User:Agon/Cobalt

Yeeeeeeehaw! What's hangin', pardner? Hey! I wuz thinkin' we'd have us a sweet 'lil gunnin' contest down by the Cobalt Corral. So, you wanna come?

Bakeoff? Huh?
A bakeoff is a puzzling competition. In this case, the puzzle is gunnery.

Date/time! When's the date/time!?
This event will take place on Saturday the 16th of December, and last from approximately 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM PST (although the vast majority of participants will be able to leave by 1:00.)

I'd like to help out with this event
Great! We need all sorts of help:
 * Day-of assistance helping run ships or the loser lounge
 * Donations of...
 * Ships (Especially sloops and WBs!)
 * PoE (PoE! PoE PoE PoE!)
 * Furniture (In New condition only, please. Especially "useful" furniture: wardrobes, sword/mug racks, carousing tables, etc.)
 * Shot (Large cannonballs only)
 * Almost anything else you want to throw at me

Prize List
Everyone in the top 10 will take home a ribbon trinket for their trouble, as well as the following prizes depending on exact placement: This prize list will change and (hopefully!) grow over time.
 * 1st: A grey monkey
 * 2nd: A bronze fish (rare furniture)
 * 3th: A blue-black painted war brig (Rousty Gunner)
 * 4rd: A grey clam shell trinket and a blue-black handkerchief or ribbon trinket
 * 5th: A sleeping piglet
 * 6th: A renamed sloop (One-Eyed Wahoo)
 * 7th: A renamed sloop (Gunslinging Jack)
 * 8th: A renamed sloop (Vicious Cutthroat)
 * 9th: A carousing set (assorted carousing furniture and a fancy chest to keep yer filthy lucre in)
 * 10th: A cowboy/cowgirl outfit in the event colours (gray/maroon)

Tarting
There is a strict no tarting policy in effect for this event. Anyone who has an objection to a decision, process, or other aspect of the event should send a /tell to Agon, who will be all too happy to discuss the situation. If you cause a scene, either on your vessel or in /crew chat, you may be expelled from the event.

Read The Rules
It is expected that you will read and understand these rules and instructions, in their entirety, before you attempt to contest the event. If it emerges that you haven't really read the rules, and we have to keep stopping the event to cover them with you, you may be expelled from the event. Please read them thoroughly.

= The Event Itself =

Etiquette
Please be courteous to the other competitors and don't talk in /vessel chat or in /crew when people are competing. It's just common courtesy to show them the same respect they show you. Your assistant may discipline you if you speak when it may be distracting, and this may result in expulsion from the event if it's especially problematic. You're more than welcome to gather below deck or into a cabin and speak in /speak, just keep /vessel clear while someone's gunning.

Preregistration
'''Preregistration for this event is absolutely mandatory! Even the walk-ins have to preregister!'''

For this season, we're going to flip preregistration on its head: preregistrants should post to the events thread with the name of their pirate, and the name of a famous cowboy (just so I know you're paying attention! If you're having trouble thinking of any, google is your friend.) To preregister, you must have oceanwide standing in gunnery of Renowned or higher. You may preregister an alt, just include a note to that extent in your post.

Additionally, there can be up to 20 people who don't make the initial cut of 80 who will go on the "standby" list. More on that under Jobbing/Boarding.

You will need to log back into the forums to receive a confirmation, and again on the morning of the event for your vessel and assistant assignments.

Jobbing/Boarding
Jobbing will begin at 11:00 AM PST. To get jobbed into the event crew, send a /tell to the assistant named in your confirmation PM. If your assistant is not around, you can also send a /tell to Agon. If you did not get a confirmation PM, please do not ask to be jobbed, or you'll end up muted. Only preregistrants will be jobbed.

You must be aboard your assigned boat for 11:45 AM PST. You don't have to go there immediately (in fact, we'll provide a cool lounge with carousing tables for your usage in the mean time), but you do have to be there for 11:45. Your assigned boat is, yet again, in your confirmation PM.

Agon will job off of the standby list (he'll find you, not vice-versa) and collapse ships to make up for any absences. As soon as possible after 11:45, we'll recap the instructions one final time in /crew chat, and then we'll be off.

Round 1
The first round will be held on war brigs. Your assistant will deport and engage another event boat for PVP. Once you're in PVP, the assistant will need to load the first set of 16 guns (they may ask for your help with this!) then fire them to get them "dirty" for the first competitor. After they're dirty, you begin.

On your turn, the assistant will call your name and give you a gunning order. You should locate a gunning station. When you're ready, say "Howdy!" and enter the puzzle. You cannot enter the puzzle until after you say "Howdy!". After you start the puzzle, load all 16 guns as quickly as you can. When you're done, exit the puzzle and say "Bang!".

Your time will be the time between "Howdy!" and the final "Player has abandoned a puzzle" message. "Bang!" is just so we know we can move on.

Loser Lounge/Break
Between rounds 1 and 2, there will be a short break, and we'll also open the Loser Lounge. There'll be carousing tables and trinket tournaments and stuff, so come hang out! It's all exclusive to our beloved losers, too.

Round 2
The top 3 competitors from each ship, plus anyone else who finishes with an overall time of 3:15:00 or less will move onto the second round of play. The second round is more or less identical to the first, but held on war frigates instead. (Which mostly means more guns.)

The top 2 competitors from across all of the boats will advance to the final round.

Final Round
The final round will be held on war frigates, and functions completely differently from the first two.

One finalist will be assigned to the Stampeding Seahorse, and the other to the Cud-Chewing Cowfish. Anyone who wishes to join us is invited to board the Seahorse as well. Those joining us are strongly encouraged to sail and bilge to generate tokens, but please do not carpent. You will be planked on sight if you carpent.

The Seahorse and Cowfish, with one finalist aboard each, will deport and engage in PVP. This time, however, it will be sinking.

Finalists should not enter the gunning puzzle immediately upon PVP. Instead, the assistants will maneouver the boats into a position from which they can shoot at, and be shot at by, each other. Once they are in this position, the assistants aboard both ships will fire one warning shot off the "wrong" side of the ship. After this warning shot has fired, the finalists will begin gunning.

The assistants will enter each gunning token as soon as it becomes avaliable, LSMing if necessary. Tokens will be loaded "down" instead of "across" (I.E: If you have two tokens, the assistant would enter two moves of one token instead of one move of two.), although if more than four tokens are avaliable, the assistant will loop back to the top.

Whoever doesn't sink wins. Easy, eh?

Prize Claim
Prize claim will be immediately upon completion of the final round. Agon will also arrange dates and times for prize claim for those who were unable to attend this prize claim; if you are unable to meet these times, it is your responsibility to contact Agon and establish a time you can get together to settle it, or find someone who can meet with Agon to claim it for you. If you do not claim your prize after a reasonable time (currently at more or less a week), Agon will just donate it to an aspiring event planner.