Claiming/Recruiting is when one character asks another character to follow them. The terms of the claim/recruit are up to the members to agree on.
All characters over the age of 18 may claim/recruit other characters regardless of race, species, or gender. However, both members need to reach an agreement before one character can claim/recruit another.
All characters under the age of 16 are automatically claimed by their parents. During this time a parent may crash any thread (open or private) that their child is in. Children are also considered residents of whatever land their parents live in until they are 16 and can choose for themselves. Other rules may be agreed upon by the said members.
Force-claiming Is only allowed on LOA if both members agree to it (with the exception below). The terms of the claim are up to the members to decide.
The only time force-claiming is allowed without an agreement between members, is when a character is within a claimed land and are considered an enemy of the land, banished, or have otherwise gotten themselves in trouble with the land. If this is the case, the ruler, second in command, or regent may enter the thread (open or not) with another character and take the offending character prisoner.
Any character over the age of 18 may challenge other characters. Battles may be fought anywhere on the site, and may be fought over pretty much anything. Some examples include kidnapping, taking prisoner (all with the other member’s consent of course!), land claims, or even just being looked at wrong.Have fun and be creative!
Characters may not challenge for land until they have the required number of followers for the land they are challenging for, have been active on the site at least 30 days, and have a minimum of 15 posts IC.
Once a character has completed a battle they are immune from all challenges for 2 weeks (unless they choose to hold additional battles with other members).
**This rule does not apply to land leaders or land challenges. They can be challenged for land every 30 days in spite of any other ongoing battles or challenges.
Land leaders may only be challenged for land every 30 days. This period starts AFTER the previous battle is completed, not when it is issued.
New land leaders will have a 30 day cooldown period in which they may not be challenged for land after they have claimed or won it in battle.
While battles can happen at any time and anywhere with or without staff involvement, there are certain rules for judged battles and spars. These battles will count towards your battle totals, and will help gain perks such as immortality.
LOA has five accepted battle types and two staff involved- judgement types for these battles. The battles and rules for them are the following:
Powerplay and god-modding is strictly prohibited in most battle types. However, spars allow some leniency in this rule if the other member consents to very mild-powerplay beforehand.
Members may not edit a battle post without staff’s permission once it has been posted. Do not ask staff to go back and edit grammar or writing issues. Usually permission will only be granted (or staff will do it themselves) if there was an error with the table’s coding or another graphics issue.
Members may not write battle posts for other members. If there is a large change in style between battle posts, members will be asked to provide proof that the writing was theirs.
It is not advised that pregnant characters participate in official battles or spars. Doing so will increase the likelihood of a mutation or even a miscarriage.
Members may agree on battle terms such as attacks, defenses, and time limits. However, if a descision cannot be reached, there will be default rules for both parties to follow.
**Please note that all land battles must follow the default rules
Attacks: Attacks are anything that your character does to hurt or cause their opponent to stumble.
Defenses/Dodges: Dodges and Defenses are anything that your character does to minimize or block an attack.
Not all items may be used in battle. Acceptable items are listed below
Companions may be used in battle. However only one companion may be used per battle. Rules are listed below.
Spars battles that are used as training or practice for characters that are on good terms. Since a spar is not as serious as the other battle types, the rules are more flexible, and injuries are less severe and take less time to heal.
Unlike other battle types, characters do not have to be 18 years of age to spar. However, it is best to remember that younger characters will not have the fighting skills of an adult. Please be realistic!
Results can be determined by dice roll or judgement. If members cannot agree it will default to a judged battle. Judged battles will have 2 - 3 judges.
Dukes are battles where staff involvement is minimal. These battles must have at least 1 attack per post (2 attacks per post is permissible if both members agree), and only 1 full dodge is permitted for the entire battle (unless store items are used). All other hits must take full or partial damage.
Characters will lose the battle either by falling unconscious, by fleeing, or consenting to their loss. These battles should be kept realistic in terms of injury (as should all battles), and characters will only be able to fight up until a certain point.
The winner and loser of these battles will be determined purely by the members roleplaying their character through the situation until one character accepts their loss. Please remember to play fair and be accepting if you lose.
Official Battles take place when two characters are fighting over something. These fights are more serious, and usually have something that is won or lost (or simply a display of anger and bravado).
Results can be determined by dice roll or judgement. If members cannot agree it will default to a judged battle. Judged battles will have 2 - 3 judges.
Judging for official battles will be held to a higher standard than spars. However, they still do not hold as much weight as land battles.
These battles are held to the highest standard and must follow the default battle rules.
The winner of Land Battles may not be determined by a dice roll, these are always judged battles. There will be 3 - 6 judges, with 6 being preferable.
Characters may not challenge for land unless they meet the requirements to challenge for the said land (followers, activity, registration date, etc).
Death Matches follow the same rules as Dukes, HOWEVER, characters must fight until the death. The last one standing wins.
If a character losing a death match decides they don’t want to die, they may use a smoke bomb from the store to ensure their escape. However, this will result in an auto-loss.
If an immortal character participates in a death match, they will be considered “dead” when they lose consciousness.
When battle results are determined by dice roll the winner is left purely up to chance. This can be good for quick spars or when the stakes aren’t as high. Both members must agree to having the battle judged by dice roll for it to occur.
When a dice roll is chosen, a six-sided dice will be rolled twice for each battle post after the thread is complete. The character with the highest score will be declared the winner.
Scored battles on LOA will have the results determined by staff and unbiased volunteers as needed. Each section of the battle will be read and judged based upon several criteria. The character with the highest score will be declared winner.
**Please Note: While there will be an overall judged section, each attack and defense will be briefly scored for fairness and accuracy.
Written Section: The written section of the battle posts will be judged for the following criteria:
Fighting Section (Overall): The fighting section will be judged for the following criteria:
Magic Section (Overall):
Each level of magic used in battle for attacks and defenses will award the said character 1 point per level. A character that uses level three water magic will be awarded three points, and a character that uses level 2 fire magic, and level 3 light magic will be awarded five points.
Individual Fighting Section: Each attack and defense/dodge will be scored individually for accuracy, clarity, and creativity.
After the results from all judges have been tallied, the character with the highest score wins. Land battles will have the strictest critique, while spars will have the most lenient judging.