Shadows Summer Tournament
Participants: 16
Fighting Rounds: 5
Style of Combat: One-one-one
Entry Fee: 1500 gold. This fee is expected to be paid before the beginning of the Second Round of the Tournament. Any player who has yet to pay at that point will be automatically disqualified from further participation, so be sure you pay soon if you haven't already.
Prize: there will be three levels of prizes available for this tournament. First of all, I would like to extend my appreciation to Yo-ko who generously donated several items, including a few Thank You Letters, in order that we may up the ante for this tournament. Because of him the rewards have increased dramatically. Third prize will be split between the two semi-finalists of the tournament. Both fighters will receive 10,000 gold for a total of 20,000. Second prize will receive 30,000 gold in all as well as a second place banner designed specifically for this tournament by our own beloved Synnie. First prize will receive a prize of 40,000 gold, plus a first place banner, as well as a chance to gain more gold, a Grand Champion banner (to replace first place) and two Thank You Letters in the bonus round. The grand prize will be 56,992 gold, a Grand Champion Banner, and two Thank You Letters.
This will be a standard guild tournament to take place during the summer of 2008. All guild members are welcome to participate, and adjustments to the number of entrees can be altered, but only within reasonable limits. The maximum number of accepted contestants will be 32. Should we exceed this number, everyone who wishes to be involved will roll dice and the top 32 numbers will be accepted; this shall be done in order to prevent any bias from interfering with the setup of the tournament.
Mules and mains will be allowed to participate in this tournament, meaning a single user may participate in more than one role. It is discouraged to enter every account you have, but if they so happen to make it in, then what is done is done.
The prize for the tournament will depend on the gold collected. The victor will also be invited to participate in a grand prize match in whom he will battle two members (from a selection of KenoTao, Jade, User, Deity, and Taliman) at once. If s/he defeats them both, the prize will also include two Letters of the corresponding month the victor is chosen. Should either one character be defeated, but the champion still loses, s/he will receive one Letter. Otherwise, just for accepting the challenge, and extra 10k will be allotted to the victor.
For each round, the number of posts will increase, giving succeeding players more mobility during their matches. However, regardless of however long a single bout takes IRL, this tournament RP wise will take place over a single day. All fighters will go into combat with their respective opponents simultaneously. IRL, one fight may end well before the rest, but IC, each victor moves immediately from one fight to the next and is expected to RP as such.
The winner of the tournament will be given a two-day rest period before the bonus round should the challenge be accepted. Depending on who wins, this could prove beneficial or it may not much matter at all. During this period, the character may seek medical attention, even from other characters, but no performance enhancer of any sort will be permitted. At the end of the two days, whether fully healed or not, the final match will take place. (Expand on this: no sort of time suspension spell will be tolerated for example)
Rules:
· All posts must adhere to the Gaiaonline ToS
· The rules concerning combat in this guild must be followed in this tournament as well. Refer to the appropriate thread in main forum for the full list of rules and procedures.
· To claim victory, you must defeat your opponent by KO, DQ, ring-out, or forced withdrawal unless…
· Judges will rank the winner of a match if the post limit is reached.
· Characters are free to use any special abilities, items, armor, or weaponry within reasonable limits. The abilities and possessions must be clearly explained to their utmost capacity in your respective character profiles should you choose to use them. Judges and KenoTao have the final word on what is considered reasonable.
· All weapons must be on your person prior to the start of the tournament, even if your character if fully capable of summoning/conjuring them from afar. That said, should a character not wish to carry their weapon around, they may send it wherever they please until they wish to utilize it later in the tournament.
· No form of killing of another player’s character will be permitted in this tournament. Similarly, unnecessarily dying, though doubtful, will not be accepted either. Both cases will result in a DQ.
Posting Rules:
· All posts should be of semi-literate length and quality at least. Aside from the first and last, each post must contain a response to the opponent’s attack and a follow-up course of action, even if that course of action is simply to await another attack.
· Each post must be clear and concise in order for the combat to flow smoothly. Any confusing posts will be rewritten until clarified or explained through PM exchange. These exchanges must be forwarded to Keno, who will then forward them to the judges.
· No form of godmodding will be permitted. The greatest consequence, depending on severity, will be the DQ of the character in question at the discretion of the judges or KenoTao.
Ring-out Rules:
· Landing on any surface that is not part of the ring is a qualified ring-out. This includes airborne surfaces, should any be available.
· Exceeding 50 yards from the edge (horizontally) or surface (vertically) of the ring results in a ring-out.
· Whether by illusion or otherwise, invisible participants will be declared loser by ring-out if they do not reappear in the post immediately following the post in which they vanished.
· Going underground at any depth will be considered ring-out. By 'undergound' I mean 'beneath the surface'. As such, any holes or craters in the ground are not considered 'underground' and will not be considered ring-out unless said hole/crater is already out of bounds.
KO Rules:
· Any player rendered immobile and unable to stand will lose by KO even if they still retain consciousness.
· Any player rendered unconscious will lose by KO.
Withdrawal:
· Any player who willfully quits mid-battle is considered withdrawn.
· A judge will withdraw any player who does not post within two days of his/her opponent’s last post – or two days after the opening of the thread the contestants fight in. Exceptions will only be tolerated if a valid reason is presented beforehand along with an estimated wait period. Two days after said wait period ends, if there is still no post, the player will be disqualified.
· If a killing blow is delivered, even if it is expected to be avoided, the offending player will be withdrawn.
Rounds: As of now, there will be four official rounds and one bonus round with an increase in the maximum number of posts.
· Round one will consist of 16 participants, each match being 21 posts in length.
· Round two will consist of 8 participants, each match being 31 posts in length.
· Round three will consist of 4 participants, each match being 41 posts in length.
· Round four will consist of 2 participants and be 51 posts in length.
· The bonus round will consist of either 2 or 3 participants and be 61 posts in length.
The extra post for each match is used primarily to set the fight underway. Whoever initiates the fight tends to have an offensive advantage, but usually at the cost of defense, so for this tournament, the player that begins the match will also be the one to close it. Be aware, however, that the first post still counts as far as judges’ critiques are concerned. Should the bracket exceed 16 slots, preliminary slots will consist of 15 posts each.
As the rounds advance, be aware that your character will not have time to heal or recover before moving on to the next match. Furthermore, any third party at the end of each match will not heal your characters. Any injuries received will be carried on into every proceeding match until your character loses a match or wins the tournament.
The bonus round is either the champion’s greatest privilege or an opportunity to receive more royalties. After winning the tournament, the player will be challenged by KenoTao to fight in one last match. Should the player accept, s/he will choose whether to fight one or two moderators of Shadows; KenoTao, Jade, User, Deity, or Tali in any combination the player so chooses. This match is completely optional. If the player chooses to fight only one moderator, they will receive a Sealed Envelope or Thank You Letter upon victory, but nothing upon defeat. However, if the player opts to fight a two-man team, s/he will automatically receive 10k win or lose as well as an Envelope/Letter for each character s/he defeats.
Judges: There shall be three judges for this tournament, and all will remain anonymous not only to the players, but to each other. Reasons for this are: 1) to prevent players from appealing to judges for favoritism after a match, and 2) to prevent judges from making joint decisions regardless of the skill and accomplishments of the participants.
The role of the judges is to decide the victor of any match in which a character does not lose via ringout, withdrawal, or KO. All things being, equal, a judge will primarily be concerned with deciding which character earned a decisive victory by the end of the match, however literacy being key to this guild, a player's ability to RP well must be strongly considered as well.
The only individual able to communicate with the judges regarding decisions concerning winners/losers throughout the tournament shall be KenoTao. Any appeals the contestants have during the tournament should be made to KenoTao, who will immediately forward said appeals directly to the judges. KenoTao will only pass judgment in extreme cases or whenever the judges cannot come to a general consensus.
Until the number of spectators is verified, the judges are unfortunately cautioned against participating in tournament IC or OOC interaction in order to maintain their anonymity. However, should the number of spectators be sufficient, judges are welcome to engage as they would normally. However, a judge may at no point in time ever disclose his/her role as a judge, even as a joke.
Rings: Just because I like things to be a bit different, the rings for each round will all be different in design and locales. Each ring still maintains an Earth-like environment in terms of gravitational field, air pressure, temperature settings, etc. so all participants should be able to function normally without consequence. The retired Carl Elynwood designed all rings for the tournament, and each ring will be described briefly below as we obtain more detail and explained more thoroughly during their respective rounds.
· Ring one - a raised platform set in the center of a colliseum like stadium.
· Ring two - a seemingly ruined ring floor deep within a jungle
· Ring three - a circular stone island floating atop a lake of cooling molten lava.
· Ring four - a giant sphere of liquid that vaporizes in one's lungs
