V. RULES OF ENGAGEMENTEnforced to various degrees, depending on how strictly moderated a story is, the Rules of Engagement are based on the ‘T1’ rules for free-form fighting, as established by The RPG Club Administrator, Adam Wright, and as interpreted in The Nine Worlds collaborative storytelling forum. The central idea is that you may write your character’s attack or action, but it is up to the character on the receiving end to write the result.
The key to successful free-form combat is that you write your actions descriptively (remember other people must interpret and respond), and colorfully, as if the scene could appear in the pages of a novel. The basic factors to consider when writing these scenes are: 1. Follow the laws of physics (is your character wearing heavy armor? Then he probably won’t move as fast as the guy in a loin cloth), 2. Injuries hinder you, so take them into account, 3. Other characters’ actions affect you in
some way, so respond accordingly, 4. No invincible characters allowed, 5. No one is perfect, so learn to mess up once in a while.
Keeping these practicalities in mind, when writing a combat scene against another player-character or NPC, you describe what your character does and the creator of the other character or NPC responds accordingly. Ideally, you should write actions against other characters in
bold font to indicate ambiguity. For example:
- Quote :
- JERRY THE SNAKE:
Jerry saw the detective entering through the rippled glass on the office door and crouched behind an overflowing garbage can, hiding in the shadows.
- Quote :
- NICK DICEY:
Nick was tired after a long day of spying on disloyal spouses, looked forward to nothing more than throwing his feet up and knocking back a flask full of rum, but as soon as he entered his office, he saw a flicker of movement in the shadows behind his garbage can. The sight made him ornery more than anything, and in a wild swoop, Nick knocked the garbage aside and hauled up Jerry by his collar.
“What the hell are you doing here, you dirty rat?” Nick demanded, shaking him.
- Quote :
- JERRY THE SNAKE:
Jerry had earned his nickname because he was fast and slippery, and as the detective reached for him, he wriggled away, slipping from Nick’s grasps as the man tried to shake him. Jerry careened into an office chair and sent it spinning.
Still clutching the secret file to his chest, he thrust the chair at Nick Dicey and ran for the front door.
- Quote :
- NICK DICEY:
Nick leapt to the side, trying to dodge the chair, but it tipped over, tangling his legs and he crashed to the floor. Watching Jerry’s wiry figure vanish through his front door, he continued to lie on his side. Maybe he would just stay here and take a nap.
As you can see, each character ended their post with space for the other to react, and each determined the effect the actions of the other had on them. Their actions were within the bounds of the story’s realism and contributed to the plot. Nick may not have caught Jerry, but now he has something more to do with himself than spy on cheating wives and husbands.
Just to clarify, this type of free-form combat should be used not only when fighting other characters, but when fighting another writer’s NPC. The NPC’s creator will write the outcome of any actions taken against the NPC. In game-mastered stories, the moderator is responsible for writing the outcomes of all combative engagements.
One exception to these rules of combat would be random encounters with minor ‘bad guys.’ In free-form stories, any writer may introduce a random encounter (as opposed to an NPC character), and when facing the opponent you may write not only your character’s actions, but the outcome as well. If you are uncertain of whether or not a new threat is a ‘random encounter’ or an NPC, PM the initiating writer and ask.
VI. COMMON PITFALLSHere are a few things to avoid. It’s surprising how many people accidentally fall into these pitfalls, so make sure you’re forewarned and forearmed!
A. Don’t be a Mary SueA Mary Sue is a character who has a solution for every problem—their store of experience and skills grows with every inconvenience, no matter how minor or vast, they encounter. Mary Sue can build a fire in a blizzard using just a shoelace and a dead leaf; Mary Sue can contact headquarters because, even though everyone’s supplies were lost, she always carries a radio in her shoe; Mary Sue can build a cabin, ballroom dance, pack a parachute, wield ancient magic, beat the fencing master, field dress a wound and always wins at poker. And there is no surer way to kill a good story than to bring a Mary Sue to the table.
Stories rely on tension to keep them moving forward. If that tension keeps going slack because Mary Sue keeps fixing every problem, the story is going to get very boring. So whatever you do, don’t be a Mary Sue.
B. Don’t God-ModGod-modding is making your character god-like by rendering them invincible to almost everything that happens to them and bestowing powers upon them that no one character in the story should have. This is another excellent way to kill a story.
Characters in adventure stories should be heroes, and to be heroes, they need to struggle against odds that seem greater than themselves. If your character has strong powers, make sure you balance them out by giving them great weaknesses, too. Unless the story caters to ridiculously powerful beings, demi-gods and vampire lords typically make poor character choices. The only exception is if you are playing a major villain against whom the heroes must fight.
Remember, all writers love their characters and want their characters to contribute meaningfully to the story. If your character is so powerful that they don’t need the help of the other characters, they probably don’t belong in a community story.
C. Don’t Be OmniscientOmniscience is when one writer decides to move all the characters and NPCs, whether or not they ‘belong’ to that writer, around on the chess board, like an omniscient god—especially to suit their own purposes. The easiest way to avoid this is to stick to your own characters’ perspectives and follow the
Rules of Engagement.
If you are worried that someone is using your character inappropriately, simply PM that person and explain your feelings. Otherwise, it’s always alright to PM a moderator.
However, as stated previously, it’s usually okay to give other characters some lines of dialogue or actions that are true to the character in order to keep the story moving forward. Also, when a plot-device springs, characters may not have much choice over what happens to them—but these actions are only performed when supporting the integrity of the story.
The danger comes when you ‘make’ other characters do things they wouldn’t, write defining moments for other writers’ characters, or otherwise manipulate the story to your own advantage. That’s the best way to upset your fellow writers.
On that note, don’t let your character be omniscient, either. You character only knows what he has heard and seen for himself. Unless he has used a spell or planted a bug (ahead of time!) that tells him what’s happening elsewhere in the story, he should never react to or plan for situations outside of his own immediate circumstances. And unless he’s a bona-fide mind-reader, he doesn’t know what the other characters are thinking, either, and so he shouldn’t act like it. Remember: It’s not about being the coolest, it’s about writing a good story.
D. Don’t Avoid CommunicationYou might be surprised how much planning and double-checking can go on behind the scenes of some of our stories. We don’t like stepping on each other’s toes.
If there is something you want to bring into a story or allow your character to do that requires another writer’s cooperation, just PM them. Most people are happy to play along and will be glad that you checked with them first. Especially if that other person is the story’s moderator.
By the same stroke, if you are worried about something someone else is doing, PM them and ask about it. One PM now can save a lot of grief later.
VII. CONSEQUENCESWe understand that those who are new to community writing and play-by-post gaming may make a few innocent mistakes along the way. The moderators are here to work with you and we know that most people’s mistakes are tempered by good intentions. However, those who refuse to follow moderators’ recommendations and continue to flaunt the Laws of the Bridge will find themselves banned.
If you register with the Bridge then do not post anything for 90 days (three months); you will receive the e-mail notification listed below sent to the e-mail account you registered with:
Hello,
Your account on has been judged inactive by the Bifrost Bridge forum administration team.
If you wish to stay in our community, please connect yourself to the forum - http://www.bifrost-bridge.com and post in one of the many threads. If no activity is done within the next 48 hours, your account will be deleted.
Thank you,
The Bifrost Bridge Admin TeamBy publishing these Laws of the Bridge here, all who post in this forum are considered aware of and subject to them.