Discussion What Do We Owe Our Writing Partners in PvP?

[Braze]

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.

 

[Jameris]

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?

I try to contribute a swift kick in their tooshy. They get to feel my foot in their tooshy.

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?

Yeah, instead of a swift kick in the tooshy I gave them a double-swift kick in the tooshy.

3. If your opponent produces a reasonable counter that disrupts an important moment you had planned, how do you respond?

Swift kick in the tooshy.

4. What is one assumption you made about an opponent's intentions that later proved incorrect? How did that assumption affect the exchange?

That I could probably not swiftly kick them in the tooshy. My foot ended lodged in their tooshy.

5. How do you portray a competent character while still leaving meaningful openings for your opponent?

If they ever turn their back on me, definite kick in the tooshy time.

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?

They kicked me in the tooshy and I WAS "AYE, I KICK TOOSHYS" and kicked them back in the tooshy.

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?

That they probably chopped their own arm off and I'll kick them in the tooshy.

8. What does respectful OOC disagreement look like in practice? Can you provide an example of how you would phrase your concerns?

You let 'em know that you've got an accurate kick to the tooshy.

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?

THEY ARE OUT MY CANON. tooshy kick

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?

WHAT UNSUCCESFUL ATTACK?! backflip crescent moon tooshy kick

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?

I'M NOT GONNA BE IN YOUR CANON ANYWAYS! GWAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

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?

YOU'RE NOT IN MY CANON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

13. Can you describe a time an injury or defeat created character development you had not originally planned? What made the experience worthwhile?

HE MADE IT INTO MY CANON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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?

REALITY SPLIT

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?

TELL THE ADMINS THAT PERSON COULD NOT POSSIBLY AVOID MY TOOSHY KICK! R U KIDDING ME?

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?

U THINK U CAN BEAT ME?! R U KIDDING? I DONT EVEN NEED MY NEW ME.

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?

ASK THE ADMINS FOR EMERGENCY BAN-HAMMER PERMISSIONS!

18. Your opponent tells you that they are no longer enjoying the exchange. What would you say or do next?

THAT MEANS YOU LOSE, HAHAHAHA.

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?

BY GLOATING IN THEIR FACE

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?

HOW I AM

The goal is to collect practical approaches that other writers can consider when navigating similar situations themselves.

HOW I AM

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

A well thought out, respectful beatdown. No more or less. Stop picking PvP apart and learn how to talk to other people. Write it out. Make mistakes. Learn.

 

[Mellifluous Magenta]

The two replies above me said it best. Just give em’ a nice swift kick in the tooshy and don’t overthink it!

 

[Kitter Bitters]

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?

I can think of two instances where this happened. The first is that I reached out to someone to ask if they wanted to write with me, but they told me my character was stale and hadn't changed in two years. This really hurt my feelings, and I went to bed crying. Eventually, I decided to try and see if I could change anything. I took the feedback and started an improvement plan for my character. I think sometimes we get hurt, but we don't let that hurt turn into opportunities to grow. So I would say that if someone says something that stings, try to step back and see if you can do anything to improve. I think sometimes we get the feels in PVP and we can lose sight of trying to better ourselves.

The second is that I was writing with someone who had a lot of tech submissions and asked me to edit a lot. I felt boxed in, and I decided to drop the thread. I'm not sure if that was the best way to handle it. In this instance, I think I should have admitted to the other writer that I was feeling suffocated and didn't know how to move forward. So I think this really shows that if you shut down and don't communicate, you miss out on fun threads.

Not sure if these experiences help, but I think they are good examples of how to handle frustrating situations.

I will answer more soon. There are a lot of these here, so I don't think this is going to be a one-sitting type of answer.

 

[Kitter Bitters]

Your opponent's post leaves an attack too unclear for you to answer confidently. What would you say to them before requesting an edit?

I think in this instance you should message them and just ask them what they meant. I don’t think threads shoukd be full of edits honestly. I think if you just say you are unsure and get some clarity then you can respond now that you understand.

 

[Allyson Locke]

I agree with a swift kick to the tooshie or even an arrow to the knee or shoulder.


Sorry again Her


Or even an arrow to the back of the neck

Sorry Darth Prazutis

 

[Braze]

Jameris
Oh gosh, you certainly committed to the bit. If you're new here, though, welcome to Chaos! I hope you settle in, find some good writing partners, and have fun with us.

A well thought out, respectful beatdown. No more or less. Stop picking PvP apart and learn how to talk to other people. Write it out. Make mistakes. Learn.

Now why didn’t I think of that? Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Not sure if these experiences help, but I think they are good examples of how to handle frustrating situations.

These are exactly the kinds of examples I was hoping people would bring into the discussion. Thank you for taking the time to share both of them. I really appreciate how candid you were, especially because neither situation feels completely one-sided.

This is such an actionable perspective: what happened, how it affected you, and what you might do differently now.

Thank you kindly for being brave enough to talk about it so openly. I'd genuinely love to read more whenever you feel like coming back to the questions. ♡

 

[Ko Vuto]

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?

I can give an account for 12 and 13

A moment like this happened back when Ko was a padawan. It was in his first fight against Warpriest Prime in a ship over Ryloth. By the end of it Ko was subject to a mighty body slam by Dima that could've outright killed the character or left him paralyzed for life. (I know star wars medtech might've fixed him up eventually, but still.) To allow the attack to have some follow through and for Ko taste defeat he used an ability he was recently taught in a previous thread. Soft to Solid. However he was still woefully inexperienced in using the ability in any practical way. So the intensity and inefficiency of turning his entire body a solid as a diamond for just a second caused him to over exert himself and loose consciousness after the attack landed.

After the thread Ko had a broken arm for a bit and lost his lightsaber for a good while afterwards because Dima stole it. Leaving him a fair bit less capable as a jedi until he finally managed to retrieve it.

 

[Braze]

I can give an account for 12 and 13

A moment like this happened back when Ko was a padawan. It was in his first fight against Warpriest Prime in a ship over Ryloth. By the end of it Ko was subject to a mighty body slam by Dima that could've outright killed the character or left him paralyzed for life. (I know star wars medtech might've fixed him up eventually, but still.) To allow the attack to have some follow through and for Ko taste defeat he used an ability he was recently taught in a previous thread. Soft to Solid. However he was still woefully inexperienced in using the ability in any practical way. So the intensity and inefficiency of turning his entire body a solid as a diamond for just a second caused him to over exert himself and loose consciousness after the attack landed.

After the thread Ko had a broken arm for a bit and lost his lightsaber for a good while afterwards because Dima stole it. Leaving him a fair bit less capable as a jedi until he finally managed to retrieve it.

I think that's a really solid example. I think that's actually a great way of handling it. I really appreciate the care you put into explaining not only what you would do, but the reasoning behind it.

I've had the privilege of writing PvP with you before, and I think you're an exceptionally good example of the kind of opponent I enjoy writing against. You give the other writer room to do things, you acknowledge what they're attempting, and you seem much more interested in where the exchange can take both characters than in simply proving yours can 'win' the exchange.

I especially appreciate the sense of trust that creates. I don't feel like I need to guard every sentence or anticipate how something might be interpreted when I'm writing against you; I can actually focus on the scene and the story we're creating together. That's a quality I value tremendously in a writing partner.

So ~ Thank you, both for contributing this perspective here and for practicing a lot of what you're talking about when we actually write together. ♡

 

[Saul Whesai]

20. For me, if it seems like the opponent is forcing me to chase without end and no actual fighting in a fighting thread or making me feel like a seal clubbing then without any real pushback, then I ask to myself whats the point in writing? Why would I do this when I might spend time somewhere else that I will actually enjoy?

AKA: Don't falsely advertise your character for something they don't want to engage in.

 

[Ives]

You've given me enough pretense to share unsolicited turn-based competitive game wisdom. Woe is ye.

Fortunately for you, I like to keep things brief.

Because PvP leans into competitive aspects, the fundamental advice I can give is to always maintain impeccable sportsmanship. Displaying poor sportsmanship is the fastest way to end up as the star of some rant in DMs on discord.

Recognize the competitive aspects, talk with your opponent, and most importantly don't take it too seriously. The most fun you'll have is when you and your opponent find a groove where you're both respectful and just jamming in a creative back and forth. If you get your pride tied up in it, or god forbid your identity (read: ego) it's over, Anakin.

And on the topic of communication, that includes warning the other person about mistakes they might be making and generally talking through strategy. Don't tip your hand, but inform your opponent of potential options and effects so they can make informed decisions, rather than having them find out in the next round that they had missed XYZ equipment you had concealed in ten layers of factory hyperlinks.



I also had a few takes of varying quality on your questions. Have to keep this relevant somehow, huh.

3. If your opponent produces a reasonable counter that disrupts an important moment you had planned, how do you respond?

Roll with the punches. This is what collaborative writing is about, it's improv at the core. We can be authors and have moments planned, but without a readiness to embrace unexpected consequences, it might as well be a script we're following, which takes out a lot of the fun and social aspect.

5. How do you portray a competent character while still leaving meaningful openings for your opponent?

Depends,

for a one off? Take some hits, whatever that means, but don't land on the back-foot unless you genuinely get outplayed.

for a longer storyline over multiple threads? Don't lose, embrace the villain role. Make 'em struggle until they get the desperate win. Works for either Jedi or Sith, funnily enough.

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?

Nine out of ten times I'm probably just keeping it ambiguous myself also because I just want to get a post out, but if we're taking things seriously then point out the ambiguity, explain your interpretation and how you're going to exploit it in your favour, then give them the chance to edit.

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?

Losing whichever of these are genuinely important to your character. Any effect can be made consequential if its consequences are adequately portrayed.

My enemy shot off my blaster's backup power pack? Damn, now I got three shots and nothing in reserve.

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?

Give them a chance to gain an insight into why their attack failed and how they can iterate. Mind you, you can't actually think for them. You can point stuff out and give them a chance to iterate, but they gotta do that themselves.

Not every attack needs to be acknowledged. Sometimes an attack just sucks or isn't well thought-through.

13. Can you describe a time an injury or defeat created character development you had not originally planned? What made the experience worthwhile?

As with my first answer, these unexpected moments lend themselves beautifully to improv. They're wonderful explorative writing exercises and they often force you to give a character actual depth. Winning is fun, but it's failure that defines character growth, and that's ultimately what your typical character plot is about.

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?

Roll a die. Or flip a coin, whichever you trust more.

18. Your opponent tells you that they are no longer enjoying the exchange. What would you say or do next?

Do some work-shopping. Ask open-ended question and empathize with their situation, see if we can figure out where it went wrong and the best way to adjust to make it fun for both.

 

[Matt the Radar Tech]

I boil it down to: Don't be a power gamer - give hits and take hits.

Also don't try to box your opponent in (like what happened with KB above). It sucks when every move a character makes has a lethal solution. Fighting should be messy and sometimes not bringing a small armory of factory approved items can be the way for all to enjoy.

Finally, just collaborate. Not every detail, but broad strokes. It helps and keeps things clean for all involved.

I remember a character of mine (Sith Lord + apprentice) appeared in an invasion thread, isolated in a jungle on a BYOO, to pick plants for experimentation. The first opponent who attacked zeroed in on my char, arrived at his location, fired a Force tamper-proof proximity sensor missile capable of destroying tanks from concealment, and wrote the encounter as though it was one and done.

I tried to play fairly and keep within the spirit of the factory item, and used TK to raise a huge growth of ground between the missile and my char. It wasn't perfect, but I put some thought into it, rather than just 'lol, dodge' or trying to dismiss the proximity aspect.

I then had to listen to an argument about how that wouldn't work, etc, etc, etc.

Later, more characters appeared (to this secluded location), and it became a 3v1 with other smaller engagements for my apprentice at the time. It was just a cluster of attacks and Force powers thrown at us without end, and we (myself and apprentice) just retreated because we got fed up with having to defend every action we took, being expected to accept god-level attacks, and not given any back-and-forth on equal attack exchange.

It really soured PvP for me, for a long time.

So, now, I talk to an opponent in DM and roughly outline an outcome we're both happy with - without bogging it down in specifics, just a overall aim to achieve. Generally I ask if someone has a goal or narrative pursuit, we share them, and try to thread the needle. A lot of the time I give way to the other person and take the beating. My Sith didn't win a single fight. But that was fine, because it was collaborative.

The best fight I've had in PvP since then was against Tegan Starfall (with Jand). That was one instance where both our goals aligned and Jand landed a win, but took a brutal beating for it. I didn't mind, I've had my character's butts kicked a lot.

But it was fun, we discussed, and it flowed smoothly.

 

[Koda Fett]

5. How do you portray a competent character while still leaving meaningful openings for your opponent?

Stick to your guns with your character. You know them and what they're capable of, although do so within reason and allow for fair play. If it could happen, roll with it and take the hit. Though at the same time, don't be afraid to not take the hit that doesn't seem to make sense. On the other hand, take some time to get to know the character of your writing partner as well and become more familiar with their capabilities as well. I'm not always the best at this, though I would like to be.

 

[Tegan Starfall]

I have had many great pvp experiences over my long time rp star wars. Sometimes there is a story and sometimes it's just a senseless fight because sometimes people just go crazy.

I don't think there is a pure set of codes or conduct for pvp in general that can work for everyone. I have done pvp with communication, and I have been in old school pvp fights where if you were talking to opponent it could be bannable (Back in the dark ages where infiltration rules were in place).

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?

I have clear set of rules I impose on myself with pvp.

1. My job is to make my opponent look good. What this means to me is that it isn't about one upping them at every turn. Its about realizing they have a story they want to tell just like me. If I make them look good they will do the same for me. There is a trust to it and I will be honest that trust isn't always mutual but I try anyway.

2. If we are planning together we try to weave our goals together. There has to be compromise, so you don't always get everything you want. You have to be willing to sacrifice things to get at least some of what you do want.

3. I remember my characters have weakness. Tegan for example is OP as hell because I have been writing her since 2003 on the various star wars boards over the years. She has been master three or four times now, had clones that got master or high ranks in the force that she killed and consumed their power. Yet I let her get defeated, I show that she can be beat. She can be the final boss but she can be beat. With her for example I often let her arrogance get the better of her. She also has some other weakness that if you hit those buttons, she can be defeated.

4. I am a firm believer and always have been as writer that even the apprentice can be the master because it isn't about power it's about how you use the abilities your character knows. I reward creativity heavily in a pvp fight. If the other writer does something I couldn't have imagined or just something I find cool I give them a IC prize by taking the hit or even dying in certain occasions.

I have other firm rules when I rp you are always guaranteed a hit on my character by the third post of the fight starting. Sometimes it's before but the third hit for sure I am taking. I do this because early in my rp writing I saw to many people not take hits and counter everything, I told myself I wouldn't be like that. So I set up my system of by third post I take a hit. Now don't go reading through my post s and say I don't do it every time (lol), some of my planned out fights it's a bit different because it was discussed when and where certain hits would be taken or not.

I am also often willing to take a loss, I have a few reasons for this. One as a writer I do love a good story of the good guy triumphing over evil and I play primarily the villain or anti-hero. The other reason is often the story is better writing coming back from the loss.

This doesn't mean I don't want a win every once and awhile, you lose to many and people start to dismiss you OOC because they for some reason equate it to you sucking at pvp.

3. If your opponent produces a reasonable counter that disrupts an important moment you had planned, how do you respond?

Plans change, you can't hold to strict of an idea of any fight or story for that matter. I started writing in the dark ages, where you couldn't talk to your opponents really, there was no planning just go. You learned quick you don't always get what you want like the song says.

You just adapt to the change and continue on. It's a mentality you got to get into and it isn't easy but it was the environment I learned to write in so I have always done it. Again if it's a creative counter I will often times reward it.

5. How do you portray a competent character while still leaving meaningful openings for your opponent?

Depends on the character so it's hard to pinpoint an exact way to do this. I have Tegan who has no fear, can break worlds, and has become a planet but the very fact she has done and can do those things is her down fall her arrogance defeats her every time. She can break you but because she knows she can she chooses to play with you, mess with you instead because it's more fun for her that way. It is that hubris that she could crush you but chooses to mock you or play little games that gives the opponent an opening. A great wya to do this use displays of your greater abilities and powers but not necessarily on your opponent but on things around them to show you could do that to them if you wanted. Basically get cocky in your characters thinking, that they can defeat their opponent with both hands tied behind there back.

Have other characters like Blade he is just out looking for a good fight and a good opponent. He barely uses anything beyond force speed and telekinetics even though he can. Not because he thinks he can beat you with out them but more because the fight is about who is the better fighter. He mocks and taunts his opponents. He just has always exuded this energy that made people want to both punch him the face and say damn he is cool. It is hard to explain and I have written him the longest of all my characters. He just kind of has this let's fight and find out who is really the stronger one. That is another way to do it write it like just show a confidence in your character that doesn't say I am super powerful but lets find out who is more powerful. Some Mandalorian writers I have seen do this really well they will just be like okay you can blow up chit with your mind but let's test metal find out who is truly stronger.

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?

For me I can usually tell by the method someone writes. Some writing styles just don't mesh well. This where choices don't always tend suit ones preferences. An example for me is in one thread I was in someone called my character out for pvp, to me that is usually a versus scenario maybe a few canon fodder npc as a distraction but not much more. But int his one thread this opponent brought an army, and made me fight through them as his main character went off pushed his faction closer to their goal. He clearly wanted war posting not pvp but didn't realize there was a difference as they were a fairly new rper. So I pmed them and said hey this isn't working out we have wires crossed here, and we both agreed to part ways no hard feelings.

There is also a more narrative driven story vs a must win story. This can be annoying but it doesn't necessarily mean one side is bad guy in the scenario or that it is unfair. They just don't always mesh well. An example is one writer just wants to win a scenario and the other wants to make a story out of it win or lose. In this case the story driven writer is often left feeling empty through the fight because it doesn't appeal to them creatively when the other writer just wants the win so doesn't do a good response to the higher emotional points of the story the other wants to write.

An unfair writing practice is forcing someone into a scenario where they have no outs. People have accused me personally of this, even gotten down right mad at me. Sometimes it happens by accident though, and one writer doesn't realize they have written there their opponent into untenable situation. Sometimes one writer writes themselves into the situation then blame sit on their opponent. It's hard to tell if it was a forced situation or accidental. Best practice here is to take a breather for a moment go back and reread what you have wrote or your opponent has wrote. You may find they have left you an out you just didn't see it at first or even second reading. For me I have even been willing to point out the out, or many outs where people think I have written them into a wall.

Example for me, would be the the EE invasion of Byss, where I brought a bomb tothe center of the city, my story was simple establish my character as a villian who didn't care about life (I succeeded) it wasn't even about the bomb that was just a hook. I had opposition but I managed to get the bomb to the cente rof the city and start the timer on it.

Now had I made this bomb indestrutible, or there was no way to get to it or some how hid the bomb makign it inescapable that would have been unfair. But I didn't I left it open. It can be a thin line, and sometimes you can accidental end up at a wall anyway you just got to take a moment access it before getting angery about it.

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?

First thing both parties should be open to editting with in reason no matter what because everyone makes mistakes or misses things. I am personally always open to edittign a post so long as it isn't ridiculous.

First I ask if they can clarify cause sometimes it's jsut the way someone words something. Liek there style of writting and I may just not get it, or it isn't clickig in my brain pan. Ussually the majorit yof times that clears things up.

Requesting edit is more for mistakes or noticing they missed something in there post. Or asking if they can change something cause it just doesn't jive well with something in the moment. I have editted so much stuff in my years just to make the story flow better or because I accidentally messed up the story wit something I did (comes with writting a chaotic evil character). Ussually as long as you explain your reasoning for an edit most people have no issue with it.

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?

I have only ever encountered this scenario once where someone has been unwilling to edit something. Most of my run ins with askign people edit is met well if I explain it well, a few have been people willign to change aspects of something to at least make it a little more reasonable so I roll with it even if isn't exactly what i wanted.

The one encounter I had was someone did a move that wrote me into a wall, now by wall I don't mean it didn't have an escape it did but it wasn't one I could use because of the board rules. It was basically I take a brutal hit or I outright kill another players character. I wasn't willign to take the brutal hit because it was there first attack post on me (we are talking mortal wound here) plus I knew my character well enough tha thtey would go for the killing blow instead of takign the the hit that could possibly kill them. I explained it to them, a few times what I would do. They jsut kind of shrugged, because they knew I coudln't witht he board rules. So in the end I just concedded the fight they got the win (it was a tournament) by forcing me into a no win situation. But sometimes you just got know somethigns just aren't worth the fight and move on.

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?

Cybernetics and scars are cool I would take the permanant injury in most cases. I also who have a few characters who would choose death (because death is an illussion) because writing a death scene is freakign awesome.

So long as it isn't the first post and there is a build to the brutal attack, I am all game to take that hit.

 

[Darth Avida]

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?

Gonna be super honest with you boss, I don't actually try to advance my character's goals in pvp. In fact I very often try to do the opposite, or, if I am being super honest, whatever feels like it will be the most interesting to explore and (if possible) to look back at/recall. My opposition benefits from writing with me because I care about making things interesting for both of us, not actually winning the fight - even when the fight is the thing we're both looking forwards to and we just want to write an action flick. I'll hype up the other character, give them their aura moments, and whatever else according to whatever whims I have in the moment I am typing my post. Usually if I know who I will be getting into a pvp scenario with before it happens I'll see if there's anything the other writer(s) want to get out of the fight so I can try and orchestrate things so they can get as much of it as I am capable of giving them in a way that I still get some cool moments and character development out of it.

5. How do you portray a competent character while still leaving meaningful openings for your opponent?

For some of my characters there's hubris, so they make mistakes because of ego and assumptions (none of the ones I've written in the last 5 years, though); for most of my characters, however, I give them a little bit of a personality trait wherein they subconsciously hold back more the weaker/less capable their opponent is (if they are like really powerful) or when I come up with the character I come up with a weakness that'll be my go-to tension builder that leaves room for an enemy of whatever competency/strength/whatever to exploit and leave my character vulnerable.

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?

If the post is unclear I just ask for clarification, I don't ask for any edits whatsoever unless the attack breaks the spirit of the rules (as opposed to the letter of the law/rules; so an example would be spawning into a thread and blowing up a bomb in the same post with no reasonable way to react as a way to try to push someone to take a hit vs literally writing what happens to another person's character) or fundamentally misunderstands something about the situation (i.e; if they misread something or assumed something that wasn't actually the case and it became an integral part of their post). I don't think there's actually any situation I've been in since ~2015 that I've asked for an edit that wasn't under those circumstances. I've been asked for edits of clarity, though, which I don't mind doing at all, but I like letting people leave their posts as-is and just get info in a DM if I am confused.

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?

I think my answer above also answers this, insofar what I consider what I personally would consider a problem that requires an edit. I think it's totally valid for people who want posts to be as clear as possible to ask for an edit for clarity, but I don't feel the need to have someone change their post unless there's an irreconcilable issue with the post itself.

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?

Writing in this setting is cooperative and quite literally nothing you individually do will determine how the scene continues if you aren't able to agree with your opponent, so I would "continue" by having my character retreat in order to exit the scene. I've actually had to do this before, as someone wanted to kill my character and I was willing to suffer an injury/lose a limb/etc but it was all or nothing, so I, as respectfully as I could, had something motivate my character to get out of the situation and exited the thread. It sometimes sucks, and sometimes there's no hurt feelings, but if both parties can't come to an agreeable way to proceed then there's not really a point in continuing the interaction anymore.

13. Can you describe a time an injury or defeat created character development you had not originally planned? What made the experience worthwhile?

I was writing my first character on the site and was dueling a Jedi where we were in the heat of battle, and I'd never consider someone might try to blow up my lightsaber with the force in the middle of a fight before that point - so I ended up losing that character's arm and eyesight, along with quite a few IRL months of being confined to a wheelchair in subsequent threads. Right through the OG netherworld site event. My character got humbled and had to relearn to see through the force, had to realize that they weren't always one step ahead of people, and it changed that character's relationships with several other characters.

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?

A bit of everything, I think, depending on what exactly the misunderstanding was. If a hit was called I'd explain how that isn't acceptable and ask them to leave it open ended so I can decide what happens to my own character (and ergo an edit) but for the most part I'd try to incorporate whatever it was into the scene as best as possible in a way that respects their post and only have them change anything that was outright unacceptable to do. I've had this happen a few times, to be honest, and sometimes I can be creative enough to still have their misunderstanding work out so that they don't have to really do anything and my response doubles as information on my equipment so that they figure out that they misunderstood it while still having the scene play out as written with a bit of a twist.

18. Your opponent tells you that they are no longer enjoying the exchange. What would you say or do next?

I usually take this (not that I'd usually say this) as a failure on my part and apologize and ask if there was anything I could do to fix that, otherwise I'd try to give as satisfying as a wrap up as possible if they'd rather not continue. Writing shouldn't be a chore so if they don't want to continue I'm not going to ask them to just for me, but if there's anything I can do to change things up and make it interesting for them I'll do so.

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 way I'm reading this is along the lines of how would I reference a past issue without embarassing/calling out another writer while still using it as a lesson for someone unrelated, and I've done it a few times already in the answers above - you write out what happened like you would write an outline. Explain what happened without any specifics and with as little detail as possible except what is necessary to get the point across, and even with those details you leave it as vague as possible.