The Third Annual Writer's Game: Roots

Rules of Panem

RESERVATIONS WILL BE ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE, BASIS. Reservations will open on FEBRUARY 13, 10PM GMT.

- The Games will involve Districts 1-12, for a total of twenty-four tributes. There will not be any openings for District Thirteen or the Capitol, regardless of how quickly the Games fill.

- ALL TIMES WILL BE in GMT, which you will be expected to convert into your own time. Should you require a conversion, it is appreciated you take it upon yourself to find a converter than to ask me to find a converter for you. There will be reminders sent out regarding deadlines.

- It is helpful, but not required, that you follow me for the duration of the Games, so that if I mistag you, you will still see when I post. Adding the story to a reading list or library will do the same.

- EVERYONE MUST HAND IN FORMS AND ENTRIES TO magmakepner@ hotmail.com (omit the space) . I will not receive entries or forms any other way. No exceptions will be made unless extenuating circumstances come up in which you have typically sent by email but your email is not working for a limited time.

- ALL CHARACTERS MUST BE UNIQUE TO YOU AND THE WORLD.

THE GAME

- When you sign up for this Game, you understand that this is a commitment. I've had some serious issues in the past regarding drop-outs, and I'm trying really hard this Game for that not to happen. If you sign up, hand in on time.

- That being said, everyone will receive ONE twenty-four hour extension, no questions asked. Use it wisely, as afterwards I will not be giving them out unless a serious reason/issue has come up. No extensions will be granted on the basis including, but not limited to: "I didn't know the task was up!" "OMG I'm so sorry but like omg I just haven't had any time even though I'm messaging you now". I understand, however, issues come up, and would prefer to receive an extension notice (not including that of your given extension) several days prior to the task due date.

- IF YOUR ENTRY IS LATE, you will have a grace period of an hour from when the entry was due to hand it in with a penalty. Hand it in afterward and it will not be counted, unless you've spoken about an extension.

- If you fail to hand in once, you will automatically be put up for votes. If you do not hand in a second time, you will be eliminated from the Games.

- This Game will run without bias. I promise to solely look at your entry as an entry, and to put away any judgments I may hold. This can be guaranteed by the fact I barely remember who writes tributes in Games I participate in, much less twenty-four entries I have to mark.

- Alliance are a-okay in this game, but coordinating kills IS NOT. If I find a group targeting certain people I will discuss it with the people instigating it and if it is not stopped penalties will be imposed.

- Everyone will treat each other with RESPECT and DIGNITY. Any matter that you feel is being mishandled or that there is an issue with is to be directed to me by private message.

THERE WILL BE NO:

· Vote Begging/Grubbing: Asking followers/friends/others to vote for you. Should I suspect that the case, you will face severe penalties in Game and risk elimination.

· Complaining/Whining/Screaming: No public display of bad sportsmanship will be tolerated. Any matters will be directed to me via private message. Examples of complaining/whining/screaming include: complaining of being eliminated, complaining of scores in public, etc.

- Please keep everything PG-13. Swearing is alright, but as my English teacher says, "Too many expletives and it loses its meaning to become a cliché." PG-13 is under my discretion and should I feel it go out of boundary I will send you a message and will put a warning before your entry.

THE SCORES

- Each entry will be marked out of 12. Entry scores are final.

- Scores will be cumulative after each task, and ballots will not affect your ranking, only your penalties (explained below and created by TheCatKing ). The rubric for scoring is:
0= You did not hand in.
1-3= There's some serious issues with this entry, and they are blinding me.
3-5= Well, this is sort of better, except it's either glaringly short or almost unreadable.
5-7= Average scores. A pass in grading standards, but has some large areas of improvement. Typically will only be one major issue.
7-9= Average, and should be thought of as a starting board. Your entry was good but there were pieces lacking that I wish would have been improved upon.
10-11= Above average. To achieve a score like this means that I wholly enjoyed the entry, but it was missing just something, missing something that could've pushed it above and beyond. Polished and squeaky clean, even if there are a few minor errors.
12= Best of luck, but this would mean your entry was so perfect it would bring me to tears.

- I grade based on a comparative basis. I proceed to give out the scores and then make sure all those with the same mark are on the same field in terms of quality. This eliminates any bias I may have had and also makes the rankings more diverse. Using this method would not affect a score more than one mark, and is used only if I find something not adding up.

- Those with the lowest scores each round will be put up for votes.

- If you have read this far please put your favourite author with your reservation.

THE DEATHS

- I will choose nine tributes after the first task to sponsor. They will be those who appeal to the Gamemakers' styles and who seem to have good odds. Those sponsored will each receive:

· The perk of disregarding ballots the first time they would be eligible to receive a penalty

· Feedback on any one task of their choice

· A choice between an automatic score of 13 or the chance to ignore task requirements and have a free-reign task (in-entry deaths are transferred to ballots) for EITHER task 2, 3, or 4. The latter will only be applied to the three tasks, afterwards if not claimed will be assumed the score of 13 UP UNTIL task 6.

- Deaths will be determined TWO WAYS.

- The FIRST way will be through IN-ENTRY DEATHS. Each task I will give you a certain number of tributes you must kill/see killed in your entry. You will then be required to somehow incorporate that many number of deaths in your entry, and those deaths will be viewable to the public eye.

- The SECOND way will be through BALLOT DEATHS. Like above, the number of deaths will be provided on a task-by-task basis, except these will be attached to your entry and will not be seen to the public. Backstabbing allies or balloting threats is what makes ballots so interesting, but be wise.

- BALLOTS and IN-ENTRY DEATHS will be combined PER task (not cumulative) and those with the highest ballots will face a penalty next task of some unknown sort. This system was developed by TheCatKing and will hinder those who are targeted, but will not cause their ranking to go down, unless their score falters.

THE VOTING

- When the voting page goes up, ONLY votes will be commented. Absolutely NO comments, replies, etc. will be tolerated. You may PM me your votes if you so wish.

- VOTING WILL GO WITH THE SYSTEM I'VE USED FOR THE LAST GAME, which is you will be voting those you DO NOT want to continue in the Games. It spices things up and I find is more reminiscent of the Hunger Games.

I hope you enjoy and, as always, may the odds be ever in your favor.