Re: Skunkbelly's Ultimate Tournament Challenge 2011
@ Wolron: have you tried logging on to Battle.net? Maybe that would do it.
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Here is a new draft of both the general rules and the equipment rules. I think this pretty much does the trick... but if something still isn't clear, let me know and I will address it. These rules should not be taken as final until I post the official, final rules on Christmas Day. You'll know the real thing because there will be a witty, dramatic preamble.
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It’s been a while, but in honor of the long wait for Diablo 3, I thought it was finally time to have another SUTC tournament. In this tournament, like all previous SUTC tournaments, you will not want to get too attached to your characters. You will play your character for one act… then you will pass it on to the next player, who will be randomly determined each week. They will then takeover that character’s fate… while you will have a new character to push ahead with. And so on and so on, until all characters either achieve Guardian status or take a more humble title, such as Daisy-Pusher-Upper.
As if that wasn’t enough challenge, there are several skill and item restrictions that will affect your gameplay. The idea, this time around, is to give magic a different feeling… a more “realistic” feeling. Magic items are harder to come by, and must mostly be made, not simply found. Characters will also have certain key abilities, and then some special additional Powers, but in general, the number of skills that may be used is smaller than usual.
BASIC RULES
1. Hardcore characters only.
2. V 1.13 only, please.
3. No S&E to avoid death, or other similar cheese. Be honorable.
4. You may play on any /players setting.
5. Respecs are banned for this tournament.
6. Any mercenary may be used, but they are subject to the same equipment rules as characters are. Also, if you wish to select a new merc, you cannot go backwards in time to a previous town to select one… you may use the merc passed along to you, or you may hire a new one in the act you are playing. No exceptions.
7. You may re-run areas for the act that you are playing, but you cannot go “back in time” to a previous act, except to shop in town (which is permitted… you may even switch difficulty levels for shopping purposes). However, you are limited to killing the Countess and all act bosses a maximum of *10 times* per difficulty level.
8. We will switch characters every two weeks. Therefore, you must be able to play through an act in two weeks’ time. If you cannot, you will be disqualified. Act 4 will only be given one week, due to its brevity.
9. All items must be found within the game… no bringing in items from your other characters. You may, however, mule off items that you cannot use to your own stashes, if you so choose. You may also keep a stash for your characters (see equipment rules for details on this).
10. No cooperative gameplay… you can only play solo.
11. In order to join, you must sign up in this thread by December 25th.
12. The tournament will begin on December 27th. All starting characters and classes will be posted then.
13. When you sign up, list your forum name and your email address (necessary for sending character files).
14. Please do not discuss the characters you are playing/have played until we reach ACT 5 in normal difficulty. After that, discussion is fair game.
EQUIPMENT RULES
1. All jewelry may be used, without exception or restriction.
2. All charms may be used.
3. All Crafted items may be used. Please note that this does NOT mean simply using the Cube to make an item… it means making an item using one of the Crafted Item recipes (i.e., Hit Power, Blood, etc.).
4. All unique quest items (The Gidbinn, the Viper amulet, etc. etc.) may be used while they are in your possession. Wirt’s Leg may also be used, if you’re that hard-up.
5. You may use any white item, any gray socketed item, and any non-magical ethereal item.
6. Aside from those categories, items must be in one of the following categories:
-- Items that have been imbued by Charsi (items must be redeemed before leaving Act 1 in that difficulty).
-- Items that have been personalized using the act 5 quest reward.
-- Anya rescue quest reward class-specific items.
7. Sockets in any item may be filled with anything you like. This includes “vanilla” runewords. Ladder-only runewords are banned.
8. You may use the Cube to create items, provided they do not break any of the rules above.
9. Gambling is allowed, but aside from jewelry, the items you gamble may ONLY be equipped if they are Personalized in act 5 (but you could use them to make a crafted item, of course).
10. You can shop for anything you like, but again, items must meet the rule restrictions above to be equipped.
11. All potions, keys, tomes, arrows, bolts, and scrolls may be shopped for without restriction.
12. Staff mods, skill charges, and oskills on any item *may* be used, assuming the item itself meets the restrictions above.
13. The Larzuk socketing reward does NOT make an item eligible to be used… you can only use items Larzuk sockets if they meet the requirements above (i.e., they were a white magic item, a plain ethereal item, a Crafted item, or something you personalized with Anya).
14. Mercenaries must abide by all equipment rules as well.
ATMA USE
You may keep an ATMA stash for your character; however, you may only use it to hold gold that cannot be contained in-game (because your in-game gold bank is maxed out), or to hold socket-fillers and extra charms. All other items must be held in your in-game inventory, with one important exception: at all times, you may keep ONE item in your ATMA stash to save for the possibility of using it in the Act 5 personalization reward. But that is all: one item, socket-fillers, spare charms, and gold you can’t hold in your in-game stash.
PASSING CHARACTERS
Before each switch day, I will post a list of who must send their character to whom. Then, assuming you survive the act, you will email your .d2s file (and nothing else!) to the next player WITH ALL OF THEIR EQUIPMENT AND GOLD, including equipped charms and potions. The ONLY items you may keep for yourself are items that you are permitted to keep in your ATMA stash (see above).
If you are going to have a problem passing your character on time, please be sure to communicate that. We can be a little flexible, if we know where things stand… but if you just vanish, that’s a problem.
For the purposes of switching acts, the Cow Level is considered part of Act 5. It is, however, completely optional. If you are fortunate enough to become a Guardian, do NOT play the Hell Cow Level… it will be used for tie-breaking purposes.
