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Equestrian States Info | Mizuyuki Info
Welcome to the fifty-eighth edition of the Baptism of Fire, hosted by the Hoofball Association of the Equestrian States and the Imperial Football Association of Mizuyuki! This tournament marks the beginning of the seventy-first cycle of the NationStates World Cup!
One of the best-known and most prestigious tournaments in all of NS Sports, the Baptism of Fire (or BoF) is one of the three competitions that make up the World Cup cycle. Only teams that have no KPB ranking (the NS Sports equivalent of the FIFA rankings) are allowed to take part in the BoF, meaning only nations who have never entered a World Cup. Sometimes these are brand new nations that are total newcomers to NationStates; sometimes they are veteran nations who are just trying sports roleplaying for the first time. As one of the World Cup Committee-sanctioned events, participants can gain their first KPB points here and begin their long journey to the top of the multiverse. Most importantly, the BoF is the grand gateway into the big fun world of the World Cup and all of the drama and excitement that comes with it.
But not only is the BoF important for beginning nations, it's followed and appreciated by the more experienced members of the NS Sports community. Why? Because roleplay (or RP) is one of the two determining factors for the success of participants (the other being pure luck), making the BoF unique among the forum's major tournaments. The unique qualities of the Baptism of Fire and an interest in seeing newcomers who will be part of our community's future mean you can assume you have the collective attention of the rest of the NS Sports forum.
RP well and RP often, and your players could end up hoisting the trophy at tournaments' end! As stated earlier, the only other thing you'll need is luck. The scorinators we use to generate results for tournaments here on NS Sports do use random numbers and - like in a game of cards - things don't always go your way. Margaret, the merciless Goddess of Randomness, will certainly make an appearance here before the BoF's conclusion, claiming scalps like she does in every single event on this forum.
This thread is where you should post your roleplays and team rosters, and is also where the hosts will eventually be posting their nation info, stadium assignments, and match results. Out-of-character questions, comments, or observations (including "tags" and "roster/RP placeholders") should not be posted here, and should instead be directed to the World Cup Discussion Thread or sent to the hosts via telegram as appropriate.
Group Draw
Group A
Frenline Delpha
Erbsted & Calcoon
Albagaria
Windsor Islands
San Llera
Varmelle
Group B
Flick Jostle
El Gregoria
Seventeen Syllables
Sylvackia
Affiliated South Califan Sprawls
Korchayk
Group C
Kazirstan
Vermark
Velstaende
Flardania
Matthewsiania
Eupheos Anetus
Group D
Maretta
The Sword Bloke
Pridnestrovia
Aynard
Fratton
Nurkama
Group E
Palfania
Sovereign-Socialist Republics
Szavoda
Walkany
The Hakifao Federation
Sargkisia
Group F
Walamzia
Waterandearthstan
Palmeria
Aloquirbe
Renatiem
Thibaut
Tournament Schedule
Group Stage
The group stage will consist of each team playing the others in their group once in a single round robin. Groups A-C will play in the Equestrian States and will be scorinated between 10:00 PM-Midnight EST (03:00-05:00 UTC). Groups D-F will play in Mizuyuki and will be scorinated between 4:00-5:00 PM MYT/MST (08:00-09:00 UTC). The top two teams from each group and the two best third place teams will advance directly to the Round of 16, the other four third place teams contesting seeded playoffs for the final two spots in the knockout rounds. Tiebreakers for the group stage are: points, H2H points, H2H goal difference, overall goal difference, H2H goals for, overall goals for, and drawing of lots (the result of which will be determined by a scorinated playoff with RP bonus taken into account).
Saturday, February 28: Match Day 1 - 1v6, 2v5, 3v4
Sunday, March 1: Match Day 2 - 6v4, 5v3, 1v2
Monday, March 2: Match Day 3 - 2v6, 3v1, 4v5
Tuesday, March 3: Match Day 4 - 6v5, 1v4, 2v3
Wednesday, March 4: Match Day 5 - 3v6, 4v2, 5v1
Playoff Stage
Following the group stage, the four third place teams which do not directly advance to the Round of 16 will compete in two seeded single-match playoffs to determine advancement in the tournament. Both playoff matches (including the one held ICly in Mizuyuki) will be scorinated by Equestrian States during his usual window between 10:00 PM-Midnight EST (03:00-05:00 UTC).
Thursday, March 5: Playoff
Knockout Stage
Saturday, March 7: Round of 16
Monday, March 9: Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 11: Semifinals
Friday, March 13: Third Place Playoff
Saturday, March 14: Final
New to NS Sports or roleplay in general? This section is for you.
First, if you’re new to the NS Sports forum, I strongly encourage you read the Guide to Sports Roleplaying as the guide does an excellent job of giving new participants a general idea of what to do and how tournaments generally work. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them on the discussion thread or by sending one of the hosts a telegram.
For those of you who want the basics, the first thing I’ll cover is the roster. A roster is - in its simplest form - a list of the names of your starting 11 players, what positions they play, and any reserve/bench players also on your team. However, many participants often include additional information on their players, manager/head coach, and other staff members, such as their backgrounds, club teams, physical traits, strengths and weaknesses, and really anything that might be relevant. Other things you might consider including in your roster are: formations, strategies/tactics, team background, traditions, kits/jerseys, fans, players' roles, team achievements, nicknames, or whatever other info you want your opponents to know about your team.
Second, you may want to include a style modifier with your roster, integers which range from -5 to +5 and give you some control over your team's results. A team that plays offensively, attacking more and focusing on scoring more goals at the cost of defense, should choose a positive style mod (anywhere from +0.001 to +5.0); they will both score and concede more goals on average. Teams that would rather sit back and focus on defense to prevent their opponents from scoring too many goals should choose a negative style mod (anywhere from -0.001 to -5.0); they will give up fewer goals, but will also have more difficulty scoring goals than their offense-first counterparts. For those who want the best of both worlds, or just don't really care to choose one style over the other, a neutral style mod of 0 is the best option. Nations that do not indicate a style mod will be assigned a neutral one.
Thirdly, one of the most important things to include in your roster (aside from your players) is the RP Permissions box, an essential part of participating in any tournament on NS Sports. The idea behind the permissions box is to let your opponents know what you are willing to allow them to do, and what you aren't willing to allow them to do. Please copy and paste the following somewhere in your roster when you post one and somehow indicate your preference and any other restrictions for each option:
- Code: Select all
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes/No
Godmod scoring events: Yes/No
RP injuries to my players: Yes/No
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes/No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes/No
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes/No
Godmod other events: Yes/No
Now, you may be wondering what do these individual options mean, exactly?
Choose my goalscorers: The most straightforward RP permission, this is exactly what it says as it gives or denies your opponents the ability to say which player(s) scored your team's goal(s). Almost everyone chooses to grant this permission as it's at the heart of the most common type of roleplay on this forum: the standard game summary. Similar to the basic goalscorers permission is the godmod scoring events option. Though opinions vary from person to person on what exactly is a godmod and there's no consensus definition, those granting this permission generally allow opponents to RP methods of goalscoring which tend not to happen very often in reality (ex. a long-range bicycle kick goal). However, in more extreme cases, godmoded scoring events can be those which would never happen in reality and can be frankly absurd (ex. the "Giant Bird" incident), though such events tend to be extremely rare.
RP injuries to my players: Also pretty self-explanatory, this permission allows opponents to have your players injured during a match. However, most participants who grant injury permissions will often set limits on the severity and/or causes of such injuries, thus allowing their opponents to include injuries in their RPs but still maintain control over just how badly the player is hurt and whether or not it will impact them in future matches. Godmod injuries to my players is the more drastic version of the standard injury permission, including less common and more unrealistic causes of injury (ex. slipping on a water bottle) as well as more severe injuries which may result in a player being unable to continue playing in the rest of the tournament, ending their career, or even killing them. Thus, to a greater extent than any other RP permission, godmod injuries tend to be restricted by participants.
Hand out yellow/red cards to my players: If you've ever watched a game of football/soccer played on television at any level, odds are you've seen a player shown a yellow card by the referee and sometimes (either after a second yellow card or for a particularly bad violation of the rules) even a red card, resulting in the player being sent off the field and their team playing the remainder of the game with fewer players. Simply put, these permissions allow your opponents to include such disciplinary actions against your players in their RPs, though you may choose to grant them but limit their numbers and/or causes if your team is less likely to take actions which result in your players being shown a yellow and/or red card.
Godmod other events: Simply put, this permission gives your opponents to RP events over the course of a match that wouldn't be likely to happen in reality that don't involve scoring or injuries (as those are covered by other permissions). Whether it's antics by fans, extreme weather conditions, or a portal to another dimension appearing in the stadium in the middle of a game, plenty of events could fall under this permission and thus you may wish to set some limits for your opponents.
The Baptism of Fire XI Challenge :: BoF XI & Host XI Squads | Friendly Summary
All competing nations are hereby invited to write an in-character roleplay, not necessarily very extensive, on one or more of their national team players. The best-written of these will be selected to form the Baptism of Fire XI, a sort of "Team of the Tournament" showcasing the best the newest World Cup nations have to offer. National team managers and coaches may also be considered for selection, although it will be the hosts who decide upon things such as formation, depending on what is available. After the tournament is over, this BoF XI will take on a combined XI consisting of national team players from both of the hosts' teams in a charity match.
There is no obligation to write one of these RPs, and there will be no special bonus for those who do other than the bragging rights and cool RPing opportunities.
Special thanks go to Yttribia for designing the tournament logo.
Jackson City)
Old Boys Club)
Molsbik Arkjet)
FC Tierpoint - Age 32
Inter Milan - Age 18 
