Not every day you're reading a book (a pretty popular book too) and deviantART is mentioned by one of the characters.
I might not be the only one here that's noticed that but I thought it was pretty cool.
Erebos by Ursula Poznanski.
Long, long ago, on a website not-so-far away...
Within the mighty village of dAmn, a war is brewing -- a war to appease the Great Fella God!
Many in the past have sought ways to please this angry beast, and many have failed. These tales of great battle and loss are still whispered around the campfires of #devart: DaPineapple's valiant attempts to offer kingmancheng as a virgin sacrifice, or fourteenthstar's struggles to serenade Fella with her dulcet Scottish tones .. but nothing could be found to please the Great Fella God, not even a scantily clad FritsPlays.
But now the tides are turning and the war is changing!
The mighty warrior Tachy-on along with the valiant troops of Community Volunteers have found a way to please Fella, and now the tribes of dAmn are competing for Fella's blessing -- and so can you!
You can help gain favor to you and your tribe by luring and trapping deviants into the great village of dAmn -- but that is not enough to please the Great Fella God! No, you must make sure your new tribesman stay in dAmn by showing them how great our village is! If they stay and your trap is successful, rumor says that the Great Fella God will be mighty pleased...
-> Game Start and End <-
The game will start 4pm PST August 24th in the #daTribes chatroom and end at 4pm PST August 31st.
Prizes
There are five different Tribes which you can be a member: Zulu, Maasai, Bakonga, Samburu, and Ashanti Tribes.
Grand Prize: 4000 deviantART Points PLUS a One Year Premium Membership!
Four Subsidiary Prizes: 2000 deviantART Points PLUS a Three Month Premium Membership!
The Grand Prize will be awarded to the leading individual scorer in the largest (highest combined scoring) Tribe.
The subsidiary prizes will be awarded to the leading scorer in each of the other Tribes.
-> How To Play <-
You begin by joining the #dATribes chatroom and laying a "trap" for another deviant by typing:
!trap username
Now get them to join the #dATribes chatroom and the trap will be successful! They will become a member of your Tribe, and then they can start playing too and help to build the strength of your Tribe!
You can set up to 3 traps at a time. When the trap is successful in bringing someone into your Tribe, you gain the trap back. If the trap isn't successful within 24 hours, it disintegrates and you gain another trap to replace it. (The traps are rather primitive and don't stand up to weather very well).
You can't set a trap for someone that is already in the #dATribes chatroom.If you mistakenly set a trap and you want to get it back, you can type:
!retrieve username
And the trap you set for username will be retrieved.
How to Gain Tribal Points
Fella will be pleased when your traps are successful and you show the new Tribe member how fun the dAmn village can be. It's important to keep them interested in the dAmn Village because it effects how many points you can earn:
For every player that you successfully trap into your Tribe, you gain 10 Tribal Points. After that, for each day that person visits the dAmn Village you will gain one additional point - the dAmn village encompasses all chatrooms on the Chat Network. If a Tribe member you've successfully trapped into your Tribe is away from the dAmn village for 48 hours or more, you lose the 10 Tribal Points and no longer gain the additional point per day for them.Spying & Stealing
As you get better at successfully trapping people, the Fella God will reward you with Steal Spells. For every 3 deviants you successfully trap into your Tribe, Fella will bless you with a Steal Spell. You can use this Steal Spell at any time to attempt to steal a trap that is set for someone else. Normally you would do this after "spying" on another Tribe and casting it after they have set a trap.
If you have a Steal Spell, you can cast it by typing:
!steal username
For example: kingmancheng has a Steal Spell and has just noticed that Tachy-on has just set a trap for fourteenthstar. kingmancheng wants to cast the spell so he types
!steal chix0r in an attempt to steal the trap set for fourteenthstar.Should the Almighty Fella be looking upon you favorably, your spell will succeed. Successfully stealing a trap has two advantages:
If the trapped player joins the chatroom, they will become a member of your Tribe instead, and so you get the Tribe Points involved. You slow the progress of the other tribe by temporarily cutting down on the number of traps they can set. The trap goes back to the original player once it either successfully traps the user or it disintegrates. You can't attempt to steal traps from members of your own Tribe.Teleport Spells
Teleport Spells are very powerful and can drastically affect the course of the game and your chance of winning.
As you get better at successfully stealing traps, the Fella God will reward you with Teleport Spells. For every 3 traps you successfully steal, Fella will bless you with a Teleport Spell.
You can use this Teleport Spell at any time to attempt to teleport anyone (including yourself) to a different Tribe. They will be permanently moved to the new Tribe and all their points will travel with them and be added to the new Tribe. You can even Teleport members of your own Tribe to a different Tribe.
If you have a Teleport Spell, you can cast it by typing:
!teleport username TribeName
For example: kingmancheng has a Teleport Spell and wants to try to Teleport fourteenthstar to the Zulu Tribe. kingmancheng types
!teleport chix0r Zulu in an attempt to teleport her to the Zulu Tribe.If you are lucky your spell will succeed. This Spell is powerful because you can use it to affect which player is the leading scorer in each Tribe, and even which Tribe becomes the strongest.
Getting Updates on your Game
To get information about your points and events that have happened to you in the game, you can type:
!status
This will tell you how many points you currenty have, how many traps are available to you, and if you have any Steal Spells. It will also show you recent events that have impacted your game. For example, it will tell you when a trap is successful, if someone has stolen your trap, or if a player you've trapped has been away from the dAmn village for more than 48 hours.
Other informational Commands
!traps - will show you which traps you currently have set.
!trapped - will show you who you have successfully trapped (and are still active).
!tribes - will show you the highest-scoring Tribes (in order).
!zulu, !bakonga, !maasai, !ashanti, and !samburu - will show you the top 10 scorers (in order) for each of those Tribes.
Rules
Do not spam users into joining #dATribes to gain a tribe member. All interaction with other deviants with respect to the game must adhere to deviantART policies and etiquette. The use of alternate accounts or any other method to cheat is strictly prohibited. Any user that is found not to be abiding by the rules will be evicted from the game immediately. Note that although deviantART Volunteers and Staff are allowed to play, their points do not count and they cannot win prizes. 