06. FIGHTS & DEATHS

While we allow combat on ES, we would like to remind you to be responsible and reasonable. Spamming attacks, evading or negating everything that another player throws at you, or just being a jerk are all things that will prompt you to get a strike. We expect mutual respect when you are in combat the same as we do when you are out of combat and players should RP according to this standard. 

Additionally, we are making you, the players, the promise that you will never have to worry about stats, turn-based effects, or overall shenanigans that could leave you struggling or confused. Those features may be applied on other sites, but we have chosen to refrain from implementing them. The only thing a character must adhere to is their skills/magic and their profession/occupation.


1. If  you want to engage in combat, you're free to do so, but you must create rules that you both have agreed upon and post the rules at the beginning of each combat-enabled thread. In other words, you can't expect every player to be willing to participate in combat just because you want to fight. You must communicate with one another first.

2. When entering combat or participating in combat, please use common sense. All we ask is that you are courteous to your fellow players and that you do not try to go beyond your character's own physical, mental, and staminal limitations. You will not always get to remain in the spotlight and perform amazing feats in every single roleplay your take part in. Beyond that, there isn't much structure to it, which means many of the small details are left up to the players. 

3. Please do not create skills or effects that "last x amount of posts" when battling, as it can be confusing for players to keep track of and will, more often than not, lead to a dispute of some sort. Instead, use only skills that are ordained and created by the staff.

4. One of the more prominent situations of combat can arise is with the involvement of an NPC (Non-playable Character). These characters can appear at the request of another player or through Quests, Crusades, and Events. They are controlled and moderated by a staff member, but still abide the same concepts, limitations and restrictions as all playable characters. The NPCs are chosen based on the strength of the players they are involved with. This means that they are only as strong as the playable characters that they are up against. A baker will not be able to best a knight, and a knight will not be able to best an entire army on their own.

Additionally, an NPC is not going to be used to glorify your own character and their actions/decisions. They are not going to make your character seem more powerful, influential, etc. An NPC will also not be used as a human-shield, sacrifice, or fodder. If this is what you are expecting from a staff member who is controlling these NPC, we advise you to not even bother asking for an NPC to be present in your threads because it simply is not going to happen the way you wish for it to happen. 

5. Death is not enabled for everything on ES. Instead, death is considered to be an "opt-in" situation. All players involved in a thread must agree to allow death to be enabled in a thread and it must be listed in the rules of the thread. Once these rules have been agreed upon by both players or all players involved, you may not change these rules in order to take others by surprise. Your sudden changes will not be upheld and you will receive a strike for your misconduct.

Events, Quests, and Crusades are all things that will state if death is enabled or not before you agree to participate. This is so that you will know beforehand what you should be expecting. If you agree to participate in one of these three things and death is enabled, you should not be upset and whine if your character dies as a result of participating in one of these three things.

While death isn't enabled for everything and works based on an "opt-in" agreement, players should keep in mind that combat always carries a risk. Your character can always die later as a result of injuries received during a battle. If your character is stabbed, beaten or bludgeoned enough, attacked or swallowed by a monster, ingests poison, is thrown or falls off a cliff, your character will likely die.

Another factor to consider is your characters own actions. Everything has a consequence and if your character ventures into the Draon Woods, chances are they will encounter some rather nasty creatures. These encounters are not an opt-in scenario. If you weren't wise enough to avoid a dangerous area in real life, you would not get to "opt out" of a chance encounter with a wild wolf. You shouldn't expect it to work any differently on ES.

6. One of the key elements for combat is not just the fight itself but also dodging or avoiding damage. It's fine to want to escape from an especially powerful attack or leap away from a powerful blow at the last second, however; evasion can give rise to arguments or disagreements when used in excess. No one is untouchable and it is inconsiderate and unsportsmanlike to play a character in such a way. Nobody likes to interact with "that guy that conveniently never gets hit." Even the most experienced fighter will get hit during a scuffle or a spar, so there's no excuse for a character to constantly avoid harm. Make things believable and don't be afraid to take a few good hits if your character enters into combat or finds themselves in a situation that was unexpected. If necessary a staff member will moderate a thread involving this to ensure fairness.

7. Lastly, it is important to adhere to the rest of the site's rules while participating or initiating combat. Don't be "that guy" because we can guarantee that no one will like you or respect you if you disregard the site's general rules as well as the combat rules.