- Sep 20, 2021
- 37
- 16
- 8
ALPHABET SOUP RESURRECTED
Greetings!
This is the 3rd incarnation of this tourney. Thanks to Grisu for migrating all the tourney threads and to whoever else for the great listing of them, which preserved so much tourney wealth. And allowed me to bust this out for the final time.
The previous 2 tourneys had exactly the same rules and text. This version has a few minor updates to reflect D2R, which I assume everyone is using by now. This tourney is not meant to have an end date, and is not a competition. Just an open tourney challenge for whoever wants to give it a go.
To make it more accommodating to players (myself included) who always seem to get tourney characters killed too early, I implemented a Grace setting.
Intro
The Gods looked down upon Bart, the Broad-axe wielding Bash/Battle Cry Barbarian and considered his fate.
"He is my Champion. Strong he is, and pure of heart" said Talon, the God of Strength.
Xara, the Goddess of Chaos, stifled a yawn. "That he may be - but let's see if he can handle this..."
Grace
Grace allows a player to have a chance of surviving one death (or even more than one). A character's Grace score is a number from 0 to 5.
Grace should be chosen by the player at the start of the campaign, and can be any number from 0 to 5.
To play regular HC mode, like all other tourneys (first death and you're out if playing SC), just set your Grace to 0. But if you want a little chance of salvation from death, you can set it to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (your choice).
Whenever you die, roll 1d6. Be prepared to accept the result, because this roll will determine the fate of your character. Do not reroll.
If you roll less than or equal to your current Grace, you may respawn and continue to play. Reduce your Grace by 1 (to a minimum of 0). If you still have 1 or more Grace, you will have the opportunity to avoid death the next time you die (although it will be less likely, since you just reduced your Grace).
If you roll greater than your current Grace, it's Deeds for you (you are dead and done with the tourney, at least with this character).
General Rules
1. HC or SC - Choose Grace if SC - If playing SC, choose your starting Grace (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5). If playing HC, Grace is automatically 0.
2. You can re-enter the tourney with a different character as many times as you like.
3. NOT single pass - rerun as much as you like.
4. No extended stash. You can of course mule items off of your character and into Shared stash tabs or external stashes if you want, but those items may never return to your character during this tourney. Items placed in a Shared Stash tab count as being muled off your character. You should put any item that you might want to use on this character and in this tourney, into your Private tab.
5. Any /players settings are allowed, and you can change it as you like.
6. You don't have to complete all quests or get all waypoints.
7. No MP. This is the SPF, after all.
8. Any version that includes LoD.
9. No twinking or trading allowed. You can't mule anything onto your character. This means you may NOT use your Shared Stash tabs in your stash - you may only use your Private tab. If you didn't find it with this character, or you found it then muled it off this character, you CAN'T use it.
10. Respec is allowed.
Tourney Specific Rules
1. Any skills that you pump past Skill Level 1 must have a skill name that starts with a DIFFERENT LETTER than any other skill that you pump past Skill Level 1. For example, if you have a Sorceress with Fireball level 20, you may not pump Fire Mastery higher than Skill Level 1. Merc skills are exempt, and need not be considered.
2. All items equipped on your character and on your merc must have a name that starts with a DIFFERENT LETTER than any other item you or your merc equip. For example, if you are wearing a Dragon's Ring of ____, you (or your Merc) may not carry a Deadly Longsword of _____. Only the first letter of the item name matters. Some items are exempt from the Alphabet restrictions (see rules 5-8).
3. Runeword items are considered to have 2 names, and therefore each use up 2 letters - the first letter of the item name proper as well as the first letter of the rune string that creates that item. For example, if you create an Enigma, the letters E (for Enigma) and J (for Jah rune, which is the first rune for an Enigma) are both used. You may not use a Runeword item if both of it's names start with the same letter. For example, Beast is disallowed because it's first rune is Ber.
Note that this rule ONLY applies to Runeword items - not all socketed items. For example, it is permissible to put a Shael rune in a socketed Sharp Claymore (so long as it doesn't create a Runeword item).
4. Note that items can sometimes have their names changed. It is always the CURRENT name of the item that matters. As soon as an item name changes, you should evaluate your items and make sure you are still legal. The typical example of this is socketing a gem into a grey piece of gear, which changes it's name to 'Gemmed _________'. Therefore, you can only have one piece of Gemmed gear equipped at a time (and no charms or other items that begin with G).
A wise player will be aware of Anya's Personalization quest, and name their character accordingly.
5. Consumable items (potions, scrolls, keys, etc) are exempt. This does NOT include equippable Thrown Items (spears, javelins, throwing axes, throwing knives, throwing potions, etc), which are considered ammunition. Ammuntion is not exempt.
6. The Tome of Identify and Tome of Town Portal are not considered 'equipped' and are exempt.
7. White items (normal items) are exempt.
8. Quest items are exempt.
9. Charms are NOT exempt. If you pick up a charm and ID it and find that it violates the rules, you must either unequip the conflicting item, or immediately go back to town and stash or sell the offending the charm.
10. The 'first letter' restrictions of skills and items are mutually exclusive. Skills and items are totally separate for this purpose. For example, it is permissible for a Paladin with 20 levels of Sacrifice skill to wear a Serpent's Ring (not that he would want to).
The overriding rule: The most important rule of all.... HAVE FUN! That's what these tourneys are all about, right? Put some thought into your character and your equipment, challenge yourself, and have a good time! If you make a mistake, don't sweat it. Just correct it ASAP and move on.
Greetings!
This is the 3rd incarnation of this tourney. Thanks to Grisu for migrating all the tourney threads and to whoever else for the great listing of them, which preserved so much tourney wealth. And allowed me to bust this out for the final time.
The previous 2 tourneys had exactly the same rules and text. This version has a few minor updates to reflect D2R, which I assume everyone is using by now. This tourney is not meant to have an end date, and is not a competition. Just an open tourney challenge for whoever wants to give it a go.
To make it more accommodating to players (myself included) who always seem to get tourney characters killed too early, I implemented a Grace setting.
Intro
The Gods looked down upon Bart, the Broad-axe wielding Bash/Battle Cry Barbarian and considered his fate.
"He is my Champion. Strong he is, and pure of heart" said Talon, the God of Strength.
Xara, the Goddess of Chaos, stifled a yawn. "That he may be - but let's see if he can handle this..."
Grace
Grace allows a player to have a chance of surviving one death (or even more than one). A character's Grace score is a number from 0 to 5.
Grace should be chosen by the player at the start of the campaign, and can be any number from 0 to 5.
To play regular HC mode, like all other tourneys (first death and you're out if playing SC), just set your Grace to 0. But if you want a little chance of salvation from death, you can set it to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (your choice).
Whenever you die, roll 1d6. Be prepared to accept the result, because this roll will determine the fate of your character. Do not reroll.
If you roll less than or equal to your current Grace, you may respawn and continue to play. Reduce your Grace by 1 (to a minimum of 0). If you still have 1 or more Grace, you will have the opportunity to avoid death the next time you die (although it will be less likely, since you just reduced your Grace).
If you roll greater than your current Grace, it's Deeds for you (you are dead and done with the tourney, at least with this character).
General Rules
1. HC or SC - Choose Grace if SC - If playing SC, choose your starting Grace (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5). If playing HC, Grace is automatically 0.
2. You can re-enter the tourney with a different character as many times as you like.
3. NOT single pass - rerun as much as you like.
4. No extended stash. You can of course mule items off of your character and into Shared stash tabs or external stashes if you want, but those items may never return to your character during this tourney. Items placed in a Shared Stash tab count as being muled off your character. You should put any item that you might want to use on this character and in this tourney, into your Private tab.
5. Any /players settings are allowed, and you can change it as you like.
6. You don't have to complete all quests or get all waypoints.
7. No MP. This is the SPF, after all.
8. Any version that includes LoD.
9. No twinking or trading allowed. You can't mule anything onto your character. This means you may NOT use your Shared Stash tabs in your stash - you may only use your Private tab. If you didn't find it with this character, or you found it then muled it off this character, you CAN'T use it.
10. Respec is allowed.
Tourney Specific Rules
1. Any skills that you pump past Skill Level 1 must have a skill name that starts with a DIFFERENT LETTER than any other skill that you pump past Skill Level 1. For example, if you have a Sorceress with Fireball level 20, you may not pump Fire Mastery higher than Skill Level 1. Merc skills are exempt, and need not be considered.
2. All items equipped on your character and on your merc must have a name that starts with a DIFFERENT LETTER than any other item you or your merc equip. For example, if you are wearing a Dragon's Ring of ____, you (or your Merc) may not carry a Deadly Longsword of _____. Only the first letter of the item name matters. Some items are exempt from the Alphabet restrictions (see rules 5-8).
3. Runeword items are considered to have 2 names, and therefore each use up 2 letters - the first letter of the item name proper as well as the first letter of the rune string that creates that item. For example, if you create an Enigma, the letters E (for Enigma) and J (for Jah rune, which is the first rune for an Enigma) are both used. You may not use a Runeword item if both of it's names start with the same letter. For example, Beast is disallowed because it's first rune is Ber.
Note that this rule ONLY applies to Runeword items - not all socketed items. For example, it is permissible to put a Shael rune in a socketed Sharp Claymore (so long as it doesn't create a Runeword item).
4. Note that items can sometimes have their names changed. It is always the CURRENT name of the item that matters. As soon as an item name changes, you should evaluate your items and make sure you are still legal. The typical example of this is socketing a gem into a grey piece of gear, which changes it's name to 'Gemmed _________'. Therefore, you can only have one piece of Gemmed gear equipped at a time (and no charms or other items that begin with G).
A wise player will be aware of Anya's Personalization quest, and name their character accordingly.
5. Consumable items (potions, scrolls, keys, etc) are exempt. This does NOT include equippable Thrown Items (spears, javelins, throwing axes, throwing knives, throwing potions, etc), which are considered ammunition. Ammuntion is not exempt.
6. The Tome of Identify and Tome of Town Portal are not considered 'equipped' and are exempt.
7. White items (normal items) are exempt.
8. Quest items are exempt.
9. Charms are NOT exempt. If you pick up a charm and ID it and find that it violates the rules, you must either unequip the conflicting item, or immediately go back to town and stash or sell the offending the charm.
10. The 'first letter' restrictions of skills and items are mutually exclusive. Skills and items are totally separate for this purpose. For example, it is permissible for a Paladin with 20 levels of Sacrifice skill to wear a Serpent's Ring (not that he would want to).
The overriding rule: The most important rule of all.... HAVE FUN! That's what these tourneys are all about, right? Put some thought into your character and your equipment, challenge yourself, and have a good time! If you make a mistake, don't sweat it. Just correct it ASAP and move on.
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