OK, here's an initial draft of the rules. Can I get any interested parties?
Simbon’s Broken Science Tourney
Each participant gets to draft 3 characters, only one of whom can be above mid-meta, and none of whom may be above low-herald (magneto level cap).
In this tourney, only scientists from comics can be drafted. As far as what counts as a scientist, I want to have as wide a definition as is possible. This could not only include classic scientists like Lex, Reed or Pym, but also scientists who have only appeared in one or two comics, or whose only scientific feat was accidentally giving themselves powers (like the Lizard). I would even allow someone like the Accomplished Perfect Physician. The main thing is that the character in question has at least one feat that can be described as a “scientific accomplishment.” Really though, drafts will be judged less on the basis of that definition than on the classic principle of “I know a scientist when I see one.” However, characters whose scientific abilities stem from innate powers are not permitted — so no Warlock, Jeffries, or the like. Prep time is awarded according to how many of your drafts have previously been used on KMC’s battlezone (you must declare when drafting whether or not that character has been previously drafted): If all of your characters have been used before, your team receives one minute of prep-time. If you only have one previously undrafted character, your team gets an hour. Two undrafted characters will get your team a day. And if no one on your team has been drafted before, you get one full week. Fourth Man Prize: If no one on your team is above mid-meta, and none of your team members have been drafted before on KMC’s Battlezone, you may draft a fourth scientist for your team, provided that that scientist has also never been drafted, and is also mid-meta or lower. Henchman Option: By opting for the next lower prep-time bracket, you may also draft an additional, non-scientist member for your team, provided that that member is either a henchman or team-member to a character you’ve already drafted. This henchman must be low-herald or lower. For instance, if you had a team with Reed Richards on it and a day’s worth of prep, you could opt to only have one hour of prep in order to draft Thing, Torch, or Sue.
Limit: Characters cannot amp to a level, or produce any effect, that is beyond the power of a high herald.
Prep takes place at the base of one of your team-members, but characters are allowed to go anywhere, retrieve objects, et cetera, provided those locations are known and accessible to them. Time travel and time manipulation are both allowed, with the following exceptions:
Nothing done during prep can affect the other team; therefore, you cannot go back in time to kill ancestors, affect your opponents’ equipment, et cetera.
Time travel and time manipulation cannot be used to create time-duplicates.
Time travel and time manipulation cannot be used to get around prep-time limitations. For instance, if your character can build a killer robot that can duplicate itself once every 24 hours, you cannot go back in time and plant the robot on some uninhabited moon in order to pick up a gajillion robot duplicates thousands of years later.
Time manipulation can be used offensively, but not to make attacks against which there is no practical defense: freezing time, trapping people in time loops, and BFR-ing people to different times would all be illegal, for instance.
Summons/Constructs are allowed, but summons cannot be above high-meta in power (abomination is the cap), and can only amp or be shielded under their own power, while constructs that are created during the course of prep without being summoned may be up to high herald level in power, and may be amped by other team-members (though they cannot amp beyond the high herald limit). Only beings whose behavior can reasonably be accounted for may be summoned; that is, it is fine to summon an established ally or henchman, or someone who can be controlled through the summoning process, or even mindless, uncontrollable creatures that will simply attack anyone nearby; it would not be OK, however, to summon an uncontrolled, intelligent creature with no amicable relationship to the summoner, as there would be no way to make claims about the summoned being’s behavior. Duplication and Power-Copying are not allowed as powers, but may be accomplished through other means. Immortal/Unkillable Characters are generally not allowed, but may be allowed in specific cases if the other participants do not object beforehand that a KO or the equivalent counts as permanent for the sake of the match. In short, characters who always regenerate back like Mr. Sinister might be permitted, but truly unkillable ones like Per Degaton will not be allowed under any circumstances. BFR is allowed. However, in order to be licit, any BFR method used must be theoretically avoidable. For instance, opening up a portal and pushing someone through it is fine; hitting someone with a ray that sends them to another dimension is fine; but automatically teleporting people away is not. Mind-control is allowed. Manipulation of or attacks on souls are forbidden. Battle-field Destruction is forbidden, but this is meant only to prevent destroying the battle-field as a strategy, not to prevent high-end attacks. So, if your team contrives a method of creating a black-hole, or delivering an attack of planet-destroying power, that is fine,— but the battle-field will not be destroyed by these attacks. Vehicles and standard equipment are allowed, provided they do not take a character above the limit they were drafted under. Vehicles built during prep, however, are subject only to the high herald limitation. Summoned beings and constructs may also be protected by a vehicle’s defenses without breaking the amp/shielding limit.
Matches Will last one week, with each team limited to one prep post, and no more than ten subsequent posts in the match. After each match, all of the tournament-participants who were not actively involved in a given match have 48 hours to give a ruling (you don’t have to, but it will help everyone if you do). These should clearly explain what they see as the strengths and weaknesses of each side, and should assign points to each time according to their creativity, effectiveness, and debating technique. Up to five points may be awarded in each category, and the vote goes to the team with the most points (not necessarily the team that would actually win in battle), with the team with the most votes winning the match. Rulings which simply state a winner and assign points, or provide empty explanations like: “Team X just seemed more convincing” will not be counted. If less than three other participants have responded by the end of the 48 hour judging period, an additional 24 hours will be granted in which any senior forum member may vote (provided they give a detailed explanation of their ruling). While it’s true that people will have incentives to vote one way or another in order to avoid a certain team, or in order to go up against a team they think they are sure to beat, I trust people to be better than this, and hope that this method of judging will make things proceed smoothly.
constructs/summons should be limited a lot more this go around, and mind control should be simply eradicated. craziness gets severely stunted if you do that
again, i'm down
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Last edited by psycho gundam on Sep 2nd, 2011 at 05:21 AM
Yeah, I think you are right about the mind-control -- very few scientists are going to have an answer for that.
What are you thinking on constructs/summons? Stronger limits on numbers or on power level? I wanted to leave room for the giant-robot/monster-building types, and I don't think there are too many science-based summoners like Zarrko.
I would say no straight-up magicians unless they double as scientists (Doom is fine). In some cases, the distinction is blurrier, though. Like I said, I would be cool with someone like the Accomplished Perfect Physician, as he seems to have discovered his magical powers scientifically. Alchemist-types could also be admitted, arguably. No Strange or Mordo-type wizards, though.
heavily limit minions/summons cause it goes into the absurd when we get to have an army for free at this level of competition. the judges might have just been intimidated by the last tournament, and those matches got hundreds of views
Instant tech is the ability to assemble a complex machine in a matter of seconds just by knowing its specifications.
Doom is already absurdly good in this tourney, but then he also gets magic?
Imo magic should be either a) banned entirely, b) limited to science like constructs, such as building a magical artifact or a golem-like creature or c) entirely allowed.
Doom may be unusual in having access to magic in addition to his tech, but there are many other possible choices with extra powers as well. Magneto and Apocalypse would both be draftable in this tournament, for instance. I want people to have a wide array of strategies available to them.
I realize Doom will be an obvious choice, that was why I wanted to use the previously drafted and 1-low herald stipulations -- unfortunately it seems that the search function doesn't work very well, and there are a lot of characters that I wouldn't want to penalize who have been drafted previously. The main idea was to discourage people for going after really obvious power-houses like Doom and Kang, while rewarding them for choices like Egghead, Mad Thinker, etc. What I may do is say that only characters who have been drafted more than once cause loss of prep time -- that way people could still draft folks like T.O. Morrow, Brainiac 5, etc.
But then again, not allowing Strange to prep with magic and allowing a prep powerhouse such as Mother of Champions because one ability is magic and the other is just metahuman, seems to me like a bit bias in how we deal with prep. If prep is supposed to be about science, let scientist deal with prep, or let everyone use any kind of prep. We can ban individual characters if it comes to that, but I feel the limitation is too loosely defined.
Was Mother of Champions a scientist? I didn't remember that.
I don't see it as an arbitrary bias: Magic is so much faster than science that I think it would definitely skew things if it were allowed across the board. A character like Kang has the ability to pull off prep very quickly, too, of course (I guess people who have an established history of summoning technology would still be allowed instant tech), but for the most part scientists are not anywhere near as fast as magic-users. In the case of Doom it is something that one can pull in because he is a scientist, in the same way one could pull in Magneto's mutant abilities -- if someone thinks they can win by choosing a team with the best non-scientific powers, that is one possible strategy.
The problem is that not many meta powers give you the kind of prep advantage against science that magic can bring in, and not many scientists are going to be able to seize that ability. I guess it would make sense to me to have tech-related prep and a lesser amount of not-tech related tech, just to keep the tournament's flavor.
But it doesn't matter, every tournament devolves into a look-for-loops competition sooner or later.
Doctor Strange is a doctor and medicine is science
Well, I think Doom is the only real problem character here, and anyone who picks him is foregoing six days worth of prep anyway, so hopefully that will even things out.
That's a really cool thread, Parmaniac. Are you interested in participating in the tourney? It could really use some more folks, otherwise it's just going to be Bentley vs PG.
Sorry I don't really have time in the next weeks (maybe even months) to search comics for tourny quality stuff neither for writing out long posts with startegies, I'm glad that I can keep up with reading comics. Maybe you should freeze your tourney and wait till more people have time.
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“I once had an entire race killed just to listen to the rattling of their dried bones as I waded through them.” —Volrath
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Sep 2nd, 2011 04:52 AM
