Here's a link to the MAIN THREAD for those of you that are interested in learning more about the game, or creating your own character.

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This thread is for the 1st ever Tower Duel.

Contestants are:

Higashi Wakamura, The Origamist [controlled by IAmSinistar]

VS.

Antsy, the Veteran [controlled by blotunga]
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RULES

How the actual game works:

1. The characters start on opposite ends of a pre-constructed dungeon, with a few rooms in between.
2. One character is selected to begin the game. They are informed of their surroundings, and then asked to describe what they would like to do.
3. When the 2 characters meet in the dungeon, the 5 round duel/fight begins. Your aim is to defeat the other character.
4. You describe your actions, I detail the results and then you wait for your next turn.

Determining the winner:

1. I will grade each post you make on a scale from 1-10 points, but I will not reveal the points you have earned until the end.
2. Your posts will be graded on their roleplaying value. I.E., how much sense would it make for this character to act like this? Does this character's actions match their personality and special abilities? Does it match the situation? How clever/cool/unique was the action? If 1 character shall have had an extra post by the end of 5 rounds of combat, then the character with less posts shall be entitled to post a combat action one additional time.
3. Additionally, any GOG'er registered before August 2013 will be able to vote for a winner for a limited period of time. Each vote counts as 1 point.
4. When it's all over, I add up the points: my points and the user points. Then I declare the winner!

Other notes:

1. Excessive complaining or griefing in the thread = disqualification and permaban. There shall be 1 warning and 1 warning only. Game is for fun, not for min/maxing or whining, etc. Suggestions, questions or other comments may be directed to my PM box, and may or may not be responded to.
2. In the future, provided this game continues... upon obtaining a certain amount of lifetime points, a player may be allowed to upgrade his/her character.
3. Anyone interested in being a judge for future games may contact me.
4. Feel free to send characters to my PM now, if interested.

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STORY PROLOGUE

You fell asleep one night, in your own world. You woke up in this one. You don't know how, and you don't know why.

Here's what you do know: when you awoke, you found yourself atop a tower. Brilliant lights of orange and pink, purple and blue surrounded the tower on all sides. Fearful of these surroundings, you sought an entrance from the roof, down into the tower.

Since that time, you have come to believe that this tower exists in a void between all the worlds of the universe. It is the only thing that makes sense. Because everywhere you look, you see things or people that do not fit in your own world. Here, robots and rifles co-exist with swords and sorcery. Every animal that you have known from your own world seems to have its own anthropomorphic counterpart in this world. Here there are beings of pure light, and shields that speak to their masters. There are penguins in full chain mail, ancient beasts and dopplegangers, pirates and rotating walls. Carnivals and feasts and inns/hotels appear and disappear spontaneously, giving you the chance to eat well, get some rest and engage in some recreation with strangers from across the worlds. In short, here is... everywhere.

Nevertheless, you long for home, and every time you glimpse out a window of the tower and down to the surface far, far below... you see a familiar sight. The way home is down.

You have discovered that there is a portal on every level of the tower, and that using that portal is the only way that you can descend to the level beneath you. The problem is that the portal can only work for one being at a time, and then it is sealed for minutes, hours or sometimes even days.

With nearly a hundred flights left to descend, the competition to enter these portals can be fierce. Yet you remember your world and you long to return to it. The only way is down. The only way is through the portals.


[[[PLEASE DO NOT POST YET, RESERVING THE NEXT POST FOR TURN #1]]]

(((I know that you both won't be available this weekend, so just start whenever you can.)))

Antsy has been chosen at random to take the 1st turn.

Antsy, you are in the room at the far west of this level of the tower. There is a large, oval window here. If you look down from the window, you can see images of the world from which you came. But smashing the window and jumping out would likely lead to your death. So you must advance to the east.

Moving eastwards down the hall, the wall splits. Down the hall to the northeast, you hear cackling and evil sounding laughter. Down the hall to the southeast, you hear a man's voice. The voice is soothing and and gentle.

How will you proceed?

I've found some time, and thus I reply now. But I don't mind if my opponent replies on Monday :). Anyway:

I scratch my beard as memories of past battles flood back. That laughter at the northeast reminded me of the evil sorcerer Rathrak. But he couldn't be there could he? The seventh and I, we've cut him up pretty bad in that fateful battle. Nearly lost my damn leg there. I ready a grenado in my right hand and grip my shield tight in my left. I'm not sure what's possible in this place, but if the bastard is still alive, I'll blast him to pieces. I look around for the last time to see if I find anything useful and then move to the northeast.

You move down the corridor to your northeast. You stop suddenly, surprised at the sight in front of you now.

The whole floor in this room is lined with thick spikes. Any attempt to pass further through this room seems dangerous at best, or downright suicidal at worst.

At the far end of the room, beyond the field of spikes, you spot an elderly looking woman sitting upon a stool. Her hair is silver, her cloak is green. She does not seem to notice you, at first.

The woman is holding a life-size mannequin. She swings the doll back and forth, while singing to it, "We are the best of friends, you are my only friend!"

There is no door behind the woman. This room looks like a dead end. You cannot help but wonder how this old woman came to be sitting behind all of the spikes. Did she cross them herself? Did someone lay the spikes in this room to imprison her there?

You are lost in thought, pondering the situation. Suddenly, she takes notice of you. She opens her mouth as if to speak to you....
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This story will continue when it is time for your next turn. First, we let your opponent take his first turn.

Higashi Wakamura, it is now your turn.

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You are in the room at the far east of this level of the tower. There is a large, rectangular window here. If you look down from the window, you can see images of the world from which you came. But smashing the window and jumping out would likely lead to your death. So you must advance to the west.

There are two identical wooden doors in this room, both to your west. From the room to the northwest, you hear a dripping noise. From the room to your southwest, you hear nothing.

How will you proceed?

As I stand before the doors, I recall the time spent in consultation with a geomancer from Manchuria. She spoke of the 8 positions of the compass, and how in varying aspects they would lead you down certain paths. The two doors, disparate only in their positions, represent a duality of choice in which neither yin nor yang is ascendant. However, beginning from a balance of two elements, movement to the northwest is desirable for one seeking a mate, whereas movement to the southwest is conducive to the betterment of self.

While the rhythmic drops of water recall the shishi-odoshi in my garden, their presence also limits what may be behind that door, as whatever abides there must be linked to those sounds. The silence from the other door portends the possibility of anything and all things, without limit. As that is also the direction in which my own improvement is promised by compassorial auguries, I will proceed through the door to the southwest.

You have entered a long, thin room. There is no light in this room, hampering your already poor vision. You cannot determine whether this is a dead end, or... is that a light up in the distance?

As you proceed further west, you begin to detect a noise so faint that a normal man would not hear it.

The story will continue at the start of your next turn...

Antsy, it is now your turn.

Still cackling and still swinging around the life-sized mannequin in her hands, the woman beyond the spikes speaks to you thus, "Are you a risk taker, stranger? Or do you prefer to play it safe? If the former, come towards me! If the latter, return and seek a safer path, coward!"

I weigh the woman carefully with my eyes. She must be nuts, I tell to myself, but still she must know more about this place than I do and she seems harmless enough for a seasoned veteran like myself. I think I should play along for now, to see where this leads. So using my shield and my sword I cut myself a path through the spikes, walk up to the old woman and say to her:
- Listen old witch, if you try to cross me, I'll cut you to pieces. How can you help me to get out?

You cut through the spikes as if passing through water, meeting so little resistance that you momentarily question your sanity. Didn't those spikes look as hard as steel?

The cruel laughter of the old woman grows louder and you watch in amazement as she begins to float above the ground. In disbelief, you press your fingers to your eyes, closing them momentarily.

When you pull your hand off your face and open your eyes again, the room is empty. All of the spikes are gone---or perhaps they were never there. The woman, too, is gone---or perhaps she, too, was never there. There is no wall where she was---if she was ever there. Instead, the path is wide open before you to the east.

Is your mind playing tricks on you? Or was the old lady a wicked illusionist?

Those are questions you cannot answer. So for now, you press on into the next room.

The story will continue when your next turn begins...

You are standing in the middle of a long, narrow hallway. You hear a faint hissing noise. Searching the air with your hands, you detect the slightest bit of moisture in the air. Suddenly, you are hacking and coughing. Poisonous gas is bellowing out of the vents in the ceiling!

You peer west, down the hallway but you can't find an exit. This might be a dead end. If so, you would be taking a great risk by continuing west. On the other hand, you have come so far, it would be a shame to retreat to the east. Then again, it might be safer...

Higashi Wakamura, it is now your turn. How will you proceed?

Suspecting this is the first test of my art, I swiftly extract a sheet from my folio and ready my pen. Guided by touch alone, I making a quick and practiced kanji for mist upon the paper, I then fold it into a simple mask that covers my lower face. The air within fills with fine water vapour that scrubs the toxin from my breath. However, I realise this will not last long, and that the toxin may be one which becomes more caustic over time, or even reacts badly with the water within my mask.

Resolute that this test must be passed, I continue forward to the west. In my heart I am sure that the door I entered through is now locked behind me, and that in turning back I would only die a shameful death, beating upon a barred path that I sought in my cowardice. I must trust in my art, and in my faith in the ancient lore that drove me on this course.

The shield of mist was effective, protecting you from the otherwise lethal effects of the poisonous gas.

The few breaths of poison that you did inhale have caused you mild fatigue and some muscle cramping, but those effects should end shortly.

Fighting through the fatigue, you make your way down the hallway and pass through the doorless gateway into a new room.

There is another doorway here, which would lead you further to the west.

There is a fire-pit in the center of this room.

You hear the sound of metal clanging upon metal. The sound originates from the northern side of the room. However, you are on the southern side of the room, and the bright light of the fire-pit obscures your vision beyond it.

Using this time to regain some of the strength you lost from the poison, you slowly creep in to get a better view of the northern side of the room.

The story will continue when your next turn begins...

You still wonder: was that old lady an illusionist, or simply a figment of your own imagination?

Either way, you find yourself in the next room to the east.

There are no torches nor candles here, but there is a soft, gentle white light. This room is lit as if by magic.

Beneath your feet, there is a beautiful and expensive looking line of red carpet. It extends all the way through the room to the east, leading to a wooden door.

Lining the wall to your left are three standing suits of armor. That is, suits of armor with no one in them. Each of these suits of armor holds in its gloves a large Halberd.

Each suit has a crest: it is a howling silver wolf, outlined in blue.

Lining the wall to your right are three additional standing suits of armor, the same as the ones on your left.

Antsy, it is now your turn. How will you proceed?