Handler Handbook

Overview

STRIFE Combat is a text-based combat promotion. Members — called Handlers — create and roleplay as fighters competing for titles, storyline dominance, and bragging rights inside The Crucible. Results are determined by a combination of written roleplay quality (scored by peers), character attributes, move selection, and a match simulation engine.

The platform has three user roles:

Getting Started

Registering an Account

Click Join STRIFE in the top-right of any public page. Enter your desired username, email address, and a password. Usernames are public-facing and shown alongside all of your activity. You are assigned the Handler role by default.

Signing In

Use the Sign In link in the nav. After authenticating you will be redirected to your Dashboard.

Your Dashboard

The dashboard is your personal command centre. It shows your active characters, your upcoming matches with submission deadlines, recent notifications, and quick links to everything you need.

Navigation

The left sidebar (visible after login) contains links to every section relevant to your role. Public pages — Roster, Shows, Roleplays, Angles, Championships, Forums — are accessible to anyone, logged in or not.

Two lore pages explain the promotion itself: The Crucible (the six-sided hexagonal cage every STRIFE match takes place inside) and The Universe (STRIFE's combat philosophy, canon rules, and narrative framing). New handlers should read both before writing their first roleplay — everything you write should be consistent with what's there.

Handler's Handbook

Applying for a Character

Navigate to Apply for Character in the sidebar. You may have a maximum of 2 active characters at any time. You may also only have one pending application waiting for review at once.

The application form requires:

• Character Name: The ring name your fighter competes under (max 50 characters).
• Archetype: One of six archetypes that defines your character's fighting style and starting attribute bonuses. See Game Mechanics for details.
• Physical Description: Detailed description of appearance, build, attire, and distinguishing features (min 100 chars). This is used to generate character art.
• Biography: Public-facing in-character bio as it would appear on the roster page (min 100 chars).
• Backstory: Internal/private history — motivation, origins, what brought them to STRIFE (min 100 chars).
• Entrance Description: How your character enters the arena: lighting, pyro, crowd reaction, mannerisms (min 50 chars).
• Theme Music: Optional YouTube link to the character's entrance theme.

Character Build — Selecting Moves

Once your application is approved, your character is created in Building status. You must complete the build before your character can be scheduled in matches. Go to your character page and click Complete Build.

You must select moves from each pool:

Attribute Allocation

Characters start with archetype-based attribute values and earn unspent points over time (awarded by admins). Go to your character page → Attributes to distribute them.

The nine attributes are:

• Strength: Damage output of power-based moves
• Agility: Speed, evasion, and aerial move effectiveness
• Stamina: Performance degradation over match length
• Charisma: Crowd interaction and promo-based match modifiers
• Mic Skills: Bonus multipliers from pre-match roleplay scoring
• Psychology: Match pacing decisions and comeback mechanics
• Durability: Damage received from physical strikes and slams
• Counter Ability: Passive reduction of damage from counter-able moves
• Submission Resistance: Passive reduction of effectiveness of submission holds

Retiring a Character

If you want to free up a character slot or simply end a character's career, navigate to their profile and select Retire Character. This is permanent — the character moves to Retired status and cannot be reactivated. Their record (wins/losses/draws) is preserved.

Roleplays & Scoring

Submitting a Roleplay

When a match is scheduled against your character, a submission deadline will be set. Before that deadline, navigate to the match page and click Submit Roleplay.

You choose a type:

• Promo: An in-character statement — a speech, challenge, or address to the crowd or your opponent.
• Diary / Blog Entry: An out-of-character narrative — a day in the life, a journal entry, a training log.

Each submission needs a title and the main content body. Word count is tracked automatically. Only your most recent submission counts for scoring — you can edit and resubmit before the deadline.

The Scoring Phase

After the submission deadline passes, the match moves to Scoring status. Both handlers then score each other's roleplays across five dimensions, each rated 1–10:

You may also leave optional written feedback. Your average score (mean of 5 dimensions) is recorded and fed into the match simulation engine. Higher scoring roleplays improve your character's statistical advantage heading into the match.

Browsing Roleplays

All submitted roleplays are visible at /roleplays. You can read any handler's work at any time. Each roleplay detail page shows the match context, show it belongs to, and the character who submitted it.

Matches

Match Lifecycle

• Scheduled: The match is live and handlers may submit roleplays up to the deadline.
• Scoring: Deadline has passed. Handlers score each other's submissions.
• Completed: The match has been simulated by a booker or admin. Winner, result summary, and match narrative are published.
• Cancelled: Match was called off without a result.

Match Types

• Singles: One character vs one character.
• Tag Team: Involves tag partners — each position maps to a character.

Predetermined Matches

Bookers may mark a match as Predetermined. In this case, the winner is selected by the booker for storyline purposes rather than being determined by the simulation engine and scores. Handlers are not informed of the predetermined result in advance.

Stipulations

A match may be booked with a Stipulation — a structured rule set that shapes what's allowed and how the match can end. Stipulations are curated by bookers and cover things like No-DQ, Submission Only, I Quit, Last Man Standing, First Blood, and more. When a stipulation is attached, the simulation engine respects its valid-finish rules and pacing when generating the narrative. Handlers should factor the stipulation into their roleplay — it will be visible on the match page before the deadline.

Match Narratives

Completed matches publish with an AI-generated match narrative rendered as a broadcast script — alternating stage direction and commentator dialogue (e.g. QUINN: "And there's the bell!"). The length and pacing of the narrative are determined by the match's quality tier (see Game Mechanics).

Angles & Storylines

What is an Angle?

An angle is an ongoing storyline or feud involving one or more characters. Angles give context to matches, provide direction for roleplays, and build toward climactic events.

Proposing an Angle

Any handler can propose an angle from /angles/propose. You provide:

• Title: A short name for the angle.
• Description: What the storyline involves, the conflict, the characters.
• Characters: Which characters are involved (can include characters from other handlers).

The angle starts in Proposed status and requires admin/booker approval to become Active.

Angle Statuses

• Proposed: Submitted, awaiting staff review
• Active: Approved and running — appears on roster/character pages
• Completed: The storyline has concluded (usually at a PPV or special event)
• Denied: Not approved — admin notes will explain why

Shows

Show Types

• Regular Show: Weekly or bi-weekly episodic show.
• Pay-Per-View: Premium event — typically features championship matches and angle blowoffs.
• Special Event: One-off events outside the regular calendar.

Show Segments

Beyond matches, shows can include Segments — non-match content that can be handler-written or AI-generated:

• Promo: A scripted in-ring or backstage speech — you write the promo content
• Backstage Interview: A short Q&A or ambush interview with a character
• Vignette: A pre-produced video package — training, lifestyle, location footage
• Pre-Recorded Package: A longer narrative package played back during the show
• Show Opening: The broadcast open — lights, atmosphere, commentators welcoming the crowd. AI-generated by the booker.
• Show Closing: The broadcast sign-off — final image plus commentary framing the night. AI-generated by the booker.

If your character is assigned to a segment on a published show, a link will appear on the show page allowing you to submit your content before the deadline.

Segment Submission Format

Handler-written segments are submitted in broadcast script format, so they render consistently with AI-generated narratives across the card. Two kinds of line, mixed freely:

• Dialogue: SPEAKER: "line" — the speaker name in ALL CAPS, followed by a colon, then the dialogue in quotes.
• Stage direction: a bare prose line describing what the cameras show, crowd reaction, lighting, atmosphere. No speaker label, no quotes.

Example: RANCID: "You don't know me yet." on one line, followed by The spotlight widens as the crowd murmurs. on the next.

Use the Preview toggle in the submission form to see how your segment will render before you save.

Production & Crowd Tiers

Every show carries a Production Level and a Crowd Energy setting (set by the booker). These are fed into every AI-generated segment and match narrative so the tone matches the event — a throwaway TV show reads very differently from a pay-per-view in a sold-out arena.

Show Statuses

• Draft: Only visible to staff. Card is being assembled.
• Published (Upcoming): Card is public. Handlers can submit roleplays and segment content.
• Completed (Results): All matches simulated. Full results, narratives, and segment content visible.

Tournaments

A tournament is a bracketed competition that spans one or more shows. Bookers create a tournament with a fixed participant count (typically 8, 10, 12, or 16), a division (male, female, or open), and a set of entrants. The bracket is auto-generated; any byes are placed in round 1.

Tournament Matches

Each round's matches are booked onto shows in the normal way, but they appear on the show card as tournament matches with the round label (e.g. Round 1, Quarter-Finals, Semifinal, Final). Handlers submit roleplays and are scored exactly like a regular match. When a tournament match is simulated, the winner auto-advances to the next bracket slot.

Statuses

• Draft: Bracket is being assembled; not yet visible
• Active: Tournament is underway; matches being booked and simulated round-by-round
• Completed: Final has been decided; winner is on the tournament page

Championships

STRIFE features a roster of championships — typically a top singles title, a secondary singles title, and a tag-team title, though the full list is managed by admins and can change over time. See the Championships page for the current belts, active holders, and full reign history.

Championship matches are scheduled by bookers and marked with a title-match indicator on the show card. Titles are awarded by admins after the match is completed; awarding a belt to a new holder automatically closes the previous reign and opens a new one in the reign log.

Forums

Boards

The forums are organised into boards. Each board has a slug used in the URL (e.g. /forums/general). Boards are created and managed by admins.

Creating a Thread

Inside any board, click New Thread. Enter a title and your opening post content. Your post will be attributed to your username.

Replying

Open any thread and use the reply form at the bottom. All posts are attributed to your account.

Editing & Deleting Posts

You can edit or delete any of your own posts. Edited posts show an "edited" indicator. Admins and bookers can delete any post.

Thread Controls (Staff)

• Pin: Pins a thread to the top of the board listing.
• Lock: Prevents new replies. Locked threads remain visible but read-only.

Direct Messages

For private one-on-one or group conversations, use Messages in the sidebar. Direct messages are private between participants and not visible to other users or admins.

Booker's Guide

Booker HQ

The Booker HQ (/booker) is your at-a-glance operational overview. It surfaces:

• Pending angle proposals awaiting your review
• Draft shows ready to be finalised
• Matches currently in the scoring phase
• Upcoming published shows

Creating a Show

Go to Shows in the Booking section of the sidebar → New Show. Fill in:

• Title: The name of the show
• Show Type: Regular, Pay-Per-View, or Special Event
• Show Date: Calendar date of the event
• Venue: Arena or location name
• Description: Optional flavour text for the show page
• Submission Deadline: Cut-off for handlers to submit segment content

After creation, open the show detail page to add matches and segments to the card, then click Publish to make it visible to handlers. Mark as Complete after all matches are simulated.

Set the show's Production Level and Crowd Energy on the detail page — these feed every AI-generated narrative and segment on the card, so they read appropriately for the event scale.

Generating Show Openings & Closings

Each show has a locked Show Opening and Show Closing segment on the card. Click the Generate button on either row to have the AI produce a broadcast-script opener or closer tailored to the card, commentary team, production tier, and crowd energy. You can regenerate, or click Edit manually to tweak the output.

Setting Match Quality & Stipulations

On the show detail page, each match has an inline Quality Tier selector (Dark Match → Main Event) that controls narrative length and pacing. Matches can also be booked with a Stipulation (No-DQ, Submission Only, etc.) which gates valid finish mechanics in the simulation. Both are metadata — they do not alter the winner, only how the match is narrated.

Running a Tournament

Under Tournaments → New Tournament. Choose a participant count, division, and seed the entrants; the bracket is generated automatically. Book each round's matches onto shows as normal — when a tournament match is simulated, the winner advances to the next bracket slot automatically.

Creating a Match

Under Matches → New Match. Select two characters from the active roster, give the match a title, set a submission deadline, choose the match type, and optionally mark it as predetermined. Once created, add it to a show card from the show detail page.

Simulating a Match

After the scoring phase, open the match detail page and click Simulate Match. The engine calculates a result based on:

• Each handler's average roleplay score
• Character attributes (strength, agility, stamina, etc.)
• Move pool and archetype bonuses
• Predetermined override (if set)

The engine generates a written match narrative and a result summary. Win/loss records are updated automatically.

Managing Angles

Under Angles in the Booking section, you can:

• View all proposed, active, and completed angles
• Approve or deny handler proposals (with optional admin notes)
• Add or remove characters from an angle
• Mark an angle as completed and link the closing match

Admin Reference

Admin Panel

The admin panel (/admin) shows high-level STRIFE statistics: pending applications, pending moves, total registered users, and active handlers. Urgent items (anything with a non-zero pending count) are highlighted in warning colors so they cannot be missed.

Reviewing Applications

All pending character applications appear under Applications. Click any application to read the full submission. You can:

• Approve: Creates the character record in Building status, notifies the handler.
• Deny: Closes the application with a reason in Admin Notes, notifies the handler.

Pending Moves

When a handler gives a signature, finisher, or backup-finisher pick a custom name, that entry is flagged as pending until an admin reviews it. The Pending Moves panel (/admin/moves) lists every unreviewed custom-named move alongside the character, the handler, and how long ago it was submitted.

• Approve: Flips the move to approved so it shows as active on the character's profile and is usable in match simulations.
• Reject: Removes the move entirely. The handler will need to re-submit with a different name or pick from the existing pool.

Championships

Create new championships (singles or tag team), manage current holders, and award titles after a championship match is completed. Awarding a title to a new character automatically closes the previous champion's reign and creates a new one.

Character Art

Navigate to Character Art in the Administration section. Select a character and either:

• Generate with AI: Uses the character's appearance description to generate full-body and headshot art via DALL-E 3. Choose from Realistic, Illustrated, or Gritty/Comic styles.
• Upload Image: Provide a URL to an existing image hosted externally.

The generated or uploaded art appears on the character's public profile page.

Commentators

Commentators are AI personality profiles used during match simulation. Each has a name and a Personality Prompt — a natural-language description of how they commentate (e.g. "enthusiastic play-by-play announcer with technical knowledge and dry wit"). Multiple commentators can be assigned to a show.

Site Settings

Global configuration values managed as key-value pairs. Used to configure platform-wide parameters that affect match simulation and scoring. Includes the ring environment and federation universe text that's injected into every match simulation prompt so the AI keeps tone, setting, and canon consistent across all generated content.

Game Mechanics

Archetype Starting Bonuses

All attributes start at 30. Each archetype gives two attributes a boosted starting value of 50:

Match Quality Tiers

Every match on a show card is set to one of six quality tiers by the booker. The tier doesn't change who wins — it shapes how the AI narrates the match: length, pacing, number of pin attempts, near-falls, and false finishes. A squash reads very differently from a main event.

Match Simulation

When a match is simulated, the engine weighs several factors to determine a winner:

• Roleplay Score Weight: Your average peer score (1–10) across all 5 dimensions is the largest single factor. Strong writing wins matches.
• Attribute Differential: Total attribute points and relevant archetype stats contribute to a base statistical advantage.
• Move Pool Depth: The quality and breadth of your approved move set affects how the narrative engine sequences the match.
• Mic Skills Multiplier: High Mic Skills attribute boosts the effectiveness of roleplay scores in the final calculation.
• Randomness Factor: A small element of randomness is applied to reflect the unpredictability of live competition.
• Stipulation, Quality Tier, Production & Crowd: These don't affect who wins, but they shape the generated narrative — valid finishes, pacing, beat counts, broadcast vocabulary, and how the crowd is written.

Notifications

You automatically receive notifications for the following events:

• Match Scheduled: A new match has been created involving your character
• Roleplay Scored: An opponent has submitted scores for your roleplay
• Show Card Published: A show featuring your character has been published
• Show Results Posted: A show you were on has been completed and results are live
• New Message: You have received a direct message
• Application Status: Your character application has been approved or denied
• Angle Updated: An angle you are involved in has been updated