The mount triangle is primarily for when the mounts themselves are up against another mount. Ie Griffin vs Wyvern, against normal weapons,etc they are neutral.

I think I will get rid of the super triangle because it's really impeding combat I find.

Typically I'd be inclined for liberty over restriction, but as this is a more numbers-based rp, it's important that I attempt to maintain balance to prevent abuse in the system. (Not that I think you guys will explicitly go out of your way to do so, but the potential is there...)

So, by the next post I will be enacting an action points system:

Every player turn a character has 2 action points, they cannot be saved up, and are always refreshed excluding certain status effects (being disarmed, knocked down, etc)

An <attack> or <skill> costs 2 ability points, thereby consuming all potential action after completion (excluding counters, etc, however, including staff, concoctions, songbooks)
An <item> or <movement> costs 1 ability point, so one can use an item twice or cover distance in one turn.
(For an idea of how movement works:
Movement of two spaces covers enough ground from melee to short range (typical archer, magic, healing range);
Movement of three spaces covers enough ground from melee to long range (ie: long bow and certain magic/healing range)
A <parley> costs 0 ability points This includes all chit chat between characters

This, of course, is all tentative, so we'll see how it works in the long run.

Questions/Posts in here please, I won't have the time to go on the chat until...possibly Saturday? Or Sunday/Monday of next week. (Master's is officially starting in September)

I had time to sorta skim and if movement is an issue, I will rescind it. Especially taking into account that different characters have different paces for whatever reason (be it mount, heavy armour, a broken leg, etc)

That being said, I will take it personally and ground into the dust those who take advantage of running across an entire battlefield in a single post. ^.^

Compilation of questions, comments and concerns:

Is it possible to move, then finish the turn by attacking?

In either case, not being able to move after attacking sounds very slow.










Personal opinions:

I am very much of the opinion that common sense is the best action system available, and that players should be trusted to not abuse their freedom. If players make a problematic post, they should be informed of why others thought their post was excessive and given suggestions to improve their play if a similar situation arises in the future. A single overly intricate post is not going to break an RP, and if someone is truly a problematic repeat offender, they can be given an action system as a guideline.

If an action system is put into place, I guarantee that I will not have as much fun and that the competitive person in me will rear its ugly head. Unfortunately, I simply didn't make a character that would be fun to play in an action based system. I believe that I will find it very difficult to ever sacrifice meta-gaming efficiency for flavor; there will be no more instances of my character taking 10 damage simply because I wanted him to move fancily, and there will certainly be no more instances of my character parleying just because it makes sense for the character. I (and everyone else, probably) will 100% be acting as much as I can, as often as I can, just because I can. That might not be a deterrent and it may even be desirable for some, but I don’t think it would be a positive change. I’ll add that I don’t really want the above to be the case, but it will take time for me to find ways to curb my competitive drive and nurture a spirit of artistry over efficiency. In the meantime, I think that a shift to meta-gaming is nigh-inevitable.

Proposed system:

This is what I would suggest should an action system be deemed necessary.
Very much inspired by D&D, but with some tweaks that I believe make the system simpler and more suitable for forum play.

Every turn of combat, a character may perform a primary (attack/ability) action and a secondary (movement/item) action. Spending an available action is not compulsory, but unused actions do not carry over from turn to turn. Certain status effects will prevent actions from being refreshed, at the moderator’s discretion.

A character’s primary action can be traded for a second secondary action, but not vice-versa.

Using a primary action to attack or activate an ability allows the character to take a few steps to make the action more effective, even if no movement action has been spent in the turn. For example, if a swordsman is locked in combat, they may step a few paces as part of their attack action in order to have a better swing. The swordsman is then free to use a secondary action if he so chooses.

Using a secondary action for movement allows the player to move up to a certain reasonable™ distance in their turn. This can be at any point in the turn; before attacking, afterwards or a combination of both, but cannot exceed the reasonable™ distance. Trading a primary action for a second movement action means that the character is sprinting; they should primarily move in a single direction during the course of their turn.

Using a secondary action to activate an item allows the character to fully activate the item, from start to finish. It does not allow or prevent anything outside the activation of the item. For example, using a secondary action to activate a grappling hook allows the user to shoot the grappling hook. It does not allow them to climb the rope unless they have also spent a movement action, but it does not prevent them from attacking via primary action either.

Using a secondary action to activate an item while in attack range of an enemy unit will give that unit an accuracy bonus against your character on the enemy unit's next turn.

Talking is always allowed as long as entire speeches aren’t being recited every turn.

Edit: Slightly modified the proposed action system to remove the penalty for moving away from enemies.

Okay, before talking any specifics one thing has got to happen in any sort of system (freeform included to a degree*): Attacking/Combat Skill usage has got to be the last (non-free) action you take in a turn because all the factors that happen after it (IE if an enemy gets a counter chance or you blunder) plus, until you know the outcome you can't possibly know if your character will even get the chance to follow up (the enemy could use a knockdown skill or something). Doing it that way is just easier behind the scenes I'd imagine too. It helps that the game is based in fire emblem logic where that sort of thing ends the turn without a special skill.

*I'll discuss rule of cool later, but a cavalier taking a passing swipe at an enemy while racing to save an ally for example is a place where attacking and then moving is probably okay, for example in looser system.

I personally think some sort of rule system needs to be in place, since this is a system it wouldn't do to not have guidelines for future players. Play it all by ear is not a guideline, neither is only impose rules on players one at a time. But the proposed rules could stand to be a lot softer.

The way I see it character still get 2AP, and there are three kind of Actions.

Heavy Actions: Can be used as long as you have AP left, but ends your turn on use. These would be be weapon use (whether an offensive weapon attack, or a defensive weapon's buff/debuff), including skills that alter the flow of combat directly (most actives), or an item that does damage. It could also including interactions with world objects or using items in non convintinal ways, for example kicking in a locked door or turning a crank to open a flood gate, or trying to use a shuriken to make a spark (Non conventional item usage being a bit of freedom that players get, but are subjection to difficulty rolls were a blunder can still happen since the character is just kinda guessing as to if/how it works). Basically anything where the outcome to the player is an unknown. Heavy Actions are Heavily Regulated due to all the math involved, they do exactly what the rules say they do with little room for improv.

Light Actions: Costs 1 AP to preform, so they can be used as long as you have the AP to do it. Any action that requires effort but the result is simple and clear to the player. Item usage and movement is covered here. Light Actions are Lightly Regulated, they have guidelines that serve as suggestions "Spending 1 AP on movement allows you to move any wear your character could reasonably sprint to without being interrupted." Then how much a cavalier player moves or a guardian player moves varies according to how their player chooses to portray them, improv has it's place here as clever usage of the cavalier's passive to achieve impressive feats of movement can then be used to ignore interruptions such as a downed bridge or to attack in passing. This way using items for there intended purpose will always succeed letting the player continue a post uninterrupted.

Free Actions: Literally talking, spitting in someone's face, or other action that has no numerical effect on the battle at hand. What qualifies as a Free Action AND when are very subjective. Mitra passing a potion off when no enemies are around doesn't interfere with her or the person she's passing to so it's a free action then, but if she was trying to use it on an injured ally, she'd need to expend an effort to watch her back and defend both from a potential attack likely being an end of turn action.

Of course if a player is ever unsure where their action lies on the chart they can always ask before they post, and other times they might ask if they can have an additional AP to rule of cool something (or if something very minor to do would unfairly cost a lot of AP).

This system is of course not perfect, and is not taking into account something we are discussion in chat about preforming actions that leave you vulnerable in attacking range of an enemy giving the enemy a bonus to an attack against you, which I believe we should at least try out, though a hard bonus was not reached exactly (+1 to the enemy's acc that turn was discussed, but a +2 or a +1 acc +1 damage are both options to consider). Another potential addition is adding in a "guard" command or similar as a Heavy Action that increases your evasion and/or armor by 1 that turn, so that you could still use the item without penalty, or for when you face danger but have no other reasonable actions that turn as a bit of safety. (Useful for a healer with no targets or a character whose weapon broke and is waiting on an ally to deliver a spare or otherwise save them for example).

First day home in days.

I will be able to make a post...possibly on Saturday?

I'm sorry for this intense delay, it's my first week of gradschool

kikiii pop onto slack every once in a while we missed you

Kiki, I regret to inform you, at the behest of the counsel, we are issuing a formal complaint. "Kiiiiiikiiiiii whyyyyyyy!? At least tell us if the schedule changes! Try to spare two minutes when you can't spare two hours please."

Considering that I have limited internet access, not too concerned as Savy and Ezly have yet to post. *Cough* >.>

Hello hi!

Computer blew up so it was in the shop for a week. I'll have it tomorrow afternoon, so expect a post tomorrow or the day after!

Kiki we get it Dragons are extinct. If you keep saying it that'll just solidify our belief that the big reveal is that they aren't. XD

It's fire emblem, the twist is _always_ the dragons are actually still around.

LOL

There def won't be any dragons at this rate.

See there you go saying it again.

Post D:<

Alright but first....Can a wyvern carry two people?