The Competitor's Bill of Rights

In these Games, you the competitor have the right to:

1. A fairly and dispassionately scored entry. It should be a given, but the idea is so important that I'm putting it here anyways. If you're ever concerned that I'm not scoring you fairly as possible please contact me so I can resolve the issue.

2. A minimum of five days for every entry submission, to ensure you all have some flexibility and time to write. In the event of a ballot challenge, this may be hampered by some means.

3. A minimum of 20 hours to vote, so schedules are less likely to hamper the mandate from the masses.

4. The right to vote for yourself, if ever you find yourself up for votes.

5. Freedom from minimum or maximum word limits, though this may be subject to a ballot challenge.

6. One 24 hour extension, no questions asked. Don't tell me why you need it. Just use it wisely, as I become significantly harder to impress after it's been used.

The Host's Bill of Rights

In these Games, I maintain the following powers for myself:

1. I am the host. In this little corner of the internet, I (benevolently) rule with an iron fist. My scores are final. My decisions are final. This right is absolute.

2. I will cheerfully ignore any entry or form which is not submitted to [email protected].

3. In the event of a tie in voting, I reserve the right to break said tie in whatever manner I choose.

4. I and I alone will determine how many points you get upon handing in late (if any).

5. Please bear in mind that I have a life, and going to grad school interviews may take precedence over prompt scoring. In the event that this happens, rest assured I have not forgotten about you lovely kids. It'll just take me a bit to get caught up.

6. If you're considering being a dick to your fellow competitors (in any way besides the ones I explicitly give you, that is), don't. If you're considering being a dick to me, really, really don't. I will be a dick back to you, and I'm much better at it. Be polite.

With Regards to Tasks and Voting

I'm switching it up a little this time: this will be an eight-Task Games. Eliminations will occur after six of these tasks, and voting will take place after seven of them. Generally speaking, I accept any votes submitted via PM or via comment on the final page, save those taking place in the final round.

The following actions will be considered cheating and, if proven, will result in automatic elimination:

1. Creating a fake account to vote for yourself, or voting multiple times with different legitimate accounts.

2. Directing friends to a voting page in order for them to vote for you.

3. Pressuring individuals into changing their minds about how to vote.

With Regards to Scoring

Rankings in these Games will be based on cumulative scores, and the scores for each round will be determined with the following system (shamelessly appropriated from PanemEtCircuses):

There will be 6 categories in which you can earn points. These categories will be assigned a score from 1 ("This may or may not be English") to 10 ("Thank you for honoring me with this poetry"). The total score from all six categories will be divided by four to yield a number between 0 and 15.

The categories are as follows:

Completion: Did you do what I told you to do in this task? Did I ask for a Bloodbath and receive a 15-page essay on the difference between frogs and toads? Did your form's Other section have the password, namely whether you prefer DC or Marvel?

Characterization: Does your tribute have clear and interesting motives, realistic dialogue, and a compelling arc?

Description: What's going on around your character? Is there any evidence your entry does not take place in a featureless white room?

Creativity: Is this entry interesting, developed, and original? Have I read 15 other entries that look exactly like it save for slight changes in the names?

Style: Does your work have a clear and distinctive voice? Does it flow well from event to event? Is it difficult to understand what's going on in the basic plot of the work?

GUMP; that is, Grammar/Usage/Mechanics/Punctuation: 'Nuff said.

With Regards to Kills

This Games will be based on ballot challenges- this time with a twist. You will submit a list of ballot kills with every entry, and the unfortunate soul with the highest total will be given a challenge.

Where things will be different, however, is in the nature of the challenge itself. Simply put, each round for the balloted party will be a song task.

I have compiled a list of songs and paired one with each task. They will get harder as you progress. Each round, the balloted tribute will have to match their entry with the song task, taking a penalty to their Completion score if I decide this has not been done to my satisfaction. 

There will be no penalty for failing to hand in your ballot kills. However, if you fail to hand in you ballot kills and therefore have to match your touching reunion with your birth parents to a dubstep "Cotton Eyed Joe" remix, I will tolerate no whining.

The Missions

Perhaps some of the more alert among you have noticed the five divisions of SHADR! These will be relevant to your upcoming entries. See, each division will have a task to shine, where their skills will be needed in the defense of the planet. On those tasks, heroes in each division will have a 'mission,' with an additional task requirement. Be sure to pay attention!

If that weren't enough, a division can 'fail' a mission. Missions fail when the average score for a division falls below 11, calculated from all members still alive when the task was assigned. If SHADR as a whole fails more than two missions...well. That will have consequences for the last three tasks, and the world as a whole. Better work hard, don't you think?

Miscellaneous

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Shout into the void, and accept the wisdom silence returns to you. Alternately, you could comment below or shoot me a PM; I can clear up the issue immediately. Considering conquering a country in my name? While thoughtful, I don't want you to strain yourself; one of the little ones is fine.