Style and Location defenses

[Phoenix8008]

So, overall, it's really how much the judge likes you or your character, to ultimately who wins (unless they deside to follow some plot, perhaps, or some such...)?.

It's not about liking the player or character or plot. We remain impartial to that. It's about which randomly generated move is better in the judges opinion.

Now, where do levels come in? If a novice decided to face an 8th ranked Master (if such a rank existed), would that not be taken into consideration by some rules beyond just what the judge 'feels' is right?.

If a lower tier fighter beats a higher tier fighter, he gets bonus ranks based on how uneven the match was. One extra rank gained for each Tier difference. Also if a judge can't decide between two equal moves, then the higher ranked fighter gets the round, like what just happened in the fight between your character and Rathan's.

Just trying to get a grip on the fact that I really have NO control over the victory by my character, and have to leave it to the wims of another individual.

For the most part, yes. You have little control other than in a strat match where you get to pick the best 3 out of 5 moves in the hand you are dealt. It's luck, some good and some bad. And as long as nobody cheats and fishes for moves, it'll stay mostly balanced and fun.

 

[Mithreander]

I'll try to get over my desire to have 'the most powerful character' and just enjoy the game then.

THanks.

 

[reiella]

Mithreander, it means when judging a match, there are certain things that will give some extra weight to one move over another. For example, in a fight between the following two moves...

1. The snake decimates the wastelands; negates the cut of the flower!

2. The lotus blossom leaps close to the temple; wards off the strike of the reptile!

Thr first move attacks with snake style (first on the list back in the original post in this thread), while the second move is defending against reptiles which includes both snake and lizard styles as seen in the first entry in the original post. So a judge could give some extra weight to the second move since it defended perfectly against the attack, even though the first attack is much more aggressive and powerful sounding. It's pretty rare to even get a match up like that, so some judges give it lots of weight due to it's rarity of happening.

The implication is slightly inaccurate.

In general, the defense modes are simply a set of META/engine level concerns that arose in part due to an rather 'unfair' split between in defense modifiers with certain locations/styles.

The application of these as guidelines is a good idea, but it wasn't stickied (or appended to the rules document) as this was mostly a meta-concern, instead of an attempt to create hard rules for the judges to follow.

At least in YB2.