September 2016 contest - Research material

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Morgaln
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September 2016 contest - Research material

Post by Morgaln »

After a nice morning outside, taking a walk with some of your creatures, you come back into the Keep. As you cross the hall, a note sticking to one of the columns catches your eye, and you step closer to read what it says:

"Want to help our research?
Are you good at growing creatures?
Then come to us at noon, meeting room B-5"


Your interest piqued by the somewhat cryptic note, and since you have no other obligations at the mentioned time, you decide to check it out.

You're not the only one showing up at the meeting room at noon. A good-sized number of other magi have also appeared, chatting and sharing ideas and speculations. In the back of the room, a group of about half a dozen magi in durable robes designed for work are standing, conferring among themselves. You guess they are the researchers that called the meeting. From where you are standing, it appears that there is a small argument going on between them, that ends when one of them is gently but firmly pushed towards the gathered crowd. She's a dark-haired woman, with a reddish tinge to her skin that marks her as hailing from the plains separating Raza from the Arkene.

"Ahem, hello," she starts hesitantly, clearly not accustomed to speaking in front of a crowd, and an expectant silence falls over the assembled magi.

"Thank you all for coming. My name is Elvira; me and my colleagues are doing research into the growth cycle and development of creatures. Unfortunately, we have been stalled on our work a bit, since we haven't been able to find creatures of the stages we need."
With a nervous gesture, she brushes a strand of hair out of her face, then continues:

"We asked Master Belmos, but the Nursery doesn't have what we need either. He said a lot of people in the Keep are very helpful and suggested we ask you.


"What we are looking for are hatchlings at very specific points in their growth. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to recognize the correct stage and I can't really explain it, so you would have to bring in your hatchlings for inspection to see if they are suitable. It doesn't matter what species your creature is, any will do.

"If your hatchling is what we are looking for, we'll use it for our studies. We won't need to keep it, the necessary examinations will only take a few hours. You can stay and watch if you want, but it's a non-invasive procedure."

Meeting the blank stares of a few of the magi, she hurriedly adds:

"That means we won't stick anything into your hatchling or do anything else harmful to it. There's no need to be concerned about your creature's wellbeing."

"Anything I forgot?" she asks, turning to her co-workers. One of them leans over and whispers something, and she turns back to the crowd.

"Oh, right, um, our research funds are limited, but we can pay you a little bit for your help. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. So, anyone interested?"



Hello and welcome to our new contest. This one is a bit complicated, so listen carefully and don't hesitate to ask if something is unclear.

The goal of this contest is to enter the single lowest percentage hatchling in the contest. That means the hatchling you enter must not only have a low percentage, you must be the only one who entered a hatchling of that particular percentage in the contest.
For example, if among the entries are three hatchlings at 0.00%, five at 0.01%, one at 0.02% and two at 0.03%, the person who entered the hatchling at 0.02% would win, as it is the lowest number that has only been entered once.
Therefore, while you should of course aim for low percentages, you will have to take a gamble on your entries.

Here are the rules:
  • This contest only works if your entries are hidden from other people. Therefore, Test User Mach 3 has been volunteered to accept trades with entries. To enter a creature, start a trade with Test User Mach 3 and put the hatchling in it. You don't have to confirm the trade, just initiating it and putting the creature inside will be enough to join.
    Please make sure to put "Competition entry" into the trade notes.
  • The creatures you enter must have been born after this contest started. This creature that I just caught from the stream will act as our time stamp. In order for an entry to be eligible, the creature number must be higher than this one's. In other words, if you already own a creature when you read this, it's not eligible. Get a new egg instead.
  • You may enter up to three hatchlings. If you put more than that into your trade, the top three hatchlings in that trade will be considered the valid entries and all others disregarded. No matter how many hatchlings you enter, you can only win one prize.
  • There are no restrictions on species, anything is allowed.
  • Entries can be either frozen or unfrozen.
  • You can change your entries up until the end of the contest by adding or removing creatures from the trade.
  • Your creature, whether it wins a prize or not, will not be taken from you. Once judging is over, TestUserMach3 will cancel all the trades and you'll then be allowed to do whatever you want with those creatures.
  • It's probably unnecessary to mention this, but don't put up a public link to the creature(s) you entered and don't tell anyone what percentages you entered. You'll give other players an advantage over you if you do that.
  • The contest will run until September 25, 11:59 pm EDT.
  • There will be three prizes, for the three single lowest percentages: 5 shards for the lowest, 3 shards for the second lowest and 2 shards for the third lowest.
  • Members of the MS team are not eligible to enter this contest.
  • Previous monthly contest winners will not be eligible to win again for TWO MONTHS.
For discussion, complaints or questions, please go here.
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