Wow, there was... barely anyone here. Sariel couldn't help but breathing a sigh of relief, feeling more at ease as she wasn't surrounded by so many others. It made it easier to listen to the instructions, which was good because they were for a game she'd never heard of before.

She moved to join her opponent, a man just as massive as her own father. She might have been intimidated by that had she not been used to Seraphiel's bulk, and if this weren't a challenge of the mind not the body. She summoned a nervous, shy smile before fixating her gaze on the board, trying to quickly think of what might be the best strategy. She definitely wished she'd ever played this before, because she had a feeling there was actually a strategy to the otherwise simple looking game. Nothing to be done about it other than to pick up a piece and place it.

Rolling 1d20: 16

So, it would be a game of strategy. Haruki had wondered what the crimson-furred sprite had in mind when summoning the continents scholars to this cave, and now as he considered the board of white and black pieces, he found himself more intrigued than he cared to admit. The nomad would glance towards his opponent – a small lioness, with mismatched eyes, and pointed fangs – and smiled politely. In truth, he did not know how to treat her: she had done nothing to him, and yet, they were adversaries. So, he decided courtesy was the best option. “You may have the first move,” He offered mildly before his eyes moved back to the board and the game that they might play. Tic-tac-toe was not a contest he was familiar with, and thus a strategy for winning was not immediately known. But he would play to the best of his ability, finding it an easy game to pick up and thankfully fast-paced.

Rolling 1d20: 7

@Maven

code by corvus

Fortunately, they are not left to wait for long. Maven was one of the last willing to brave the icy walls of the caverns to see what this was all about. Not many had wanted to weather the cold, it seemed. Or maybe there just weren't many lions in Amaryllis who were inclined towards the skill of using their brains. Some days, that certainly seemed like a valid concern to have.

But this crimson traveler seemed clever enough. She's never heard of 'tic-tac-toe,' but it certainly intrigued her all the same. A game of strategy...what could be the harm in trying it out?

She offers a small smile to her marked opponent as she approaches him, a lavender-hued male with unusually curled ears poking out of his snowy mane. He seemed nice enough, at least. Thank you. She speaks primly with a brief nod when @Haruki generously offered up the first move, crimson gaze shifting down to study the board near her paws. Hmm. The game itself seemed simple enough, but it would be a lie to say that the task of finding the best strategy wasn't just a little bit daunting.

Nothing for it but to just try.

She carefully picks up a black stone to place upon the board, hesitating for only a moment more before finally placing it in the center square. Your turn. Time to see how this would actually work.

Maven vs @Haruki

Rolling 1d20: 18

ART BY SPU, CODE BY DEE

winter games, y11

---

erudite competition
“Good.” The man said gruffly as the erudites finished their strategy games and the winners of each match-up became clear. Some of them may have underestimated the simple task, but the tradesman knew that cunningness was required to succeed, as was staying one or two steps ahead of your competitor. It was about predicting the next move before it even happened. “Congratulations to the winning competitors from round one.” He proclaimed, identifying each of them with a flex, pointed toe. “For those of you that aren’t continuing, thank you for joining us today. Keep improving on your skills, advancing, and working to be the best.”

“For round two, in your new pairs, you are each going to conduct an experiment or test a theory within these tunnels - they’re an oddity, and I’m sure they can teach us a lot if we look in the right places. I don’t care what you do, but be smart and consider your surroundings in the process.” The tradesman explained next, gesturing the new pairs together as he shifted to position himself back towards the front of the foyer, curious to see what sort of experiments or questions they would gravitate towards. “When you’re ready, go ahead.”



match-ups & instructions

@Sariel vs. @Yarrow
@Maven vs. npc 2


dq’d: @Haruki, @Sabre, npc 1

• Round 2 Match-Up: Your character has been randomly matched with someone else and the NPC has explained the first task. An NPC will be used if there are uneven participant numbers.
• You have until December 27 to post again to your match-up. In your reply, respond to the prompt and insert the following dice roll at the bottom of your post. Whoever rolls the highest number out of each pair will win that round and move onto the next.
Code:
[roll=1d20]


• Round 2 Match-Up Results: On December 27, the winners of the Round 2 Match-Up (the ones out of each pair with the highest roll) will be re-matched and the cycle will continue every week, with new match-ups being posted on Wednesdays.
• Failure to post to a given round on time will result in disqualification.
• In the case of a tie being rolled between match-ups, Staff will do a tie-breaker.

You can earn the following points towards the Winter Games in this thread. Make sure to submit your points via Discord or DM to @Squid!

• +1 - Participate in a posted trade competition (claimable once per thread, per character)
• +1 - Win a match-up in a posted trade competition (claimable for each match-up that’s won)
• +3 - Be one of the last ones standing in a posted trade competition (win the final round match-up, results posted on January 10)

winter games, y11

---

NPC Dice Rolls for Trade Competition

Because of an uneven number of characters in this trade competition match-up, some characters were assigned an NPC for their pairing. The following dice rolls are to be used as the baseline for determining if your character wins or loses their match-up – reminder: the character that rolls the number out of each pair wins.

If you have been matched with an NPC, feel free to PP them as desired in your own reply. Make sure to include your own dice roll ([*roll=1d20]) at the bottom of your post. Failure to post in time will result in disqualification from the competition and the next round of match-ups.

NPC vs @Maven:

Rolling 1d20: 3

+5 Conduct an experiment

She hadn't done well in the physical competition, but this one? This one she was at least doing better in. Now she had to perform an experiment, and she had no idea what she should do. She'd been here before, yes, but not to do any kind of experiments. She'd just wanted to explore. Hmm, what could she do?

Sariel moved away from the group, wanting to steal glances at the others to see what they were doing but also not wanting to cheat. She'd just have to think of something herself, and quickly.

She was passing near one of the walls when she noticed once again that her vibrant red pelt was reflected in the pale color of the ice, and that in a particular thin spot it seemed almost... concentrated. Like she could almost see herself in it. She pondered that for a moment, and then turned to where a spike of ice had fallen from the ceiling, leaving shards scattered around it. She started working at one of the larger shards with her tongue and claws, holding it up with a paw carefully every once in a while as she tried to see if the ice could be used as a sort of mirror, or what it did as the shape and thickness changed.

Rolling 1d20: 12

Somehow the lipard youth had managed to win a game that they had never played before. The rules had been simple enough and observation and paid off. Now that observation had to be put forward into a test of sorts. Hm, experiments. Yarrow wasn't exactly certain what one did to experiment.

A glance was given to the lioness that he was paired again. "Good job winning your game and good luck on your experiment." But it seemed she already had something in mind as she was already working away on something.

The yearling would leave her to it as he wandered down the tunnels of the cavern. A whispering sound ended up drawing in the youth. "Squirrel?" They called out but received no response outside of the wind ruffling their fur, an eerie whispering sound, and their voice refracted back towards them.

This caused them to tilt their head and caused them to call out into the tunnel again. "Hello?" Once more their voice echoed back towards them.

Sariel vs. Yarrow

Rolling 1d20: 15

@Sariel

The unusual game certainly takes some getting used to, but before long, the thread of a winning strategy reveals itself fully to her mind's eye. Good game. Thank you. She offers @Haruki a slight smile and nod, before her attention was captured once more by the resounding voice of their crimson host. The competition had only just begun, it seemed.

With a brief greeting directed towards her new opponent, yet another unfamiliar stranger, Maven would pull away from the rest of the group, crimson eyes turning all around to better examine the caverns in their entirety. Searching to see if she could note anything of significance beyond the overwhelming abundance of ice that so prominently defined this maze. It coated the walls, spiraled down from the ceiling in tapering, gleaming points, its pale blue surface gleaming even at the lowest point of the chamber's floor.

Actually...were the weather more befitting of the warmer season, would that be a pond nestled amidst the cold stone? A water source, created by melting ice?

Maybe the caves themselves could be used as a reliable source of water in a pinch, even during the coldest months - if one was creative enough. Stepping lightly over to the icy walls, Maven would press a warm paw carefully to the frozen surface. Alas, the ice seems more far more likely to numb her toes than it is to melt beneath her touch, and Maven's features furrow with slight disappointment - before smoothing back out with the arrival of a slightly different idea.

Moving her face closer to the reflective surface, the abyssal woman forcefully exhaled her warm breath onto the ice, crimson eyes squinting hopefully to see if the telltale glitter of water droplets would soon form or not.

Maven vs NPC 2

Rolling 1d20: 20

ART BY SPU, CODE BY DEE

winter games, y11

---

erudite competition

“Good, and smart work – congratulations to the winning competitors from round two.” The lion proclaimed after watching them all embark on their individual experiments, some of which were more successful than others. They certainly were not making it easy on him, narrowing things down in an attempt to make just one of them the ultimate practitioner of their trade – but it was a job that had to be done! For the sake of them, and for the sake of this entire competition – because not having any winners would make this whole effort rather moot, now wouldn’t it? “For those of you that aren’t continuing, thank you for joining us today. Keep improving on your skills, advancing, and working to be the best.”

Glancing towards the final two – their new pairing made evident, as a result – the tradesman would shift back towards the front of the foyer now, his mind mulling on about how things were going to end and which one of them would reign successful over the other. “For your final round, and to determine the winner of the erudite trade competition, your task is this: considering the successful experiment that you just conducted, how would you use this new knowledge to the advantage of your family or pride, or to the disadvantage of an enemy?” The man inquired, voice buzzing faintly as he anticipated the final round of the competition. The hypothetical question assumed, of course, that they would all find themselves within the caves, one way or another – but he was curious to see if they could make the linkage between experiment and useability; between theory and execution. “Whomever can start, when you’re both ready.”



match-ups & instructions

@Yarrow vs. @Maven


dq’d: @Sariel, npc 2

• Final Round Match-Up: Your character has been randomly matched with someone else and the NPC has explained the task.
• You have until January 3 to post again to your match-up. In your reply, respond to the prompt and insert the following dice roll at the bottom of your post. Whoever rolls the highest number out of each pair will win that round.
Code:
[roll=1d20]


• Final Round Match-Up Results: On January 3, the winner of the Final Round Match-Up (the ones out of each pair with the highest roll) will be declared the winner of this trade competition!
• Failure to post to a given round on time will result in disqualification.
• In the case of a tie being rolled between match-ups, Staff will do a tie-breaker.

You can earn the following points towards the Winter Games in this thread. Make sure to submit your points via Discord or DM to @Squid!

• +1 - Participate in a posted trade competition (claimable once per thread, per character)
• +1 - Win a match-up in a posted trade competition (claimable for each match-up that’s won)
• +3 - Be one of the last ones standing in a posted trade competition (win the final round match-up)

Well, she'd tried her best. She hadn't really been sure what all this would be about, but it had been interesting nonetheless. Now it was time to head home again. She was proud of herself for coming out here and doing this considering how little time she spent outside of the pride. Maybe she should do things like this more often. It was just so hard to make herself do that. She set out, thankful that at least she didn't have to go very far this time. Not that she didn't mind walking but it was nice to be close to home. -exit sariel-

ART AND CODE BY SHAZ