Posted by THE ELEMENTALS on March 18, 2008, 9:36 am
Message modified by board administrator November 10, 2008, 12:42 pm

Points are done on a scale of 0-5, with 5 being the highest possible score in any category. EVERYTHING shall be done in full points. No .5 bonuses or 4.5/5 scores. Categories are defined as follows: REALISM - How plausible the attack is, especially considering the current weather conditions. Is this a way a normal horse can actually move/twist? Do they pretend to be a 'super horse' and have the best traits of everything in them, or do they realize that to be agile, power is sacrificed, and vice versa? (subtract 1 point for each offense, EXAMPLE: Realism ( 3 / 5 ) - 1: Horse A could not support the weight necessary for to buck on a fractured foreleg without collapsing afterwards. - 1: Given the circumstances, Horse A could not have bucked high enough to reach the specified target of Horse B's upper neck.) POWER [attacks only] - The power and intended damage behind each attack. Does this horse convey himself confidently? Are you left cringing in sympathy pains after reading this attack, or is it something that can be shrugged off? (scaled: 0 - no damage dealt, 5 - maximum damage intended) CREATIVITY - In order to reward those who add a twist into their attacks, without penalizing those who don't, this category has a MAX of 2 points per attack or 1 point per defense. For attacks, give them +1 if the move is pretty creative but something you've seen before, and +2 if the attack is completely unique. For defenses, give them an extra point each time they defend in a way you would not have thought of. Note that because this is a bonus, a horse has the potential to have greater than 60 points as a total. (bonuses: +1 or +2 as listed above for attacks, or +1 as listed above for defenses) TIMING - How realistic each horse plays in real time. Are they everywhere at once, or do they realize it will take them some time to complete that pivot and kick? Do they bounce back immediately after taking a heavy blow to a major limb and attack, or consider the time it will take them to recover and then make their move? (scaled: 0 - moved way too fast/unrealistically, 5 - timing completely appropriate) DAMAGE [defense only] - Not only how well they defend attacks, but if they accept damage reasonably. A horse who claims to stop everything and never accepts damage, or accepts the least amount of it, is powerplaying. Do they creatively defend themselves? Do they fairly accept the damage done to them? (remove a point for each offense. For example, if a horse is injured during defense 1, but then ignores it during their second defense and next attacks, the score would be 2/5: -1 for not acknowledging the injury during attack 1 -1 for not acknowledging the injury during attack 2 -1 for disregarding the damage after impact) *ELEMENTAL SCORE - This is not the place to critique how well/poorly they fought in the current weather conditions (that is now a part of the 'realism' piece of this rubric). The points here are done differently, though. You *must* award a point to the horse who has the stronger element (if applicable). Award another point for any horse who uses an elemental ability. REMOVE a point (even if they have 0) if the elementally weaker horse does not take heavier damage EVEN IF you have already removed a point for this in the above damage sections. REMOVE a point if the horse on the receiving end of the ability downplays or does not follow the effects stated by the use of that ability EVEN IF you have already removed a point for this in the above damage sections. **Up to 5 bonus points may be given at any time to either challenger, whether awarded for the creativity of a particular attack/defense, style of writing, or anything that sticks out as excellent to you but is not covered in the regular rubric. Again, award just one full point in each instance, and state the reason why. ***PENALTIES: If a horse makes an extra attack, uses the anatomy inappropriately, powerplays, or does anything else that "just ain't right", take off a point for each instance if you haven't already in the existing rubric. (Example: if they took poor damage during the fight, take points off in the Damage section, not in the penalties section. But if they conveyed an overall sense of super horse, mention they were bordering on powerplaying and remove a point). Click here for the new judging tool! Your judgment is FINAL, so please be sure you have taken a careful look at the battle before submitting your results. Only in the case where a judge completely misread an attack, and proof of it is IN THE ORIGINAL BATTLE POST(S), may an alteration of points happen.