The gypsy caravan was returning home. The dust churned in the air, creating a delicious mixture that was sure to give any inexperienced traveler coughs. The sun beat down on the ground mercilessly, but the ground was stuck in this abusive relationship and could do no more than crack a bit. The lead wagon was still a good distance away, but above all the din of the wagons making its way to the city, it was just possible to make out the sounds of more din.
Zoom out, and we’re in the sky. Look at Jubilee, in all her glory: the city was and still is stuck in a perpetual summer’s day. It was said by the sane that the festivities of the Balseraph never stopped, they were at best just toned down a little. We move, heading past the numerous conga lines snaking its way through the streets, past the plethora of carnivals striving for people’s attentions, to the brilliantly decadent palace. Let’s go down, through the ceiling...
[img=right]http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/fallfromheaven/images/e/e2/Perpentach.jpg[/img]The Laughing Man - for this is what we call the mad king Perpentach - sat on his throne, surrounded by his ministers, two of them flanking him all dressed up as clowns. Not the jolly, squeaky kind though, these clowns were quite tired of their master's antics, and mostly hoping that their week would be over soon so someone else could stand there and look silly while everyone else giggles at them...but I digress.
The king on the crimson throne waved a bored hand at his audience: "Pray tell, how long since the Revelry, it feels like it's been an eternity!"
"Only about a week," came a call from the crowd. The speaker was anonymous, because he valued his life.
"A week? A week is far too much! I surely cannot suffer such a wait some fun to do, and next moon is my birthday too!"
"Agai...?," started Anonymous, but quickly thought better of it. Perpentach didn't seem to note him though, the king was up on his feet and waving his hands in some grand gestures that fell somewhere in the vast grey zone between majestic and a puppet-on-a-string.
"To celebrate this grand event we'll host a marvellous tournament! All filled with scheming harlequins, and courtesans, and...paladins!! Oh yes, haha, what joy to see a lying, scheming busy busybee. Bring mages, priests and wildermen, bring...oh, we'll bring the lot of them!"
The ministers were exchanging some seriously nervous glances by now.
"In all the lands on Erebus, go spread the word, and bring to us the greatest heroes to be found, to charm, to dazzle and astound their audience here in Jubilee, and most of all to prove to me that they alone the prize should claim, the fortune and the worldwide fame!"
The crimson garb stopped fluttering around randomly, and the mad king's eyes rested calmly on his ministers. A moment passed and no one dared to breathe. Sure enough, when nothing happened, the king quickly started up again.
"So go go go, what's keeping you? We start before the moon is new, so better hurry up before I add you to the blood and gore that this here feast will bring on its plate, oh joy, oh joy I can hardly wait!"
====================================================
Welcome to another game in the proud tradition of Snakes and Foxes!
If you're a veteran of games like Snakes and Foxes, Dissensions or even the semi-mythical Ascension, you know what it's all about, and probably you have been waiting for another game for a loooong time. If you haven't played in the series before, be prepared for something extra.
All kudos go to previous hosts of the series for inspiration, and of course Chandrasekhar in particular, for inventing and pioneering the series, and also for useful (but non-spoilered
) comments on the rules for this game.
I also will not claim all the honor for this game - I will be co-hosting it together with my eminent assistant and narrator LightFang. Together we will ensure that this game does not suffer from the overworked GMs that some of the previous games caused. We will share the work so that he will (mostly) write about the battles, and I will (mostly) handle all the rule details. And speaking of which...
Rules:
For those who haven't seen any of the previous (and now sadly purged) games, the core idea is simple:
A number of characters, each with their own special set of abilities, participate in a grand tournament. Every morning and every evening, two contestants face off to the death in the arena. During the day, all participants vote on which two contestants that should do battle the next morning. During the night, the Mark, a hidden faction among the contestants, decide who should do battle the upcoming evening. The goal for the Mark is to outnumber the non-Mark. The goal for the non-Mark ("innocents") is to root out the Mark. It's Night of the Werewolves meets Gladiator!
Of course the core idea is just the core idea, there will be lots of fluff to it to increase the fun. Gold! Betting! Items! Special powers! And a new addition for this game - a scoreboard!
Abilities: A character will typically start with 5 abilities, 5 resistances and 5 weaknesses. Your abilities are your fighting style, the skills you use to bring your opponent down. Your resistances are the abilities you for various reasons have no fear to face, you know how to handle an opponent that uses them. Your weaknesses on the other hand are the abilities you should pray that your opponent won't use against you, since you are extra vulnerable against them. Abilities are drawn from the following pool:
When two contestants do battle, I will compare their abilities against their opponent's resistances and weaknesses, and calculate the winner from that. Everything is completely deterministic.
Gold: Every contestant starts off with 250 gold pieces (gp). Every morning, each living contestant will receive an additional 50 gp. Gold can change hands during betting, and as spoils after a battle. Gold can also be given freely between contestants.Note that the exact numbers may be subject to change before the game starts.
Betting: All battles will be open for betting on who will win. The odds for the bet will be directly determined by how many bet on each combattant, so no new gold is generated into the overall pool.
Items: There will be an assortment of items you can buy, the list is not yet finalized, and prices are very much in flux. Examples of items include:
- Equipment that gives you an extra ability. These will be progressively more expensive the more you buy.
- Stamina Potions, to let you go the extra mile in a tight battle (work as tie breakers).
- Scanners that let you find out the abilities, resistances, weaknesses and powers of other contestants. These will come in different strengths and be upgradeable.
- Tokens and Crystal Balls that let you find out whether someone is a Mark.
Powers: Every character will have a unique power. These will not be incredibly high-powered, to not disrupt the balance of the game, they will just be something that makes your character unique and could give you an edge if the circumstances are right.
Scoreboard: Previous incarnations of this game series have suffered from a certain fatigue after a while, things settle into a lull and not much actually happens. I hope to amend that - and the scoreboard is my primary weapon. The winner (singular) of this game will be the highest scoring contestant on the winning side (Mark or innocent). In other words, your side has to win primarily, you can have a skyrocket score which will count for nothing if you're on the wrong side. But also note that I never said you have to be alive for your score to count in the ranking.
The scoreboard will be continuously updated, and it is possible that good things may come to those who score well not just at the end but during the game as well. With Perpentach you never know...
You will score points for, possibly among other things:
The rules will be reposted, obviously with more detail, in the actual game thread.
Characters:
What follows is a list of 36 playable characters, who will be teamed up in 6 teams of 6. However, since we have so much new talent among us now, I wouldn't be surprised to see if more than 36 people wanted to sign up for this game. If that happens, I will simply extend the setup to 40 (8 teams of 5), 42 (7 teams of 6), 45 (9 teams of 5) or whatever is necessary. I will accomodate for anyone that signs up, and I will pad with NPC characters to fill all teams if necessary.
I'll add more characters to the list if needed. Note that whether a character appears on this list now or is added later is no indication of Mark status - I haven't assigned the Marks yet, and won't do until just before the game actually starts. Unlike previous games, I won't allow you to pick your own teams. Team assignments will be random (partly because I don't know how many slots each team will have), and will be posted when the game starts.
Signups are now open! Make your pick!
Zoom out, and we’re in the sky. Look at Jubilee, in all her glory: the city was and still is stuck in a perpetual summer’s day. It was said by the sane that the festivities of the Balseraph never stopped, they were at best just toned down a little. We move, heading past the numerous conga lines snaking its way through the streets, past the plethora of carnivals striving for people’s attentions, to the brilliantly decadent palace. Let’s go down, through the ceiling...
[img=right]http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/fallfromheaven/images/e/e2/Perpentach.jpg[/img]The Laughing Man - for this is what we call the mad king Perpentach - sat on his throne, surrounded by his ministers, two of them flanking him all dressed up as clowns. Not the jolly, squeaky kind though, these clowns were quite tired of their master's antics, and mostly hoping that their week would be over soon so someone else could stand there and look silly while everyone else giggles at them...but I digress.
The king on the crimson throne waved a bored hand at his audience: "Pray tell, how long since the Revelry, it feels like it's been an eternity!"
"Only about a week," came a call from the crowd. The speaker was anonymous, because he valued his life.
"A week? A week is far too much! I surely cannot suffer such a wait some fun to do, and next moon is my birthday too!"
"Agai...?," started Anonymous, but quickly thought better of it. Perpentach didn't seem to note him though, the king was up on his feet and waving his hands in some grand gestures that fell somewhere in the vast grey zone between majestic and a puppet-on-a-string.
"To celebrate this grand event we'll host a marvellous tournament! All filled with scheming harlequins, and courtesans, and...paladins!! Oh yes, haha, what joy to see a lying, scheming busy busybee. Bring mages, priests and wildermen, bring...oh, we'll bring the lot of them!"
The ministers were exchanging some seriously nervous glances by now.
"In all the lands on Erebus, go spread the word, and bring to us the greatest heroes to be found, to charm, to dazzle and astound their audience here in Jubilee, and most of all to prove to me that they alone the prize should claim, the fortune and the worldwide fame!"
The crimson garb stopped fluttering around randomly, and the mad king's eyes rested calmly on his ministers. A moment passed and no one dared to breathe. Sure enough, when nothing happened, the king quickly started up again.
"So go go go, what's keeping you? We start before the moon is new, so better hurry up before I add you to the blood and gore that this here feast will bring on its plate, oh joy, oh joy I can hardly wait!"
====================================================
Welcome to another game in the proud tradition of Snakes and Foxes!
If you're a veteran of games like Snakes and Foxes, Dissensions or even the semi-mythical Ascension, you know what it's all about, and probably you have been waiting for another game for a loooong time. If you haven't played in the series before, be prepared for something extra.
All kudos go to previous hosts of the series for inspiration, and of course Chandrasekhar in particular, for inventing and pioneering the series, and also for useful (but non-spoilered
) comments on the rules for this game.I also will not claim all the honor for this game - I will be co-hosting it together with my eminent assistant and narrator LightFang. Together we will ensure that this game does not suffer from the overworked GMs that some of the previous games caused. We will share the work so that he will (mostly) write about the battles, and I will (mostly) handle all the rule details. And speaking of which...
Rules:
For those who haven't seen any of the previous (and now sadly purged) games, the core idea is simple:
A number of characters, each with their own special set of abilities, participate in a grand tournament. Every morning and every evening, two contestants face off to the death in the arena. During the day, all participants vote on which two contestants that should do battle the next morning. During the night, the Mark, a hidden faction among the contestants, decide who should do battle the upcoming evening. The goal for the Mark is to outnumber the non-Mark. The goal for the non-Mark ("innocents") is to root out the Mark. It's Night of the Werewolves meets Gladiator!
Of course the core idea is just the core idea, there will be lots of fluff to it to increase the fun. Gold! Betting! Items! Special powers! And a new addition for this game - a scoreboard!
Abilities: A character will typically start with 5 abilities, 5 resistances and 5 weaknesses. Your abilities are your fighting style, the skills you use to bring your opponent down. Your resistances are the abilities you for various reasons have no fear to face, you know how to handle an opponent that uses them. Your weaknesses on the other hand are the abilities you should pray that your opponent won't use against you, since you are extra vulnerable against them. Abilities are drawn from the following pool:
Spoiler :
When two contestants do battle, I will compare their abilities against their opponent's resistances and weaknesses, and calculate the winner from that. Everything is completely deterministic.
Gold: Every contestant starts off with 250 gold pieces (gp). Every morning, each living contestant will receive an additional 50 gp. Gold can change hands during betting, and as spoils after a battle. Gold can also be given freely between contestants.Note that the exact numbers may be subject to change before the game starts.
Betting: All battles will be open for betting on who will win. The odds for the bet will be directly determined by how many bet on each combattant, so no new gold is generated into the overall pool.
Items: There will be an assortment of items you can buy, the list is not yet finalized, and prices are very much in flux. Examples of items include:
- Equipment that gives you an extra ability. These will be progressively more expensive the more you buy.
- Stamina Potions, to let you go the extra mile in a tight battle (work as tie breakers).
- Scanners that let you find out the abilities, resistances, weaknesses and powers of other contestants. These will come in different strengths and be upgradeable.
- Tokens and Crystal Balls that let you find out whether someone is a Mark.
Powers: Every character will have a unique power. These will not be incredibly high-powered, to not disrupt the balance of the game, they will just be something that makes your character unique and could give you an edge if the circumstances are right.
Scoreboard: Previous incarnations of this game series have suffered from a certain fatigue after a while, things settle into a lull and not much actually happens. I hope to amend that - and the scoreboard is my primary weapon. The winner (singular) of this game will be the highest scoring contestant on the winning side (Mark or innocent). In other words, your side has to win primarily, you can have a skyrocket score which will count for nothing if you're on the wrong side. But also note that I never said you have to be alive for your score to count in the ranking.
The scoreboard will be continuously updated, and it is possible that good things may come to those who score well not just at the end but during the game as well. With Perpentach you never know...
You will score points for, possibly among other things:
- Being among the first to vote a losing innocent into battle (minor score boost)
- Being among the first to vote a losing Mark into battle (major score boost)
- Betting on the winning contestant in a battle (flat bonus for betting the right way)
- Winning gold on betting (a variable component, more points for higher wins)
- Having surviving team mates at the end of the game will give you a multiplicative boost to your score.
The rules will be reposted, obviously with more detail, in the actual game thread.
Characters:
What follows is a list of 36 playable characters, who will be teamed up in 6 teams of 6. However, since we have so much new talent among us now, I wouldn't be surprised to see if more than 36 people wanted to sign up for this game. If that happens, I will simply extend the setup to 40 (8 teams of 5), 42 (7 teams of 6), 45 (9 teams of 5) or whatever is necessary. I will accomodate for anyone that signs up, and I will pad with NPC characters to fill all teams if necessary.
- Archmage (Amurite) - oyzar
- Arquebusier (Khazad) - BananaLee
- Assassin (Svartalfar) - Seon
- Beastmaster (Doviello) - PaulusIII
- Berserker (Illian) - MooseWarrior
- Brujah (Calabim) - Frozen In Ice
- Centaur (Kuriotate) - lord_joakim
- Courtesan (Balseraph) - D'artagnan
- Devout (Elohim) - Love
- Divided Soul (Sidar) - PurpleTurtle
- Dragonslayer (Grigori) - Izipo
- Druid (Doviello) - KingMorgan
- Eidolon (Sheaim) - Sepuku
- Engineer (Khazad) - Splime
- Firebow (Amurite) - Stuck in Pi
- Frost Speaker (Illian)
- Ghost (Sidar) - Methos
- Harlequin (Balseraph) - Diamondeye
- Illusionist (Svartalfar) - ZPV
- Knight (Bannor) - mythmonster2
- Lich (Calabim) - Tolis
- Lizardman (Clan of Embers) - Kulko
- Luonnotar (Grigori) - Chandrasekhar
- Luridus (Malakim) - Ekolite
- Marksman (Ljosalfar) - hell_hound
- Mercenary (Hippus) - Charles Li
- Minotaur (Sheaim) - Nictel
- Monk (Elohim) - The13thRonin
- Ogre (Clan of Embers) - Winston Hughes
- Overlord Speaker (Lanun) - RRRaskolnikov
- Paladin (Bannor) - Abgar
- Pirate (Lanun) - Renata
- Prior (Kuriotate) - Azale
- Raider (Malakim) - CCRunner
- Ranger (Hippus)
- Ritualist (Sheaim) - Rhawn
- Runekeeper (Luchuirp) - thomas.berubeg
- Satyr (Ljosalfar) - scherbchen
- Sculptor (Luchuirp) - Mergle
- Shaman (Clan of Embers) - Tasslehoff
- BaoBao123
I'll add more characters to the list if needed. Note that whether a character appears on this list now or is added later is no indication of Mark status - I haven't assigned the Marks yet, and won't do until just before the game actually starts. Unlike previous games, I won't allow you to pick your own teams. Team assignments will be random (partly because I don't know how many slots each team will have), and will be posted when the game starts.
Signups are now open! Make your pick!
![[party]](/images/smilies/partytime.gif "Party [party]")
