|
Starflame13 -> =EC 2025= Grand Arena OOC (8/12/2025 23:10:48)
|
Welcome and congratulations to all who participated in the 2025 Elemental Championships! Welcome to the Grand Arena!
A fabulous round of applause to all of our entrants this year - I’m extremely glad to see that despite our small number, everyone pulled through for the full event to give us two action-packed arenas. I again thank everyone for the amount of effort and collaboration it takes to make these events happen - whether you make it through or not, you all made this event worthwhile, and you all should be proud of your performance.
Now, without further ado, I am proud to present to you:
The 2025 Finalists! Marrow of Ulve, created by roseleaf320, Paragon of Darkness! Zephyra, created by kavyraya, Paragon of Energy! Radiance , created by Chewy905, Paragon of Light! Drakesthai Morian, created by ChaosRipjaw, Paragon of Earth! Roxelana, Everbright Witch, created by Dragonknight315, Paragon of Fire!
Due to our smaller number, I selected the top 5 writers in total rather than choosing the best within each element. Despite this, since our only double-element was Earth, I have decided we will still be running the Grand Arena with three dormant pillars (Ice, Wind, and Water). Between ChaosRipjaw and roseleaf320, the two earth finalists, the latter had the story more easily accessible to a change in element, so the wildcard to Darkness was passed to her.
All chosen finalists, PLEASE READ THE REST OF THIS POST IN ITS ENTIRETY. Anyone else, feel free to skip to the final paragraphs after the line break, with information as to where you can go from here! You are also welcome to continue fighting in your Paragon Arena, join in the Spectators thread, or write an exit post.
All of the same rules from the initial OOC thread apply. Any extensions that were made in the first round have been reset as well, meaning that each writer starts with 36 hours in extension, in 12 or 24 hour increments. Note that for Finals, you CANNOT request all 36 hours as an extension for a single post. The maximum extension per post is 24 hours. I will do my best to continue to give people 24 hour idle-out warnings, but this is the Finals. You are ultimately responsible for posting on time, so plan your posting schedule accordingly.
Once your character enters the Finals Arena, you start with a clean state. Writings from the Paragon Phase will be evaluated again only if a tie-breaker is absolutely necessary. Here is where you truly need to focus. Communicate and collaborate with each other, ask questions when needed, proofread your posts, and have a blast showing off your writing skills and abilities.
The Grand Arena will open at 11:59 pm EDT on Wednesday, August 13th. With the return of the Grand Arena, we will also be resuming the traditional structure of finals involving Cuts, albeit spaced differently to keep the timing relatively close to the 3 weeks the finals typically takes. The first Cut - or removal of a Paragon from the Grand Arena - will occur 12 days, enough time for everyone to make 3 posts minimum, after the Arena opens, so at 11:59pm ET on Monday, August 25th. From there, successive cuts will occur in four day increments until only the final two remain - at which point a Champion will be selected, and a boon granted. In the case a contestant idles out in that four day period, their removal will take the place of that Cut.
When a Paragon is Cut, they will have some sense or awareness that the grace of their Elemental Lord has been withdrawn, and the gate behind their Pillar will open. Once Cut, a competitor has three choices. They can Submit, recognize the will of the Arena and exit through their gate. They can Submit, recognize the will of the Arena and exit through their gate. They can Surrender, and allow an opponent to slay their character through a collaborative effort. Or they can retaliate with Spite, and make one single, final attack in the arena. If you choose this last option, your character will then be left to the mercy of those left in the arena, with no further outlet for collaboration. As such, to any competitor targeted by a Spite attack, please treat it with the appropriate severity.
As with the Arena OOC threads, I will be editing in any questions about the Grand Arena here! Starting with:
What are the dimensions of the Grand Arena?
The Grand Arena is slightly larger than the Paragon arenas. From the geographic center, it is 80 feet (or 24.38 meters) to the boundary wall. The Pillars are all 60 feet (18.2 meters) away from the center, and placed at equidistant points forming a circle. Darkness is at Cardinal North, and the order in which the Chosen are listed here is the order in which their respective elements are, moving clockwise around the arena.
How do our characters get transported to the Arena?
Once a Combatant is removed from the Paragon Arena, you are free to perceive the transition from that point in whichever way best fits your narrative. You may have arena officials guide you to the foyers before the gates behind your respective pillar and use those to enter, or have your Elemental Patron transport you in some way, depositing you in front of your gate or next to their pillar. The Finale starts at noon, roughly half an hour after the Paragon fights end (to give spectators time to relocate). While not required, each combatant has the option of a full heal/restore to the point they were upon entering the Paragon Phase, as well as the restoration of any ammo/armor/weapons that were lost or damaged in the first round, enacted however they wish in the transition. Please reach out to me if you have specific questions about this mechanic.
Can we interact with the Pillars?
The Pillars take the form of the most recent Champion of their element from years past. They are solid, like the gemstone pedestals they are placed on, and currently stationary. They are unbreakable, appearing and acting as normal statues during the combat, with the exception that they will injure those who are not their Paragon who come into direct contact with them (fire would leave minor burns, energy a small shock, etc.). The Pillars for Ice, Wind, and Water have no trace of having been present.
Once again, thank you to everyone for participating in the Elemental Championships! Even if you did not make it through to the Finals, stick around to watch and cheer on your favorites either here or in the Discord server! Additionally, you can move your characters to the Spectators Thread - where anyone can enter the stands and interact with Bren post-combat, or comment on the Paragon fights! As stated prior, Spectators is treated similar to the Yulgar’s Inn Roleplay, where characters do not need extensive (or any) bios, you can include as many people as you’d like in your conversation or simply just observe, and no fighting is allowed. It is entirely for fun (or for practice), and anyone can join in whether or not you participated in this year's ECs. Keep in mind: Any conversations or activities here DO NOT IMPACT those fighting in the final arena. It is for the spectators' enjoyment only.
For anyone who would like to continue improving their own role-playing skills, I encourage you to check out either the Role Playing Academy or the Combat Training forums, or else swing by the casual Role-Play Yulgar’s Inn. Additionally, keep an eye on the Role Playing General Discussion for any future, member-led RP’s, or feel free to look into creating your own!
Lastly, I am happy to give feedback on individual performances in the Elemental Championships. People are welcome to PM me to ask for said feedback, but please be patient if it takes a while for me to respond as I will be slightly busy judging the Finals Phase.
I hope to see all of you return for our other annual RP competition, Where Powers Collide, in January, or to the Elemental Championships of 2026!
Best of luck to all of our Finalists!
|
|
|
|
