Tal Sports fans,
Tonight I've decided to sit down and begin to open up the Prodigy System Mail bag which was hastily delivered to me by Hildalchico, the tribesman Far Rider. So with that said I'm going to open up this big sack of parcels and missives and begin to address some of the most commonly asked questions about the Prodigy System.
First we have a letter from Diego down in Oasis of Red Rock.
Diego writes: Cicero , with Prodigy System, are you allowed to make more then one attack per round of combat?
Well Diego, that has a simple answer, which is no. Though I suppose I should elaborate as I seem to get this one quite often. You are only allowed to make one attack per round of combat. This attack is generally intended to come in the reaction phase of your attack.
Second we have a follow up letter from Jorge from The Oasis of Red Rock.
Jorge writes: Cicero , what exactly is considered one attack? Can I shield punch the fellow and then strike? Please help us.
Well Jorge, You are allowed to use a shield to punch at your opponent, to punch at his shield, his weapon, or the rising of said shield to block his vision. This may be done with intent only to get your opponent out of position, or to obscure his vision while you make the real strike. A steel rimmed shield at the jaw however, is strong enough to be your real attack. A long sword slash to aim to cut from your opponents right shoulder, to left hip, is one attack. A thrust to the stomach and then a drawing upward of the sword to try and cut the opponent, is one attack. A stab to the stomach then another stab to the hip however, is not accepted.
Third we have a letter from Joe Bob down in Tuchuk.
Joe Bob writes: What happens when my opponent runs out of time to post?
Well Joe Bob, if it is a sport spar, a point will be deducted from the point total in such a tally. If it is a serious fight, such as Honor, a point will be deducted as well as the reaction considered as null as the person was stunned. For more serious fights, such as to the death or real capture attempts, points will be irrelevant but it will nullify their reaction and equate it to them as being stunned. No one will directly die or be ruled captured in the event of a time out however. If a person does not reply within the time lmit in a serious fight, and it is clear to the Judge that he/she is doing so to avoid being killed by a serious blow, the Judge may rule the fighter dead or captured. Though the Judge should be sure to consider the possibility of a RTI, Crash, emergency etc.
Next we have a letter from Anty Fu of Tharna.
Anty Fu writes: How do you know what is fluid enough to be one clear flowing movement in a Reaction or counter?
Well Anty Fu, this is a commonly asked question. Something must be able to flow together to be nice and quick, natural, such as stepping in on your leading foot and thrusting, then withdrawing the blade back to reset. That is perfectly natural, as is circling forward and to your right to strike your sword at the left shoulder and then drawing the sword back.
The Prodigy System strives to allow it's reactions and counters to be a series of small realistic movements that fit very well with one another. Counters that lowers you down to your right knee and pulls your shield up over your left shoulder to stop a chop or such, is perfectly fine to be used within a counter. Yanking your shield up and across your body to make a block, then pulling it back down to clear your vision, is also acceptable in a counter. A quick momentary duck down to pass a horizontal swipe at your head and then rising back up after it would have passed is also acceptable.
Performing a 2 to 3 small movement reaction, then resetting your shield and sword every single reaction is not acceptable either. Fighters should begin to learn to make strokes that will help them carry their weapon back to where they want it on the follow through. An example of a bit too much would be, coming up off of your knee, driving your shield at your opponents shield, striking your short sword forward at the opponents left shin, drawing your sword and then shield back to you. This here would be a bit too much. Also doing such similar things, and then adding that you ‘back away 3 paces while resetting your weapons,' is not acceptable either. If you wish to clear out the range, then use a SIMPLE small attack, such as a swipe at the left shin while you back away to recover. Do not try to combine it every single round with all sorts of things.
Rollo of Hunjer sent us in this next question.
Rollo asked: How can I kill a man in this so called Prodigy System?
Well Rollo, it's fairly similar to most systems in that regard. To kill a man, he must make an unrealistic defense to a lethal blow, or have accumulated a multitude of wounds that would soon lead to his death. A time violation shall never directly result in a death. Point totals will never be used to determine a death either.
Skippy of Tyros sent us this next little letter.
Skippy writes: Cicero , what happens in the case that the Judge finds the fight to be a draw?
Well Skippy, draws suck and they are a huge waste of time in my opinion. In the case of a Draw, the Judge should first begin to review the script, for something that he thought was ‘borderline' sort of, “well it'd kind of work but not really worded enough, but I guess it's kind of ok' those sort of things that some Judges are inclined to let pass if they are mostly correct. If after reviewing for such anal deductions the Judge can not find one, he will rule based upon who inflicted the most serious of wounds to the opponent as he would of saw it. If Fighter A bashed his opponent with his shield six time, but his opponent, Fighter B stabbed Fighter A in the thigh and had a huge slash across his stomach, Fighter B would win because he scored more serious fights on his opponent. If it is a more serious fight, Tournament, or a spar with stakes, more rounds can be demanded to break the tie, such as a 3 round over time.
Leon of Cos sent in the next little article.
Leon writes: How long are Prodigy spars supposed to be? I keep seeing different lengths.
Well Leon , that can depend on the fighters. In Prodigy there is less rules to over complicate things, as it hinges on the fighters and Judges knowledge of realism and the movement and workings of the weapons and bodies of the men using them. If a fighter knows what he is doing, Prodigy is easier to score clean fights under, because potentially there is less to be typed out and performed. I recommend a good 8 rounds for a serious fight to try to reduce chances of draws. A comfortable region seems to be 5-6 rounds for a normal fight.
For serious combat, such as a capture or an attempt to kill in a manner similar to Open combat, the combat will not continue on for longer then 1 hour time.