Quests & Challenges

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/oHFp4l9.png[/img][/center] [center][size=7][i][b]RoR Community Choice Writer’s Fest[/i][/b][/size][/center] Welcome to the 2018 RoR Community Choice Writer’s Fest, where we’ll celebrate the Riot of Rot with the written word and readers decide the winners. Anyone can read and vote! We have two classes and three themes for a total of six categories. The top three entries in each category receive prizes! Entries are due by midnight October 19th, and voting begins on October 21st and ends on October 27th at midnight. Winners will be announced on October 28th. [center]________________________________________[/center] [center][b][i][size=5]Directory[/size][/b][/i] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_2539496]I. Introduction (you are here!)[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606571]II. Entry[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606577]III. Prizes![/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606580]IV. Voting[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606585]V. Catalog of Entries[/url][/center] [center]________________________________________[/center] [center][b][i][size=5]Classes[/size][/b][/i][/center] [i]Prose.[/i] To be written in paragraphs. [i]Poems.[/i] To be written in stanzas. Both set and free forms are equally welcome. There is no minimum word count for either class, for some can say quite a lot with very little, but your work should always carry a character arc, scene, or idea to completion. There is also no hard maximum word count, but aim to stay concise enough to keep your piece comfortably bite-sized. We suggest entries average one to five pages in length. If your entry is an excerpt from a larger piece or relates to a bigger collection you’ve written, feel free to link to the rest of your work, but you will only be judged on what you submit in this thread. Pieces broken down into multiple short chapters or parts will be accepted as single entries as long as they are not full blown novellas or epics, but also can not stand alone as separate stories. [center][b][i][size=5]Themes[/size][/b][/i][/center] [i]Pens for Plague.[/i] Entries should take place on Sornieth and focus on the lifestyle, values, and lore of dragons in Plague flight, through their eyes or the eyes of others. This is where to submit stories about your clan, dragons, or the Mother of Rot herself. [i]Pup Scouts Battle for Badges.[/i] Entries to match our theme for RoR this year, Family Friendly! If you have a knack for humor or for warming hearts, write something about a pup scout’s quest to achieve victory and submit it here! [i]Spooky Stories to Tell in the Dark[/i]. Entries here do not need to take place in Sornieth. This is the place for your twists on classic campfire tales and urban legends. [center]________________________________________[/center]

[center][b][i][size=6]How to enter[/size][/b][/i][/center] To enter, you must post your completed entry in this thread and mark yourself as an author [url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jCRd2Vlsno4YEYDhDTld2V4pnVDjxPyAfhaCXrdhmgI/edit#gid=0]here[/url]. Please number your entries, and for every entry include a title, which category you’re entering it in, and mark it as completed or incomplete. Use the form below. Example: [i]Entry #: 1 Title: Sparky Gets a Gathering Badge Category: Pup Scout Poem Completed? Y/N: Yes (content of entry here)[/i] Please mark if you would like if you’d like to receive a ping the day before entries close on the same spreadsheet you registered on. You can reserve your post now, if you’d like! You may use BBCode in your entry to dress it up and make your formatting easy on the eyes, and even add illustrations or site-provided images to dress it up, but the latter won’t be judged. [center]________________________________________[/center] [center][b]A brief FAQ on entries[/b][/center] [i]Can I enter multiple categories?[/i] You bet! We encourage you to branch out and try themes and classes you wouldn’t normally. [i]Can I enter multiple times in one category?[/i] That’s a yes too, however, if you have more than two entries intended for one category, please consider condensing them into a single series of related mini-chapters or parts. [i]What happens if I win a prize in more than one category, or more than once in one category?[/i] In this case, you will receive the highest tier prize pack you qualify for, and be honored as one of Mother’s most adored authors for every other. You’ll also receive 100 food points of your choosing. If you qualify for two prize packs of the same tier in multiple categories, you pick your favorite. The other prize packs you qualified for will instead go to the next most popular entry that isn’t yours. This spreads the fun of winning items further. The knowledge you’re one of the most well-loved writers in the community should more than make up for not getting to monopolize the prize packs. Examples: [i]Writer A is a winner in Spooky Poems and took third in Plague Poems. They’ll receive the prize package for Spooky Poems and some loving lauding (plus 100 food points, of their choosing), and the writer of the fourth most popular Plague Poem will receive the third place prize pack. Writer B places second in Pup Scout Prose and Spooky Prose and third in Plague Poems. They get to pick between the second place prize packs they qualified for. They will receive applause (and 200 food points of their choosing). The third place winner in whichever category they did not pick the second place prize pack from will get that prize pack, and the fourth place winner will get the third place pack. The fourth place winner in Plague Poems receives the third place pack.[/i] [center]________________________________________[/center] [center][b]A note on content[/b][/center] Aim to keep content in all entries PG-13, especially since our theme is family friendly this year! If it would be out of place in a class Disney or Studio Ghibli film, or site official lore, either due to explicit content or over-the-top edginess, we ask that you revise your work. While guts and gore are part of Plague Flight, gratuitous violence is unnecessary. Your entries should also be polished. While stylistic choices are welcome, they should be consistent, and not evidence of haphazard editing. Below we have samples of respectfully written content and the sort of pointlessly over-the-top and sloppy work we’d rather not see entered. This is an excerpt from the biography of Wu Jiang, one of my dragons. He’s a reasonable drake, for a dragon heavily tied to death, and his bio avoids excessive drama and gore despite that theme. [quote name=Wu Jiang][center] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=6870949] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/68710/6870949_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] "Whup-clang! My knife and my wing come down simultaneously to trap the fleeing insects. With some difficulty, I sweep the determined locusts into a basket before they escape. It’s times like these I could really use an assistant, but dragons interested in funeral rites are far and few between in this area. Those dedicated to spirit care are even rarer. In the Wasteland, when a dragon dies, it’s between them and the Viral Mother what happens next. And Mom is known to turn a cold shoulder on failures. I started feeling the energy of the dead when I worked on the front lines for our clan as a mage, paralyzing enemies to make them easier targets for my partners, a pair of formidable Ice dragons. Their element’s effect on the native magic made them terrors to anything reliant on it. I felt a lot of beasts die. A spirit feels like a disruption in the normal electrical field. It tickles if it comes near enough. The first time I felt a dragon die, I was shocked and awed by the size of it. It was torn asunder by Serthis, who speared its wings, pulled it down to them. It was only a Fae, but the energy that escaped its body eclipsed my frame. It did more than prickle my skin. It send dread crawling all the way to my bones. I tracked its passage and it vanished, as they always did, into a spot in the sky where the flow of energy forms an eddy. Normally, those whirlpools turn steadily, but sometimes they churn erratically, most often in the wake of battles with heavy casualties- when a lot of dragons find themselves dead and confused and angry on the other side. Feeding them placates them.” [/quote] This next quote comes courtesy @JonTargaryen ‘s Infectionzzzzt, with additions from @ShadeOfChaos and a few extra errors added myself. Infectionzzzzt is the Plague dragon other Plague dragons tell their hatchlings not be like. This entry has a few distracting editing mistakes, and is over the top without any real substance. Mom says, “Don’t be that guy.” [quote name= Infectionzzzzt][center] [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=44553310] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/445534/44553310_350.png[/img] [/url][/center] "I am Infectionzzzzt the Edgeworthy, the most edgy of Plague dragons in this otherwise not edgy clan. I am the edgiest. I bathe in blood three times a day and collect goo from everywhere. I am so Plague even Plague dragons fear me." Infectionzzzzt was not born to a mother and father from a nest like other dragons. He came out of a swamp, terrifying the dragons who witnessed it. For screaming like cowards, Infectionzzt killed two of the three witness. He was so infected all he had to do was sneeze on them to kill them. The third barely escaped with his life and warned other Plague clans, "He is coming." Infectionzzzzt made his way through the Wyrmwound. If Plague was about the survival of the fittest, he would test that by challenging every dragon or beast he encountered. Just sneezing or touching a dragon, they would be instantly dead. He killed and killed some more and didn't give a crap. He started wearing the bones of his enemies to strike fear in the hearts of those who stood in his way. At last this Edgiest of Edgelords found himself running out of places to display the bones that so caused fear, so he decided to Edge out a lair. As he was framing the site (with the bones of his victims) he found a group of mage huddling in the bushes. They were so overwhelmed by his awesome and terrible power, they begged to be servants of the One True Edgelord, and offered to find suitable targets for his challenges. This pleased Infectionzzzt, for having a subservient following increased the edge factor. For a moment, he even debated about even making the servant uniform require sparkles.[/quote] We hope that makes what we're hoping to see nice and clear. [center]________________________________________[/center] [center][b][i][size=5]Directory[/size][/b][/i] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_2539496]I. Introduction[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606571]II. Entry (you are here!)[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606577]III. Prizes![/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606580]IV. Voting[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606585]V. Catalog of Entries[/url][/center] [center]________________________________________[/center]

[center][b][i][size=6]Prizes![/size][/b][/i][/center] [columns] [quote] [center][b][size=4]Pens for Plague Prose Division[/b][/size][/center] [center][b]1st Place[/b] [i]Horrifying, but in the good way.[/i] [item=Anomalous Nekomata][outfit=568784][item=Accent: Cradle Of Goo] [center]___________[/center] [b]2nd Place[/b] [i]You make Mom proud.[/i] [item=Anomalous Skink][outfit=568793][item=Accent: Rose Rot] [center]___________[/center] [b]3rd Place[/b] [i]Glory to you![/i] [item=Kelpie][outfit=568797][item=Accent: Engulfing Growths] [/quote] [nextcol] [quote] [center][b][size=4]Pens for Plague Poetry Division[/b][/size][/center] [center][b]1st Place[/b] [i]Rumors of you will spread like a virus.[/i] [item=Irregular Nekomata][outfit=568788][item=Accent: Lich Armor] [center]___________[/center] [b]2nd Place[/b] [i]All hail![/i] [item=Conjoined Skink][outfit=568794][item=Accent: Boneyard Empress] [center]___________[/center] [b]3rd Place[/b] [i]Take charge.[/i] [item=Swamphaunt Kelpie][outfit=568799][item=Accent: Wyrmwound Glow] [/columns][/quote] [columns] [quote] [center][b][size=4]Pup Scout Prose Division[/b][/size][/center] [center][b]1st Place[/b] [i]Plaguemom’s proud of you![/i] [item=Duskthicket Bonepicker][outfit=568805][item=Vista: Plaguebringer] [item=Eliminate][item=Eliminate] [center]___________[/center] [b]2nd Place[/b] [i]Taking on the big leagues now, eh?[/i] [item=Goliath Mountain Beetle][outfit=568812][item=Vista: Waterway] [item=Eliminate] [center]___________[/center] [b]3rd Place[/b] [i]You’re ready to step out.[/i] [item=Creeping Tendril][outfit=568821][item=Vista: Training Fields] [item=Tincture Of Dissolution] [/quote] [nextcol] [quote] [center][b][size=4]Pup Scout Poetry Division[/b][/size][/center] [center][b]1st Place[/b] [i]The best scouts usually become leaders.[/i] [item=Highreach Bonepicker][outfit=568808][item=Vista: Plaguebringer] [item=Eliminate][item=Eliminate] [center]___________[/center] [b]2nd Place[/b] [i]Did you even break a sweat?[/i] [item=Tufted Leaf Beetle][outfit=568816][item=Vista: Harpy's Roost] [item=Eliminate] [center]___________[/center] [b]3rd Place[/b] [i]You’re intrepid![/i] [item=Garden Watcher][outfit=568826][item=Vista: Training Fields II] [item=Tincture of Dissolution] [/columns][/quote] [columns] [quote] [center][b][size=4]Spooky Stories Prose Division[/b][/size][/center] [center][b]1st Place[/b] [i]Horrifying, but in the good way.[/i] [item=Snarling Mimic][outfit=568741][item=Vista: Conjurer's Hat] [center]___________[/center] [b]2nd Place[/b] [i]Don’t flicker out on us.[/i] [item=Spellbound Tome][outfit=568747][item=Vista: Gossamer Flame] [center]___________[/center] [b]3rd Place[/b] [i]You really put on a show![/i] [item=Valorous Cape][outfit=568748][item=Vista: Jester] [/quote] [nextcol] [quote] [center][b][size=4]Spooky Stories Poetry Division[/b][/size][/center] [center][b]1st Place[/b] [i]That was magical.[/i] [item=Ectoplasmime][outfit=568754][item=Vista: Grimore] [center]___________[/center] [b]2nd Place[/b] [i]You shine like the sun.[/i] [item=Ensorcelled Volume][outfit=568755][item=Vista: Glowing Globe] [center]___________[/center] [b]3rd Place[/b] [i]Stellar performance![/i] [item=Inquisitive Shroud][outfit=568758][item=Vista: Living Stones][/quote][/columns] [center]________________________________________[/center] [center][b][i][size=5]Directory[/size][/b][/i] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_2539496]I. Introduction[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606571]II. Entry[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606577]III. Prizes! (you are here!)[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606580]IV. Voting[/url] [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/qnc/2539496/1#post_35606585] V. Catalog of Entries[/url][/center] [center]________________________________________[/center]

Voting runs from October 21st to midnight October 27th. All are encouraged to vote- we only ask that entrants don’t vote for themselves. If you’d like to be a reader and don’t want to miss it, add yourself to the reader’s ping list here and we’ll tell you when voting begins and warn you when it’s about the close. If you’d like to space out your reads, select that you’d like to receive directory updates and we’ll let you know when we’ve listed completed entries throughout the duration of the contest.
To vote, read all of the entries, and select your favorites! Choose your top three entries from each category and mark your picks using this nifty form. You can revisit this form as many times as you like before voting closes, so feel free to break your reading into chunks and vote category by category, or change your mind later. You last submission is the one that'll count.

When voting, please read all entries in a category before making your choices. Don’t vote for yourself, don’t vote for your friends just because they’re your friends, and don’t tell your friends to vote for you without reading the others. Keep these questions in mind when reviewing an entry: Does it match up to the theme it’s meant to? Is it a solid piece, or does it feel like it’s missing something? Did the author put in an effort to edit it, or is it hard to follow and have distracting errors in it? You can still love a piece if it’s a little lacking in some areas, of course- these are just suggestions! What’s most important is that you enjoyed it.

If you have an question about your invididual contents, such as if your content is too gory, if your submission should be broken down or condensed, pm @Hannes or @ShadeOfChaos what you have so far. If you have a more general question which others could benefit from getting the answer to, such as when is something due, the voting process, is a story about x better suited for y or z theme, tag us in the thread and one of us will get back to you as soon as we can.

The votes are in! Rank was determined by total points earned and total votes for 1st per entry. A vote for 1st was worth three points, 2nd two points, and 3rd one point. If two entries earned the same amount of points, the number of votes for 1st was used as a tie breaker, with the higher count receiving the higher place.
As entrants are only eligible for one prize pack each, and many of our top writers were top writers in many categories, the remainder of you will find that even though your entry wasn't in the top three placings, you're still getting a prize! Entrants receive the highest honors they earned. If they hit the same high in more than one category, they picked their favorites. In some categories, most of the entrants were eligible for higher rewards in other categories, so some prize packs are actually going unawarded, because you're too prolific and also too good. Shame on you. Look out for those items in the upcoming Nature vs. Plague showdown- rest assured, we recycle here in Plague.
Entrants who placed in the original top three receive 100 food points for each placing they opted not to take the prize pack for.

And now, the bit you actually care about, who won what!
First place went to @Mypilot for "What It Takes." Second place went to @Chrisondra for "The Chase", and third place went to @Perifinite for "Thicker Than Water." However, literally all of them placed equally high or higher somewhere else, so they will each receive 100 food points of their choosing instead.
4th place went to MEEEEE and thus, since everyone higher placed is getting a pack from another category, I win the first place prize pack. I donated about half of that, so I mostly win not having to ship those things out. 5th, 6th, and 7th places were taken by @Egwu, @Darkwolf133, and @RadientAngel in that order, but they also earned prizes elsewhere, so the 2nd and 3rd prize packs go unawarded.
First place went to @Pigwidgeon with "Where Bones Abide", 2nd place went to @Chrisondra and "The Plaguebringer's Hunting Song", and third place went to @Mypilot 's "Stronger Than Bone". They also all took prize packs in other categories so it's 100 food points each again! 4th and 5th place finishers @Perifinite and @RadientAngel also placed higher elsewhere, leaving 6th and 7th place finishers @sockmonkeygerald and @Reiyn to pick up the 1st and 2nd prize packs! Fortune smiled on you two, eh? 3rd place prize goes unawarded.
May I just say this was the hardest category to judge for me? I could hardly pick. Fortunately, I did not have to vote alone, so first place goes to @Egwu 's "Uncovered Friends"! Second place goes to @Mypilot with "Helping Hands" and third place goes to @perifinite with "Promise". The two of them will receive food points. Don't worry, I've kept track of how many you've earned, you incredibly prolific two. 4th place winner @JurassicAsh takes the 2nd prize pack and 5th place winner @Lucidfeathers takes the 3rd! @Darkwolf133 and @sockmonkeygerald placed 6th and 7th, respectively.
Another difficult category to judge- I'm so glad this year's RoR theme brought out the best in all of our entrants. The best of the best, first prize, went to @Pigwidgeon with "The Hunter's Dilemma" for which they took the prize pack. Second place went to @Chrisondra and "The Secret," for which they opted not to take the prize pack. This means third place winner @MessoremMortis with "The Brave Little Pup Scout" takes the second place pack, and 4th place winner @Chessboard wins the 3rd place prize pack. 5th, 6th, and 7th went to @sockmonkeygerald , @Mypilot , and @Egwu . I'm tickled we wound up with seven entries each in the first four categories.
First place goes to @Perifinite and "Spider Lily", and second place to @RadientAngel and "True Fear." @Darkwolf133 's "Every Story Holds a Touch of Truth" took third place but they wound up with a higher tier pack in our next category, and will get food points instead. The 3rd place prize goes unawarded.

First place honors go to @Mypilot with "Bone Thin Forest." Second place goes to @Perifinite 's "Bride's Pool," but as they took a higher place elsewhere, third place @Darkwolf133 and "A Ghost of a Memory" receive the 2nd place prize pack and the 3rd pack goes unawarded.

Whew lads. You have all been wonderful and we are so glad you all participated and that we get to send prizes to so many of you. As promised, those who placed in multiple categories get a little extra.
The resplendent @Mypilot and stupendous @Perifinite tie for 'most placings overall' and each get 300 food points, as well as our gratitude as readers for providing us with so much to pour over. The morning I spent reading was a very pleasant one.
The fantastic @Chrisondra takes 200 food points and a round of applause from us all.
The absurdly proficient @Pigwidgeon took first place in both categories they entered, which is astonishing given the stiff competition, and for that, they win 100 food points. Finally, @Darkwolf133 , who submitted in many a category, also takes another 100 food points.

You all should see the bit of paper I charted who could win what and where on. It is mostly strike-throughs because so many of you entered multiple categories and succeeded in impressing as well.

A few people, on and off site, have asked if this will be run again next year and even volunteered to help run it, and well, you're winning me over. If I'm around and able, I'll run it. If I'm not able, or entirely absent, any of you in Plague are welcome to take the up the mantle of Writing Contest Host Person. It actually wasn't a hideous amount of work for me as @ShadeOfChaos coded the spreadsheets and forms you all saw. Hats off to them- these are resources we can reuse next year. I hope to see you there.

Winners, expect your prizes delivered tonight or tomorrow!

Lastly, for any of you just joining us now who would like to read the best-ofs, the directory has been updated. Entries bolded and italicized are first place winners, entries bolded are 2nd place winners, and entries italicized are 3rd place winners. Enjoy reading!

Aaand we're live!

Whew okay got them finished! Went with these topics on the basis that Plague isn't about sickness it's about survival, as individuals and as a community.


Entry #: 1
Title: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Pup Scout Tooth-Rotting Fluff is Totally Thematic
Category: Pup Scout Poem
Completed? Y/N: Yes



this isn't plague-iarism it's an homage
*inspired by that "Get your flu shot for prizes" thread that's shown up in Raffles & Giveaways for RoR the past couple years


Entry #: 2
Title: Sornieth Smallpox
Category: Pens for Plague Poem
Completed? Y/N: Yes



"Based on a true story"
(as in the only thing remotely resembling accuracy is that smallpox vaccine basically originated from cows)


and last one, just made it thank goodness

Entry #: 3
Title: Counting Coup
Category: Pup Scout Prose
Completed? Y/N: Yes

linkie

@sockmonkeygerald , one post is fine! Glad you're excited :D

Entry #: 1
Title: The Gravedigger’s Song
Category: Spooky Stories Poem
Completed? Y/N: Not yet

Oh, I definitely will be doing this! *adds self to pinglist*

Entry #: 1
Title: What It Takes
Category: Pens for Plague Prose
Completed? Y/N: Yes

Link to entry

Entry #: 2
Title: Stronger Than Bone
Category: Pens for Plague Poem
Completed? Y/N: Yes

Link to entry

Entry #: 3
Title: Helping Hands
Category: Pup Scout Prose
Completed? Y/N: Yes

Link to entry

Entry #: 4
Title: Plague Song
Category: Pup Scout Poem
Completed? Y/N: Yes

Link to entry

Entry #: 5
Title: Bone Thin Forest
Category: Scary Stories Poem
Completed? Y/N: Yes

Link to entry