This is an alternative to the typical chaotic fighting system that is used on TK. A BattleMaster is an elected 'referee' that determines the outcome of a fight. The BCS is the ONLY way a victor can be fully determined from a battle in the Order if there is a fight without expected mutual consent.
Rules (For an actual BCS match example, please scroll past this part):
1.) Any player on the Keep can enter a fight with a Battle-Master present, so long as the BM consents to referee the fight, and the players have consented to follow the elected outcomes of the fight, and the BCS rules.
2.) A battle-master governed fight cannot be instigated against the will of somebody who is not of a determined rival guild.
3.) A combatant cannot battle-master his / her own fight, unless it is a non-serious, practice session.
4.) Third-parties may not interfiere with a fight that the BM is moderating; it will have void effect.
5.) More than one player may engage in a brawl that's being moderated by one or more battle-masters, so long as it adheres to the format of strike / parry, strike / parry. There is no limit to the amount of players who can be involved in a fight.
6.) Other players can only walk in mid-fight if all present parties consent.
7.) BCS matches must be consensual, with one exception: If two guilds enter a status of war, and the guild-leaders mutually agree to non-consensual BCS matches, and the agreement is presented (E-mailed) in written form to an administrator, and the update is posted on the BCS main page, then all players considered members of that guild may be victim to non-consensual BCS-style attacks by the rival-guild. You cannot attack the same player twice in one day. Numbers must be even, with the exception of during a guild-war, if the fight is outside of a formally recognized war, there must be an even number of combatants. Battle-Master(s) must be present for the length of the entire fight.
8.) Maximum severity of losing a match must also have consent by the rival guild-leaders. The type of match will then be determined by the attacking parties.
9.) After a BCS fight, the battle log will be saved and posted online for quick-access to review, along with the stated outcome of the fight.
10.) A Battle-Master must be fully registered to do his duty, for Battle-Master registration and information, follow this link: (Under Construction). Non-registered BM's are considered void unless it's a private affair.
11.) All BCS logs must be sent to an administrator by Email ([email protected]) by the BM. The admin. will look over the log to verify that there is no bias present and the BM practiced correct judgment, and a verification will be returned to the BM. If there are any changes determined by the admins review, and the BM refuses to comply, a vote can be initiated to kick the BM from his/her status. 1.) This vote will take place on the forums, with a deadline for all votes being counted, in the event of a tie the admin will decide the outcome, 2.) In addition, the council of Battle-Masters may initiate a vote at anytime to kick another BM if there is concern of percieved bias. 3.) BM's are allowed to vote on their own behalf, 4.) and votes may not be initiated to kick an administrator. 5.) Finally, an admin has authority to cancel a vote. 6.) If more than one admin is present and there is a disagreement, an admin-wide vote will be initiated, and a tie resolved by a 50/50 dice roll.
12.) If a player does not adhere to the agreed penalties of losing a match, then that player will be considered stricken from the community in an 'excommunicated' fashion, he will be considered non-existent and their posts will be ignored.
BCS is not a replacement of the typical free-form self-regulated combat most players adhere to on TK. However, due to the extremely chaotic nature of regular fighting, the BCS can be something of a necessity.
A BCS fight explained:
A character is allowed a maximum of 7 special abilities and 7 inherent physical features, which can be shaped in any-way the imagination of the poster dictates, so long as it does not alter the premise of the ability. Each combatant privately sends the Battle-Master a list of these abilities in whisper; Descriptions must be brief,, IE: "Can conjure fireballs" "Has a giant lizard tail" "A sword that reflects dark magic". The BM then evaluates these for anything outrageous; things like summoning anti-matter vortexes that swallow galaxies will, clearly, be removed, the combatant will not have the chance to think of a new ability after an ability has been rejected.
* Basic weapons or armor and basic abilities do not have to be listed, ie: simple metal armor, kicks, punches, headbutts, uppercuts, or any hand-to-hand attack which is not magically enchanted.
* Physical features that are self-evident do not have to be listed. For instance, it can be presumed a faery has wings or a dragon has scales, for this reason certain species' may have certain advantages over others, and for the sake of the free-form style and realism, this must remain.
These abilities remain anonymous to each combatant, victory sometimes depends on which abilities counter another ability the best: for instance, if you are proficient at fireballs, and your opponent happens to prefer walls of ice, the odds are you're going to have an advantage. Victory is also determined by ingenuity of the post, use of surroundings, and strategic abilities.
The fight takes place in an attack / defend, attack / defend style, with a specific amount of wounds to determine the victor. The following is the exact format and an example.
1.) First, the players send the BM a whisper of their abilities and physical characteristics (max 7 each)
2.) The BM then informs if he has changed or removed any of the abilities
3.) The players send the BM with whispers consenting that they will follow BCS rules, the BM then posts this information in the room.
4.) The combatants should consent at some point to the number of wounds, and purposes of the fight.
Then, the battle will begin.
BattleMaster: [[ Combatant 1 and Combatant 2 have consented to the terms of the BCS Rulesystem ]]
BattleMaster: [[ It's 06/15/07 and this is a fight between Combatant 1 and Combatant 2 for the purposes of honor. The fight will go to two wounds. ]]
BattleMaster: [[Round 1, Combatant 1 ATTACK ]]
Combatant 1: Attacks him with a flurry of blades.
Combatant 2: Blocks with his steel shield.
BattleMaster: [[ Due to the alloy of the blade having been described to me as magically reinforced, the simple steel shield buckles to the attack and Combatant 2 takes one wound. ]]
BattleMaster: [[ Combatant 1 wounds: 0, Combatant 2 wounds: 1 ]]
BattleMaster: [[Round 2, Combatant 2 ATTACK ]]
Combatant 2: Summons a fireball, which is sent flying at Combatant 1 with fast, fireball-speed.
Combatant 1: Quickly ducks to the ground so the fireball would fly over her.
BattleMaster: [[C1's fast reflexes allowed her to duck and avoid the fireball, but the intense heat of the blast did sear her slightly. Half a wound to Combatant 1.]]
BattleMaster: [[ Combatant 1 wounds 1/2, Combatant 2 wounds: 1 ]]
BattleMaster: [[ Round 3, Combatant 1 ATTACK ]]
Players cannot double attack, ie: place two attacks in the same post.
No auto-hitting, or describing an attack as if it has already taken place, good: "IF the sword strikes, it will char him with fire-magic" (with a fire-enchanted sword having been listed as an ability) bad: "WHEN the sword struck, it charred him with fire-magic"
Nothing that supercedes your opponents parry move, for instance: "runs up and slashes him with a sword, and then jumps back behind the tree". You can't post in the future, until it's determined whether or not you were able to land your hit.
Match Styles:
Honor ~ The defeated opponent loses nothing, the victor gains nothing but a sense of worth.
Slavery ~ The loser must be the winners slave for a designated amount of time.
Prisoner ~ The loser becomes the enslaved property of an entire guild, versus personal property.
Release ~ The winner is able to release a prisoner or slave belonging to the combatant
Guild Death ~ The loser must forfeit his / her character for the remainder of the guild-war.
Death ~ The loser's character is dead, and may not return to the Keep as that character.
Soul Honor ~ The victor is able to ressurect the character of an individual the loser previously killed; only works for normal Death Matches. If the combatant being targeted loses, he/she is 'paralyzed' and is unable to participate in further combat for a 48 hour period. However, if the instigator loses, he/she becomes the slave of his/her opponent, for the victors own chosen time period, which can be indefinite (soulbound).