Fights may not be the right place for this, by the way.

I've read many RPs where no one can except a loss and the RP will drag on until someone leaves (I'm guilty of this myself). So I decided an RP style where someone has to lose; it's physical/mental energy based (Physical energy being the equivalent of health, and Mental being mana/magic/strength). All the moves are preset, so no suprise wins, and super power attacks are not always available. You can even make an equation to determine exact damage and mental energy used. For example: Mr. Water is fighting Ms. Fire. Both have with 10,000 mental/physical energy. Mr. Water creates a ball of water and throws it at Ms. Fire. Ms. Fire is hit; damage equation being power of attack * opponent's alignment (fire) = Damage (this is simplified, by the way). If the attack power of the orb is 300 and Ms. Fire's alignment is fire, which is generically weaker to water, the attack is likely to do at least 2 times the normal strength, the equation is then 300*2=600. So now Ms. Fire has her Physical strength reduced by 600, so it is then 9,400, instead of 10,000. But now you have to take into consideration that this orb takes mental energy from Mr. Water. A simple equation to figure this amount might be power of attack * own alignment = energy used. The attack's strength is 300, and Mr. Water's alignment is water, which is the same type as the orb, so he shouldn't need more mental energy to use the attack. So the equation would be 300*1=300 energy would be taken, leaving him with 9,700, 300 less than his starting amount of 10,000.

I hope this doesn't need any more explaining, and I didn't want to work on it any more before reading your opinions, so tell me what you think.

That's acctually a very nice system. I think it will make fights easier and... for once...complete. You think we should test this system out in our RP fight we have going on?

I suppose, but the system isn't finished.

What's left to complete?

The attack system.

seems like an RPG game... but I guess that's the point. :/ nice thinking jaguar.

Yeah, I'd use this. It's reasonable. ^^

Good system, and would work. But I hate to tell you, I won't use it. I'm too old fashioned, and yes, I can take a loss. Sorry for being negative about it, but it really is a good system and works in other areas I've seen it, but like I said-just how many people will use it is the question.

Intriguing.

Tell us more, the examples you gave you said were "simplified." How would a drawn out version look?

Seems to me more like

Ferith uses attack!
You take 80 damage!
You faint!
Ferith levels up!
Ferith learned stab
But to learn stab Ferith needs to forget a move
Forget a move to learn stab?

It limits the kind of ingenuity that RP's are based on. If I decide for my character to attack the ceiling, causing many stalagtites (or is it stalagmite?) to fall down thus obstructing his opponents vision and getting the way in front of his attack, blocking it and allowing an escape oppurtunity I damn well should get it. This idea tries to force unnecessary balancing, ingenuity should be a deciding factor, not overpowerdness. It also limits the system, YOU'RE DODGE STAT IS TOO HIGH! Formulas and such for determining damage don't work, an RP is a lot like a story, simple logic and very many variables create a lot of differences, you just only have control of one character.

I think the approach is simply too far off to fixing the problem. Fixing the problem should be done rather by either some kind of referee for newer RP participants or ignored entirely on a higher level. Kero and I have RP'd in the past and we've each had our fair share of losses, and by that experience alone I know that simply adapting to your surroundings and writing well decides the RP, not a silly power burst. Those who are inexperienced at RP'ing will always play it badly, it's the same way bad musicians will not play well. That's why we have different levels of music and other skills, you have to treat RP'ing like a genuine skill that needs practice and experience, not like a game of Pokemon where you're haxing the game if you're too strong.

youe should probably delete an hm.

and i've given up on this, i'm not active enough to have the initiative

Fenrith, I am way too lazy to write all that shit down, but your right, however some people like the idea of an RPG Videogame system of rolls and percentages over creativity, mainly because, well...they aren't too creative.