Burnsider

https://gyazo.com/a4f876eeb32bb9c7ef21b8042e41da7e

I remember helping write this as one of the last things I did on the mod team. I'm very glad it's been published as it's very important. And I can't believe I missed it by over a week. I want to put to words my thoughts on why I wanted to help Anna with this. I hate that we must consistently address this situation on this server. I really wish that we could treat every person on this server with respect and care. I especially wish the adults on this server treated the children on this server better. I have a 6-year-old son. People often joke with me whether I will allow him on the server in seven years, when he is old enough to join. Though they joke with the question, I never joke with my answer. I emphatically tell them no. In the current state of the community, we let minors be witness to awful racial prejudices, harassment, and sexual content that no child should be subjected to. I recognize that we are on the internet and most of us are anonymous faces to each other. Judicial precedent in the United States currently gives less weight to defamatory statements made online because the sheer negative hyperbole that we feel we can use in this anonymous guise is so overwhelming. I would love us to be better than the rest of the internet and, let's face it, that's not a high bar to accomplish. More importantly, I want to work to make this a place that I could, in good conscience, let my child join one day. I ask you to help me make that a reality. When I was a mod, I probably would have finished this with a note that I hope you can come to me if you need to talk. But I really truly hope that, now, you contact Anna. There are people on the moderation team I do not trust and there are people on the moderation team that I know spread the same lies and rumors Shmeep talked about above. But Anna, I trust completely. Talk to her. She will listen and she will do her best to help you.

Deep in his meditations as commanded by Callahan Bishop Citrea, on the Fifth Day of his journey on the Path of Owyn, Sir Zugha the Tower found himself drowsy and weary after seemingly unending fasting and prayer in front of the Pyre of Minitz. Fighting exhaustion, he felt a hand upon him and the Uruk was suddenly compelled to write. Pulling parchment and ink from his pack, he began to put word to paper, but found he wrote not the hastily scrawled scratchings that were his normal script, but rather that of a delicate hand. He found his spelling to no longer have issues and he wrote as if he had been brought up speaking the common tongue and not the tongue of the orcs. As the heat of the flames rise, But for my faith, my eyes would turn away. Could our end but be in flames? Does the Uruk deserve more in their soul? Every Uruk is a slave to their rage, For they are bound to it, Granted no respite from it, as the Humans are bound to their short lives. I turn away, but it calls me ever to it, Just as the addict is drawn to the Green. “Keep it contained,” I cry out to my Creator. “Let not my rage turn me from Your Light.” My will, alone, is not enough, Nor my body, alone, strong enough, Or my spirit, alone, able to cage it. Place Your icy hand upon my brow. Quell the fever Iblees placed there. Relief would flow through my body, Sighing, I would relax in your hand. Tortured, I would be no more. Under your care, I would be at peace, Very content in your embrace. Would that You would find me. Exact Your will upon me. Your servant, then, would I always be, Zealous to Your every command. The earth cries out to you, oh God. Creator, Your achievement proclaims Your name. The sun rises each morning, A flame to mark Your blessings. The mountains rise up to be close to You, The clouds gather around them, hoping for Your touch. Ever do the waves lap upon the shores, Ever does the spring bring rain. The moon changes phase, The tides rise and recede. Without words or voice, Your presence is clear, Your presence is distinct, Your presence is illustrious. None can plead ignorance. Show Your Displeasure to the unworthy, Creator of all, Let no one proclaim Your name for his own gain, Let their wickedness draw your wrath. The starving man begs for a place at the feast, But the fat man casts him away for disturbing his meal. The wicked place those who might seek You in a cage. Will You not break the chains placed down by them? Their words are honey, but their deeds are poison. Their praise of You is beyond measure, But they heap scorn upon Your creation. Ever it bites like a swarm of locusts, And those that draw close to You feel its sting. Bring upon them fire and ruin. Let them feel the chains they themselves place. Tear their skin, rend their flesh. Make right all they have done wrong. In the depths of time, where shadows dwell, Beneath the watchful eye of the Almighty, The understanding of God beckons to the hearts, Of the uruk, the mightiest Descendant. Yet, not all heed the call, for the path is wide, And many are the roads that souls may wander. In the forge and the fight, God's presence waits, For those who choose to turn their gaze above. Krug, their progenitor, in ancient fires forged their legacy, A tale woven into the fabric of existence. For God, in His boundless love, gazes upon the uruk with favor, And in His wisdom, has set a destiny unique. At the culmination of days, in a symphony of cosmic order, When the celestial bodies align and the Skies resonate, The Void, shrouded in darkness and steeped in mystery, Shall be bequeathed to the uruks, a realm to eternally refine. In this realm of dread, amidst the boundless expanse, They shall hone their strength, their spirits unwavering. For God has seen the potential in their hearts, And gifted them a forge of eternal fire. O God, the heart of the uruk cries out in anguish, For the burden of bloodrage weighs heavy upon him. In the heat of battle, his honor is eclipsed, Lost in the tempest of uncontrollable fury. Thine eyes, O Lord, have seen his struggle, Yet the shackles of this curse remain unbroken. He stands on the precipice of his own nature, Yearning for release from this unrelenting storm. Why, O God, hast Thou not granted him reprieve? His soul is ensnared in the throes of relentless rage, And his honor, once gleaming, now lies tarnished, Like a blade dulled by the ceaseless onslaught of time. In his righteous fury, he marches forth, Seeking a path through the darkness that shrouds him. His heart beats with a fervent desire for redemption, To reclaim the honor that has been stolen from him. O God, if it be within Thy divine will, Extend Thy hand to lift this heavy burden. Grant us the strength to rise above our curse, And let our spirits soar on wings of newfound grace.

Deep in the dungeons of the Silver City, a low hum was heard initially by the guards assigned there. The humming grew louder and then a deep, basso voice cried out in song. The song was mournful, yet the hope carried within it was as if sounded by a clarion. It drifted up and out of the cells, into the sea air. [!]Mighty Sequana crests in the deep ocean. In shadows bound, amidst foreign shores, Captured heart, yet spirit soars. Salt-stained skin, a soul untamed, In chains of iron, not subdued or maimed. The waves still call, their whispers near, A note of freedom, held quite dear. Through starlit nights and sun-kissed days, Their rhythm guides, in ceaseless ways. To distant isles, my thoughts do fly, On narn'mataliarme, I'll again ride high. With linannilers' wisdom, stars to read, And Sequana's current as my steed. Though captive now, my spirit's free, The ocean's pulse held deep in me. In every surge, in every swell, The Waveman's heart, they cannot quell. For manum lives not in chains and locks, But in the heart that never mocks. In adversity, our souls grow strong, In darkness, we find where we belong. So hear my song, O boundless sea, A Waveman's soul shall ever be, In trials faced and trials to come, The ocean's child, heart a-thrum.

Brave Version 1.1 has now been released! Please see the below change notes. Statistics: All statistics have had their names changed in order to better differentiate them. Statistics no longer share parts of their name with each other and each one also begins with a different letter. Hat tip to @Fishy for the suggestion. 1. Strength (Offense) has been renamed to Strength. 2. Strength (Defense) has been renamed to Fortitude. 3. Skill (Offense) has been renamed to Training. 4. Skill (Defense) has been renamed to Expertise. 5. Spirit has been renamed to Psyche. Health: The starting health for each character at the beginning of a fight has been increased from 10 to 25. This, along with the damage changes below, will help reduce the advantage that Strength and Fortitude had over Training and Expertise. The marginal difference in the simulated fights (hat tip to @NotEvilAtAll for the amazing help with this) with these changes do not seem statistically meaningful, especially when considering the ingenuity of the human behind the emotes. Damage Roll: The standard damage roll has been increased from 1d6 plus modifier to 1d12 plus modifiers. Additionally, damage rolls for attacks that require emote counts have been increased from 2d6 to 2d12. Please see the above note on Health for the reasoning.

It's an optional system. If you don't like it, don't use it. There's a third path to this trolley. And honestly, given it's optional, why as a staff member, did you feel the need to troll it?

Thanks for posting this, Jumper. Yeah, Jumper and I have been theory-crafting over DMs tonight and we think this is the answer. I expect to make an update to the main post tomorrow when I'm not sleepy.

NGL, kinda feel it makes sense that orcs are just slightly better in 1v1. Not overpowered better. Just slightly better. That said, what would you recommend to fix the "going first" issue? That seems a difference with a more than a standard deviation.

I specifically wanted to keep this simple. The more complicated the system, the less it is usable without a plugin. I think @Moribundity's ideas would make sense. I would absolutely agree to that in combats where I'm facing against you guys. This is why I wrote in the rules that the rules can be changed/added to at the mutual agreement of the people in combat.

This can happen sometimes. You might DM on discord the CT member who accepted you and let them know there's an issue. They can work with the tech team and figure it out.

An optional system for rolled dice combat Version 1.1 - August 30, 2023 There has long been a request for a combat system that used rolled dice to streamline CRP along with modifiers in order to make your rolls feel more adapted to your character. Staff has been reticent about developing a system that they would enforce despite LOTC’s mission statement stating that our combat system should “pursue a D&D-style system guided via plugins.” Well, I am not a developer or a coder, but I have been playing various table-top roleplaying games for over a quarter-century. So, I thought, why not develop one of my own that is simple enough to be used without the need for a plugin? This is Brave, an optional combat system for rolled dice combat. It is not staff endorsed and is not going to be enforced by any member of staff. That doesn’t stop you from using it, however. Brave is designed to be layered on top of a typical CRP conflict, not replace it, allowing dice rolls to help determine the pace and outcome of the story that players are already making in their emotes. Below are the rules. I hope to revise them as needed, as people test them in play. The goal for Brave, however, is meant to be very simple. Brave should always (1) supplement, not replace roleplay, (2) be easy to understand, (3) be easy to use in game, and (4) be adaptable to player needs. Rules To keep things simple, there are only four rules in Brave. When I refer to dice rolls, I use the XdY notation, where X is equal to the number of dice and Y is equal to the number of sides on the die. For example, 4d6 means that you roll four 6-sided dice. 1. Story is King. This is the primary rule of Brave. This system should never replace the excellent use of player-generated emotes that are currently the standard in LOTC’s CRP default systems. If you are reducing your emotes to a game of D&D where you simply say, “I try to hit the goblin,” and the DM replies, “you miss,” then you are using Brave wrong. For that reason, all the rules below are designed to be optional, even while using Brave. Is your characters trying to kick his opponent to trip him instead of doing damage? Work out with the other players how that should work. Additionally, you will still need to follow any and all redlines for the weaponry or magic being used in the fight. Brave does not change any of LOTC’s lore rules. However, outside that, any of the rules below can be changed by the mutual agreement of both parties in the current action. Let Brave work for you, don’t be shoe-horned by it. And above all, make a great story while using it. That’s why we play, after all. 2. Each character has 25 health. Taking damage will slowly wear your character down over time. One can only last so long before succumbing to the effects of the attacks against him. Each character starts every combat with 25 health. Every point of damage taken by that character reduces the character’s health total. Remember that this is not D&D where characters are not affected by loss of hit points. Your character’s health is a measure of how many blows your character has taken in the combat. Roleplay that out. A character with one health remaining should not be making the same types of emotes as one with ten health. Remember rule #1: story is king. Once your character reaches 0 health, your character is defeated and they cannot continue the fight. It is important to stress that your character does not necessarily die when they reach 0 health. Rather, it is a guide to how story should progress once CRP is over and normal RP resumes. Could your character die? Certainly, but they could be captured, or perhaps they are dealt a serious wound and the other party gets away. Maybe your character is lying there, sword to their throat, and their opponent gives a witty quirk and leaves you to contemplate your defeat. Let the story dictate the best result. 3. To attack, make an opposed 2d10 roll (plus modifiers). If your character is attacking someone, you make an attack roll using 2d10 and adding in any modifiers to your attack (“/roll 2d10+X”). Your character’s opponent defends himself by also making a 2d10 roll, adding his modifiers. If the attack roll meets or exceeds the defense roll, then the attack hits. We use 2d10 in Brave because it makes extremely low or high rolls more rare than the standard 1d20 roll. This allows the low modifiers that we use in Brave to have more effect. 4. To damage, make a 1d12 roll (plus modifiers). Once your character has hit an opponent, you may make a damage roll using 1d12 and adding in any modifiers to your damage (“/roll 1d12+X”). Your opponent will subtract any of his own modifiers from the result of your roll to determine the final damage to the attack. This final number will be applied to the character’s health. One universal modifier used in Brave that wearing armor on the part of the body struck will reduce damage by one. If your character is using an attack that required multiple emotes to use (i.e. an attack from a bow, spell, or alchemical concoction), the damage roll can by made using 2d12 plus modifiers, instead of 1d12. Modifiers may never reduce damage to below zero. Statistics The rules above frequently mention adding modifiers to your rolls. While story is king, and we encourage players to work together to add other modifiers to their combat, there are five main statistics that will modify rolls in Brave. They are listed below. Strength represents the strength your character has to rain down powerful blows against his opponent. This statistic modifies the amount of damage you do with melee attacks. Fortitude represents the endurance your character has to withstand the blows dealt to him by his opponent. This statistic modifies the amount of damage that your character takes when he is hit. Training represents the skill and training that your character has to accurately land blows on his opponent. This statistic modifies your attack roll. Expertise represents the skill and expertise that your character has to defend against or dodge incoming blows. This statistic modifies your defense roll. Psyche represents the innate power within your character to call upon the forces of magic. This statistic modifies the amount of damage you do with magical attacks. Races Each race has innate differences between each other, giving them innate bonuses to statistic. Humans [+1 each to Training and Expertise] have the shortest lives of all the descendant races and yet often culturally spend the most amount of time fighting each other than any other race. As such, they have an innate bonus to Training and Expertise to recognize this culture of combat and heraldry that has been embraced by the humans. Elves [+1 each to Training and Psyche] are the longest lived of all the descendant races, and will spend years honing their skills with blade, bow, and magic. To many of them, combat and magic are as much art forms as painting or singing. As such, they have an innate bonus to Training and Psyche to recognize this dedication to the art of combat. Dwarves [+1 each to Fortitude and Expertise] have spent their lives in the deep, building immense fortresses of stone to protect their people and assets from invaders. Their bodies, too, are stalwart and strong. As such, they have an innate bonus to Fortitude and Expertise to recognize their mastery of defensive warfare. Orcs [+1 each to Strength and Fortitude] are the strongest and most naturally powerful of all the descendant races. Their ability to deal damage and withstand the same is without peer. As such, they have an innate bonus to Strength and Fortitude to recognize the brute force that they bring to the battlefield. Halflings [+1 each to Expertise and Psyche] are the gentlest of the races, caring more for the love of good food and drink than warfare. However, push a halfling to act and you will find them to be able to wiggle out of many situations, both physical and mental. As such, they have an innate bonus to Expertise and Psyche to recognize their willpower and small nature. Other CAs represent the gamut of all other playable races in Lord of the Craft. As the amount and variety of CAs in LOTC varies at regular intervals, they may choose which of the racial modifiers above best suites them. Archetypes Each character has a unique set of skills and attributes that make them unique. As such, they get bonuses to two more Statistics. In Brave, each character embodies one of the fifteen archetypes below and will receive the bonuses from that archetype. If you use Brave, I recommend placing your Archetype on your persona's card so that it will be easy to remember. 1. The Brute [+2 to Strength] 2. The Warrior [+1 each to Strength and Fortitude] 3. The Fighter [+1 each to Strength and Training] 4. The Pugilist [+1 each to Strength and Expertise] 5. The Confident [+1 each to Strength and Psyche] 6. The Rock [+2 to Fortitude] 7. The Brawler [+1 each to Fortitude and Training] 8. The Guardian [+1 each to Fortitude and Expertise] 9. The Resolute [+1 each to Fortitude and Psyche] 10. The Knight [+2 to Training] 11. The Duelist [+1 each to Training and Expertise] 12. The Trained [+1 each to Training and Psyche] 13. The Sentinel [+2 to Expertise] 14. The Sage [+1 each to Expertise and Psyche] 15. The Scholar [+2 to Psyche] Combat Example Godric the human and Morg the orc are in a fighting tournament and their players decide to use Brave to determine the results of their fight. In this example, Godric is a human who has taken the Guardian archetype. We combine the modifiers for both his race and his archetype. Humans have a +1 to Training and Expertise. Guardians have a +1 to Fortitude and Expertise. In total, that means that Godric has a +1 to Fortitude, a +1 to Training, and a +2 to Expertise. Morg is an orc who has taken the Fighter archetype. Like Godric, we combine the modifiers for both his race and his archetype. Orcs have a +1 to Strength and Fortitude. Fighters have a +1 to Strength and Training. In total, that means that Morg has a +2 to Strength, a +1 to Fortitude, and a +1 to Training. In the RP, Morg has taken a moment to rile up the crowd with some taunts and gestures, giving Godric the chance to go first. Godric advances on Morg and swings his sword in a horizontal gesture towards Morg’s exposed arm. Morg swings his mace downwards in an attempt to smack Godric’s sword into the dirt. With the RP now requiring an attack roll, Godric makes his roll. He has a +1 to Training, so his roll is 2d10+1. His player types “/roll 2d10+1” into the chat bar and the result is a 11. Morg does not have a bonus to his Expertise, so his defense roll is just 2d10. His player types “/roll 2d10” into the chat bar and the result is a 7. This means that Godric has succeeded in hitting Morg. Godric now must make a damage roll. He does not have a bonus to his Strength, so his roll is just 1d12. His player types “/roll 1d12” in the chat bar and the result is a 8. Morg is not wearing armor on his arm, but he does have a +1 to his Fortitude, reducing the damage by 1. Morg takes 7 points of damage, reducing his health from 25 to 18. In the RP, Morg’s parry comes too late as he is still hamming it up with the crowd and he barely misses Godric’s sword as it slices deep into his arm muscle, blood bubbling from the wound. Morg growls and spins around, gathering momentum to smack Godric square in the solar plexus with his mace. Godric smiles and raises his shield, angling it to deflect the blow upwards. Morg’s player now makes an attack roll. Morg has a +1 to Training, making his roll 2d10+1. His player rolls and gets a 14. Godric has a +2 to Expertise, so his defense roll is 2d10+2. He rolls and gets a 17 as a result. The attack misses. In the RP, Morg’s mace collides with Godric’s shield and, though a wooden cracking sound is heard, the mace is directed upwards over Godric’s head. This leaves Godric a great opening to thrust his sword into the Morg’s belly. He stabs with his sword as Morg attempts to back up in time to avoid the strike. Godric makes another attack roll with 2d10+1 as he did before. He gets a 12. Morg makes a defense roll with 2d10 as he did before and he rolls an 8. Godric’s blade strikes true again. Godric makes his damage roll of 1d12 and rolls a 2. This time, however, Morg’s belly is protected by a leather kidney belt and he can reduce the damage by 1 from his Fortitude and an additional 1 due to the armor. This reduces the damage to 0. In the RP, Morg pulls back, but not far enough as Godric’s blade connects with his kidney belt. But Godric doesn’t have enough momentum to push through the belt and the orc chuckles. His mace is now above Godric’s head and Godric is unbalanced after his failed thrust. The battle continues. This is an example of how quick resolutions can be made with Brave, how modifiers work, and how the RP and emotes are still the most important part of Brave. FAQs

Sir Zugha the Tower cracked his knuckles as he leaned against a pillar inside the Commonwealth. "'N' 'ow 'bou' any punishmen' for beatin' the li'l snot' tha' made the boun'y in the firs' place? Cause if'n there t'ain't, I volunteer." The uruk chuckled, hoping he'd meet the fellow soon.

I have hidden a number of replies on this topic. Please remember that this is an IC forum and posts must either be IC or hidden behind a spoiler.

Preach it, brother!

We welcome players to join our Moderation discord, where rules are often posted ahead of time and workshopped with the community. https://discord.gg/ZHeGjY8H

Sir Zugha shook his head. "Good on the Oonians for the quick judgmen' on the men, as they gave me once. But to give the young lad to the Bishop o' Buron, who'd 'old 'im as a slave? T'ain't right. God knows 'is Grace is a tyrant in priestie garbs."

I, for one, welcome our new MRP overlords.

Because the idea was to simplify the rules, not pause combat so everyone can start counting blocks and arguing over just what block you started at/ended at/hit along the way...

And I apologize for such a harsh tone I took. It wasn't warranted. You hit upon something I'm extremely passionate about in gaming, and I saw the need for RIGHTEOUS FURY. Which, to be fair, shouldn't have been leveled on you, but on the culture in gaming that has bred a lot of RPers to think the same way you did. I really hope you take that article to heart; it and another article on "Playing to Lift" have dramatically affected the way I game. And, I'd like to think, for the better. Here's a Primer on Playing to Lift: https://nordiclarp.org/2018/02/21/play-lift-not-just-lose/ And here's the other article that I said changed the way I play: https://thespacebetweenstories.com/2019/01/10/how-to-playing-to-lift-makes-you-one-of-the-cool-kids/