Step Right Up...[/color]
Game-master: Aqua
Supervisors: Gideon_Gideonson, Nefretiri
*****[/CENTER]
Oh, for that sweet gladiatorial life! The pumping adrenaline, the cheers of the crowd, the smell of blood, and the thrill of a flawless victory! Who wouldn’t want to be caught in the middle of such excitement?
…Alright. It’s not for everyone. But the beauty of role-playing is that it’s not you walking onto the field—it’s your character, ready and willing to do battle, striding across the arena to the cheers and exultations of an excited audience. And this, my friends, is where it all begins. Welcome to the Arena Grounds.
The Idea
The idea behind the Arena is a simple one: it is a place where characters from anywhere and everywhere in the multiverse meet to socialize, adventure, and do battle. Nowhere else will you find trained Marine commandos going toe-to-toe with dragons, or witches and warlocks sharing a friendly drink with an unruly cyborg and a grumpy treant. And the Arena Grounds are the center of it all. It is here that we discuss and organize the happenings of the Arena, and here that all alliances, battles, and stories start to take form. That said, the Arena Grounds is a strictly Out of Character (OOC) thread. If you’re introducing a new character, feel free to post it in story form, but confine In Character (IC) activity to one of the numerous threads denoted for that activity:
The Academy: An OOC board form role-playing advice. Drop by and give us your tips, tricks, ideas, and questions.
The Arena Grounds: An OOC board for discussing and arranging Arena-related information. This is where you are currently.
The Battlefield: An IC board for all the battles arranged through the Arena Grounds. This board is limited to a given number of participants at a time, so do not post there until your fight has officially begun.
The Map: An OOC thread containing the rules and regulations of the Map of the Planes, along with a treatise on role-playing by Gideon_Gideonson. The rules are required reading for all participants of the Map of the Planes.
The Portal: Our OOC Character posting board. If you're going to be joining us, toss your characters up here.
The Stands: Our OOC General Discussion board. Introduce yourself or talk to other members of the MotP about whatever is on your mind.
The Tavern: An IC board for character interaction outside of the arena setting. All are welcome to drop by. The bartender, however, does enforce his own rules, located in the Tavern itself.
How it Works
Let’s discuss Arena battles. When two to four players decide it’s time for a knock-down, drag-out fight (whether because of a general wish to do some battle role-playing or as the result of harsh words spoken IC at the Tavern), they post a request here, including the characters taking part and the format of the fight (1v1, 1v2, 1v1v1, 2v2, 3v1, or 1v1v1v1—other formats and/or number of combatants are subject to GM or supervisor approval). A single player may also request a fight, at which point he or she will need an opponent to take the offer. Either way, once the combatants are chosen, a request must be posted in order to reserve a spot in the Battlefield. This request may also, if desired, include a terrain for the battle to take place on. If an agreement cannot be reached between the players, the fight takes place in a flat, featureless gladiatorial arena.
Once you have received permission to begin posting in the Battlefield and the previous battle has ended, any combatant may begin the fight by posting his or her character’s entrance. If a terrain is chosen, a GM or supervisor will make the first post and describe the chosen terrain so that the battle is as impartial as possible. From there, the battle unfolds like any other free-form combat: each player posts his or her character’s actions, and then allows the other player to respond. Remember to observe Freedom of Destiny in these battles!
A battle ends when one of two things happens: when one or both players decide to end it with either a draw or their character’s defeat (you cannot end in your victory without consent from the other player), or when a GM or supervisor has asked you to wrap it up due to time constraints and the number of waiting competitors. At this point our Arena judges will step in and declare one or two winners. If the players have not included an obvious character victory, the judges will select a winner based solely on the role-playing quality of the posts (originality, creativity, clarity, character portrayal, and similar things). In the case of a player-decided outcome, an IC winner (obviously) and an OOC winner will be declared. These victories are bragging rights only, and do not entitle you to mock your opponent (well, a little good natured mocking may be permissible, depending on the circumstances). Remember forum etiquette—we really do care about following it.
Additionally (and speaking only for myself here), I am willing to offer comments and critique on a fight if a player requests it of me either on this thread, on the Academy, or though a PM. The critique will be PMed to you unless you specify otherwise. If anyone else is interested in having their name added to the list of potential reviewers, just let me know! After all, variety is the spice of life.
At the moment we have one Battlefield thread. If it becomes necessary, more will open up to accommodate a greater number of posters. Each thread can hold 1-2 simultaneous battles, depending on the number of posters involved in the fight, so there may be some down time before your battle can begin.
Finally, we’ll end this discussion with some things to keep in mind when participating in Arena combat:
[indent] –Be realistic. Well, as realistic as you can be while throwing fireballs and clouds of knives at each other. Characters sometimes get hit, sometimes fumble, and sometimes just miss something obvious. You don’t need to do this all the time, but if every battle you fight in is flawless, then you’re not really getting a good role-playing experience. Life isn’t perfect, and a good character is a portrayal of life.
–Be descriptive. There’s a big difference between “Bartelemus casts Sunburst and attacks the demon with a beam of brilliant light.” and “Bartelemus throws open his spellbook, running his finger quickly down the worn pages. Finally he slams the tome shut, raises his hands, and screams out several flowing syllables. The light around him dies down, leaving him shrouded in shadow…except for his upraised arms, which glow with the radiance of a thousand suns. The light explodes outward, streaking through the air and leaving glowing trails of lights behind them. The brilliance is blinding: the audience recoils, hands over its collective eyes as the beam of pure sunlight strikes the demon in the center of its chest with a brilliant shower of white hot sparks.” You don’t need to go as far into the description as the second one does, but do a little more than the bare minimum.
–Separate IC and OOC. Keep OOC conversations to a minimum when on the Battlefield, and use spoiler blocks for any and all OOC chatter. It keeps our IC threads looking crisp and clean, which we like.
–Use proper spelling/formatting. Proper spelling, capitalization, grammar, and punctuation are mandatory. If you don’t use them your posts become confusing and difficult to read, which irritates your opponent, the judges, and the audience. So please take the time to post quality material that you’ve checked for mistakes, not something that you hacked out in under thirty seconds.
–Have fun. There’s no pressure here on the Map of the Planes. We’re all here for the same reason, and nobody is going to yell at you if you don’t do something their way. So just relax and have a blast. Show us what you can do![/indent]
And there you have it. The following post will be updated with current, upcoming, and past battles, as well as with the list of judges. Enjoy your stay!
-Gideon Gideonson, Artificer Extraordinare
Special Thanks: Special thanks goes to Sorcen_Anenooata for his Battle Royale of Sorcen's Baator, the original free-form Map of the Planes Arena.
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Past Matches
None
1. Aqua and I are looking for 1 more judge, so that determining a victor doesn't end in a split between us. If you feel qualified for the position, please drop us a PM and we'll see what we think! We're also looking for a few people who wouldn't mind judging if one or more of the usual judges are taking part in a fight.
2. I'm interested in starting this thing off with a bang. Anyone feel up for a challenge? Both Gideon and Coin are currently up for a match...just tell me which you'd prefer to fight!
3. Ideas/suggestions/improvements are always welcome.
you'll have to give me some time to choose a character for the match however.
But I'm totally game for a match! Take all the time you need to decide.
As for judging, I'll get back to you on that once I've talked to Aqua. :D
And I'll get back to you both regarding judging in a few days...I've got one hell of a college essay underway, and most of my time is going there.
And yes. This forum is coming back if I have to drag it kicking and screaming into the center of the Internet RPing community.
Give me a day or two, tops (college paper again...:weep
.Aqua, I put you on judging this one (obviously it's not going to be me). There's a certain way I'd like it posted though, to keep the thread easy navigable (so that the beginnings/ends of fights are easy to distinguish). I'll send it to you later. :D
Hi Munch. Ummmm, is coin immune to time? Or does the Nexus profide him with a convenient excuse?
Nope. Coin is still around, but, like many of our characters, he has numerous incarnations. This Coin is Coin as he first appeared in the arena, mainly because I don't know if Knives will ever be back here and partly because I'm starting fresh.
Sorcen is here.
Incidentally, Kristina Aresdotter, my newest character, is spoiling for a fight.
First up is my half drow, Rev. He's a depressed teen kind of character with a hatred for elves and a quick temper.
Next is Dilgilim, an arrogant blood dragon that hates everything and wont respect even other dragons.
Thats all for now I think. I'm waiting a new tavern so I can be sure to keep those guys seperate for now.
Actually - Gideon, Munch, I'd like to talk about something. Daniel Wilks - my new(er) character, used to be a witch hunter. While he's calmed down a bit, he's still twitchy and tetchy around spellcasters, and as far as he's concerned, Coin over there is an abomination that must be put down for the safety of reality. Might I have your permission to storm the arena grounds?
Okay by me, but give us a little bit to build up more of a fight.
I'll be back to posting later tonight. Essay DONE!
Dead Fantasy I and II
one man sat at his computer for over a year making this for our enjoyment. he wasn't paid, he didn't get anything for it, but he did it anyway
(I dont realy belive you would do that though)
EDIT: wow, thats pretty cool. its been a great day internet-wize. first madness combat 9 and now this.
as for best fight ever... I dont know. Id have to watch equilibrium (crazy awesome) super mario bros z (hilarious awesome) and a few fights from the matrix (speaks for itself)
Did you watch it?
Did you like it?
EDIT: Nevermind. I saw your edit above, but honestly, what did you think? I thought it was awesome as hell. Jessica showed it to me. The third one hasn't come out yet, but we just got word that Monty is working on it, so it should be out sometime this year.
but I dont know about MOST epic fight ever...
I think it's visually hard to follow at times, though, and it's much too busy. I can't really keep track of all the stuff going on at once, and although the snatches of what we get to focus on are cool, knowing in the back of your mind that there's other action going on at the edges of your screen is (for me, at least) very frustrating.
It's cool, though. Three-in-five, I think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbP2djP0h5g&feature=related