By qbsuperstar03
If you participate in text combat on a regular basis, no doubt you've encountered the "combat monkey" type of character before: The sort of character that was obviously created with the sole purpose of turning everyone who stands before him into a bloody pulp. What these people forget is that these characters undoubtedly trained hard and overcame numerous obstacles to attain and master the powers that they possess, and that means several opportunities to tell stories about him; in other words, to roleplay as him.
The problem with sticking a combat monkey into a random roleplay is that these characters perform with varying effectiveness in different types of stories. In the sort of story where war is breaking out and the characters must journey across the land to defeat the evil mastermind, he fits in just fine, because combat is pretty much all he knows. However, in a story where the danger is more subtle and hidden behind layers of red tape, requiring the characters to use their diplomacy skills to expose the villain for who he is, the combat monkey is pretty much limited to trying to intimidate guards and other authority figures into revealing sensitive information, which isn't guaranteed to be 100% effective.
Therefore, the best way to roleplay as a character with extensive combat experience is through combat. The philosopher Lucretius, who lived between 98 and 55 BC, came to this conclusion: "It is more useful to watch a man in times of peril, and in adversity to discern what kind of man he is; for then, at last, words of truth are drawn from the depths of his heart, and the mask is torn off, reality remains." In accordance with this, how, then, can we develop a character during the hue and cry of pitched battle? A few suggestions are provided below:
- A character's initial stance, usually adopted as soon as both parties have resigned themselves to resorting to blows, can say a lot about his opinion of himself. If he leaves a lot of openings, he could be silently daring his foe to try to hit him first, which in turn speaks volumes about his level of self-confidence. A more defensive posture says that he values evading blows more than dealing them. One can even conceivably emulate a mentor's habits for opening combat as a form of homage.
- Where and how a character chooses to hold a weapon says a lot about the situation he perceives himself to be in. If he's relaxed and/or is holding the weapon in one hand, chances are he's feeling pretty good. A tight or two-handed grip can be used to convey an atmosphere of tension, a grip close to the head is a clear sign that he favors close quarters, and so on. If he's holding a weapon above his head, he's primarily concerned about attacks aimed at his upper body (head, neck, shoulders, chest), which could be a subtle clue that he favors being able to think things through...and the list goes on.
- Combat maneuvers such as bull rushes can be used to try to break a stalemate, to try to take away a foe's advantage, or to press an advantage that you possess. You generally don't want to use them too often, but the frequency with which you do can be used to hint at a character's resourcefulness and creativity. Against a physically superior foe, the sort of person that's better at using his hands to create than destroy might rig things like deadfalls and other environment-appropriate traps in a guerilla approach to both wear down a foe and engender a fear that his next step may be his last in an effective psychological warfare tactic. Any fool can swing a weapon or fire a gun, after all, but the warrior that can break his opponent's will to fight without having to draw a weapon is one to be feared indeed.
- If your character is trying over and over to attack a specific thing or body part, that says a lot about his style and personality. If you're trying to disarm or sunder a weapon, chances are you're trying to take away a perceived advantage and could subliminally communicate a desire to bring someone or something down, for example. If you go for the limbs, your goal is most likely to impede or disable, and this hints at a pseudo-honorable nature that cares more for surrender than wholesale slaughter (this approach can often be used in duels that are billed as nonlethal). If your main targets are located on the torso or head, your goal is to end the fight as quickly as possible with no regard for your foe's well-being, which may be a clue that you are either bloodthirsty, hurried, or desperate. Alternately, you could be trying to impress someone by dispatching the other guy with seemingly minimal effort.
- If your character's objective in a given fight is to prevent the enemy from reaching an important location or person, a great way to communicate this is to interpose yourself physically between your enemy and the most direct path to it at every opportunity. This is probably most appropriate when the character has some sort of outside incentive to protect such a thing, such as a landed knight fighting to defend his lord or a bouncer making sure that the refuse of society (such as the homeless) doesn't find their way into exclusive establishments.
- By far the best way to develop a character when he's busy killing bitches is by what he says during combat. Crying out attack names doesn't count for this: What's more useful is his battle cry, what sorts of things he says to his opponent, and the nature of the beings he prays to in a tight spot. They are a great insight into his beliefs, in particular why he took up the path of the sword and what gives him the will to persevere when all seems lost.
- If your character is an "elementalist"; that is to say, his powers have a common theme, this might say a lot about himself as well. The titular character of The Last Airbender, for example, might be capricious, quick on his feet, agile, and jump around a lot or even bounce on the balls of his feet when he's got nothing to do but wait. Outside of combat, he might have a knack for finding non-traditional methods of solving problems. On the other hand, an earthbender might be more stoic, steadfast, thoughtful, determined and deliberate in his approach to both combat and everyday life. He could be a meticulous researcher who believes that knowing is half the battle, a master strategist that skillfully maneuvers his foes into traps, or simply a doughty warrior that prefers to sacrifice accuracy for damage potential.
Hopefully these ideas have inspired you to try to draw a bead on a newly created character's personality and history even as you take him for a test drive in the Battle Arena. There's a person and a personality behind all that armor and weaponry...it's up to you to draw them out, and hopefully these tips have given you some ideas regarding how to do just that.
