Quidditch Rules & Guide

Hello ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Quidditch Pitch! As with any sport, magical or Muggle, Quidditch has rules and guidelines that players must follow. This thread serves the purpose of introducing the game, stating the rules, and guiding players for both official and unofficial matches. Please make sure you read the information provided--entirely--before participating in any Quidditch Match.


Quidditch is played by two teams of seven players: one Keeper, one Seeker, two Beaters, and three Chasers. Here at AHE, the Quidditch Pitch is a part of Hogwarts and is located on the school's grounds.

The Quidditch Cup is a prize contested by each of our four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The winning team is determined by the most victories throughout the school year. If two teams have won the same amount of games, then a tie-breaking match will determine the winning team for the Quidditch Cup.

Additionally, a Championship game will commence at the end of the year. The team with the most points will play the team with the least amount of points. There will be a prize of House Points and a special item given to each member of the team that wins the Championship. The losing team will receive house points.



General Rules

• Arguing with a referee or any other match official is strictly forbidden. If a player publicly argues with a referee or match official, the opposing team will receive 10 points for the match.
• Interfering with a game that you are not a part of is forbidden. This means that you cannot aid a team win through pointers, proof-reading, editing, etc.
• Do NOT display hostile behavior towards any other team privately or publicly.
• ALL AHE RULES APPLY

Official Rosters

Rosters
Each team must have seven starting players. Additionally, each team is allowed a maximum of four reserve players (substitutes). Team rosters should be Owled to MADAM HOOCH by the Team Captain, no later than 11:59 pm EST one day before any official house team match that is scheduled to begin. So, if the match starts on 9/5/18, rosters should be sent by 11:59 pm AHE on 9/4/18.

Each team's roster should include the following for each player:


At the start of each match, a coin toss will determine which team will start the game. The team who sends their roster first and in time will get to choose between heads and tails. If the coin lands on heads, the team who chose or is assigned to heads will start the match.

*NOTE: Any member of a House Quidditch Team must roleplay the same Quidditch player throughout the entire match. Characters can be changed after a game has been concluded. This means that while you must RP the same character through one match, the next match you can RP an entirely different character. The Match lasts for 10 rounds with a possible 2 round addition in overtime.

Missing Roster Deadlines
If a team misses the deadline for submitting their roster, that team will be docked 1 point from ALL of their first round role plays. If both sides miss the deadline, no points will be deducted.

If a team fails to submit their roster on time and it causes a game to start a day late, the opposing team will start the match and will be awarded 20 points (as if two goals were made). The 20 points will be added to the House Points prize granted to the team.

If a team fails to submit their roster by 11:59 pm EST on the day of the official match, that team will forfeit, and the opposing team will be awarded 175 points.

While winning and losing a match will award House Points to each team, in the event of a forfeit, the team that forfeits will not receive any points.

Posting Color, Order, and Trivia Questions
Each round of an official match will last for roughly 32 hours and will follow a strict posting order. It is up to the team's captain and his or her teammates to determine who will post during which time slots.

For each odd numbered round

For each even numbered round

Each Team will be assigned a hex color code at the beginning of a match. Each player must write their posts in the color provided. For example:

Gryffindor must write in red specified by this particular hex color code value #ff0000. To write in Red, the player must highlight the entire text in the forum's text editor and use the color BBCode formatting option by selecting the color wheel just after the "Font Size" selection drop-down menu. Then, the player can enter the numbers from the hex color code they were given at the beginning of the round. Be sure to type the number without the # sign.

Alternatively, the player can add the following tag and just change the color's number value, then type their response:

[font color="#ff0000;"]TEXT HERE[/font]

---

32 Hour Post Schedule

Matches will begin at 5 pm EST time the day a match is scheduled to begin. However, if there is an issue with receiving team rosters on time, the match will begin at 5 pm on the day following the originally scheduled match. Here are when posts should be made:


Time slots will be assigned and announced at the beginning of each round. Posts can only be made by players during their team's assigned time to post for that round. Again, it is up to the team's Captain and his or her teammates to determine which of their team members will take which slots for a particular match.

*NOTE: Posts are NOT allowed to be early or late. They must be on time and within their appropriate time slot. They must be made by a member of the team assigned to the slot. 

In an effort to stay on time and communicate faster during the match, please remember that you can also utilize your house's specific Discord channel (text or voice) to remind team members to post within the allotted time frame.  Logging in and maintaining a presence via Discord will specifically come in handy when your match is in session.  A reminder should be posted in your team's board, by the team Captain or Head of House, before your upcoming games.

Game Mechanics

Health Points (HP)
Each player will start with 10 HP. If a player reaches a level of 0 (zero) HP, they will be sent to the Hospital Wing, removed from the match, and a reserve (substitute) player will take their place. They will not be able to return to the match until after three rounds of play.

HP can be deducted for Bludger hits and fouls. Players will lose 2 HP for each Bludger that hits them. One to three points will be deducted from a player's HP for a foul. See below:

• Posting out of turn (- 2 HP)
• Breaking a rule (- 3 HP)
• Using Unforgivable curses [you know what they are] (- 3 HP)
• RP surpasses the allowed word count (- 1 HP)
• RP is under the required word count (- 1 HP)

Rounds of Play
There is a maximum of 10 rounds of play per match. Each round is limited to 8 posts which are equal to four posts per team.

As stated previously, each round will last for 32 hours. Rounds will begin at 5 pm EST and end at 12:59 am 32 hours later. There will be a twenty-four-hour period of no play in between rounds. This will allow the referees and match officials to score and judge RPs and plays.

When a match is in review mode or judging mode, the thread will be locked, and players will not be able to respond. After match officials have totaled the scores for each player, the scores will be posted. The match will be unlocked and open to posting once the next round has begun.

Ending the Match
The match ends when a Seeker catches the Golden Snitch. The winner will be determined based on the total points earned by each team throughout the match. If a seeker does not catch the Snitch within ten rounds of play, the team with the most points will win the match.

If a Seeker does not catch the Snitch in 10 rounds of play and both teams are tied in points, the match will go into overtime, adding two additional rounds. Should the Snitch not be caught and points are tied at the end of the overtime rounds, the match will be a draw.

*NOTE: House points will be divided evenly amongst each team member that participates in a match. That said, goal points will be awarded to the individuals who made the goals during the match and those points will not be shared with the members of the team.

Keepers

Each team has one Keeper. Their job is to guard the three goal posts and try to stop the other team's chasers from scoring goals.

Actions

• Catch Quaffle (5 pt)
  
  The success of a Quaffle catch made by a Keeper is determined by the following

If the player's total points are not ≥ 32, the action will have failed, and the opposing team's chaser will have scored a point.

Chasers

There are three chasers per team. Chasers control the Quaffle and attempt to get it through the goal hoops in the opposing team's Keeper Zone. During matches, each goal is worth 10 points. At the end of the game, each goal made by a chaser will award the chaser 500 House Points.

Actions

• Pass Quaffle (5pts)
  
  Chasers are permitted to pass the Quaffle to another player. However, should they pass the Quaffle, they must state to whom they are passing the Quaffle.
• Intercept Quaffle (5pts)
  
  Chasers are permitted to intercept the Quaffle after a chaser from the opposing team has passed the Quaffle and the Quaffle is in motion.
• Shoot Quaffle (5pts)
  
  A Chaser can Shoot the Quaffle in an attempted to score a goal.

The success of a pass, interception, or shot is determined by the following:
If the player's total points are not ≥ 32, the action will have failed, and the Quaffle is assumed as dropped.

Beaters

Each team has two Beaters. They are the only players on the Pitch that carry bats. Their job is to keep Bludgers away from their teammates while at the same time, try to aim the Bludgers at the opposing team.

Actions

• Offensive Deflect (5pts)
  
  An offensive deflect can be performed by a Beater. When a Beater deflects the Bludger towards a player of the opposing team, it is considered an offensive deflect.
• Defensive Deflect (5pts)
  
  A defensive deflect can be performed by a Beater. When a Beater deflects the Bludger out of play and not towards another player, it is considered a defensive deflect.

The success of a deflect is determined by the following:
If the player's total points are not ≥ 32, the action will have failed, and the player will have been hit with a Bludger.

*NOTE: If a player is struck by a Bludger, the player loses 2 HP, and any actions the player took that round is interrupted.

Seekers

Each team has one Seeker. The Seeker's job is to spot and catch the Golden Snitch. A team whose Seeker catches the Snitch is awarded 150 house points during the match and ends the game.

Seekers do not come into play until after the third round. A random number generator will be used to determine when the Seeker is allowed to enter into play. That random number will determine which round the Seeker can first spot the Snitch.

Actions

• Spot Snitch (5pts)
  
  Seekers can spot the Snitch as an action. This is where they see the Snitch.
• Catch Snitch (5pts)
  
  Seekers can catch the Snitch to end the game.

The success of spotting or catching the snitch is determined by the following:
If the player's total points are not ≥ 32, the action will have failed, and the player will not have spotted or caught the snitch.

Round Trivia
Each round there will be eight assigned trivia questions. The player who posts in that designated area's time slot must answer the question. Correct answers are worth 10 points. Wrong answers will lose you 10 points.

• You must answer the question on your own without the help of your teammates or other spectators.
• The Honor System is in full effect. This means we trust that you are not receiving help from teammates and spectators, you are not googling the answer, or peeking at books.
• The questions will be related to the Harry Potter books, movies, and interviews with J.K. Rowling. Therefore, you should try to brush up on your knowledge of these things BEFORE a match begins. There will be no hints given as to what questions will be asked nor to which slot they will be assigned.
• Players who are caught abusing the Honor System will lose 15 points from their score for that turn. If caught twice, the player will be removed from the match, and a reserve (substitute) player will take his or her place at the start of the next round. They will not be allowed to return to the match.

Role-Plays
AHE is a roleplaying forum. For that reason, Quidditch must be roleplayed.

Word Count
Roleplays cannot exceed 600 words, but also must include a minimum of 350 words.
Every 50 words over the allowed 600-word count maximum will result in a deduction of 2 points from the player's total points. Additionally, 2 points will be deducted for every 50 words under the 350-word count minimum.

Formatting Posts
At the beginning of a match, a color is announced for each team. Each player of that team must submit their posts written in the color provided. Please see the first post of this guide for reference.

Each player must include their RP followed by a horizontal rule. After the horizontal rule, the player must Name their action followed by their Trivia question's answer. See below for an example:

The Trivia Question: In which book is Mundungus Fletcher first mentioned?


*Note: We know the above RP sucks; it's just an example.

Editing Posts
Players are NOT allowed to edit their posts after they have been submitted in the match thread. If a player edits their post, they will lose 5 points from their total score for the round that the post was made.

RP Grading & Scoring
Role plays are scored out of 12 points.

Entertainment (4 points)
Is the role play interesting? Does it entertain the reader? If the referee enjoys it, it will likely score high.

Creativity (4 points)
Creative role plays are original. We do not want to see the same RPs over and over again. Be creative and show us something we may not have seen before.

Grammar, Spelling, & Readability (4 points)
Does the RP flow well? Are there any grammar or spelling errors? Role plays should flow well and pertain to the overall flow of the match. They should be free of grammatical and spelling errors.

*NOTE: Be sure to proof-read and edit your RP BEFORE posting it to a match thread. Please read the rules about editing posts to avoid losing points.

RP Grading & Scoring Rubric

Entertainment

Creativity

Grammar, Spelling, & Readability