I suggest allowing players to make armor and swords out of paper. These items would not actually work in real combat, instead they would be meant for mock battles with other players. In 1.8 there's going to be an xp bar that resets with death, so you can't just casually kill each other for fun anymore with no consequences.
Paper Armor
Paper armor can be worn just like real armor and it can survive real damage for as long as leather armor does. However paper armor does not actually block any damage to you whatsoever. Even though paper armor takes damage you still lose the full amount of hearts.
When wearing paper armor you don't fill your armor bar. Instead, you gain a second armor bar above the real armor bar, represented by up to 10 sheets of paper. When your paper armor takes damage these paper sheets vanish to represent lost durability.
Paper Swords
Paper swords would not be able to deal damage to any players or mobs (nor could they break blocks faster than by hand). The only thing a paper sword can damage is paper armor. Paper swords would deal as much damage to paper armor as wooden swords.
Snowballs
Want mock ranged combat? Snowballs would damage paper armor just as much as an arrow, while still dealing no damage to players.
What's the point of this?
To conduct perfectly safe mock battles. Two players dueling with paper swords and snowballs, wearing paper armor, will only damage the paper armor and not each other. That would allow people to duel until one person loses all their armor, rather than to the death.
When that is added it'll be essential to have a non-fatal way of conducting wargames. Of course if you want your combat to be real adding paper armor and swords doesn't prevent anyone from using real weapons and actually killing one another. But it would be nice to have friendly non-lethal combat as an option.
Nice idea, but chances are the XP bar might be on a list of SMP toggle options, so nobody is put at an unfair advantage in any way/shape/form.
Even if it wasn't, I'll still do whatever the crap I feel like.
Yeah, I assume some SMP servers will turn off xp. But for the servers that do keep xp it'll be nice to have non-lethal combat for players.
Heck, even without xp at all it's still nice to be able to fight without dying. Why should players in a combat tournament have to hike back from spawn each time they lose a round?
Paper Armor
Paper armor can be worn just like real armor and it can survive real damage for as long as leather armor does. However paper armor does not actually block any damage to you whatsoever. Even though paper armor takes damage you still lose the full amount of hearts.
When wearing paper armor you don't fill your armor bar. Instead, you gain a second armor bar above the real armor bar, represented by up to 10 sheets of paper. When your paper armor takes damage these paper sheets vanish to represent lost durability.
Paper Swords
Paper swords would not be able to deal damage to any players or mobs (nor could they break blocks faster than by hand). The only thing a paper sword can damage is paper armor. Paper swords would deal as much damage to paper armor as wooden swords.
Snowballs
Want mock ranged combat? Snowballs would damage paper armor just as much as an arrow, while still dealing no damage to players.
What's the point of this?
To conduct perfectly safe mock battles. Two players dueling with paper swords and snowballs, wearing paper armor, will only damage the paper armor and not each other. That would allow people to duel until one person loses all their armor, rather than to the death.
Death has little sting now (although it can be a hassle to retrieve or replace all your items), but Notch plans to add an xp bar that completely resets each time you die. Here's a source for that: http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/07/20/first-details-on-minecrafts-xp-system-notch-when-you-die-you-lose-all-levels-you-lose-all-xp/
When that is added it'll be essential to have a non-fatal way of conducting wargames. Of course if you want your combat to be real adding paper armor and swords doesn't prevent anyone from using real weapons and actually killing one another. But it would be nice to have friendly non-lethal combat as an option.
I hope he adds this!
Maybe you should click this?
Even if it wasn't, I'll still do whatever the crap I feel like.
Yeah, I assume some SMP servers will turn off xp. But for the servers that do keep xp it'll be nice to have non-lethal combat for players.
Heck, even without xp at all it's still nice to be able to fight without dying. Why should players in a combat tournament have to hike back from spawn each time they lose a round?