| I'm not big on rules, and I recognize that the vast majority of the handlers here already know how the game works, so I'll try to keep this as short and as sweet as I possibly can. This set of guidelines will basically cover the various wrestling styles, roleplay basics, the heat meters, and the scoring system. |
| The first rule of P.N.W. is you do not talk about P.N.W.! Okay, that's a lie. The first rule of P.N.W. is also the most important, and that is to have fun. If you're here, but you're not having fun, then there's a problem. If this ever happens, get in contact with us so we can figure out what's wrong. Just like you, everyone else is here to have fun. Treat other handlers with the respect and courtesy that you'd expect in return. And if, for some odd reason, you enjoy it when people are rude and mean to you...well, just try to be nice, anyhow. In the fantasy world that Pacific Northwest Wrestling is set in, everything is exactly as it is in real life, except that the W.W.E., T.N.A., or any of the other real life promotions do not exist. Instead, the United States is divided up into territories, and there are several minor promotions attempting to capitalize on the latest wrestling craze and develop their small promotion into a national powerhouse. P.N.W. is just one of the many promotions, and is based in the Pacific Northwest. When in-character, real life wrestlers or promotions should not be acknowledged, past or present. Let's talk about deadlines. There are only two deadlines that you should worry about, and they're both the same. There is a deadline for your roleplays and a deadline for your segments/strats for the card. The deadline for both of these is 5:00 p.m. Pacific time two days before the card. For example, if you have something you'd like to send in for Havoc, which takes place on a Sunday, you'd have to send it in by Friday at 5:00 p.m Pacific time. Each handler is allowed a maximum of two wrestlers. You can use them as either two singles wrestlers, a tag team, or both. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and if P.N.W. believes a handler is capable of handling more than two wrestlers, they may be allowed to do so. |
| It's no secret that professional wrestling comes in many different styles. Pacific Northwest Wrestling offers six different style classifications to choose from to describe your wrestler's in-ring preference. Each style has its own set of bonuses. The following is a list of the different styles with a description of each: All-Rounder: An All-Rounder doesn't focus on one specific wrestling style and instead opts to dabble in all of them. As a result, the All-Rounder doesn't excel in any one style, but isn't weak in any particular area, either. This style is generally selected by a character that is a veteran and has been around long enough to gain experience in the many different disciplines. The All-Rounder has no weaknesses with regard to the other wrestling styles but doesn't get much of a bonus against the other wrestling styles. Brawler: A Brawler is usually a wrestler with incredible toughness that can not only dish out punishment, but take it as well. The Brawler excels in street fights which capitalize on his sloppy, brutal strikes and ability to use weapons. This style is generally selected by a character that is a legitimate badass that you'd find down at the bar whipping somebody's ass. The Brawler is weak against the grappling abilities of the Technician and the accurate striking abilities of the Martial Artist, but is strong against the High Flyer and the Powerhouse. High Flyer: A High Flyer is arguably the most entertaining type of wrestling to watch. The High Flyer excels in ladder matches or other matches that enable him to use his speed and agility to his advantage. This style is generally selected by a character that is either very quick and agile, very fearless, or a combination of the two. The High Flyer is weak against the unorthodox scrapping abilities of the Brawler and the grappling abilities of the Technician, but is strong against the Powerhouse and the Martial Artist. Martial Artist: A Martial Artist is a trained fighting machine with an offense consisting of an array of strikes and submissions. The Martial Artist excels in situations that allow him to showcase his deadly accurate striking skills and punishing submission holds. This style is generally selected by a character that is very nimble and disciplined with some experience in a martial art, such as kickboxing, karate, etc. The Martial Artist is weak against the sheer strength of the Powerhouse and the unpredictable risk-taking abilities of the High Flyer, but is strong against the Technician and the Brawler. Powerhouse: A Powerhouse is exactly what his name implies. The Powerhouse is in possession of great size and/or strength which he uses to out-muscle and crush his opponents. This style is generally selected by a character that is either extremely large, freakishly strong, or both. The Powerhouse is weak against the unpredictable risk-taking abilities of the High Flyer and the unorthodox scrapping abilities of the Brawler, but is strong against the Martial Artist and the Technician. Technician: A Technician is a pure wrestler that is proficient in slams, takedowns, and submission holds. The Technician excels in standard or submission wrestling matches against wrestlers that are less technically sound than they are. This style is generally selected by a character that has a background in collegiate wrestling and focuses on a mat-based gameplan inside the ring. The Technician is weak against the accurate striking abilities of the Martial Artist and the sheer strength of the Powerhouse, but is strong against the Brawler and the High Flyer. |
| Wrestler promos, or "roleplays", as they're known in the world of online wrestling roleplaying, are usually short skits, interviews, or stories involving your wrestler(s) in some way, shape, or form. When writing a roleplay, most handlers will try to achieve at least one of these three goals: Promote their upcoming match, promote a storyline/feud they're currently involved in, or promote themselves by exploring their character. There is no set formula for creating a great roleplay. If you'd like the rest of the roster to take interest in your character(s) it's advisable that you try to make your roleplays entertaining and don't run them too long. After all, would you like to read a fellow handler's roleplay if it droned on and on about nothing of interest? There is a soft limit of two roleplays per card. This means that you are free to roleplay as many times as you'd like for an upcoming show but only your two best roleplays will be counted towards that show. You will not be given bonus points for posting more than two roleplays and it won't sway the grade that you receive on the roleplays that are being graded. Even if you're booked in more than one match on a card, two roleplays is all that will be counted. Your roleplays will be counted towards all of your matches evenly. As stated above, Pacific Northwest Wrestling is set in a fantasy world free of W.W.E. dominance. P.N.W. is a small promotion based in Oregon trying to climb its way to the top of the ladder just like all of the other small regional territories. In order to keep everything within the scope of this fantasy world, I ask that the handlers do not acknowledge the existence of the W.W.E., T.N.A., any other legitimate promotions, or the people employed by these companies. When it comes to the actual substance of your roleplays, you're free to be as creative as you'd like. Just keep it within reason. Do not use another handler's character(s) in your roleplay unless you have permission from them before hand. Censor any foul language and try not to be overly crude or offensive. If it's not allowed on television it's probably not a good idea to put it in your roleplay. |
| In an attempt to reduce human judgment and make the game a bit more interesting, a scoring system has been implemented. Partially to add to the strategy of the game and partially to reward those handlers that work long and hard to make this game fun, the scoring system will take many things into account. Roleplays: Although many other aspects of the game will be taken into account, roleplays will still determine the bulk of the scoring. You are only required to roleplay once per show, and doing so will earn you up to 50 points. However, you are allowed to roleplay twice per show. Doing so will allow you to earn up to 65 points. If you decide to roleplay twice, your best roleplay will be worth up to 45 points while the other roleplay will be worth up to 20 points. Participation: There is more to handling a character than posting roleplays. Card input also plays a large role in your character's destiny. In return for your valuable input, suggestions, card segments, and anything else P.N.W.-related, you will be awarded points every week that will count towards your match. Accolades: In an effort to reward those that put a lot of time and energy into making P.N.W. great, there are a number of Accolades that can be unlocked throughout your career. Some of them give bonuses that count towards your match. Interference: Interference usually involves a wrestler's manager/valet, but can also include other wrestlers. When interfering, there is a chance of success or failure. Managers/valets have a higher chance of successfully interfering than any other character. Any wrestler deciding to interfere in a match will incur a -3 penalty for their next match. If the interfering wrestler does not have a match on the same card, the penalty will carry over to their next scheduled match. Wrestling Styles: Each character has a Wrestling Style, and each of the six Wrestling Styles has a unique set of bonuses that may or may not apply to a match. Check the Wrestling Styles section above for more information. Specialty Match: Each wrestler also has a Specialty Match. A Specialty Match is a match type that best suits your wrestler. High Flyers generally tend to excel in Ladder matches while Brawlers usually feel more at home in Hardcore matches. Regardless, if your character is competing in a bout with a match type that coincides with his Specialty Match, he will receive a bonus. Defending Champion: Some of the championships give special bonuses to the champions when they defend their belt. The type of bonus depends on the championship. For more information on these bonuses, head over to the Championships page. Fatigue: On cards in which your character wrestles in more than one match, a Fatigue penalty will be incurred. The penalty value is determined by the extremeness of the match. Penalties will begin accumulating for each match taking place after the first match. House Show Fatigue: If your wrestler is booked for a house show match as well as a match on the weekly card later on in the week, your wrestler will suffer a -5 match penalty for his match on the weekly card. This is done to simulate the loss of energy wrestling on two cards so close together and to provide some sort of downside to balance out the "easy" win at the house show. Battle Royal Entry: In any Battle Royal type match in which there are delayed/timed entries, bonuses will be given to each participant beyond the original participants. If two wrestlers start the match, the third and fourth wrestlers will receive a +1 bonus. The fifth and sixth wrestlers will receive a +2 bonus. The seventh and eighth wrestlers will receive a +3 bonus. So on and so forth. |
| While filling out an application for a wrestler, you'll be prompted to choose an alignment for your character. The alignments are Face(good guy), Heel(bad guy), and Tweener(neutral). While these alignments are used to sum up your character's general disposition, they don't necessarily chart the crowd's reaction to your character. That's where the Heat Meter comes into play. Each character's Heat Meter will be evaluated after every show and it will either increase, decrease, or stay the same based on the character's actions. The Heat Meter is used to gauge how "over" your character is with the crowd either as a Face or a Heel. There are five basic types of heat: No Heat, Face Heat, Heel Heat, Maximum Heat, and Unique Heat. The following is a description for each category:  No Heat: This generally occurs when a wrestler first enters Pacific Northwest Wrestling and isn't yet familiar with the territory. The fans either haven't heard of this wrestler or his actions haven't garnered enough attention for the fans to form an opinion. His appearance at shows will likely be met with silence as the fans are still unsure about this character.      Face Heat: Face Heat is a positive reaction from the crowd. Depending on the level of Face Heat, a wrestler may receive a few isolated cheers or a full blown eruption when he enters the arena. To obtain Face Heat a character must perform deeds that the crowd approves of. There are varying styles of doing so, such as praising the city your character is currently visiting, also known as a "cheap pop", to plunging your character into an intense storyline to bring down an evil character with high Heel Heat. The more Face Heat a character has, the more the crowd will get behind him. The more virtuous your character's actions in the eyes of the fans, the more face heat he'll obtain.      Heel Heat: Heel Heat is the exact opposite of Face Heat. Depending on the level of Heel Heat, a wrestler may receive a few isolated jeers or a deafening chorus of boos when he enters the arena. Earning Heel Heat requires your character to do things that the crowd finds disdainful. There are varying styles of doing so, such as verbally attacking the city your character is currently visiting, which is a cheap way to get Heel Heat, or immersing your character into an intense feud in which he can torment and destroy a character with high Face Heat. The more dastardly the deed your character performs, the more Heel Heat he'll receive.   Maximum Heat: Maximum Heat is obtained when a character is so "over" with the crowd, either as a face or a heel, that the crowd's reaction towards him has reached its pinnacle. If you've earned Maximum Face Heat the crowd absolutely loves you and cheers your every move. You'll probably receive the loudest ovation of the night, and no card is complete without your appearance. On the contrary, a character with Maximum Heel Heat is despised by the crowd and will be nearly booed out of the building during each appearance. The crowd's thunderous booing or derogatory chants will most likely be the loudest jeering of the night. Maximum Heat isn't gained overnight, but rather over the course of many shows. Reaching this level is just as hard to earn as it is to maintain, but a character that has earned Maximum Heat is not likely to be forgotten by the fans anytime soon.  Unique Heat: Unique Heat represents the most popular standing a wrestler can ever hope to obtain with fans. While it's extremely difficult to earn this type of standing with the fans, it is possible. A character earns Unique Heat by earning a genuine respect from the fans that transcends the very fabric of the wrestling business. The fans bestow this honor on a wrestler not because of an edge-of-the-seat storyline, or a great match, but because of many great storylines and matches. The fans recognizes a wrestler that has put his body on the line for several years and has literally poured his life into the sport, and rewards him with their undying admiration. Regardless if this character is playing the role of a face or a heel, the crowd will always put forth an appropriate response to show their appreciation for all that this person has done for them throughout the years. |
