Post by NAOKO on Jan 3, 2015 11:38:40 GMT
Combat Rules
As you spend time at Vigrid learning how to make your way and survive within the Network, you will inevitably reach a point where you cannot possibly hope to reason with or talk your way through a tense situation. In these cases, more often than not, a combat encounter will be initiated.
We handle every battle using the freeform method, which means you don't have any sort of numerical stats or mathematics to rely on as a means of gauging or comparing your character's level of power and skill with others. Considering the obvious fantasy elements scattered throughout the game world's setting, it is still expected of all our members to filter these scenarios through the lenses of fairness and realism when possible — what might work in a TV show could translate to words very poorly.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
The only characters you have control over is your own. Similarly, the way they respond to events is entirely exclusive to them, as well.
It should go without saying here, but you cannot take command of another person's creative property, make them take actions, or react in any way that deprives the original owner of their agency over it. This is also true in the case of puppeteering techniques, e.g., mind control, charm effects, pheromones, etc.; unless you are given explicit permission to "bunny" another person's characters, make no assumption that any endeavors to control their minds, possess their bodies, or act against their better interests will work automatically in your favor — one of the dominant themes of Digimon is willpower, and this is our way of attempting to place emphasis on it.
Furthermore, your characters are not exempt from suffering the consequences of poor decisions—they're still children, after all—they can, and should, make mistakes; otherwise there would be no point in learning at all. No one is perfect: a character cannot successfully avoid or endure every single attack thrown in their direction, nor can they strike their mark each and every time without fail. Apply common sense when participating in a fight, ask yourself some questions about the situation you are writing for.
Most importantly, we encourage you to collaborate with your writing partners! Combat on this site is purely window dressing here, not the meat and potatoes of your roleplaying experience; we want our players to talk things out and form stories that will be remembered. If you're playing solely to be acknowledged for your ability to verbalize your character's masterful fighting technique, that's okay, but allow people the opportunity to enjoy your character, not simply do battle with them.
DOWNLOADING DATA
Introduced as a concept in Digimon Tamers, when a Digimon is deleted by another, the victor will have an opportunity to download their fragmented code into themselves, gaining additional power in the process.
Students at Vigrid are forbidden to do this against other Digimon, as it is disruptive to the Network's natural processes and has been proven to become increasingly detrimental to the mental state of Digimon that frequently absorb power in this manner. Instead, a variety of training simulations and programs are available for students and their partners which all aim to ease the development process in a safe, controlled manner.
As it is considered an act of cruelty, students who are caught intentionally downloading another Digimon's data will have their Digivices revoked and both they and their partners will be expelled from the Academy—however, to ensure that any child is not simply displaced and unable to return to the Real World as a result of expulsion, they will instead be offered a choice: either be willingly sent back to where they came from, without their partners; or voluntarily cut all ties with the Real World in order to figure out their future as a new resident of the Network.
Note! In the event a student's Digimon is deleted and their data has been absorbed by another student's Digimon, both students will be expelled and sent back to the Real World without their Digivices, without their partners, and without discussion. Within the Real World of our forum's setting, there is no such thing as Digimon, so attempting to convince people otherwise will prove nigh impossible.
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
As the name implies, a random encounter is an event that occurs beyond the influence or control of player characters. These can happen at any time, in any thread (including closed ones!) and are guided exclusively by our staff. Should you happen upon a random encounter, it could be anything, from a generous Cutemon that doles out free goodies to a pack of starving Dobermon looking for a chance to ruin your day.
DEATH AND REBIRTH
When a Digimon dies, provided they are not willfully absorbed by another Digimon, their core data reintegrates itself with the Network to be analyzed, compiled, scrubbed, and then reformatted as a Digi-Egg at a data nexus; in the case of our setting, that nexus is the Binary Nursery at Skuld Terminal.
Depending on the quality of their previous life cycle, they may come back as part of the same species line, or they may reincarnate as a completely different Digimon—this happens more often than not, and is typical of life within the Network.
Sapient programs that are neither human nor Digimon also undergo the same reintegration process, and like them, may also come back somewhat different than they were before.
A human being is the only creature capable of achieving permanent death, which places an increased priority on ensuring that students who attend Vigrid learn how to maximize their chances of survival in a way that best suits their talents and potential—once a human dies, they're gone for good.
Characters can only be killed if the owner gives you explicit permission to do so; although it is very much a thing that can and does occur, please, do not force death upon someone if they are uncomfortable with the idea of it. It's a collaborative story; unless everyone is on board with it, don't push the issue, and there won't be one.
Students whose Digimon are deleted may continue roleplaying if their partners were not absorbed and are still allowed to attend classes at Vigrid, but they must undergo a special trial devised by the caretakers at Binary Nursery to determine whether their partner has been reprogrammed back into the Server if they truly wish to continue walking the path of a DigiDestined.
If your characters should happen to die and you have threads that are unfinished, you are permitted to wrap them up however you like, however you can no longer continue roleplaying with that character and must create a new one to replace them. They cannot inherit the previous character's post count, but they are allowed to salvage half of their funds for the new character to use, if you so desire to.
