The Royal Academy of Bards' Challenge #3...
Yes, Amphipolis, There Is A Xena Claus
is now underway.

Writing Premise #1:
Write a Solstice story (using XWP-Xenaverse characters),
any length/any style (prose/verse/play—gen/alt),
which contains at least 10 of the following 20 elements:

1- A penguin
2- Handcuffs
3- The number 42
4- “What She Said”
5- A dartboard
7- A Xena Convention
8- Watermelon
9- Fuzz
10- Suspenders
11- Baby Booties
12- A red ribbon
13- A crown
14- A Siamese cat
15- The color purple
16- A dog biscuit
17- A dumbbell
18- Leather pants
19- A bouquet of daisies
20- A tattoo
21- An egg

Writing Premise #2:
Write a story (uber or original fiction), solstice/holiday (in the winter or
Christmas/New Years-time frame), any length/any style (prose/verse/play—
gen/alt),
which contain at least 10 of the following 20 elements:
1- A kite
2- Squid
3- A pink nightie
4- A whip
5- Black Powder
7- The name “Tobias”
8- A lock pick
9- “I have many skills”
10- A sand spider
11- A lyre
12- Spitting fire
13- A saddlebag
14- A scroll
15- A golden apple
16- A hickey
17- A campfire
18- A candle
19- A Mother
20- A horseshoe
21- An inn

The items must be used in a coherent manner and as an integral part of the
context of the story. The Academy will spot the Bard an extra point (vote)
for every two items included over the 10 item requirement.

I will award an extra surprise goodie to any/all Bards that manage to use all
20 items in a story.

Yes, there are 20…because everyone knows…
all together now…
in the Xenaverse...there is no number 6!

Graphics Premise #3: Our brand new category
Design the Solstice/Holiday card (cover image) and write the inside sentiment
that any character(s) in the Xenaverse (you choose) would send to
her/his/their friends.

For example:
Design a Solstice card that Ephiny would send out to all her friends or to a
particular friend
Or
Design a Solstice card that Ares would send out to one or more of his
friends, if he had any <.g.>
Or maybe
Design a Solstice/Holiday card that an Uber character (or characters) would
send to his/her/their friends (very important, see rule #4 below)

The cover image may be created in whatever medium the artist wishes to use…
hand drawing, montage, photos, clip art, etc.

Please submit your entry as a single image jpeg (with front and inside
side-by-side) and keep it under 125kb.

~~~()()()*()*()*()*()()()~~~

RULES:

RULE #1A: A Bard may enter as many of the 3 categories as they wish…but no
more than one entry per category. The writing categories will be posted
anonymously, as in the past challenges.
RULE #1B: Please do not reveal your participation to anyone who has the
potential for being a voter.
RULE #1C: Please do not post any of your entries on any other sites or lists
(private or public) until the end of the contest.
RULE #1D: Please do not stuff the ballot box…we at the Academy have gotten
very good at identifying this behavior. We won’t publicly embarrass you but
we will quietly eliminate you from the contest.
RULE # 2: In the writing categories, please underline the required words.
There is no limit on how long or how short the entry must be, only that it
contain a minimum of 10 words from the respective list. Remember, items must
be used in a coherent manner and be an integral part of the story.
RULE # 3A: If you are entering the graphics category, please sign your work.
These will not be posted anonymously. Many artists have a particular style,
which will be quite evident…<.shrug.>.. so we won’t bother with anonymous
posting.
RULE # 3B: Voting rules will still be the same, even though the graphics
category is not anonymous, so please do not lobby for votes on any other
lists (private or public).
RULE # 3C: Please do not post your entry on any other site until after the
contest is over.
RULE # 4: In the graphics category you may use Uber Characters but with these
limits:
(a)they must be "popular" fan fiction uber characters...well known and easily
recognizable by many or at least by...
The Official All Powerful "Roools Committee"
Steph, Ms Mighty Munchkin
Cadryn, the expert techno elf
Ruth, the missing at the moment <.g.>
and
I, the great OZ
AND/OR
must include story specifics to make them easily recognizable as belonging to
a particular fan fiction piece.
(b)they cannot be original fiction characters
**for example, Missy's Dar & Kerry are a "yes" but Mary D's Eva & Zoe

are a "no"
(c)The "Roools Committee" reserves the final say on anything being included
which is outside the standard XWP-Xenaverse realm.

Email us which particular Uber characters you would like to use and we can
give you the specific "yay" or "nay". Okay?

~~~()()()*()*()*()*()()()~~~

PRIZES:
Each of the three Category Winners (and one Honorable Mention)
will receive their choice of
one of the following autographed pictures:
Claire Stansfield as Alti or
Alex Tydings as Aphrodite or
Hudson Leick as Callisto or
Paris Jefferson as Athena or
LL as Xena (two photos to choose from).

The Category Winner with the highest amount of votes will choose first,
followed by the next highest, and then the third highest.
The honorable mention, which would be the
next highest total vote getter,
would then choose between the remaining photos.

The Overall Winner (as top vote getter) will also receive a
dual signed (LL/ROC) classic X&G photo.

JPEGs of the prize photos will be available for all the winners to
peruse prior to the final prize pick.

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:
You have until
November 18, 2001
(Midnight, Pacific Time)
to send your entry or entries
(and please be sure to include your correct contact info)
to the Royal Academy of Bards,
at
academy_contest@yahoogroups.com

Voting will commence shortly after the deadline date
and will run for a period of time to be determined
by the number of total entries.

This information will be announced prior to the deadline date.

Good Luck Everyone!

Phyllis aka WarriorNutcase
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Questions/comments/loophole identification to
WarriorNutcase@aol.com

Official BC#3 site:
http://www.academyofbards.org/contest/challenge3

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