Blood Right - CWI - Devil's are officially butt hurt :)
CWI is hosting a blood right tournament and somehow we didn't get the invite. We do meet their criteria...
A Trial of Bloodright is one of the Six Trials of Combat, and is used within the Clan to determine the warrior most worthy of having their genetic material preserved and used to create future batches of warriors.
Within Clan society, being a descendant of a Bloodnamed warrior gives a warrior the right to participate in the Trial to earn the Bloodname in their own right (and due to the Clan eugenics program, there are a lot of potential warriors for a particular Bloodname at any given time).
By Clan law, at any one time there are up to 25 active warriors with the same Bloodname. When a Bloodnamed warrior dies, a Trial of Bloodright is held to determine who should replace that warrior and be granted the Bloodname in their own right.
The Trial involves a single-elimination tournament of one-on-one combat duels. 32 candidates are chosen to compete for the Bloodname, so a candidate can only win a Bloodname by winning all five duels. The nature of the duels depends whether they are fighting for an Elemental Bloodname, MechWarrior Bloodname, or an Aerospace Bloodname. If the dueling warriors are both disabled or killed, the warrior who would have faced the winner automatically moves on to the next round. If the final two warriors kill each other, the Trial of Bloodright starts over again.
How a Warrior is Nominated for a Trial of Bloodright
Each member of a Bloodhouse can nominate one warrior for the Trial. That nomination guarantees the warrior a place in the Trial of Bloodright. All other warriors wanting to compete must put forward their reason why the Council should grant them a place. There are a total of 32 places available. If more warriors apply than there are spaces, the Council may call for a Grand Melee to decide who gets to compete in the Trial of Bloodright. The Clan Council also reserve the right to reject a warriors petition to compete in the Trial of Bloodright if they feel that they are not a worthy candidate.
All warriors applying for a place must be able to say what it is that they have given to the clan that makes them worthy of holding a Bloodname. Once a warrior achieves a Bloodname, they may not participate in any other Trials of Bloodright; their Bloodname is permanent and they can only have one, hence some ambitious warriors may decline a nomination for a Trial of Bloodright if they hope to earn what they believe is a better Blood Heritage.
*Note: This is the lore and backstory behind the Trial of Bloodright. How CWI runs its Trial of Bloodright may deviate in some aspects to facilitate a more timely trial and fair play. The Loremaster is in charge of deciding how the Trial of Bloodright will be conducted.
How Clan Wolf Runs its Trial of Bloodright:
Each Trial of Bloodright will either have a bracket of 16 or 32 players, depending on interest, availability of judges, and holiday schedules. For both bracket sizes, one slot is reserved for the winner of the Grand Melee.
The Grand Melee is only open for Warriors and Above who do not satisfy the 6 month minimum time requirement in the Clan. It is there to allow them a chance to compete and win a slot ahead of the time requirement. Any past winners of previous Grand Melees do not have to win a Grand any subsequent times. In other words, if you win the Grand Melee but lose in the Trial of Bloodright, you do not have to win another Grand Melee to enter the next Trial of Bloodright. However, you must still apply to enter the Trial of Bloodright AND have a sponsor. All applicants will be checked and verified by the Clan Council to ensure they are eligible.
Eligibility:
- The minimum required rank to participate in any portion of the Trial of Bloodright (including Grand Melee) is Warrior.
- All applicants must have been a warrior in Clan Wolf International (or allied unit) for a minimum of 6 months. The only exception to this is prior winners of the Grand Melee.
- Applicants must have been in an active line unit for a minimum of two months before applying. Active service in a line unit requires participating in the growth and maintenance of the Clan through actions such as cadet reviews, cadet training, and successful sponsorship of a cadet through to the rank of Mechwarrior.
- Applicants must have three recommendations from their Chain of Command.
- Applicants must have a clean codex. Disciplinary actions must be at least six months in the past.
- Any disciplinary action entered into the applicants codex during the Trial of Bloodright will disqualify them from the current Trial, resulting in a bye for their current opponent if the Trial is underway.
- Applicants must either be sponsored by a Bloodhouse, the Clan Council, or their unit leader (if from an allied unit).
- Warriors already holding a Bloodname may not participate in the Trial of Bloodright.
International Trial of Bloodright Rules
(CWI / CWG / RCW)
The authoritative ToB rules are those online at tob.clanwolf.net . This version is dated 4/6/2017, check for updates on the aforementioned website.
§1 Organization
§1.1 General
The tournament shall be organized by the Clan Council. See §1.2 Clan Council.
The tournament shall be held in MechWarrior:Online (Private Lobbies).
The tournament shall be organized with challonge.com.
There will be either a 16 or 32 bracket (depending on number of available warriors).
15 (or 31) participants will be nominated by the participating units (depending on the bracket). See §1.6 Slot distribution.
The 16th (or 32nd) slot will be assigned to the winner of the Grand Melee.
The Winner of the ToB tournament gets the bloodname of his house.
§1.2 Clan Council
The Clan Council in this context is defined to be the scheduling, organizing and executing body of the ToB tournaments.
CWI, CWG and RCW representatives form the core of the Clan Council.
One of the core units is the host of each tournament.
Members of the Clan Council are Khan, saKhan and Loremaster of each participating Unit.
Each unit may cast 1 (one) vote if a poll is demanded.
A Trial of Refusal may be requested by the losing side of a poll to turn over the result.
§1.3 Clan Council Meetings
The Clan Council shall gather as it deems necessary to schedule, organize and execute the ToB tournaments.
Additional guests are permitted after acknowledgement and approval by the Khans in the Clan Council.
Remark:
Polls are best worded as yes / no questions in order to simplify the procedure of a potential Trial of Refusal.
§1.4 Guest Units
The Clan Council reaches out to other lore-based Clan Units in order to offer the option of participation in the ToB tournaments.
Other units that shall participate are contacted in the beginning of the planning phase.
Each unit entering the tournament is, for the duration of that tournament, considered part of the Clan Council and is obliged to send at least one representative to one of the first meetings of the tournament in question. Further participation in meetings may be considered optional depending on the situation.
§1.5 Tournament schedule
The Clan Council sets up a schedule.
The Clan Council monitors the nomination process and a few days BEFORE the scheduled opening ceremony it decides on whether the tournament shall be cancelled or not depending on the numbers.
If all conditions are met, the tournaments bracket is created on challonge.com.
All fights need to be finished as soon as possible.
A bracket shall not take more than 1 (one) week.
Scheduling shall take place in an open forum (to be discussed / announced) for all to see (maximum transparency).
§1.6 Slot distribution
Each unit is assigned a number of slots (depending on the desired bracket size).
The slots shall be equally distributed.
Clan Council decides with a majority vote in case of uneven numbers.
Each empty slot can be claimed by other participating units.
If there is more than one unit claiming a free slot, there shall be a Trial of Possession (Clan Council decides case-by-case on an appropriate procedure following common Clan traditions).
Clan council decides on the procedure of the grand melee in case there are more than 12 warriors.
§1.7 Nominations
Each unit returns a list of nominated warriors to the Clan Council.
How names come to that list is considered a strictly internal matter of the unit. Each unit decides internally how they want to handle the participation of freeborn warriors.
Remark:
Normally accredited are trueborn warriors from Rank MechWarrior and up.
§1.8 Oathmasters
Oathmasters can be appointed by the Clan Council.
Oathmasters have the final say on the fights they handle (no exceptions).
All Oathmasters are requested to actively support warriors to schedule and execute fights.
§1.9 Code of conduct
Each warrior is requested to schedule and execute his fights as soon as possible.
Soundboards are permitted ONLY for Oathmasters.
All commands given by the Oathmaster are to be followed at once (e.g. if the Oathmaster calls in a “Stop fighting!” command).
Oathmasters words are not to be questioned in or after a fight.
Warriors are expected to stay in Character as much as possible.
§1.10 Announcement of the winner
The winner shall be announced during an all-Clan Conclave
(including guests from the partaking units).
He or she shall be given the new Bloodname following traditional Clan ceremony.
§2 Limitations and Equipment
§2.1 Hitzones
No Limitations.
§2.2 Permitted Equipment
1st person view only
ALL Clanmechs available for C-Bills are permitted
(OmniMechs and BattleMechs).
NO LIMITATIONS to weapons.
Permitted Mech classes in fights: L, M, H, A.
Permitted Mech classes in the Grand Melee: L, M, H.
ALL Modules allowed but:
Artillery NOT ALLOWED.
Airstrikes NOT ALLOWED.
§3 Grand Melee
The duels in a Trial of Bloodright are not necessarily honorable by definition. Of course a warrior may behave like he is used to from his warrior status, but in those fights the outcome counts the most. Every Warrior can add to his personal reputation if he follows his own sense of honor (e.g. by waiting on a disconnected opponent to reconnect), but this can not be expected from the opponent by default. There can not be any complaining about a warrior’s actions if they do not clearly breach one of the given rules! Warriors need to be aware of that at any time!
Even more so in the Grand Melee, because this fight is by definition free of honor. Here the only thing that counts is to be the last Mech standing. Nothing on the way there makes any difference. Warriors need to be prepared for that!
§3.1 Registration for the Grand Melee
The number of participants is limited and will be assigned prior to the announcement of the trial to each unit by the Clan Council. See §1.6 Slot distribution.
§3.2 Procedure of the Grand Melee
Map: HPG Manifold.
Observer Slot 1: Oathmaster
Observer Slot 2: Assistant, if required [e.g. recording / broadcasting].
Team 1: Warriors.
Arrangements and teamwork is allowed (while not encouraged) before the drop.
As soon as the drop starts, all warriors enter the base (outer wall), position themselves with their backs to the wall and shut down their Mechs.
After a countdown and the starting signal (given by the Oathmaster) all Mechs are powered up and the fight starts immediately.
After that all negotiating between warriors is prohibited.
ANY Shooting before the starting signal will lead to immediate disqualification.
Remark:
Weapon groups can be organized before in the MechLab!
§4 Tournament
The duels in a Trial of Bloodright are not necessarily honorable by definition. Of course a warrior may behave like he is used to from his warrior status, but in those fights the outcome counts the most. Every Warrior can add to his personal reputation if he follows his own sense of honor (e.g. by waiting on a disconnected opponent to reconnect), but this can not be expected from the opponent by default. There can not be any complaining about a warrior’s actions if they do not clearly breach one of the given rules! Warriors need to be aware of that at any time!
§4.1 Preparation and procedure of a fight
Coin ritual and fight execution are handled using the following web resource:
tob.clanwolf.net
If the warriors are not in the same timezone, the timezone / homezone of the HUNTED is selected.
Area of engagement is the complete map.
The Hunter chooses from the following tonnage ranges:
25-35t: MLX|25 ACH|30 KFX|30 ADR|35 JR7|35
30-40t: ACH|30 KFX|30 ADR|35 JR7|35 VPR|40
35-45t: ADR|35 JR7|35 VPR|40 IFR|45 SHC|45
40-50t: VPR|40 IFR|45 SHC|45 NVA|50 HBK|50 HMN|50
45-55t: IFR|45 SHC|45 NVA|50 HBK|50 HMN|50 SCR|55
50-60t: NVA|50 HBK|50 HMN|50 SCR|55 MDD|60
55-65t: SCR|55 MDD|60 EBJ|65 HBR|65 LBK|65
60-70t: MDD|60 EBJ|65 HBR|65 LBK|65 SMN|70
65-75t: EBJ|65 HBR|65 LBK|65 SMN|70 TBR|75 ON1|75 NGT|75
70-80t: SMN|70 TBR|75 ON1|75 NGT|75 GAR|80
75-85t: TBR|75 ON1|75 NGT|75 GAR|80 WHK|85
80-90t: GAR|80 MAD|85 WHK|85 HGN|90
85-95t: MAD|85 WHK|85 HGN|90 EXE|95
90-100t: HGN|90 EXE|95 DWF|100 KDK|100
The hunted chooses the map/time of day and the team (drop location).
Both, hunter and hunted may choose the lance to drop in.
Both pilots have a maximum of 30 minutes after the coin ritual to prepare their configs.
Both pilots shall provide the Oathmaster a link from mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab to their builds (only visible to the Oathmaster).
After the fight the Oathmaster reports the result to challonge.com
(including a screenshot).
§4.2 Arrangements
Fighters may agree on their own arrangements for a fight (e.g. not to fire on legs).
The Oathmaster NEEDS to approve ANY arrangement.
Those arrangements are not part of the rules.
Those arrangements can not be claimed to be kept.
As a consequence, a broken arrangement does NOT lead to a disqualification
(as a broken rule would).
§4.3 Events and consequences
If one Warrior loses all his weapons (or loses all ammo for all weapons left), he has effectively lost.
In the event of avoidance by combatants, the Oathmaster will issue warnings regarding possible disqualification.
After three warnings, the Oathmaster can order both warriors to move to a sector on the map and both warriors have to move there. In case they do not, it is considered a breach of rules and leads to a disqualification.
The Oathmaster decides who the winner is, if time runs out and one warrior was obviously controlling the fight and was about to win (A list of guidelines for Oathmasters is attached to help handle extreme situations, see below).
In case of a disconnect before engagement, a re-drop will be the consequence.
In case of a disconnect after engagement, the disconnected warrior may try to reconnect and continue the fight.
The other Warrior might wait for the opponent to reconnect or not.
It is solely his own decision, killing the Opponent while he is disconnected is a valid way to win, while not encouraged.
In case of a breach of rules there is a disqualification.
Guideline for Oathmasters
Oathmaster is an important role. To assist the appointed Oathmasters in general and in taking decisions in specific situations, the following list may be helpful:
The fight is in the Oathmasters control. He or she has the final word on anything concerning this particular fight. There is no authority above the Oathmaster, he shall settle all questions and problems that occur. It shall be done by precise and resolute but also in a friendly and competent manner.
It is best practice to let both warriors check the settings of the lobby and let both confirm that everything is correct.
Oathmaster should also ask both warriors whether they wish to agree on any arrangements and ask them to advise that they can not consider those arrangements to be taken as a breach of rules in case they are broken. Those arrangements are strictly private to both of the warriors and the Oathmaster will not enforce them.
The most important thing to remember is that the warriors actions need to decide the fight, not an Oathmasters actions.
The Oathmaster should interfere with the fight as much as necessary but as little as possible. At best there is no interference in the fight.
That means, warriors need to be given the time they need to find engagement, Oathmasters should not warn too early!
If there are decisions taken, the Oathmaster can not be asking questions. He decides clearly and quickly and immediately voices his decisions. In order to avoid confusion, he might interrupt the fight with a sharp “Stop fighting!”.
Warriors need to seek engagement. If they do not, Oathmasters shall make sure they do. But in a defensive and careful way. Sometimes, depending on weapon ranges, warriors might seek a way to approach their opponent in as much cover as possible. That should not be considered avoidance.
Again, Oathmasters should not warn too early!
In case there is avoidance, the Oathmaster can warn the fighters up to three times to seek engagement.
After the third warning, the Oathmaster can order both warriors to move to a given sector on the map to fight. Not following this order can be considered a rule breach, leading to disqualification.
As a general rule, both warriors should try to stay roughly within their weapons range after the first engagement, but do not start warning right away, let the fight evolve naturally.
Oathmasters should keep an eye to the clock at all times. If time gets short, they should take action accordingly. E.g., if there was no engagement until only 2 Minutes are left (despite all warnings), the Oathmaster could initiate a re-drop immediately to avoid a timeout in the middle of the fight.
Match time might run out. In that case, normally a re-drop should be initiated, but if both warriors had been in an engagement before, Oathmasters may decide depending on the status of both Mechs and declare one Warrior to be the winner. Such a decision should be very clear and comprehensible. If there is a shadow of a doubt, a re-drop is the better option. But if one warrior for example has all his armor intact and the other one lost a leg, half his weapons and the center torso is cored, it is safe to declare the crippled Mech to be the losing Mech in case time runs out.
Whenever it is obvious that a crippled warrior seeks to survive until time out (e.g. if there are only seconds left on the clock) in order to get a re-drop, this should be considered avoidance (in a real fight, there is no timeout).
Torso twisting or turning in order to protect certain damaged areas of a Mech can not be considered avoidance.