A Guide to Literary Submissions
- Every 200 Words: +1 stat. 100 words do not equal .5 stats; only multiples of 200.
- Extra Characters: +2 for each. Only applies to characters who are an important part of the plot and/or story; must have at least a minimum of 25% of the total word count with the extra character being involved and contributing to the story. It does not apply to a brief mentioning of characters, descriptions of characters, or characters strung into the same actions.
- Extra characters for Roleplays may be applied to characters who are an integral part of the ENTIRE story not just a few mentions in a couple of paragraphs/posts.
- Like Collaborations, the maximum amount of stats a single literary entry can gain is 50 stats.
- For ROLEPLAYS, you only count for stats the words you write. This ensures that both parties are properly compensated for their work.
- Items and Companion Bonuses may be counted for in literature if they are mentioned properly in the story. Companions must be present a minimum of 2 times to gain bonuses, however, companions may gain extra character bonus if extra character rules are followed as well. Crown/Head Gear must be mentioned a minimum of 2 times to gain bonuses.
Table of Contents
Examples of Incorrect Written Entries
The three examples below demonstrate how to not count stats for a literary entry and how they should not be written! Each example will provide a snippet of writing, what we expect for the stat breakdown, and then an explanation of why this writing is incorrect.
- The first two examples focus on how to not count Extra Characters in your writing.
- The last example focuses how to not count bonuses for Equppied Items and Companions.
Example 1:
IHS Ammun was not pleased with the current situation. He growled low in his throat at Bacchus, annoyed at the other stallion’s glares that he was getting across the stable yard. The newcomer Desert stallion was tall and leggy, with black streaks along his body, contrasting his pearly coat.
Leoni Ludae was lying on the ground, munching on a root he had dug up with his horns. His great glassy tines were covered in dirt, which periodically would drop little clods onto his nose, staining his white face a dingy brown. Versailles was racing down the track, his legs seeming never to touch the ground as his nostrils flared and roared, dragging in air to his massive lungs. Atop him his rider was clinging to both his reins attached to the horns of the beast as well as the black stallion’s painted manes for dear life.
Talari Iuba napped quietly under a tree in the back paddock, a piece of grass hanging limply from his mouth. Baridi snuck up behind him and grinned wickedly, pinning a savage chomp on the small stallion’s fluffy rump. He woke with a squeal, darting and bucking away in a sleepy panic as the albino mare laughed behind him.
Word Count: 204
Stats Gained: +1 for 200 words; +10 for extra characters
What is wrong with this entry?
- First of all, the story makes no sense! It does not flow and jumps around to random events. This entry is clearly meant for the sole purpose of gaining stats with no thought to the flow.
- The stat count would only be +1! Why!? None of the extra characters (with Ammun being regarded as the first character, gaining no extra stats) are a significant part of the story and are only mentioned one time. The rule in The Stat System states all extra characters must be a significant part of the story/plot and be in at least 25%.
Example 2:
The day was bright and sunny as Raziel, Roomba, Dibella, Aperi, and Sandor stood out in the field while Torug, Gahiji, and Father Dotis lounged in the shade. Dibella and Raziel both walked out into the tall grass to munch flowers while Roomba, Aperi, and Sandor stared at each other with looks of disgust or confusion.
Torug, Gahiji, and Father Dotis were all in a conversation about the Highlords with Gahiji and Torug yelling at each other while Father Dotis listened carefully. Roomba joined in their conversation but as he was mute he just nodded along.
Sandor Piped up saying that they should all just go on a hunt for some food and everyone nodded in agreement. Raziel, Dibella, Sandor, and Torug led the way while Aperi pranced around Gahiji. Father Dotis and Roomba brought up the rear with Father Dotis talking while Roomba just listened and nodded.
The group stopped in a clearing with them all standing in a big circle as they discussed what and how they would hunt.
“I think that we should hunt deer” Aperi said in a flouncy voice.
“I don’t want deer, I had that yesterday,” Sandor said with a grimace, “Let’s go for something bigger,”
Raziel and Dibella were conversing in whispers to themselves and Torug had his nose in a bush already looking for some kind of herb he had smelled, while Father Dotis was still preaching to Roomba who was distracted by a butterfly now.
The group just couldn’t agree on what to do and ended up arguing for so long the sun had set and it was too dark to hunt safely, they all grumpily headed back home except for Roomba who was just happy to be with friends.
Stats Gained: +1 for 200 words; +14 for extra characters
What is wrong with this entry?
- Firstly, there is no flow to this story, it is centered around all of the characters doing random things all together as a group
- The stat count would only gain the main character (In this case we’ll go with Roomba) +1 stat. This is because all of these extra characters are not contributing enough to the story or meet the minimum of 25% of the interaction required by system standards and are listed in strings.
- Bolding every character in every line they appear in gets confusing on if a new character is being introduced and makes it slightly difficult to read.
Example 3:
Fus huffed as he stood there, his body shaking from the strain of training for the pits which seemed to be a constant thing now. His opponent was a mare that he had seen at their last tournament. A desert mare with a lion’s mane whos coat was both buckskin and a darker almost black color. The mare, Zephyr, was grinning at him between pants as the two fighters began circling each other waiting for the other to attack first. The mare’s eyes flickered past the stallion for a moment before faking a charge, making Fus brace for impact and then dancing around him at the last moment. This created an opening for Zephyr to kick out her back legs which connected with Fus’ right hip. The stallion bellowed out in anger as he turned to charge at the mare, running her down and striking at her with his front hooves. A few of these blows connected with the mare’s barrel which left a gash and a few streaks of red across her buckskin coat. Zephyr was able to escape the stallion’s onslaught with the agility of a feline.
The sleek desert mare turned her off white eyes to her opponent as once again they found themselves staring each other down. Both of them were bloodied and streaked with sweat from the heat and the effort they put into their attacks. Zephyr studied Fus as she looked for anything she could see as an opening or weakness. A dog barked in the distance which distracted Fus for a moment as he swiveled an ear towards the sound. Zephyr launched herself forward and bashed her head against Fus’, the stallion faltered under the mare’s power as she pushed him backwards a few steps before he corrected himself and began to push back. The two ballators struggled as they pushed back and forth, trying to push the other to their knees. Zephyr’s forehead was bleeding now from Fus’ second set of horns, the blood dripped off her nose into the dirt that swirled around their legs. The mare could feel her body starting to weaken under the strain and tore herself loose and cantered away a few paces before turning to face her opponent.
“You are definitely strong… for a mare,” Fus grumbled with a half smile on his face which was slightly bloodied from their pushing match. Zephyr smirked at the appaloosa stallion as she held her slender head high, the cuts on her forehead already crusting with drying blood “You’re not bad yourself, but I would have won,” she chided before flicking her tail. “I’d say this was more of a draw,” Fus said as he stood in a more relaxed stance.
Stats Gained: +2 for 400 words; +2 for extra character; +1 Speed and +2 Intelligence (Dog Bonus); +10 Denarii and +4 stats (Phoenix Bonus) +1 Attack Strength and +2 stats (Ghoul Bonus) +2 strength and +10 Denarii (Bone Crown)
What is wrong with this entry?
- Companion bonuses are listed but no companions are present or mentioned in the story, therefore no bonus can be applied!
- Bone Crown Bonus is applied but as with companions it is not mentioned at all in the story and thus does not apply in this example!
Examples of Correct Written Entries
The three examples below demonstrate how to count stats for a literary entry and how they should be written! Each example will provide a snippet of writing, what we expect for the stat breakdown, and then an explanation of why this writing is correct. Bonuses such as extra characters, equipped items, and companions will be bolded when they are first mentioned in the story.
The first two examples focus on the proper way count Extra Characters in your writing.
The last example focuses on the proper way count bonuses for Equppied Items and Companions.
Example 1:
IHS Ammun was not pleased with the current situation. This stable atmosphere that he had just walked into was too different from his wild home in Saudi Arabia. He growled low in his throat, pinning his ears as he was led across the stable yard, glaring at everything in sight. The immaculate courtyard was well-groomed with pea gravel, and tall wood and stone barns on either side. Statues of Ballators littered the place, and a large arch ushered the Desert stallion into his new home. He glanced across the way, towards paddocks sprawling out into the horizon, dotted with shelters and smaller barns. They were not green pastures, but consisted of the dry, deserty landscape typical of Utah, though there was sagebrush and light vegetation to munch on. As Ammun looked out, he caught eyes with a very barrel-chested, wasp-waisted stallion, who was glaring him down as if he were fresh meat. The black-and-white Mountain Ballator had magnificent striped green horns, which encircled and crowned his head like an array of thorns.
Ammun’s handler patted him on the neck, smiling. “That’s Bacchus. It’s best you don’t go near him!” Steven said with a soft laugh, gently tugging on Ammun’s halter to lead him away. The leggy Desert glanced back once more, lifting his lip in a savage growl at the other Ballator, who responded with a curt, aggravating half-smile, as if to say, “Come and get me.” And did Ammun want to. He planted his hooves suddenly, jerking Steven back, who yelped slightly in surprise. Across the other end of the yard, horses had gathered in the mare paddock. They all knew what was about to happen. IHS Sekhmet, and her daughter, IHS Rub’ Al Khali, were watching the Desert stallion most intensely. Being deserts themselves, perhaps this stallion could show his dominance and gain their favor?
Bacchus was leaning against the fence now, the mood creaking against his weight. “Bacchus!” Steven yelled across the yard, gaining only a flick of an ear from the other horse. The blond-haired man glanced up at the wine-red eyes of Ammun quickly, then back at the stabbing green of Bacchus’ own hungry orbs. And then Bacchus began something Steven had been praying he wouldn’t do. The shoulder manes on the painted stallion began to slowly sway, then burst into a full-blown Ballator challenge rattle. Like a trainwreck, Steven was helpless to stop what he knew was inevitable.
“Oh, here we go.”
Leaping as fast as he could to the side and dropping the lead to Ammun’s horn-guide halter, he merely escaped the now-roaring Desert stallion, who wheeled on the gravel, sending tiny bullets of rock into the air, pelting down on Steven’s head. Ammun’s long legs flashed in the sunlight and into a blur of motion as they carried him the short distance towards Bacchus, who grinned savagely and backed quickly away from the fence. Behind Ammun, Steven was frantically yelling into his cellphone at the stable manager, who had dispatched the BCU, or the Ballator Containment Unit which was an essential part of any Ballator stable, especially those handling stallions.
But the BCU would be too late this time, as with one powerful, springing leap, Ammun was over the fence, locking eyes with the red-nostriled, rattling, grinning stallion below. This would be a glorious battle of dominance.
Word Count: 555
Stat Count: +6 (+2 for 400 words; +4 for extra Characters Bacchus and Steven)
Why is this entry correct?
Compare this to Example 1 of the Incorrect Section:
- This story flows well, and correctly portrays two extra characters who are an integral part of the story. While the stable manager, Sekhmet and Rub’ Al Khali are also mentioned, they are brief and fleeting with no real impact to the story, so they do not add stats to the story, nor do they gain stats from being in the story.
Example 2:
Shrike jumped back on his hooves as Lich slid forward to intervene. Eyes wide, Shrike turned to look back at the jutting stone walls of Hannibal’s Pit in the distance. They were, from here, softly illuminated in the orange glow of the lava within.
Lich struggled against the Star Touched ghoul, finding no flesh to rip off, his crooked fangs instead causing scores across the other ghoul’s stained bones. Shrike shifted from hoof to hoof, uncertain if he should help or flee, when fire roared down upon the skeleton.
Melisandre’s brow was furrowed as she trotted to the Desert’s side, her red eyes reflecting the pulsating light of the star in the sky. Lich scrambled back from her flames, choosing to return to Shrike in fear like a true foal.
“What did it mean,” Shrike breathed, “When it said ‘The False Gods?’”
Melisandre said a few words under her breath and the fires that roared over the ghoul started to die down, the red growths glowing like embers in the ashes of old bones.
Melisandre ignored Shrike as she strode forward, toeing one of the red embers with her hoof. It was still too hot to pick up, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to touch it more than necessary anyway.
Lich rubbed his head against Shrike’s side and Melisandre turned to the two, her expression guarded.
“You told me once that you never believed in The Highlords… is that still true?”
Shrike felt his manes bristle, but more at the thought of admitting she remembered correctly than the accusation itself. Of the members of The Moribund, Shrike was the only one not pledged to Hannibal.
“I don’t trust what I can’t see.”
“Is Lich not enough?”
“Grub is who Lich rose for, at the end of the day. Lich dogs my steps because Grub told him to. I don’t need to worship something I never see when I have the pleasure of watching real power blossom in front of me.”
There was something, Shrike thought, about the way the Red Star was framed between Melisandre’s horns in the sky… something about the embers around her hooves… something about the light burning in her eyes.
“One day, Little Bird, you will stand at a crossroads of life and death and understand how misguided your judgment has truly been.”
Correct Stat Count:+1 Story, +4 Extra Characters +1 AS & +2 Any Ghoul Bonus (Shrike only)
Why is this entry correct?
Compare this to Example 2 of the Incorrect Section:
- The extra characters all have at least 25% of constant interaction and contribution to the story; Characters are not listed in strings as doing the same things and given plenty of interaction with each other.
Example 3:
Word Count: 576
Correct Stat Count: +2 Story; +2 Extra character; +1 Attack Strength and +2 stats (Ghoul Bonus) +2 strength and +10 Denarii (Bone Crown)
Why is this entry correct?
Compare this to Example 3 of the Incorrect Section:
- This story has several mentions of both the Ghoul companion (the crow) and the Bone crown (Fox Skull/Crown of Bone) which earns the bonuses for both of these.
- The Ghoul also is prominent enough in the story to earn the extra character bonus on top of the bonus gained for the companion!
