PANKRATION:
What is it?
A collaborative project to create a choose-your-own-adventure fantasy novel with an eclectic spirit, wherein the stories created by different authors blend together and maintain several separate but consistent arcs and contrasting styles. At the heart of the project is a modular framework to which any theme or story can be applied to achieve desired results: an interactive novel with a variety of overlapping story arcs and an ending which depends on the reader’s choices.
The concept and execution are intended to be anything but traditional. While authors are expected to respect the overall need for cohesion, and will be required to conform their writing to the need for consistency, all bets are otherwise off. Authors have the power to create new characters, backstories, places dates and events, so long as they follow the standards of the framework. Each phase of the project is to be hosted by ogden nesmer, and all guidelines and expectations will be conveyed or altered by him as necessary.



How does it work?
The writing of the book will take place in 6 phases, all hosted by nesmer. Each phase will take about two weeks from the time of assignment to the due date. After the due date, when the next phase in announced, writers from the finishing phase will assist writers in the new phase with connecting all necessary plot points. These conversations to be held in discord, along with any other questions or concerns as the project moves along. The phases will cover of three ‘simultaneous’ storylines which follow separate teams of characters based on reader’s initial choice of whose story to follow. Writers for each phase are to be predetermined by nesmer, in discord. Along with conversations held in discord, a google doc will be maintained and updated by the writers as to all proper nouns in the story (names, places, races, locations, key events in history, anything else that must be understood by future writers, etc.) and a google sheet keeping track of which writers are assigned to which phase.
Each phases will require the writing of either a TREE (a set of potential story thread which split at certain choices the writer must create) or an ENCOUNTER (an event which all threads of the story experience together, which is ended by a check that then splits storythreads back up again). In writing a TREE, a writer is responsible for taking a certain amount of input storythreads and having them end up with a certain number of output threads, meeting specific requirements along the way. In addition to the outputs, the TREE must contain a story which result in ‘death’; this possibility is NOT considered an output, as it does not lead to the next phase. In writing an ENCOUNTER, the writer is responsible for writing a single thread which applies to all separate input threads, and then after a check, separates the sotrythreads again.
The end phase which strings together the separate arcs, will sort the reader using a final check. Depending on which choices they have made during TREES they will be directed to one of three possible final TREES which end in one of two ways; in total there will be 6 possible endings (two from each of the three final TREES. These endings are arranged qualitatively, from more to less favorable, essentially creating a single ‘victory’ ending which one can achieve, a ‘defeat’ ending, and four in between.



What do I have to do?
(1)   Be available when the phases start
(2)   Be punctual and submit your finished work on time
(3)   Follow along with the plot points and characters that remain consistent in the discord server and stay in touch with other writers


The Phases:

Phase 1: Introduction, to be written by nesmer, to establish a general setting, and finish by providing reader with choice between 3 story arcs. Introduction of characters, their teams, their themes, the villain.

Phase 2: Sacred Item: the first TREE in which character team is given choices which split into 2 outputs. One output must result in obtaining sacred item. The other output is survival and moving on to the next phase without the sacred item. Writer decides the story threads, and creates the sacred item. Further, sacred item does not necessarily have to be an item; consider it is a binary, and the TREE must result in either on/off. The specifics of the on/off as story are arbitrary, so long as the google doc is updated appropriately.

Phase 3: Encounter1: the first encounter which all storythreads pass through. Writer selects from the following options: [tribe/wizard/monster] and writes section based on selection. As before, the ‘tribe’ ENCOUNTER does not necessarily have to be with a real tribe, but is more a prompt to base ideas on. Much more important to consider is that this ENCOUNTER establishes the story for the next TREE. All ENCOUNTERs conclude with a “check” where the reader is asked if they obtained ‘sacred item’ or not, and is directed to starting point for next TREE based on answer.

Phase 4: Second TREE: Of initial importance is the fact that this TREE has two inputs, meaning two potential starting points stemming from the same ENCOUNTER. After this consideration, the writer provides a choice for each input (having vs not having sacred item) which splits into three outputs (again, not including the requisite ‘death’ possibility, not considered a true output). The enclosed ‘death output’ must steam from the ‘no-sacred item’ input. The other possibility stemming from not-having the item must result in the death of one member of the team. One output stemming from having the item will result in just barely surviving/escaping. The final output stemming from having the item will result in prevailing over the challenge. Ultimately the three outputs will conform, not to a binary but a trinary, resulting in either first/second/third.

Phase 5: Villain encounter: In this encounter, the perspective switches to the villain, far off in their abode. The writer must depict some scene from the villains life which properly shows their evil, and teases the eventual reveal of the final MONSTER. This is the phase with the most creative license, as it is essentially a short digression. Auhtor’s primary responsibility is to properly update the google docs, and the next phase of writers in checking for consistency. For example, if writer establishes that the villain has one eye, it is their responsibility to make sure all possible endings remain true to this fact. Further character rules established by nesmer still apply, and are subject to his approval or modification. After this encounter, a final check is made to place the reader in one of three possible categories depending on whether they (1) obtained the sacred item and (2) prevailed in their challenge from TREE2.

Phase 6: The End: likely the most intricate phase, instead of three separate arcs which follow the separate teams, these sections must begin by reuniting the team. Consequently, after the preceding check, the three separate categories for the final TREE are (1) have item/prevailed, (2) have item/survived (3) do not have item/survived with one team member. The writers assigned will have different tasks: each ultimately creates two final outputs for how the story ends, with writer handling category (1) writing the ’victory’ scenario, and the writer for (3) creating the ‘defeat’ scenario.