vapid
02-15-2010, 02:20 PM
Welcome to the SECOND Insidehoops Comic Draft and Tournament!
The premise is simple: In this thread twelve managers will draft comic book characters from a list provided to form a team that they will pit against their opponents. The first draft was a little less organized so no winner was declared from that one, but THIS draft will not disappoint. One of our esteemed OTC posters Ridonks introduced me to a format that is tried and tested. Some of you may remember it from his TV and Movie Character Draft.
http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/5/56665/1087802-justice_league_countdown_super.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a8/pharoahe214/dark-reign-event-20081204001157790.jpg
Here are the Rules. Its long, but its not complicated.
THE POSITIONS
Okay, first off, there are three different positions in this draft:
The Commissioner: Me. I get the job of randomizing the draft order, posting the match ups when we get to that point, enforcing the rules and basically pulling all of the strings that make this thing work. If you have any further questions about the draft that isn't explained in this post, feel free to ask me, either in the thread or via PM.
The Judges: In Ridonks' draft we had more than one judge, but from my experience its tough to get two more people to stay on top of this and be as dedicated, so I'll judge everything unless I get some really willing participants. Rezznor says he will help, so if we get one more poster to judge we can have three. GMs can also nominate themselves to judge the other conference but I'm going to use my discretion based on how active I know you to be.
The GMs: There will be twelve GMs spots up for grabs. If I feel like we can't get twelve, we'll go with ten and have just one conference. As a GM, it's your responsibility to draft a team from the draft list, come up with a team name and assign numbers to your characters once the matches start.
STEP 1: THE DRAFT
Once all the positions are filled, I'll randomize the draft order and post the list from which the GMs will draft their teams. There will be 10 rounds of drafting, which of course means that each team will consist of at least 10 characters. The draft order is a snake draft.
Example:
Round 1
1. Team A
2. Team B
3. Team C
4. Team D
Round 2
1. Team D
2. Team C
3. Team B
4. Team A
And we'll do 10 rounds like that.
STEP 2: THE MATCH UPS
Once all 10 rounds of drafting are completed, I'll post the first round of match ups. Each GM's team will face off against another GM's team. Once the match ups are posted, I'll ask each GM to PM me a set of numbers. Basically what you do here is assign each champion on your team a number from 1 to 8, and when I randomly call, for example, the number 6, whoever you placed at number 6 will square off against whomever the opposing GM placed at number 6. Fairly simple, right?
Let's look at a hypothetical set of numbers.
Suppose you had the completely hypothetical team: X-Man, Phoenix, Professor X, Cable, Cannonball, Wolverine, Cyclops, Havok, Bishop, and Jean Grey. You could send numbers in like so:
1. Cannonball
2. Cyclops
3. X-Man
4. Phoenix
5. Bishop
6. Professor X
7. Wolverine
8. Havok
That, or any order. It really is best to keep things random so as to keep your opponent guessing.
Now, you'll notice that I said that you can assign 8 numbers. So why do we have 10 rounds of drafting and 10(at the least) characters per team? Simple. You have to decide which of your characters will sit out the individual battles for that round. GMs can switch which characters they want to sit out, though. In the example above, that hypothetical GM decided to sit out Jean Grey and Cable, but after that match is over and he is facing off against a different GM, he could decide put those 2 characters into the match and sit out, say, X-Man and Bishop. It's up to the GM to decide which characters would serve him best in the individual battles for that round.
Not to worry, though. All 10 of your characters will participate in team battles, if that becomes necessary.
A team battle occurs if, after we get through all 8 numbers of individual battles, the 2 squads are deadlocked at 4 wins apiece. The team battle will then act as a tiebreaker and the winner of that battle will win the match. Team battles involve the judges having to decide which team would win in an all out brawl between every character on both squads.
OPTIONAL STRATEGIES:
Here are a couple of different things that you can use (or not use) when sending in your numbers:
Trumps
A trump is when you place two characters together for a greater chance of winning their match up. Sounds simple, right? But there is a downside. Trumping your characters together for a greater chance of success will result in an auto-loss for your squad.
Here's what happens when you trump:
Using the same team from above, you can send in your numbers using trumps like so:
1. Cyclops trumped with Havok
2. X-Man
3. Professor X
4. Phoenix
5. Bishop
6. Cannonball
7. Jean Grey
8. Havok trumped with Cyclops
Now, in the event that I call number 8, both Havok and Cyclops will face off against whomever the opponent placed at number 8. Obviously, they would have a greater chance at defeating whoever comes up as their opponent. Of course, there's always the possibility that their opponent might be out of their league, and that they'd lose despite the fact that there's two of them. That's the risk involved in trumping.
Now, once that trump has done battle, whether they win or lose, when I call the other number that the trump used, (in this case, 1) the team will receive an auto-loss in that spot and whoever the opponent placed at number 1 will win no matter what. It is as though your team did not show up for the fight, and so the other team wins due to forfeit.
Now, can you use multiple trumps or even put more than two characters together in one trump? Yes, you may. You can trump your team however you see fit. Just always be aware that you will receive an auto-loss for each team member that's trumped, so don't get too carried away. However, you may not have more than 4 forfeits, as that would result in your automatic loss in the overall match.
Preparation Time
The second of our optional strategies is known as prep time. Basically what this means is that you can assign up to 2 of your characters prep time when sending in your numbers. So, again, your numbers could look like this:
1. X-Man
2. Wolverine (prepared)
3. Bishop
4. Cannonball
5. Professor X
6. Phoenix
7. Havok
8. Cable (prepared)
So what does being prepared mean for a character? I am so glad you asked.
Prepared combatants will be taken to a replica of their home base, or the equivalent of it, and given a few things to aid them in their battle.
First, a datapad like supercomputer. This computer will hold all relevant information about an opponent, including a psychological profile, information about their species/homeworld, their affiliations, their powers and how they operate(for instance, an explanation on the Kryptonian physiology, such as how the cells absorb yellow sunlight), and their arsenal, if they should have one, however. The computer will boot up with a brief opening monologue about who the combatant is facing, which is sort of like a history of that character, kind of like watching a documentary, and then the computer will automatically open to the character's psychological profile. The computer will then give any relevant information the user requires.
Second, a sample of their opponent's DNA. If the opponent is a mutant/alien, this would allow someone with enough knowledge in the area of genetics to analyze, and possibly work out how to neutralize an opponent's ability.
Thirdly, access to any significant prop used by an opponent, such as a Green Lantern's power ring. They would not be able to use the sample, but would be allowed to analyze it, to determine things like power source, type of energy, etc. Because some people rely on items rather than their own inherent abilities, this keeps it from being unfair to those that could have their powers neutralized by analyzing a DNA sample.
Fourth, a small amount of any substance that hinders or helps the opponent. Such as Kryptonite, or Radion. Not enough to actually harm the opponent, but enough to analyze.
Combatants will not be given access to the area before the fight, as it is artificial, and does not exist beforehand. Instead, those prepared will be given a 3-D map of the location, and can study it from their quarters. They cannot alter the battlefield in any way before the battle.
Combatants will not be told where they are starting, however, depending on the location, they will be starting facing each other at a reasonable distance(the distance will change depending on the size). Combatants who are not prepared will be brought to a small briefing room as the map "loads"(prepared combatants will be brought to the same type of room, only after they have made their preparations), where they will see the same map for three minutes. On the wall will be a screen with the picture and name of the opponent they are facing, and that is it. An announcement will let the combatants know that the fight is about to start, and then there will be a 3 second countdown, after which the combatants themselves will be loaded onto the screen. The fight will begin.
In the event of a team match, all of the combatants will be prepared. The differences between solo prep and team prep are as follows:
The entire team will be put into a room. The team room will be made up of each member's home base rolled into one, so that each member of the team's home base is represented, all of these bases will be centered around a room containing a large conference table. Teams will be introduced to each other via the same computer that is given in normal prep circumstances, which will include a small background of each team member, and then they will be briefed about their opponents in the same fashion. Captains MUST BE chosen by the GM's, and they will be the character given the prep package to disperse to the teammates as they see fit. Pretty much nothing changes there, except captains will be specified, and will be the sole possessors of the items contained in the prep package.
When it comes to prep time, obviously certain characters will benefit from it far more than others, in addition, some characters are more suited to leadership than others, so keep that in mind when deciding who your captain will be. For example, Lex Luthor would be able become far more effective when assigned prep time, but with someone like The Thing, any benefit he would gain from prep time would most likely be minimal.
Unlike trumping, there's no penalty for using prep time for your characters, so it's pretty much in your best interests to assign 2 of your characters prep time for every match. Even if you don't end up with any characters that would obviously benefit a great deal from it, you might as well give the prep time to someone. The difference might be minimal, but you never know when it could be the difference maker in a really close match.
Now, can you prep a trump? Yes, yes you can. However, prepping a trump will consume both of your prep times for that match. So instead of being able to prepare 2 different individual fighters for that match, you would only have the 1 prepared trump(except in the case of team picks, which still act as a single combatant). Again, that's completely up to the GM.
Continued in Second Post
The premise is simple: In this thread twelve managers will draft comic book characters from a list provided to form a team that they will pit against their opponents. The first draft was a little less organized so no winner was declared from that one, but THIS draft will not disappoint. One of our esteemed OTC posters Ridonks introduced me to a format that is tried and tested. Some of you may remember it from his TV and Movie Character Draft.
http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/5/56665/1087802-justice_league_countdown_super.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a8/pharoahe214/dark-reign-event-20081204001157790.jpg
Here are the Rules. Its long, but its not complicated.
THE POSITIONS
Okay, first off, there are three different positions in this draft:
The Commissioner: Me. I get the job of randomizing the draft order, posting the match ups when we get to that point, enforcing the rules and basically pulling all of the strings that make this thing work. If you have any further questions about the draft that isn't explained in this post, feel free to ask me, either in the thread or via PM.
The Judges: In Ridonks' draft we had more than one judge, but from my experience its tough to get two more people to stay on top of this and be as dedicated, so I'll judge everything unless I get some really willing participants. Rezznor says he will help, so if we get one more poster to judge we can have three. GMs can also nominate themselves to judge the other conference but I'm going to use my discretion based on how active I know you to be.
The GMs: There will be twelve GMs spots up for grabs. If I feel like we can't get twelve, we'll go with ten and have just one conference. As a GM, it's your responsibility to draft a team from the draft list, come up with a team name and assign numbers to your characters once the matches start.
STEP 1: THE DRAFT
Once all the positions are filled, I'll randomize the draft order and post the list from which the GMs will draft their teams. There will be 10 rounds of drafting, which of course means that each team will consist of at least 10 characters. The draft order is a snake draft.
Example:
Round 1
1. Team A
2. Team B
3. Team C
4. Team D
Round 2
1. Team D
2. Team C
3. Team B
4. Team A
And we'll do 10 rounds like that.
STEP 2: THE MATCH UPS
Once all 10 rounds of drafting are completed, I'll post the first round of match ups. Each GM's team will face off against another GM's team. Once the match ups are posted, I'll ask each GM to PM me a set of numbers. Basically what you do here is assign each champion on your team a number from 1 to 8, and when I randomly call, for example, the number 6, whoever you placed at number 6 will square off against whomever the opposing GM placed at number 6. Fairly simple, right?
Let's look at a hypothetical set of numbers.
Suppose you had the completely hypothetical team: X-Man, Phoenix, Professor X, Cable, Cannonball, Wolverine, Cyclops, Havok, Bishop, and Jean Grey. You could send numbers in like so:
1. Cannonball
2. Cyclops
3. X-Man
4. Phoenix
5. Bishop
6. Professor X
7. Wolverine
8. Havok
That, or any order. It really is best to keep things random so as to keep your opponent guessing.
Now, you'll notice that I said that you can assign 8 numbers. So why do we have 10 rounds of drafting and 10(at the least) characters per team? Simple. You have to decide which of your characters will sit out the individual battles for that round. GMs can switch which characters they want to sit out, though. In the example above, that hypothetical GM decided to sit out Jean Grey and Cable, but after that match is over and he is facing off against a different GM, he could decide put those 2 characters into the match and sit out, say, X-Man and Bishop. It's up to the GM to decide which characters would serve him best in the individual battles for that round.
Not to worry, though. All 10 of your characters will participate in team battles, if that becomes necessary.
A team battle occurs if, after we get through all 8 numbers of individual battles, the 2 squads are deadlocked at 4 wins apiece. The team battle will then act as a tiebreaker and the winner of that battle will win the match. Team battles involve the judges having to decide which team would win in an all out brawl between every character on both squads.
OPTIONAL STRATEGIES:
Here are a couple of different things that you can use (or not use) when sending in your numbers:
Trumps
A trump is when you place two characters together for a greater chance of winning their match up. Sounds simple, right? But there is a downside. Trumping your characters together for a greater chance of success will result in an auto-loss for your squad.
Here's what happens when you trump:
Using the same team from above, you can send in your numbers using trumps like so:
1. Cyclops trumped with Havok
2. X-Man
3. Professor X
4. Phoenix
5. Bishop
6. Cannonball
7. Jean Grey
8. Havok trumped with Cyclops
Now, in the event that I call number 8, both Havok and Cyclops will face off against whomever the opponent placed at number 8. Obviously, they would have a greater chance at defeating whoever comes up as their opponent. Of course, there's always the possibility that their opponent might be out of their league, and that they'd lose despite the fact that there's two of them. That's the risk involved in trumping.
Now, once that trump has done battle, whether they win or lose, when I call the other number that the trump used, (in this case, 1) the team will receive an auto-loss in that spot and whoever the opponent placed at number 1 will win no matter what. It is as though your team did not show up for the fight, and so the other team wins due to forfeit.
Now, can you use multiple trumps or even put more than two characters together in one trump? Yes, you may. You can trump your team however you see fit. Just always be aware that you will receive an auto-loss for each team member that's trumped, so don't get too carried away. However, you may not have more than 4 forfeits, as that would result in your automatic loss in the overall match.
Preparation Time
The second of our optional strategies is known as prep time. Basically what this means is that you can assign up to 2 of your characters prep time when sending in your numbers. So, again, your numbers could look like this:
1. X-Man
2. Wolverine (prepared)
3. Bishop
4. Cannonball
5. Professor X
6. Phoenix
7. Havok
8. Cable (prepared)
So what does being prepared mean for a character? I am so glad you asked.
Prepared combatants will be taken to a replica of their home base, or the equivalent of it, and given a few things to aid them in their battle.
First, a datapad like supercomputer. This computer will hold all relevant information about an opponent, including a psychological profile, information about their species/homeworld, their affiliations, their powers and how they operate(for instance, an explanation on the Kryptonian physiology, such as how the cells absorb yellow sunlight), and their arsenal, if they should have one, however. The computer will boot up with a brief opening monologue about who the combatant is facing, which is sort of like a history of that character, kind of like watching a documentary, and then the computer will automatically open to the character's psychological profile. The computer will then give any relevant information the user requires.
Second, a sample of their opponent's DNA. If the opponent is a mutant/alien, this would allow someone with enough knowledge in the area of genetics to analyze, and possibly work out how to neutralize an opponent's ability.
Thirdly, access to any significant prop used by an opponent, such as a Green Lantern's power ring. They would not be able to use the sample, but would be allowed to analyze it, to determine things like power source, type of energy, etc. Because some people rely on items rather than their own inherent abilities, this keeps it from being unfair to those that could have their powers neutralized by analyzing a DNA sample.
Fourth, a small amount of any substance that hinders or helps the opponent. Such as Kryptonite, or Radion. Not enough to actually harm the opponent, but enough to analyze.
Combatants will not be given access to the area before the fight, as it is artificial, and does not exist beforehand. Instead, those prepared will be given a 3-D map of the location, and can study it from their quarters. They cannot alter the battlefield in any way before the battle.
Combatants will not be told where they are starting, however, depending on the location, they will be starting facing each other at a reasonable distance(the distance will change depending on the size). Combatants who are not prepared will be brought to a small briefing room as the map "loads"(prepared combatants will be brought to the same type of room, only after they have made their preparations), where they will see the same map for three minutes. On the wall will be a screen with the picture and name of the opponent they are facing, and that is it. An announcement will let the combatants know that the fight is about to start, and then there will be a 3 second countdown, after which the combatants themselves will be loaded onto the screen. The fight will begin.
In the event of a team match, all of the combatants will be prepared. The differences between solo prep and team prep are as follows:
The entire team will be put into a room. The team room will be made up of each member's home base rolled into one, so that each member of the team's home base is represented, all of these bases will be centered around a room containing a large conference table. Teams will be introduced to each other via the same computer that is given in normal prep circumstances, which will include a small background of each team member, and then they will be briefed about their opponents in the same fashion. Captains MUST BE chosen by the GM's, and they will be the character given the prep package to disperse to the teammates as they see fit. Pretty much nothing changes there, except captains will be specified, and will be the sole possessors of the items contained in the prep package.
When it comes to prep time, obviously certain characters will benefit from it far more than others, in addition, some characters are more suited to leadership than others, so keep that in mind when deciding who your captain will be. For example, Lex Luthor would be able become far more effective when assigned prep time, but with someone like The Thing, any benefit he would gain from prep time would most likely be minimal.
Unlike trumping, there's no penalty for using prep time for your characters, so it's pretty much in your best interests to assign 2 of your characters prep time for every match. Even if you don't end up with any characters that would obviously benefit a great deal from it, you might as well give the prep time to someone. The difference might be minimal, but you never know when it could be the difference maker in a really close match.
Now, can you prep a trump? Yes, yes you can. However, prepping a trump will consume both of your prep times for that match. So instead of being able to prepare 2 different individual fighters for that match, you would only have the 1 prepared trump(except in the case of team picks, which still act as a single combatant). Again, that's completely up to the GM.
Continued in Second Post