The Oldest Game

[Thanatopic]

[i]OOC[/i]
[i]I don't think that this particular forum is the absolute correct place for this topic, I do feel however that it is the closest. I didn't invent this idea, I am however implementing it because it is a game I enjoy. Hope you feel the same. [/i]

The Oldest Game

The name is deceiving, for this is more than just a game. When all the worlds, and all the planes were but formless mist, this is how Powers claimed their superiority. How can that without a shape, without a form, test their strength against one another. The obvious answer is with influence, how we mere mortals are affected by their presence and their promises. How then, before men and monsters, was dominance established? That is how The Oldest Game arose.

It is a contest of ideas, of dreams, of natures, and of innate power. Blows are never laid, fingers are never curled into fists and steel is never shown. Instead, in that ephemeral twilight realm, ideas are given form, and combatants are always shifting. It is a difficult thing to explain, if you wish to learn, This one will show you. Worry not, you risk nothing but your pride....at least the first time. Do not forget though, this is the way the first wars were waged, and idle sparring is saved for those dearly trusted.

As all things, this form is not without it's rules. One must be challenged, or issue a challenge; the challenge must then be accepted. It is by the giving and acceptance of the challenge that the conflict is given weight, given life. The Challenger strikes first, the Challenged however chooses where the combat will take place Strength is not measured from sword-arms and speed, instead from innate oneness and wisdom of the world. Strikes are not born of steel and magery, rather from ones nature. If you find it cryptic, This one apologizes, but there are few ways to actually give word to The Oldest game; to do so risks oversimplification.

The attacks are given life by a particular diction. " I am the Stag, Elusive and Silent". In response " I am the Hunter, Trap-setting, Stag-Hunting". This is the simplest of forms, a training form really in which one who is not familiar may be made familiar. The forms must begin with what is literal, The stag and the hunter. As combat rages, more abstract concepts may be used. The speed at which the abstract may take form is directly related to the power of the Combatant. To attempt a form beyond your ken, beyond your strength, is frightfully dangerous at best.

On the topic of combat forms. The strength of one's form is directly proportional to how in tune that form is with the Combatant. This is a difficult thing to word. If a man is Brash, impulsive, and passionate, then his forms should suit. Constraining forms, binding forms, are lacking a oneness with him, and as such are weak and easily broken.

Victory is simple. One must yield. One may yield actively, declaring his own defeat. One may also yield by the inability to present a a form that effectively counters their opponents form, or by the inability to present a form in a timely manner.

OOC:
These rules are difficult to enforce, by the very nature of the game. It was originally written by Neil Gaiman in the graphic novel series The Sandman. As I wrote, it is intended for Gods, Power, and Principalities to do battle. By their nature they are bound by rules; as such the 'rules' for this game are just an expression of the way battle actually took place between these entities. If you wish to engage in this form of combat with me, I would love to oblige; however, please come with a sense of honor, fair-play, and respect for the game.

[(Zl-eye-f)-nea]

Well now this looks interesting.....very interesting indeed....

Z

[Kafuuka]

[quote name='Thanatopic' post='31397' date='May 18 2009, 01:41 PM']The Challenger strikes first, the Challenged however chooses where the combat will take place.[/quote]

You haven't mentioned this in your example. If the challenged chooses a desert, would that weaken water, or am I completely lost here?
I'd like to try the game, but I think i could do with a longer example.

[(Zl-eye-f)-nea]

You can find an example from the sandman online if you google the oldest game.

I think it's about the imaginitive way in which you use whatever you have chosen. So, correct me if I'm wrong, but it would depend on how they had worded the desert and how you worded the water response...I think...

So my examples would be:

I am the desert, arid and dry, cracker of skins, heat propegating evaporator of fluids

so just water wouldnt do here in my opinion....unless you use your imagination...so perhaps....if correctly worded...a Tsunami or a flood. In proportion you know? Or maybe an oasis, or something more abstract.... but i believe you have to start small and build it up as the point of the exercise.

Im sure Than here can elaborate far better than I in any event, but i'm so up for this.

Z

[Thanatopic]

I understand what you're asking, how exactly does the 'battleground' affect the game itself. I'm sorry to say though that it is difficult to explain. It all has to do with the oneness. This entire thing is a roleplaying endeavor, so the effects would have to be roleplayed out. I'll try to answer though.

It's more of a psychological advantage than anything, like home field advantage in advantage in a sport. When Dream of the Endless challenged the Demon for his lost helm, the Demon chose a night-club in the depths of hell. It put Dream in an unfamiliar situation, in the end though Dream ended up winning. The location is an actual physical location, not a place where the worded forms are presented. If you were to challenge me I would choose Fenth's game. It offers no strength or weakness to the forms themselves. It is however where my friends may gather and support me, while at the same time jeering and distracting my opponent.

[pamplemousse]

I have played the oldest game with Driftwood on a couple of occasions. It is amazingly fun to play and Drift is a great guide for first-timers and a worthy opponent for more veteran players.

I have only won one time against him. He said he was a bear; strong, powerful and massive. I countered with Winter; freezing, barren, bear-anesthesizing.

[Willem RedBeard]

[quote name='pamplemousse' post='31561' date='May 19 2009, 02:16 PM']I have only won one time against him. He said he was a bear; strong, powerful and massive. I countered with Winter; freezing, barren, bear-anesthesizing.[/quote]

Don't bears just happily hibernate in the winter?

[Thanatopic]

That's correct, but it effectively counter the attack from the bear. That's just an example of a highly clever defensive form.

[Willem RedBeard]

Well, this sounds like a fantastic game/competition, and I would love to learn how to play it fully and join in battle with someone.