Starflame13
Moderator
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Dawn clawed itself across the sky, streaks of dancing gold and rose shredding the darkness to herald a new day. The rising sun quickly followed, its rays flooding out across the horizon to race across the land of Lore. Currents of power shivered and stirred, their tendrils rising to snake their way through every city and kingdom. They whispered to all they reached - whispered of greatness, of glory, of boons and bloodshed. Murmurs that quickened hearts and stirred blood reached out to adventurers near and far, tugging at their hearts and souls. They pulled at the desperate, the despairing, the brave - and drew them all to the heart of the storm.
And at the source of the power, the city of Bren shuddered - and awoke. Locals and strangers alike rallied with renewed vigor to commence the festivities. Music wound its way through the streets, inns threw open their doors, smiths and shops set out their gleaming wares, and the city gates swung open wide to welcome the crowds now pouring into it. Young and old, rich and poor, families and friends and foes alike - all caught in the eddies of the rising current.
Rising until the dams of power burst, and Bren could hold it no longer. Rising until the stones themselves shook, the tension snapped, and even the most mundane could feel the pull of power from the hill beyond.
The Arena: awake once more.
Welcome, Esteemed Writers!
Welcome to the rookies and the veterans, the heroes and the villains, the doers and the dreamers and everyone in between! Welcome, all that have assembled, to the 2025 Elemental Championships!
Come ready your wits, sharpen your swords, and join in the festivities as Bren prepares for the coming tournament!
Welcome, everyone! Pull up a chair, grab your pencils, and let’s get ready to role-play! I have the privilege of serving as the Director of the festivities this year, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the crowd grow this year!
Now that we have the music to set the mood, on to the important information:
The Elemental Championships (ECs) are a combat-oriented, collaborative, role-playing competition. In it, your characters are competing for the chance to earn a boon from the Elemental Lord that they represent. It takes place over two rounds of competition: the Paragon Phase, where competitors are randomly assigned to different arenas in order to demonstrate their skills, abilities, and dedication - and the Finals, where the top writer from each element is selected to compete in the Grand Arena for the crown of Champion. In each round, you will make posts that have your character interact with the arenas, react to others’ actions, execute your own attacks, and weave your story and reason for competing into the action that takes place.
ANYBODY on the AE forums, regardless of prior roleplaying experience, is welcome to participate in the ECs. To sign up, you will need to provide a character biography that passes my inspection and includes the following general requirements:
quote:
Name / Title
Element
Age Range / Maturity
Race (If non-human, provide near-human comparisons for physical traits like strength, dexterity, endurance, etc.)
Appearance (Build, hair, skin, clothes, etc.)
Equipment (Armor, Weapons, etc.)
Skills, Spells, & Special Abilities
You must select a single element for your character to represent from the following eight elements: Darkness, Energy, Wind, Ice, Light, Water, Earth, or Fire. The element you select must align with your character in some way - whether due to their abilities, personality, values, backstory, or any combination thereof. The initial lore for these elements is drawn from AQ Classic, but Bren and the Elemental Championships are not part of any single AE game. While you do not need your character to fit within a specific AE game, their race/abilities/equipment should all be something that would not be unusual to see in one of them.
Any action performed in the tournament itself, including but not limited to spells, special attacks, and magical abilities, must have a reference in your biography. I will be reading (and judging) the submitted bios, and there will be consequences for those who attempt to pull off actions in the arena that I was not aware of prior. It is off of this list of abilities, skills, and so forth that your character will be balanced and admitted to the tournament. If you are new to balancing, I recommend checking out the Balancing 101 Guide , or bios from prior years. In general: aim for having an experienced fighter, but not for a Hero of Heroes.
Applications will be open until 11:59 PM (EDT - or AE Server Time) on Saturday, July 19th. Any bios still under review will then have 24 hours, or until 11:59 PM on Sunday, July 20th, to get their characters approved. Once submissions have completely closed, I will reveal the Paragon Arenas that will be utilized this year, and randomly assign participants to each arena. Voting on the musical themes of this year’s arenas will be open until the last week of registration and can be found here!
If your initial submission is not approved, you have until submissions are locked to either re-submit an updated application using director feedback in a new post, or submit an entirely new character. To assist with re-submissions, characters not approved will be given an explanation why, and further clarification may be requested as needed. When revising bios after director feedback, you must submit an entirely new post containing the updated bio. Do NOT edit your bio after posting without my permission, as I must be able to trust that what I receive does not change after balancing or approval. Editing a bio without my express permission will result in the disqualification of that character, and you will need to submit an entirely new one to participate in this year's event.
I repeat, do NOT edit your bio after posting without my permission.
One more time for those in the back: DO NOT EDIT your bio after posting without my permission.
The preliminary round, or Paragon Phase, will begin on Sunday, July 20th and last for approximately three weeks, ending at 11:59 PM EDT on Sunday, August 10th.
At the end of the Paragon Phase, one finalist from each element will be selected to move on. It usually takes at least a day or two to process decisions and get the Finals thread ready. The anticipated start date of the Finals will be Wednesday, August 13, in order to give everyone a few bonus days to rest and recharge. More information on the Finals will be released when they are closer.
Now, the Official Rules:
All normal RP Boards Rules will apply. In particular, please read and be aware of the definitions of Bunnying, God-Modding, and Meta-Gaming - all of which can result in penalties up to disqualification. I have included definitions below so that people are aware of the pitfalls, but if you are in any way unsure if your actions cross the line into any of these categories, reach out to myself as Director for clarification.
quote:
God-modding is cheating the system of RP so that your character comes out either without a scratch or with absolute advantage in any situation. This is typically done without conversing with the RP's owner, and ignores their authority to control the situation of their RP. Examples: Complete ignorance of arena hazards, 'effortless' combat, and acting with total invulnerability to the actions of other characters.
Bunnying is taking control of characters when you do not have the authority to do so, and acting contrary to what their real owners would have them do. Unless you have direct permission from the owner of the character, you cannot control them. This is especially true in combat, where you cannot decide if your attacks hit. This also includes unfairly limiting the options of another character.
Meta-gaming involves applying Out-of-Character knowledge of a situation to your character's benefit. This is not always intended, but does not change the fact that the advantage is noticeable and generally unfitting with what the character would have done based on in-character knowledge and reactions. If you keep the distinction between what you know and what your character knows, this is easy to avoid.
Violators of the standard rules will be immolated, electrocuted, drowned, and pulverized. Survivors will be undone at an atomic level. Lists are kept of violators, and depending on severity, you may be barred from future participation. In addition, by participating in this Elemental Championships, you recognize my role as Director and my say as final.
1. Characters must engage in combat.
This is a combat RP event. Your character must be willing and able to initiate and take part in combat.
2. Do not use cross-element powers.
Your character is competing for the favor of a single Elemental Lord in the preliminaries, and against the chosen of the other elemental Paragons in the Finals for the reward of a boon from your Lord. No Lord will choose as their representative someone who cannot win upon the strength of their element alone.
3. You must post regularly.
Consistent activity is required. Please do not enter the tournament if you are not committed to remaining active for the full duration. During the preliminaries, any competitor who does not post at least once every 4 days (counted from the time of your last post) will automatically be disqualified. Your character will then be considered free for the slaughter - any other character in the arena will be allowed to kill him/her/them/it. You are allowed to request up to 36 hours in extension, in 12 or 24 hour increments (so, either one 24 hour extension and one 12 hour extension, or three 12 hour extensions). Extension requests must be made via a forum post in your Arena’s OOC thread. In the case of emergencies that prevent posting, please reach out to me directly as soon as possible. If you learn upon completion of the Paragon phase you will not have the same commitment for Finals, please reach out to me as well so I can take that into consideration in making decisions.
4. Do not edit your posts or your bios once they have been submitted.
You may only edit your posts or your bios with the express written permission of me, myself, and I. Editing of bios or of posts without foreknowledge creates the suspicion of foul play. Proofread and double-check formatting prior to posting, and live with any errors you might have made once a post is submitted.
5. Each entrant is allowed one and only one character.
You may not enter in pairs, squads, platoons, battalions, armies, or swarms.
6. Death has Consequences.
Characters who die in the Elemental Championships are dead in the AE RP forums. This is a Canon event with regards to normal RP Board rules. Characters who die during the Paragon Phase are still eligible to be chosen as Finalists, but this is the only free pass to revival. Dying in the Finals is permanent.
7. Collaboration
Collaboration in an event like the Elemental Championships is not just good practice - it is a necessity. While you may be in competition with the other writers, it is the characters that are in combat, not the players. If you are attacking another character, involving yourself in someone else’s duel, or performing some other action that will impact other writers’ plans, those actions must be made clear both prior to your own posting and with enough time to facilitate planning for the other writers. Surprise posts and encroaching deadlines do not make for an enjoyable writing environment and can result in emergency extensions and confusing situations. If you are limiting your posts to only your own actions and reactions, then just a shared heads-up via Discord or the Forums is acceptable. If your post is actually containing new actions of other characters, then either yourself or the other writer involved must inform me either via Discord or the Forums that permission was given for doing so.
8. Have fun!
All these rules and regulations may seem daunting, but while this is a tournament and a competition, the entire objective is to have some fun. We all like to win, sure, but try to enjoy yourselves along the way!
The penalty for failing to follow the rules may result in immediate disqualification from the tournament. Failure to comply with the direction of the Director may also result in immediate disqualification from the tournament. While discussion of a ruling may be allowed, as has been stated prior, I have the final say.
General Information and Tips:
Collaboration Resources: OOC threads will be provided for each arena for the express purpose of communication with your fellow contestants and with the Director. I urge you to discuss combat options with your fellow contestants. You are free to make collaborative posts and elaborate battle sequences. Often such woven interplay is what enables your characters and writing abilities to truly shine. Please keep records of any collaboration discussions held in PMs, as they may be requested as tie-breaker material depending on how close the competition is!
Communication Resources: The notification system of PMs for the AE Forums is currently down. If you are collaborating with someone via the forums, please either use the public OOC threads, or be sure to check your inbox regularly. Additionally, you may make use of the AEF RP Discord Server. All AEF Rules apply to this server. This server is a privilege, not a right. If you do not follow the AEF rules or are disrespectful to others in the server, you will be banned, and you will need to rely on the forums for communication. The Discord server may be found here.
If you need to reach me directly, you can do so via PM, posting in the OOC threads, or using Discord. I do ask that any formal extension requests be posted in the appropriate OOC threads for documentation purposes.
Drafting Posts: When writing your posts, it is strongly encouraged to do this in any word processor that is NOT the forums. It has been known for the forums to log people out while they are drafting, which can result in losing an entire post when you go to finally submit it. Many people utilize Google Docs or similar so that they can share drafts in advance with others in their arenas, either to get extra eyes for editing or to confirm actions with other writers.
List of Accepted Entrants by Element
Darkness []
Energy []
Wind []
Ice []
Light [1]
Radiance , created by Chewy905!
Water []
Earth []
Fire []
Master List of Accepted Characters
Total: 1
Radiance , created by Chewy905, fighting for Light!
Rosters by Arena
No spoilers >.>
< Message edited by Starflame13 -- 6/30/2025 23:35:15 >
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