Guide to GMing and What Not to Do
Note: Although I posted this it was made by Victor/Ean.
The time factor: Basically you aren’t supposed to manipulate time or space. This is a given and everyone understands this. What if I have an ability that controls time? Well if the said site allows such an ability it’s probably got enough restrictions on it to make such an ability fair. You still, however, have to follow the flow of the fight even if it’s not in your favor or if it means losing. Also please note that here we will be allowing the use of timeline manipulation but only to a certain extent. Timeline manipulation is when say a character runs over and attacks you, and you perform an action that basically destroys half their post. The proper way of fighting is that player A attacks and player B dodge so please be mindful of that.
This means specifically if you make an attack or perform an action. You have to finish it. Even if it fails it has happened. You can’t just change your mind. It disrupts the flow of the fight.
“But Ean he used an attack to defend against my attack. If I continue my attack I’ll be hit as well!”
True that. However, if it makes logical sense you can still move through the attack and hit him afterward. You may take damage but he will take the hit as well regardless. You can also make slight adjustments that don't change the overall and still dodge the attack. Or if the attack would be forced to be stopped if you dodged than you can dodge and not make the attack.
In the end, if you feel the need, get your admin or somebody to take care of the situation if something seems amiss or you feel your being cheated.
I’d just like to point out that this is one of the most common ways to gm for rookies and anyone whose never been called out on GMing before. I’ve done it a few times (not here) and will probably do it once or twice here by mistake in a heated battle.
Autohitting: Another bad habit many rookie RPers have is auto hitting. This is when you make an attack and it hits your opponent without a chance of dodging. Are there going to be times when your opponent just can’t dodge your attack? Yes. It happens. However, let them get in trouble for dodging what should be undodgeable rather than forcing the auto hit. The easiest way to do this is to just say things like. “Fred thrust his sword at bob’s chest…” rather than “Fred thrust his sword into bob’s chest…”
If somebody auto hits, however, it’s an easy mistake to fix. As the other player, what should you do? First, even if the attack should hit you anyways you can get a free bullshit dodge. However, make sure you actually point out how you dodged even if it’s huge bullshit. It maintains the flow and when the flow is disrupted it pisses people off and it just creates havoc. Or you could be fair and just take the hit anyway if you could not have dodged the hit. It’s entirely up to you.
However, after you post at the bottom add a little OOC notice that this happened, quote it to let your RP partner know he did it, ask him not to do it again, and move on with life and the thread. It’s fast and simple. If he/she gets all bitchy you have a quote to prove it happened and you’ll win any argument he throws out at you or at least should. Also if you bs dodged let him know you are aware you did that and that you did it for this reason. It’s not a big deal.
Here we will give you some examples of auto hitting and some on how you should fight:
- Dummy 1 punches Dummy 2 in the face (Not the right way!)
- Dummy 1 punches Dummy 2 in the face, throwing Dummy 1 several meters away in the air, and leaving him/her unconscious.(Not the right way!)
- Dummy 1 attempts to punch Dummy 2 in the face (Correct! From here, Dummy2 can deflect the punch, receive it, evade it... Whatever.)
OOC vs. IC: Remember that you are not your character. Just because you know something doesn’t mean your character does. It also doesn’t mean your character can figure it out. If he/she can, great. But if you bs your way through it just for your own advantage or personal gain you’re just going to piss off everybody else and make the thread less enjoyable.
I’d also avoid bringing personal vendetta’s and any personal disdain towards a person for whatever into an RP. You are not your character. Don’t get mixed up in the two. If you're pissed about something and feel you’ll do this, take a day or two off to cool down. This isn’t really considered GMing but it does make you look like a huge dick and can make people like you less even if it was just a personal mistake.
I’ll make a single not in this whole thread directing to something and that’s that there’s a rumor going around about a potential spy in the alliance. As a character, I’m like “Oh shit I gotta find out who the spy is and make sure I prevent him from leaking vital information to the enemy!” As a player though I’m more or less uncaring about the whole situation and I’m not going to keep another player from letting their character take the course they want. I see good chances for plot development for the site and maybe my character so I have no problem with it.
Anime vs. Physics: This RP is based off of an anime/manga. Your punch can send people through walls and fly into the sky and into the next town. You can fight your way through broken legs and walk on them. However, if your legs are broken. You’re not moving nearly as fast as you normally could. Even if you can’t feel the pain the effects remain. You just don’t notice them. It’s more of a hindrance to not feel pain than to feel pain actually. Your character is still a human by some level or meaning of the word. If there’s no possible way for you to do something, don’t do it. Yes, it's an anime but no that doesn't mean you can do anything and everything.
Basically, you can’t bullshit your way out of the following:
Paralysis
Getting your head chopped off.
Multiple broken bones
Severed limbs.
Heart Extraction
If you do you’re doing it wrong.
Players vs. rules: The site has the rules for a reason. But what if players don’t like the rules? That’s fine. As long as your RP partners agree to that set of rules you want to play by I don’t think anyone will complain if you play by them. Just don’t force players to play by your rules. The site rules are fair even if there not perfect. No site rules are perfect. Don’t force people to play by your set of rules though and live with the site rules and don’t extend those rules set for one thread by mistake to another thread. It’s not a good idea.
Example: If the rules give a 24-hour posting limit but all players in the thread want to do a 48-hour posting limit for real life reasons or whatever. Do it. I doubt anyone will have a problem with it.
Oh no I lost!: I understand that nobody wants to lose a fight. Who does? But make sure you understand this. If you’ve won every fight you’ve ever fought via RP and took maybe two hits in all those fights put together, you’ve either fought mostly people vastly below your characters level of power, or
YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG. You’re going to get hit and you’re going to lose fights. It’s not a big deal. Especially here where if you die it's because you wanted to die or staff allows it because there is no way for you to get out of it.
Cooperate: Lastly you need to cooperate with your RP partners. If you don’t understand something ask and if you are asked answer truthfully. Make sure everyone’s on the same page to avoid mistakes.
The best way to do this without bogging and slowing things down is combat spoilers in an OOC section at the bottom of your post. Add every attack you do (chi oriented or otherwise) and post the techniques you use here as well. This limits confusion and lets the opponent know that they have to figure out how to dodge this or not dodge this. It may seem a little tedious and it is a little but it makes a huge difference towards maintaining the flow as some threads don’t have these and everything goes to hell because of nobody is on the same page. If it’s not enough which sometimes it’s not, PMs and talking to each other helps too.
In conclusion: I would lastly like to add that I probably missed something and if I did I’ll add it later. If you want to add something I missed that’s fine but be respectful and don’t call anyone out. This is a thread to try and help a little not a thread to be an obnoxious bitch and hate on anybody.
Lastly because I feel compelled to say this and should: Staff will help you if you tell them whats going on. It's a small staff and they can't watch everything. If you feel like your opponent is god-modding bring it up with staff and let them figure it out. We have awesome staff members who probably don't look too kindly on GMing. They can't, however, get to everything unless you tell them it's going on.
Hey! My opponent is dodging all of my attacks he must be god-modding!: This statement is a maybe. First off, what were your attacks? Were they all point blank? Were they charging attacks at a dodge-able speed? Is he ten times stronger than you to begin with? The circumstance is something you need to understand. Just because he’s dodging all your attacks doesn’t mean he’s god modding necessarily. He might be. But you might just be running around swinging a sword around like a flailing Magikarp. Basically what I’m saying is, think before you call someone out. It might actually be your fault and not his.
Even sword fight scenario: You’re of even power and your both using swords or some sort of weapon. By the end of the fight, both of you are probably injured. The story is also cooler if you both get injured. Plus if you take the risk of getting your arm chopped off and you still win the fight. Your character may be stuck without an arm for a while or forever but you look more badass.
