Staffs & Sticks Handbook

The threads in Staffs and Sticks are not for out of character discussion. If you have something to say out of character or have questions either PM the person concerned or post in the Q&A thread.


A quidditch game should take approximately one week, however this time may vary depending on the experience and dedication of the players.

Quidditch requires practice, timing and cooperation.

S&S recommends that team members keep in touch with some kind of messenger service.

The Teams

2 keepers
2 seekers
4 beaters
6 chasers
3 subs

Players may only have characters on one team. Where demand for positions is high, players may only have one character on the team.

The Referee

The referee may not play their alters on either team.

Starting and stopping play

Time out may be called by agreement between both team captains. They should each PM the Referee to confirm their agreement.

Fouls

Penalties for fouls are up to the discretion of the referee. The most common penalties are a yellow or red card. A list of fouls can be found at the Harry Potter Lexicon.


Moving

A player may make one move per post. That is, they can throw the quaffle, they can hit a bludger, they can seek the snitch, etc.

All moves must be at least 100 words long and must finish with a summary

eg: Harry passes the quaffle for # points

Plays

A play is a series of moves made by the players of a team. A play ends when someone makes a shot for the goals, the quaffle is intercepted or it times out after 12 hours.

Editing

All edits must be made by striking out your mistake (using the [strike] tags) and appending your correction to the original post.

All edits must be accompanied by a reason for editing.

Posts may not be deleted.

A penalty will be awarded for each post if a team is caught deleting or editing without leaving a reason.

Chasing

Chasers have 100 quidditch points.

They must use at least 1 point to pass and score with the quaffle.

For an interception to be successful, the amount used to intercept must be larger than the amount that was used to pass. The interception post must also be posted before the catching post.

Beating and Bludgers

Beaters have 100 quidditch points

They must hit a bludger for at least 1 point.

They must use at least 150% of the amount the bluger was hit for to defend themselves or someone else against a bludger.

Anyone must use at least 200% of the amount the bludger was hit for to dodge a bludger.

Anyone with a bludger aimed at them must either dodge or be saved before they can move again.

Players can be hit by bludgers or choose to take a bludger hit. If your character does not dodge or is not saved within 6 hours of having it aimed at them, they will be hit. After being hit by a bludger, your character is out of the game for 8 hours.

Keeping

Keepers have 100 quidditch points.

To block a goal, the keeper must use at least 120% of the amount the goal was shot for.

Keepers must throw the quaffle back into play for at least 1 point.

Seeking

The referee will PM a number between 1 and 100 to this account before the beginning of the game.

They will post five times during the game when the snitch appears. The seekers must post within 8 hours guessing what the number is. After that time, the referee will post who guessed what number, and who was closest.

That person will be given 10 quidditch points that they may choose to give to another member of their team. If they do not post giving away their points within 12 hours, they will have to keep them.

If a seeker guesses the number correctly, they will catch the snitch. If the game ends before anyone guesses the number, the team whose seekers were closest most often will catch the snitch.

Starter Spells

Blocking Charm - Obsidio - blocks the spell, doesn't bounce it back.
150% of the amount the offensive spell was cast for

Hurling Hex - Ictus - pushes or throws your opponent backwards
Jelly Legs Jinx - Tremulus - makes your opponent's legs all wobbly like jelly
Leek Ear Jinx - Allium Auris - causes leeks to sprout from your opponent's ears
Stinging Hex - Aculetus - causes a painful stinging sensation

How to Duel

Duelling at Staffs and Sticks is not like duelling throughout the rest of Potter's Army. It is a sport. There are rules you must abide by in character and out.

Beginning your duel

To begin your duel, you must be a Staffs and Sticks member. You can sign up for membership here.

Okay, now you're a member you can start your duel. You can either start a thread, or join someone else's thread. All duelling threads at S&S are open by default.

Once you and someone else have posted in the thread, you must wait for an adjudicator to formally start your duel. In your opening post, you might like to describe them doing things like bowing, since we know these formalities are part of magical duelling.

How To Duel

Duelling is a partly RP based, and partly stats-based system.

When they join the club, your character is given 30 defence points if they are an adult, or 15 defence points if they are a Hogwarts student.

Your attack points are determined by a roll of the dice. Check the topic for an explanation of how the dice roller works. All new duellists will roll one die only.

A duelling post consists of:

• Your character's RP with a minimum word count of 75 words as per site regulations.
  
• The equation recording your character's defence points (explained below)
  
• The attack spell your character cast
  
• The number of hits your character has taken
  
• A dice roll (don't forget to roll the dice! You can't edit it in later)

Once the adjudicator has started the duel, either character may post "first blood". First blood allows the character to attack without defending (as there is nothing to defend against).

After that, characters continue to post in turns, casting one defence spell and one attack spell per turn. The only change is if you choose to allow your character to take a hit, in which case taking the hit takes the place of the defence spell.

RPing a dodge or missed spell counts toward your hit counter. Three hits causes your character to become too weakened to continue duelling. The same happens if you run out of defence points. You may also forfeit your duel at any point.

Experience gained through practising duelling, participating in competitions and writing outstanding RPs causes your character to become more experienced. As your character becomes more experienced they can get more defence points, gain access to more spells and attack more powerfully.

Example tallies:

First blood:

15 - 0 (first blood) = 15
0 hits
stinging hex

defending post:

Say the person rolled a 5 for their spell. You defend for 150% of that amount, which means multiplying it by 1.5. 5 x 1.5 = 7.5 Round up to 8 to defend.

30 - 8 = 22
0 hits
hurling hex

The result, 22, is your new amount of defence points that you use in your next tally.

taking a hit:

15 - 0 (hit) = 15
1 hit
leek ear jinx