The Cell is a huge free-for-all tournament that puts competitors into extremely close combat against each other. The Cell was the first way to make large amounts of EXP for participating in a tournament and this year will be no exception.

Registration

To register for The Cell, please visit the new tournament hack, found here. Please note that I've temporarily disabled access to this link until registration begins. Registration begins Monday, April 5th, 2010 at 12 AM CST and lasts for one week. Only 24 players will be allowed to participate. If 24 players sign up, registration will be closed early. Multiple characters written by a single player are allowed for this tournament given our current activity levels. However, if someone misses the cut off, the moderators will give up their spots in the tournament to ensure everyone can participate.

Rules
  1. You must post once every 24 hours or you will be removed from the tournament. The tournament will have a GM, Max Dirks, who will create an IC reason to remove inactive characters from the chamber. Expect to be active if you sign up for this tournament. This requirement will be based on the last post time of the player, not at a set time during the day.
  2. The standard rules of battle of Althanas also apply for the duration of this tournament. That means no power gaming will be tolerated. OOC should be kept to a minimum, if it is anything more than a clarification it should be kept in a PM. Power gaming will result in an automatic disqualification. However, there is no healing between rounds.
  3. The GM’s rulings are final and not open to question. Once your character has been removed from combat (either through disqualification or falling in battle) please discontinue posting in the Cell.
  4. If a character leaves the cell, they are automatically disqualified. The GM will have an IC presence to solidify any character reasoning. In the past, the Cell has been destroyed, but this will only be allowed in extreme circumstances.

Procedure

There will be two chambers of 12 players each to begin the tournament. The first round will last two weeks. At the conclusion of the first round, each player will be judged individually using the modified (simplified) Althanas rubric. Extended commentary will be given upon request only. EXP will be distributed based on the score, participation level and effort of the player.

The top eight players will be selected to participate in the final round. The round will last two weeks. At the conclusion of the second round, each player will be judged individually using the modified Althanas Rubric. Extended commentary will be given upon request only. EXP will be distributed based on the score, participation level and effort of the player.

Judgments/Rewards

The top three scoring players of the final round will receive special rewards: 1st place will receive 2500 EXP and a powerful magical item; 2nd place will receive 1500 EXP and a 250 PM box; 3rd place will receive 1000 EXP and a glowing user name (like mine).

If you have any questions, please ask them here.

Notes on Conclusive Posts: There are three ways to complete the Cell. The first way is to be disqualified. You can only be disqualified for two reasons: by not posting within 24 hours or power gaming. If you are disqualified after you've posted 5 times you will receive base EXP, but will not advance to the next round even if your score is high (though it likely won't be). The second way is to be killed in battle. If your character is killed in battle, he or she will be revived if you score high enough to pass to the next round. This revival is limited though as your character will only be healed to a point that I, as GM, determine to make him functional enough for combat. All characters are presumed to be revived after the tournament, but that is your creative choice as a writer. The third way is by making a conclusive post. This post assumes that your character is done fighting for whatever reason. I don't want to limit creativity by essentially forcing characters to die and having to revive a majority of them. If you make a conclusive post (you'll have to indicate it as such), I will bunny your character and remove him or her from combat in a manner akin to your current storyline. Be weary of using a conclusive post because improper use can negatively effect several different categories of our rubric and lower your score.

Rules Update: From now on you have 3 hours from the point when a player you are waiting on a response from is disqualified to notify me so that I can remove him or her from the tournament. It is your responsibility to watch the time. While you are waiting on me to bunny the character out of the tournament, you should prepare a reply as if that person is no longer alive. After I remove the inactive player you will have only 3 additional hours to post unless you have posted within the last 24 hours.