Brawling skill
The brawling skill encompasses the use of a character's body and improvised or brawling-specific weapons to fight. This can mean anything from bashing someone over the head with a rock, wrestling an opponent to the ground, or kicking them in the head.
Brawling is commonly trained as an auxiliary weapon skill, with many players throwing the occasional KICK or CIRCLE command into their weapon training routines. While of dubious effectiveness at first, brawling attacks have the potential to become an extremely valuable set of combat options. Some characters forego weapon training entirely and focus on brawling as a primary method of fighting.
Notably, many brawling maneuvers will not cause empathic shock, and the skill is favored by empaths for this reason.
Brawling Maneuvers
Standard
Mostly executed at melee, most brawling commands are done outside of grapple mode. They are as follows:
- Bob: Attempt to evade incoming attacks by making yourself a smaller target.
- Chop: Execute a "Karate Chop" with the edge of a free hand.
- Circle: Circle the enemy, attempting to move into better position.
- Claw: Rake the enemy with your fingertips (or claws, if you've got them). Requires an empty hand.
- Draw: A weaker punch that devotes some energy to improving your position. Needs an open hand.
- Elbow: Strike the enemy with your elbow, does not require a free hand.
- Feint: A weak attack that can be substituted for a stronger one. Feinting is a defensive maneuver that works in a combo like the move it's imitating. It can also trick an intelligent opponent into thinking you've just left yourself open with, say, a lunge.
- Gouge: Jab at the enemy with the fingertips of a free hand.
- Grapple: Attempt to enter grapple mode, see below.
- Jab: A quick punch made with a free hand that relies on agility rather than brute force.
- Kick: Attack by kicking your foot at the enemy. Can be done with both hands full.
- Lunge: Slam the enemy using your whole body. This move can heavily penalize your balance and position, so use it wisely.
- Punch: A straightforward attack using an empty hand.
- Shove: Attempt to push the enemy away. This can sometimes send them all the way to missile range and knock them over.
- Slam: A heavy attack made with the fists. This will also attack with the pommel of a weapon if there is a weapon in the right hand. If your left hand is empty and you wish to use the empty fist, use SLAM LEFT.
- Slap: An open-handed attack with the palm. Dreadfully embarrassing.
- Weave: Attempt to throw the enemy off balance with a sudden sidestep.
Grappling
Some maneuvers can only be executed while grappling. Others can be used at either range. It is interesting to note that while grappling, some weapons are usable while others are not. A skilled grappler can deny the enemy use of his weapon while still freely using his own. Below is a list of moves that either change dramatically or are only usable while grappling.
- Bite: Bite at the enemy with your teeth.
- Butt: Headbutt the enemy. Always good for a laugh.
- Circle: Circling while grappling attempts to spin your enemy off balance bodily. This can actually knock an opponent off of their feet while maintaining the grapple, giving you a serious advantage.
- Knee: Bring your knee up to hit an opponent.
- Retreat: You attempt to break the grapple by retreating. Relies on reflex and agility.
- Shove: This attempts to break the grapple by pushing the enemy away. Relies on strength and stamina.
Weapons Usable While Grappling
- Light Edged
- Light Blunt
- Quarter Staff
- Short Staff
Brawling Equipment
Brawling With Improvised Weapons
Many foragable items, such as tree branches and rocks, may be used for brawling. While not particularly powerful, these items can be useful in particular situations, such as when playing with fire.
Playing With Fire
If you manage to douse an enemy with naphtha, you can strike them with a burning object and set them on fire! Being engulfed in flames will cause your opponent to suffer vitality damage and numerous wounds over time. If they attempt to extinguish the flames, they will be at your mercy, as the most effective way to put out the fire is for them to LIE on the ground and ROLL. Good items for this are logs and branches, as they tend to hit more effectively than other burnable items.
Armor
Armor adds a minor amount to your damage, apparently based on the armor type and nothing else. The heavier the type of armor, the more damage you will do, with heavy plate doing the most, and cloth doing none. In order to do this extra damage, you must have armor on the body part you are attacking with, such as gauntlets for punching or greaves for kicking.
Brawling Items
A small number of special brawling items are available for purchase around Elanthia. Parry sticks, footwraps, and brass knuckles are all items which can significantly add to your offensive and defensive capabilities while brawling. Similar to armor, these items cover a specific area and converts type of damage done with that body part. Brawling items override any damage boost you'd get from your armor type. You can tell what item, armor or brawl gear, is causing the damage from the combat messaging system. It is recommended to use brawling items with the lighter armors. The heavier armors will have a reduction in damage if brawling items are used, unless you are attacking a critter or a player spell which may be resistant to one type of damage, brawling items lets you better choose what type of damage is inflicted.
Special Attacks:
Certain races receive special attacks based on their anatomy. Some guilds also receive bonuses or special maneuvers.
- Prydaen - Prydaen claws are much stronger than normal and do quite a bit of slice damage. They receive a damage bonus to the claw and gouge commands.
- Rakash - Rakash in moonskin can bite without grappling and do a hefty amount of extra damage.
- S'Kra - S'Kra Mur have sharp fangs, and while they lack the Rakash ability to bite without grappling, they do additional damage while grappling.
- Barbarian - Barbarians can choke enemies while grappling them. Note that you have to specify the enemy in the command, so type >choke goblin, rather than just >choke. The first choke begins strangling the enemy, which will slowly drain its vitality. By choking it a second time, a Barbarian can attempt to inflict an instant death by snapping his foe's neck.
- Paladin - A Paladin's hands are automatically blessed against the undead. (This requires a pristine soul.)
- Warrior Mage - The Mantle of Flame spell causes additional fire damage while brawling, which is reflected in the attack messaging. A grappled opponent will be burned.
Mechanics and Strategy
Stats and Brawling Damage:
Different stats will increase the damage dealt by particular brawling maneuvers. (Ssra)
- Strength & Stamina: PUNCH, SLICE, GOUGE, KICK, ELBOW, KNEE, BUTT, LUNGE, SLAM
- Strength & Agility: SLAP
- Strength & Reflex: BITE
- Agility & Reflex: CLAW, JAB, FEINT
Empaths and Brawling:
Empaths may use some brawling commands (without experiencing Empathic shock). As with other aspects of combat, anything that has the potential to do damage causes shock, even if the action is unsuccessful. The following maneuvers can be used without experiencing shock: bob, circle, grapple, shove, tackle, and weave.
Brawling is an effective way for an Empath to maintain position and balance in combat while training his defenses. A skilled brawler can even shove or grapple an opponent to assist another adventurer in making a kill.
Unresolved Bugs
- The GRAPPLE and TACKLE attacks can fail due to being too much better than your opponent. This appears to be a roll-over bug.
- The non-damaging attacks such as BOB, WEAVE, and CIRCLE never had their effects activated and currently do nothing.