Each team usually has around ten members. Sometimes more. But this year? Just ten on each side. About half of them don’t really know what’s going on, they’re new. The other half? They’ve either been here before, survived it once or twice, or they’ve read enough to figure out how it works. Or how it doesn’t.

The teams earn points by doing missions or fighting battles that get handed down by the Royal Court. These points get tracked, marked down, and thrown in your face every month as a reminder. Fifty points is the goal, but getting there doesn’t mean you’ve won. You don’t actually know if you’ve won until the last week of the year. You gotta keep going. Keep your team standing.

Points can drop into the negatives. You can also hit fifty and just sit there, stuck. You may drop below at random. Happens more than you’d think.

At the end of the year, whichever team wins gets to send two members to the Royal Court. That’s when the favors and advantages start rolling in… for the winners. The losing team? It gets harder for them next year. That’s supposed to “motivate” people. If you don’t want the whole thing to be rigged, your team can send neutral members to the Court instead, but no one’s expecting that.

Missions come in three levels: Easy, Medium, Hard. The Captain of each team picks which ones to take. Captains stay in charge until they step down… or die. Death is pretty normal for missions harder than ‘Easy,’ so, yeah. Watch your back.

Everyone on the teams has abilities. Big ones. You can have a domain, control everything inside it by thinking, but it comes with drawbacks. The stronger your power? The worse it gets. Maybe you lose control if someone nearby says something stupid and your brain runs with it. Maybe your energy burns out fast. Doesn’t matter how powerful you are, everything’s got a price. (Keep your characters balanced.)

Familiars exist, too. Optional, but helpful. Dragons, cats, sheep, even something tiny like a rabbit. They’re mostly for channeling energy, not fighting. But they’ve saved people’s lives before.

There’s a social system, obviously. Royals are at the top, powerful magic families who think they run everything. Sometimes they do. But that doesn’t mean commoners can’t be just as dangerous. It happens. Even people with no magic can claw their way up with the right tools or enough strength.

In short? You’re stuck in this. Your team, your enemies, the Court that doesn’t care if you live or die. Get to fifty points. Survive the year. Maybe you’ll be the one they crown.

Good Luck, Pray You Win.