Too often does it become a major issue in RP that there is not a major  unity in terms to how RP battle is done. While everyone has a vague knowledge of terms like autoplay, god mode, etc,  and then some even know T1,T2,T3,A1 and  freestyle,(my personal preference as a novella  and multipara writer) very few actually know the unified terminology(which I have covered this in my glossary of terms  on another blog post) and how to RP with propriety and logic. So,  let us think about things together and build  up a basic system .

Typically speaking, all roleplay styles are based upon sequencing. The reason for this is twofold: 

1. The nature of  all written roleplay is turnbased-   While  a lot of things can go on in a  roleplay war, it is often  slowed down by the fact of needing both writers to write out their details.

2. The desire to mimic real time-  While these seem contradictory, the desire to mimic real time to the best of our ability drives our roleplay.   Sequencing is the best way to accomplish this goal by  mimicking  martial arts text which rely on sequencing.  Things are set up, movement is done, and one person counters until  the agreement of hit is made.  No one has to accept damage until there is damage to be accepted, and  this is reliant on things like armor, character strengths and weaknesses, reach, etc.  

Logical Sequences For RP Battle

Let A= Attack

Let P = Parry

Let E= Evasion

A+E

A+A(although this is risky and damage must be taken by a lack of defense unless there is armor which will be dinted up and weakened)

P+A

E+A

A+A+P

A+A+A+P

E+P(no attack may be made after two or more defensive maneuvers for it would be awkward and trip the person up)

And there may be any combination of these in response to different combos, and accepting input and securing output damage for  this is basic cybernetics. All inputs  generate an output, and all outputs generate a sequence.   if fighting in RP is based upon it, then it is a good  RP fight which is based in fairness.

While many RP by  one liners, semipara and para by convenience and time restraints,  these are not  the ideal style for roleplay. The issue with these styles, despite their time efficiency, is  entirely the lack of  style or else the detail which is necessary for blossoming out a world. (For more information, see my writing on The Unity Of Writer and Character) As a result of no significant world creation, these  styles fall flat and rely upon trust.

  This is all proven by  considering interpretation.   The greater the details of the events, the less that things are reliant upon the mind to forcefully make up for the details. If the mind is forced to make up for the details, then the heavy chance of miscommunication breaks out and overwhelms the story.  When miscommunication happens ,a stronger likelihood of accusations of autoplay or god moding happens, and furthermore that  drama breaks out as a result. When the drama breaks out, the story ends without conclusion.

Writing to avoid autoplay is a very simple matter. Too many people say they attack this other person here or there, but this particular voice is not good as it forces the action upon another and therefore autoplay. Instead, try this:

Ippo throws a punch toward Takamura's face.

Ippo attempts to throw a punch towards Takamura's face.

This is compared to  Ippo punches  Takamura's face.  It is demonstrated, then, that an attempt is made, but no conclusion is made. This allows one person to  respond to another and allows a mimicking of real time while   assuming the turn based nature of the story.

On Godmoding

 True godmoding is easy to avoid, but it is also easy to become accused of doing this.  Since people are not  very detailed,  it becomes difficult to judge the "right amount" of damage taken if  the character actually gets hit. It is advisable that anyone who performs a roleplay attack is able to  communicate the amount of force  assumed to the   attack and not  leave it to the imagination. 

Furthermore, the person receiving the damage  must be  careful to  put details on what may stop the damage from being as severe as intended.   Armor is one way, and  will keep someone in a roleplay battle longer, but there are other  manners like   closing distance to  stop the amount of force from being as generated( a boxer's trick), or  to use a shield and failing to   fully block as you return  a blow. Perhaps, movement is taken and  the  hit attacks a less critical area.

Many people are afraid of their characters dying, but this is  irrational. They   do not know that they control the canon for their character, and  all RPs  which are  not to edit the biography of a character  effectively are not canon to the character. So, if a character dies in RP battle, then the character can be resurrected for another story.

Some writers  write "debuffs" to respond to  overpowering powers. In my opinion,  all major or heavy attacks must be saved toward the end for they are greater finishing moves. Furthermore,  it is more entertaining if the losing character can apply extreme force at the end against the  winning character's extreme force for an epic last stand.

In this way, an "over powered character" may be played: 

Extreme details are needed(For this cannot be stressed enough), and levels of power are to be put into place.  It is unlikely for an over powered character to be  without some sort of arrogance, and so the over powered character will not  use the full  force of power all at once. To this over powered character, fighting  becomes more of a  small thing which  is only to be tried harder when they are either annoyed with how difficult  things are being, or when they feel like showing off randomly.

However, if there is a debuff that is used, it must affect both characters and not just one.  If there is some magic crystal that prevents all powers and renders someone just  like a normal human being, then it should apply to both characters or  risk being  known as an over powered power itself.

The last consideration is taking time into consideration. This is the only place where OOC and IC will mix. The time  as in in character time would relate to era and genre for a WW1 setting would not have laser beams, but it may have swords and clubs and all for the trenches.  A medieval setting would not have  machine guns, but perhaps  single shot  and inaccurate/highly unreliable  "hand gonne"  cannons and other early "muskets."

In terms of  OOC time, it is always important to keep an OOC communication that is civil and friendly.   That being busy is   communicated, and that time can be planned around things, and that all  posts are put in an easy access area like in a blog. The reason for this is because if someone has to work, go to school and do many other things as they  typically do:  stories can be forgotten and either discarded or  certain  earlier actions of a story that are relevant become forgotten.   This will either create an unfair advantage,  or cause  a forgetfulness that ends a story.

These are all pragmatic tips that some may have already known before, but this combination of them is needed.  I reject the idea of  stylistic sequence, but accept any number of sequences used so long as they are done logically.  I say all  we need is detail, and  more and more detail. Finally,  we need all the communication possible  OOC  in order that the flow of information  calms things down and stops all drama. Thank you for reading this humble article.