Advice/Help How to write good action scenes?

[Larry]

I've wondered about this both for a while and I'd like to know your opinions about what gives a fight/action scene a senae of flow.

Should it be on the GM of the roleplay to set the pace and keep it up until it's their turn to write again, even should they happen to overwrite the actions of other roleplayer's characters in order to fit the circumstances of that fight? Should individual roleplayers be allowed to alter the outcome somewhat? How important is sequence when writing a fight scene (i.e., Person A writes, then Person B, then Person C...return again to Person A)?

For those of you who have wrote fight scenes, what would be some good tips to enable compelling action to be written whilst taking account of individual character's action during said fight scene?

I appreciate your support.

 

[Crayons]

I'd say sequence/turn order is definitely important, maybe the most important thing in an action scene. You need to be able to respond to actions taken against your character.

Rules set up in advance - how will fights resolve, who decides outcomes, what level of reality/powers etc. are allowed, are there dice involved.
One reaction/defensive action and one offensive action per post (or per opponent if fighting multiple opponents at once). This lets a balance be kept.
GM must be able to resolve/manage OOC conflict. PvP almost always results in arguments so you need someone to give the final say.
I don't think GMs should ever overwrite a player's action unless it conflicts with the rules and the player won't adjust the post themselves (although a quiet word in a DM is best tbh).

That's just what I have on the practicalities front for the time being. Style, flow and description is a whole other ball game but my brain can't cope with complexities at the moment.

 

[Laix_Lake]

Rules set up in advance - how will fights resolve, who decides outcomes, what level of reality/powers etc. are allowed, are there dice involved.
One reaction/defensive action and one offensive action per post (or per opponent if fighting multiple opponents at once). This lets a balance be kept.
GM must be able to resolve/manage OOC conflict. PvP almost always results in arguments so you need someone to give the final say.
I don't think GMs should ever overwrite a player's action unless it conflicts with the rules and the player won't adjust the post themselves (although a quiet word in a DM is best tbh).

As Crayons has said, discuss with the other guy about how the fight should go down. It's also good to leave your posts at describing your actions rather than outright saying the result. Tends to flow better from post to post. Even if you're not treating this as a full-on collaboration, that sort of communication is the best thing you have to advert such overwhelming arguments. And if you are dealing with dice systems, well that tends to be easier to deal with.

flow and description is a whole other ball game but my brain can't cope with complexities at the moment.

Well, I happen to know of two things that can help serve as a guide for combat. Regarding the actual description of combat itself, I point you towards two sources.

Tutorial - Loco's Combat Guide For Beginners

My specialty as a writer has always been combat. I used to instruct it, started my own combat group, and I developed my own custom rules for competitive combat based on the Tiered system. This is a guide to the basics of combat writing for beginners, and those who don’t place a focus on it...

www.rpnation.com

I'm aware that this guy position on rping at this day and age tends to conflict with some people, but I do find his posts to be useful. Especially the guide that he made when it comes to combat. It is worth looking at.

Skallagrim

Educational entertainment focused mainly on historical arms and armor as well as knives / tools, firearms, bows, and crossbows. I'm not claiming to be an exp...

www.youtube.com

The second source would be Skallagrim's youtube channel, where he talks about historical arms and techniques with a bunch of stuff in between. From making over analyzed reviews on fantasy sword designs to going over the kind of powers and magic that would be the best for a sword fight. One of his more recent videos goes over one eyed sword fighters (Like Deathstroke for example.). Even if I'm not looking for something specific, his videos are still entertaining.

Hope those two links help out with writing about combat itself.

Edit 0/20/2019: i honestly forget to mention one thing. in the end, we are not trying to be obsessively accurate when it comes to role-playing, in the end, we are simply trying to tell a story.

 

[Larry]

Forgive me for not replying earlier, I thought that I had watched the thread and when I saw no notificstions for it, I thought nobody had responded!

So seeing it now, thanks so much for your advice, I'll be sure to take into account the things you've suggested should I ever start a new roleplay or if I happen to be in a current one with combat scenes!

Thanks once again!