The Jack of Tears - for this is another name for the mad king Perpentach - sat in what quite appropriately was called The King’s Corner. Located in the Theater of Dreams, it was the prime corner where one was just high enough to catch all the action but just low enough so everything was quite visible from the throne placed there; it also helped that all the seats in front of the corner were lowered so that nothing would impede Perpentach’s pleasure whenever he chanced to see the festivities going on.
Not even the omnipotent narrator knew exactly what was going on inside that head of his, but the thoughts of his ministers were much easier to divine. He was, once again, flanked by two ministers dressed in clown outfits, the same two from before. The first thought something along the lines of, "Well, wouldn’t Mom be proud of me, here I am right next to the King!" The second thought something like, "I went to University so I could dress up in strange outfits. I should have joined the Entertainer’s Guild."
The eyes of all three gazed down, conveniently allowing the readers a description of the theater. In the center was a grand space, about football-field sized, although of course they didn’t play football but rather fistball (the rationale was that it was much more amusing to see people come to fisticuffs than just kick a stupid ball around). Surrounding that were a multitude of rows of seats, wide ones, to allow tents and junk to be set up, because even if a tournament was going to be held, people sure weren’t going to sit around all day idly between fights. All seats were occupied even though the night was still some hours away. Some hawkers hawked their wares while other hawkers used their hawks to steal from the crowds.
Suddenly, by whatever internal clock the Laughing Man used, he stood up and snapped out of his reverie.
"Hear ye, hear ye, the time is near, so all contestants listen here!"
The contestants were all out on the field, presumably doing warmup excercises, despite the fact that no battle would take place until the next morning. They could easily hear the Mad King though, for such was the arena built. And it helped that the crowd of onlookers went all silent too.
"Attention all, it’s time to start, but first do take these words to heart. To win, you'll need much more than brawns, you must be smart and move your pawns, to lift you up to reach the top, but careful lest they let you drop!"
"Wait!" called a dissenter weakly, from down below. "It’s still day out! And you haven’t even explained the rules!"
"Oh, what was that? Did you all hear?" retorted Perpentach, "We have ourselves a volunteer!"
The dissenter was suddenly no longer down below, but hanging upside down in mid air above the Mad King's throne. One of the clown advisors - the left one - happily thrust him the papers with the long and convoluted rules that he was to have read. The dissenter cast a single scared look at Perpentach - who had settled back into his recliner throne seemingly uncaring that there was a man floating above his head - and started to read the rules out loud.
Basic setup: 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 to 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. The game ends when either side achieves its goal.
Time and Voting: The game will be divided into cycles consisting of a day and a night. Each day and night will last 48 hours, RL time. There will be four updates per cycle - morning, midday, evening, and midnight.
IMPORTANT: All "effects" will happen at the time of an update. This includes things like results from using scanners and other items - they will not be reported as soon as I see them, but rather at the next update. This is both to simplify my running the game, but also to make it fairer on people in time zones other than my own.
During the day - lasting from the morning post to the evening post - all contestants will vote on which two contestants should do battle next morning. Each contestant receives two votes, each of which can either be for a contestant to do battle, or to support a contestant to keep them out of the arena. The two votes cannot be placed on characters of the same team (and in particular not on the same character). Also, until only 20 contestants remain, a contestant who has fought and won a battle the previous morning or evening is not eligible to be voted for another battle (they get a one day grace/recovery period). The two contestants with the most votes to their name at the end of the day will do battle next morning. The contestant with the second most votes will have the advantage of choosing the arena (see battle resolution below).
During the night, the Mark will pick two contestants to do battle the following evening.
IMPORTANT: The two contestants that are chosen to fight will be taken into isolation by the contest officials at midday or midnight respectively, so that they may prepare for the battle. While in isolation they cannot purchase items, and no items or other effects may be used on them. Thus, all such things must be done before the first 24 hours of the day/night has passed. No changes can be made during the following 24 hours (this is obviously to ensure that LightFang knows 24 hours in advance who the winner will be, so that he can start writing the update and I can post it on time).
During the day, all contestants may also bet on the outcome of the battle about to happen the coming evening. During the night, the bet will be on the outcome of the battle about to happen the coming morning. Note in particular that this means that there is no ban on talking in the thread during the night.
Teams: The contest is conducted in eight teams with five members each. Teams are important for two primary reasons. First, each living team member gets 50 gold every morning, increasing the total gold owned by the team. The longer they stay alive, the more gold they will bring in, up to the point when (if) they die. At that point two thirds of their gold will be redistributed among the other team members (see battle spoils below). Second, each team member that lives to see the end will add to your final score.
On the first day, all teams should vote on who should lead them. Team leaders have an extra 0.1 votes, allowing them to break (or create) voting ties. If a team leader is chosen to fight, they may name a successor to lead the team in case they lose. If no successor is named and the team leader is killed, a new vote is put forth among the remaining team members.
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 (x) are the abilities you for various reasons have no fear to face, because 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:
Attacks:
Spoiler:
Melee - I'll strike you with my fearsome weapon
Movement - I'll move so fast you won't know what's coming
Poison - When I hit you it will sting some extra
Power - I'll strike you so hard you will crumble
Ranged - I'll strike you from a long distance
Reach - I'll strike you before you get close
Synergy - Me and my cohorts will strike you
Unarmed - I'll kill you with my bare hands
Defenses:
Spoiler:
Absorption - You can hit me but I'll hardly feel it
Alertness - You won't hit me since I see what's coming
Armor - Your hits will only clang against my protective cover
Deflection - I will deflect your strikes before they hit me
Distraction - You won't hit me since I'll make you look at something else
Dodge - You won't hit me since I'll jump out of the way
Regeneration - You can hit me but the wounds will heal up again
Stealth - You won't hit me since you don't know where I am
Magics:
Spoiler:
Body - I can affect my own body - and yours
Conjuration - I'll summon help from out of this world
Divine - My god will see me through
Elemental - The elements are at my command
Illusion - What you see is not what you get
Mind - I will bend your mind to my will
Nature - All living things will aid me
Profane - I have sold my soul to demons for power
Battle Mechanics: 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, and the basic mechanics work like this:
When in a fight each +Ability gives you X points.
If your opponent has -Ability, you get more than X points.
If your opponent has xAbility, you get less than X points.
Any - or x that your opponent will have for which you don't have that ability will simply not count. The exact numbers used for the various cases are hidden for the sake of suspense and uncertainty.
The winner is the one that gets the most total points against the other when all abilities are counted. If both combatants get the same value against each other, the tie will be resolved as follows:
First tie breaker is the number of Potions of Stamina each contestant has brought into battle - whoever has the most potions wins. All potions brought into battle will be used up if the difference between the combatants are within a certain margin (which is greater than 0). In other words, potions may be used up even if they weren't actually needed.
If both combatants have the same number of potions, the second tie breaker will be the arena fought on. The contestant that got to pick the arena will win. This means battles can never result in a draw.
Wounds: Depending on the closeness of a fight, the surviving contestant may be wounded, which in game mechanics will be handled by so called wound points. The closer the fight, the more wound points the survivor receives. Wounded characters get a deduction from their point total if they fight again. Wound points will be healed naturally at a rate of one per night. There are also Potions of Healing that will heal extra (see the section on items below). Like with the exact numbers in battle, the exact number of wound points you have at any one time, as well as their exact effect, will not be revealed, just to keep you guessing a bit.
Gold: Every contestant starts off with 250 gold pieces (gp). Every morning, each living contestant receives an additional 50 gp. Gold can change hands during betting, and as spoils after a battle. Gold can also be given freely between contestants.
I will separate a contestant's visible gold total from the actual gold total. The starting gold, gold received each morning, gold won or lost in betting, and gold won in battle will all add or subtract to the visible gold (and actual obviously). Gold given to or received from another contestant as a gift (handled via PM to me) will only affect the actual gold total, and will thus not be known to anyone else. Further, gold spent on purchasing equipment will also only affect the actual gold total, so no one else can see if and when you purchase equipment.
The visible gold for all contestants will be listed in the first post. The actual gold will be reported via PM when it changes (apart from when it changes from the income every morning).
IMPORTANT: A contestant who is scheduled to do battle may not give any of their gold away.
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 combatant, so no new gold is generated into the overall pool. You can bet as much or as little as you like, assuming you can afford it of course. You may change your bet up to the fight actually happens, with one exception - you can never withdraw gold that has been bet. Once you've given a sum to the bookkeepers, you won't get it back. You can add more gold, and you can change who to bet it on, but you can't withdraw it.
As an example, assume 1000 gold is bet on contestant A to win over B, and 2000 gold is bet on B to win over A. If A were to defeat B, someone betting 100 gold on A would receive that gold back plus another 200 gold from the pool. If instead B were to defeat A, someone betting 100 gold on B would receive that gold back plus another 50 gold from the pool. Fractions of gold pieces are be embezzled by the contest officials.
Note that betting correctly will add to your score, see the section on scores below.
IMPORTANT: A contestant may not bet on themselves to win.
Battle spoils: When a contestant dies in battle, their gold will be split between the contestant that defeated them and their remaining team members. The gold to be distributed includes the actual gold total, plus the total amount of gold that the contestant has spent on items. In other words, all items are refunded upon death and added to the gold to be distributed. Of the total gold, one third will be given to the victor of the battle where the contestant was killed, and the remaining two thirds will be distributed equally among the living team members of the contestant. Any fractions will be embezzled by the contest officials. If the killed contestant was the last of their team, all the spoils will befall the victor.
Items: There is an assortment of items you can buy from the officials of the tournament with the money you gain:
Spoileritems :
Equipment:
Spoiler:
Equipment is a generic term for items that give you an extra ability to use in fights. For instance you may purchase a Cloak of the Shadows to give you +Stealth, or a Severed Finger of Agares to get +Profane. What you want to call the items that you purchase is up to you and is only for flavor in battle, and I will pick a name if you don't choose one. What you must pick is the ability you want the equipment to give you.
The cost of equipment is progressive. The first piece of equipment you purchase will cost 400 gold. For every other piece of equipment you purchase thereafter, the cost will increase by another 400 gold. In other words the second equipment you purchase will cost 800 gold, the third will cost 1200 gold, etc. Which ability you purchase is irrelevant for the cost, the only thing that matters is how many you buy.
Equipment can be refunded for the same cost you bought them. However this will not decrease the cost of the next equipment you buy! In other words, if you purchase two pieces of equipment for 400 and 800 gold respectively, and you then decide to refund the first item to get 400 gold back, your next piece of equipment will still cost 1200 gold.
Potions:
Spoiler:
There are three kinds of potions in the game:
Potion of Stamina: 200 gold. These potions are used in battle to give you an extra one-time boost if needed. For the purposes of game mechanics, they will serve as tie breakers in the case the matched abilities end up in a draw. See more in the section on battle resolution.
Potion of Minor Healing: 150 gold. Drinking one of these potions will heal one wound point. See more in the section on wounds above.
Potion of Major Healing: 500 gold. Drinking one of these potions will heal all wound points. See more in the section on wounds above.
Scanners:
Spoiler:
Scanners are items that you use to assess other contestants, to figure out their abilities, weaknesses and resistances. These items come in various strengths, where one of lower strength can be upgraded to one of the next highest strength. Each scanner, regardless of strength, can be used once per day/night cycle to get information on one opponent.
Scanner, MkI: 800 gold. Gives you 3 random Weaknesses/Resistances from the targeted contestant.
Scanner, MkII: +800 gold. Gives you 5 random Weaknesses/Resistances from the targeted contestant.
Scanner, MkIII: +800 gold. Gives you 8 random Weaknesses/Resistances/Abilities from the targeted contestant.
Scanner, MkIV: +800 gold. Gives you 12 random Weaknesses/Resistances/Abilities from the targeted contestant.
Scanner, MkV: +800 gold. Gives you 15 random Weaknesses/Resistances/Abilities from the targeted contestant, or his/her special power. The chance to get the special power instead of a set of normal stats is 25% (no, you don't get to choose). Note that this is the only way to find out the special power of another contestant (apart from them being stupid and telling you of course).
Prophetic items:
Spoiler:
There are two kinds of prophetic items, i.e. items to figure out if a character is a mark or not.
Token of Divination: 1500 gold. This is a one-use item that reveals whether a targeted contestant is a mark or not.
Crystal Ball: 4000 gold. This item can be used once per day/night cycle on one contestant to reveal whether they are a mark or not.
Orbs:
Spoiler:
Orbs are one-time items that can directly affect the outcome of a battle. Anyone can buy one and use it on a given battle, not just those up for fighting.
Orb of Mercy: 5000 gold. If an Orb of Mercy is in effect on a battle, both combatants will survive regardless of the actual outcome. No gold will be redistributed.
Orb of Vengeance: 5000 gold. If an Orb of Vengeance is in effect on a battle, neither combatant will survive regardless of the actual outcome. Each combatant's gold will be distributed among their team members.
If both an Orb of Mercy and an Orb of Vengeance is in effect on the same battle, they will cancel each other out.
IMPORTANT: Items purchased are personal, and cannot be transfered to another contestant. Also no items are refundable, with the special exception of equipment as discussed above.
Powers: Every character has a unique power. These are not incredibly high-powered, to not disrupt the balance of the game, they are just something that makes your character unique and could give you an edge if the circumstances are right. Note that it is very hard for someone else to figure out your special power unless you tell actually them, so it's a good idea to keep it to yourself.
Scoreboard: 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 you don't have to be alive for your score to count in the ranking.
The scoreboard will be continuously updated after each battle, 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 the following things:
Betting on the winning contestant in a battle: 100 points.
Winning gold on betting: X pts, where X is the amount you won. If you bet 100 gold at 2:1 odds and won, you would get 200 points.
Being the first to vote a contestant into battle, who then loses and is revealed innocent: 200 points (0 points if it is a team mate)
Being the second to vote a contestant into battle, who then loses and is revealed innocent: 100 points (0 points if it is a team mate)
Being the first to vote a contestant into battle, who then loses and is revealed to be of the Mark: 1000 points
Being the second to vote a contestant into battle, who then loses and is revealed to be of the Mark: 500 points
Having surviving team mates at the end of the game: multiply your points by (1+0.2*X) where X is the number in your team still alive, including yourself.
Note that you will not gain any points for winning a battle - that's not what this competition is all about. You will also never lose points for betting the wrong way and thus losing money.
{ OOC: I have posted a separate thread for character backgrounds, a place for you to flesh out your character and make it feel more alive. I strongly encourage everyone to post at least a small piece there. Perpentach will not be pleased with those that don't register properly... }
The Mercenary looked down from his horse, it is impossible to sense his emotions from his hardened face, or from his body. But he slowly, through the side of his mouth, he spoke with his gravely voice: Let the Ranger and the Frost Speaker fight, for they yet have accomplished a Play Mind.
OOC: All Underlined items are stuff that relates to the real world. i am just saying that they have no player. .
"The Harlequin thinks it would be funny to see a monkey fight!",
the clown yells, violently shaking his head as to make a headaching sound with the bells on his headdress.
"Also, who better to lead this pack of animals than our dear own Beastmaster?"
"And for the sake of the ninefingered nuns of Nimarail, let the Lich 'live'. Got it? 'live'? Bwahaha!"
The mad clown proceeds to roll around in the arena sand in cramps of laughter.
{ OOC: A clarification since I got a question on it. All items are personal, and thus cannot be transfered to another character after purchase. No items are refundable, with the special exception of equipment as discussed in the rules. There are no limits to how many of each kind of item you may own at any one time. }
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The Golden Scarecrows 
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