine if you have 7EVA/8END (15), but not if you only have 7EVA/7END (14). The inverse is also true. 10EVA/10END (20) is fine if you have 7SKL/8POW (15), but not if you only have 7SKL/7POW (14).
• Your SKL shouldn't be greater than three times your POW, and vice versa. Your EVA shouldn't be greater than three times your END, and vice versa.

You may change your stats before combat starts; once combat has begun, you must ask for consent from your opponent(s) if you wish to do, and they can ask you to skip a round for it.

To view your stats, or someone else's stats, type:

+stats, or +stats <character>

Finally, to save, switch to, rename or otherwise store and manage a list of stat sets, consult:

+help +armor

Aid Adjustments

Until Staff figures out what to do about Aid, characters should probably follow the standard rule in place currently as concerns max combat PL. Substract 3 from your maximum Aid; whatever is left is what you reduce your PL by. For example, a PL 36 character with 5 Aid would reduce his PL by 5 - 3 = 2, making him a 34 for the time being. A PL 33 character with 3 Aid would not reduce his PL at all. A PL 34 character with 6 Aid would reduce his PL by 6 - 3 = 3, making him a 31. This isn't optional. Unless you have an approved +advantage that makes your combat PL higher, having Aid of 4 or above at all should reduce your PL by at least 1 in this new csys.

This adjustment is temporary. Staff will eventually reach a decision on what to do about Aid.

Must I Use the Csys?

Generally, no, you have no obligation to use, or not use, the combat system. It is, however, a mediation tool, and if your opponent specifically requests its use, then you shouldn't say no unless you have a very good reason. More importantly, it's a neutral arbiter, and some players prefer to trust in that rather than anything else.

Flow of Combat

Consent & Communication

The following rules on combat outline what's needed to create a true, fair fight, where opponents should have equal odds of triumphing barring PL disparity.

Communication with your opponent, and consent from them, can override pretty much any of the rules. If you and your opponent agree to do something differently, that's fine! Just remember that, as with all other things, communication is key to a fun fight.

Power Levels

Combat is designed to be even between characters of the same PL; a 34 fighting another 34 has a 50% chance of winning. When uneven PLs fight, the higher PL's chances to win go up quickly. A 33 against a 34 (1 PL diff) has a 40% chance of winning, while a 32 against a 34 (2 PL diff) falls to roughly 15%. Any higher and the fight is essentially lost before it begins.

For this reason it's important to determine with your opponent whether the fight is intended to be fair or not. Not every fight is meant to be after all, and if a lower PL character taunts Darth Vader about his dead wife, it's unreasonable to ask him to match PL or to fight someone else. On the other hand, if you're just looking for a fun one on one to kill time, looking for an opponent willing to match you (or willing to be matched to if you're higher!) is perfectly fine.

Reset

Before you begin, make sure to use the following command:

+reset

This will return your HP to its maximum value and clear you of any potential prior lingering effects, from another battle for example. It's also needed to +reset the very first time you set your stats, after your character is out of the chargen room.

Basics

You should start by determining who will be attacking first, whether through coin flip or discussion. After posing an attack, the first person will use the following command:

+attack <opponent>=<level>:<attack name>

Opponent refers to your target. Level is the attack level, from 1 to 5. Attack name can be anything you want, including blank, in which case you should remove the :. It is highly suggested to start combat with level 1 attacks, eventually move to level 2, later to level 3, and then save level 4 or 5 for infrequent use near the end of combat. Please note that a level 4 or 5 attack requires consent.

When someone reaches 0 or less HP, or decides to retreat, combat ends. Please note that knocked out doesn't mean dead, or even unconscious. It just means "unable to fight", whatever that represents for your character. A robot might run out of energy, a ship or mecha's integrity might become critical, or a human might just be in so much pain they can't keep going, while an immortal might in fact die when knocked out and revive himself a few days later.

+attack examples:

+attack Goku=1:Weak Punch

+attack Goku=3

+attack Goku=5:Final Flash

AAAAAH BUT I MESSED UP, WHAT DO I DO? Well, that's easy! If you fire off the wrong attack type, or the wrong attack level, you can just type this to undo your last turn and try again:

+attack/undo <target>

This command will undo your last attack against the specified target (or targets).

Undoing your attack should not be abused to get a better roll. If you suspect your opponent is intentionally asking to undo attacks that have rolled poorly to get a better result, contact Staff immediatly.

Going First/Escalation

The person who goes second in combat is the one who should escalate attack levels. This is because if the person who went first does so, it shifts the odds in their favor quite a bit. Exceptions can be made if a huge (25+) HP gap is present, but otherwise, always let the second person kick it up a notch.

The ideal spread of attack levels over a fight looks something like this:

Character 1: 1 1 2 2 3 3 5 3 etc.

Character 2: 1 2 2 3 3 5 3 3 etc.

Less Attacks

Additional attack levels are present in the form of 1L to 5L. These are known as "less attacks", and they inflict about 70% less damage. Ideal for holding back and giving your opponent a chance.

Example:

+attack Goku=3L:Held Back Punch

The Endgame

When HP starts getting low (roughly, when both opponents are between 35 and 50) is when you might want to start thinking about firing an Uber (4) or Epic (5) attack. Just remember: it's pretty bad form to intentionally hold out your big strike until you're sure it can kill your opponent without allowing them to return fire. Try to make sure big shots get traded when people can return them! So pay extra attention to charges (if you're using them at all) and HP totals, and if you think an Epic attack would kill your opponent without giving them a chance to counter, use an Uber instead, unless your opponent is fine with the risk. It's all about give and take.

I Won! Now What?

If your scene was only a one versus one scenario, congratulations! Now you have to write a report. Remember to sell your opponent to your faction (if applicable).

If your scene consisted in numerous pairings (perhaps 10 people were divided in 5 one versus one pairings), you should ask for consent before interfering in another fight, and rethink twice on it if your interference might rob someone of their victory in a single hit. After all, how would you feel if you'd won your own battle with 5 HP left, and someone else in the room turned around and hit you for 10 damage?

Just count how many fights were won by each side and determine the scene outcome using that number if needed! Ties are fine, too, as long as everyone had fun.

Multiple Opponents

While in an ideal world you should try getting help rather than fighting 5 people on your own (ask your factionmates!), sometimes someone just has to grow tall and act like a boss battle.

Before you use any commands, please ensure that everyone you'll be fighting is using the stats and PL they intend to use for the entire fight, since both bossing commands calculate HP and bonuses based on the PLs of your opponents.

The person who will be fighting multiple opponents must adjust themselves one of two ways:

+boss <opponent, opponent, opponent, etc.>

This command will automatically adjust your HP and provide you with a slight stat bonus. Or:

+calcpull <opponent, opponent, opponent, etc.>

+pull <new HP total>

These two commands will first calculate how much HP you need to fight the provided opponent list, and then using +pull you can adjust your HP up to a maximum of 300.

Fights go on as normal otherwise, with the boss attacking every opponent every round, and whichever party goes second escalating as normal.

Example uses:

+boss Vegeta, Goku, Krillin

Provides you with enough HP and stat boost to boss against those three characters.

+calcpull Vegeta, Goku, Krillin

Tells you how much HP you need to fight all three of those opponents without using +boss.

+pull X

Use the number given to you by +calcpull to adjust your HP up.

Bossing has limits; a PL 30 boss trying to fight a PL 36, 35, 34 and 33 will find that the system isn't going to provide enough oomph to win. Bossing up simply isn't a way to bypass very large PL gaps. On the other hand, a PL 36 bossing up to fight three 32 characters would receive only minimal bonuses, allowing for a fair fight. Ish. The more absurd the gap between fighters the less likely the fight is to be truly even, in favor of the high PL.

It's also worth remembering that unless you want your boss to have a 50% win chance you should probably hold back a little. Use smaller attacks, occasionally skip attacking one person, that sort of stuff. Random throw-away bosses probably don't benefit from winning the scene, compared to if a character is bossing to fight multiple characters.

Finally, please note that +bossing is an OOC mechanic. It is not an IC mechanic. The same character who fought 4 characters one scene is perfectly defeatable by a single character the next, and should not hold his success to mean he is superior to singular foes, or to mean that he was not granted access to his super special power up for the one on one and thus lost.

Any character can be defeated by any other character of equal PL! The ability to boss up is just an OOC convenience so that being outnumbered isn't an automatic loss.

Support Characters

When fighting a character who is either +bossing or +pulling, characters may make use of the +support command, essentially "passing your turn" in favor of giving one or more of your allies a damage boost against the boss. This can narratively represent a great deal of things; handing your special sword to someone else for them to use it, healing or buffing them, pointing out a weakness to exploit, etc.

Command syntax:

+support <ally list>=<enemy list>=<lvl>:<name>

Example: Krillin, Vegeta and Goku are currently fighting Buu. Krillin, rather than attacking Buu for his turn, chooses to support Vegeta and Goku by firing a distracting but harmless shot at Buu. He uses the following command:

+support Goku, Vegeta=Buu=3:Distraction!

Though Krillin will do no damage to Buu, he will grant a damage bonus to both Goku and Vegeta when they next attack Buu with a non-charge attack.

While this tool is handy to represent support/healing characters during boss fights, please keep in mind that in the event of PL mismatches, outside of a boss situation, it can severely imbalance a fight. This command should NOT be used without the full consent of all those involved in a non-boss fight scenario, and ideally, should simply just not be used outside of boss battles at all.

Passing a Turn

Passing a turn requires no special consideration on your part, unless you have a damage over time effect on you from the person you're not attacking (if in doubt, check your +stats). If this is the case, you should use the following command:

+expendturn <target>

Post-Combat

Damage Over Time

If your opponent decides to apply a damage over time effect on you near the end of combat, it is possible it will linger even after you've struck them down. Therefore, once your opponent has gone down, if their effect still lingers on you, you should use +expendturn <character> until it does not. This MAY result in a mutual KO! But remember, if they'd just attacked you instead of applied that effect, they would have been the one to win, so don't feel too cheated. If anything, they gave up their win in favor of a draw.

Recovery

• Use common sense, don't nitpick the language of these rules, and don't game the system.
• If you fight, don't fight again on the same day or the day immediately after.
• If you get wrecked, spend more than the bare minimum of time in recovery and/or at less than your best.
• If you receive medical attention from a PC, or can self-heal, you can recover faster than other people unless something unusual prevents you from doing so.
• Want to fight while injured? If you're willing to RP being critically disadvantaged (basically guaranteed to lose to anything but the most absurdly outclassed opponents) due to your injuries, it is allowable.
• Waivers may be issued for unusual circumstances, TPs, etc. Ask on Staff-Help! about these.

Consult +healinfo for more information on how quickly your character should recover from fighting.

Disrupting the Flow of Combat

Actions which would prevent your opponent from taking his turn, grant you an additional turn, grant you more HP or which would otherwise provide a significant advantage are all illegal. These actions can be performed as flavor without any involvement of code, but unless your opponent decides on their own to pass their turn or similar, they will not have an effect.

If your character cloaks himself and becomes invisible, or flies out of reach of counter-attacks, your opponent is regardless assumed capable of attacking during his round.

Two exceptions exist: a retreating opponent may make himself unattackable (only if leaving the scene for real), and some characters may have exploitable +flaws affecting the flow of combat, like an inability to hit flying opponents.

Finally, characters reduced to 0 HP are considered out of the fight. Remember that being defeated is a state that applies to your whole character, even if you have NPCs. This means that it is not possible to come back into a fight once you've been knocked out.

Attack Types

+attack isn't the only way to hurt an opponent:

+combo will execute a multi-hit attack, its damage split in (attack level+1) separate hits.

+dot will place a damage over time effect on your opponent for three rounds.

+charge will not immediately damage your opponent, but rather place a mark on your opponent, increasing the damage of your next attack by the value of a regular +attack.

You may use any of these attack types without consent, and they all function the same way:

+<attack> <opponent(s)>=<level>:<attack name>

Techniques

On top of attacks, combos, DoTs and charges, it's possible to mix and match those four types of attacks to create unique attacks. For example, a strike that is split 50/50 between an attack and a DoT, or 50/25/25 between an attack, a combo and a charge.

See +help techniques for more information.

Fachead Authority Mode

+authority <on/off> is a special boss mode assigned to Facheads and some officers for unusual circumstances. It exists to be used when another character is challenging the Fachead's authority on the basis of martial prowess, and may be used whenever such a situation arises. These boss modes are deliberately overpowered and not intended to be beatable. Occasionally, officers or other specially-ranked characters will be issued an Authority mode. But on the whole, usage of Authority is extremely rare, having been used only one time in the last five or six years.