• What was each opponent's opening move? How well did they react to each other's opening moves?


• How did the actions of each character flow? Did they acknowledge and react to everything that occurred?


• How creative were they? Did anything become predictable? Was anything too unrealistic? Did they make any really good reaction decisions to the opponent's action? How strategic were they? Did they simply act/react or did they plot and trick/manuever their opponent into doing something?


• How well did things get described? Did you understand it all?


• What was each opponent's attempted finishing move? Did it make sense?

• A GM must be present. They will watch the fight, take votes, be a tie-breaker vote when required (otherwise not voting), or in rare and extreme cases of there being no witnesses the GM will decide the winner on their own. So make sure you are comfortable with and trust the GM you are having watch your battle. All GM's are backed for their decision, whether you like their vote or not, so be ready for the rare circumstances if they occur.


• Winning is based on the judging of witnesses. Make sure to win over the crowd.


• One vote per PLAYER, not character, each round of the match. Cheating will result in punishment. We request you only have one character in the arena room at a time, except for very special circumstances, in which the one vote rule still applies but we wont enforce the one character rule. Inform the GM if you have a special circumstance that requires a second character in the room.


• Voters have 1 minute (counted by the GM) at the end of each round to cast their vote. If you don't get your vote in on time, it wont count and you wont get credit for voting. Votes go to the GM privately. Vote majority wins the round, earning the duelist one point. Duelist with the most points at the end of all the rounds wins.


• No official use of items or stats recognized. Storyline only, but everything within the rules goes.


• No auto-kills or auto-hits (declaring you succeeded in hitting someone without giving them a say); and dodging everything isn't realistic, so dodge AND take hits alternatively through the battle.

1. Obtain a GM: A GM is required to be present as an unbiased witness and vote counter for all duels you want EXP from or if it is a Death Duel. The GM is there for questions, guiding the rounds, taking votes, and declaring the end result.


2. Build Your Crowd: No one wants a single person to decide if they win or not, so we rely on a crowd of people. The more people, the better. So hype up your duel before it starts! Get people interested, lure them in, and you'll be rewarded for it.


3. Fight: Keep in mind that you can mention, or use, any items or skills you claim you have. Anything except auto-hits and auto-kills are allowed in a Para Duel. The more creative, reactionary, adaptive, and descriptive you are, the more likely you are to win the crowd (which is your primary goal to win.) Your fate rests with the people observing your duel, so aim to impress.


4. Rounds: The fight will be broken into rounds. Each round the duelist will have two paragraphs to perform -all- their current actions. (Order: first duelist, second duelist, first duelist, second duelist, *which can be broken into 2 or 3 smaller pieces using (c) and (e) if required*.) After each duelist has performed their two paragraphs, that round ends and the voting begins. When the GM has gotten all crowd votes (time limit to vote is 1 minute) and that round's point is given to that round's winner (the person who got the vote majority) and the new round will begin. The first to get 3 "round majority" points will be the Duel Winner.


5. Voting: The people in the arena watching the fight will be the ones who decide the winner. The players watching each get 1 vote PER round. They will contact the GM in private (PM or Whisper) with who they believe did better in that round. Once the votes are in, the duelist with the majority of the votes gets 1 point for that round.

(Andrew) walked into the arena as the crowd's chatter grew louder and more intense. He was dressed in a black studded leather, with boots that stirred up a small cloud of dust on each step. By the time he got to the center of the arena, his golden Broad Sword was in his right hand. There was no helmet on his head because he believed in an element of danger, as well as being able to have a full visual spectrum of the battle scene. He lifted his arms in a gesture of triumphant aggression to rouse the crowd in his favor, grinning when their voices became a deafening roar. As his opponent stepped onto the field, he turned to face her and adjust his posture into the fighting stance he preferred. (c)

(Andrew) moved his eyes to the battle's over-seer to wait for the indication that the battle could begin. The moment it started, he charged forward toward the woman caring little for the fact she was smaller than him. Anyone brave or stupid enough to challenge him would feel the extent of his power. Immediately his sword reached out to get its first taste of blood by arching toward her left side. Before waiting for her reaction he also sent his left fist toward the side of her face. (e)

(Zoey) got a similar reaction every time she would walk into the field of battle. A mix of jeers and cat-call whistles that were meant to demean her ability as a warrior; they were idiots. Any one of those people who dared face her in a real battle would be bleeding on the ground because they could make a second comment. As she walked along the arena toward her opponent, she noticed the grin on his face and also figured he was mocking her... which was fine, because it just gave her more motivation to take him down. Taking her place at the center of the arena with her opponent, she didn't smile at him or give any indication of what she was thinking. Instead, she simply rested her hands at her side and waited for him to make the first move. Her weapon was within reach of a flick of her finger, so she didn't need to give away her battle plan until she read him some. She felt her muscles react the moment her opponent moved toward her, but she kept her panic reflex in check so she could keep an eye on his movements. As his sword swung out at her she curved her body, pulling in her stomach and hips so that the sword would swipe past her, but his second movement was too quick and unexpected for her to dodge. As his fist connected with her cheek she winced and was spun by the force of it, making sure to keep her footing she planted herself into the ground for balance as her finger pulled her chakram from its holding, released toward her opponent as it whistled through the air. She didn't aim for a particular spot of his body, instead just aiming at first to hit him and test his reflexes. (e)

Andrew and Zoey would each make another post, which would conclude the first round. Each person in the crowd who wants to vote would tell the GM in private who they thought did a better job. Depending on if Zoey or if Andrew got more votes from the crowd, the GM would award 1 victory point to that round's winner. Then the battle would commence. This would continue until one of the combatant's gets 3 points. They would then make a post that declare their finishing move... whether that be letting them go, capturing them, or killing them.

• If agreement cannot be met on who goes first, it will be done by an Init roll, which is the only roll in the battle. (Default Option)


• Post Time Limit (PTL):
  15 seconds (recommended ONLY for very fast typing and reading)
  30 seconds
  45 seconds
  1 minute (Default Time)
  2 minutes
  3 minutes (recommended for training, and slower typing/reading)



The time to read, think, and type are all included in this limit, so pick carefully. Time starts (monitored by the GM) immediately after your opponent has posted. If time runs out before you post, the GM will call it and you lose your turn. The moment the GM calls 'Time Expired, Opponent's Turn' the timer starts over again for the opponent. If a GM says "PAUSE" or "HOLD" during the battle, the timer freezes and the battle will not commence until the GM says it can, usually with "CONTINUE". Anything typed after a GM has halted the battle will not count and that person will have to post again when the battle is allowed to continue.
So be careful, because if you accidentally post after a "HOLD", your opponent will see your actions and can have longer to think on how to react unless you post something different after the "CONTINUE".




• Allowing Dodges, and if so, how many. (Default is zero/no dodges.)



• Life Point modifiers. Choose if you want to change your LP or leave them the same. Options for adjustments can include halving both's LP, doubling both's LP, raising the lower combatant's LP up to the higher combatant's LP, or you can add amounts to both like +100. All changes must have equal adjustments except for when (usually for training) the person with higher LP agrees to match their LP with the person of lower LP. (Default is leaving LP the same.)

• Only two actions may be made in each post, so pick what you want to do carefully.


• A full action will be used for a(n): attack, defend, item use, movement (distance), spells, minions/pets, and GM Discretion for others.


• Only ONE of the actions can be a damaging attack, unless you immediately after an opponent's attack choose to counter-attack AND attack (MUST be in your next post.) You do not HAVE to attack in every post though.


• Absorb and Counter-Attack can be used, but since attributes aren't used in this battle style, normal Dodges and Blocks can't be used.
  
  -Dodge can be used if agreed on by the players before the battle. How many dodges (complete, automatic dodges) are allowed is up to the battlers. If it cannot be agreed on, dodges will simply not be allowed as default.
  -Absorb can be used, and will take the full damage of the attack until it becomes useless at which point the difference will be subtracted as the armor is destroyed, then full damage will be done to LP afterward. List your armor and it's remaining DP when using it to defend.
  -Counter-attacking is also allowed, having you take the full damage of the hit (very useful since many times you have to take the damage anyways) and then dishing out your own half-damage blow. You can't dodge counter-attacks, but you can absorb their damage.


• All attacks and items will be used at full force unless said otherwise by the GM.


• The objective of this style battle is to get your opponent's LP to zero.


• At the end of your post, you should always put in parenthesis what actions you took, such as: (attack/item) or (defend/attack) or even (defend/distance). You also need to list specifically what items you are using when mentioning them and any effects/damage they do. This can cost you typing time in a battle, so again, remember to pick your time carefully. Practicing this style of battle is a good idea so you know your speed comfort.

Post length depends on the chosen time limit, but your posts should look similar to the example here:

(John) was prepared to go all out on his opponent, so he quickly closed the distance between them since Bob was an arena ring distance away from him. Once within range, his Long Sword (d16 DMG, melee attack) twisted outward with his thrust as he aimed for Bob's chest. (Distance/Attack)

(Bob) looks at their opponent, carefully taking into consideration their position. As he contemplates what he wishes to do, he absorbs the opponent's sword strike with his armor (15 AB Leather Armor) and then rushes in with his Dwarven Axe (d12 DMG, melee attack) to attempt taking a chunk out of him as the weapon strikes out in a upper crescent swipe toward his chest. (Absorb/Attack)

(John) couldn't avoid the axe, and decided to create distance between them after taking the hit so he could have enough time to draw up a spell. His eyes closed for only a moment as he summoned up the magic from inside him and concentrated it to the palm of his hand, sending a massive fireball (d18 DMG, 5 MP) Bob's way. (Hit Taken/Distance/Attack)

(Bob) cursed as John created distance between them, knowing it would waste time to close the gap. The fireball strikes him hard, but he attacks by grabbing a throwing dagger (d6 DMG, ranged) and sends it flying at John. (Hit Taken/Weapon Switch/Attack)

(John) manages to dodge the dagger (dodge used) after which he blasts Bob with another fireball (d18 DMG, 5 MP) to ensure his demise as he suspects Bob is close to his limit. (Dodge/Attack)

(Bob) breaths heavily as he uses all he can muster to move out of the way of the fireball. Another dagger (d6 DMG, ranged) is flicked at John in his struggle to stay in this battle. (Dodge/Attack)

(John) grunts as Bob's dagger strikes his shoulder, reaching to pull it out and drop it. John suspected that this last attack would take his opponent down, so he points his sword toward Bob aggressively before rushing toward him and slamming the sword (d16 DMG, Melee) down at his body with both hands to attempt the kill. (Hit Taken/Distance/Attack)

(Bob) braces himself for John's attack, knowing this would be his last attack and decides to make it count. He flies backward to prolong time before getting hit by the sword as he sends his dagger (d6 DMG, melee) up toward John's stomach, attempting to make contact as the sword slices into his chest. (Hit Taken/Attack)

(John) knows it is his victory as the sword makes contact to the man's chest, but not before a dagger got planted into his stomach. Ripping it out of him, he stumbles backwards and looks down at his defeated opponent. (Hit Taken)