TFF's Official RPing Academy

Speaking in specific terms, the Job Fair is basically an Academy mission. It's an initiative to extend lessons beyond the Academy walls, to make Midland a more vibrant place. It also makes for a "root mission"; essentially a beginner mission from where linked missions grow from, as "branches" to a "trunk". I speak of a root mission as the branches would be amongst the more advanced missions, while the "trunk" refers to the specific mission tree, which differs by chosen profession. Simplified: student chooses whether to assume a profession, and has a set of missions that follow one another with the same theme.

So that would be the third mission, so to speak (but it would be the second official Academy Mission). It should be handled carefully, as it implies direct teacher control (the lecturing teacher HAS to grade the student, with a second teacher covering anything the lecturer hasn't), and it gives to similar missions with different theme but a singular purpose. The big problem, I fear, is the repetition of missions which could confuse the student. As well, it would imply that all teachers participate, something that a few may not be willing to.

Having said that, I do believe that a careful revision to the mission will work wonders. I personally favor continuity within both RP and RPB, briefly (or sometimes lengthily) summarizing the previous actions of the characters in the near vicinity as a transition to the action. This would certainly help on particular occasions (such as when action happens on different places, to help tie loose ends). I propose to request suggestions in how to minimize the problems that the mission may present, but quite honestly, once tweaked, I would definitely like to see that mission hanged on the Academy.

I'd suggest verifying which of the rules would apply to each of the levels of students. Low-rank students should have an easier exercise, while high-ranking students can have more complex exercise. Perhaps cut on a rule or two for the lower-ranked, observing how their higher-ranked peers might handle the same situation.

So, aside from Sinister and his expected lecture, any other volunteers? Any suggestions?

Shouldn't we decide who's going to teach what before we start getting into all these lectures and such? Wouldn't want to end up with several people trying to teach the same thing, after all. Also, I think the job fair should be done first; once we have all the shops and shopkeepers in play, they can always come in as guest lecturers to cover the things the teachers don't.

For example, you mention alchemy but the only character who has a background in it right now is Rain, and he's a shopkeeper. I'd have no qualms if someone wanted to bring him in as a guest speaker, or even brought their "class" down to the apothecary to learn the basics of it. Note: I personally know nothing about alchemy beyond watching Fullmetal Alchemist and Busou Renkin, neither of which are anywhere close to the actual science. >.>

Also, is anyone else even going to be participating in the fair as a shopkeeper? I can't exactly run the thing by myself, at least not without building all the other shops so we don't end up with a dozen alchemists in training. =P

~DragonHeart~

I'll be setting up shop soon as well, DH.

I'm just finalizing my profile and shop ideas, and then I'll join the ranks and add my hand to the mix.

As an aside, my character may not have a specific speciality, but rest assured there will be some interesting assignments coming from my end.

Also... hello everyone! Some of you may remember me, others probably not. I'll be a sort of counciler for the students, but my character is not a teacher at the Academy. I am, however, qualified to grade students for missions.

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Originally Posted by Grizzly

And Xeim, I honestly agree with keeping things simple. It is the best way to go.

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Originally Posted by First Post

Musicmuse [Runs teacher-for-hire business]

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...Yep. Because that doesn't cancel itself out. >_>;

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I would definitely like to participate as a shopkeeper. I signed up to do stuff for the club, and stuff for the club I will do. I just have a problem.

About half the information for the Fair mission makes sense. And it's scattered about in more than one thread. Sure, maybe I can be slow and bad at interpreting, but I still need clarification.

So far I've figured:

-Teachers run shops and students work at them. Fun idea.

-Teachers become NPCs without using any sort of character, thusly re-defining the term NPC. Please explain this to me. ^^;

-Teacher's teacher characters do not make an appearance.

-Shopkeepers are minor characters controlled by the teachers for this mission only.

-Students PM teachers for a post mission report which is...uhm...

Some of this could be wrong, obviously. But that's what I got out of everything you said. And I read a lot of it over a couple of times.

Can we please lay everything out in simple terms? I don't have time to interpret and re interpret until I think I might finally be right and then realize I've just wasted my entire day interpreting something that shouldn't have to be interpreted.

But with that aside, I hope to be taking up a shop sometime soon (after things have been clarified). I don't know exactly when I'll have the time, but I'll try. ^_^

-Xeim-

It's actually useful to see it by the perception of another. Helps to cover some of the things that aren't so clear.

First and foremost, teachers don't have to be shopkeepers, and viceversa. You can have shopkeeper and shop owner NPCs that don't necessarily have to be teachers. The idea is that the people qualified to be teachers should cover the shops (not the teacher characters), so that eventually every teacher has an option to collaborate. In the case of Rain and the apothecary shop, the teacher character is the shop owner and the shopkeeper as well. This probably caused the confusion.

You can (and should, if you want to have diversity in the town) make NPCs that are different from the teacher characters to cover any of the shops. If you want the teacher character to serve as a shop owner, then be my guest. Of course, the teacher character as shop owner would not be an NPC.

The post-mission report is what you've been doing in the Intro Post mission (which is meant to be entirely OOC). If you want to give it some role playing feel to it, make a transition, then you are free to do so. But, the idea is that the "post-mission" report is where you explain what the student has done, what it needs to change, what it needs to improve, etc; and awards the pass and Gil as according.

Finally, the shop owners and shopkeepers (remember, owning a shop doesn't necessarily mean you tend to it) aren't meant to be simply one-use NPCs. Any NPCs done here are to be considered canonical for the world itself. There will be missions that should be done at shops, and which will require the return of those NPCs (and also of those teacher characters that own and/or tend shops).

I said I was going to handle the blacksmith and tavern shops eventually (although I feel there's someone else that could handle the tavern better than I do), but it's true. Aside from DH and Xeim, it seems few people don't know or are scared of making up shops. Some help could be necessary. Besides, with all the rich group of professions out there, it's odd that an academy town has access only to a few of them (apothecary, two blacksmiths, tavern).

ADDENDUM: By the way, I added DH's shop to the setting thread, so it's officially part of the world as well. Maybe later I'll make a small abstract for the first post.

Uh, I don't mind running the tavern. My character is a fortune teller after all. Seems kind of fitting if you ask me.

That's just my opinion, though. I honestly don't care to run an actual shop. Too much work. I'm only here to grade things and that's it.

Edit: I changed my mind. Okay. In my Tavern, will also be a Magic Shop. Ooooh. Spiffy.

I think whoever didn't make one is smarter than I, for now they don't have to run it. =P

Rain isn't my "teacher character" by the way, he and Amber exist solely for the purpose of running the apothecary, I just tried making Rain more dynamic. Easier to interact with other characters that way. If anything he's just another secondary character, and Amber's more the NPC, since she does more of the shopkeeping than he does.

As for the dearth of shops, perhaps if you make a list of what you'd like to see it would help give people ideas on what to make. That's pretty much all I did, I took the apothecary idea and ran with it. Two seconds to Wiki, then just a quick setting sketch. It honestly took longer to develop Rain and Amber than the entire shop, heh.

If you really need them I'd be happy to make more shops, but I'm not running all of them. I'm fine with the apothecary, but it would be too much work if I was stuck running 2, 3, or however many more I end up doing the settings for.

~DragonHeart~

Gemondite Theatre

On the edge of town sits a rather large, gaudily decorated building. Its walls are black with silvery paintings of masks, hats, and tickets. The door has a red velvet awning hung over it that extends out a few feet from the building. Inside is a richly colored foyer lit by an elegant and large chandelier. The walls are papered golden, and the floor consists of a marble colored tile. Stairs at the back of the room are carpeted a deep crimson and lined with deep mahogany handrails.

Past the tall, ornate, wooden double doors is the actual theatre room. Seats of the softest, midnight velvet line the room that is lit only by candlelight. Box seats create an upper floor and can be accessed by doors in the main theatre. At the front of this room is the stage. The traditional crimson curtain hangs elegantly across the stage when there are no plays taking place.

The theatre is owned and run by a young, human couple: Jade and Azurite Sterling. Jade Sterling has your typical theatre queen appearance with flawless skin, dark drown hair, and stunning green eyes. She is, however, very kind and is always there to offer her condolences to the aspiring actors who don’t quite make the cut. She keeps order in the theatre with her calming presence, and is loved by everyone.

Azurite Sterling is a young man who, despite his age, already has salt and pepper hair that is cropped short. His murky brown eyes are generally worried, and he is the kind of man who always looks as if a million things are on his mind at once. He has a short temper, has no mercy for lack of talent (or horseplay), and puts all of his heart into keeping the theatre on its feet.

They have in their employment a teenage, Gnome male with grey hair and piercing golden eyes; he merely goes by the name of Peridot. Peridot is Azurite’s right hand man and oversees what the other man can’t possibly attend to. He is generally quiet, and his light and airy voice makes it hard to tell what kind of mood he is in.

The Sterlings are looking to employ academy students as stagehands, set builders, and actors in the upcoming job fair. They will be holding a show on the final day.

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If you need me to include any more info, or need me to scratch the whole idea, I will. I understand it's not really a "shop," in the strictest sense, but it still needs employees. If you hate it, I'm cool with that, it didn't take me very long to write up anyway. ^^;

Would I control the Sterlings and Peridot for this mission, then? >_>;

Not going to be here for some time, so I'll be quick:

The tavern was already established, but I'll have to recognize something: I had placed some ideas for competition. A magic shop/tavern seems odd, but I'll let it because it's an original idea. It's probably better as competition to the established one, however.

Theater: I love the idea. Honestly, I am a complete moron for forgetting a theater in an academy town. While not a shop in the actual sense, there's the people that sell the tickets, organize the background, provide light and visual images...there are a lot of things students can do. I presume the Gemondite Theater's play characters are also named as precious gems, right?

...it seems odd, no Gnomes are involved in the creation of the theater. Perhaps a secret patron for the arts?

I'm glad you like it. ^_^ There really are a lot of jobs available, and maybe even some of the higher level students could be employed as play characters. And kudos for noticing the name scheme, I was hoping someone would catch that. xD

Er...I wasn't really thinking about Gnomes too much when making it. I actually barely caught their addition to the race list. I wouldn't mind editing Peridot's character to become a Gnome, however. I'd only need to change his hair color from white to grey. xD With the theme they kinda do need one around, no? ^^;

The Midland Temple "Clearhaven Temple"

The ornate Iron Gate that serves as the entrance to the temple is gilded with silver and gold leaves that seem to sprout from every inch of the thick bars. These accents give the impression that the gate has become overgrown in these precious leaves, and they cascade down the bars in a spiraling fashion. The front lawn is small but extremely lively with twin fountains that have long-since been overgrown with foliage, the lush ivy standing in for what was water long ago. Flower beds spring forth with vibrant red and violet blooms, and the rocky brown surface of the temple is riddled with scaling moss.

Once inside, the building looks more like a greenhouse than a temple. Streams of gentle light pour through the many gilded stain-glass windows, and massive urns spill over with ferns and bouquets alike. The main chamber of the temple has a pool of crystal-clear water that stands in the direct center of the sizeable room, with a beam of sunlight directed squarely on the serene well. Dappled grey marble floors melt into walls covered in deep crimson draperies, and the entire ceiling is vaulted and opens to a single skylight above the central well below.

There are a few side-chambers, one of which serves as Niah Auvre-Anea's living quarters. All are vigilantly locked, so one shouldn't expect to gain access unless given a key.

Niah serves as the caretaker of the temple, although she herself has no knowledge of curative magics. She leaves that to a young Vorian named Arisa Baequi, a soft-spoken girl whose gentle nature seems to balance Niah's blunt and often cold demeanor. What Arisa lacks in years, she more than makes up for in talent. Her fragile frame and wispy grey hair allude to her airy personality, and Arisa has been known to mummer to herself about the will of the gods to no one in particular for hours on end.

Niah generally has an odd-job that she needs someone to perform for her, so those looking to gain a little coin (or taste of adventure) should seek employment with her.

Alright, well people, I think it's time to get this stuff up and running. Is everyone okay with the idea of creating one central thread for students to sign up to the shops and then we create new threads for each shop?

Also, I'd like to thank those for the recent ideas of other shops and such. It's good to see everyone chipping in. I hope it continues. :)

It's late at night and Grizzly poked me out for some activity, so here it goes:

DH, Xeim, Muse, and Toph: go and do your threads now. There's a good variety of shops around, enough to allow students to have a choice. I'll work on the blacksmith shops later, but if you felt stopped because I didn't started on the actual settings, don't feel that way. I feel the shops should be directly controlled by the people who made the shop descriptions most of the time (unless that person requests help on that)

Students: the Job Fair mission begins as soon as any of the teachers over here make a thread. Once that happens, go, read, ask, and post.

*I'm using "shop" in a wide sense. The temple isn't a shop, but it can certainly ask for workers. So does the theater.

I'll add the temple and theater descriptions to the setting thread later on. Again, thanks for the help.

Also, here's a glimpse of the next missions for your consideration. The Intro Post and Job Fair (and Sinister's Mission 2 of the Academy) are mostly for RP, so I presume we should begin in earnest with the RPB portion of the tutelage. Hence, I was thinking on a chain of missions that need to be approved, much like belts in martial arts. Here's the proposed chain:

Hand to Hand -> Weapon Combat -> Magic -> Special Moves -> Overall

It would be appreciated to know your opinions on the matter, specifically on how the missions should be handled (specific for character, or clogged). Also, as noticed, this means the ranking becomes an important matter. Depending on the character, the missions may not be available; the character may not be allowed to participate in.

Also, planning on making a sub-forum for topic-voting purposes only. Good or not? (Grizzly agrees, I honestly think there are some options). If not, place some ideas and counter-arguments.

I've posted my thread. If you'd like me to change the format at all, please just let me know.

Here's a copy of the mission objectives for my storyline:

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[OOC: If you decide to undertake this task, you must speak to Arisa and then go out into midland and retrieve one glass jar of pickled tentacles for Arisa.

This mission is open to the following student level(s): ANY
The total number of students who can undertake this mission: 2 (since Arisa needs two jars total)

Students level 1 and higher will be graded with the following criteria:

1) Interaction with at least one NPC other than Arisa
2) Creativity in plot
3) Character development of your student

Students level 4 and higher will be graded with additional criteria:

4) Interaction with an additional NPC (for a total of 2) other than Arisa
5) Correct grammar
6) At least two separate posts to complete RP

Students level 7 and higher will be graded with additional criteria:

7) At least three separate posts to complete RP (takes place of requirement #6)

Please note that more advanced students will be expected to have more fleshed out RP responses than the novice students. First come, first serve. I or another teacher will act as an NPC for students requiring the two or more posts to pass (must be at least one response between your posts).]

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**edit**
Also, if you'd like to take this on as your mission for the job fair, please indicate so by posting here in the club. As stated, only two students can undertake this mission.

Alright, for those that would like to say, "I told you so", you can say it now. It seems all of this has practically died, though I believe none of the staff members are the ones to blame. Apparently, all of those who signed up as students either forgot about this place or didn't put any effort into what we were giving them. Either way, I myself are going to partially stop most efforts of providing role-players and newbs alike a chance to improve themselves. This does not mean I will be closing the club or the TFF World forums, only that the idea of the club is going to take on a new direction. That's right! I HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN! HA HA HA!

Instead of relying on the academy to help push the role-playing out into the open, and since part of my idea was to bring activity to the RP forums, the TFF World will now become active to begin the role-playing events. That means me and the staff members will be planning RP events in which everyone can join and building off of what we've already created.

Now, this does not mean the academy will be gone. I plan on keeping whoever wants to teach to one on one lessons with any newb who actually WANTS to make an effort in becoming a better role-player/writer/RPBer.

So yeah, with this having lost its edge, TFF Academy shall now become the TFF RPing HQ. All that shall happen here we'll point towards the TFF World and what will be happening within it. This means ALL members of this site able to role-play can and will have a chance to show their stuff. Limitations will be mostly thrown out and the character creation sticky will become a thread anyone and everyone can post a character within, not just students or staff members.

If I can't make an academy worthwhile, I can at least give the RPing forums a purpose. No more *****footing. Big things are going to happen. This is an official announcement.

Good... I'd been waiting for some activity here for quite a while now. I look forward to seeing what you've got up your sleeve ;)

Hey all, looks like I missed out on some stuff, but now that summer is pretty much wrapped up I'm going to jump back into this. So Musicmuse I'm accepting your mission for the job fair...Clearhaven temple is it?

Or is all this out the window now? I just read Grizzly's latest post.

I have some questions about the TFF world still, now since it sounds like the academy isn't going to be around anymore what happens to the characters created? Is it still going to be only one character for the world?

And if by chance any of the teachers are still up for teaching can someone check my edit for Gyre, as it was brought to my attention that the Magitek armour is a no no.

Grizzly sorry for being one of the students that dropped off, I didn't mean for the whole thing to go down the drain. I'm glad you had a back up though because I'd feel bad for seeing all the work you all did crap out.

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Originally Posted by Atma-Noah

Or is all this out the window now? I just read Grizzly's latest post.

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I plan on keeping the academy going, but there won't be anymore "missions". At least, not any big missions. It'll be more focused on one on one teaching rather than groups, though this does not limit teachers from giving missions of their own.

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Originally Posted by Atma-Noah

I have some questions about the TFF world still, now since it sounds like the academy isn't going to be around anymore what happens to the characters created? Is it still going to be only one character for the world?

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I think I could arrange it so that people can have more than one character; like one character for the academy, and then one character for the TFF world.

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Originally Posted by Atma-Noah

And if by chance any of the teachers are still up for teaching can someone check my edit for Gyre, as it was brought to my attention that the Magitek armour is a no no.

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Meh, considering what I'm going to be doing to the entire club, I might change some of the limitation rules so such things could be accessible.

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Originally Posted by Atma-Noah

Grizzly sorry for being one of the students that dropped off, I didn't mean for the whole thing to go down the drain. I'm glad you had a back up though because I'd feel bad for seeing all the work you all did crap out.

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I know some students didn't mean to drop off the radar, so it's okay in your case. In fact, at least a handful, if that, just couldn't be active enough to do all of this. Still, it should be well understood that if ANYONE joins an academy, they must suspect that it's going to take some time and some work in improving themselves. Most newbs take a few months before they reach an average level of skill, so it's definitely not something that can change in a week.

Anyway, I'll be looking through everything today and should have a report on what will be changing later today/tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to the update. Personally I liked the idea of just one character for the whole world. I know that it wasn't totally well received earlier and such but I'll leave you to decide on what should be done with it.

Even though some changes are taking place Musicmuse are you still up for going through with your mission on the job fair? We can consider it a one on one class or whatever.

Atma-Noah: Definately... I'm more than happy to move forward with the "mission" or whatever we're calling it, haha.

Please feel free to post in the thread and start an interaction with Arisa... keep in mind that she is technically a NPC, so feel free to use and develop her character as you see fit.

If your post suggests you either require or would simply like me to write and supplement the storyline, I'll do that as well. We'll move at a pace comfortable for you - it could be completed by tomorrow or in a few weeks depending on how quickly you prefer to participate.

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Also, please note that the "mission" is still open for another student ... er... RPer, I guess... so anyone else wishing to participate in this particular scenario should follow suit and post here indicating an interest.

Alright, I have taken the first step towards the RPing HQ and edited the first post. So, EVERYONE, READ THE FIRST POST!

(Excuse my one-liner post.)

Looks good, Grizzly!

As for the mission I had put out previously, simply RP the scenario and reach a conclusion as to whether you actually complete or not. A week with no activity within the scenario will be considered an abadonment for that particular mission (Arisa isn't going to wait for those pickled tentacles forever ;) ), but feel free to accept any future missions even if a previous one was abandoned or not participated in.

Your critique afterward will not be a pass/fail any longer, but I will break down areas of improvement AND things I think you are doing well via PM.

Alright, damn, it's been awhile. I suppose I sort of had to take a break from all this, though I was practically forced thanks to computer problems, lol. It was nice to collect my thoughts and such. I feel much better and more comfortable now, so starting now I'm getting back to the main idea. I shall be hosting that RP event within the next month or so after putting together a basis and such.

What I need everyone to do for me is to give me a suggestion as to when the best time it will be within the next month or two for everyone to join a big RP event for a week? Pretty much, when will people be able to be the most active to actively post hours at a time on this day and that?

Also, to help give everyone an idea of what this RP event will be like, I'll give a detailed explanation.

The setting will most likely be placed within a city of any of the countries created. It will be a place everyone's character shall start out and will be formed in groups. Then I'll have laid out a bunch of threads that describe each area of the city and everyone will need to move from one thread another to get to an area (Don't worry. Not every single person will have to post to go to one area. In a group, one person can lead and technically carry the others until they arrive to a destination. Even then, the one person won't have to do much in-between point A and B other than say something like "<--Leaving Mine--Going to Mine Factory-->").

But yeah, in this event it will also be timed. There will be a point where the day begins and then ends hours later, allowing everyone in the group to interact with the others and move along the story instead of going three days for one person to post. In a way, 'time' begins at, oh so 11AM and then ends at 4PM. That's it, nothing happens before or after it except what is carried in-between RP session. Yes, this also means everyone is expected to be there (most, lol), which is why I am suggesting for the best time everyone will have the 'time' to do this.

So...what's the best time? lol

for me it's some time between and including the 28th October and the 2nd November. I'm interested in seeing how this turns out Grizzly, but with you at the lead it should be a lot of fun

Ok then, change of plans. After talking with Oskar, it seems quite a few people think they should "ready" themselves for such a RP event with, in this case, some RPB training. In all honesty, I'd have to agree with those who spoke of this idea as there would indeed be a lot of fighting going on in an RP event. Wouldn't want people like me, Oskar, and other RPB battle-hardened bastards have all the chaotic fun, right? lol. So I have decided to do something to help this cause.

Starting NEXT Friday (not today), I will be hosting a weekend RPB event where everyone can join and practice with a partner of their choosing. Now (and again), let me explain how this RPB shall work, XD.

The whole thing is about the freedom to work at your own pace. Everyone who joins will not have to create a specific type of character (though having one you want to use is fine) and each fight will have no time limit, though this event will (kinda). From Friday to Sunday, everyone will begin a fight and take as long as it needs to take. When the battle is finished after someone has yielded/surrendered, tapped out, knocked out, or killed, they'll change partners. The good news here is this is not a tournament so you can choose whomever you want to fight (Oh, and if anyone IS killed, let's say they'll just be revived, lol). As such, I also intend and hope everyone who has joined to be on MSNM so we can have a chatroom. That way people can say if they're in a fight or not so people don't have to run around asking everybody in sight. You don't have to be online to do this, but communication is important when fighting and it'll allow things to smoothly play out. As for rules, the basic RPB rules apply.

Now, there's one other thing that will make this event special. Teachers and RPB specialist, such as myself and Oskar, will be watching over everyones' fights and when something happens or goes wrong, we shall step in and give advice. We will not interfere with the fight, just merely help people see what they need to improve on. Anyone on TFF who'd like to help with this job, PM me or Oskar.

Alright, the date shall be October 17th, beginning at 4PM central time (USA). If anyone has some input to add or suggestions for this event, post here or IM me so we can talk about it.

Alright, heads up people, the RPB has changed. It will no longer have any limitations, only that everyone shall follow the basic RPB rules (which can be found in the RPB forum). Also, it will no longer be starting next Friday, but THIS coming Monday. However, it will not be a weekday or weekend thing. It's going to begin Monday and continue until the RP event actually begins, which may be in a month or so. This should give people enough time to either shake some rust off or improve themselves. Lastly, people like myself and Oskar will be there to give advice in all fights.

Now, let me give you guys a rundown of this thing.

Fights will be 1 on 1 with characters both people agree are fine. When a fight ends, you can either fight the same person OR pick somebody else to continue. Oh, and if anyone dies, yes, they will be revived as I mentioned before. And that's pretty much it, besides the fact teachers and the like will post in your fights with advice in OOC.

In the end, try to have fun while improving yourselves as well. [Mostly] anything goes.