Sʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ Lᴏʀᴅ
PvP in Practice: What Would You Actually Do?
This is a follow-up to the recent discussion about telling better stories through PvP. That conversation presented a wide range of preferences and approaches. Rather than trying to combine them into a single standard, I would like to look more closely at how different writers handle specific situations, particularly when they disagree, misunderstand one another, or want incompatible things from a scene.
The questions below are open prompts rather than assertions about how PvP must be written. Please choose whichever ones interest you. Examples may come from personal experience or remain entirely hypothetical. I am particularly interested in practical choices: what you would say, what you might change, where you would compromise, and what you would do if an agreement could not be reached.
When communication forms part of an answer, an example of what that communication might look like would be especially useful. Please keep negative examples focused on behaviors and situations rather than recognizable writers or past disputes.
1. What do you personally try to contribute through PvP beyond advancing your own character's goals? How does your opposition benefit from writing with you?
2. Can you describe a time an opponent's OOC concerns caused you to change what you intended to write? What changed, and how did it affect the story or either writer's experience?
3. If your opponent produces a reasonable counter that disrupts an important moment you had planned, how do you respond?
4. What is one assumption you made about an opponent's intentions that later proved incorrect? How did that assumption affect the exchange?
5. How do you portray a competent character while still leaving meaningful openings for your opponent?
6. How do you distinguish an unfair writing practice from a reasonable choice that simply does not suit your preferences? Can you give a hypothetical example of each?
7. Your opponent's post leaves an attack too unclear for you to answer confidently. What would you say to them before requesting an edit?
8. What does respectful OOC disagreement look like in practice? Can you provide an example of how you would phrase your concerns?
9. Which problems genuinely require an edit, and which can be resolved through clarification or the next reply? What should happen if one writer requests an edit and the other believes their original action was reasonable?
10. Your opponent avoids several direct attacks but loses ground, exhausts resources, and ultimately fails their objective. Are they no-selling? Why or why not? Which nonphysical consequences can make an unsuccessful attack matter: lost position, damaged equipment, fatigue, an interrupted objective, retreat, or something else?
11. If your equipment completely negates an opponent's attack, how can you acknowledge their action without pretending it caused damage or making their effort feel wasted?
12. A potentially fatal attack reaches your character, but you do not want death or permanent injury. How would you preserve the significance of the attack while respecting your boundaries?
13. Can you describe a time an injury or defeat created character development you had not originally planned? What made the experience worthwhile?
14. Both writers want incompatible outcomes, and neither believes yielding would serve their character or the story. What would you do to determine how the scene continues?
15. If both writers believe the other caused the problem, what would accountability look like? How could they identify what went wrong without requiring either person to accept all of the blame?
16. How should someone approach an opponent who appears more interested in winning than collaborating? What observable behavior would lead you to that conclusion, and how would you address it without presuming their motives?
17. A newer writer misunderstands your character's equipment or an established PvP convention. Would you request an edit, explain the issue OOC, absorb the mistake, or incorporate it into the scene? What would determine your choice?
18. Your opponent tells you that they are no longer enjoying the exchange. What would you say or do next?
19. What is the earliest sign that collaboration is beginning to break down? How can a writer recognize that their own behavior may be contributing to it?
20. If you want to discuss a negative PvP experience publicly, how can you turn it into useful advice without making the other writer recognizable or using the discussion to ridicule them?
The goal is to collect practical approaches that other writers can consider when navigating similar situations themselves.
This is a follow-up to the recent discussion about telling better stories through PvP. That conversation presented a wide range of preferences and approaches. Rather than trying to combine them into a single standard, I would like to look more closely at how different writers handle specific situations, particularly when they disagree, misunderstand one another, or want incompatible things from a scene.
The questions below are open prompts rather than assertions about how PvP must be written. Please choose whichever ones interest you. Examples may come from personal experience or remain entirely hypothetical. I am particularly interested in practical choices: what you would say, what you might change, where you would compromise, and what you would do if an agreement could not be reached.
When communication forms part of an answer, an example of what that communication might look like would be especially useful. Please keep negative examples focused on behaviors and situations rather than recognizable writers or past disputes.
1. What do you personally try to contribute through PvP beyond advancing your own character's goals? How does your opposition benefit from writing with you?
2. Can you describe a time an opponent's OOC concerns caused you to change what you intended to write? What changed, and how did it affect the story or either writer's experience?
3. If your opponent produces a reasonable counter that disrupts an important moment you had planned, how do you respond?
4. What is one assumption you made about an opponent's intentions that later proved incorrect? How did that assumption affect the exchange?
5. How do you portray a competent character while still leaving meaningful openings for your opponent?
6. How do you distinguish an unfair writing practice from a reasonable choice that simply does not suit your preferences? Can you give a hypothetical example of each?
7. Your opponent's post leaves an attack too unclear for you to answer confidently. What would you say to them before requesting an edit?
8. What does respectful OOC disagreement look like in practice? Can you provide an example of how you would phrase your concerns?
9. Which problems genuinely require an edit, and which can be resolved through clarification or the next reply? What should happen if one writer requests an edit and the other believes their original action was reasonable?
10. Your opponent avoids several direct attacks but loses ground, exhausts resources, and ultimately fails their objective. Are they no-selling? Why or why not? Which nonphysical consequences can make an unsuccessful attack matter: lost position, damaged equipment, fatigue, an interrupted objective, retreat, or something else?
11. If your equipment completely negates an opponent's attack, how can you acknowledge their action without pretending it caused damage or making their effort feel wasted?
12. A potentially fatal attack reaches your character, but you do not want death or permanent injury. How would you preserve the significance of the attack while respecting your boundaries?
13. Can you describe a time an injury or defeat created character development you had not originally planned? What made the experience worthwhile?
14. Both writers want incompatible outcomes, and neither believes yielding would serve their character or the story. What would you do to determine how the scene continues?
15. If both writers believe the other caused the problem, what would accountability look like? How could they identify what went wrong without requiring either person to accept all of the blame?
16. How should someone approach an opponent who appears more interested in winning than collaborating? What observable behavior would lead you to that conclusion, and how would you address it without presuming their motives?
17. A newer writer misunderstands your character's equipment or an established PvP convention. Would you request an edit, explain the issue OOC, absorb the mistake, or incorporate it into the scene? What would determine your choice?
18. Your opponent tells you that they are no longer enjoying the exchange. What would you say or do next?
19. What is the earliest sign that collaboration is beginning to break down? How can a writer recognize that their own behavior may be contributing to it?
20. If you want to discuss a negative PvP experience publicly, how can you turn it into useful advice without making the other writer recognizable or using the discussion to ridicule them?
The goal is to collect practical approaches that other writers can consider when navigating similar situations themselves.
