—=== Timeline ===—
coming
—=== Highgarden & The Reach ===—
Highgarden is a roleplay oriented SIM inspired by the famous, and beautiful city of Highgarden from A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R R Martin. It is the capital of the Kingdom of the Reach and the ancestral and current home to the reigning monarchs, House Tyrell. It is the epitome of chivalry, knighthood, pageantry and tournaments. If you want to draw a parallel to medieval Europe, you can thing of Highgarden, and the Reach for that matter, like medieval France, with its high culture and romantic notion of chivalry and knighthood as depicted in epics like the Chanson de Roland and Le Morte D’artur.
The Reach is the 2nd largest kingdom in all of Westeros, geographically speaking, second only the vast emptiness of the North. The Reach is the 2nd wealthiest kingdom, behind the gold and silver rich kingdom of the Lannisters. The reach is a semi-tropical to tropical land of rolling hills, farmlands, orchards and fertile valleys where food is grown in abundance. It is also home to the oldest and largest city in Westeros, Oldtown, home of the Citadel.
It has a rich coastline to the west and a long navigable river, the Mander which flows from its origins near Tumbleton in the north east, almost to the Blackwater, down through the rich agricultural valley to Oldtown. Mountains border the Reach to the north and northwest, separating it from the Westerlands and along its entire southern border, dividing the Reach from both Dorne and the Stormlands. Far to the north east, there are no mountains, but the Blackwater forms the boundary of the Reach.
—=== People of the Reach ==—
The people of the Reach have a long history of both the First Men and Andal invasions. The royal family of the Tyrells can trace their ancestry back to both and to the famous Garth Greenhand, the first King of the Reach. The chief religion is the Faith of the Seven, brought to Westeros by the Andals, but some do still revere the old Gods of the First Men. Highgarden boasts both a Sept to the Seven and a Heart Tree, the southernmost surviving weirwood tree in Westeros.
—=== Climate & Clothing ===—
The Reach is very warm, ranging from extremely hot and humid during summers to milder winters, where snow is not uncommon, but does not linger long. There are records of many winters where Highgarden never sees snow and the Mander has never been known to freeze.
As a result of this climate, clothes in the Reach and especially in Highgarden tend to be much more open, light and revealing than in other parts of Westeros. It is not uncommon for women to have their midriffs, arms and legs uncovered. Often the garments are thin and revealing, including silks, translucent fabrics or loose fitting and open, leaving little or nothing to the imagination. It is often a common practice to find men and women alike swimming naked in the river or in public baths.
—=== Liberal Morality ===—
Highgarden is a metropolitan center in Westeros and is considered the most fashion conscious city, much like modern-day Paris. Women are sexually liberated and may behave in ways that would be considered scandalous if not immoral in other parts of Westeros. It is not uncommon to find couples engaged in sexual activity at public feasts or in taverns, alleys and anyplace the mood hits people.
—=== Adult Content ===—
As a result, Highgarden is an ADULT oriented SIM. If you are offended by adult language and behavior, do not consider Highgarden for your roleplay. If you choose to RP here, do not submit complaints to admins about people behaving in an adult manner, as the complaints will be ignored.
—=== Using Titles and Addressing Nobles ===—
Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses are addressed as “your Grace” (never my grace). We do not use the terms “Your Majesty” or “Your Highness” in Game of Thrones. When referring to a King or Queen in third person it is customary to refer to them informally as King Merek or Queen Maya, or more formally, Merek of House Tyrell, King of the Reach. The same with Princes and Princess, by title + first name: Prince Tyrian, Princess Nessa. If you omit the name, His or Her Grace, or Their Graces (if referring to both) suffices.
Lords & Ladies of Houses are addressed as “my Lord” or “my Lady” by nobles and “m’lord” and “milady” by smallfolk. When referring to a Lord or Lady it is proper to refer to them by their first name with the honorific in front, such as Lord Robert or Lady Ellayne. In very formal circumstances, Lord may precede the House name, such as Lord Hightower.
Every noble house has one head. The male head of the House considered Lord of the House. His wife is considered Lady of the House. If the husband dies, the widow is still addressed as Lady of the House, even if her son marries, in which case both the son’s wife and mother are called Lady.
In some large, powerful and influential houses, it is customary to refer to the sons and brothers, daughters and sisters of the heads of the house as Lord and Lady.
All other nobles are usually addressed as “my lord” or “my lady” by other nobles and “m’lord / milord” and “m’lady / milady” by small folk and the unsophisticated. Generally speaking any noble may be referred to as lord so and so, using a lowercase “l” as in lord as opposed to the upper case “L” as in Lord.
Maesters are addressed as Maester, then the first name, as in Maester Gregory. Grandmasters are referred to as Grandmaester, then the first name.
Generally speaking, people err on the side of politeness.
—=== Failure to Address People Properly ===—
Failure to address people properly can result in anything from dirty looks, to being scolded or potentially being physically assaulted, arrested or punished, depending on the level of the person insulted and their demeanor.
Choosing to address people correctly is totally up to you and your RP, but be aware if you choose to RP disrespectfully, there may be RP repercussions.
—=== House Hierarchies & Retainers ===—
The hierarchy of landed nobility from low to high is as follows:
· Landed Knights
· Family members of Minor Houses
· Lord/Lady of Minor Houses
· Family members of Major Houses
· Lord/Lady of Major Houses
· Family members of Royal Houses
· Royalty
Retainers are people who work for, live with or generally hang out with a player. The retainer is usually, but not always, paid for or provided for by the player and is provided a place to live. Retainers can be either Player Characters (PC) or Non-player Characters (NPC).
Landed Knights: Landed Knights are not lords, but share many traits. They are considered slightly lower than Lords in status. They may have retainers. They are limited to no more than 2 squires. They may have up to 2 Household Knights or Hedge Knights in their employ. In addition, they may have up to 3 household staff including things like stable hands, cooks, servants, etc. They may not have a maester, as they are not Lords.
Minor House Family: The family members of minor houses may each have one retainer. This includes handmaidens, companion, pages, cupbearers, servants, etc. and up to one pet. The majority of household retainers belong to the Lord and Lady.
Example: Millicent is the daughter of Lord Westbrook, lord of a minor house. She has one handmaiden, Sarah.
Lord/Lady of Minor House: A minor house may have up to three household knights and up to six other retainers, combined between the lord and lady. This does not include the retainers of other family members. This includes household staff and guards, up to one maester and a up to one septa.
Major House Family: Members of a major noble house may have 2 retainers.
Lord/Lady of a Major House: A major house may have up to 5 banner houses (minor houses only) aligned to their house. In addition to the banner houses, a major house may have up to six household knights and 12 other retainers, between the Lord and Lady, including household staff, companions and guards, master-at-arms, stewards and other roles. The 12 positions may also include a maester, multiple septa and up to one septon.
Member of royal families: Each member of a royal family may have up to 5 retainers.
Royalty: Royal Houses have no limit on the number of retainers they may have.
—=== Stripping Lands and Titles ===—
The council (by majority vote) and the King/Queen (by fiat) may strip anyone of their lands and titles at any time.
—=== Faceless Men ===—
Faceless Men are a guild or cult of Assassins and shapechangers. There can never be more than one Faceless Man (can be male or female) approved for roleplay in a SIM at any time. Faceless Men can be hired to assassinate any player. However, this is not done by contacting the faceless man, as their identity is secret. It is done by sending a notecard to the current head of the Faceless Men. He will then negotiate OOC with the SIM owners, admins and the targeted player. Active player characters cannot be killed without agreement.
Faceless Men may engage in combat by pretending to have skills like someone else. Use standard combat rules. However, a faceless man never actually loses, but fakes his death and escapes.
Faceless Men may change their appearance, but any appearance change must be approved beforehand by the SIM owners, admins or council and be accompanied by suitable RP.
Assassination attempts must be roleplayed, but always succeed. Additional, more detailed rules to be provided in a separate document.
—=== Approved Characters ===—
Once your application is approved, you will be invited to the Highgarden RP group. This is the member’s only group for approved characters. You need to obtain and wear the Unity meter and HUD along with the Game of Thrones custom stats. Your display should show your character name and titles.
—=== Pre-planned Battles in Highgarden ===—
From time to time, we may have pre-planned battles or raids within Highgarden. These can be RP only events, which would have some rough outline worked out OOC and then followed IC during RP OR they may be metered combat events. The rules for such events are in the rules for the Dornish Marches combat SIM.
—=== Concerning Roleplay ===—
We are a freeform RP community. We expect you to be in character unless you clearly indicate otherwise. We are not strictly paragraph-RP, but that does not mean one cannot Para-RP here. We welcome all types of roleplayers, but the preferred Highgarden style of roleplay is less verbose and structured than Para-RP. Please mark your out of character comments, for example (( brb, phone )). Basically, IMs are always considered OOC (out of character).
—=== Be Your Character ===—
Please stick to your role. If you meet the King, you might not have seen him personally, but his house colors are surely known, if he wears a coat of arms, and you might not want to start your first conversation by asking him where the brothel is or if he can buy you a beer. Status is important, and status is fun. If you decide to play small folk, be aware that you will have to be especially careful with how you address nobility and act. There are several Laws, which will also be enforced. Play with them, or the thrill of getting caught or getting away with breaking the laws.
–
—=== Feudal & Violent Nature ===—
Game of Thrones is a highly feudally oriented culture. Nobles belong to houses which are subject to Lords. Those houses are subject other Houses and their Lords. The highest level banner lords are subject directly to the King of their country. A Lord has control of all aspects of their subjects, including income, military strength, even if they live or die. The King and Queen are the absolute rulers in their Kingdoms and defiance of them would come at a serious RP cost. Small folk, the non-noble characters in a city or kingdom have very few rights. It is not uncommon for a lord, feeling insulted by a commoner, to beat, maim or even kill the offender. In Highgarden, this behavior is not common, but it happens in Game of Thrones. Lords and Ladies are respected and feared. If you are unwilling to accept this type of feudal obligation and lifestyle, then do not apply to RP here.
—=== Personality in RP ===—
You are free to play your character as you like. You can be friendly, polite, nice, mean, nasty, rude, overbearing arrogant, jovial, comical, serious, intense, dramatic, or whatever you like. The characters in Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire come in a wide variety of personalities. Whatever you decide to do, remember that your behavior and actions will elicit responses from people. If you act like an overbearing, spoiled brat of a noble, people will dislike you and probably be rude to you back. If you don’t like that and don’t want to be treated that way in RP, then don’t set yourself up for that kind of treatment.
Whatever you do, be as realistic as possible. Remember, you cannot win every single situation or disagreement you have. Good RP requires give and take. Be true to your character, keep it realistic and real. And always lean toward keeping the RP going as opposed to trying to force your way and kill the RP no matter what.
—=== Non-Player Characters (NPCs) ===—
Many of you from combat oriented SIMs may find this topic hard to understand or highly frustrating, but you’ll need to come to grips with it.
The RP SIM represents a real place in Westeros and would have the normal people you would expect to see, as invisible NPCs. So, when entering the city gates, they are manned by invisible NPC (non-player character) guards. If you see the king walking around Highgarden, be assured he has at least one or two Kingsguard nearby as invisible NPCs.
Just because the SIM may appear empty, or only has a few actual player characters (PC)s around, doesn’t mean the CITY of Highgarden is empty. You have to use your imagination and think of what the place would be like in the books/tv series or if it were real. If you keep that context in your mind, you’ll do fine. That is one of the reasons why combat or other similar PC impacting actions may or may not work as you might think.
Highgarden is one of the largest and most populated cities in all of Westeros. It is a bustling metropolis of nobles, merchants, smallfolk, travelers and more. The streets are always filled with people, some good, some evil, some shady… all types.
Noble citizens rarely walk about alone, but often have a guard or retinue with them.
—=== City Guards NPCs ===—
When prims allow, Highgarden will station static guards at Gates and key areas to REMIND people that the guards are every present. In RP, when you pass a guard, you should be aware of the guards. They may also place signs with hovertext indicating the presence of guards. However, EVEN IF THIS IS NOT DONE, you must act as if the gates are guarded.
Guards regularly walk patrols throughout the city and stand watch at key locations. When crimes or attacks occur, a hue and cry goes up among the citizenry and guards rush to the scene within moments. Guards and soldiers man all gates into and out of the city and inspect all people entering through the gates, 24×7.
So, this means you cannot RP walking through the gates armed to the teeth and attacking people willy-nilly anywhere you wish. You cannot play a dire wolf who just waltzes through multiple city gates, past scores of guards armed with crossbows, etc.
Use common sense. If a character in the book couldn’t do it, you can’t.
—=== Tags & Recognizing People ===—
One of the hardest things to deal with roleplaying in SL is that we can see who you are. We see your tag and we automatically know who you are. But, that is OOC knowledge. It does not mean our character knows who your character is.
I actually STRONGLY recommend that you go into your viewer and disable tags. To do this in Firestorm, type ctrl-P. On the General tab, under the section labeled “Name tags:”, click on the radio button next to Off. This turns off all name tag displays on your viewer. Now, you cannot see their real name. All you can see is their HUD text.
Use your HUD title text to display the information you want people to know about you when they see you. If you don’t want people to know your name, don’t put your name in your text. However, EVEN if you DO put your name in your HUD title text, people should not know it IC automatically unless you are so famous and it is obvious who you are from your appearance or the behavior of those around you.
Use common sense.
Also, use the HUD text to describe those things you want people to know IC automatically. For example, “Walks with a limp”, “Smells of horse dung”, “Appears dazed and confused” are things that may enhance the RP and people CAN act on IC.
Also, if you have NPCs with you, you MUST include that information in your HUD text. For example: “Escorted by two Kingsguard”, “Followed by his squire, Cedric”, “escorted by sellsword Bronn” are required if you wish to use the NPCs in RP.
—=== Meeting Unknown People ===—
When you meet someone you do not know IC, do not refer to them by name or trade. You may use a general term to refer to them. If the person appears to be smallfolk, you may refer to them in some generic way. Examples include “good man/woman”, “young/old man/woman”, “fine fellow”, “you there” or don’t use any terms. If the person appears to be a warrior type, if it common courtesy to address the person as Ser or ser. Use of capitalization in speech implies a level of respect. “ser” implies, I think you may be a knight, but I don’t know, so I’m being respectful just in case. “Ser” implies I believe you’re a knight so I’m addressing you properly. If the person appears to be a noble, but you don’t know their proper title, always address them as “my lord/lady”. If you’re a commoner, commoners do not say “my lord” or “my lady” unless they’ve been trained to work around nobles. They say “m’lord/milord” or “m’lady/milady”. It is a clear indictor of their low birth. The easiest way to handle it… if in doubt, refer to everyone as my lord or my lady, they will correct you.
Examples of greeting unknown people, “Excuse me, kind lady, I am seeking the market. Might you point me in the right direction?” “Good day, ser, I don’t believe we’ve met. I am Rory of House Rhysling, and you are?” “My pardon, good woman, I would like to buy a pint of oil.”
If you are addressed by the wrong title, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to quickly correct the speaker. You do not want to be accused of pretending to have titles you do not have. Ways of dealing with it include, “Oh, I’m no Lord. I’m just a wine merchant. The name is Grathan of Runnymead.” or, “I’m no Ser. My brother is a Ser”, he says as he spits on the ground. “I have no respect for Knights and their false oaths.” Or simply introduce yourself.
—=== Introductions ===—
It is considered rude not to introduce yourself when you meet someone. You should always introduce yourself. If you are a noble, you ALWAYS include your house name and usually your home city. “I am Benry of House Sloane, from the Red Hills.” Smallfolk do not have a house to speak of and usually include their occupation, “I am Grok the dung merchant.”
However, depending on the difference in social status, introductions may be deemed inappropriate.
–=== Disguising Your Identity ===—
So, let’s say you’re trying to sneak into the city unnoticed or in disguise, you should wear a disguise and act sneaky, use your METER to change your name to something innocent like: ‘Joe the butcher’… Add the words “In disguise” on a separate line so that people instantly know you’re in disguise and they then should not act like they know you or recognize you. Since we do not have a method for determining success of such things, we must all assume that disguises work. So, anyone with the words IN DISGUISE in their HUD title text must be treated as if you do not know their true identity.
–=== Personal NPCs ===—
You may have NPCs accompany you as you wander around Highgarden, but ONLY if you declare them in your HUD title text. People are limited to the number and types of NPCs they may have accompany them. You may have more retainers than those specified here, but these are the limits to who can accompany you as an NPC as you RP.
Smallfolk: limited to one companion, no body guards, squires, sellswords, pet etc. Companion is considered smallfolk.
Merchants: limited to one bodyguard or pet
Nobles: limited to one guard, soldier, bodyguard, handmaiden, pet or noble companion
Knight: limited to one squire or pet
Lord/Lady of House: limited to 2 NPCs of choice. May include guards, knights, handmaidens, maester, spouse (if spouse is not logged in), children or pet
Royalty: limited to 3 companions. May include a combination of up to 3 of any type: kingsguard, guards, advisors, maesters, spouse, children, or pet
—=== Changing NPCs During RP ===—
You MAY NOT change your HUD Title to add NPCs to it in the middle of RP. You must do this prior to the start of an RP. If you do not have bodyguards with you, you cannot simply edit your HUD text to have them magically appear. You may however, send an NPC or PC that is in the RP to go an fetch them. After a suitably agreeable time, you may then add them to your HUD Title.
Well, if you remember, the goal of RP is for everyone to have fun and to do it in a way that is consistent with the Game of Thrones style of drama and character interactions. Remember, brawling in the street ALMOST NEVER happens in the books, but it does on occasion.
The best RP combat occurs when the parties involved discuss the combat in IM’s and agree on a flow and course of actions and outcomes. Example:
Barry, who plays Jaime Lannister, IMs Debbie who plays Ned stark:
“Hey Debbie, let’s have a show down in the streets. I’m doing to suddenly show up with a bunch of household guards, more than I can normally have with me… like 8. You have Jory and a couple of other Stark men with you. We’ll fight around a bit, you guys kill some of my men, Jory gets badly injured and I stab you before the city watch shows up to stop us and I ride off. Sound fun?”
Debbie: “Yeah, but instead, you kill Jory. I think that would make great drama. Stab me in the thigh. I’ll go down just as the city watch arrives and chases you off.”
Barry: “Ok cool”
They then proceed to RP the battle:
Lord Stark: “Men, arrest Ser Jaime in the name of the King.”
Jaime: “I think not.” He jumps off his horse drawing his sword, surrounded by Lion Guards who rush forward spears in hand. Jaime heads for Ned Stark.
Ned: I draw my blade and swing, killing a lions guard, then turn to my right, bringing my blade around as Jory and my men charge into the battle.
Jaime: I bring my blade around just as Ned turns to face me, aiming for his head.
Ned: I manage to bring my blade up just in time, turning Jaime’s blade and swinging a quick counter to his left side, dropping the blade low toward his thigh.
Jaime: I spin around, as the blade whistles past my leg, the tip cutting through the mail skirt, the Valyrian steel parting the heavy steel rings, like a hot knife gliding through butter. “You’re a fool Stark. You’re not in Winterfell, this is King’s Landing.”
Stark: Jory cries out to his left. Ned turns and sees a guard with his spear passing through Jory’s body. Jory breaks the spear off and rushes the guard, beating him to death with his sword, then collapsing atop his body. I rush toward Jory, “Jory!” I cry out.
Jaime: As Ned loses focus I rush in with a flurry of attacks.
Ned: Distracted, I lose my balance, but manage to defend the attacks from Jaime, though I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.
Jaime: As Ned fights me, suddenly one of the guards lunges forward and drives his spear point into Lord Starks upper thigh. ((Not auto-ing because we agreed on that in IM))
Ned: (( Yeah, no problem)) I cry out in pain and fall to one knee, knowing I’m doomed.
Jaime: I scream in anger at the guard, “No!!!” rush over to him and drive my sword through his gut, “When I need your help I’ll ask for it!” I withdraw the blade and kick the guard to the ground. Suddenly from inside, the city watch rushes into the courtyard. I vault onto my horse’s back. I turn back to Stark, “This isn’t finished, Stark!” and ride out, knocking lion’s guard out of my way.
—=== NPC Abuse and God Moding ===—
However, NPC use can be easily abused and lead to god moding.
Use common sense. You cannot walk into a castle, fully armed and make your way to the princess’ chambers just because you want to. First of all, how do you know where she is? By looking on the map or looking at her tag? That’s meta-gaming. How do you get into the castle, which is likely secured with NPC guards? That’s god-moding.
Avoiding NPC guards and sneaking into a castle requires RP and good RP. You don’t just walk in go right to the Princess and pull out a sword and say, “You’re mine! Boo!”
However, it is also god moding to always avoid any kind of situation by the use of NPCs. Here is an example:
Lord Broom has one NPC bodyguard. He is accosted by a drunken hedge knight, Ser Meryn Sloane in the tavern.
Sloane: “I don’t like your comment, you fop. I challenge you to a duel, you cowardly little pissant. Put steel in your hand, before I put some in your gut.”
Lord Broom: Steps back smiling, “Kill him, Vel.” My bodyguard draws his sword and cuts down Ser Meryn where he stands.
Ok, that’s bad RP and god moding.
—=== Resolving Issues ===—
The intent of these rules are to provide a fun, fair and balanced RP environment for our members. Do not engage in petty arguments or disputes. Understand we’re all trying to make it fun and work together. If you don’t understand something, ask. If you disagree, try to resolve it politely OOC, but if it is not resolvable, go along with it, then afterwards discuss it with an admin and try to resolve it. If you have issues with a person, try to resolve it with that person BEFORE taking it to an ADMIN. Remember, IC is RP and should not affect your OOC attitude.
Sometimes people forget that this is about RP and having fun and try to control the outcome, get angry and want to be immature or are just bullies or power hungry and want to knock people around.
If you cannot come to an agreement on how to resolve the RP combat OOC, then take it to an admin.
—=== Duels ===—
It is customary among nobles and knights to use Duels as a way to resolve issues. Duels are usually settled using metered combat. However, it is possible to have an RP duel but that requires both parties to agree on the outcome in advance. Let’s assume they cannot resolve it through RP.
Challenge
Any noble or knight may issue a challenge to any other noble or knight, regardless of rank. It is illegal for smallfolk to injure a noble and therefor challenges from smallfolk may or may not be respected and honored by the challenged, and may be refused without loss of face or honor by the challenged. To issue a challenge, there should be sufficient IC reason to warrant the challenge. Insults, slights, arguments, disagreements are sufficient cause.
A knight or noble cannot refuse a challenge from another noble or knight without suffering a public loss of face and honor and being considered “coward” or “craven”. Exceptions: A member of royalty may always refuse any challenge without loss of face, but may accept the challenge. Losing face means the person losing the face may be made fun of or put down publicly. However, if the person hears such comments, they may be grounds for issuing more challenges.
Once challenged, the one challenged must accept the challenge or admit he or she is at fault and apologize for the offense, admit guilt, repay the debt, (whatever the issue is). If he or she accepts the challenge, then one CHALLENGED sets the conditions for the duel. This includes location, time, choice of weapons and victory conditions. The challenger can define the results. If the challenger does not agree to the choice of weapons and conditions, he must withdraw his challenge and admit he is wrong, apologize, etc. for his part in the RP that lead to the challenge being issued. Once a challenge is issued and accepted, it cannot be backed out of without loss of face and honor, unless BOTH parties agree in RP to drop the matter. If agreements for any of these items cannot be made, consult an ADMIN who will define the conditions. If either party then refuses to take part, he or she is considered the “loser” and must suffer the consequences.
Location and Time: The duel must be fought at the earliest convenient time for both parties (arranging a time when both will be on) and must be witnessed by at least 2 parties. It is recommended that the duel be fought in the melee ring at ground level in Highgarden.
Choice of Weapons: The one challenged picks the choice of weapons and both combatants must comply. Choices include: “daggers, one-handed swords, dual swords, 2-handed weapons, polearms, crossbows, lance and bows”. (Negotiation is ok if one combatant doesn’t own a required weapon). One ideal way to solve this is for both parties to use the Freebie sword provided on the SIM to ensure both parties use the same weapons.
In addition to the type of weapon, the one challenged indicates “live steel” or “blunted”. Live steel means that the injuries sustained in the battle will be considered real. Blunted means that the injuries sustained are only “incapacitating” injuries which result in the loser being knocked out and not killed.
Lances: Lances gives the accused two choices, tournament or combat. If the choice is tournament, a standard joust occurs and the winner wins the dispute. Standard jousting rules apply. If the choice is combat, combat lances are used and a suitable list set up. The combatants make no more than 3 passes. At the end of three passes, the combatants dismount and continue the battle with any choice of weapons.
Bows: If the choice is bows. The accused also selects stationary or mobile. Stationary is conducted like a pistol duel from books and movies. If mobile, it is kind of like a man-on-man paintball fight.
Stationary Bows: Both combatants start back to back in the middle of a prepared field. A third party judge calls out the commands and they respond as follows:
Judge: Take your marks
Both combatants stand back to back.
Judge: Are you prepared for this duel and agree to its outcome as previously specified before these witnesses and the Gods, both old and new?
Participants: I am and I do.
Judge: Draw your bows.
Both participants now draw their bow from its sheath and load it with an arrow.
Judge: Advance.
Both participants walk to the designated line for duel and stop. When both are in position, in mouselook, the judge then orders:
Judge: On my signal, turn and fire at your opponent. Continue firing from a stationary position until (whatever the victory condition is). Three. Two. One. Release!
The combatants then turn and fire repeatedly until the conditions are met.
Mobile Bows: Two combatants stand outside a prepared combat area on opposite sides. When ordered, they enter the combat arena and fire their bows, moving and hiding behind obstacles, as they desire until a victory is achieved. No other weapons or forms of attack are allowed.
Victory Conditions: The one challenged chooses the victory conditions. They can be: first blood, until unable to continue, to death.
First Blood: When a combatant is “hit” losing health the battle ends. The one who struck the blow is considered the victor.
Unable to Continue: Combat continues until one combatant’s health drops below 25 and he or she is unconscious. He or she is considered unconscious.
To death: Combat continues until one combatant is dead. He or she is considered dead and the character must either be resurrected by a suitably capable red priest or the player must start a new character. No exceptions. Once the loser is incapacitated, the victor may choose to kill the incapacitated loser, or be merciful and allow him to live.
Results: The challenger defines the results. The results must be realistic for the RP. Example results include: payment of a certain realistic amount, apology, confession of guilt, making of amends, kissing the challenger’s ass… something like that. This may be negotiated. If agreement cannot be made, consult an admin. If the admin views the results are fair and the one challenged refuses to accept them, the dual is called off and the challenger is treated as if he refused to accept the challenge.
Unity HUD settings during duels: As this is RP combat, full, normal RP settings for the HUD are used, NOT tournament mode. The judge or witnesses must ensure the settings are legit and the participants have not altered their setup. Armor, defense stats and shields are NOT allowed.
–=== Seconds & Substitutions ===—
Both the challenger and challenged can designate a “second”. The second assists and supports the combatant. If the combatant is unable to participate in the dual, the second will stand in for him during the battle. Such substitution cannot be made without suitable RP and a valid RP reason. The other party may back out of the dual at this point, without loss of honor or acceptance of guilt in the issue at hand. Unlike trial by combat, dual is a matter of honor between two parties. Substitution without reason is dishonorable and is not allowed. Pretending injury to avoid a challenge is perfectly acceptable RP for a character. However, doing so will have RP repercussions. The person will obviously be labeled a coward and gain such a reputation. This act could bring shame to his house, his liege lord or his comrades and affect his status and/or position.
For example: Lord Craven is a banner of Lord Brave. Lord Crave is a bully and a loud mouth and offends Ser Very Honorable. Ser Very Honorable is offended and challenges Lord Craven to a dual. Lord Craven accepts and sets the fight for an hour later with swords and to the death. Ser Very Honorable accepts. Then, Lord Craven complains that he fell, injuring his sword arm and cannot fight and orders his sellsword bodyguard, Ser NeverLostAFight to fight for him. Ser Very Honorable withdraws his challenge, “My dispute is with you, Lord Craven and only you.” Nobody thinks poorly of Ser Very Honorable, but Lord Craven is ridiculed as a well, craven. Lord Brave finds out and is disgraced. As a result, he strips Lord Craven of his title and throws him out of his lands on his ass.
—=== Trial by Combat ===—
Trial by combat is similar to dueling, with some exceptions. Any noble or knight charged with a crime may ask for a trial by combat. This is an ancient practice and is considered a trial before the Gods and especially the Warrior. If the accused wins, he is considered innocent. If he loses, he is considered guilty. In addition, the accused may have another “champion” him or her and fight on his or her behalf. The person who fights for the accuser is chosen by the person overseeing the trial. If both parties agree OOC, the trial may be to the death. Choice of weapons is decided by the accused. Time, location, victory conditions and results are decided by the person overseeing the trial. In personal matters, the accuser may be required to fight.
Other than that, it works essentially the same as a duel.
—=== Trial of Combat, Seven Man ===—
The accuser may opt for a trial by seven, which means that both the accuser and accused pick six people to fight on each side with them. In this trial, both the accused and accuser are required to fight.
If the accused cannot create a team of seven, he or she is found guilty. If the accused cannot find a team of seven, he or she is required to withdraw his or her accusations.
If the accused or accuser is defeated, the matter is decided.
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