* Elevator Pitch Scramble for Scrolls is a 2D, timed, simultaneous-turn PvP multiplayer game in the style of the old flash game classic 'Jelly Battle'. At the historic Library of the Scrolls, a repository for centuries of magical knowledge, a furious storm has caused significant damage to the grounds. Worse still, hundred or maybe even thousands of scrolls, magical implements, and hats have been swept away by the winds! In the hopes of recovering as much of their lost items as possible, the library has offered to pay for every lost item a person can recover. Unfortunately, this may have led to even more chaos. Citizens, ne'er-do-wells, scholars, and wizards have all taken to the streets to take advantage of the situation for power and wealth! Take to a series of locations in competition with other scholars, wizards, and more in a competetive synced-turn PvP combat game with some unique twists. Each match takes place during the course of the storm, with strong winds blowing single-use scrolls, power-boosting wizard's hats, magical implements, and some unique dangers onto the playing field. Up to 8 players take their places on the stage, racing from spot to spot in order to snatch up as many of these items as they can, fight off their opponents, and get that bag! * Systems and Gameplay Each match takes place on a grid-based map somewhere within the area of the storm's path. After taking their starting places, the match begins, and artifacts are spread onto the field as the storm winds hit. In the subsequent turns, players will have two turn phases - /action/, and /movement/. Play continues until there is one or no player(s) remaining, or until the storm passes, at which point a free-for-all occurs. Free for all lasts only a handful of turns until the librarians arrive, at which point no reward is granted for the match. ** Match Progression *** Starting Round - Players may take their spot on the stage in a first-takes-the-cake scramble for positions - In this stage, combat may not occur - Once a position has been selected, a player may not move again - If no position is selected before the round timer expires, a random position will be selected *** Storm Rounds Storm rounds (aka normal rounds) are separated into multiple phases, one environmental and two control. **** Wind Phase 1. Item Scattering a) On the first round, the storm phase will randomly scatter a selection of artifacts across the stage. In subsequent rounds, those artifacts will be pushed across the stage by the wind some distance depending on the intensity of the next round's wind strength and direction, which is indicated by decoration on the stage's borders, or by hovering over an item during a control phase. b) On rounds excluding the first round, artifacts are moved across the stage based on wind strength and direction. New artifacts may be deposited in empty cells along the border from which the wind acted. 2. The storm continues to pass, and the winds shift and change strength as it does. 3. The stage decoration is updated to display the next round's wind strength and direction. **** Control Phase The control phase is further divided into two sub-phases, /action/ and /movement/. ***** Action sub-phase If the cell the player occupies on this sub-phase contains an artifact, the player automatically picks it up. They are then given the option to choose between a set of possible actions to perform with that artifact. a) USE - the player can choose to equip or expend the artifact, reducing its value by 75% but acquiring any stat improvement, or enacting any spell effect that the item confers. If the player uses a scroll, they begin to read its contents and the effect takes place at the end of the action sub-phase. b) KEEP - the player stores the artifact in their inventory, preventing it from being used but retaining the full value of the artifact should the player win the match. c) HOLD - the player does not use the artifact, but retains it in their hands for potential use on the next action sub-phase. Once all players have selected their action, or the phase timer has expired, USE actions take effect. For equipable artifacts, this happens immediately. For spell artifacts, the order of actions is determined by the player's /Wit/ stat minus the /complexity/ of the spell. Should two players' actions have the same resulting turn order value, those effects happen simultaneously, potentially resulting in /spell collision/. ***** Movement sub-phase Once the action sub-phase has completed, players must choose to either move to a new cell, or defend the cell on which they are standing. a) MOVE - depending on the /speed/ stat, the player may move up to floor(speed/2) cells, which occurs during the next /wind/ phase. b) DEFEND - the player does not move to a new cell, gaining a temporary +1 bonus to their /strength/ stat during the proceeding wind phase. This bonus can exceed the natural maximum of the stat. **** Player face-offs Player face-offs occur during the /wind/ phase when two or more players attempt to occupy the same cell. During a face-off, each player's strength stat is compared against the cumulative value of the other players'. If no player is able to exceed the cumulative strength of all other players involved in the face-off, everyone is knocked back up to two cells. If one player is able to exceed the value, they knock their opponent(s) back, and remain on the new cell. *** Free for All Should more than one player remain standing once the storm has passed, a scramble to be the last person standing before the librarians arrive takes place. There will be 5 rounds of play, with the librarians arriving after the resolution of the final round's combat. Should more than one player still be standing, all winnings are forfeit. - During free for all rounds, any held artifacts can be equipped or used from the player's inventory. The same loss-of-value rules as normal play will apply. - No new artifacts will be scattered onto the stage, but any still leftover from the last storm round will remain on their cells until picked up. ** Character Each player character starts a match with the same stats, which are only temporarily boosted by equipped artifacts and spell effects during the course of a match. Characters may be customized with purely cosmetic clothing items purchasable with winnings from previous matches. *** Stats - Strength - Default: 1 - Natural Max: 10 - Effect: strength impacts the damage delt during a face-off should two or more players move to the same cell during a wind phase. - Wit - Default: 1 - Natural Max: 10 - Effect: wit determines the turn-order execution of artifact spells in conjunction with that spell's /complexity/. - Speed - Default: 2 - Natural Max: 14 - Effect: speed determines the distance a player can move each /movement/ sub-phase - Power - Default: 1 - Natural Max: 11 - Effect: power increases the potency of spells (namely, damage) by a percentage over the base potency for each point above one. - HP - Default: 25 - Natural Max: 25 - Effect: the total hit points a player has available. Reaching zero results in a K.O., and all held artifacts being marked as /damaged/. - Barrier - Default: 1 - Natural Max: 11 - Effect: barrier reduces incoming damage by a percentage per level above one. ** Scrolls The primary artifact type scattered by the storm is the /scroll/. Scrolls are a magic-imbued, one-time-use magical artifact that allows the user to cast powerful magic without any resource costs. Because they must be imbued with magic, upon use they are rendered inert, reducing their value as the scroll's contents will need to be copied to a new magic-imbued parchement. *** Fireball :artifact:scroll:damage: Type: damage Description: Conjure a fireball, which travels to a targetted cell up to floor(4 + (4*PowerFactor)) cells away Hit Mode: particle Complexity: 5 Damage: 5 + (5 * PowerFactor) *** Prisma Beam :artifact:scroll:damage: Type: damage Description: Channel light energy into a powerful beam, firing in a straight line. Cells in the center of the beam are hit for full damage, cells on either side of the beam are hit for 30% of the total damage. Hit Mode: scan Complexity: 8 Damage: 6 + (12 * PowerFactor) *** Aether Blast :artifact:scroll:damage: Type: damage Description: Harness raw aetheric energy, causing an explosion effecting all adjacent cells for full damage, and cells adjacent to those are half the damage. Hit Mode: scan Complexity: 6 Damage: 3 + (5 * PowerFactor) *** Ice Lance :artifact:scroll:damage: Type: damage Description: Conjure a spear of ice which travels to a targetted cell up to floor(4 + 2*PowerFactor)) cells away, dealing damage to the first player hit and freezing them in place, preventing movement. Hit Mode: particle Complexity: 5 Damage: 6 + (3 * PowerFactor) *** Soul Drain :artifact:scroll:damage: Type: damage Description: Harness necromantic dark arts to steal the energy of life itself, creating a aether-miasmic cloud around the player. For each enemy hit, the player gains 1 stack of shielding. Hit Mode: scan Complexity: 6 Damage: 2 + (6 * PowerFactor) Shielding: 20 Stacks: 1/enemy effected *** Protect :artifact:scroll:shield: Type: shield Description: Channel the power of magic to create a shield around you, negating damage and spell effects for one turn. Hit Mode: n/a Complexity: 4 Shielding: 100 *** Invigoration :artifact:scroll:buff: Type: buff Description: Magically enhance your strength until the end of the match. Complexity: 2 Stat Target: Strength Stat Boost: 1 *** Harness Wind :artifact:scroll:buff: Type: buff Description: Harness the energy of the wind, granting extra speed Complexity: 2 Stat Target: Speed Stat Boost: WindStrength *** Aetheric Infusion :artifact:scroll:buff: Type: buff Description: Connects your body to the aether for a time, granting extra power Complexity: 2 Stat Target: Power Stat Boost: 1 *** Earthen Skin :artifact:scroll:buff: Type: buff Description: Infuse your body with the earthen elements, granting damage reduction Complexity: 2 Stat Target: barrier Stat Boost: 1 *** Aetheric Rage :artifact:scroll:buff: Type: buff Description: overload your body with aetheric energy, granting a temporary large enhancement to power. Complexity: 4 Stat Target: Power Stat Boost: 3 Stat Boost Timer: 2 *** Mend :artifact:scroll:heal: Type: heal Description: Repair your physical form by weaving new tissue from aetheric fibers Complexity: 3 Healing: 4 + floor(6 * PowerFactor) ** Hats Wizard hats also took to the skies with the scrolls. Unfortunately, since wizards refuse to do things simply, upon equipping a hat it binds to the wearer, requiring a complicated procedure to make it usable by someone else. *** Gemio's Hat of Knowledge :artifact:hat:uncommon: Description: Always looking to one-up his fellow wizards, Gemio crafted this hat to give him that extra little edge in wits over his peers. Stat Target: Wit Stat Boost: 2 *** Shuria's Hat of Lifting :artifact:hat:uncommon: Description: More interested in adventuring and adrenaline than studying over tomes, Shuria created this hat to give her that extra little edge in strength. Stat Target: Strength Stat Boost: 2 *** Hat of the Nameless Old One :artifact:hat:rare: Description: A terrifyingly potent artifact, crafted by a wizard of immense power aeons ago. Stat Target: all Stat Boost: 2 *** Standard Student's Hat :artifact:hat:common: Description: A standard worn by students at wizarding schools, designed to help improve studying. Stat Target: Wit Stat Boost: 1 *** Avanya's Coal Walker Hat :artifact:hat:common: Desccription: A hat commonly worn by members of the temple of Avanya, to aid in enduring potentially painful meditative rituals. Stat Target: Barrier Stat Boost: 1