Note: This page is not exclusive, more points may (and likely will) be added over time to further help define combat.
Action Economy: Each combat turn lasts a brief amount of time (anywhere from 4-8 seconds, depending on what happens in the turn and how much yapping the characters do) and contains four actions, which can be spent doing various things (such as attacking, moving, using Speed Burst, etc.) Defensive blocking/minor weaving generally doesn't consume an action.
Defender's Responsibility: It is the defender's responsibility to roleplay whether or not an attack hits him. This means that attackers are to roleplay ATTEMPTS at striking/damaging their target, rather than write out it occurring. (We're here to play a strategic roleplaying game, not a game of cops and robbers saying eachother's claimed success is a failure.)
Hands vs Power: A weapon wielded in (or blast fired from) two hands uses the normal strength/spirit comparison +1. A weapon wielded in one hand (or blast fired from a single hand) uses the normal strength/spirit comparison. See Combos (below) for rules on attacking more than once in a given action.
Combination Attacks: Sometimes an attacker will want to incorporate more than one attack into an attack action (applying more pressure to an opponent, going for more overall damage, dealing with a bunch of minor opponents, etc.) When doing so, the attacker's strength/spirit vs the target's Durability/Resistance for each attack is reduced by 1 per attack involved (be reasonable with this. The staff reserves the right to set a hard limit on combos if we deem it's being misused. A good rule of thumb is to cap it at three, though exceptions exist.)
Blocking: Sometimes you have no choice but to block weapons unarmed. The attack still damages your Durability to that limb, however, when blocking deliberately add your unarmed proficiency (1-4) as a bonus to you're durability vs strength comparison for the sake of that attack.
Speed Burst: When using the speed burst technique (whether your race calls it Shunpo, Sonido, Hirenkyaku, or doesn't have a name for it, it doesn't matter), you pay the associated cost based on your Hoho proficiency, and 'burst' with speed in a straight line, gaining +2 to Reflexes, Assault, or point-blank Spirit Velocity for the purpose of either dodging an attack or launching a surprise attack. A character can NOT do both at the same time. Furthermore, since this movement is in a straight line, a character can NOT go from directly infront of their opponent to directly behind them with this technique. Using this technique to dodge an attack, and then set up a sneak attack requires two uses of Speed Burst, and costs the character two actions.