[center][color=black][h1][u]The Twelve Labours[/u][/h1][/color][/center]
Hello, and welcome to the first entry in The Twelve Labours, a brand new writing contest alongside RPGC! As a little bit of a forward, I would like to issue a thanks to [@mdk] and the rest of the RPGC crew for being willing to work with me, helping to schedule our contests around each other. We both reached out and agreed to avoid a conflict of scheduling so that the people of the forum would not have to divide their attention between two great contests (Those of you who participated or voted in Inspired by a Song know just how much focus and time these eat up!). I would also like to thank [@mahz], who offered to provide some technical assistance if necessary for the effort.

The Twelve Labours is intended to be much different to what those of you who were used to WotM in the Oldguild might be used to. For one thing, [b][u]there is no voting, and there is no single winner![/u][/b] Instead, at the start of each contest, I will describe a challenge to be met. At the end of the contest, everyone who participated in the contest who managed to meet the criteria of the challenge while also adhering to a certain standard of quality expected of good storytelling is a winner! Wow!

Not to say I will be making things easy for anybody. The Twelve Labours, as a whole, is intended to challenge every participant as a writer and to push them outside of their comfort zone. Back before the Oldguild collapse, I had run several pilot sessions of The Twelve Labours in a private group called RPG Solace (Hello to any former members who might be out there). The results of those pilot sessions have led me to believe that most people will have more difficulty with the challenges than might be initially apparent. People even willingly submitted material they knew didn't meet the criteria of the challenge, because they couldn't do what the challenge specified (which is perfectly ok to do here as well. If you can't meet the challenge criteria but think the story should be seen anyway, submit it! You won't win anything, but we'll review it just like every other story).

As a general notice, please be aware that The Twelve Labours is intended to challenge writers, not to unhinge them. We will never present explicit or mature challenges. You can submit explicit and mature entries, but make sure you either follow the guild rules, or else post the story in a link offsite (any such stories will be specifically labeled as NSFW). This is reiterated in the basic Entry Rules below.

Also, each TTL challenge will be shorter than RPGC. Each submission period will [u][b]LAST PRECISELY AND EXACTLY TWELVE DAYS, NO EXCEPTIONS, NO EXTENSIONS[/b][/u]. There will follow a three day judging period in which I (and hopefully a few other judges, check out the discussion thread here for more details) will read every submitted story and determine whether it has passed the challenge criteria, as well as write a review for each. Since people are not voting on winning stories anymore, we can afford to have a shorter judging period! This all means that The Twelve Labours challenges will never take more than fifteen days! As of now, you can expect the next RPGC entry to be up on April 30th.
[h2]Entry Rules:[/h2]
	1. Jaffar's (left) thumb.
	2. Follow the [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/531-fundamental-rules-of-the-guild/ooc]standard guild rules[/url].
	3. Obey the Dark Lord Sauron's [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/77197-moderation-policy-in-the-rp-sections/ooc]rules[/url] as well (just to cover all the bases).
	4. Follow MY [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/79559-the-twelve-labours-rules-standards-and-conditions/ooc]rules[/url] too. Let it never be said we did not warn you.
	5. Send your entry to [@Terminal] by April 30th.
	6. Be sure to include whether or not you want your story to remain anonymous! I will add your name only if I am given your permission!
	7. Any explicit/mature material must be kept off-site. I will only post links to them with NSFW notices.
	8. I reserve the right to simply toss out any story if it doesn't possess a basic modicum of good sense and taste. Don't make me.
	9. If your setting is borrowed from a franchise, make sure to include a disclaimer and credit the original inventor of the setting used. 
[h2]Prizes:[/h2]
Pending further developments by [@mahz], the guild moderators, and the numerous contributors who are constantly attending to the site's functionality, every participant who submits an entry that clears the basic parameters of the challenge can win a cool forum title, as well as a trophy. In addition, we have a number of SECRET BONUS CHALLENGES, with any entry that meets their criteria having the chance to win additional trophies. These Bonus challenges are deliberately being kept secret in order to make sure everybody doesn't frame their stories in the same manner, but they will be revealed once the submission period has expired.

In addition, all winning entries will be saved to a public archive, a link to which will be permanently available in my signature! Winners will also be mentioned in the News section of the Guild. As a reminder, unless you specifically give me permission to include authorship of an entry, every posted story will remain anonymous.
[center][color=black][h2]The First Labour[/h2][/color] [img]http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs15/i/2007/091/6/b/Leo_by_CORinAZONe.jpg[/img]
[quote=Lord Vetinari, Discworld]"There is little difference between being invulnerable, and being indispensable."[/quote][/center]
[hider=The First Labour][center][color=black][h3]The First Labour[/h3][/color]
[b]This [color=black]labour[/color] will require you to make use of your [color=Aquamarine]favorite character[/color], whom is of your own making. Think upon their [color=Tan]history[/color] and [color=Coral]experiences[/color], all their [color=Gold]accomplishments[/color] and [color=Purple]failings[/color]. Think upon their [color=Salmon]joys[/color] and [color=Indigo]sorrows[/color] - all that makes them [color=Aquamarine]special[/color] to you, and how their [color=OrangeRed]actions[/color], [color=BurlyWood]words[/color], and [color=LightSlateGray]thoughts[/color] connect with your own.[/b]
[hider=The Challenge]
[color=black][b]Write a death scene for your character. Make it unpleasant. No dying peacefully on their death bed, unless that happens to be a particularly bad way for them to go. All deaths are final. Ensure they do not return, and ensure they are not made a martyr of except perhaps against their will.[/b][/color][/hider][/center][/hider][hider=Clarification of the Challenge Parameters]This section exists specifically to ensure there is no ambiguity or ambivalence in what, precisely, the challenge requires of each participant. If you have any specific questions which are not addressed here, please send them to [@Terminal] for resolution.

For [color=black]The First Labour[/color], I have asked you to write a death scene for your favorite character.

Q. What do you mean by 'Favorite?'
A. The character whom you, personally, like the most, in a general sense. Not the character you feel is the strongest, or smartest, or bestest. Not the character all your friends like. Not somebody ELSE'S character. Use the Character who occupies the #2 spot on your list of amazing things (right below Jaffar's left thumb).

Q. My favorite character is an immortal and invincible reality warping god who is already a dead zombie ghost lich!
A. That's nice. [color=black][b][i][u]END THEM.[/u][/i][/b][/color]

Q. Can I have them go out doing something heroic?
A. Nope. The death has to be unpleasant. As an extension of 'no martyrs,' there should be no intentionally heading off to their horrible death in fulfillment of some nobler goal. Optimally, their death should be something they genuinely do not want to happen or saw coming.

Q. I have more than one favorite character!
A. I cannot ask you to pick a favorite, since the fact that you would then be killing them results in a twisted conflict of interest that might subconsciously affect your decision. Therefore, kill all of them. It's the only way to be fair. I am sure the readers will appreciate your multi-feature show.

Q. Can my character come back later in the story?
A. Absolutely not. All Deaths Are Final. Feel free to bring them back outside of The First Labour, and use them in RPs and such, but for the purposes of this contest they must die and stay dead. They can return for future contests, of course.

Q. What is that about Martyrs?
A. Very simply, your character cannot willingly permit their own death as a means of fulfilling some higher, nobler goal. No running off to distract the bandit horde while the civilians escape to safety, please. However, that said, your character can die as a martyr as long as being made a martyr of is against their best interests, or otherwise contrary to their own wishes (I.E., if their arch-enemy propped them up as a Martyr for their own purposes, that is permitted).

Q. 'Unpleasant?'
A. It doesn't need to be grisly or gory. Just a Bad End, if that makes any sense. Like if Frodo shoved Sam into Mt. Doom, and then went back outside to be viciously stabbed to death by Wraiths (ok, that's a gory example, but you get the idea).

Q. How long can my story be?
A. As long as you feel is necessary. I will read any and everything submitted, irregardless of length, and write a review on it. Do not let the short three-day judging period dissuade you. If you have a 800,000 word brick for me, I will take it. Similarly, extremely short stories are also welcome. It is entirely possible for segues as short as three paragraphs long to clear the challenge.[/hider]

[hider=Credits]Thanks again to [@mdk], and the entire RPGC crew for helping with scheduling for The Twelve Labours! Looking forward to the second RPGC on the 30th!

A special Kudos to the [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/staff]site moderators and staff[/url], since this would not even have been possible without their hard work.

The lovely image of the Nemean Lion up above was made by CORinAZONe on DeviantArt, whose profile can be viewed [url=http://corinazone.deviantart.com/]here[/url].[/hider]