::.Aenined.::

· Remember, a Combat Situation doesn’t necessarily have to end in death! A bar brawl will often simply end with a few black eyes and sore ribs, rather than a beheading. Injuring a character can often lead to much more interesting RP for everyone involved than outright killing them, as that puts a direct and definite end to one person’s participation in the RP.

· IC Combat and OOC Feelings have nothing to do with one another, and never should. If you don’t like another player, don’t take it out on their character by starting an IC fight. Simply avoid RP’ing with that player and you’ll save yourself a lot of bother. Also, just because another player tries to avoid combat doesn’t mean they’re a cowardly player. It may just mean they don’t enjoy violent RP, or more likely it’s that their character is not of a violent demeanor, and therefore would naturally avoid combat!

· You should only partake in an RP Combat Situation if there is a valid and believable IC reason behind it. Many players enjoy T1 and T2, but remember that there are also those who don’t. Do not go around forcing unnecessary combat situations upon other players for your own enjoyment. A fun alternative is entering in to an OOC ‘spar’ with another player who enjoys combat. Spars are often used to hone a players T1 or T2 skills, or simply for fun if that’s their sort of thing.

· Some RP’ers are under the misconception that combat is the start all and end all of RP. We in Eden frown upon this viewpoint, as too much combat can drain a story of other intriguing plot devices.

· Don’t spend all your time trying to kill other people’s characters. Your character may be a demented serial killer, but even they generally have some sort of motive, whether that is a deep seeded hate for people who look like their abusive father, or a general dislike for elves. Killing characters impartially will make you look like a brutish player and you may find before long, that other players do their best to avoid RP’ing with you as a result.

· Do not try to 'win' a fight on an OOC technicality such as one of the players having to go AFK. A fight is only complete when every player has seen it through to its natural IC conclusion. If needs be the RP can be rescheduled and picked up from the point it was left off another time.

· By the same merit, you mustn't make up a reason to go AFK if you feel you're losing the fight. Eventually people will catch on, and you'll look a fool. If you absolutely MUST leave chat [there are after all, certain things that take priority over this game], give the other players as much notice as possible and offer to resume the fight at a better time.

· Some players feel they're more important than others. Whether this is because they've been RP'ing for longer, are more widely known or have 'higher' OOC contacts in Eden has no relevance to that which happens in the IC world. It is an unfortunate fact but there are many egotistical players who will try to intimidate their opponent on an OOC level during an IC fight to throw them off. Do not bully and do not allow yourself to be bullied.

· Don't try to win a fight with adverbs. Just because you type 'swings his sword POWERFULLY at his enemy's midriff' doesn't make it any more powerful than the opposing player is capable of. The opponent can simply counter with adverb's of his own and render the entire process pointless. A fight should be won with common sense and logic, not verbose.

· In the heat of a combat RP it is easy to forget that the two fighting characters are not actually in a dojo [an empty room designed for combat training]. Never lose sight of the environment, whether you're fighting T1 or T2. Certain objects [or even other characters] around the fighters may serve as hindrance or help to your character, but either way it is important to allow for them, for consistencies sake. If two characters are involved in a drunken bar brawl but miraculously manage to avoid stumbling into any furniture or other patrons, the Eden combat judges will take note of that in their final judgment.

· Become your character. You may be able to recline in your comfy office chair and view the combat from above, but your character can only react to that which he knows of his surroundings at the time. Also bare in mind that your characters surroundings will rarely remain unchanged throughout a fight, so a cursory glance over his/her shoulders before engaging the enemy is not enough.

· Just because you're playing by tighter rules than in a non-combat situation, does not mean anything in the IC world is different to how it normally would be. Therefore your character does not automatically become a general combat specialist the minute somebody picks a fight. Your character may only have a wood axe to hand when somebody picks a fight with him, but if he's never trained in axe combat before, it's going to be pretty useless against a skilled opponent.

· Every character has weaknesses. It is the balance of weaknesses and strengths that make a good character, and these weaknesses will still be present during combat. If your opponent discovers and exploits one of your characters weaknesses, accept the resulting damage honourably. There is no shame in losing if you lose honourably [i.e. don't go crying to another player. Take it like an adult]. On the flip side, there is no honour in winning shamefully.

· Gain some basic knowledge of physics. You can't block the downward swing of a broadsword with a dagger. It will simply knock the dagger out of your hand and resume its course. Likewise, if your character is wearing a full suit of armor with chain mail underneath, [s]he isn't going to be doing any acrobatics. His/her movements will be slow and clunky at best, although the extra protection afforded by the armor may be enough to counter the strain on their agility.

· Do some research into the weapons and fighting styles your character uses. There are numerous subtle differences between the thousands of weapon types available to your character, so in the interest of realism you should study them [no, you don't have to go and sit in a library for hours reading books from cover to cover. The internet is an endless well of knowledge at your fingertips]. After all, if the opposing player knows more about the weapon your character is using than you do, their character will have a strong advantage.