There are three basic forms of Role-Play adopted by the Gaia Battle Arena. Of course these are not the only kinds, and any system which is agreeable to the players can be used, as long as it's stated in the original post, how the thread will be run.

For determining success of attacks, we use a Dice Roll of a 20-sided die for each attack. This system will prevent God-modding by ensuring a chance of failure in any attack. How this is performed varies between Long-Form Role-Playing and Short-Forum quick-combat role-play.

If you wish to weave an extensive story into each of your posts, then use the Long-form style. All threads should be marked in the Title with [LF] if using this style.

If you wish to fight with quick one-liner descriptions of your attacks, then use the Short-form style. All threads should be marked in the Title with [SF] if using this style.

If you wish to dispense of the dice rolling and weave your stories with sheer wit of words alone, then mark your Title with [FF] for Freeform.

Standard Role-Playing Battle System: Long-Form Role-play

The attacker will roll two 20-sided dice when submitting his post. The first one will be for his attack, and the second will be for his opponent's defense. If he rolls a 20 on the first die it will be considered a critical blow, and will cause twice the expected damage expected from the attack. If the roll from the second die is HIGHER then (not equal to) the first roll, then his attack has failed. How it has failed will be determined by the next post, whether the opponent deflected or blocked it, or the attack itself missed or failed, or whatever. It's a role-play, so be creative! biggrin

The number in the Total: section (2-40) can also be used to help gauge the effectiveness of the attack, in comparison to its expected damage. 2-10 is a weak attack, 11-20 is not as good as hoped, 21-30 is better than expected, and 31-40 is a particularly strong attack, causing a lot of damage.

In a freeform RP, whatever the player says is 100%, even though it can be countered or turned around on him by the other player. With this Dice Roll system, it merely gives a direct chance of failure, and prevents God-Modding.

Instructions - How to roll dice:

If you are unfamiliar with Gaia's Dice Action System, it is very simple. At the top of your post, under where it says Color, Size, and Align, there is an option for Post Style and Post Action. Click on Post Action, and you'll find an option for Roll Dice. Pick that, and you'll be able to choose your type of dice (20-sided), and choose 2 for the Number of dice.

The result of that roll will show up at the top of your post after you have submitted it, as demonstrated in this post. Ignore the "total" number, as the only two numbers that count are the two in bold, for the first and second dice rolls. Your opponent will then be able to see these numbers after your post has been submitted, and will be able to compose his next post accordingly.

Standard Role-Playing Battle System: Short-Form Role-play

When using quick one-liner attacks, the structure of dice rolling will differ to allow for a quick paced fighting style incorporating single or combination attacks.

First the Attacker will roll one D20 for each of his attack actions. Only one die for one attack, two die for 2 attacks, etc. Only 6 combo attacks maximum will be allowed in one post. If he rolls a 1, it is a critical miss, and will not need to be rolled against. If he rolls a 20, it is a critical hit, and also does not need to be rolled against. If a player is hit with 3 critical hits, then he is defeated, and the match is over.

Next, the defender will write his post with his defenses and his counter-attacks. He will roll one D20 as defense for each of the first player's attacks. This will determine whether each of these attacks is successful. If the first player's attack values are equal to or higher than the defense values, then the attack is successful. In the same roll, he will also roll one D20 for each of his attacks, and then the cycle will repeat.

The match will continue until one side cannot go on, concedes defeat, or has been hit with 3 or more Critical Hits.

For a detailed example of this system at work, go to this thread.