This year's Omake Challenge is up...

[robkelk]

... in rec.arts.anime.fandom and rec.arts.anime.misc. Google Groups isn't returning a hit when I search for it, so look for Message-ID later. In the meantime, here's a copy of the posting.

First up, any New Year's-legal team may enter.
Second, any fic must be in before January 1.
Third, even if you haven't submitted a team to tackle this challenge,
you may assemble a team after this posting to tackle it, if you wish to.
Fourth, good luck.

----

It was Halloween again, and I was looking at a familiar face.

The Master: Well, with no one stepping up last year, you certainly did
well on your own.

Me: What do you want this time?

The Master: Before you recalled the mirror, I did make one final
mirror image, but I wish it had been with the master summoner, not the
standard issue one.

Me: You mirrored Rob Kelk? Well at least I'll see the first
anti-meganneko website...

The Master: No you impertinent twit, I mirrored you. I was off by a
year, and only got the one with a normal summoner, but like your master
summoner, it's been modified to allow non-traditional and non-Challenge
characters as well. You'll be off facing your mirror, hope you'll be
having fun tracking him down, but there's something else you must know
about.

Me: Great, what's the side dish for this s*** sandwich?

The Master: Such language! Well, if you must know, I've summoned 3
creatures in search of a Philosopher's Stone, also I've told them that
the one of them that creates the most chaos in your world will actually
get one. I believe you might be familiar with this stone of mine.

Me: (eyebrows) They thought that lump of Jethric was the Philosopher's Stone?

The Master: Well, they only saw it briefly enough to identify it as a
glowing stone.

Me: Okay then, who are the stone fanatics?

The Master: Oh, they're some of the nastiest, most vile creatures I've
ever met...

Me: ... and considering the source, that's saying something.

The Master: HEY! (adjusts his collar) I'll let that one slide. First
there's a nasty wizard called the Rezo, the Red Priest. I took the
real one before he acquired his stone.

Me: Crap.

The Master: Then there's this body-switcher called Dante. She's from
that series with the living armor.

Me: Living armor? Wha... oh... FMA... double crap.

The Master: Finally, there's this no-nosed freak, a nasty wizard who's
a very capable manipulator, I took him from the 6th book of his series,
since the 7th one is the final one where he is no more.

Me: No-nosed? Don't tell me, Lord Voldemort.

The Master: Well, my work is done here, I've no reason to stay, but I
shall watch with great humor your attempt to defeat your doppleganger.

(The Master leaves & I send out a Challenge summons)

----

Okay, Rezo, Dante, and Voldemort have been let loose in our world, each
one working against the others to create the most chaos. You and your
team's job, should you choose to accept it, is to stop the trio by any
means necessary. If you need clarification on anything, feel free to
ask.

I've already committed to Team Lovely But Dangerous - Yomiko Readman, Sakura Kinomoto, and Chisame Hasegawa - which means I can't now enter a team custom-designed to meet this Challenge head-on... but you can.

Not that I can't do something against these folks with my current team. I'll just need to do some research on Dante, having never watched Full Metal Alchemist. Hmmmmm... wand magic vs. card magic - Voldie might be the easiest one to take out.

(Too bad IC-Bill's supposition wasn't correct. I know how to neutralize that Rob Kelk guy... )
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Black Aeronaut]

Okay, I've caught a glimpse of this stuff before, but I don't really know exactly how it works. I'm assuming that it's not as simple as write a crackish story and let 'em loose. So what're the small details? Limitations, undocumented feautres and such?  And is it only open to members of a certain group, or can anyone just mosey along and drop an entry?

ETA: Nevermind.  Shoulda Googled first.  But for those who are not in the know yet, here's the good stuff that I dug up.  Mike's pretty definitive in what he does/doesn't want.
PS: Don't blame me for the excessive page breaks.  That was Google's doing, not mine, and I didn't want to waste a bunch of time removing the suckers.

It's already that time of year again:  time for you to post the teams
who you want to go up against the nasty Challenges that the challenge
team has come up with over the year.  The idea isn't to walk all over
the Challenges; rather, the point is to see how well you can rise to
the challenge, and to have fun doing so.

"Winning" or "losing" isn't important.

I'll say that again, because not making it clear caused some hurt
feelings in past years:
            The point is to see how well you can rise
            to the challenge, and to have fun doing so.
            "Winning" or "losing" isn't important.

Those of you who've played this in years gone by already know that
there are rules for the Challenge.

First, here are the general rules.

I've come up with three Challenges (Easy, Medium, and Hard,
relatively
speaking).  Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to recruit a
team of three characters to help you take on one of the Challenges.
(The smart move here is to not accept the mission, but how much fun
would that be?)  If you want to have your team go up against two or
three Challenges, or put together two or three teams (one for each
Challenge), that's okay.

(Mike's note:  This "Omake Challenge" will be one challenge, to kind
of "set the table" for his New Year's Challenges to come.)

(Astute readers will realize that there's a fourth participant in
each
team - the person who put the team together.  Depending on the team
and
the Challenge, this may be important.)

(Mike's note:  I have used this to my advantage in several
situations.  This IS a self-insert challenge, unless you plan on
standing on the sidelines and letting your team do all the work, but
that's no fun!   )


On New Year's Day, I will post the Challenges, along with the teams
that I saw posted for each Challenge.

In some previous years, Blade would then judge which teams were up
for
the challenge.  However, that caused many hurt feelings in the past,
mostly among people who thought the idea behind the New Year's
Challenge was to try to win against somebody.  Therefore, I've
decided
in advance to continue Rob Kelk's idea that every team fails the
challenge unless you can convince me otherwise.

You have one week after I post the Challenges in which to write a
short
fanfic telling me how you and your recruits handle each scenario.
(That's a better deal than the FFML's "One-Hour Challenge"...)  Once
your fanfic has been posted, preferably to rec.arts.anime.fandom, I
get
to critique it.  (Followups to the post announcing the challenges
will
be set to rec.arts.anime.fandom to make it easier for everyone to
post
there, unless I forget.)

The critiquing rules are simple:

(1) If any of the characters act out-of-character and I spot it, you
lose.
    Period.  If you think I’m wrong, then prove it with canonical
evidence.

(2) If you don't address the challenge that I give you, then you
lose.
    (Examples of not addressing the challenge include, but aren't
    limited to, spending all of your time on a side issue, or getting
    your recurits to try to bribe the judges instead of solving the
    problem at hand.)

(3) I reserve the right to stomp all over the munchkins who pick
    "power" teams.  I might not do this at all, but I reserve the
     right to do it.

(4) An entertaining story with questionable tactics will be looked
upon
    more favourably than a boring story with excellent tactics.  An
    entertaining story with excellent tactics will be looked upon
most
    favourably, of course.

Second, here are the specific rules, expanding on assumed points in
the
general rules.

Unless otherwise stated in a particular Challenge, the Challenges
take
place in a close analogue of our world where magic and psi powers
work.
 They're still unknown, but they work.  (Table-top roleplaying gamers
might think of the worlds described in "GURPS Cabal" or "Mage: The
Ascension" here.  The setting isn't either of those worlds, but it's
similar.)  You can't send your teams to Pallet Town or Kami House or
Hinata-sou, because they don't exist here.  You can send them to the
Vatican, if you think that it'll help (or if you just want to pray
for
a miracle), because the Vatican really does exist.  If you choose to
visit Miami, you end up in the city in Florida, not the one in "Miami
Guns".

The characters get whatever gear *_that they own_* that they usually
wear or carry.  (For example, the "Urusei Yatsura" character Shutaro
Mendo gets his wad-of-cash-big-enough-to-fund-a-corporate-takeover,
because he always carries it around with him.  He doesn't get his
family's private helicopter, because that belongs to his family, not
to
him.)  I may be lenient on this when a character has a mecha or
hardsuit issued to him (such as a Knight Saber has); convince me.
However, when the gear itself counts as one or more characters, the
"extra" characters have to stay at home.  (Thus, picking Chibi-Usa
from
"Sailor Moon SuperS" doesn't give you Pegasus for free, and picking
Katsumi Liqueur from the second half of "Silent Mobius" doesn't give
you Grosspoliner for free.)

Omnipotent characters, or those near enough not to matter, are
disallowed.  If you take a character that can do anything, then
there's
no challenge to rise to.  (Repeating Rule One again:  The point is to
see how well you can rise to the challenge, and to have fun doing
so.
"Winning" or "losing" isn't important.)  Appendix One, below, has a
non-exclusive list of characters near enough to omnipotent to be
disallowed; I reserve the right to add to the list.  Appendix Two,
also
below, has a non-exclusive list of characters that, while not uber
enough to be banned, have been brought to my attention that may be
added to the banned list at a future time.  I repeat, Appendix Two is
NOT BANNED, however, based upon their use, they MAY be moved to the
banned list at future date if I see evidence that they should be
there.
Characters should come from anime or manga, while some video game
characters are acceptable.  (No, you can't take Gina Diggers - "Gold
Digger" is a North American comic, not a manga.  Yes, I know
Antarctic
Press had a poster in the January 2003 Newtype USA; unless Texas
became
a Japanese protectorate when I wasn't looking, that still doesn't
make
their products "manga" despite what they claim.)   I’d prefer if you
chose characters from anime or manga, however I can make exceptions
for
videogame characters, as long as they are Japanese in origin (in
other
words, Japanese inspiration came up with the character, not an
American, if the character is an original.  Japanese
reinterpretations
of real or fictionalized characters, such as Dracula, Frankenstein,
or
the Mummy are acceptable while the origials are not.)

In addition, the “Same Character Rule” this year is now going to be
properly defined.  If you wish (for some unknown reason) you want 2
or
3 instances of the same character, there are set guidelines.  The
original instance of this rule was when Ethan Hammond asked for
Atsume
“Nuku-Nuku” Natsume from both the OAV and TV continuities.  After
review, this exception is allowed because although both have the same
origin, they’ve had different lives, and are essentially different
characters in different continuities.  If, however, someone asked for
Son Goku from Dragonball, Dragonball Z, and Dragonball GT, this year
officially it would not be allowed, since it is the same character,
just with different amounts of experience.  Tenchi Masaki from Tenchi
Universe and the OAVs would be allowed, while Tenchi Masaki from the
OAVs and GXP would not.  If you have a question, e-mail me and I will
do my best to answer you in a timely fashion.

While it would be nice if the characters you choose would be able to
work as a team (with you or each other), it isn't required.  However,
keep in mind that you'll have to write a fanfic with these characters
to show that you should win, and writing any character out-of-
character
is an automatic loss.

While it would be nice if you take a team made up of characters from
three different stories, you may pick all three from the same show if
you wish.  (Yes, you may choose three "Z Fighters", or all three
Gunbusters, if you really want to.  Don't think that I haven't
planned
for that, though.)

Since there's more anime available than there is time to watch it, I
can't possibly know who every character is.  Be sure to clearly
identify the characters you choose, and provide capsule descriptions
of
who they are and what they can do.  Don't assume that I'm familiar
with
the characters, even if they're ones we often talk about on the
newsgroup or are well-known (like Akane, Akane, Akane, or Akane).
Repeats from previous challenges you, yourself have entered are an
exception.  You’ve told me about them before, and unless something’s
changed, I shouldn’t need to be told again.

Also, you have to state from what part of what continuity you are
taking your recruits from.  (There's a world of difference between
"Ranma 1/2"'s start-of-anime Saotome Ranma and end-of-manga Saotome
Ranma, for instance.)  If you fail to do this, then I will assume you
want the first appearance of the character, from the anime if there's
still any question.  (THIS IS A CHANGE FROM 2004'S RULES.)
All characters are to act in character.  The only exception is that
they won't try to kill you or try to take over the world as soon as
they show up.  They may change their minds just *after* they show up,
of course...

Was that clear?

No?  Okay, here's an example, from the 2004 Challenge:

Hand-of-Omega decided to try the Easy Challenge, and chooses for his
team The Gentleman (from "Read or Die"), Rin (from "Please Save My
Earth"), and Eriol (from "Cardcaptor Sakura").  I make sure that he's
specified from when in each series he wants to take these characters.
On January 1, the challenge givers announced that the Easy Challenge
is
to have all three of the team members agree on a plan of action in a
particular situation.

Blade, with his knowledge of "Please Save My Earth", decided that
there's no way that Rin would agree to anything proposed by either of
the others, and the others probably wouldn't agree to any plan
proposed
by Rin.  At the time, Rob Kelk agreed.

Hand-of-Omega wrote this short fanfic to show how the team he
assembled
would be able to succeed:


Rob Kelk read through the fanfic, decided after some thought that the
solution proposed would just barely work, and overruled Blade's
decision.

Hand-of-Omega won the 2004 Easy Challenge.

Good luck, everyone.  You're going to need it...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Appendix One:  The Banned List
Characters that are near enough to omnipotent to be disallowed from
all
future New Year's Challenges

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since merely being listed here can be seen as a spoiler, the
character
names are listed in ROT-13.  The anime and manga names are in clear
text.

Ah My Goddess:                      Oryyqnaql, Xnzv-fnzn, Uvyq
Akira:                              Nxven, Grgfhb
Dragonball Z/GT:                    Furaeba (n.x.n. Fura Ybat),
Cbehatn
Excel Saga:                         Gur Terng Jvyy bs gur Znpebpbfz,
Anorfuva
Princess Tutu:                      Qebffryzrlre, Snxve
Revolutionary Girl Utena:           Nxvb, Nagul, Qvbf
Sailor Moon:                        Dhrra Freravgl, Arb-Dhrra
Freravgl
Slayers:                            Gur Ybeq bs Avtugznerf, Prcuvrq,
Funoenavtqb
Superbook:                          Tbq, Wrfhf, Gur Qrivy
Tenchi Muyo Ryo-ohki:               Gbxvzv, Gfhanzv, Jnfuhh
The Flying House:                   Tbq, Wrfhf
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya:  Unehuv Fhmhzvln, Lhxv Antngb,
Elbxb Nfnxhen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Appendix Two:  The Restricted/Watch List

Characters that could potentially tip the scales enough that they
might
be added to the banned list in future challenges, or ones that I feel
will give a hidden loophole to solving a challenge.  Being on this
list
is not a banning, but a warning that using them will gain my utmost
scrutiny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since merely being listed here can be seen as a spoiler, the
character
names are listed in ROT-13.  The anime and manga names are in clear
text.

Dragonball Z/GT:           Qraqr, Xnzv, Theh
xxxHolic:                  Lhxb Vpuvunen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

----

So there you go.

Mike

[Norgarth]

Out of curiousity, what the heck is 'ROT-13'?
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[Black Aeronaut]

ROT-13 is apparently a way of 'encrypting' things they don't want search engines to have over on usenet. It's apparently so widespread that
some even use it to scramble spoilers. They do it by nudging over a character thirteen places in the alphabet. So, for example Usenet becomes Hfrarg.

Just google for ROT-13 Translator so you can decode that list.

[Cobalt Greywalker]

Out of curiousity, what the heck is 'ROT-13'?

ROTate 13 characters. A simple way of encoding text so it is not obvious. Basically, ever letter of the english alphabet is pushed 13 characters down.

e.g.: a=n, b=o, c=p, and because it wraps around x=k, y=l, z=m. And vis versa.

Most usenet readers have an option to encode/decode this.

[Shepherd]

Timote wrote:

---

Out of curiousity, what the heck is 'ROT-13'?

ROT-13 is a VERY easy to break cypher. Just replace every letter with the letter that is 13 spaces further along in the alphabet.

As for the challenge, if you want an interesting match without being too uneven, put Voldemort up against a 13-year-old Naruto from the day after he left for
the 3 year timeskip. Skill and ruthlessness versus ninja athleticism and bulldog determination. Plus, Naruto would love going up against an evil snake themed
bad guy (good practice for when he rescues Sasuke).
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[robkelk]

ETA: Nevermind. Shoulda Googled first. But for those who are not in the know yet, here's the good stuff that I dug up. Mike's pretty definitive in what he does/doesn't want.

Actually, I wrote that, before giving the reins to Bill.

(Too many people were saying "I get Vegita to beat up the Big Bad before he unleashes the Challenge" instead of actually addressing the Challenge (and, by the way, assuming Vegita is so out-of-character that he'd be willing to be told what to do) that these rules became necessary. )

Out of curiousity, what the heck is 'ROT-13'?

http://rot13.org/]This. Is. ROT-13!
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012