Alright first let me just mention this....
[rant]At the moment it is extremely easy to level and does not take much effort, especially if you fight.
I had a large project to work on one weekend and decided Kira need to be anti-social for a while and do some training. I went about my working randomly switching over to click a monster or run to a NPC for training then returned to my work again. I continued to do this without really paying attention to how Kira was progressing and I was quite shocked when I found that after a seemingly short amount of time I had maxed a stat. I continued my work and by the end of the weekend I had finished my project and maxed a few more. I have not trained much with her since, unless as a group or collecting items for something, because I find training, bluntly put, boring. Not only that but my RP hardly ever leaves me with enough free time to actually get round to do any proper training.[/rant]
Anyway to get back to topic I believe RP duels and regular duels usually appeal to different people (Sometimes people prefer both). Mixing RP and actual stats and skills depends on personal choice and before a fight this preference should be mentioned OOC by both parties and the type of fight (RP or not RP) should be decided on to prevent misunderstandings.
Currently, if it's just you and a person, there are no real rules, and there is no victor in an RP fight.
There are always rules - Society evolves around making and breaking them. There is a winner in properly played out RP duel just as there is a winner in a normal one. The only difference being that in a RP duel I can tip my beer mug out over your head and then slap you across the face with a wet fish where as this does not work quite so well in a normal dual.
2 people agree to RP duel with 2 Witnesses who will judge the outcome and fix any mistakes with the RP fight.
After the fight is over the Judges decide who wins.
This, I believe, would be the answer to your problems and would make RP fights very formal and realistic.
Besides this, there are no real rules as to who the winner is, and it's all a matter of opinion.
~~Datruth
I must disagree with you. Although having people around to give their opinions and keep things realistic, it is not always possible or practical to do this in actual RP situations.
For instance I can not see two drunks angrily arguing over something completely trivial calmly agreeing to take a break from their bickering to find themselves two witnesses. This would be useful in a more formal challenge but not in random fights. I do not think RP battles really contain mistakes, just some extreme cases of over exaggeration and slightly wild imaginations.
Finding a solution to this problem however… I do not believe there is one. Although there can be rules to RP most of the rules are unwritten ones. It is impossible to write them all down without completely destroying the very point of RP itself. There will always be something unexpected that will bend or break these rules.
You always find those people who try and play the unstoppable almost godlike character and refuse to back down. I have lost a lot more RP duels than I have normal ones simply because I get bored of people trying to pretend they know no such thing as fatigue and that they are able to dodge every attack I make.
I think perhaps UTM’s little-boy-with-wooden-swords method works best but even this I can see will easily be abused by people even against those who do not deserve such treatment.
At the moment the rules are very vague and the best one can do is try and help people to RP better. It is important to keep IC and stay true to your characters personality and abilities. You should know the limits of your character and know when defeat is inevitable. People do not like to admit defeat, but even with two very well matched opponents, limits will be reached and energy will run out. The trick is to admit when it is you that have reached your limit. The only solution I see is a better understanding of realistic RP with fewer attempts at being all super powered. All that is needed to keep the RP fun and realistic at the same time is the use of common sense and some respect towards the people you are trying to RP with.
*Takes a deep breath then breathes it out again* Wow, now where did all that come from?
