Hi! Can I get some tips on how to start/run a roleplay that would revolve around some sort of Triwizard tournament?
Greetings, anonymous person. Thank you for your letter.
Tips? Maybe a few. I have never admined or been a part of a roleplay like this. However, I definitely have lots of questions for you to consider:
What is the tone of this tournament? Is it sinister? Is it in good fun? Be sure to set the tone with your color scheme and graphic design!
How many players are there? Are all characters in the tournament or are some merely spectators? Are some of the playable characters organizing the tournament or pulling the strings behind the scenes?
Who are the players? What makes them unique? Are they all school aged? Are there requirements that must be met for a character to be eligible for the tournament? Age restrictions? Blood status restrictions?
Do the players know each other? Do they spend time together outside of the tournament?
Are you starting with the tournament already in process with the players chosen or are you choosing your players based on application? If the plot starts with the players having not yet been chosen for the tournament, who will choose the players? Will they enter their names willingly or be forced to participate?
What are the stakes? If they have a choice, why should a player participate in the tournament?
What are the most basic rules of the tournament? Choose five or fewer core rules that every player must follow, such as tasks must be accomplished without outside help or all players must keep the tournament a secret. Keep the rules simple. You can always add more obscure restrictions or exceptions in later on a task by task basis.
What’s the prize? Money? A trophy? Entrance to an exclusive club or school? A job? A powerful leadership position? A marriage? The player’s life?
Is this tournament sanctioned by the government, or maybe run by it? Is it off the books? Is this something organized by the students themselves, or perhaps by a third party for something like an initiation or competition towards a grander purpose? For example, a competition between students for entrance into an exclusive private magical university or secret society.
If it’s a school thing, how many schools are participating? All of them? Just three? Is it an academic duel between schools?
Where is the location of the tournament? At a school? At some middle ground? At a government facility? At a changing, secret location that you have to solve a puzzle to even find?
Is the tournament open to the public to watch? Is it being reported about in the papers? Do the players become celebrities or are their identities kept secret?
What are the tasks? How many tasks are there? You could base them around the core academic courses, or the four elements, four seasons, seven deadly sins, five stages of grief, etc. etc.
How much magical skill is involved in completing the tasks? How much of it is bravery or intelligence or sheer dumb luck? Do the players get hints about tasks like the the Triwizard Tournament? Are they allowed to prepare in advance for the tasks or are they sort of just dropped into situations and expected to adapt or die, so to speak?
Are the tasks designed to reveal a larger intrigue in the plot? For example, does each task teach the players something they must learn or otherwise impart information to the players in order that they may achieve some larger goal? If they’re forced to participate in a tournament run by a secret organization, for example, maybe the tasks give hints about who the secret organization is and how they may be defeated.
Is someone tampering or otherwise interfering with the tournament? How does that affect the outcomes of the tasks? Do the players know someone is cheating? Do the players themselves cheat? In the Triwizard Tournament, cheating was unofficially expected. Is that so for your tournament? How do you plan to handle characters cheating from a roleplay mechanics standpoint? Will roleplayers have to tell the admin in advance how they plan to cheat and get permission?
Are there judges? Who or what are they? How are the players scored or measured against each other? Is there a point system where the people with the most points move on to the next task, or does everyone move forward and the points are tallied at the end of the tournament, or is it pass/fail?
What happens to the characters that lose? Can a player drop out? Could a player be kicked out of the tournament for any reason?
Can characters die in this tournament? Is that likely to happen?
How long of a waiting period is there between tasks in-game? What happens between the tasks? Are there events, plot drops, etc. to keep roleplayers busy even when they’re not participating in a task for the tournament?
Is there a dance or celebration that kicks off or concludes the tournament? Is there something like the Yule Ball in there anywhere? Everyone likes a party!
What other traditions are associated with the tournament? The Triwizard Tournament has a Yule Ball and is judged by the heads of each school and has the Goblet of Fire to choose champions among other things. What are your tournament’s traditions? Maybe a masked ball on the night before the first task. Maybe alliances between players are traditional like in The Hunger Games.
You can look up books with tournaments or competitions in them. For example:
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Selection by Kiera Cass
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
You can also look into medieval tournaments for ideas. And, of course, read all about the Triwizard Tournament for inspiration or guidelines as well. Also look at the different protections guarding the Sorcerer’s Stone in book one. Herbology, Charms, Logic, Magical Creatures, and Potions are all represented there.
If I were you, I’d plan out what the tasks will be beforehand. Planning out the tasks gives you a clear direction and will help you create the overarching plot. Plan the tasks, and plan the events between like dances, trips to Hogsmeade, exams, Quidditch matches, etc.
I would give the roleplay a conclusion. When the tournament is over, the roleplay comes to an end. That doesn’t mean there can’t be a sequel roleplay, though! You could even plan for that!
You can really lay out the tasks in detail during event drops, maybe offer the roleplayers an ooc explanation of the end goal of the task and address how to get there for each character. It depends on how involved you want to be in crafting each character’s role in the plot, really.
I am usually available via chat here on Tumblr to talk over ideas if you’d like to contact me. Sometimes it helps to have a sounding board to bounce your ideas off of.
If you have been a part of or admined a Triwizard Tournament-type roleplay and would like to offer tips for the anon, a firsthand perspective would be much appreciated!
