The Divine Diamond gem quest ran through to the final round July 14th through to the early hours of July 15th. Prize-winners based on all rounds bar the finale are listed below. Three finalists opted to contend for the gem itself: Seraphima, Agarwain and Narl. The others with "right to choose" all opted to play supporting roles for prizes rather than divine gem chance.
The finale of the Diamond Quest was fought out a few days after the aborted last round. Agarwain, Narl and Seraphima were the three final contenders. Narl represented by Zooka and Flagg. The divine diamond was won by Seraphima in a last-minutes turnaround where Zooka had been close to the finish-line on behalf of his contender.
Disqualifications were commanded against Catyrial and Capaal, the former for overt though subtle "cheating" in trying to sabotage Seraphima's chances of victory. Narl was implicated in this and was judged unanimously to be guilty of falsehood before the presiding deity. Details can be found below. Given the benefit to Seraphima and Agarwain in choosing from ALL Avalon their supporter for the final round, Narl's only punishment was to not be involved in the timing of the rescheduled denouement but if not attending, to be represented by the finest quality available in his stead.
The finale was played out with Zooka in lieu of Narl, and Seers Guildmaster Flagg his support. Seraphima has chosen Salvador; Agarwain has persuaded Elmak to play a cameo on the battlefield. Zero and Khursun bow out with honour and a prize each as per announcement to follow.
The final was won by Seraphima, beating Agarwain and Zooka (representing Narl). It was a close run affair and Zooka was in part bamboozled by a net-split with just minutes remaining. Seraphima and Salvador held their nerve and Seraphima in particular was rewarded not just for a steady performance in the last round but a consistent level-headed quality throughout the long quest.
Agarwain deserves praise for his contribution but in the end, he has a little distance to cover before contendership in a competitive combat quest becomes an expectation rather than an off-chance. Elmak competed well given his rustiness and Salvador was, as one might expect, busy and significant as was Zooka with Flagg - like Elmak - showing flashes of quality but in need of more competition to sharpen his skills.
Disqualified from participation in the finale: Catyrial and Capaal, the former for cheating outright and trying to subvert the rules and spirit of the gem quest, the latter for supporting dishonesty. Narl was judged by SIX judges (three divine, three mortal - one diety chosen by Narl himself, all mortals belonging to his city - in addition to fellow competitors from the finale as extra judges). The judgment as regards Narl's "dishonesty to the presiding deity" was unanimously against him. It was decided NOT to disqualify Narl since his dishonesty was opportunist rather than preconceived but to exclude him from the scheduling of the replayed final round. Seraphima and Agarwain were to dictate the timing providing suitable representation was available if Narl was absent. Zooka was considered more than adequate in this role.
Full details of the final round and indeed the gemquest write-up can be found in HELP DIAMOND1312 (the 1312 being the Avalon adW year in which the quest was contender). The prize-giving will be scheduled ideally for late Saturday July 28th though it may require a few smaller prize-givings, depending on player availability and timezones.
Here are the prize-winners for the Divine Diamond Quest of 1312 aDW:
Winner of the Divine Diamond:
Seraphima
Runners-Up:
Agarwain, Zooka.
Final Round Prize-Winners:
Khursun and Zero.
Best Midlevel/Upper-Midlevel:
Prometheus and Skippie.
NB: was Zero and Prometheus but Zero, as a final-round prize winner takes the higher ranked honour so Prometheus wins the MIDLEVEL and Skippie the UPPER-MIDLEVEL. It has been pointed out the relative fightworth of these two is so close so a single category has been rendered with joint winners, prize upgraded accordingly.
Best Junior/MW:
Mexi.
Honourable mention to Marion here, whose performance was also above par and if carried over into subsequent Gem Quests will almost certainly win this category in future.
Most Improved AND Most Kills:
Skippie.
NB: the "most improved" victory is taking into account the number of kills and a relatively unbroken upward trend in the importance of Skippie's role and contribution to more than one of these Gem Quests; and in this case not always just under direction or playing second fiddle to the team leader but showing independence and capacity previously kept well under wraps!
Most Influential:
Salvador.
Best Attitude-in-Adversity:
Zazenhen.
NB: Jashiri was also very close to winning this category but actually loses out to Zazenhen partly by dint of avoiding the death struggles necessary for 'adversity' i..e. too many kills and not enough deaths!
The prizes won per category will be presented at an open prize-giving ceremony to be held ideally late Saturday 29th July by Avalon TIME. This will not be the formalised gathering that preceded the Diamond Quest but all who wish to attend are welcome to do so. The ceremony will be shorter as the prizes are predetermined whereas in Tyranis' prize-giving there was discussion among the Gods about prize suitability caused delays through no fault of prize-winner or Tyranis as presiding deity.
I give also an honourable mention to Lukien whose performance did not maintain the highest of quality and standards throughout but given the team-abandonment and his own previous self-destructions, a marked IMPROVEMENT was noted. Lukien, take heed: carry through the approach of the first phase to the end and you will be winning prizes (or even contending). Do not fall into the trap of tumbling at the hurdles of poor team performances in early rounds designed to test the "character" of the competitors as much as their mere points scoring.
Further honourable mentions for Aster, Alarius, Calista, Dankus and Jashiri.
And the three less honourable categories, though included more as a 'spur' to improve than to censure:
Most Relative Deaths (taking into account fight-worth of killer vs slain):
Bellock.
NB: this is also due to factors of team disorganisation and a tendency to throw himself blindly into combat but the result is based purely on the figures (relative fighter worth/skill levels) and lack of kills over deaths.
Biggest Underperformance:
Aerian.
NB: Plaman is a narrow escapee from this category, in main because I don't think he deserves a penalty prize given his prior performance and his efforts throughout. One can underperform on the day without disappointing expectation and this category is more about the disappointment than "having an off night". Zenichiro: you are another fortunate escapee but multiple commitments are mitigating factors and taken into account.
Best Turd:
Those disqualified are obvious candidates for this booby prize but, all things considered, the individual worthy of this dishnourable mention need not be named here. He/she knows and I am hopeful there will be no repeat of the performance. Mitigating factors have been presented to me and I accept these, though it does not excuse the Quest role and performance; if anything it provides greater scope for VICTORY against the odds.
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What follows is a little more explanation on the disqualifications and the key points of the judgment - included in order to educate and explain the all-important distinction between playing Avalon as a mere videogame in which what can be done, should be done; and playing Avalon with a little respect for the interaction of real, intelligent players including those presiding over competitions.
The explanation below does not form part of the WINNERS and prize-list, so can be ignored by those with no interest in the shades of grey considerations when making decisions re: Gem Quests and contendership.
It is not merely a matter of written rules but a "spirit of competition" whose unspoken rules are nonetheless known by all; whether ignored, subverted or otherwise.
Catyrial's behaviour was judged by Genesis at the time, during the flow of the aborted final round: gauging her reaction times, commitment, effort, overall play quality alongside performance in the other rounds including the one immediately preceding. The case was unavoidable. Catyrial's admissions insofar as attitude to Gem Quest competition (she was in it for the Narl/friend victory) were made clear: her own order-of-priority as regards Gem Quest/presiding deity "rules of the round" placed them second to her preferences for winner and loser. The latter counts. The former comes a poor second.
This is unacceptable: not if its a guiding principle informing openly-made player-choice (e..g. Catyrial standing aside in the final round for Narl to progress) but as an excuse for false behaviour, as a reason for trying to subvert the rules of the Gem Quest and disregard the presiding deity's rules. It would have been fine to bow out. It is not fine to join an opposing team saying 'I will act fairly' then in reality play to lose.
This disqualification had to be applied and will be applied to ANYONE in future taking the same approach. Be aware: nobody will disrespect the honest "I shall contend no further" spoken beforehand or mid-contest once opponents are those you wish to win out and the Gem Quest rules might go against your individual role preferences/principles. But to cheat, to subvert by dint of continued involvement and seek another's victory through sabotaging opposition while pretending otherwise: this is wrong. Catyrial is suspended from Gem Quest involvement until the end of 2013.
On the subject of Narl - who was advantaged by Catyrial's go-slow but judged at the time "not to have planned it in advance", the issue was one of honesty in these unusual cicumstances: did he tell the truth when questioned by the presiding deity about; and did he feel Catyrial's actions were fair or did he realise she was underperforming to help him to victory? He was questioned publicly after the suspension of the final round.
Narl was questioned by Genesis after the final round was suspended but at this point he was not disqualified nor yet penalised. His judgment ultimately would rest on his replies and be decided not by the presiding deity but by a panel of six including three chosen directly by Narl.
The fundamental question considered by those judging him: "was he honest, when questioned?". He stated he did not have any inkling of Catyrial's Jeckyl-and-Hyde transformation between semi-final and final round; he had not planned her sabotaging, he did not realise (before, during or after) that Catyrial was subverting (i..e. playing crippled to ensure Seraphima failed and thus benefit Narl won the Gem).
It was made clear it was not a mark against him if he DID have an inkling Catyrial was subverting but 'went with it' because he was playing to win and win alone. What mattered was whether he was truthful before the presiding deity, when saying he had no clue she wasn't fighting full out; that the thought never crossed his mind during the final round. This became the key question because it sets a precedent of honesty impacting all future Gem Quests and deity-presided events.
The ideal of honesty before the Gods, and truthfulness when asked a direct question by the God presiding over the Gem Quest, is one of fundamental importance and with so many young and mid-level players watching and doubtless learning rights and wrongs from events of this nature, Narl's answer takes on singular importance. Is it OK to subvert gemquests; is it OK to not be 100% honest if it suits your interests and you can get away with it or there isn't absolute proof to the contrary? In this case, like most in real game interplay, it's about plausibility and what's credible; about intelligent people playing their characters in evolving conditions AND intelligent people watching and judging their motivations - and their veracity.
Catyrial was judged and disqualified on the day. Narl's denial of all knowledge (before, during and after) created the above necessity: to judge whether or not he is being 100% honest in his answers to specific questions asked by Genesis (the final round's presiding deity). His judges numbered six: mortals three (all pro-Narl/fellow citizens) and deities three (one of Narl's choice, one who'd have been keen for Narl to win the final round and one neutral / able to go through the evidence).
Narl was judged to be "guilty of dishonesty" by ALL judges.
This does not mean immediate disqualification for him but it renders his position at the mercy of the convenience of other contenders. Agarwain and Seraphima chose their supporters and thus the finale was placed at 4am Avalon TIME. Thus the finale played out to conclusion as it was, with representation felt to be in no way inferior to those Narl would have brought into the contest had he free selection of his brethren (city and guild).
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Cornelian Quest (July 7th 2012) winners:
Plaman won the divine cornelian gem and contendership. Salvador, runner-up, won the return of the divine ruby lost due to issues a long time prior. Best Upper-Midlevel: Khursun. Best Midlevel: Zero. Most Dangerous Competitor: Vinicius. Most Surprising/Influential Participant: Prometheus. Best Improvement: Teryn. Most Kills: Skippie.
