A view from the street. (Opinions and guidelines for surviving and thriving in the NCD.)

Last time, we took a very simple character concept and added some of the more crucial parts to it-the reasoning behind it, a simple sketch of the personality and background, and started to create the image for easy reference. Now we get to the hard part.

Everything else.

Technically, it's not that hard to put in something like "height: tall", "hair: long" and "gender: man". However, these aren't tiresome little details to be dismissed-these are important statistics that shape how the character will look, act and feel. So it's better to get these right from the beginning. Let's start with the physical details. If my order disagrees with the order set in the profile default, then tough luck: I'm going with what I feel is most important.

First: Species. That doesn't always mean something that fits into a known ecology-a vampire or a forest spirit can both be considered a species for the profile's purposes. If you're using a species that's not commonly known, or you've decided to modify, you'll want to list any physical features here....and even if they're commonly known where you live, people in other countries might not be familiar, so a quick description can be quite helpful. Whether or not they have wings, if they have antennae, hooves, paws, tails...this will give other players some background on what your character looks like, and a rough sketch of how other characters of the same species might look. If the species is completely new, this section may require a great deal of explanation, as you list their appearance; don't be afraid to reference other species to make things clearer. Our bounty hunter is still human, and permanently so now.

After that comes gender. If this is your first character, I recommend that you pick your own gender to start with....but there's no restrictions on that front. So if you think you can act like a guy when you're a girl, or vice versa, go for it. But be careful about falling into stereotypes. Also, some species may have significant differences between the females and males, so list any gender-specific changes here. For our idea, we'll make him a male, because that fits with my own gender-I don't think I could successfully impersonate a female.

Next, there's age. The measurement of this can depend on the species, but even if you say your character is "7 booldops old", you should follow that with an estimation of human years for other player's reference. Try to be careful about your age, too-someone with a lot of experience and wisdom, for example, will almost certainly be older than 20, and most 40 year olds don't run around and play pranks. Age will also determine a lot of the other physical features-in almost any species, children are significantly different from adults in appearance. And for some species, older adults look quite different from young adults. For our bounty hunter, we'll settle on 32-but in this case, since he was reincarnated, that will represent how long he's been working for heaven. So, we add a number in parentheses after that, such as (83), to say how long he's been 'alive'-including his life before he died and went to purgatory, and his life after accepting the offer to work for Heaven. Calculating how old he looks could be tricky in this case, so we'll just go with 32 as his appearance as well. We could put more explanation into it, but we've already spent a lot of time on the age.

Next is height-how tall your character is. The minimums and maximums here will depend on the character's species and gender. Used incorrectly, your character's height will just become a number....used correctly, it can make them intimidating or cause people to underestimate them, depending on how tall or short the character is. Humans aren't that tall compared to some of the people here, though being a male gives a little bit more in height. For now, we'll go with an average height, so he'll be 5'9".

And how about the build? Will your character be a mass of bulging muscles? Slim and svelte? Kind of pudgy and pear-shaped? This section covers what the character is predisposed towards, but also what their activities have made them. Someone who may be predisposed towards being muscular might sit around a lot and like fast food, making them chubby and flabby. And remember, muscles don't change in the same way for everyone-a jogger will probably not have big arm muscles. Try to remember the person's genetic disposition, their level of physical activity, and their most frequent activity for this section. Just like the previous sections and the upcoming ones, species will play a role too; someone who's muscular for a human may be quite thin for their species, and vice versa, which should be noted. For our bounty hunter, we'll make him physically fit but with an average build-he's too active to become overweight, but he doesn't try to build up his muscles.

Hair and/or fur color. Here's where you choose the color and length, along with the shape, of your characters hair and/or fur. Useful for building appearances, so you'll want to make this part clear, especially if the hair is unusual in some way-but for most avatars, their hair won't come into play often, so don't spend too long here. And some are completely hairless, so you'll be able to say they're hairless and move on. Our bounty hunter will have short, black hair that's usually straight, but only gets a comb or two every morning. That simple.

Eye color can be an important factor-if your character's eyes are strangely colored, multicolored, from another species/artificial, or colorless/monocolor. Some species might be missing eyes altogether, have their eyes placed somewhere other than their head, or use organs that can't be seen themselves. If not, though, a simple color will do. The bounty hunter has blue eyes.

A distinguishing feature. Ah, this can get complicated. The most common 'distinguishing feature' is some kind of scar or tattoo, and that's not a bad one. It's hard to miss someone with a giant eagle tattooed on their face. However, there are other options as well. The scar and/or tattoo may be in a covered location-such as the small of the back, or on the thigh. The feature could also be a birthmark or a strange texture to the skin...for example, a mammalian character with scaly arms. The feature could even be something that's noticeable but not necessarily physical in origin-such as a left hand that's constantly twitching when it's not in use, regardless of what the character is doing or feeling. However, something like cybernetic parts are not a distinguishing feature in my book-to me, a distinguishing feature is something that you notice as unique to the character, but is seemingly of little consequence. Cybernetic parts are usually more important that that, but it depends on the character; a cybernetic eye, finger, foot or hand could be a distinguishing feature, unless they have a large impact on what the character can do. At the same time, a distinguishing feature does not have to be unusual for the character's species. A character who has an extra eye could have been born to two parents with an extra eye, who came from a village where everyone has an extra eye. But here, that extra eye becomes a distinguishing feature, because it's not common for a character to have three eyes. The bounty hunter will have one distinguishing feature-a small, very ornate tattoo on the back of his neck, signifying his employers.

Speaking of cybernetics and other body modifications, anything that does not fit your species' original genetic composition-assuming that the avatar is from a specific group-may warrant a separate section. However, that depends on the player. Describing said body modifications may fit into previous sections, such as the species or the build....but giving them their own space may clarify things for your fellow players. Since he has no modifications or cybernetics, this does not apply to our bounty hunter character.

And finally, clothing. Most avatars don't run around naked, since they can't really get away with it-after all, this is a PG-13 forum. So choose what the avatar wears carefully. Clothing might need to make room for wings or tails, and ideally should be easy to remove as well as put on. Also, be willing to describe the clothing in detail-saying that they're wearing 'jeans and a t-shirt" isn't as good as "faded blue jeans and a grey t-shirt, without any logo or letters". Finally, if you want to have more than one outfit for your character, go for it. Most people own more than one pair of clothes, after all. Our bounty hunter will wear grey slacks and a white button-up shirt, along with brown boots and a tan overcoat-the overcoat being added for the '30's detective' feel.

I had hoped to get past the physical details, but it seems that I've fallen victim to my own talking. We'll get into their skills, possessions, history and background tomorrow.

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Thank you, Denise.

Today, we'll be covering a part that's near and dear to my heart....combat.

Long before I did any kind of character interaction with roleplaying, I was a combat junkie. Loved the stuff. The long descriptions of how you attacked, the visceral thrill you got when you made a particularly well-done post and crushed your opponent....it was good. Of course, I've branched out since then. But combat's in my roots when it comes to roleplaying, and that's why I want to see it done well.

There are a couple of things that need to be established with any kind of combat post. First off, the point of the post is not to show that your character is the baddest thing around. It's to accurately reflect the situation and how they react to it. In other words, it's not all about winning. This is the hardest lesson to learn, but it will have a profound effect on how well you post in combat situations. Second, combat is very much a sequence of 'give and take'. If you dodge or block every attack, and so does your opponent, it's frustrating and boring-if you take every attack, and they dodge every attack, then you're just a glorified punching bag, which is really discouraging. If, on the other hand, their inventive trick gets through where their regular attacks haven't, it will help both of you enjoy it more. Suddenly the situation has changed, which means you need to match their new level of thought-but matching it is still feasible, not a herculean task. Finally, fancy powers do not a warrior make. It doesn't matter that your avatar has huge levels of telekinesis if the other person manages to surprise them and punch them in the jaw. Do NOT claim they were 'shielded' or dodged the attack just because they have powerful ability 'a'; make sure you have a reasonable basis for it.

Anyway. In purpose, combat posts are much the same as any other in character post: taking stock of the situation, and responding to it in character. In fact, the same checklist I used in part II of this section applies here.

Other characters' actions
Your character's previous actions
Situation
GM
Other characters' locations
Your character's location
Other characters' physical conditions
Your character's physical condition
Other characters' moods
Your character's mood

Notice any changes between the two? If you said order, then you hit the mark on the head. This is where things start to change between the regular post and the combat post. You are not primarily dealing with the situation, you are dealing with the other character(s) actions. The situation is right behind those actions in importance, but it is no longer the first thing to check.

The first thing to check is what the other character(s) are doing. There are almost certainly actions regarding you, but don't take them as generic attacks; are they punching or kicking? If so, with which arm/leg? Are they using another part of their body? Are they using a melee weapon, and if so, how? Are they using a ranged weapon/attack, and if so, how? What are they targeting with their attack or attacks? You have to understand all of this to effectively and accurately respond. If someone tries to kick your character in the head, and your response is to jump over the kick, then you just got kicked in the side because you didn't pay attention to the details of their attacks. As long as you pay attention and the other person was relatively clear, this should be straightforward.

In the same vein, what were your previous actions that will affect your latest post? If your character jumped into the air, for example, and got attacked in the air, that will affect what they can do. The same applies if they dive underwater, duck and go for a low attack, duck behind some cover...and the list goes on. Then we deal with the situation. Is the ground around you crumbling? Is the fight in the middle of a larger battle? Account for anything that could substantially affect your post (don't go too far; having slightly more oxygen in the air usually doesn't count).

Whether or not the GM comes into play depends on whether you're fighting a PC or an NPC, and if the fight is a disruption or doesn't fit in the RP. If you're fighting another PC, and the fight is not a disruption or improbable, this probably won't come into play-unless one of the combatants asks for a GM ruling.

Location, location, location....this is a big deal in a fight. It's a little hard to hit someone with a punch when they're shooting at you from the balcony above. Keep a close eye on where the other character(s) are moving, or else you might get lost on where they've gone and make a mistake in your post. Also keep a close eye on where you are, in case someone affects the location you're in. It might be hard to defend a bridge if someone is trying to collapse it under your feet.

Physical condition. For individual posts, this won't seem that important, but keep track of it for both players! From a player standpoint, you need to make sure you know how your character is feeling, and how much they can do. Things like dislocations, broken bones, or triggered pressure points can hamper the character's abilities, and general fatigue and wounds, such as light cuts and bruises, can accumulate and become serious. Keep an eye on that, and make sure it factors into your posts. From a character standpoint, it's a good idea to look for weaknesses in the enemy to exploit, such as broken bones or dislocated limbs.

Moods probably won't play into the fight, but they can be a factor. A character who gets raging mad will tend to make mistakes, where one who keeps their cool will keep their focus as well. If your character is getting mad, either let them do something hotheaded or make sure to point out when they refocus themselves.

Now that you've taken stock of the situation, it's time to actually compose the post. This is where things can break down; in your mind, your avatar pulls off a really cool backflip to kick the other character in the face. In your post, your opponent is wondering what the hell you were trying to say. Here's an excellent rule of thumb: read your actions to yourself as though you were another player. If anything seems unclear, revise it for clarity. Remember, you're not going for the overwhelming post of doom, you're going for a post that is clear and descriptive. I'll use my own character for this example, since he's supposed to be skilled with fighting: "Benor smiles, then takes a step towards [blank] and tries to punch him in the gut with his right fist. The blow is powerful, but the human is holding back for now; the worst it should do is knock the wind out of [blank]." Though that's probably not enough for a full post, it's clear and descriptive-he's throwing a punch using his right arm, and it's aimed for the person's stomach. He's using a good deal of his strength, but not all of it. That takes care of all the relevant details for that action. Of course, that doesn't mean your posts should be completely straightforward; a good combat post will have some flourishes, to help emphasize the style of the character in question. But don't let stylistic touches obscure the actual actions.

Now, I've spent all of this time emphasising how you should post, and what to pay attention to...but I'll say this, too. This isn't just a way to make good posts as a player. It's a way to make good attacks as a character. The more attention your character pays to the situation, the opponent or opponents, and their own condition, the more effective they can be. While I advocate accurate roleplaying, most characters who get into straight fights probably have some experience. If so, show that! They're not just going to go 'kick-punch-kick', they're also going to notice terrain they can use and weaknesses to exploit. At the same time, there are different levels of experience....in other words, a bar brawler probably won't be planning that far ahead compared to a special forces member.

And finally, if your character is tied to a specific style of fighting, try to show that in their attacks. Someone who's proficient with a staff probably won't use a sword that well, or may use their hands only because they lack something to emulate a staff. That applies to unarmed styles as well, so don't just say "my character uses a judo move on him." You better know what the move is, and what it does, to say anything like that, and you probably shouldn't say it anyway. Your opponent probably won't want to decipher it for you.

Before we finish here, I have to hit another important note, which I briefly mentioned before. For the most part, any fights will be between players, occasionally with a separate GM involved. That means that if a problem comes up between you and your opponent, such as who hit when and whether or not power "X" can work, it's best to PM them and straighten things out directly. Even when you have a separate GM to make rulings for you, you should try to talk directly with the other player first; calling for the GM to rule on it without consulting is a quick way to irritate the other person. Combat posts are give and take, remember, so you shouldn't bypass the other person. And if you're the GM but posting as a player....never act as the GM for your own fight. That simple.

Next time, we'll wrap up the section.

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Thank you, Graham.