[LocoColt04]

Okay, here's the thread you've all been waiting for. I had originally said I would have it up at the start of June, and then said it would come earlier... well, I apologize that it didn't come earlier, but today is the first of June all the same.

Many of you have been keeping up with the information thread thus far. Please continue using THAT thread if you have any questions. This thread is for character registration ONLY. In this post, I will provide my expectations for your characters, as well as any special restrictions placed on this tournament.

The thread will start with basic information, followed by character information, environment information, and finally some dates and such.

READ ALL OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS THREAD. I WILL IGNORE ANY QUESTIONS WHICH HAVE ALREADY BEEN ANSWERED.

ALL REGULAR RPB AND TOA RULES APPLY. BE SURE TO READ THE ANNOUNCEMENTS IN BOTH FORUMS SO THAT YOU ARE FULLY AWARE OF THE RULES.

(Also, be sure you read the stickied thread in here regarding judging.)


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Let's start with the tournament-specific restrictions.

As most of you are aware, all characters must be of Asian descent, and I would prefer that all characters are new, from scratch, specifically for this tournament. You do not have to craft some elaborate back story, but if you choose to do so, more power to you. It gives you more to play with when writing in the tournament, and also gives your opponents some possible weaknesses to exploit.

Exploitation is a good thing. This may be fake, but I want this tournament to be more realistic than any tournament we've ever had before. I want the characters to really live, and I want the writers to take advantage of one another -- without, of course, godmodding.

On that note, GODMODDING OF ANY KIND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. I will not close a thread immediately if someone cheats. As such, do not respond to a god-mod with more godmodding. If you have been cornered into doing something with absolutely no way out, do not complain about it. Take the hit, and then continue. If both players cheat, both will be disqualified at the end of the round. If a god-mod post has you trapped in a situation of death or near-fatal injury... go along with it. The other writer will be disqualified at the end of the round, and we will erase all existance of your injuries for the next round.

If you read the other sticky in here, you may know what I'm talking about. It is asked that any major injuries you sustain within battle carry over to the next fight. Healing between fights is obviously allowed (as it doesn't take place during the fight itself), but if you break a leg or sever an arm, those are things that cannot be rectified over the course of a week. For roleplay purposes, each character will have a week of roleplay time to recover between rounds.

Now, one more thing.

NO MAGIC WILL BE ALLOWED IN THIS TOURNAMENT. This includes chi, energy-based magic, geomancy, anything and everything that is not physical contact. I struggled with the confines of this specification for a long time, and made the decision that it's best to deny all forms of magic rather than pick and choose what is and is not allowed.


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And now, we look at a basic character setup. For display purposes, I will create a very shallow character following the guidelines for this tournament. I expect your characters to be a bit more detailed. Please note that it is not necessary to lay out your bio in this format, nor are you required to include all of what I listed (but you are welcome to use it if you wish to do so).


Name: ...should definitely sound Asian
Origin: Even though the countries may not have existed in the era of this tournament, it gives us a better idea of your roots all the same
Age:
Gender:
Hair Color: Most should be black or dark brown (but not required)
Eye Color: Ditto
Height:
Weight:

Fighting Style(s): I know much was discussed about job classes and cross-classing, and I have decided it would be easier not to require any specific classes at all. If you wish to do so, you still may, but it may be easiest to do this instead. I ask that you list all styles of fighting for which your character has been trained (or self-taught). Thieves, ninjas, assassins... all characters with primarily these styles of training should be shorter, lighter, and faster. Samurai, Knights... all characters blah blah ditto should be taller, heavier, and slower. You may mix and match as you see fit, but you can't do everything at once.

Clothing and Armor: Just make sure it fits with your fighting styles. Clothing can change daily, but armor should not.

Weaponry: Each character is allowed up to two primary weapons and two secondary weapons. Obviously, you do not need to use all of the alloted weapons. In most cases, the primary will consist of two swords of some type. Secondary weapons could be bows, knives, daggers, and other smaller weapons. Throwing knives fall under the category of projectiles, and thusly do not count toward your secondary weapons. In the case of a fighting style that requires a third large weapon, the secondary weapons MUST be sacrificed, with the exception of projectiles. Your character may only carry as many shuriken, darts, etc., as is feasible for the clothing and gear. These are not limitless!

Background/Biography: Only if you wish to have one. This is not required, but will greatly help in identifying some key aspects of your character. Why did s/he choose these fighting styles? What are his/her strengths and weaknesses? Etcetera? Part of judging comes from creativity, so by all means, feel free to fill this portion out to your heart's content. Just don't go overboard and write a whole roleplay-type story... you can, but to be honest, I probably won't read it all, and neither will the other writers. I mention something at the end of this post which should appeal to those of you wishing to include an extensive background for your character. I suggest you do so there, rather than in your bio. Of course, a basic rundown of the "why" on some things would still be nice to have within this portion of your character creation sheet.


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The environment, whee!

Feudal Japan. I should hope that would be obvious by now.

The tournament itself will be held in... pardon the cliché... a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style of complex. I only say this to give you an idea of what I'm looking for. It will basically be a very large estate with a massive courtyard in the midst of the main house. This courtyard is paved with stones. The tournament fights will all begin within this courtyard, but are not required to stay there. Feel free to move throughout the house and possibly even into the estate grounds outside the house.

...I ask that you don't do anything to burn down the building, of course. Feel free to swipe torches from inside and then burn stuff outside, but I don't want any fires within the main building. There will be some smaller buildings (like guest homes and such) that you can destroy to your heart's content.

Remember, this is Feudal Japan. There's no electricity. Use your brain.

All participants will have rooms within the main house. I ask that if your fight moves into the house, you keep it out of the participants' rooms. There are large living areas and kitchens full of objects you can utilize.

The environment is fully interactive. It is not godmodding to throw a frying pan at your opponent. Not only is that good use of your environment, but it's also comedic relief. No one said you had to be 100% serious all of the time.

If you have any further questions, please ask them in the Q&A thread.


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THERE WILL BE SOMETHING NEW THIS YEAR. I am putting up another thread in just a moment where each participant may (but is not required to) write a roleplay-styled introduction post describing how his/her character ended up in Japan for this tournament. Whether your character was notified by letter, word of mouth, or just happened to stroll by, that is completely up to you. You will only be allowed one post, but you may put as much information into it (within the 50,000 character limit) as you like. I will read through that entire thread prior to judging the first round. The thread will be closed the moment the first round starts, so if you wish to write an introduction, capitalize upon the opportunity as soon as possible.


REGISTRATION WILL END ON SUNDAY, 11 JUNE 2006.

The Q&A thread will remain open throughout the duration of the tournament.

ROUND ONE WILL START ON WEDNESDAY, 14 JUNE 2006.

The pairings will be randomized. I will quite literally put your names into a hat and draw them out that way. A lot of things depend on how many people we get with legitimate characters for the tournament.

In the case of only eight people, there will be three rounds. The first round will be ten days, the second will be twenty, and the third will be thirty. These are estimates, but should be fairly close to what we'll have.

In the case of 9-12 people... I will cut applicants to get it down to eight.

In the case of more than twelve people, we will go with a four-round tournament. Round one will be a week, rounds two and three will be two weeks, and the final round will be a month.

Past champions will receive a bye through the first round if we do not have a full 16, in the order of most recent champions and/or finalists.

I WILL NOT ACCEPT MORE THAN SIXTEEN PARTICIPANTS.


...I honestly hope we can get a strong 14-16 players for this event. It would be nice. You can expect the tournament to last through August, but it should not run into September. If it does, I apologize, but hopefully it won't be an issue for any of you.

Do not register if you cannot be available through August.

There is no post limit on these threads. Endings will be abrupt, but for any thread in which both participants wish to continue their topic and reach a conclusion, I will copy the thread into the RPB forum and remove the judgement post so that it may be continued.

There will be no victory posts, with the exception of the final round. Killing your opponent's character will not be allowed in this victory post.


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With that, I officially declare registration for the 2006 TOA open.