Compendium of Turn-Based Knowledge - TBC Guide (Optional)

[T.02] URM - Unrealistic Melee

A variation of RM, characters playing in this style are allowed powers from any tier. The caveat is that every single offensive action taken must be a melee attack. Defensive attacks can be executed in an extremely short range no higher than a single foot surrounding a character, in the case of auras and similar abilities; however, they cannot be launched. No ranged attacks or abilities, and no projectile weapons are allowed.

And on the subject of power, this is a scale of power acquired from AnimeLeague when Roleplayer's Realm was still up and running, and which was a general tier list widely used by the players of that forum:


[T.07] AnimeLeague's Roleplayer's Realm Tier List


Level 1 - This is the general human level, encompassing the power attainable by the average Joe and is limited to the most basic of technological weapons, like guns, crossbow and knives—maybe even a scooter if in the wrong hands.
(RM)

Level 2 - Human abilities at their peak, but still nothing overtly supernatural. Examples would be a genius IQ, very minor spell-casting ability (I’m talking sparking dried brush into flame). Technological objects such as laser guns fall under this level.
(Lowest tier of LP)

Level 3 - Genetic, cybernetic, divine or magical enhancements that allow you to run as fast as a sports car, jump anime style, or bench three-hundred pounds without breaking a sweat—as well as other physical modifications of that level. Dexterity level equal to an expert marksman, low level psionics and spellcasting ability, super-genius intelligence quotient and martial arts master are other examples of Level 3 abilities. Equipment falls under the same range of power.
(Middling tier of LP)

Level 4 - Examples of Level 4 powers and abilities include Mad Scientist level genius and scientific ability, long ranged telepathy, magical powers that to not involve a divine patron, and the ability to shoot flaming bats with magic arrows of light without the aide of that damnable fairy partner. In general, the range of ability to be expected from a Jedi Padawan of Star Wars or a Gennin Ninja of Naruto—as well as the use of cybernetics, alchemy, and so on to simulate any of that.
(Highest tier of LP)

Level 5 - The basics of nano technology capable of regenerating minor wounds, or alternatively wizardry or clerical ability capable of the same. You can pilot your own short range star fighter and have access to technology so advanced as to be almost magical in nature. The ability to fly for any reason you can think of that makes any rudimentary amount of plot logic. Your character may have the reflexes and skills of an elite Jedi Knight, the speed of Saito Hajime, and the power to take down Trinity of The Matrix with ease.
(Lowest tier of MP)

Level 6 - The ability to heal major damage taken both personally, or by others, through the method of your choice. The charisma and influence necessary to muster an army of elite soldiers, and access to the technology needed to build and operate a small space craft capable of interstellar travel (or a magic dragon from the future, whatever floats your boat). Your powers and skills rival those of Gandalf the White, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Himura Kenshin at their best.
(Middling tier of MP)

Level 7 - Personal shielding and an Imperial Star Destroyer for a flagship; computer expertise that can take down Borg Cubes, and you may have weapons so slick and high tech that they make the ladies hot and bothered. You can distort space-time at will with your magic, enough so to influence events worlds or even years away, and your physical strikes can no longer even be seen. Armies of grizzled veterans—wearing too much steel to stand up on their own—will carry your banner to war and ride really expensive looking horses across the battlefield. You could out gun an Agent in the Matrix or beat him down with your martial arts, and powers and abilities compare to Mace Windu of Star Wars, Ultimecia of Final Fantasy, and Hyuuga Ricdeau of Xenogears.
(Highest tier of MP)

Level 8 - The firewalls of the Death Star and Magi Supercomputers fall with ease before your unbeatable hacking skills. You can repair lost limbs and destroyed vital functions expediently. Your powers can cut down small armies, and shield you from the effects of nuclear weapons. You are no longer merely limited to visiting other worlds and epochs from afar, but may now visit them personally. Powers are of comparable scale to Marvel’s Magneto and Doctor Strange.
(Lowest tier of FP)

Level 9 - That your powers rank less than omnipotent and have finite energy requirements are essentially your only restrictions at this point.
(Middling tier of FP)

Level 10 - Anything becomes possible within the restraints of the rules of the forum and common sense. (Highest tier of FP)

---

[T.08] Majisuka's Tier System

This is an alternative to the common tier systems that only take blanket powers into consideration and are often measured by what scale of power the character can reach through sheer destruction or the like. The Maji Tier System developed by Anshin and Yurei is defined by the level of story they're most likely to be relevant in rather than maximum destructive potential or units of measure that are difficult to quantify properly. 

Characters fall into the highest tier they can most consistently act within. What is important within this tier system is not necessarily what you can destroy, as most other scales measure by, but what you can save. Following is an explanation of each tier, quoted directly from Majisuka's Tier System:

Street Tier 

Street characters are those who’re best in stories focusing on small-scale conflicts – street battles or gang wars, law enforcement types dedicated to preventing both of the aforementioned, ‘Zombie Outbreak’ stories, or other threads with a focus more on individual cleverness, adaptability, and toughness of its central characters than sheer destructive force or raw numbers. For Street-level characters, bringing down a single building is a significant feat that cannot be quickly or easily repeated, if at all, and their typical settings (in combat threads) encompass a few city blocks rather than entire cities.

Street is often held to be best for training newer players, but it’s also a refreshing change from Global or Cosmic-level conflicts that can exhaust a player with metaphysical bullfuckery, and can be excellent for telling tightly focused stories or conducting very closely balanced, competitive fights. Many players prefer Street tier for story-focused games or self-contained Adventures.

Metro Tier 

Metro-tier characters are those whose actions in a story can affect the entirety of the city they find themselves in, and can be closely compared to many modern superhero comic books whose protagonist characters are the “Defender of Metro City”. This is also the tier you find classic Monster Movies in, as well as smaller-scale Alien Invasion storylines or other forms of Supah Villain threat. Stories on this scale affect thousands of bystanders, with Metro-tier characters able to ruin entire city blocks without much hassle once their goat’s up (or able to consistently and seriously threaten other characters which are able to do this).

Metro is often the most popular combat tier for experienced players who enjoy the spectacle of powered combat; Metro allows for wild and diverse ability use and plenty of satisfying explosions while still maintaining a focus on physical action and reaction, i.e. ‘conventional’ fighting. Metro-scale stories are your Summer Blockbusters, balancing explosive action with more relatable characters.

National Tier

National Tier is for characters whose actions decide the course of nations. These are powerful beings able to swing wars in favor of their chosen country by themselves, worth entire divisions of conventional military, or which are able to stand against threats that can sink entire countries into chaos. The Alien Cityships from the first Independence Day movie are a solid example of a National-level threat (while the Harvester from the second movie is a Global threat), while the Jaegers of Pacific Rim are a potentially National-level weapon to be used against the very National threat of the Kaijus.

Note that it can often be tricky to figure out the difference between a really potent Metro character and a low-level National character, or a really potent National character and a low-level Global character. This is Maji’s version of the ever-frustrating ‘Mid Tier’ problem, in that settling on specific delineations of ‘Mid Tier’ (i.e. low-mid, mid, mid-high) is often fraught with irritation and inaccuracy, but is nonetheless essential because there’s a ton of mismatch-laden middle ground between Saving the City and Saving the World.

This is the primary reason why we’ve introduced the ‘Borderline’ tag for character tiers. If you’re not sure whether your character fits in Metro or National, then use “Metro (Borderline)” for your character tier. If you’re not sure whether your character fits into National or Global, then use “National (Borderline)” for your tier. We’ll know what you mean, and you can always revise your displayed tier as the character grows and you become more certain of the scope of the story you want to tell.

Global Tier

Global characters are, as the name suggests, characters whose actions have a global impact. These are characters which can devastate entire geographical regions with single strikes, or characters able to defend against such strikes and threaten those who’re able to launch them. These are your “Galactus Appears!” storylines, battles against rogue gods or the demon hordes of Hell invading the world. Characters in this tier are usually considered to be able to render entire worlds uninhabitable given sufficient time and a lack of opposition, or are the opposition for other threats capable of doing the same. In short: if your character can Save The World on a regular basis (or Destroy The World if left alone for a week or two), they’re probably Global tier.

Global is the highest recommended tier for new characters/players on Majisuka. Note that we’re not forbidding you from making Cosmic or Akashic characters; we’re simply noting that our own supply of such characters is very limited, and most of them are reserved pretty strictly for non-combat story functions. Global we can offer you some meaty engagements in; above this tier you’re getting into levels that require close collaboration to avoid interfering with another player’s fundamental narrative.

Cosmic Tier

Characters who manage to work their way up to the Cosmic tier are able to obliterate entire star systems, and can take actions of and by themselves (i.e. not as Emperors of Star Nations) which affect entire regions of interstellar space. There are few common existing examples of this tier as it’s often difficult to tell an effective story on this level, but one such potential example is the Reaper Invasion of Mass Effect, or the actions of the Great Old Ones of Lovecraftian fame. A Cosmic-tier character would be one able to contest the Reaper invasion of the entire Milky Way galaxy by themselves (which, by some interpretations, means Commander Shepard is Cosmic tier. Go Shep), or engage in single combat with a GOO. Cosmic-tier characters are almost impossible to physically threaten; a character this powerful and advanced has usually long since moved beyond the requirement to continue existing solely or even primarily within their corporeal shell.

These characters are usually reserved as Big Bads for a player’s individual storyline; their direct appearance in threads typically shocks the other characters in said thread and changes the tone of a thread completely. The appearance of a Cosmic-level character in any given story is cause for immediate concern (read: panic) for any less powerful character that happens to also be in that story.

Akashic Tier

Also occasionally referred to as ‘Bullshit’ tier, these are characters which have ascended beyond even the flimsiest pretense of mortality and become true gods, goddesses, or the incarnate avatars of fundamental cosmic forces of the universe. Creating an Akashic-level character is often an example of worldbuilding more than character creation – these characters are so unfathomably powerful and/or omnipresent that they’re usually more a part of the way your world works than a specific actor in that world. Their influence is so great, so inescapable, that it’s often simply considered a fact of life or one of the governing rules of existence in your setting. Death, Entropy, Love, War, and other concepts-with-faces are classified as Akashic characters, as are entities which can alter reality at a whim on grand scale. ‘Fights’ at the Akashic level are more dressed-up philosophy debates than contests of skill, as these characters are usually impossible to damage in any meaningful way unless their player actively desires them to suffer harm for whatever reason.

Much like Cosmic characters, Akashics are usually reserved as drivers for the plots of less potent characters – these are the gods who create champions to fight on the mortal plane, or the whims of Fate which fragile men must struggle against.

Credit for this piece goes entirely to Anshin - owner and main administrator of Majisuka - & Yurei.

As for preps being divided in fractions and considered as percentages when executing multiple preparations... Don't do this. This is bad and should never be employed in any form of combat.

Windows of Opportunity establish all the possible instances where Character B could react to Character A's actions. The coherence between identifying these windows of opportunity and acting on these windows of opportunity, however, are all dependent on the capabilities of the character at hand and on the current situation. In the example used beforehand, it is assumed that Character B is relatively close to Character A in order to enter melee range quickly. However, if Character B was far away and could not enter melee range of Character A to interrupt the motions of their attack, it is an impossibility to execute an interrupt.

As always, take into account the motion the characters need to execute to actually prompt a successful interruption and wiggle in between two actions within the timeline of the fight. If someone is snapping their fingers and your attempt to interrupt them is a dash or a charge to reach their position, the interruption will be wholly ineffective given that the character who snapped their fingers does not have to move. On the other hand, the character attempting to interrupt them will most likely find out that the snap of the opposing character's fingers is far quicker and requires less movement and time to execute than traveling the full distance required to reach a position to interrupt to begin with. 

When executing an interrupt, always take into account economy of motion in the midst of combat.

Long story short, strive to include as much relevant detail as possible in your posts while keeping them interesting, and make sure to address every offensive and defensive action through what is posted.

And for the love of all the Multiversal deities out there, stop using convoluted writing to attempt to confuse opponents. That sort of practice defeats the purpose of writing and if your opponent cannot understand a single thing you write, the burden isn't on them - it's on you.