Rings of Honor

- A FreeForm Roleplaying Community  

Every city has its violent elements, but in RhyDin violence is a public pastime. Knights of old, street-fighting brawlers, and wand-wielding mages all find their way to the dueling complex where the best battle it out for supremacy in one of three combat sports: Fists, Swords, or Magic. Some come to settle arguments the old-fashioned way. Some come for the titles and glory. But no matter their purpose, they all come to fight.

What is dueling?

Dueling is the game within a game on Rings of Honor. It is a matrix-based game, a battle of wits, that gives players an out-of-character game for their in-character fights. Typically referred to in-character as sports, duelers use the game to enhance their play, whether their character is trying to be the best boxer at the Outback, the finest fencer at the Arena, or the most cunning mage on Twilight Isle.

What is a matrix-based game?

A matrix-based game is a one-on-one game where both players select one move from an established list, and neither player knows which move the other player has selected until the result is revealed. Each move will defeat some moves and lose out to others, the same way that rock always beats scissors but loses to paper in rock-paper-scissors.

Each of the sports in RhyDin—Fists, Swords, and Magic—has its own list of moves and its own matrix. You can learn how to play each sport by exploring its Game Guide viewable from each of their pages to the left.

How does the game operate?

The Nexus Guide on Discord, also known as the bot, is the referee for all duels. Once you have found an opponent, one of you will send your challenge to the bot using the corresponding command, and the other will accept the challenge. The bot will then announce that the duel has begun.

From that point on, each player selects a move and submits it privately to the bot, utilizing the movelist commands. The bot compares the two moves, and resolves the round based on the fixed outcomes. One set of moves is referred to as a 'round.' A successful move will result in either winning a point, a half-point, or an advantage. The bot then reports the outcome of the round to the chat, including the moves selected by each dueler and points awarded.

To get a full list of the Nexus Guide commands, both dueling and otherwise, take a look at our bot tutorial.

What are the rules?

There really is only one rule in all three sports: you may not repeat any move twice in a row.^1.

The first player to earn five points, with one full point over their opponent, is the winner. If no dueler reaches five points after fifteen rounds, the result may be a tie or a win depending on the sport you are playing.^2.

Scoring differences and slight variations between sports can be learned by exploring the Game Guides.

Also, while this shouldn't really need saying, you may not duel against yourself.

How do you roleplay the game?

You can roleplay dueling the same way you roleplay anything else! Have your character ask for a match in the live chat where dueling is occurring. If you find an opponent, your character can get ready by entering the dueling ring. Descriptions of fighting moves should wait, however, until after each round is called. Here is an example:

That means that in Duel of Swords, both players opened with a Thrust in the first round, resulting in both scoring. The players may now describe their moves:

Description may continue at this point, as much as you like, but no additional contact may be described until the next point. Let’s watch and see how Mr. Clean stacks up against the Jolly Green Giant. We’ll include the selected moves in brackets:

We think you get the idea from here! Description can be as elaborate or simple as you choose.

An important thing to remember: the game, its matrix and its list of moves are out-of-character constructs. That means your character has no knowledge of it—to them a duel is an intense sporting match. It also means that, just because you choose a High Cut, your character’s action isn’t limited to a plain old high cut—it can be much more, and can vary significantly in how it’s played with each time you use it, so be creative!

Now that you know the dueling basics, feel free to jump in! The best way to learn is to try—and our current players stand at the ready to answer any questions you might have and help you as you go!

^1. The move "disengage" is the one exception to this rule, as it can be used as many times in a row as desired in the Duel of Swords
^2. DoM and DoS award a win to the duelist with a full point lead. A closer margin, and always in DoF, will result in a tie.