Referee's Circle

[Kublai]

The Guide to the Arenas:

If you have played games like Soul Caliber, Tekken, or Virtua Fighter, you know what effect you should be going for when first describing the arena. Matches can take place in any setting you can possibly imagine. So far, we've seen a Roman-esque stadium, an Orc fighting pit, a haunt of the dead, and a Roden Cavern.

- All arenas need a crowd. They react as you see fit and can even give you some leverage to try to influence the fight. Crowd's react negatively to long chases and cowardice, but they love good strategy and clashing of steel.

- Arena's terrain have whatever the fighter's desire. Think of them as holo-decks from Star Trek. The Champion merely needs to state a desire to have something available, and chances are it will appear if they look for it. It may not necessarily be right at their feet, but it shouldn't be too far away. For example, a character wants to take cover. Placing a wall or rock a few paces away is perfectly acceptable. Or a character wants to throw another into a wall. As long as you haven't described the wall being too far away, there is no reason why it wouldn't be in throwing distance. Never say "No!" should be the referee's motto. Requiring an Assess to make something appear is reasonable.

- Starting distance between Champions should be calculated by taking the longest sprint distance and adding 1. The referee has the right to alter this, however.

[Kublai]

I've been using this dice.bot for good effect so far:
http://www.irony.com/webdice.html

[eruditus]

Who dictates the state of the arena...size, building materials, etc? Can a player say "and i thow him into the iron spiked wall?" Can a champion request that the arenas is water-tight? Can a champion request that there is NO audience? How do you adjudicate inconsitancies? I scripted I run across the grounds in a charge while my opponent claims that he sets up shop across the chasm from his opponant to pepper him with arrows?

[jc_madden]

I propose that players fould guilty of such cheesery as flooding the arena, setting up shop behind a chasm, etc should be flogged with their dice bags.

[Kublai]

Reread what I wrote. If Champions want something, let them have it. If it's an iffy, let them roll an Assess. If they succeed, it's there.

Be fluid and have no worries.

The Arenas are MAGICAL places full of mystery and excitement. They change to reflect what is happening at the moment. For example, if the Champions get too far apart, the Arena may start constricting!

There must always be a crowd.

[eruditus]

OOOO How about a control environment skill? :)

Otherwise i tend to prefer a list of arenas with specs :) in the fighting games you listed you know whats around. its a set list.

OOOOO i think it would be cool to open up different Arena's as you win :D

[Kublai]

I do, no, no, no and I do.

I highly suggest you never say no. Say things are difficult and give them high obstacles, but never say no. We are, after all, playing in a magical arena full of over-the-top combat toons.

However, feel free to ignore champions when they ask if there are any chasms. Spiked walls are a maybe in my book, but chasms - whatever.

[luke]

I propose that players fould guilty of such cheesery as flooding the arena, setting up shop behind a chasm, etc should be flogged with their dice bags.

How about this: A player may not break the genre of the Arena. Anything that could conceivably be in an arena of death might be present in the match: walls, dirt, puddles, barriers, barrels, boards, broken weapons, rocks, lengths of chain, etc. The successful Assess locates what the player is looking for.

Things that break genre like chasms, goblin alchemists, second husbands or gates to hell will not be found in the arena. No Assess will find them. Any player that insists on something that the GM feels breaks genre shall be publicly ridiculed by the crowd.

that seems fair, eh?
-L

[Kublai]

OOOO How about a control environment skill? :)

Die. :evil: :wink: Anyway, the control environment skill is called an Asses in the Arena.

Otherwise i tend to prefer a list of arenas with specs :) in the fighting games you listed you know whats around. its a set list.


Being creative is the responsibility of the Champion. If he can think of it, then it just might be there. Refereeing is difficult enough as it is!


OOOOO i think it would be cool to open up different Arena's as you win :D

So far, each Champion has his own Arena. Each new Champion adds an arena.

[eruditus]

Cool. Thanks, oh master of the Arena (no fasciciousness intended).

Can Champions request or suggest stuff found in their own Arenas before the combat begins?

Could battles take place in Arena's other than those of the two Champions?

[eruditus]

I do, no, no, no and I do.

I highly suggest you never say no. Say things are difficult and give them high obstacles, but never say no. We are, after all, playing in a magical arena full of over-the-top combat toons.

However, feel free to ignore champions when they ask if there are any chasms. Spiked walls are a maybe in my book, but chasms - whatever.

Aren't these contradictory? or are you saying, "don't say no, just ignore your players."

I'd say that ignoring someone is basically akin to saying no without the balls to face them and stand by one's decision ... or at best not wanting to deal with a diatribe from yagathai.

[Kublai]

Well, maybe a little contradictory. You see, there is a line that I imagine between fair and ludicrous. A wall to hide behind is fair, a chasm to hide across is ludicrous. Happily, so far, no Champion has asked for a chasm. This makes me proud.

[eruditus]

Well, maybe a little contradictory. You see, there is a line that I imagine between fair and ludicrous. A wall to hide behind is fair, a chasm to hide across is ludicrous. Happily, so far, no Champion has asked for a chasm. This makes me proud.

I guess the problem is that what one GM thinks is ludicrous may not be to another and visa versa. One GM may believe having dirt on the floor is ludicrous. Its too subjective. Some sort of objectivity should exist. What are the sorts of things found in certain arenas? What definately won't be found in others, so don't ask? JC_madden seemed to think that flooding the arena was ludicrous but they did it with the Collesium.

This is why we have rules. In a GM to group of players, those rules are far more malliable because it should never be assumed that the GM is in any way against the players (unlike many old school mentalities) but in a competitive environment the rules are far more important to avoid even the slightest insinuation of impartiality. Whether they me the mechanics of how to hit and how to roll dice to how is the environment to be built.

[Kevin]

On the other hand, you assume going into the Arena that your character has a 50% chance of dying in the fight. In a normal game, the GM has the responsibility to help build a good story. In the arena I only want them to make sure the rules are properly enforced.

YMMV, of course. I'm personally just using this as a chance to get better acquainted with the combat rules and scripting strategies. The arena is almost ideal for that.

[Kublai]

I'm personally just using this as a chance to get better acquainted with the combat rules and scripting strategies.

This is the only reason the Arena exists, as matter of fact. Roleplaying, story, and other superfluous aspects of BW are ignored and combat is hyper-focused.

[Kublai]

JC_madden seemed to think that flooding the arena was ludicrous but they did it with the Collesium.

I don't think such is ridiculous, as long as the Champions are on a ship floating in it and aren't penalized in any way. The Arena is fluff, the only important aspect of it is Champions stats and their scripts. Anything else is purely Referee fun and at his discretion.

[eruditus]

I'm personally just using this as a chance to get better acquainted with the combat rules and scripting strategies.

This is the only reason the Arena exists, as matter of fact. Roleplaying, story, and other superfluous aspects of BW are ignored and combat is hyper-focused.

True enough, however, combat is more than just swinging steel. Skirmishing and guerilla tactics is combat as well. Sun Tzu and many other great strategist would tell you that the battle takes place in the mind and the spirit as well as on the battlefield. Demoralizing, taunting, tricking, sneaking, and otehr measn of getting an advantage are all part of combat and certainly will help all of us run better BW games.

Anyone can script "block/strike/avoid/strike." but can you truly outwit and out manuever your opponent. Thus any advantage I can get in trying to minimize his strengths and capitalize on my weaknesses makes me a better combatant. The characters are not balanced, why should the arena they fight in be.

[Kublai]

I agree. If the Champion is clever enough to ask for an advantage by scripting an assess, there is no reason not to give it to him - as long as he gets a few successes and isn't sprinting and wearing a great helm.

[Kublai]

Okay, so it wasn't clear enough that there was indeed a layout all ref's should use. Well, here it is. Follow it without error! Simply quote, copy and paste.

In an instant, Lei Bao Zhong streaks off to his right at an angle to the spider. Frantically, he seems to be searching for something.

With the lightning reflexes of a predator, Arakis surges forward to intercept his prey. As he moves, his spindly legs pass forward a silken line.

The crowd cries excitedly as the fast-moving fight begins!

-----
Lei Bao Zhong Volley 1:
Action 1: Assess
Move: Close to Optimal

Arakis Volley 1:
Action 1: Acquire Target
Action 2: Aim
Move: Close to Optimal

Action Results:
Movement: x successes to y successes. Arakis wins! Arakis is at Optimal for his lariat. Lei is at Optimal for his spear.
Target acquired. Lock-on achieved.
Zhong gets 4 successes minus 4 for Sprinting, minus 1 for his helmet. He doesn't find what he's looking for.


Volley Results:

The combatants are now both at Optimal range.

You have until tomorrow noon to make any Volley 2 forfeits.

[Kublai]

As you can see, the layout first describes the events that happened. Then the mechanics are revealed. Important things like being wounded, knocked down, or hesitation are all in red.

Each Volley should end with how far apart the characters are and how soon they have to get back to you with forfeits or new scripts.

[Kublai]

Finally, at the same time you create an intro, create a seperate thread called "smith vs. jones commentary." Include a poll in order for others to vote on who they want to win.

[Kublai]

Please also notice there are three paragraphs to the description. One for each fighter and one for the crowd. It takes some creativity, but it's quite possible to keep within this parameter.

[Tobias]

Note to all new readers: we're currently using the 'honor system' for all combat. This means you don't need a judge, your opponent trusts you to do the right thing when you roll and post and think up your exchange (or equivalent). Using the "quote" and "color" tags is a good idea - look in ongoing fights for examples.

If you decided to have a judged fight, the rules as written in this thread are still a good guideline!

(I invite any moderator to adapt this post).