RULES
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Last Modified: June 11, 2004 You may want to print these out or save them as a text file. The rules are all subject to change at any time. Keep an eye on the last modified date. And pay close attention to any charts. WRESTLERS All Wrestler's particulars (StATS, Moves, Skills, Items) will be private. Each week, a handler will receive an email for each of his Wrestlers giving all relevant details. Some details of the Wrestlers will be public, however, and available to anyone who views the site. This will include things like the Wrestler's current ranking, win/loss record, Level, and any Titles held. Currently, we are allowing each handler to manage up to 2 Wrestlers. If you only want to manage 1, that's fine, but since you always run the risk of being injured, it might be a good idea to keep 2 Wrestlers going at all times, even if you keep one Inactive. EXPERIENCE A Wrestler starts his career with very limited experience (EXP). As he wrestles, he gains EXP. The highest EXP rewards are given for beating very skilled opponents and winning Titles, but a Wrestler will even gain EXP for losing a match. (albeit much less) Between cards, a Wrestler can spend his earned EXP, buying wrestling Moves, match Skills, or even Items that can help him. Costs for everything are displayed in the relevant sections. EXP is non-transferrable! You cannot loan, trade, or give EXP to any other Wrestler. LEVELS All Wrestlers start out as a Jobber, or Level 1 performer. As a Wrestler gains EXP, he can advance in levels. Advancing in Levels allows a Wrestler to become more powerful, and allows him to compete for more illustrious Titles.
Notes: EXP Needed is Lifetime EXP. Even if a Wrestler has spent all of his current EXP, he may still be eligible for the next Level. Level is based on the lifetime EXP received by a Wrestler. Any time after a Wrestler earns the EXP needed, he can buy the "Gain Level" Item to increase to the next Level. This way, a Wrestler can stay at a certain level until he feels that he is able to compete at the next Level. But, because of the StATS maximums for each Level, a Wrestler will be limited in just how powerful he can become. This allows Wrestlers to "hang around" at lower Levels, and experiment without the fear of getting in over their head. A starting Wrestler (Jobber) has 32 StATS points and can only acquire 8 more before he reaches his cap. After that, the only way to continue to increase StATS is to move up to Rookie Level. When buying a Level, a Wrestler gets the benefits immediately. For example, a Jobber with the following StATS has enough lifetime EXP to become a Rookie: He wants to increase his STR, but is at the limit. So, he sends in a strat in which he buys "Gain Level", as well as increasing his STR by 3 points. (as he has quite a few EXP to spare) He is able to go up a level and increase a stat in the same week. He is unable to buy a Move that requires an 18 STR this week. Next week, however, that Move will be available to him. POPULARITY Popularity (POP) is a guide to how liked or disliked a Wrestler is by the audience. Bad guys (Heels) will have negative POP and good guys (Faces) will have positive POP. There are advantages and disadvantages of being either a Heel or a Face. Some examples of actions that will modify POP are below. (Int = Interference)
Note: These charts should be used as a general guideline and are not exact figures. StATS All Wrestlers have ability statistics (StATS) that describe their composition. They are: Strength (STR) Agility (AGI) Technique (TEC) Stamina (STA) There are restraints as to a Wrestler's StATS. As a Wrestler gets stronger, he becomes less technically proficient. And as he becomes more agile, his stamina is reduced, and vice versa. This is more clear when you look at the stat maximums below. Note, that this is for Legends. Refer to the table under the Level section for level-specific maximums. STR + TEC = 60 (max) There is no single stat maximum, but by the above you can infer that the maximum any stat can go to is 59, since 1 is the minimum any stat can go to. So, a Wrestler with a STR of 59 would have a pitiful TEC of just 1. He might be strong, but he would be limited to only the simplest of Moves. These maximums should not hinder a wrestler who is just starting out, but as experience is spent to increase StATS, you will have to keep these in mind. When the total of one of your stat pairs reaches the limit, you can only increase one of those StATS by decreasing its pair. For example, Joe is a Legend with 35 AGI and 25 STA (giving him the max total of 60), and wants to increase his STA by 2 points. In order to do this, his AGI will have to be reduced by the same 2 points.
A Wrestler can only increase his StATS by up to 5 points per week, maximum. When hitting a paired limit the opposite stat automatically goes down. There is no cost for this. Changes in StATS will take effect before the Wrestler's next match. But, you do not immediately gain the benefit of stat increases for the purposes of Move requirements. For example, Joe wants to buy Powerslam, but his STR isn't high enough. This week he increases his STR to the necessary level. Next week, with his newfound STR, Joe is able to buy Powerslam. (provided he has enough EXP) HEALTH Health is a derived from the following formula: Health = STR + AGI + TEC + STA So, a Wrestler with double the stat total of another could roughly take twice as much damage in the ring. A wrestler starts a match at 100% health unless he's injured. (the more serious the injury, the lower the initial Health) Health decreases as a Wrestler takes damage from moves, and the lower the value is, the higher the chances of him getting pinned or submitting. Health is slowly recovered during the match as well (modified by Stamina), and this can be sped up by certain Items/Skills. MOVES What is a Wrestler without wrestling Moves? All Wrestlers have a base set of Moves, so that even newly created Jobbers can compete. But the basic Move set is very limited, and in order to advance up that ladder, a Wrestler is going to want a more competitive movelist. EXP can be spent to buy Moves, provided that the Wrestler's StATS are sufficient. The base set of Moves is static. These are the Moves with zero cost in the movelist. Each Wrestler has these moves and they cannot be changed. When a Wrestler buys new Moves, however, he can customize them. Each Move has 7 text descriptions in the LWA database that are used when the matches are generated; 3 for successful hits, 3 for misses, and 1 for a critical hit. When a Wrestler hits, for example, the application randomly picks one of the 3 hit texts to display. Here is a sample: Move: Punch Asterisks (*) will be replaced by the name of the Wrestler who is performing the move. Question marks (?) will be replaced by the defending Wrestler. This is all taken care of by the match simulation application. Here's how the Punch Move would work in an actual match: Joe Generic nails The Giraffe with a Punch. In the example, Joe hit his opponent with a Punch. The Giraffe tried for two Punches of his own, but missed, then Joe hit a critical Punch in the fourth line. Ok, this is all a little boring, but that's because these two are only using a single Move. The LWA database contains hundreds of Moves, and each can be completely customized by the Wrestler who buys them. You are only limited by the movelist and your imagination. When a Wrestler buys a new move, he can fully customize it, or he can leave it at all defaults. For example, Joe Generic has a few EXP to spare, so he decides to update his Moves. He buys two Moves; Suplex, which he leaves at the defaults, and Bodyslam, which he decides to customize. Check the section on strats to determine the exact syntax for customizing Moves. Here's what Joe sends in for a strat: M - Suplex Joe has decided to send in the same text description for all 3 hit texts, as well as all 3 miss texts. If he wasn't so lazy, he could have sent in 3 completely different texts to hit, and another 3 different texts to miss. Now, when Joe does a Suplex in a match, it will use the base database text, but whenever Joe uses a Bodyslam, he'll actually be using his own version. Let's look at that matchup again with Joe's new Moves: The Giraffe Jabs Joe Generic in the face! That's a little more exciting, isn't it? In this one, Joe took a Punch in the face (remember, one of the Punch texts actually called it a jab, which is perfectly reasonable), then turned on the offense. He hit Giraffe for a Suplex, a Punch of his own, then a critical Generic Slam. A few points to be aware of when customizing moves:
M - Piledriver This is a wrestling game, not GTA. The Prez will ignore any customized Moves that are too ludicrous. If in doubt, email the Prez, or post them to the OOC board and ask people's opinions there. Also don't imply things that don't actually happen. For instance, stating in your move text that you break your opponent's arm just makes you look stupid when he then punches you with his supposedly broken arm. Customized Moves are not the same as Finishers. Customized Moves perform exactly like their originals. Joe's Generic Slam will do the same damage as a Bodyslam. Finishers, on the other hand, are very powerful Moves that a Wrestler can use to put his opponent away. You buy Finishers under the Items list, but you would add your own custom text descriptions like you would a customized move. SINCE A FINISHER IS A UNIQUE MOVE, YOU MUST INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS. A Finisher will do serious damage (more even than the most powerful regular Moves), it will turn the Tide in a match significantly, and there is a much higher chance that a Wrestler will follow up a Finisher with a pin attempt. For balance reasons, submission Finishers would do less damage, but might cause a submission or even an Injury. Pinning Finishers (PerfectPlex for example) would also do less damage because they have a 100% chance of causing a pin attempt. Take a look at the Move page for all the specific Moves and their costs and requirements. SKILLS Skills are abilities that help a Wrestler in a match. There are some neutral Skills, but most are designed for either Heels or Faces. Some Skills are permanently on, but most are only used once in a match. When they are used, a Wrestler can turn the tide in a match. Although the Heel Skills are usually cheaper and/or more effective, most of them run the risk of causing a disqualification for the Heel who uses them. Take a look at the Skills page for all the specifics. ITEMS The Items name is slighly misleading. Items are comprised of physical Items that a Wrestler can buy (ring outfits, pyrotechnical intros, etc) as well as talents that make them more competitive. Some Items are one-shot, meaning that the Wrestler uses them the same week that he buys them, such as Interference. Other Items are permanent, and help out a Wrestler until they are sold. Look at the Items page for specifics. HEAT Heat is affected by things like winstreak, Heels injuring Faces, Faces wrestling injured, Press conferences, and Titles held. Heat provides a small benefit to a match, and can vary wildly from week to week. A weaker Wrestler might beat a more powerful Wrestler if he's currently hot. Heat will be a public variable, and will be reflected in the fed Rankings. MATCHES Everything about the Wrestler leads to one thing: competing in wrestling Matches. Matchups are determined by the application that runs the LWA. A text-based description of the matches will be generated and posted each week. Whether you win or lose comes down to your StATS, Moves, Skills, Items, potential Interferences, and a healthy dose of lady luck. All matches are singles matches with no time limit and no countouts. RANKINGS Rankings are determined by win/loss record and winstreak. Winstreak allows wrestlers to climb the chart more quickly as the season progresses. The Rankings will determine just who receives Title shots. Take a look at the Ranking page to get the full picture of the fed at any given time. TITLES The goal of all Wrestlers should be the acquisition of Titles. In addition to providing boosts to POP, Title wins and defenses provide much needed EXP. To keep the fed balanced, Wrestlers will only be able to vie for Titles within their Level range. Champions whose Level increases out of the Title range will be forced to forfeit the Title and must set their sights on the next Title up the ladder.
Since there is no Level above Legend, Legends can compete for the World Title until they retire, get fired, or decide to Crest. INJURIES Injuries are a big part of wrestling. Injuries most likely happen in the ring and the severity will determine the time it will take to heal. An injured wrestler can choose to either fight through his injuries, or take time off until they heal. All POP and EXP gained while injured is higher, (the percentage depends on the severity of the injury) so there are advantages to fighting through an injury. Faces will find it easier to fight through an injury than Heels. Unfortunately, the chance of worsening an injury also exists, along with the potential to receive a career-ending injury. You can only receive a career-ending injury if you choose to fight through an existing injury. SCHEDULE The LWA operates on a seasonal basis. A Season starts with all win/loss records at zero and may or may not have existing Title holders. If Titles are vacant, Title matches will be sanctioned when there are enough competitors of the correct Level range to compete. Each week a card is posted, and all active Wrestlers will compete on each card. The current LWA card is Monday Night Blackened.
As soon as the card is posted and the lineup for the next show, Handlers are free to start sending in strats for the next one. When a Season is over, the champions remain champions unless they retire or get fired for being inactive. All win/loss records are wiped, except for your lifetime W/L. There is a one (1) week break between seasons to set up new rankings and hand out awards. There may also be end of season special events like Tournaments. In this case, the break between seasons will be longer. Check out the Schedule page for specifics on the length of seasons, etc. AWARDS All awards have an EXP bonus attached to them, as well as a POP bonus. 1. Wrestler of the Season 2. Most Improved Wrestler 3. Champ 4. Jobber Award 5. Most Loved 6. Most Hated STRATS Each week, a wrestler may send in a strat. Feel free to send in as many as you like, but keep in mind that only the last one will be used. So, if you want to send in an interim strat because you're not sure if you'll get time to do a proper one, you can. Then, later you may send in a more detailed strat. The last strat sent in will be used, the others will be deleted! For instance, Joe Generic sends in a strat increasing his Strength 1 point. Then, before the deadline is up he realises that he wanted to buy a Skill. He sends in a new strat buying the Skill. After the card, Joe realises that his Strength hasn't gone up. That's because he forgot to add it to the second strat. I'll put this in caps because it's important: ONLY THE LATEST STRAT GETS READ. THE OTHERS GET DELETED. So each subsequent strat you send in should build upon the last one. If you wish for your Wrestler to become Inactive just send in a weekly strat with the word "INACTIVE" as the first line. (in all caps) To re-activate a Wrestler, just send in a strat with "ACTIVE" as the first line. Inactive Wrestlers will not be included in the Rankings and will not compete in matches. Wrestlers who are injured are automatically set to INACTIVE. If you wish your Wrestler to wrestle despite his injury, send in a strat with "WRESTLE INJURED" as the first line. (check the rules regarding wrestling injured before you do this) Wrestler activation and deactivation will take effect after the current card. So, once the lineup for the next show is posted, you cannot get out of a match by going Inactive. If you send in an Inactive strat, you will wrestle that match, then you will not be listed in the lineup for the next show. Active wrestlers who don't send in a strat will be on autopilot. There is no penalty for this, other than the fact that your Wrestler will not be spending his EXP, and thusly won't be as competitive as he could be. At the end of the Season, you will be asked if you want your Wrestler to continue in the LWA. Anyone who doesn't respond will be pruned from the system before the next Season starts. If you are going to be away for an extended period, it's best to set your Wrestler(s) to Inactive, and email The Prez to let him know how long you'll be out. Inactive wrestlers don't need to send in strats, but they can if they want. A wrestler can be using his time off to rework his gimmick even though he won't be competing in any matches. For instance, a Wrestler who came into a large amount of EXP in a single match could take some time off to build up his StATS. (since there is a limit to how many points a Wrestler can add in a given week) Storylinewise, the Wrestler disappears, then returns weeks later looking tan and rested. The only drawback of this (other than not wrestling) is that a Wrestler will quickly lose any Heat he had accumulated. When buying, pay close attention to the minimums and maximums for all Moves, Skills and Items. You cannot buy Items or Skills unless you meet the demands. Also, by changing your Wrestler's StATS, you may very well fall outside the range of some of your abilities. I won't be reminding you of this, it's up to you to keep track yourself. For example, a Wrestler who increases his POP might roll over into Face territory without realizing it. This will mean that some of his Heel Skills/Items may cease to function. Likewise, by increasing his TEC, a Wrestler's STR may go down and he might lose his ability to do a Powerslam. He can either sell the disabled Moves/Skills/Items at reduced EXP or hold onto them in case he shifts back. ALL REQUIREMENTS FOR SKILLS/MOVES/ITEMS ARE AT YOUR CURRENT STAT LEVELS! For example, Joe Generic wants a more powerful Move for his arsenal, but his TEC stat is too low. This week, he spends the EXP to increase his TEC, but even though he has enough EXP, he has to wait until next week to buy the new Move. But, stat levels will change before this week's match. So Joe will still get the benefits of a higher TEC in his match, but won't get a chance to gain his new Move until next week. To send a strat, send an email to The Prez in the following format. Please be exact, as any ambiguity in the strats will decrease the chances of it actually being used. Subject: [Wrestler Name] - [Show Date] Message Body SELLING: BUYING: Here's an example: Subject: Joe Generic - Aug. 2, 2004 SELLING: BUYING: Joe is getting rid of a couple of his power Moves because he's slowly shifting to a more high-flying repettoire. Since he's buying a new (more effective) Face Outfit, he's selling off his old one. He's increasing his Agility by 2 points, as well as actively defending his stablemate, Mr. Mojo in his upcoming title defense. When buying a Move to customize, you have to include more information. M - [Name of Move being bought] Read the Moves section if you're unsure what these text fields are. Example:
M - Bodyslam It's as simple as that. List the StATS, Moves, Skills, and Items that you are selling (if any), then list all the ones that you are buying. It's not necessary to include the cost. Since Joe is currently Active, there's no need to include "ACTIVE" in the message. If his Handler was going on vacation and wanted Joe to take some time off, then he would put the "INACTIVE" text in there. A Wrestler remains Inactive until he is re-activated. Most importantly, make sure everything adds up. The strat will be taken in the order that it's written. So, for example, if Joe's existing EXP plus the sale of his two Moves and one Item are insufficient to buy everything he's listed, he'll end up doing without the Defense Item and poor Mr Mojo will have to fend for himself. StATS are automatically reduced if you start reaching your limit, so you don't have to list them. Remember that you get zero EXP back for selling StATS, and reduced EXP for selling Moves, Skills, and Items. Check the lists to get the exact values, and don't go from memory as the lists will change as time goes on. STABLES A stable is a group of like-minded Wrestlers who live by the old adage of "strength in numbers". By teaming up, Wrestlers give themselves some advantages over the solo populace. A Wrestler can create or join a Stable by buying the appropriate Item. The Wrestler who creates the Stable is automatically made boss over that Stable. Although Stable members should try and organize their actions and maintain communication via email or whatever method they choose, the boss has absolute control over the Stable as far as the fed is concerned. Of course, if the boss doesn't act in the way his stablemates expect, he might find himself the owner of an empty Stable before too long. Stables act as an EXP pool of sorts. When stablemates win, everyone gets a small percentage of the EXP. (provided, of course, that the opponent isn't also a stablemate) When they lose, POP can be negatively effected (+ for Heels, - for Faces). It's possible to have Faces and Heels in the same Stable, but this can cause lots of problems. Basically, the majority rules when it comes to the direction of the Stable. If there are more Heels than Faces in a Stable, then it will be considered a Heel Stable. There cannot be a Neutral Stable, so if by some chance all members have zero POP, then it's considered a Face Stable. A stable can be set to "Open" (anyone who wants can join) or "Closed". Only Wrestlers who have a join offer from the boss can join closed Stables. Closed Stables will give slightly higher EXP bonus, the benefit of more exclusive membership. A Stable can always be opened by the boss, but once open, a Stable can never go back to closed status. If it doubt when creating a Stable, set it to closed. If you're having trouble finding members, then set it to open. If you absolutely want to close the Stable door, then you can always sell the open Stable and buy a new one, giving it the same name. (the members will have to rejoin, however) Wrestlers can leave a Stable at any time. You do not receive any EXP back when you leave. The boss can kick a wrestler out of a Stable at any time. This affects his POP (+ for Heel, - for Face), however. Kicking a member who doesn't fit the stable (ie, a Face in a stable of Heels) can actually be beneficial for the Boss's POP (- for Heel, + for Face). CRESTING The LWA is constantly evolving in an attempt to create a balanced game. It has to be possible for rookies to make their way up the ladder. It also has to be possible for established Wrestlers to kick the tar out of these newcomers. New players will be coming in, but what happens to the players at the top? Hopefully there will be enough Skills, Moves, and Items for Legends to amuse themselves once their StATS are maxed out. (with more being added all the time) Logic would imply that the longer the fed stays open, the bigger the logjam at the top of the rankings. Obviously some Wrestlers will retire or go on an extended hiatus. But there is an option for a Wrestler to go back down the ladder, and that's what Cresting is all about. The current system is thus. After a Wrestler fulfills the following critera, they will be eligible to Crest: 1. StATS Maxed Out. (all four add up to 120 points) When a Wrestler Crests, the Handler re-selects his base StATS and Moves as if he was starting the Wrestler from scratch. But a Crested Wrestler gains certain benefits. Stat maximum is higher for Crested Wrestlers, certain special Skills, Items, and Moves are only available to Crested Wrestlers, etc. Crested Wrestlers use a different Level table. A Crested Legend has the potential to be the most powerful Wrestler in the fed.
There are also the bragging rights that go along with it. A Crested Wrestler should get respect for his achievements, having already been at the top of the heap and now rebuilding his career. Additional levels of Cresting may be implemented in the future. |
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