Falling Empire - RulesOriginal idea by:
The Mormegil | Developed by:
The Mormegil | Art by:
Scaredgirl | Organized by:
The MormegilIt is a dark time for the Thirteenth Empire. The Emperor is weakened and enemies abound, both on the inside and on the outside. Barbarians are raging on the northern glaciers while the coastline is ravaged by the troops of the Twelve; the Rebellion is gaining support and the Crime Lords are ready to take advantage of the confusion; corruption spreads in the Sacred Order and the court is full of betrayers. In a time like this, anybody could rise up to the top of the Empire. Will you be the one?A long time ago, the twelve elements were ruled by twelve terrible Tyrants. These Tyrants, known as the Twelve, were waging war one against the other causing terrible grief upon the population. One day, a lone Elemental led a rebellion against the Tyrants: his name was Thanatos, and he is now known as the Thirteenth. His figure is legendary and everybody associates him with peace, strength and justice. His legacy is the Thirteenth Empire.
The Emperor is a reincarnation of Thanatos. In this moment, on the Throne of Bones, is sit the thirteenth incarnation, known as Thanatos XIII. His strength and might is what keep the vast Empire together. But... there are some problems.
During the Age of the Empire, technology evolved a lot. The first skyships were created, and with them, many new territories were explored. These territories were conquered by the Emperors Thanatos VI and VII, but this was a terrible mistake: the Empire was far too stretched and it began to creak. New powerful positions were created: the four Dukes, each with a great territory to govern. And lastly, new threats arrived: on the borders of the Empire, a race known as the Kawalla lives, and their Clan leaders aren't happy with the Empire. They live on banditry and pillage, but they are bond together by the Name and the Sword, and they are posing a great menace to the rule of an already weakened Emperor.
Meanwhile, the descendants of the Twelve are starting to move again, to take back the power they once held. They made a solemn Oath, and decided to ally against the Thirteenth. They won't stop until the Thirteenth is destroyed: they grouped together with common thieves and pirates and are leading the offensive from South.
The Emperor is blamed for all this, and a lot of people are starting to believe he isn't the true Emperor, but just a puppet. They are bonding under the flag of True Thanatos, who claims to have been swapped with the Emperor in his crib. This is known as the Rebellion, and it is one of the most pressing internal problems of the Empire.
The Emperor is sustained by religion: the Sacred Order, the Death Seekers, the Knights of Purity - many names identify this powerful organization, which effectively controls a good deal of the population and of the territory. Unfortunately, the Order is greedy and is becoming corrupted by power. Its members are trying to take over the Emperor too, and to pass the power on to a new Pope.
The only loyal servants of the Emperor are the Dukes... at least until they can overthrow the Emperor itself. They are also being enticed on this route by the Crime Lords, rulers of dark and illegal traffics inside the Empire. They would like to see one of their own on the throne, of course.
1. HOW TO SIGN UP?Anyone with a forum and a chat account can sign up for this event. Start by reading the rules very carefully. Then sign up by posting on a separate sign up topic. If you cannot find a sign up topic, or if it is locked, this event is not currently active, and you will have to wait for it to restart.
Maximum amount of participants for this event is
36. If the event is full, you can still sign up as a reserve player, and will get a chance to join the event if any of the 36 players doesn't show up during round 1.
When you sign up, you will specify the faction you want to be part of. Factions will be formed on a first-come-first served base.
2. THE FACTIONSEach faction has a number of different rules that identifies it; most importantly, it has a definite goal that it is required to reach in order to win the event.
THE BARBARIANS:GOAL: The Barbarians win if they destroy civilization as we know it. They must eliminate every other faction in order to win.
WINNER: If the Barbarians win, the Icon will be awarded to the most powerful Clan leader: the one who killed most enemies.
NUMBER: 10
The Kawalla Barbarians are powerful and determined. They don't play little mind games and lowly tricks to get their job done. They are numerous and they can overthrow everything if they aren't stopped.
ELEMENTS: the Barbarians must use at least 6 cards in their decks that have a non-zero cost from one of these elements:
LIMITATIONS: the Barbarians must use at least 12 Creature cards in each of their decks.
SPECIAL: the Barbarians cannot be subject to any special ability.
UPGRADES: the Barbarians can use up to 6 upgrades in each match.
VICTORY: if a Barbarian wins a battle, he may kill his opponent (eliminate).
THE TWELVE:GOAL: the Twelve win if the Court is eliminated before they are and no other faction wins in the same moment.
WINNER: if the Twelve win, the Icon will be given to the one with the most Upgrades left.
NUMBER: 6
The Twelve are really powerful, but the Emperor is their bane. As long as he lives, they lose power. They need to act quickly, because if they don't, there will be troubles.
ELEMENTS: the Twelve must use at least 6 cards in their deck that have a non-zero cost from one of these elements:
LIMITATIONS: the Twelve must use only 30-cards decks. Also, they cannot win by deckout: if they do, it is counted as a draw.
SPECIAL: whenever one of the Twelve loses a match (not a whole battle: for instance, this applies twice if he has won 3-2 this round), he loses 2 Upgrades.
UPGRADES: the Twelve start out with 20 upgrades. They lose 4 upgrades at the end of every round.
VICTORY: if the Twelve win a battle, they may kill their opponent (eliminate).
THE REBELLION:GOAL: the Rebels win if they manage to accumulate enough allies to overthrow the Emperor. If any Rebel has 20 upgrades or more at the end of a round, the rebels win.
WINNER: the Rebel with most upgrades gets the Icon.
NUMBER: 8
The Rebels are difficult to catch, and increase their power slowly over time. They are playing a war of attrition.
ELEMENTS: the Rebels must use at least 6 cards in their deck that have a non-zero cost from one of these elements:
LIMITATIONS: the Rebels must use up to 4 copies of the same non-pillar card in their decks.
SPECIAL: the Rebels are helped by the population. They can hide up to three times during the event, avoiding the effects of a loss, but not twice in a row.
UPGRADES: the Rebels start with no upgrades. They gain one upgrade at the end of every round.
VICTORY: the Rebels are merciful, and do not kill. Every time the win, though, they gain more resources and volunteers: if a Rebel wins, he may use 4 more upgrades in the following matches.
THE CRIME LORDS:GOAL: the Crime Lords want one of their men on the throne. They win if anyone of their men is the winning man. Attention: if the winner of the event would be Crime Lord, the winning faction is
changed: for example, if the Crime Lord Rebel gets 20 upgrades, the Rebels
do not win: the winning faction is the Crime Lords.
WINNER: while their goal is set individually, the Crime Lord that wins the Icon is the one with the most Influence when they win.
NUMBER: 4 (special); each Crime Lord is actually a member of the Rebels, the Sacred Order, the Court or the Twelve, one for each. He has access to the secret section of his own faction, and knows the name of every other Crime Lord.
The Crime Lords are infiltrates. They are subtle, and manage more information than any other faction. They may also influence the outcome of a battle.
ELEMENTS: the Crime Lords follow the rules of their main category.
LIMITATIONS: the Crime Lords follow the rules of their main category.
SPECIAL: the Crime Lords follow the rules of their main category. In addition, every Crime Lord may choose up to three battles each round (excluding their own) and ban three cards for one of the partecipants. The Event Organizer will notify this to the player. If after doing so, that player loses its match, the Crime Lord gains one Influence point.
UPGRADES: the Crime Lords follow the rules of their main category.
VICTORY: the Crime Lords follow the rules of their main category.
THE SACRED ORDER:GOAL: the Sacred Order wins if one of their member has 20 or more upgrades at the end of the round.
WINNER: the one with most upgrades wins the Icon.
NUMBER: 8
The Sacred Order relies on favours to gain influence over the Empire. Beware their help, because you might end up doing them a greater favour than you'd like to.
ELEMENTS: the Sacred Order must use at least 6 cards in their deck that have a non-zero cost from one of these elements:
LIMITATIONS: the Sacred Order must use at least 6 Spell cards in their decks.
SPECIAL: the Sacred Order is corrupted: every round they may choose to grant part of their upgrades to another player in the Event. If they do so and that player wins, they get double those upgrades back at the start of the following round. They may not Corrupt another member of their ranks.
UPGRADES: the Sacred Order starts with 4 upgrades.
VICTORY: if the Sacred Order wins, their opponent cannot use upgrades for one round.
THE COURT:GOAL: the Court wins if they are the last faction standing.
WINNER: if the Court wins, the remaining players challange each other in a small tournament, and the winner is given the Icon.
NUMBER: 4
The Dukes are excellent swordsmen, with great tactical insight and powerful weapons. They are strong. They tend to be honourable though.
ELEMENTS: the Court must use at least 6 cards in their deck that have a non-zero cost from one of these elements:
LIMITATIONS: the Court has no limitations.
SPECIAL: the Court must answer truthfully three questions on their deck before playing a match (not a whole battle, every single match) with "yes" or "no". If a question cannot be answered with yes or no, their opponent can ask another question.
UPGRADES: the Court may use up to 12 upgrades.
VICTORY: if a Duke wins a battle, he may kill his opponent (eliminate).
| THE FACTIONS | THE BARBARIANS | THE TWELVE | THE REBELLION | THE SACRED ORDER | THE COURT | THE CRIME LORDS |
| GOAL | Kill Everyone | Destroy the Court | Gain 20 Upgrades | Gain 20 Upgrades | Kill Everyone | *** |
| WINNER | Most Kills | Most Upgrades | Most Upgrades | Most Upgrades | Honourable Tournament | Most Influence |
| NUMBER | 10 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 4 | *** |
| ELEMENTS | | | | | | *** |
| LIMITATIONS | 12 Creatures | 30 cards, no deckout | 4 copies max | 6 Spells | None | *** |
| SPECIAL | Immunity | Power Loss | Escape | Corrupt | Honor | Influence |
| UPGRADES | 6 | 20- | 0+ | 4+ | 12 | *** |
| VICTORY | Kill | Kill | Recruitment | Deprivation | Kill | *** |
*** = the Crime Lords follow the rules of their faction; see the Crime Lord section for more information.
3. MATCHESThis event will have a random seeding that will determine the opponents of a given round. If there is an uneven number of players left in the event, a random player will skip its match.
4. DUELSPlayers have 4 days to make the fight happen. They must contact their opponent using a PM, and try to find a time that suits both. If the fight doesn't happen, both players lose by default, unless one player is clearly more active in trying to find a suitable time. Event organizer will determine who the most active player was, and his or her word is final.
Battles are best-of-five. The first player who wins 3 individual matches, wins the battle. Deckbuilding rules are as above, with the following exception: nobody may use Shards.
It's a good idea to either record the matches, or take screenshots as proof, in case something weird, like a desync error, happens. Remember, a player who gets caught cheating, will be permanently banned from all Elements community PvP events, so please play fair.
5. AFTER DUELSWinner should post a new topic in the "Battle Results" section, along with short description of how the match went.
Both the winner and the loser are required to post pictures of both their decks.
6. WINNERIf there is a tie for the winner, a sudden best of 5 deathmatch with deckbuilding rules from the event will be immediately played.
7. REWARDSThe winner of the event will receive the following forum award icon:
FAQsQ. Are substitutions allowed?A. Each faction has the opportunity to sub one of their players once per round. RL things are bound to happen, but keep it at a minimum please 
Also, Crime Lords will need to use their other faction's sub.Q. I don't know who the Crime Lord of my team is, can you tell me?A. Crime Lords are supposed to be secret. They have to, since they are not really a part of their team and their team should want them dead. Reason being, if they win their whole team loses exactly as happens if any other opponent wins.Q. Why is the Twelve called the Twelve if there are only six players?A. 'Cause we can't afford to run an event with more than 70 players in it. Because six of the original Twelve survived, while the others were found over the ages by the Sacred Order and purged by the Emperor himself.Q. So, what exactly am I supposed to ask to the Court?A. The questions must be ON THE DECK. That excludes metagame questions. Questions you can make are:
- "Is Lightning in your deck?"
- "Is your deck over 35 cards?"
- "Do you have at least 6 aether cards in your deck?"
- "Are you playing either Twin Universe, Titan or Momentum in your deck?"
- "Are you playing shields?"
Questions you CANNOT make:
- "Are you playing Flying Titans?"
- "Are you playing a stall?"
- "Does your deck counter Adrenastaves?"
- "Would you say that your deck is powerful?"
- "Would you say that....?"
These questions are not on the deck, so the Court isn't obligated to tell anything.
Also, if the Court answers a question - even if it is illegal - you can bind them to their word: the question is considered valid for the purposes of that match alone. This is to avoid question shenanigans. Take a screenie of the questions and answers and when you arrive at three answered questions you're good to go.Q. To respect the elements restriction, can I use (for instance) 3 cards from one element and 3 from the other?A. No, the 6 cards must be all from one of those elements. Also, keep in mind you can't use 0-cost cards to fulfill this requirement.Q. What does the special of Barbarians exactly imply? What abilities are they immune to?A. They may not ask questions to the Court, they may not be influenced by the Crime Lords, they may not be corrupted by the Sacred Order and Rebels may not escape them.Q. What does the limitation of the Rebels mean?A. That you can use up to four copies of the same card in a deck, but no more than that. For instance, you can't have 5 copies of Stone Skin in your deck, but you can have 3 copies of Reverse Time.Q. Can I change deck after asking questions to the Court?A. Of course. And the Court may not.Q. Are Shards-A. No Shards.Q. How does Escape work?A. You declare that you escape in the battle results thread, after posting all your decks. You only avoid the negative effects of having lost, you do not avoid giving your opponent a win.Q. Do the Twelve lose upgrades between matches?A. All upgrades are counted at the start of the round, so no.Q. You keep referring to matches, duels etc. What does that mean?A. For the purposes of these Rules, consider "match" a single PvP Duel battle, and "battle" a whole set of best of 5 matches.Q. Can I avoid to kill my opponent, if I wish so? Say, if the only remaining Court member is defeated by a Barbarian before the Twelve are gone...A. Yes, you may be merciful in any situation.
