vigilantly taxonomish
I assume you mean Combat Pragmatism specifically?
If you're going to fight without worrying about honour, the most pragmatic thing to do is actually to run away, whenever possible.
Other than that, eye strikes, groin strikes, Defeat by Modesty, "Hey, You!" Haymaker, etc. can all be portrayed without getting too gory. It's not an inherently ultraviolent trope.
edited 22nd Jun '11 6:29:39 PM by BobbyG
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Formerly G.G.
Yeah, I want to avoid ultraviolent and over the top.
"Eratoeir is a Gangsta."
Fuzzy Orange Doomsayer
I'm fond of having a bunch of weak heroes gang up on one overpowered villain. You might also consider the Friendly Sniper trope.
That's Feo . . . He's a disgusting, mysoginistic, paedophilic asshat who moonlights as a shitty writer—Something Awful
I don't understand the original question.
Formerly G.G.
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I wanted to show pragmatism without going ultraviolent.
More specifically, I don't understand why "pragmatism = ultraviolence" in your mind. This makes literally no sense to me - I don't see any connection.
Zzzzzzzzzz
I don't' see the connection either. A Combat Pragmatist wants the fight over as fast as possible, with the least damage to himself. That's all. Not to inflict the most damage possible on his opponent, or pull off the most difficult moves.
...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.
Pink's alright, I guess.
Well, it can be argued that if one knows enough about the fabled nerve clusters in the human body, being a combat pragmatist becomes very much easier. Then repeat it for every fight and when asked, make the character answer: "Huh, no, I don't know how to fight. I don't need to." or something.
edited 28th Jun '11 2:22:16 AM by Quoth
Formerly G.G.
Maybe I had been spoiled with characters like Rorschach and a certain Emiya Kiritsugu.
"Eratoeir is a Gangsta."
It sounds to me like you're accidentally combining other stuff like Type IV/V Anti Hero, Heroic Sociopath, and/or Blood Knight into pragmatism ('fighting dirty') none of which are explicitly mentioned as being a part of the Combat Pragmatist.
Think of assassins- unless they're really messed up individuals (which opens up an entirely new can of worms), they go for a quick, efficient kill. Check out the trope page and see how other, more mentally stable characters than Rorschach handle it.
edited 28th Jun '11 9:09:09 AM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
This topic is remarkably easy. Use brains, not brawn. Let the guy be a competent fighter but have him think crafty like luring a foe into a Pit Trap (spikes optional) or assorted other traps and snares. Alternatively have him plan his/her fights out to where against some foes he/she may simply just evade and dodge and run away to tire the foe out before landing a knockout punch. Or use more sneaky tactics like the ambush.
Think outside the box for your character on this one. There are many ways to be pragmatic in a fight than pulling a gun on some guy with a sword.
^ And it's quite a lot more enjoyable to watch stuff like that too. It's more interesting to see what crafty stuff you can come up with and I don't mind that a guy would probably not be able to come up with it in a split second, since it is fiction anyway.
Not I know that tropes do have their positive sides, I would to know how you can portray pragmatism without going overly violent? I know there are some pragmatics in this forums as well as some fighters who can tell me this. I mean I don't want to take to Kiritsugu levels of pragmatism but I want to display something practical without going overly violent. What would be a good way to use Pragmatism without going over the top or taking thigns to extremes?
"Eratoeir is a Gangsta."