Rules of Engagement

1. All participants in the Challenge will be divided into Bands or Units of 4 to 6 individuals each. Each Band shall initially contain no less than one spellcaster and one individual possessing skills of a Dextrous character. Participants with Established Relations may choose to be placed in the same Band; all others shall be placed by Lot.
2. The Band you are placed in shall remain your Band for the duration of the Challenge, barring the following circumstances:
   1. A band member may request removal on grounds of inability to work Effectively with their Band. If made between Quests, I will consider the petition and, if it meets my approval, transfer that member to another Band. Departures during Quests will be treated as Desertions (see Below).
   2. A participant may choose to Desert his or her Band, thereby leaving the Challenge. In this case, that member forfeits all rewards not yet presented, which will be divided equally among the remaining members, and must return any Special Equipment I have granted for use in Quests to me at their earliest convenience. Deserting members may only Rejoin the Challenge at my discretion.
   3. A member may opt to Recuse him or herself from a specific Quest. That member may gains no share of Rewards earned by his or her Band during the Quest and is responsible for his or her own Arrangements until the next Quest.
   4. A Band which has lost a member due to Desertion may Petition me for a replacement, which I shall provide if able and warranted. Bands losing a spellcaster or Dextrous individual due to Recusion may petition me for a temporary Replacement. Members lost to Death, Requested Removal, or other causes may not be replaced. It is the Responsibility of each Band to see to the restoration of members who are Imprisoned, Enslaved, or otherwise Involuntarily Removed if the Band wishes to Retain them, as I will not replace such losses.
   5. Your Band may entertain the services of any outsiders required to perform their Quests at their own expense or from Common Funds I provide. However, the use of Assassins, Sneak-Thieves, Mercenaries, Men-at-Arms, and similar Proxies to Perform or Directly Aid the Band in Performance of its Quests is Forbidden unless I have Approved such for all Bands for that Quest.
   6. An Intact Band, having lost None of its original Members, may Request additions to their Band if they feel that the Absence of particular Skills is unduly Handicapping its Performance relative to other Bands. The Band must adequately Demonstrate its case, and may, if desired, offer a Candidate for addition. I reserve the Exclusive Right to Approve all Additions.
   7. A Band reduced to Half its Original Numbers or Less shall be Dissolved, and its members distributed to other Bands as I deem Fit. By unanimous consent, a Band may dissolve itself at any time, subject to my Approval.
   8. Temporary or Permanent Additions to any Band may be made at any time at my Discretion. I reserve the right to Remove from the Challenge any participant whose conduct I deem Detrimental to the goals of the Challenge. Bands thus reduced will be provided with a Replacement.
3. Bands will be placed in Competition with one another for the performance of specific Quests throughout the Challenge. I may impose new rules or Temporarily Rescind standing ones for any given Quest. Barring such Modifications, the Rules you see here are assumed to stand for the duration of the Challenge.
4. Each Band may Organize itself as its members deem Fit. Each band shall, by or before the Completion of the First Quest, choose for itself a Name and a Symbol or Emblem by which its members shall be Identified. It is Forbidden to represent yourself as a member of another Band or to display their Emblem. The Emblem, which may take the form of a Garment, Badge, Accessory, Tattoo, or other visible Mark or Item, must be bourne by each member during Quests except where circumstances render this Detrimental to your Performance.
5. Each Band shall be provided with Capital, Equipment, and Magic as I deem necessary to ensure its ability to Effectively Complete each Quest. Any Items I provide must be returend upon my request or Replaced with Equivalent Items if destroyed or lost. The Band and its members may otherwise Equip themselves in any manner they desire. Items, Magic, and Funds provided may be utilized as the Band wishes except where otherwise Proscribed. The Band is responsible for its own possessions and funds, and I am unlikely to honor requests for Special Assistance except in Dire and Unusual Circumstances.
6. Some Quests shall include a Reward to the Band upon their completion. Where possible, Rewards shall be divided equally among all Surviving Members. The First Band to Complete a given Quest may receive additional Rewards as Designated before the Quest.
7. Bands shall be scored on their Successful Completion of each Quest. The score shall be kept in Orders of Merit. Unless otherwise Designated, the First Band to successfully complete a Quest shall receive 4 Orders of Merit, the Second shall receive 2 Orders of Merit, and all otehr successful Bands shall receive 1 Order of Merit. Bonus Orders may be awarded during some Quests at my Discretion. The Nature of certain Quests may demand modified Scoring Systems. Rankings of Bands may confer Advantages to those with the highest scores in Future Quests. At periodic Benchmarks to be Announced, Bands with the lowest Scores shall be Eliminated from the Challenge. At the Conclusion, the surviving Bands with the Highest Scores shall be named the Victors, and accorded Great Rewards, Fame, and Glory.
8. It is to be Expected that, in the Course of you Exploits, your Band shall happen upon Loot, Treasure, or other Items of Value. Any such Spoils of Adventure, save items requested by me as Conditions of you Quest, are yours to keep, in accordance with Heroic Tradition. Note that Excessive Plundering under the Mandate of the Challenge is decidedly Non-Heroic and may result in Penalties to your Band.
9. I reserve the right to assess Penalties for violations of the rules of the Challenge and for Conduct Detrimental to the Spirit of the Heroic Tradition. I ask not for Nobility, Chivalry, or adherence to any code of Law or Morality, but rather a healthy and inventive spirit of Adventure. Penalties may take the form of reduced Orders of Merit, reduced or forfeited Rewards, or, in extreme cases, Disqualification from a Quest or the Challenge. I alone shall be the Arbiter of any Violations.
10. Disputes between or within Bands are your own Affairs, and shall be resolved in any Manner you determine. I shall not Mediate except where a judgement on the rules of the Quest or Challenge is required.
11. To encourage a spirit of Fair Competition, no participant in the Challenge may kill, or arrange for the Murder of, any other participant during the course of any Quest. Conflicts resulting from the demands of conflicting Ideologies, such as Ceridwan and Markiran enmities and Calarthian blood feuds, imply a conscious choice to Recuse oneself from the Quest if acted upon prior to its conclusion, but shall not be considered Desertions.
12. Because I am of an Inquiring Nature and my Myriad Duties preclude direct Observation in most cases, I shall occasionally use my Speculum to Scrye the activities of your Bands. To this end, I ask that you refrain from the use of Spells, Lead Chambers, Amulets of Non-Detection, and similar Means of blocking Magical Observation. Fear not my Eye, as I will not Glance upon any Band more than once in a Fortnight unless exceptional circumstances Prevail.
13. No Band may leave the designated Range of a given Quest while it is taking place, or use magic or force to remove other bands from the Range.
14. No Band shall call upon the favors of any Archmage, High Priest, Sovereign, or Deity to impede the actions of any other Band, or to coplete or cause to be completed any Quest on its Behalf. To this end, any magic which calls upon an Avatar, Deity, or Divine Proxy's direct intervention, including spells such as Gate, Commune, and Greater or Lesser Miracle, is Forbidden. Clerics, Paladins, and other Mortal Agents of the Gods may draw upon the Powers of their Office except where those powers Invoke the direct personal Intervention of any Immortal Being or its Proxies.
15. Owing to their excessive Rarity and Power, no participant shall utilize any Spell or Enchanted Item, Artifact or Relic crafted by wizards, priests, or Sorcerers of the Garrite Empire, save for those which remain common in our Age.

Participants:

PCs

Club Doom" class="wiki wiki_page">Club Doom
New Warriors" class="wiki wiki_page">New Warriors

NPCs

Ceridwah's Rejects
Comus Sevor
Grugald Mugrapud
The Hammers of Honor
The New Banner of Silvercloud
The Remainders
The Silver Sabres
The Unexpected (?!)
The Wolves of Sorenmere
Yarsa's Avengers