Law of the Land

Well hello there! Welcome to the Gate of Kings! Take a minute to read the rules to our little game before getting started. It'll save headaches all around. If you have any questions, post them in the FAQ, regardless of how crazy you may think it sounds. Wait.. Scratch that... I'M NOT ANSWERING WHY THE SKY IS BLUE!!! Any questions regarding the game can be asked in FAQ. Aha! Thought you were gonna pull one over on me didn't ya? Well then, let's get started with rules that should be present in every game.

1. Respect all other players. Leave all arguments in character. Debates are fine, arguments, not so much.

2. Respect the calls of the Admins. We will be fair. There's no point to the game if it's not fair. If an Admin makes a call you don't understand or agree with, feel free to approach me. If the call was incorrect, I'll overrule it. However, if the call remains the same, accept it. Instead of complaining, try to understand and learn from your mistake.

3. Unless the player has expressed as such in their last post, you can not control the actions of any other player.

4. No characters are omnipotent. If there was not a legitimate way of learning it, you character does not know it.

5. Your character can not be in more than one place at a time. You have to someway state your departure from another thread and arrival in another.

Stat Explanation

Here I'll go over a brief rundown of the various stats and what they do. As with all explanations, I'll attempt to keep them short and to the point.

Strength: This stat determines the effectiveness of physical attacks. To immediately clear up any confusion, a physical attack is considered to be anything with solid form. For example, if you possessed the ability to manipulate flames, and summoned a giant fireball to launch at the enemy, that would not be considered a physical attack. However, if you called forth your flames and condensed them into a sword to fight with, they have taken solid form and thus become a physical attack. Strength is a primary focus stat for Knights and Queens. It is secondary for all other pieces.

Intelligence: This stat determines the effectiveness of magical attacks. I'll also make this simple, anything that isn't a physical attack is a magical one. There's no gray area. In the case that two pieces combine their attacks, the combined attack takes on the property of the stronger individual attack. If one piece covers their ally in flames while they charge into the enemy, that is the combination of a physical and magical attack. If the attack power of the flames were more powerful than that of the charge itself, the two attacking scores would be added together and the attack would be considered magical. If the charge had been higher, it would have been physical. Don't set your allies on fire kids. That was just an example. Fire is hot. Intelligence is a primary stat for Bishops and Queens. It is a secondary stat for all other pieces.

Endurance: This stat filters the damage received from taking a physical attack. To be clear, it does not come into play if you have counterattacked. It is only when you a character is caught off guard and hit with a physical attack or allows themselves to be hit. This is a primary stat for Rooks. It is secondary for all other pieces.

Wisdom: Starting to see the pattern yet? This stat filters the damage received from taking a magical attack. It follows the same rules of Endurance, only with magical attacks instead of physical ones.

Dexterity: This stat determines the accuracy of an attack. Psyche. This stat determines if an attack, whether magical or physical, is a critical strike. Hang with me now... This is where it gets a bit tricky. If an attack lands, and is able to deal damage, it has a chance to become a critical strike. If the attacker's dexterity is higher than the agility of the target, the attack becomes critical. The damage of a successful critical attack is increased by 20%. For each 10 points within Dexterity the attacker has, 1% increase is added to that 20%. This is a primary stat for Knights and Queens. It is secondary for all other pieces.

Agility: This stat defends against the chance of a critical attack being received. If your agility is higher than the attacker's dexterity, it is not critical. Doesn't get any easier than that. This is a primary stat for all pieces, but Kings above all else.

Health: ...... Duh.... We know what health is. We know what it means. Instead, I'll explain how it is calculated and recovered. A character's default health is the total of their stats, doubled. Any stats allocated to health when leveling up adds quadruple the amount. This is health. It is primary for all pieces, but more important for Kings and Rooks above all else.

Level: Yes. Pieces can level up. Pieces gain experience through participating in official Set battles. This will be explained later. All levels and experience gained within a Set are lost upon leaving the Set. All pieces, excluding Kings, are able to level up to a maximum of Level 5.

Chess Pieces

Gate of Kings is heavily inspired by the anime/manga/novel High School DxD. Our factions are known as Sets. A Set consists of a King, Queen, two Bishops, two Knights, two Rooks and eight Pawns. Once selected, a character's piece in a selected Set can not be changed. If a character leaves a set, whether by choice, becoming a King themselves or discarded by their King, they can not, under any circumstances, become a piece for the same King once more. So choose your pieces wisely! It should also be noted that it is the power of the King that gives pieces their power. If you leave a set, you are no longer a piece until joining another Set or establishing your own.

King

The most important piece and, initially the most powerful piece. As in actual chess, the King should be protected at all costs. When the King is defeated in an official match, it is lost. The King can also forfeit a match. Unlike other pieces, Kings do not increase in power in any shape or form. Kings determine which piece a character will become in their Set. Pieces can only be vacated when the character that fills that role leaves the Set for any reason. A King is able to freely adjust their stats as they see fit, as long as it matches the total and can possess abilities that would fill any of the other roles.

King's Stats

300 stat points to place freely
600 base health


Queen

At max level, the most powerful piece in a Set, as far as combat prowess go. All pieces are vital within a Set. However, second only to the King, the Queen can definitely be considered to be the most important piece. The Queen is second in command within a Set. The Queen is also the personal protector and enforcer of the King outside of Official Set Matches. It is a rare occurrence for a King to be seen and the Queen not be nearby. In Official Set Matches, the Queen usually leaves protection of the King to other pieces, such as the Rook, and spread their particular brand of mayhem across the battlefield. Battles are often decided the moment the two opposing Queens engage in battle with one another. True to their destructive nature, all damage inflicted by a Queen is increased by 10%.

Queen's Stats

35 Strength (+7 per level)
35 Intelligence (+7 per level)
10 Endurance (+2 per level)
10 Wisdom (+2 per level)
20 Dexterity (+4 per level)
24 Agility (+3 per level)
268 Health (+25 per level)
+30 free stats per level


Bishop

The Bishops are, in the simplest terms, the wizards or mages of a Set. Where the Queen focuses on overwhelming force as a whole, the Bishop dabbles almost strictly in the magical arts. Bishops primary objectives are to keep other pieces in play and make advancing towards the King hell on opponents. Bishops accomplish this through versatile means. They are able to use curative abilities to heal allies and provide shields to mitigate damage, or even a combination of the two. Bishops are also able to set barriers and magical traps across the battlefield in order impede or outright halt the movements of key pieces.

Bishop's Stats

10 Strength (+2 per level)
30 Intelligence (+5 per level)
10 Endurance (+1 per level)
30 Wisdom (+5 per level)
23 Dexterity (+3 per level)
19 Agility (+2 per level)
244 Health (+20 per level)
+25 free stats per level


Knight

Let me guess. You're thinking Knights are noble. Ha! This is Gate of Kings! Knights are tricky assassins! I can't make it any simpler than that. The Knights have the responsibility of locating and dispatching important targets as soon as possible. Unlike the other pieces, the mobile Knight relies not on brute force, but finesse. They are able to hone in on the weak points of an enemy unlike any other. The Knights, takes more risks than perhaps any other piece. The only exception to this would a King choosing to fight on the frontlines. What makes the Knight dangerous, is also their weakness. They rely on getting close and consistently landing critical attacks. Since they focus on where they attack as opposed to how hard, the power behind these attacks are lacking. A Knight's critical attacks actually do 60% bonus damage and "wound" the target, reducing their Endurance and Wisdom by 5% each.

Knight's Stats

26 Strength (+3 per level)
26 Intelligence (+3 per level)
10 Endurance (+1 per level)
10 Wisdom (+1 per level)
30 Dexterity (+6 per level)
25 Agility (+4 per level)
254 Health (+20 per level)
+25 free stats per level


Rook

Oh... the Rooks... The walls... They must protect this house, and protect this house they do. In Official Set Matches, while the Queen is raining destruction, it falls primarily on the Rooks to protect the King. If the Queen is the unstoppable force, the Rooks are the immovable objects. As such, they do not flinch in the face of any attack. Rooks are immune to critical attacks unless first immobilized in some way. Rooks also receive 10% reduced damage from all attacks and can redirect all attacks towards themselves from their allies. Lastly, Rooks possess an ability that can only be used once per match. The ability, called Castling can only be used if the Rook has not left the presence of the King. Castling nullifies the next attack directed towards the King. This effect lasts until it absorbs an attack or the Rook is no longer in the presence of the King. These impressive defensive capabilities do not come without consequence. Rooks receive a 20% penalty to all damage they cause.

Rook's Stats

20 Strength (+3 per level)
20 Intelligence (+3 per level)
30 Endurance (+5 per level)
30 Wisdom (+5 per level)
15 Dexterity (+2 per level)
15 Agility (+1 per level)
260 Health (+50 per level)
+25 free stats per level


Pawn

Last but least, we have the Pawns. Worry not my friends, if you are chosen to be a Pawn by your King, you are just as important as any other piece. The reason for this is simple. Pawns are the wildcards. A determined Pawn, or one that is left unchecked, can decisively swing the match in their Set's favor. While initially weaker than the other pieces, Pawns have numbers on their side and can overwhelm any other pieces. Pawns are not to be underestimated. If a Pawn were to reach a certain location, dictated at the beginning of every Official Set Match, they are presented with two options. A Pawn can remove itself from the board in order to put a captured Queen, Bishop, Knight or Rook back in play. The resurrected piece will be return at the King's current location. This is the sacrifice play to give their Set a second chance. The Pawn can instead choose to promote itself to any other place, excluding a King. The Pawn then gains the innate abilities of the piece is chooses. The Pawn's stats do not change.

Pawn's Stats

120 Stats to place freely (+3 to all stats per level)
240 Health (+20 per level)
+20 free stats per level

Official Set Matches

Here we have the primary focus of Gate of Kings. An Official Set Match occurs when one King submits a challenge to the Council (this is simply a forum where threads are issued stating the challenge on and what grounds). If the challenge is approved, the challenged King can choose to accept or deny the challenge. Denying a challenge costs the King's Set Prestige. This will be explained further shortly. If the challenge is accepted, a designated date and time will be posted. The Sets will have until then to prepare in any way they choose. When the time of the battle arrives, all pieces must proceed to the arena. Pieces that have not proceeded by the designated time (the time on the post in the arena must be before their start time) are excluded from the match. This effectively means if the King is not present, it is considered a forfeit.

In an Official Set Match, a battlefield is generated. Key locations such as the destination and objectives for Pawns to resurrect or be promoted, will be given at the beginning of the Match. The Sets are then spawned in. At this moment, the match begins. Sets are to proceed towards one another as they see fit in order to capture the enemy King. The locations of the battlefield must be traversed in the order they are given. For example:

Battlefield: Empty Metropolis
Hospital(Base for Set A) > Bus Station (Set B Pawn Res/Pro area) > City Park > River front < Baseball Field < Large Parking Lot(Set A Pawn Res/Pro area) < Shopping Mall(Base for Set B)

Pieces from Set A can't simply appear in the Large Parking Lot. They would have to travel throughout all of those areas. Each piece must spend at least three posts in each area before proceeding. This posts must be at least a minimum of one hour apart, unless confronted by an opposing piece.

The method of combat is open to the players, as long as it falls within the rules. The match will continue until a King is captured or forfeits. If a King does not respond within a 24hr period without prior notification of absence, it will be considered a forfeited match.


Prestige

Prestige determines which Sets are eligible to enter the tournament to become "The Strongest Set". The 2-4 Sets with the highest Prestige are pitted against one another until only one remains. The victorious Set holds the title of The Strongest Set for a period of two months. During this time, the Set is able to enforce the will of its King to summon other pieces. They are also responsible for deciding the punishment of Sets found holding unofficial Set Matches.

75 Prestige is gained when victorious
50 Prestige is subtracted when defeated or upon forfeit
25 Prestige is subtracted when a challenge is refused

Prestige is reset every two months.

Combat

This is simple. You attack them. They attack you. If your health drops to 0, you are defeated and, in the case of an Official Set Match, are captured. Physical attacks can be used to counter magical attacks and vice versa.

Each character has two actions to perform each turn. This is generally to respond to an attack in some way and launch your own. You can use these actions anyway you see fit. However, if an attack, trap etc is directed to your character and you ignore it, it lands with full effects. There is no accuracy and, consequentially, no ability to dodge. You can be creative with how you respond. For example, let's say someone throws a city bus at your character. Instead of simply destroying the bus, you could blast fire from your hands to the ground. Using this as a form of propulsion, you could launch yourself to another location. The force of your "Hand Rockets" would have to be stronger than the force of the bus you were about to catch however. Depending on your character's description, abilities, environment, available allies, imagination and countless other variables, this may place you in a for favorable position than simply taking the attack head on. Think about it.

Experience

Experience is gained upon competing in Official Set Matches. When victorious, the King is given 2500 experience points to divide amongst the pieces of the Set that competed in the Match. The defeated King is given 1250 experience. No experience is gained by a Set that forfeits.

500 Total Experience is needed to reach lv2
1250 Total Experience is needed to reach lv3
2050 Total Experience is needed to reach lv4
4500 Total Experience is needed to reach lv5

Secret Missions

Yes there will be secret missions! Every once and a while, an admin may contact you with a secret mission. These missions are for you and you alone. If it is discovered your objective has been shared with others, you will be punished appropriately. There will be rewards for each successfully completed mission varying with the difficulty of the mission itself.

Missions will be fair. They will not be anything that will be permanently damaging to your character. If you receive one such mission, forward it to me immediately. As with everything else, feel free to message me with questions about these missions. Even if you were given a mission involving my character, I will inform you if your idea is legal and help you make it legal if it is not. Not to brag, but I'm very confident in my ability to keep Out of Character information separated from In Character information.

Don't worry. All missions will be able to be completed no matter how powerful your character is. They will be along the lines of instigating discord among other players, a betrayal of another player, or anything of the like. There will be no penalties for failed missions and you have the right to refuse. It is simply a mechanic in order to keep things lively.