Doc Shadow Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Doc Shadow, on 03 Feb 2017 - 04:57 AM, said: At the rate we're going, this thing won't finish until sometime around June. Pariah I really suggest we speed things up a bit. Either quicken the pace so that each round takes no more than four days, or run two tournaments simultaneously. I appreciate the concern. There are still some things I'm figuring out about this whole process. This first round brought up two or three issues I hadn't anticipated. Now that I've figured out some of these things, the pace should pick up. I anticipate that we call do two rounds a week from here on out, starting Monday. Thank you for your patience. You remember this exchange, Pariah? Maybe next time you'll listen to your doctor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 You've got someplace better to be...? (And yes, I do remember the exchange. As then, your ongoing patience is appreciated.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2017 All right, I can now reveal the venues for the Unlimited Class Tournament of Heroes. (Spoilered for length.) The Bubble The Bubble was originally a supervillain base built at the bottom of Sigsbee Deep in the Gulf of Mexico. Sitting four kilometers below the surface of the Gulf, the Bubble is a multi-structure facility protected by a force field that holds back the sea and maintains a breathable atmosphere. No one is quite certain what maintains the force field; attempts to locate and disable the field generator have never been successful. It may be mystical in origin. The force field defines a dome 750 meters in diameter and 250 meters high. Characters may pass through the force field without breaking it--but those who do will immediately become subject to the incredible pressure and freezing temperature of the water outside. Luna City Located on the far side of the Moon, the alien ruins colloquially known as Luna City are at least 20,000 years old. The size of a large town, the alien technology maintains an Earth-normal atmosphere (but with normal lunar gravity). The site contains countless alien buildings and other strange architecture. There also appears to have been a military presence in the city, as numerous alien weapons (some still in working order after all this time) have also been found. Outside the limits of Luna City lies the bleak and unprotected vacuum of the lunar surface. Subterranea This lost kingdom is found in an enormous cavern many kilometers below the surface of the Earth, with only one passage leading to the top. The city and its surrounding lands are heated and powered by a bisecting river of molten magma, while light emanates from a giant crystal at the top of the cavern. The kingdom has thousands of residents and is ruled by a powerful warrior king and his sorceress queen. There are also strange underground creatures--some intelligent, some otherwise--that raid the city from time to time. The king has allowed the use of the city’s great arena as the location for this match. Most of the kingdom’s residents will be in attendance for the spectacle. The Bazaar at Luqana IX This alien marketplace covers most of a small continent on an otherwise unremarkable world. There are literally millions of buyers and sellers from a thousand alien races here at any given time. The Bazaar runs 27½ hours a day and has done so continually for the past three hundred solar cycles. Conflicts originating in the Bazaar have grown into system-wide wars four times in the past three centuries, so heroes will need to be particularly careful with innocent bystanders in this venue. The Ruins of El-D’rann There was a planet here forty years ago, but it suffered an ignominious fate and exploded. Gravity has slowly begun to pull the scattered pieces back together--it may even be a planet again in a few hundred millennia--but for now, the area remains a debris field of rock and chunks of ice, with occasional pockets of various gases. Even the largest chunks have no atmosphere to speak of; atmosphere suits will be provided for contestants who need them. The Plain This venue is a self-contained pocket dimension. As implied by the name, it consists of a flat, featureless grey surface that extends infinitely in all directions. There are no identifying features, no variations in texture or appearance, no beginning and no end. It’s just flat and grey as far as the eye can see. Iota Space Another pocket dimension, this place adamantly refuses to follow the rules of physics as understood in our universe. Light and darkness emanate from noplace in particular, effects sometimes precede causes, and gravity is entirely arbitrary. The landscape is constantly changing, and doors don’t always open into the same rooms. Imagine a world drawn by M.C. Escher and illustrated by Jim Steranko based on descriptions provided by Roger Zelazny, all with theme music from the late 60s. Many characters here will be challenged as much by the venue as by their opponents. The Battleground This synthetic world was created æons ago by an interstellar warlord as a place to train his armies (and punish his enemies and prisoners). It was created to simulate all types of battle conditions and terrains. On a whim, it can change the terrain and weather conditions, invent new hazards for characters to overcome, create armies of heavily-armed adversaries, and generally make life miserable for whoever is stuck there. The Battleground is also surrounded by a powerful force field that makes it utterly impossible for any character to leave until the battle is completed. The Strip This space station is one of the oddest in the galaxy. It consists of a metallic Möbius strip ten kilometers long (or 20 km, depending how you measure it) 750 meters wide, and 10 meters thick. It is surrounded by an oblong envelope of air that provides at least five kilometers of atmosphere over every part of the Strip. The Strip floats through interstellar space, not bound to any star system. The Strip has slightly higher than Earth-normal gravity and Earth-tropical temperatures. The surface of the Strip is metallic but uneven, with various protrusions and structures found along the entire length. There are no tunnels or passages through the Strip itself, although there are numerous doors and panels allowing access to the superstructure. Artificial light illuminates one side of the Strip at every location; one can walk (or fly) around the edge to get from light to darkness or back. Although uninhabited, it was clearly designed to support a population of some size. Sky City This series of artificial islands floats high above the surface (if there is one) of an alien world. The clear blue sky is rich in oxygen and water vapor. The City floats high above the clouds and turbulent weather, enjoying uninterrupted sunshine during the day and spectacular views of the stars at night. The origins of the City are lost in antiquity, but Guild that maintains the City’s anti-gravity generators has records that go back at least ten thousand years. The City has a large, diverse, and vibrant population whose hospitality toward visitors from around the galaxy is widely renowned. Everyone here is looking forward to hosting the Tournament. I hope to post the first round of matches later today...kids willing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2017 Due to outages, I'm pushing the voting deadline for all Round of 16 matches to Thursday, June 8th at 5:00 p.m. EDT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2017 All right! I have tabulated the results from the Round of 16, and the results have been posted. There were a lot of close matches, including two decided by the Whim of Fate. Good stuff, this. Quarterfinal matches will be posted tomorrow morning when I'm at an actual computer. I will leave voting open until midnight Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday night. Look forward to seeing your votes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2017 The Final Four of the Unlimited Class Tournament of Heroes is now up for voting. Coincidentally, our two semifinal matches will guarantee a Marvel vs. DC championship match! Marvel Championship: Jean Grey vs. Odin, the All-Father! DC Championship: Martian Manhunter vs. Captain Marvel! Voting on the semifinal matches will remain open until midnight EDT on Tuesday, June 13th. I will evaluate the results Wednesday morning, and post the Championship match (and the Bronze Medal match) at that point. Barring any outages or other unexpected issues (knock on wood), we should be able to wrap up this thing by the end of this week. Thank you to everyone who has participated, and let's make this last week memorable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2017 Our Championship match and Bronze Medal match are now up! Go vote--you've got until Tuesday at midnight EDT. Let's finish this thing strong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted June 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2017 The votes (and the Whims of Fate) have been tallied, and the Unlimited Class of the Tournament of Heroes has been decided. Third place: Jean Grey Second place: Martian Manhunter Champion: Odin, the All-Father So we wrap up, at long last, the Tournament of Heroes by crowning our first Champion from Marvel--and our first NPC Champion. Thank you to everyone who participated. You may now go back to your regularly scheduled lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 22, 2017 Report Share Posted June 22, 2017 I want a recount ! And no matter how it turns out, I want Manhunter to win ! And I want a bigger office ! And I want a new car ! Something with reclining leather seats, that goes really fast, and gets really awful gas mileage ! And I want the city to pay for it all ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Shadow Posted June 22, 2017 Report Share Posted June 22, 2017 I want a recount ! And no matter how it turns out, I want Manhunter to win ! And I want a bigger office ! And I want a new car ! Something with reclining leather seats, that goes really fast, and gets really awful gas mileage ! And I want the city to pay for it all ! Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you vote for Odin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rails Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 Never let facts get in the way of a good rant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 The chance to quote a particular classic film was too great a temptation to resist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Shadow Posted June 23, 2017 Report Share Posted June 23, 2017 The chance to quote a particular classic film was too great a temptation to resist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted June 24, 2017 Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 'Thank you sir ! May I have another ?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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