The Invincibles

In the vein of going ultimately fast without reason, we run ourselves into a completely different wall with this other estranged fact. This little brick and mortar construct that impedes us when we role play is our over-attachment to our characters. We develop such a connection with our characters that often, we don't want to see them get hurt, especially were, or if, we spend hours upon hours or days upon days crafting those characters.

This is somewhat understandable, however, since the characters themselves are supposed to be extensions of ourselves. As we wish to avoid pain, so too do our characters, and this avoidance to pain and suffering can also be detrimental. In dueling, as with real life, the fact is, we feel pain. While we might wish to save our characters from feeling those same pains, whether physical or emotional, it is better that we don't. Pain teaches experience, after all; a lack of pain means a lack of feeling.

The character, especially in dueling, is supposed to take a hit, supposed to become hurt. A fantasy world we may be playing in, but some semblance of reality is still there, or leaks through, and thus it can only be expected that the character would become hurt. We don't like it when our characters get hurt, when they experience physical pain. In dueling, the characters are supposed to get hit, take a hit every so often. When you evade everything thrown at you, you are in turn God Modding.

There are guides out there that say how to determine damage done, but here's a thought--instead of just taking damage based on how powerful you percieve the attack to be, take damage based on how you think a person would take damage based on the reality of getting hit by such. Of course, if you can evade within reason, do so, but always remember that sooner or later, you're going to tire and fatigued people make mistakes.

Then again, some attacks are so outstandingly overpowered that were you to take the damage based on how powerful the attack was, the character would die. It comes down to descretion, as always, on how much damage should be taken. Some people have a habit of taking too much damage, even from simple attacks, while others take too little. Again, always searching for that happy medium where everything fits.

 

- W. Visarett