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| Combat
Below is our guide to judged combat on Folklore. Judging is largely objective and takes inspiration from the classic game of "rock-paper-scissors". Though there are many reasons for fighting another character, it is important to know that we do not permit death matches. Judged combat is typically a 1v1 or 2v1 affair. For large group warfare, there are wars.
Skills
Each wolf has three skills that articulate the most prominent, physical strengths of that character (you will have chosen these when you joined the site). Each skill gives a wolf an advantage in one area of combat, while simultaneously giving the wolf a weakness in another area of combat. While your character may be proficient in other areas, only the skills listed will be factored into judging.
There are 10 skills, all of which are color coded. Each skill is part of what we call a "Fatal Pair". A Fatal Pair includes one skill and its weakness. Every skill is weak to another skill. If it helps, consider judged fighting as one large game of rock-paper-scissors. Rock beats scissors but it always loses to paper. Every skill functions similarly. You can refer to the table below to determine a skill's weakness, but you can also consider the color wheel. Red beats orange, orange beats yellow, etc.
Skills are arranged into five main archetypes: Knight, Guardian, Vanguard, Tactician, and Marauder. These archetypes do not affect how you select skills. Their purpose is to help users meet certain requirements for raids. Raids with more balanced parties (i.e. more representation across multiple archetypes) will often fair better.
Please remember that being skilled in an area, such as strength, does not necessarily mean that your character will always be the strongest; being skilled in endurance does not necessarily mean that your character will always have the most stamina. Skills are factored into judging, but they are not the end all, be all of fights. Skills should never encourage you to godmod or powerplay your characters as all-powerful or unstoppable in certain areas of combat.
| Knight |
| Knights are known for their strength and dedication. The most offensive class, knights specialize in dealing the most damage. |
| Skill |
Description |
Weakness |
 Strength (STR) |
A character’s ability to put force behind their attacks. They can hold down a struggling opponent with more ease and free themselves from being pinned. Their attacks are often more painful and their holds more difficult to break. |
Tolerance |
 Tolerance (TOL) |
The ability to fight through pain. Characters with a high pain tolerance are less shaken by painful wounds. |
Endurance |
| Guardian |
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Guardians are known for protecting both themselves and others. The most defensive class, guardians specialize in enduring damage.
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| Skill |
Description |
Weakness |
 Sturdiness (STS) |
The solidity of a character’s defenses. Sturdy characters plant their paws and are more difficult to throw and injure. Their weakest areas are well defended. |
Accuracy |
 Endurance (END) |
Champions of endurance can last for hours upon the battlefield. Strain does not hinder their attacks half as much as it might others. These characters power through exhaustion. |
Stealth |
| Vanguard |
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Those in the vanguard are known for evading damage by use of agility and speed. The most flexible class, those in the vanguard specialize in parrying and dodging.
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| Skill |
Description |
Weakness |
 Speed (SPD) |
Swiftness of attacks landed and dodges made. A character’s ability to land a variety of attacks in a manner that is difficult to judge and follow. |
Dexterity |
 Agility (AGL) |
A character’s ability to dodge, evade, feint, and parry. Agile characters rely on balancing their weight in order to avoid injury. |
Intuition |
| Tactician |
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Tacticians are known for following the pace of a battle expertly. The most intelligent class, tacticians specialize in outsmarting their opponents.
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| Skill |
Description |
Weakness |
 Intuition (INT) |
Knowledge of the manner in which battle flows, the ability to judge the slightest flinch of a muscle and anticipate an attack before it comes. |
Speed |
 Accuracy (ACC) |
Ability to land attacks wherever the assailant so chooses. These characters are more capable of biting around the jugular and kicking at the soft underbelly of less versatile foes. |
Agility |
| Marauder |
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Marauders are known for moving from place to place stealthily whilst following little of the rule of law. The sneakiest class, marauders specialize in trapping their opponents.
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| Skill |
Description |
Weakness |
 Dexterity (DEX) |
Deftness of movement. Dexterous attacks require more skill and technique. These are calculated movements, ones that are planned and premeditated. |
Strength |
 Stealth (STL) |
The ability to remain concealed, to fade into the shadows, and to operate with sleight of hand. Opponents may not see attacks coming due to diversions. |
Sturdiness |
Judged Fights
Fights may be any flavor of dominance, spar, or test of strength. Unique judged fights are: rank challenges and trespasser vs pack wolf. The only formalism for a judged fight is posting the fighting form at the end of each post and requesting a judging once the fight has concluded. The fight must have at least 3 rounds. The form is:
Attacks:
Defenses:
Wounds:
Experience: (please link to past judged fights)
Please note that in order for an attack or defense to count, you must have written it into your post.
Points are awarded for a variety of factors (having stronger skills, being in a pack, fighting wolves outside of the adult age category, winning luck rounds) and points are deducted for power play and lack of realism. As a rule of thumb, wolves should only attack each assailant once as more attacks will often be seen as unrealistic or unlikely.
| Rank Challenges |
| Only wolves in the pack in question may challenge for a rank. There is a default time of 3 days to post to a round in a rank challenge, and the incumbent must greet the challenge within a week of it being posted. Of course, the challenger must tag appropriately (discord & site) and the incumbent should not be on a leave of absence. Should the challenger win, existing pack members are free to leave the pack if they disagree with the new leadership. |
| Trespassing |
| When loners trespass on pack lands, pack wolves can appear and instigate fights. Should the fight be judged and the pack wolf win, the loner will be held accountable for their actions. A dice roll will determine the loner's consequences.
1 - No imprisonment, Light damage
2 - 7 - Permanent Scarring or Imprisonment
8 - 10 - Permanent Crippling of some kind or Imprisonment
If your wolf is taken hostage, a roll is performed every season to see if they get a chance to escape. There is a 50/50 chance of escape/rescue. |
Defenses & Attacks
In combat, users will be judged on the realism of their defenses and their attacks. Lack of realism (such as using one's nails as claws like a feline) will often result in point deductions. Be sure to familiarize yourself with realistic methods of wolf combat.
| Defenses |
| Lowering the body closer to the ground. This protects the underbelly and also readies the wolf to spring forward or dodge.
Widening the stance. Largely the same as above, with the benefit of lowering the center of gravity and making them harder to knock over.
Narrowing the eyes. This protects the eye from damage.
Lowering the head. This protects the throat.
Pinning the ears. This protects them from being ripped off in the middle of the fight.
Tucking the tail. While also a signal of submission, a wolf might tuck their tail to prevent it from being targeted in the middle of a fight - assuming that they do not need it for balance.
A few notes about defenses! Despite common belief, wolves do NOT raise their hackles as a defensive maneuver. Hackles are utilized for signaling and communication, and are used as an intimidation tactic - NOT to protect from damage. Similarly, wolves do not snarl or wrinkle their lips to protect their muzzle from attacks; snarling is purely a communicative effort. |
| Attacks |
| A large wolf is more likely to utilize their weight and strength to subdue an opponent; a smaller wolf is more likely to use speed and maneuverability. This being said, please keep your character’s personality, Skills, and previous fighting experience in mind when roleplaying a fight with another character.
Common attacks include lunging for and trying to bite/tear at the side of the neck, the underside, and the meaty shoulder joints.Grabbing and trying to break another wolf’s leg is also a fairly common maneuver, as is removal of the tail. Attacks are generally only limited by your imagination! Keep in mind that some attacks may limit the defenses available to your character; they cannot keep their head low/tucked if they are also reaching out to bite into another character’s side.
Generally speaking, battles last a very short period of time; they are often finished as soon as one wolf has asserted their dominance over another. ‘Fatigue’ does not often play a role in determining the winner of a fight, though a wolf will usually give up as soon as it is clear they are outmatched. Even a minor wound could result in a debilitating, life threatening infection out in the wild!
A few notes about attacks! Wolves do not have the same range of motion in their forelegs as felines or humans; they cannot ‘slash’ with their nails like a lion, or ‘slap’ another wolf like a person would! Any damage done with claws is usually incidental; wolves are more likely to use their forelegs to grasp their opponent or use them to leverage into a higher position. |
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