The FRCS, Forum Roleplay and Combat System.
This is being created for those who prefer forum style roleplaying, instead of chat based roleplaying. While chatting has great advantages, some people cannot be on at the same time as other people. Real life conflicts with a chat schedule, most of the time. This is being created for, people like me. People who love to roleplay and read through roleplays, but they want action as well. Below is a set of guidelines and examples to learn how to use and play in this Forum Roleplay and Combat System. This will be referred to as FFS from here out.
The ability to take more time to post will make it very difficult to force any type of speed based system like the TRBS or T1/T2 fighting systems. However, the time it takes gives a great boost to the style of place. Character profiles will have to be made, though inventory will be required. You will have the perfect documentation to prove you have experience from past fights. The best thing, other people can always watch in on the fight. Below is an index of this system. This system is broken into chapters. People who acknowledge using this system must follow its rules to the very punctuation marks. If you donât the system will fail, and so will you.
Chapter 1⊠Character Creation
Chapter 2⊠Movement and Combat
Chapter 3⊠Skills and Spells
Chapter 4⊠Combat inside a roleplay
Chapter 5⊠Multiple person combat
Chapter 6⊠Death and Resurrection
Chapter 7⊠Experience and Leveling
Chapter 8⊠Official Time Guide
Chapter 1: Character Creation
This is important to all styles of roleplaying. Without a good character, what would your role be? However, this is EXTREMELY important to this style of roleplaying. Your character is your vessel for combat; you must be extremely detailed during this process. If you were to pull out a knife, and your profile doesnât say anything about a knife, then you do not have a knife to pull out. You cannot shoot 15 bullets out of a gun that only holds 9. This is a guide to creating your own characters.
I am not going to explain what types of characters you should make; or what is/isnât generic. I am telling you how to accessorize your character, how to make it believable for combat.
Part 1: Balance
You can not be perfect in every aspect. You must have a very balanced character. There will be three areas to balance off your character:
Strength (Str)-
Intelligence (Int)-
Speed (Spd)-
These are run on a 5 point system. You only have 9 points to spend on your Str, Int, and Spd. Here is an example of a very fast character:
Str-**
Int-**
Spd-*****
Here the character is extremely fast, however, arenât as wise or strong as others.
Here is a balanced out character:
Str-***
Int-***
Spd-***
This person is âAverageâ across the board.
This would be a slightly stronger person:
Str-****
Int-**
Spd- ***
They are strong and have average speed, however, they could be fast and strong if they sacrificed one Int point to Spd.
This is to be used as a universal way to create a well balanced character. These attributes MUST be posted in your profile. This allows others to compare their characters to yours, to see what kind of fight they are in for.
Part 2- Attributes (STR, INT, SPD)
This part will explain exactly what each attribute is used for, throughout character creation and gameplay. Breaking from your attributes abilities would result in actions that would essentially kill your character. Example: You have a 2 in STR, you get 5000 pounds of stuff thrown at you. If you stood there and took it, youâd die. Itâd be best to use your speed to dodge. Also, having 1 point in anything, means you are just average in that category.
STR- This is used to determine your characterâs strength. If you were to take on a person who has a higher STR value, in a strength matchâŠYou would loose. STR does not just determine fights though. Having a character with low STR means you wouldnât be able to carry as much on you. A person who only has 1 point in STR is merely average in what they can lift and do. If you are a person who has a 1 or 2 in STR, you cannot carry 2 swords, armor, a crossbow and a shield. You can wear some light armor, a sword, maybe a buckler.
INT- This is your intelligence rating. This is for you magic users, or anyone using mind power. Letâs say you have been subject to a serum that forces you to tell the truth, if you have a 1, guess what? You are telling the truth. A 5 would allow you to fight off the serum pretty well. Your intelligence will also determine your ability to make a ranged attack. If you have an intelligence of 5, your aim would be amazing.
SPD- This determines your speed and dexterity. This would allow you to shoot more bullets and arrows. It allows you to quickly move out of the way. Having a high speed rating means you can do more actions in quick succession. Having a 1 means you are at average speed of people.
Part 3- Items and Weight
Everything you hold has a physical weight attached to it. For basic weights of things, you can look up the items in http://www.d20srd.org . Those are mostly fantasy type weapons. Estimations of weapons would be fine, or you could Google them. However, you must take into consideration that the average person can only lift their own body weight. The higher you have in this score the more you can add. For every extra point that you spend in STR, you gain the ability to lift 50% more.
This is the equation to find out your exact weight lifting maximum.
For every point past one, you may multiply your weight by .5. This will give you your maximum lift. If you are 150 pounds, and you have only 1 point, you can only lift 150 pounds. If you have 2 points you would 150 x .5 which equals 75. You add that 75 to 150 to get 225. So you can, now, lift 225 pounds. Keep in mind, this is your maximum. That means you would be straining to lift that 225 pounds. While you are straining, you may only do one thing, keep the object lifted, and move it. You would not be able to throw this object, you could only drop it; or walk it to where you want it.
With all of this in mind, you would not want to become encumbered with items as well. If you are carrying items that exceed more than 15% of your lift weight, you will move slower than normal. Letâs say you are 150 pounds, and only 1 point. That means you can only carry 22.5 pounds without slowing down. If you had 2 points, your new lift weight would be 225 pounds. That means you could carry 33.75 pounds worth of equipment, without slowing down. The stronger you are, the more you can carry without being encumbered.
This affects you no matter how fast you are. You cannot carry a bunch of stuff at 5 points in SPD, and still move like lightning. It would be unbalanced, and unbelievable.
Chapter 2- Movement and Combat
This is a new way to roleplay, and a new way to fight. Because of this, there has to be a fair action rule. Each post will be an allotted point in time. While roleplaying, posts can take as much time as you would need them to take. You could use multiple actions that take up several minutes of time in the roleplay. However, combat and exploration would require time to be broken down into segments. Keep in mind; these are all described as if it were an average person doing these actions. Character skills, the next chapter, will allow you to do more.
Part 1- Actions
Actions are the things you can do within one post. The amount of actions you are able to perform depends on the amount of time you are allotted for a post. To determine what amount of time you would be using, you need to ask yourself one question; Am I fighting or not? If your answer is yes, you would be using considerably less time. Action time is something that can only be assumed.
If you were to be traveling to a town that is 10 miles away, you would be taking a few hours to walk there. If you were lunging at an opponent that is 25 feet away, you would only be taking a few seconds. Now, how can you tell how much time is allowed to be used in a post? Time in combat would be determined in seconds. The actions within combat would be limited to a maximum of 10 seconds per post (This is allowed to be changed to a lower amount by the threadâs creator.). You could consider 10 seconds as fighting in âEasyâ mode. Some actions only take 2 seconds; some would take up to 5 or 6. Below is a list of generic combat actions. These actions will be able to be modified by your characterâs abilities.
Combat Actions (The number represents seconds.):
Charge powers or spells- 5
Reloading ranged weapons-5
Knocking an arrow-3 (To reload and take aim only)
Fire ranged weapon-1 (To steady shot, and fire.)
Moving away from, or toward an opponent over 20 ft away- 5
Moving away or to an opponent under 20 ft- 3
Melee combat must be within your weapon range or grapple range. For example if youâre 5 ft away from your opponent. You are in melee combat. Movement does not count as seconds if you are that close. It is considered a free action.
There are also Non-Combat actions. If you were to be exploring or a major event was happening, you would use these actions. They are listed below, the numbers will represent minutes.
Non-Combat Actions (In Minutes):
Searching a room carefully- 10
Looking over a room- 5
Donning armor- 3
Walking a mile- 20
Once again, these are basic actions. A comprehensive list will be provided at the end of the Guidelines.
Part 2- Determining Success
This is the most important part of the entire guide. How does one determine the success or failure of their characterâs actions? All chat systems have a reasonable set of rules to figure this out. Other systems use dice. This one will be based upon your charactersâ statistics and the time system. First off, anyone who does not post a response within 24 hours of the previous response; automatically looses their turn and forfeits to their âOpponentâ. This doesnât mean they loose the âfightâ, it just means that turn was lost and they sustain all damage from the previous actions.
With combat being limited to 10 second intervals, you have a relatively large amount of time to complete a few actions. However, you can never repeat the same type of action in the same post. You cannot attack and then attack again. If you attack you have to ready for your next attack, so your next action should be to pull back for another attack, or move away.
This next part is going to be hard to explain, so I will use examples instead.
Sam rushes forward at his opponent, using 3 seconds out of 10. 7 left.
He lunges for an attack at the gut, using 2 seconds out of 7. 5 left.
Once you make your attack, your turn is over. You cannot make any further actions; you must await your success to make another move. However, you have 5 seconds left. This gives you an advantage. Now watch what his opponent does.
Mark moves to the side 2, and strafes out of the way 3. 5 seconds used.
He hasnât made his attack, he has 5 seconds left.
Mark rushes in from behind 3 seconds. He only has 2 seconds left.
He uses his fist to pound the back of Samâs head. No time left His turn is over with an attack. All 10 seconds used.
Here is where the time difference counts. If Sam has 5 seconds left from his previous post, he actually cuts into the time of Markâs post. This gives him 5 seconds of âPresentâ time.
Example:
As Mark rushed at Sam, Sam turned around to face him 2 seconds.
Sam avoided the attacks to his head with his extra aware state. 2 seconds.
He now has 10 seconds left to make his actual attack round.
This also left Mark in a position of being caught off guard. With Mark being caught, Samâs next attack will hit.
The point of this play style, is to out wit your opponent in battle. Like a fast paced game of chess. All you have to do is check mate them. You must leave them in a situation where the odds are against them to make your hit a success.
That is how to determine a melee combat scenario. Ranged combat is much the same, except you are using more time to ready your weapons and taking fire. The real question is how do you determine success in special attacks or magic?
The answer to that is more simple than you think. Charging for an attack is considered an attack, and it is the end of your turn. Making the attack on your next turn will end it as well. If you are stuck reloading a weapon, reloading it will end your turn. Success is determined in the same way as melee combat. You must catch your opponent off guard. Keep in mind, if your opponent has more time than you in âpresent timeâ they have a bigger advantage over you. So watch out, even if you have 5 seconds, if they have 6 they have that extra edge over you.
Part 3- Winning the fight
This section will be a lot smaller than you think. If you are fighting an opponent you must have a way to win or kill that opponent. This section will tell you how to know when your opponent is dead.
You can consider your stats to be your hit points in that area. Your HP is determined by your STR. So 5 pts in STR means you have 5 HP. You could only take 5 hits before going unconscious. If you have only 1 pt, you can only take 1 hit; so youâd better be fast or really high INT to make up for it. The same goes to your other stats. If any were to fall to zero, you are down. If you have no speed, you cannot move. If you have no INT you cannot think. It would only make sense to go down once your stats fall. If you have zero in any stat at the end of your turn, you pass out. You are then subject to being killed if your opponent wishes to do so, so watch out.
Chapter 3: Skills and Spells
So you have a character made by now, I hope. What about giving him some sick abilities or spells? There are so many genres to cover for this chapter that I am, instead, giving an official guideline to making skills or spells. There is no limit to the amount of skills or spells your character may know, however there will be limits to what your character can use.
To use any skill or spell you must use 5 seconds of time to charge it (Or ready it). This means you describe what exactly the skill is doing while you do so. Then, on the next round, you may attack with the skill or spell. Describe what it does to the foe then.
You must list all of your skills or spells in your characterâs profile. If your opponent does not agree that a certain skill or spell is fair, then you must come to terms and adjust it accordingly. Or agree that it will not be used in combat. Remember, you have this right against them as well. If the skill seems fair to you, then ask for another personâs opinion. If a third person or more is brought in, use them as a judge to make your skill or spell fair to your foe.
To make a skill or spell you need to consider what your character is strong at. If they are a smart and fast character, you would use those stats to determine what you character uses to cast the skill or spell. For a spell that would take all of your speed or concentration you would use 5 points of that area to cast it. However, your stats cannot hit zero at the end of your turn. So you must make sure you have at least 1 second of time left in your turn. Charging a spell will end your turn, so make sure there is time left or you will pass out. These same rules apply to using STR based skills
Remember to make the cost fair. If your character is a rogue and you want to use a poison. You must be smart enough to use the poison and not get yourself cut, as well as fast enough to use it on your opponent. A medium poison would use 2 points of each stat. The same goes for any other type of stat, if your foe doesnât think the cost of a skill or spell is fair; you must discuss it with them.
If you were to use your spell or skill at the beginning of your next attack round, you would have 5 seconds left over. That means you have the chance to cast it during your 5 seconds of âpresent timeâ. Giving you a full 10 seconds in your next round plus the 5 seconds of catching your opponent.
The difficult part is charging and not getting hit. So what do you do to get around this? Use the âpresent timeâ to charge up your spell. Not only does it end your turn and give you 10 seconds of present time, plus the normal 10 you get, you assure yourself that your points return.
Now if you do attack on your next turn, during your present time, you will only get the time left over from that round, it doesnât add up. So if your spell takes 5 seconds to be cast as well as charge. You would use 5 present seconds to charge it. Then next turn, attack with it. It would end your turn again. The turn after that you would only have 5 seconds of present time, not 15. The 5 left from the present would only be available since you werenât able to take an actual round. Not all spells would have an auto attack either, so donât assume so. Sometimes a spell could be charged, and held within. It would be waiting to be unleashed at a later time. Or, it could be a spell that boosts a stat, while it keeps another stat lowered (Constantly using itâs energy.).
You may never go negative in a stat; if you do you are automatically dead. You will have ripped yourself apart trying to cast whatever you were casting. You cannot heal past your normal stats. You, also, cannot regain stats that have been lost unless you have a way to heal. If you have just used your 5 STR ability, and now have 2 pts; but you got hit, you can only return to 4 pts.
Chapter 4: Combat inside of a roleplay
This is probably the most significant feature of this system. You are now able to go against other players in a roleplay and be fair about it. If you want to start a roleplay that follows this system, simply post a link to it and have your players post up a profile somewhere. Combat inside of a roleplay should be easy to do. Once you enter combat, everyone would be using the seconds of time. So all characters posting, would use their time to their own advantages. For example: Jim and Bob start a fight over Maggie. Maggie wants to intervene. So, she would try to catch up to them and calm them down. Though she could not run up to them and grab onto them all at once. She would be using combat rules to catch up.
In this case you would have people watching and interjecting in the fight. It would add another challenge, people being able to join in the combat.
Chapter 5: Multiple person combat
This is something that isnât done to often, due to the chaos it brings. However, with a forum base, it allows it to be slowed down just enough to make some kind of sense. All of the normal combat rules apply. However, now you have to determine who goes first. That is determined by the speeds of the characters. If the two highest speed characters are tied, then the winner is the fastest and smartest. If that is tie as well, use all stats. Once you have determined a first attacker, determine a second, and so on till you have a turn order. After that, it is combat like any other. Instead, you have another person to worry about. This makes everything that much harder, although there are no special rules for multiple person fighting, just as real life. If they jump you, too bad, whatever it takes to win. Unless it is a tournament and the rules state otherwise, everything is fair game in combat.
Chapter 6: Death and Resurrection
This pertains to roleplaying, or multiple people fighting; if you are in teams. If someone happens to die, and you have the ability to revive, you may do so. However, normal spell and combat rules apply. It will take 9 seconds of time to start reviving someone, and cost all your stats. There is no way around that, it is the only fair way to revive. However, you may retain the ability to revive them, holding the energy until the time is right. The person cannot be dead for more than 5 rounds though. Once you are ready to revive them, the cost is the same as charging the spell. Everything is depleted, even if it is low; and it takes 9 seconds to revive.
If you are roleplaying and someone is dead, you must do so within the first minute of them dying. If you do not, you must revive them with the powers of someone greater. It will probably cost a ton of money to do, as well as be very hard to perform.
Chapter 7: Experience and Leveling
If you are playing a roleplay, you now have the chance to gain abilities. The creator of the roleplay may have everyone start off at 1 point. As you do things, and fight monsters or other people, you gain experience (exp). If that is the case, they may have you add a point or points to your stats as you level. There is no guide to leveling or gaining exp, there is simply ability to do so in a roleplay. This will never count in spars or combat; unless it is a competition and the creator states it so.
Chapter 8: Official Time Guide
This is the final section of the guide. This section will contain a multitude of things to do and how much time it will really take. All times previous to this were example times. These times are official unless changed by the creator of a battle or a roleplay.
If it pertains to a round in roleplaying, assume each post is 10 minutes worth of time, at most; 1 minute of time, at the least. The creator of a roleplay is responsible for providing their own opinion of what actions take time. If a player has a question about how much time something takes, you would ask your Roleplay creator.
The following is a list of official combat actions. They may be changed by the starter of a combat thread or tournament. All of the times are listed in seconds. (Remember, any speech given shouldnât be long windedâŠIt wouldnât seem realistic.)
Round- 10
*Attack-2
Charge toward foe-3 for every 20 feet
Grapple-1 You must be within 5 feet
*Ready arrow and take aim-3 (Firing is considered Attack)
*Charging a skill or spell-5
*+Casting skill or spell-5
Strafing-3
Dodging-2
=Deflecting-1
*-Using this action will end your turn.
+-This is true unless the skill or spell states otherwise
=-Using this action twice in a row will count as a Hit.
If you would like to add onto this list to make it official, please contact me and I shall post it up!
