@%@%@%@%@%@%@ @PUSH LEVELS@ @%@%@%@%@%@%@ Rather than traditional rankings, we're going to try this concept, courtesy of Jeff Berry. All of the wrestlers at a given push level are considered to be on a more or less equal footing. So Level I wrestlers are JTTS or newbies , Level II wrestlers are step up from that, Level III are midcarders and so on. It is suggested that 4 or 5 Push Levels is about right. However, with the new rules added to SCREW, I'm going with seven. *Rankings within a Push Level* Within a given Push Level, wrestlers have between 0 and 2 points (Except for Levels VI and VII, which will be between 0 and 4 points), with increments of .1 points. These points have no effect on the game, but instead control changes in Push Levels. If you drop below 0 points, instead you drop a level and are in the next lower level with a number of points equal to 2 minus the leftover amount you had to lose. EG. If you were at Level 3, with 0.3 points, and lost .5 points, then you would become Level 2 with 1.8 points. The process is reversed when moving up Push Levels. *Going up in push levels* If you defeat someone 2 or more push levels higher, you immediately rise a push level. If you defeat someone 1 push level higher you gain a push point. At your own level it's .5, one lower = .3, two lower = .2, and 3 or more lower = .1. Good flashes or interviews may also grant push points. When you have two push points you rise a level. *Dropping push levels* If you lose a match to someone 2 or more ranks lower you automatically drop a push level. If you lose a match to someone of one rank lower, equal rank or higher you lose push points equal to the amount they gain. If your push points go negative, you drop a push level and your push points are reset. Push Levels are useful for determining who gets title shots and so forth. They are also used directly in match resolution: the Specials your wrestler has depends on what push level he is at. Level I - One Reversal Level II - Two Reversals Level III - Two Reversals and a MRC Save Level IV - Three Reversals and a MRC Save Level V - Three Reversals and two MRC Saves Level VI - Fourversals and two MRC Saves Level VII - Four Reversals and three MRC Saves @%@%@%@ @MONEY@ @%@%@%@ (The following is adapted from the Ringmaster ruleset Copyright (c) 1997, 1998 by Bryant & Bryce Berggren) Professional wrestlers earn money for their matches: that's what makes them "professional" wrestlers. They will also incur expenses as they build their careers in the ring, which will drain their pockets. The exact amounts a wrestler earns and/or pays is dependent on the Promoter and the style of federation he wishes to run; some Promoters may wish to forego tracking Money altogether. Some suggestions are given below, for a "default" promotion. Earning Money ------------- A starting wrestler begins play with cash savings equal to his Intelligence *$1000. Beyond this, he'll have to find other ways to fill his pockets. Every wrestler receives a base wage for participating in matches. This is $1000 for most wrestlers, $1500 for lesser champions, and $2000 for the World Champion(s). For tag team matches, those amounts are increased by 50%, then split between all members of the tag team. Base pay for wrestlers involved in six man, eight man, etc. tags is at the GM's discretion Each match also has a purse which is taken by the winner(s). This purse starts off at $500, modified as below: add $500 if the match is televised; add $500 if the match is for a lesser league championship add $1000 if the match is for a World championship add $1000 if the match is broadcast on PPV add $1000 if the match is a specialty match with a higher risk of injury (cage, ladder, barbed wire, etc.) If a match ends in a "clean" draw (time limit or double non-deliberate countout), the purse is divided between the wrestlers. If a match ends in a double disqualification or a no contest, neither wrestler takes any of the purse. Managers do not earn money for their participation in matches, except as described under "The Cut", in the Managers section. Cutting Promos -------------- Since we don't have a direct experience system in this mode, you can earn money as well for cutting promos. Obviously, the better the promo, the more you get paid. The promo will be graded by the Promoter (either by himself or by whatever fashion he garners outside thoughts) according to it's quality (originality, eloquence, and effectiveness). Note also that the Promoter reserves the right to dock the promo's overall grade if he had to do a lot of reformatting with the promo to make it fit league standards The money you earn is as follows $500 for an A $450 for an A-/B+ $400 for a B $300 for a B-/C+ $250 for a C $150 for a C-/D+ $100 for a D $ 50 for a D- $ 0 for an F Merchandising ------------- A popular statistic (from 1998) holds that a "Stone Cold" Steve Austin t-shirt sells every 40 seconds worldwide -- imagine what that does for his checkbook. Though your own characters may never reach this level of popularity, it still stands to reason would think that superstar level PRE should be able to move some serious product. To engage in a merchandising drive, just imagine a product line and describe it to the Promoter. If the Promoter approves of it, he will grade it (using the same scale as Flashes, below) and after one game month will award your wrestler an amount equal to $(Grade Money x Current Push Level x 2). Thus, a wrestler at Push Level 3 who creates a "B" grade product will recieve $2,400. Television Commercials ----------------------- League-sponsored (such as promotional merchandise) is simply rated as a flash. Non-wrestling commercials are also rated as a flash, but add a bonus grade (i.e. a completely mediocre commercial is worth $500). An "A" rated commercial is worth $1000. This bonus is because stepping outside the world of wrestling makes one seem like a bigger deal, with broader appeal. However, non-wrestling commercials must be approved by the Promoter. (It's a real stretch to claim that your bloodthirsty rulebreaker is the perfect pitchman for children's cough syrup ...) You must at least be at Push Level 4 to make a league-sponsored commercial, and at Push Level 5 to make a non-league commercial. Media Appearances ----------------- This includes being a guest on a talk show, being a guest star in a TV series episode, etc. If this is just mentioned or described by the wrestler, it is worth $250. If the handler of the wrestler wants to write an excerpt of the appearance, it can be graded as a flash -- but the money is *tripled*. This is not only because of the "broader appeal" described above, but because frankly such an effort requires a lot of creative energy, which deserves to be rewarded. Like commercials, media appearances are subject to Promoter approval, and you must be at a minimum Push Level 5 to be considered for such. Broadcasting ------------ Wrestlers occasionally get a chance to sit in the booth as an announcer. In this case, his entire commentary is graded in its entirety as if it were a flash; commentating a single match earns standard money, commentating a whole card earns double money. Of course, this must be approved by the Promoter. Spending Money -------------- Money has no value unless it is spent -- or, at least, unless it can be spent. A wrestler may find his wallet tapped in many ways. Upkeep: A wrestler must spend $500 per card in "upkeep". This represents the chunk that ordinary life takes out of your bank account: food, housing, etc. (and provides an incentive to keep wrestling as opposed to falling into semi-retirement.) A wrestler can choose to spend more per week on upkeep, representing living on a "luxury" lifestyle. This increases his atmosphere of celebrity and draws more attention to him; each doubling of upkeep costs for a week adds +.01 Push Level A wrestler who pays half the normal upkeep costs will get by, but has lowered morale and training quality -- he recieves one less Reversal than normal for his Push rating. A wrestler who can not (or simply does not) pay any upkeep costs during a week suffers this effect, plus a -1 to all MRC attempts that he makes -- a combination of poor morale, inferior training, deteriorating health, and other intangibles. Manager's License: Managers must pay dues to keep their licenses from expiring. This is a per cycle fee of $500 for a single charge; additional wrestlers covered under the license add $100 each. Medical Care: The wrestler can spend $1000 for a week-long hospital stay if he has sustained Injuries. A hospitalized wrestler removes Injuries at double the normal rate (quadruple this rate if he is a Miracle Man), and also counts as standard upkeep for that week (hospital food may not be gourmet fare, but it'll keep you alive). Hospital care cannot affect the "Nagging Injuries" Flaw. Fines: A wrestler who violates the letter or spirit of the promotion's rules in a particularly offensive or detestable fashion may find himself facing more than an occasional disqualification -- the league administration often levies fines for various offenses (such as assaulting the league officials, including referees). Training: A Promoter may require characters to purchase Experience with cash -- see below. The Promoter always retains the right to demand certain exotic strategems (such as the infamous "referee double") have a price tag attached. Training -------- "Practice makes perfect," they say, and wrestling is no exception -- experience remains the best teacher, and a wrestler who wants to better his skills will have to practice. As a wrestler's career advances, he will gain Experience points, which can be devoted to improving his performance; improvement to a wrestler can take three forms: growth, polish, and education. Growth: A player can spend a character's money to add new Talent points to that character. The first extra Talent point a character adds (beyond the original 15) requires 5 Experience points. Each additional Talent point costs double the previous Experience -- the 16th point costs 10 Experience, the 17th costs 20, and so on. Polish: Rather than increasing the overall talent of a character, a player may simply wish to retune his design, changing the way his Talent has been spent. Each Talent point moved in this fashion requires spending 2 Experience points. Note that Growth and Polish can be combined when changing a character -- a player who wishes to purchase a 2 point merit may add one point through Growth, and move another point via Polish. A character may alter his Attributes, Merits, and Flaws through these methods. Weight may be changed as well, but only with Promoter approval (there's just something not real about a character losing 80 lbs in one month - believe me, I know. =) Education: Changes to Talent after initial creation of a character do not alter his movesets in any fashion. However, a character can add new moves directly, using Experience; these purchased moves act the same as the Training slots originally gained from SAV. Each new regular move bought costs 2 Experience Upgrading a regular move to a Spot move costs 3 experience You may buy a Spot move directly for 7 experience, with Promoter approval. Note that you cannot buy a regular move and then upgrade it to a spot move at the same time - you must have a regular move in your arsenal for at least four "game weeks" before you can upgrade it to a Spot (practice makes perfect). Gaining Experience: The Promoter will decide the method used for allocating experience. One suggestion is to allow characters to exchange money for Experience -- $1000 "buying" 1 Experience point. A simpler method (which can be used if the Promoter wishes to forego using Money completely) is to award 1 Experience point for each match, with an additional point if the character wins.