Writing challenge

[Undying]

We've challenged the divisions to a writing challenge. What are your opinions on the theme, length, etc.?

[.System]

1000 - 1500 words

Theme: Freestyle :p

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Prize:

1st place: 3000 Vbuks + Rep from all members of 6th and a Gift from the Captain and Vice Captain

2nd place: 1500 Vbuks + Rep from Captain and Vice only

3rd place: 500 Vbuks and a Gift from the Captain

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Sounds fair?

[diamondedge]

I think we SHOULD have a theme. Or at least a title.
Perhaps we can take some random meaningful quote/something from somewhere, and then all members develop their thoughts on that. :)

I agree about the 1000-1500 words. :)

[.System]

Ok how about:

A Theme where you have to start or end the story with a particular thrase, for example:

"It was a cold dark night and the moon was shining brightly on the small group." As a start or:

"He thought it was over, but little did he know that what he just witnessed would haunt him forever." as an end.

[Undying]

How about we take the theme to be.. um...

Fate/Stay Night, and the story has to end with a specific phrase?

[.System]

I am not familiar with Fate/Stay Night, how about Fullmetal Alchemist?

[diamondedge]

Wow guys, both of your suggestions remind me of Max Payne, for some odd reason! :)
I really like both of your ideas! How about we give no title, but one starting and one ending sentence, and the rest has to be filled, something like system suggested? That sounds really great to to me.

[Undying]

FMA is pretty good (as is FSN), so either can be used.

I'm not suggesting a "fanfic", I'm suggesting an original story with the concept taken from the anime (we can use movies, TV shows, anything at all).

[SageOfHalo]

hmmm.... I like the starting and ending line idea, too...

How about:

"How did I get myself into this?" he thought to himself as he looked around at the battle raging...


It was over. He knew that there would be other battles to fight... other enemies to be put down, but for now, the sun shone bright in the clear blue sky, and it carried with it the hope of a new day.


also also... I will not be able to moderate this by myself for our division. please discuss among yourself on who might make a suitable co-moderator for this challenge. post questions here, or PM me. Thanks.

[Undying]

The idea of a forced first line and last line is pretty good IMO, but does it have to be a fighting story? :p

And yes, we will require a co-moderator for our division (as we've stated in the contest thread, we will have two members from our division and two members from the other division judge in order to make it a fair contest without any accusations of rigged judging), so please state on who it might be.

The judge will require English knowledge (anyone here doesn't know English? Raise you hands) and enough time to sit down and read a few relatively long stories in a short amount of time.

[SageOfHalo]

Of course it doesn't... I was just using those as another example. feel free to modify as you see fit, or, come up with something else..... OOOoo.. how about this... one division comes up with the starting line, the other division comes up with the ending line... *shrug* just a thought....

[.System]

I enjoy reading stories, and i know when effort has been put into something, be it GFX or Fiction and not just rushed.

[Undying]

/me could resist posting one last time

Also remember we have the RPG challenge in the contest area, it requires co-modding and a theme.

.System, I think you'd do well helping Sage.

Therefore, .System is hereby nominated to co-mod and judge our challenges to other divisions. This will include writing and RPG challenges, with perhaps occasional GFX challenges.

[.System]

I feel honoured, thanks Undy :D

[Yamamoto]

congrats System ^___^

and the ideas sound really great :)

(too bad I was sleeping that time XD)

EDIT: Wait, I'm confused. Is this different from the rpg challenge?

[Undying]

A little. The RPG challenge will be a short RPG made by us and the challenging division, to, how should I put it, find out who has more pwnage writing skills in a fight.

The story challenge will be something like Fan Fiction of the Month, several story submissions from each division that will be judged to see who has more writing skills when forming a story.

We need guidelines for the RPG challenge too.

[Yamamoto]

oh okay ^___^

well I love this idea :)

well the stories don't have to have a theme then, just the provided start and end lines- it is more interesting plus it would be fun to see how creative the other division are in making their ideas regarding them.

On the other hand that could go the other way and they won't have ideas to write down..

[.Socio]

Is this a whole division thing, or do you select members to participate?

I'm interested.

[diamondedge]

On the other hand that could go the other way and they won't have ideas to write down..

If you check the topic in the challenge area that Undying made - they are very confident in their abilities and I'm sure they could pull this off.

Like you said kensei, starting and ending lines are great, but I'm somewhat against the fact that it's a fanfic... It should be original story. :)

[Yamamoto]

hmm maybe i read it wrong but i'm pretty sure they didn't really wanted to go fanfic..

but original sounds...yeah original ^___^

I love this stuff, I'm interested too :)

[Undying]

The current challenge of the RP will require 4 members from our side, 2 mods/judges, and a theme and prizes for the winners.

[Yamamoto]

Okay, I'd like to participate ^___^

(willing to try)

[Undying]

Please remember to suggest a theme for this RP, a prize, and remember that should you enter, you will be entrusted with the honor of the 6th.

[diamondedge]

I gotta justify my post where I stated i am talented for writing. :P
Sign me up. ^_^

[Undying]

The 9th division captain, Mirage, has suggested the following:

Oh thank god. XD Apparently my division said we'd kick your ass even when two of them have no intention of RPing <_< Im finding the judges/mods now.
Ooh, a theme? Hmm, I think something not realistic, cause that would be too easy. Make them animals? Something like the Lion King 2, when you have two sides, society vs. the outcasts. I think most of them will have trouble RPing as animals haha.
Yes, that is a crap idea but its something. Something which requires physical attacks, perhaps something like Dynasty Warriors? There are two sides, each trying to conquer the other clan. RPers require weapons, but no musou. So besides being creative with their characters, we judge on how they fight each other?

Posts your thoughts on the matter.

[sherenetms]

OMG!! A new challenge! May all those 6th divisioners taking part in this writing challenge win!! *cheers*


@Undying: Animals? ANIMALS? WTH! While it's true that by doing so makes the challenge even harder, dont u think that it's a little lame? I mean....oh, nvm. I'll let those participating have their say first before further elaboration.

[SageOfHalo]

Hey, Undy. Question. Are the mods of the writing challenge exempt from participating? I'm kinda hoping so, b/c I don't want us to have THAT big of an advantage. :D

Also, Undy, the RPG challenge, who is going to moderate that? Should we look to others in our div to mod that, since .sys and I are moding the writing challenge? Just curious.

[.System]

Yeah, Me and Sage should not be allowed to participate, just judge.

[Undying]

The mods of either contest/challenge are of course exempt from participating, else it would not be fair (although I'd gladly cheat, we have a reputation to uphold).

Sage: the RPG challenge will be moderated by you and .Sys, unless you have any objection? If yes, then we will have to nominate two members who will serve as mods to it. I personally intend to participate, so we will require 3 more players and 2 more RPers.

@Shere: she wasn't talking about animals, read carefully - she meant as in the idea of the film.

Here's my suggestion following Mirage's PM in regards to the RPG challenge:
Ooh, a theme? Hmm, I think something not realistic, cause that would be too easy. Make them animals? Something like the Lion King 2, when you have two sides, society vs. the outcasts. I think most of them will have trouble RPing as animals haha.
Yes, that is a crap idea but its something. Something which requires physical attacks, perhaps something like Dynasty Warriors? There are two sides, each trying to conquer the other clan. RPers require weapons, but no musou. So besides being creative with their characters, we judge on how they fight each other?
Sounds ok, a realistic theme using real weapons without special attacks or abilities (lest this become the power fest a certain RP has become). I will wait my division's decision, and I'll bring your idea to their attention.
Also, length. I suggest that we have three rounds to this RP, each round will consist of, let's say, an arc, each ending with a significant turn of events. After each arc/round has ended, the RP will be paused for a day allowing the judges to vote based on overall writing skill, fighting skill (describing of fighting, amount of skill used in fighting).
What you think?

Writing challenge I leave to Sage and .System to decide upon. Remember to ask our opinion though :p.

[SageOfHalo]

How about shapeshifters for the RPG... with an Animal Affinity for one specific animal...

example:

Name: Oso
Real name: Manuel Rodriguez
Animal Affinity: Bear
Attacks: 3 (Claw/Claw/Bite)
Side effects in human form: enhanced strength
enhanced endurance

Limitations in human form: Slow

Time needed to shapeshift: 3 minutes

Then, come up with an appropriate background, and add some damage information, and you're done.

Anyway, just a thought....

[Undying]

Animal transformers? Sounds like the Animorphs... >_>

[.Socio]

I'd like to participate in the RP, though the writing one I'm probably not as experienced as some members, I like Sage's idea though, and of course Dynasty Warriors! Lol.

[diamondedge]

Sage, that sounds awesome! This is totally MTG like, thanx for reminding me, I'll pump my ideas from there! :)

[.System]

Vampires could also work, one team could be the Vampires (6th :p) and the other could be Vampire Hunters (9th)

Just another suggestion...

[SageOfHalo]

I dunno... It seems to me like the whole Vampire thing isn't as big anymore, in an RPG-sense. Maybe I'm wrong. But given how popular they once were, that's not really a challenge... everybody has at least a decent idea on how the games work, how skills & powers work, etc. If this is going to be a RPG challenge, it needs to push us all. IMHO, at least. Otherwise, you can't really call it a challenge.

[.System]

Ok, how about peacefull Aliens on a planet, and Humans come along and 'Liberate' them, ya'know, teach them Earth culture, whethere they like it or not, 6th could be the Aliens and 9th the Humans.

[SageOfHalo]

Animal transformers? Sounds like the Animorphs... >_>

Animorphs?

were they robots, or regular people that could turn into animals?

I was thinking more from a regular person perspective (think lycanthrope, just without the whole full moon and uncontrollable transformations bit).

My example character was based on a were-bear. :D

[Undying]

Animorphs was, if I remember right (been almost seven years since I read those books) a bunch of teenagers that got a special technology from aliens. They could absorb any DNA from any animal they touch (animal meaning any species with a DNA) and transform into that animal for 2 hours max at a time.

Hmm, I don't really like Vampires, to be honest. They're a little overused and unrealistic.

Here's an idea - how about we take Feudal Japan at the time during/right after Sekigahara battle, and play there? A strictly realistic RP, of course. Something liek Samurai Champloo.

Or we could basically take any country at a time of turmoil and RP there. Middle Ages Europe sounds equally good to me.

Or, does anyone here watch/read Claymore? We could do something there, although it's slightly unrealistic.

Still, I suggest more of a knights/samurai/ninjas (real ones, not Naruto bullshit) RP.

[.Socio]

I like samurai (though without the weird stuff) or knights, ninjas i dont like...
Though we could have , like ninja v.s samurai, whatever, but I still like Sage's idea, but it seems Undy and System don't.

Im up for whatever.

[Undying]

Here are my suggestion regarding the RP challenge:

Guidelines:

3 Rounds (arcs). Each arc ends with a significant twist in the realm/world the RP takes place in, altering the situation. The RP is then paused for two days to allow judging each arc separately.

Each arc lasts until all participants battled at least once with different members of the opposing team.

Each team has 4 members. There is no limitation on the types of members a team can have (i.e., each team can be composed of 4 werewolves).

The world template is fairly simple: to the west, there are mountains. To the east, there is a plain reaching towards a sea with unknown lands across it. To the south is an endless desert, and to the north is civilization - cities and kingdoms reaching all the way to the North Pole (Icewind Dale ;)).

Character types are: Beastmen transformers and regular warriors.

The theme of the RP is battle between two different teams. The reasons and background don't matter. It is a fight to the death to reveal the true most powerful warrior in the land (think something like Tekken - a tournament to announce the most powerful warrior in all the land).

Character guidelines:

Each character can be either a transformer or a regular human. Each type has their own advantages and disadvantages, but one cannot be both a warrior and a transformer.

Transformers are humans with the ability to transform into an animal (there was a word for it... zou something, I think. Means that one takes on the characteristics of an animal). They each have three different phases to their transformation, and no more. Each phase introduces different styles of combat, all within the boundaries of the animal.

For example:

Tigerman.

Phases of transformation:

Regular human. Advantages: enhanced strength and agility. Disadvantages: inability to run for long distances at high speeds.

Half-tiger. Advantages: enhanced strength and speed, claws and fangs. Disadvantages: user may lose self to the bloodlust, and animal instincts may surface, taking control of the mind.

Full-tiger. Advantages: incredible, superhuman strength and agility while keeping full control of the human mind. Disadvantages: a very great deal of stress on the user's body, causing severe injury and may prove fatal.

(Yes, the most creative thing right no won my mind was Rob Lucci. So sue me).

There can be no half-transformations (so one cannot transform only their leg or hand).

Beastmen are prohibited from mastering a weapon or using projectiles (unless their beast form uses projectiles - for example, a gorilla could throw rocks) or ranged weapons. They can use a weapon in human form, but cannot master it and cannot use it in beast-form.

Human warriors can be of any possible caste, and have access to all weapons and masteries. They are at a disadvantage to beastmen in terms of close combat (unless they are masters of a melee or close range weapon such as swords).

How's that?

[Yamamoto]

Sounds great ^___^

Sounds pretty balanced from my view :)

[SageOfHalo]

man that was interesting to read, UNdy. Let me ponder that for a bit and I'll give you my thoughts...

But, as far as length goes, I was thinking of making the RPG 5 rounds, and doing a best 3 of 5 deal. But your idea of 3 works to, if you were looking to get this challenge over with sooner...

Anyway, think about it, and post your thoughts here, or ping me on MSN...

[.Socio]

Cool, sounds pretty interesting, so who is going to choose the 4 members participating?

[.System]

Most probably me and Sage...

Unless Undy wants to?

[SageOfHalo]

Yeah, that's what I figured too, .System. what is your schedule looking like in the coming weeks? I'm wondering how much time we might have to discuss this on MSN...

Undy, Mirage said she PMed you the names of the chosen mods from the 9th... could you either PM that to system & myself, or at least post it here so we know who to contact? we would greatly appreciate it.

[.System]

Sage, i am online most nights, so don't worry about me ;)

[Undying]

Sorry for vanishing so suddenly, but my Internet crashed and I didn't have any access over the weekend.

Here are the involved peoples:
Mods/Judges: Evanesque and Scorch777

Team Members: Alerane, Mighty Aramir, Darkseff and Kray.

Seffie will be Team Leader for this challenge so talk it out with him. As for the 9th Division, Planeswalker will be in charge.

Now we know who are we to talk to. As for us, I'll be participating in the challenge, and I need 3 more members and a team leader.

The mods will obviously be Sage and .Sys.

[SageOfHalo]

Ah, I understand, Undy. sucks to hear about no internet.

Now, what function is the Team Leader going to play in this RPG challenge? This is the first I've heard of that position.

After talking with System, We agree that diamondedge, Kisuke, adn Shere should be our other 3 members. I'll consult with System to get his thoughts on the team leader matter and let you know.

Now, I just need to get in touch with Eva & Scorch and try and schedule a time when both System and I are free this week to chat with both of them about the system, theme, etc. of this challenge. Thanks for updating. Hopefully we'll be able to begin round 1 sometime this week or next, depending on how long it takes to agree on the details. Will keep you posted.

[Undying]

I assume a team leader organizes the said event and can be contacted in case of emergency. You can always ask the other mods. Me, I'm going to cool off a little, there's a serious heat stroke right now and I'm thirsty.

[diamondedge]

@Sage: You and the team have my full attention and cooperation on this challenge. ^^

[.Socio]

Yeah, just tell when it starts and where, I'm sure we'll all do whatever we can.