[Information] Competition rules and rules queries for Outplay 2023

[Admin Bhelogan]

If you have any rules questions, you can make them here. If your question would involve spoilers of the events in-game (or if you want to keep your concerns away from the prying eyes of other applicants), please put your question under a secret tag, and direct the question at your GM (or one of the GMs of this game forum).

General rules for Outplay 2023 All participants must abide by the Outplay 2023 Code of Conduct (Read Me FIRST!) All participants must abide by the RPG Crossing Site Rules including the new section on Conflict of Interest Guidelines for Competitions. Multiple applications: Only 1 application. We are running only 1 system this year. Reusing Characters: : You may use character concepts that were created for other competitions or games. They will need to be reworked to fit The Outplay System rev 2023 rules. Post edits: In all role-play rounds, you may only edit your post in the hour after its initial post. Posts edited after this window will not be considered by the judges, and may not be granted award points. In Round 0 you may edit your application as much as you want until the deadline. Dice rolls: Each day of the competition, you make one 1 dice-rolling post. All game dice are to be rolled in this post, separate from your game post, and labeled. Any editing of the dice tags after the initial post will result in a big red box invalidating your rolls. (This includes editing the label, so make sure you do that first!) We are not requiring the use of inum, although you may continue to use it if you wish. The dice post is separate from your game post, and not subject to the 1-hour time limit. For example, you may make your dice-rolling post initially after the GM makes an update, coordinate on the results with your teammates, and then make your in-game post several hours later. Please keep dice rolls in a SPOILER, to keep the thread as tidy as possible. Once you have made a roll to take an action though, you are locked into using that for your action in your game post. Players only control their own characters: You cannot control other PCs, named NPCs, the environment, or the specific outcome of any events other than the general degree of success/failure alluded to by the outcome of your rolls. You do control your own character, the actions you take, and when appropriate non-named NPCs. It is acceptable to include actions that other players have already taken if their incorporation assists in your narrative as long those actions are not modified. Your posts may include actions that will be taken by the other PCs ONLY if it has been collaborated on, and agreed to, with another Player in an OOC channel beforehand. You are also encouraged to create/define/interact with objects undefined by the GM if they could arguably fit into the scene and enhance your ability to roleplay and/or highlight your character's skillset. Player vs Player Conflict: PvP will not be allowed. In-character disagreements are acceptable, but in most circumstances deliberately acting in a way intended to stop another character from surviving/succeeding will be heavily penalized. Any potential exceptions to this will be made very clear. Post Rate During role play rounds (rounds one through four), GM will be updating once a day, every day except for the last day of the round, for each week of play. There are one-week breaks between rounds of play. We expect successful players to post once per GM update. Scoring: Each judge will grade every participant using the following rubric: Enjoyability and Creativity - 10 points (How well did you like the content) Clarity, Formatting, and Technical - 10 points (Was the post clear, easy to follow, Used these system rules correctly) Grammar and Writing - 10 points (No obvious spelling errors or grammatical blunders, how was the quality of writing?) Moved the Plot / Acted true to Character - 10 points (Did posts move things forward, and fit the theme of the character doing them?) Note - we are removing a mechanical success score this year. The judges will consider this as part of the 'Moved the Plot / Acted true to Character' score. There may be opportunities for bonus points in each round if certain objectives are met. Each week, a number of players will be eliminated as shown below. The Outplay champion for 2023 will be the player who has the highest score at the end of Round 4. The Outplay System rev 2023: GMs: Bhelogan Judges: savoylen, orcbane, Retry, rhaiber Elimination structure: This is a single-elimination tournament, but the elimination structure will allow more players than in the past to continue to the next round. Round 0: Everyone who would like to participate Round 1: Round 1: Brackets will be formed with 4 players per group. We will run as many brackets for which we have enough qualified applications to fill. 2 Players per bracket will advance to Round 2. Round 2: 4 Players per bracket (grouped from those who advanced in the previous round), 2 players per bracket will advance to Round 3 Round 3: 2 Players per bracket, 1 player per bracket will advance to Round 4 Round 4: All remaining players in 1 bracket. 1 Will be chosen as the Champion of Outplay 2023 Competition timeline Round 0 (applications) open: Friday June 2nd, and will remain open until Friday June 23rd. Round 0 Character Sheet Reviews: Friday June 23 to Friday June 30th Adjustments to characters finalized: Saturday July 1st and 2nd (If need, last few years we handled most of this before the Round 0 deadline) Round 1 play: Monday July 3 - July 8 (July 4th is a US holiday. Players will have the 4th and 5th to make one post to accommodate for this, for 5 total posts this week) Round 1 Judging: July 9 - July 14 Round 2 play: Monday July 17 - July 21 Round 2 Judging: July 22 - July 28 Round 3 play: Monday July 31 - Aug 4 Round 3 Judging: Aug 5 -Aug 11 Round 4 play: Monday Aug 14 - Aug 18 Round 4 Judging: Aug 19 - Aug 25 Winner declared by August 31

[Admin Bhelogan]

Reserved for Q and A

Elimination structure, since we have 8 players is as follows:
Round 1 - Two brackets of four. One player from each bracket will be eliminated, and not advance to Round 2.
Round 2 - One bracket of the remaining 6 players. Two players will be eliminated and not advance to Round 3.
Round 3 - One bracket of the remaining 4 players. Two players will be eliminated and not advance to Round 4.
Round 4 - The last two players will go head to head for the championship.

Clarification on the Help Action:
For Help, in the past, we had 'buff skills' that worked kind of the same way as the help action, but could add several more dice, or bonuses to another player's rolls. We don't have that this year, so the 'Help' action will work as follows:

Base 1 die to help
if you can use your training from your job in how you assist, roll 2 die
If you can use one of your skills in how you assist, roll 3 die

The number of successes is how many die extra the recipient of the help can add to their rolls.

[Palliven]

Can you give an example of what information needs to be captured in the Stat Block vs. Character Write-Up for the Application? It's a little confusing as some of the same items are listed in both blocks in the post.

[Admin Bhelogan]

Originally Posted by Palliven

Can you give an example of what information needs to be captured in the Stat Block vs. Character Write-Up for the Application? It's a little confusing as some of the same items are listed in both blocks in the post.

Sure. An example application, using the Sous-Chef theme in the system thread, and some quick AI-generated blurbs.

Stat Block Name: Alexei Vasquez Origin: Human, born and raised. Yes, he has 4 arms. So what? CN: 3 Jobs and Specialized Skills: Sous-Chef 'Organize and direct multiple chefs to prepare multiple meals a day to keep a full starship crew fed and healthy. Additionally, a Sous-Chef must maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen and cafeteria to which they are assigned. An ideal Sous-Chef has strong organizational skills, communication skills, a solid understanding of nutrition and food sources from various sources across the galaxy, is skilled with many types of kitchen instruments, and knows basic first aid' Whip them into a frenzy! Using your Humanity, you can direct a group of people to perform tasks very quickly. Will it Blend? Using Technology, you can force any kitchen utensil to perform well beyond its normal intended limits. Do I taste a hit of .... ? Using your Humanity, you can taste any substance and instantly identify what compounds it is made up of.

Character Write-up Alexei Vasquez is an extraordinary sight with his unique physicality. Standing at an average height, his presence is captivating due to his remarkable feature of having four arms. Each arm is well-muscled, displaying strength and dexterity honed through years of culinary craftsmanship. Originally from a small outpost on Mars, Alexei developed a deep passion for cooking at a young age. He honed his culinary skills in some of the finest restaurants around, learning from renowned chefs and immersing himself in various culinary traditions. However, there was always a burning curiosity within him to explore beyond the confines of Mars. Driven by his love for gastronomy and the desire for new experiences, Alexei volunteered to join the culinary team responsible for establishing a colony for humanity. He saw this opportunity as a chance to pioneer the culinary arts in a completely new environment, where the challenges of limited resources and unique conditions presented exciting opportunities for innovation. Flag: Ask me why Benihana's won't let me into their establishments.

This is fairly bare-bones, but hits the major themes. Part of the competition is in figuring out who to present the needed information in a format and way that makes you stand out (much like a normal game application)

[Vex]

Will we be able to shift the CN number during the game through actions? Is that part of the system, or will we be stuck with what we chose in Round 0?

[Admin Bhelogan]

Originally Posted by Vex

Will we be able to shift the CN number during the game through actions? Is that part of the system, or will we be stuck with what we chose in Round 0?

Your CN is fixed with what you chose at character creation.

[Palliven]

We have until today (1st) to make any changes to character? Had some feedback about Flags I wanted to update but want to be sure an edit at this time is still allowed.

[Admin Bhelogan]

Originally Posted by Palliven

We have until today (1st) to make any changes to character? Had some feedback about Flags I wanted to update but want to be sure an edit at this time is still allowed.

That was only if they were mechanical changes needed. Those had already been addresses. You will be including your stat blocks to in-game posts. If there’s something you want to add to flags there, that would be fine.

[GleefulNihilism]

So is that a yes? We can make mechanical tweeks at this time?

[Admin Bhelogan]

Originally Posted by GleefulNihilism

So is that a yes? We can make mechanical tweeks at this time?

No, that was only if they needed adjustment after review from me. Those casses were already addressed.

[GleefulNihilism]

Groovy.

Yeah, because in hindsight I can think of a thing or two I would have done differently but it's fine.

[squirmonkey]

At what time of day (and in what timezone) is the post deadline for each day?

[Admin Bhelogan]

Originally Posted by squirmonkey

At what time of day (and in what timezone) is the post deadline for each day?

The game threads for Round 1 will be going live in 5 or 6 hours (depending on when I crash for the night). My game updates will generally be between 9 am - 10 am Eastern Time Zone. I will make sure to include a GM section on each post, letting you know when I will be doing the next update. So long as you have your post is in before I am finalizing the GM post, you should be good. Don't try to cut it to the last minute though, or I may miss it!

[WhiteStag]

Forgive me, the humanity roll for initial 'sickness,' is this roll to be done in our main game threads, under a spoilerbutton?

Thank you.

[Admin Bhelogan]

Originally Posted by WhiteStag

Forgive me, the humanity roll for initial 'sickness,' is this roll to be done in our main game threads, under a spoilerbutton?

Thank you.

The intent is to have all game rolls be in the game threads. A few players did it in the private OOC planning this thread, so I'll make sure to add clarification for everyone in the next DM update. Future rounds will not have private planning OOC threads.