Possible Poetry Battle?

[Talos]

There have been a couple martial tournaments now, and the next one is looking to be a poetry battle. Open to poets, bards, and anyone else able to enter and exchange battle lyrics. Winners will be judged on creativity and effectiveness. Entrants would likely submit basic information about themselves so each wordsmith has fodder to work on. What form of bracket or exchange this will take shape in remains to be seen, also who and exactly how we judge such battles. It has also been suggested we include topics to rhapsodize about, to keep things fresh. Ideally there would be some minimal amount of prep time, but also gauge how well people do improvising. What are the general thoughts/ideas to this kind of poetry slam? Looking at taking place in November after the current tournament concludes.

[Benorf]

This sounds OUTSTANDING. Would it be limited to bards, or anyone that wanted to participate? Something about a rapping halfling ranger entertains me greatly...

[Vaemar]

I would like it to be opened to any class and not just to bards, personally.

And yeah, I would really love it a lot.

Maybe the winners could have their songs published?

As for the format I like any type, both improvisation and works prepared in advance.

[Terageld]

Uh oh. Here comes "Lion Daddy" Sigismund.

"Come on, now ye mangy sores,
These city ponces think they be tops.
I'll hose ye stampcrabs out th' door.
Fight me, ye'd be mad as a box o' frogs.
Me ol' one-two across ye filthy mug,
The deck against ye rank backside
Send ya tossin' 'cross this pansy pub
Now, where ye be keepin' all that pride?"

*drops mic*

[Talos]

Poets, bards, and anyone able to enter and exchange battle lyrics.

[Jarngron]

Prepare thyself for iambic assault
Tis no-one to blame, brace for the onslaught
I be no bard but a wizard of verse
Pentameter chants that are unrehearsed.

So fling your foul barbs and face the quills wrath
Yet face the grim truth that thou art a hack!
For hunting I am the muses divine
Ever-searching to find like-minded in kind.

And what of trimeter
Sultry, shy and sweeter
Condensing each sly word
To manage this meter?

Perhaps try my tetrameter
If thou can count so high, of course
Tempering verbs to grease thy words
Take care not to grow sophomoric!

Yet face my hexameter, cacophonous amateur
Hear drums rattle onward in a dissonant drawl!
There brazier smoke lilted, smelling strongly of tar
The dancers still spinning in my dreams of a-far.

[Areia]

I love this idea.

I like both improv and prep. Maybe two rounds for each contest, the first prepped and the first opened to fun improv bashing etc where the two contestants share a couple turns? Might be too much to ask from each participant depending on the number of people entered, though, hmm.

Maybe extra points are given to those who keep to a defined meter within a given contest (although that's admittedly my bias against that new wave freestyle mumbojumbo pseudopoetry nastiness speaking lol). I could think of a lot of IC relevant topics to add to a possible list to choose from, too.

[Ithrael]

This sounds absolutely amazing. I'm no poet, but I do enjoy other's work, and I can't wait to see this. If there's any witnesses needed, Ithrael would be delighted to return the favors from the previous tournaments.

[Althasizor]

In a warehouse down on the dock wards, or a shop after hours. A series of rap battles judged by a panel.

[Aysa]

If we're going to do the whole "bard" thing (though, yes, I know it's not just for bards)... You do it in a public setting, like a square. Bards are meant to be theatrical. Think of the minstrels at the Ren Faires... they're either street musicians, or they may have a stage to perform upon.

If there's not a public setting, then a tavern would be the proper setting.

[Yemin]

I'm on the side of that guy that suggested the dock ward alley battle.

The dock ward doesn't receive enough PC attention. Also, bards are of all stripes and standards. There is a perception that all bards are trained by colleges because of how the class works here. I'd say thats more or less untrue, there are also a significant number of bards that are street magicians, tavern singers, con artists and just straight criminals depending on their mentor.

Some are even just self taught, or so it seems from looking at the bard varients that exist in the books.

Just my two cents, I'm not particularly a fan of straight poetry, but mixing it up with some freestyle where a scruffy dwarf can lay down bars against a haughty sun elf would be incredibly fun to watch.

[Talos]

Do you run it as a single day's event, an extended bracket? Do we record it here, on the notice boards, live?

[Althasizor]

Extended bracket would be better, I think. A lot of our more talented wordsmiths come from different timezones, and we'd probably lose a good number trying to set it all to one time. Recording it via forums would probably be easier, too.

[Yemin]

If its going to be an extended bracket, Might I suggest people set their titles in relation to the event. Just so people can easily type who and see if their opportunity to compete