Contest time everyone

It's been far too long since we held our last contest, so we're hoping that this might lead to a more frequent schedule as well. Enter "the Great Stormspire Scavenger Hunt".

OVERVIEW

Given the way this community has grown and developed over the past year or so, and in light of how diverse our member/reader base has become, we wanted to find a competition that was:

a) Fun. Should be obvious.
b) Flexible. Everyone has their own unique experiences and preferences, so we didn't want to force people to do things a particular way and you should find that this contest is fairly open-ended.
c) Fair. Everyone will start from exactly the same place, and will be given an equal opportunity to compete.
d) Challenging. This won't be a cake walk, so make sure you sharpen your skills leading up to it.

THE HUNT

Goblins, your mission is simple. You will be divided into 2 groups (1 US and 1 EU) and will all be competing on the same server (per region). We have prepared a list of 30 of some of the rarest and most valuable commodities in all Azeroth. Your mission is to acquire as many as you can BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Acceptable methods of acquisition include:

-Farming them yourself
-"Snatching" them
-Accumulating gold via other means to be able to purchase them at a "regular" price.
-Paying someone else to farm them for you
-Trading items with other contestants
-Hacking the other contestants' accounts and sending them over to yourself...just kidding

THE LIST

1. [First Mate Hat]
2. [Cat Carrier (Black Tabby)]
3. [Parrot Cage (Hyacinth Macaw)]
4. [Disgusting Oozeling]
5. [Plans: Swiftsteel Shoulders]
6. [Pattern: Shoulders of Lightning Reflexes]
7. [Pattern: Swiftstrike Shoulders]
8. [Pattern: Swiftheal Mantle]
9. [Plans: Dawnsteel Shoulders]
10. [Pattern: Living Earth Shoulders]
11. [Pattern: Shoulderpads of Renewed Life]
12. [Pattern: Mantle of Nimble Thought]
13. SSC Blacksmithing Plans: any
14. SSC Leatherworking Pattern: any
15. SSC Tailoring Pattern: any
16. Sunwell Blacksmithing Plans: any
17. Sunwell Engineering Schematic: any
18. Sunwell Jewelcrafting Design: any
19. Sunwell Leatherworking Pattern: any
20. Sunwell Tailoring Pattern: any
21. Ulduar Blacksmithing Plans: any
22. Ulduar Blacksmithing Plans: any
23. Ulduar Leatherworking Pattern: any
24. Ulduar Leatherworking Pattern: any
25. Ulduar Tailoring Pattern: any
26. TOC Blacksmithing Plans: any
27. TOC Blacksmithing Plans: any
28. TOC Leatherworking Pattern: any
29. TOC Leatherworking Pattern: any
30. TOC Tailoring Pattern: any

SCORING

Prizes will be distributed based on a Points system. Each recipe will be worth a single point, but they will also be randomly allocated on a per-person basis into 3 groups, and then 2 further sub groups. Acquiring an entire sub-group will award bonus points, and completing a full group will earn you even more. While it is very unlikely that anyone will be able to get their hands on all 30, such an unprecedented accomplishment will obviously receive the largest bonus. Here's an example of how this might work.


POINTS
Each individual item is worth 1 point, regardless of which group it is in and whether or not you end up completing the group.

Completing a sub-group (all 5 items) will earn you 6 points (5 items +1 bonus)

Completing a Group (all 10 items from both sub-groups) will earn you 20 points. This means that completing a Group will still be more advantageous than completing 3 sub-groups on their own. Plan accordingly.

If you somehow manage the implausible feat of collecting all 30 items, after successfully passing a detailed audit , you will receive 75 points.

In order to score a point, you must trade the item to one of the Contest Judges. All items received will be collected and redistributed for the second phase of the contest.

THE SALE
After the first phase has ended, and depending on the number of items collected, we will be evenly distributing the items amongst all contestants for you to try to sell. Items MUST be sold before the deadline for the second phase ends, so make sure to price accordingly.

Items can either be sold through the AH, COD, or via direct trade. If you sell the item through the AH, we will accept a screenshot of your TSM_Accounting, MySales data and/or of the Auctions Tab with item sold. AH sales will be corroborated through API data/TUJ. In the event of any discrepancy, try to use as many sources of data as possible to be safe.

For COD, please get a screenshot of the mail to be sent, and then of whichever tracking addon you use for mail. MailOpener is recommended, but we won't force you to use some mail addon against your will. Just make sure your addon has a substantial enough record log and/or disable auto-opening so that you can get a screenshot.

For direct trades, it is preferred that you contact one of the judges beforehand so that we can be present to witness the trade. We will all make toons on the contest server, so be sure to add us to your friend list so you can send us a mail or PST. You can also try a PM or IRC to try and catch us. If for whatever reason, we aren't around, and you've got a sale lined up, make sure to take as many screenshots as possible (trade window, trade log for loot received, etc.)

THE JOURNEY
Similarly to our last contest, we would like to give participants the opportunity to score points based on their ability to entertain us with their particular adventure.

In order to facilitate this, we will be using the new Blogging Platform that @Sterling implemented not too long ago. You can create your own blog entry simply by going to Blogs->Official stormspire.net blogs, and then clicking on "Create New Post" on the right. If you would like for your blog entries to remain private, simply go to your "settings" page and click on the "Blog" link from the left-side navigation (it should be the last one). Then disable any of the checkboxes that relate to visibility and you're all set.

Points will be given subjectively by a panel of judges, so we would encourage you to be as descriptive and creative as possible. Additional media (images, videos, etc.) are highly encouraged, but not necessary. If you weave us a fascinating story, we'll make sure it is appropriately rewarded.

GROUND RULES
- Fair gameplay is expected. We will be monitoring the contest both in-game and outside of it, and if anyone is found to be engaging in inappropriate or dishonest activity, they will be subject to penalty and/or disqualification. If you are unsure about anything, ASK! I don't expect we'll have an issue with this, but now it's in there just in case.


TIMEFRAME
If you would like to participate in this contest, all you need to do is reply to this thread with your region (US or EU). Registration will be closed on May 1, 11:59PM (GMT-5) to allow us to formulate the randomized groups and get everything in order.

The contest will officially begin on May 3, 12:01AM (GMT -4). A reply to this thread will be made at that time with the location of your server. The first phase of the contest will run for 6 weeks and results will be closed on June 11, 11:59PM (GMT-4). The second phase will begin on June 14, 12:01 Am (GMT-4) and will run for 3 weeks, ending on July 4, 11:59PM (GMT-4). Journal entries will be accepted for an additional week beyond that, and will be closed on July 11, 11:59PM (GMT-4).

PRIZES
3rd Prize: Any TCG loot or Blizz store swag of your choice, valued up to $45.
2nd Prize: Any gaming gear of your choice, valued up to $75 - not including tax and shipping.
1st Prize: Any gaming gear of your choice, valued up to $130 - not including tax and shipping.

The top 10 contestants will also receive complimentary Ethereal Contributor status for 6 months. (6 additional months for existing Ethereal Contributors)

That's it. If you have any questions, post a reply here, hop in IRC, or send us a PM.

Enjoy the Hunt!

-Consortium Staff Team (@Sterling , @Sinshroud , @calianna , @Kathroman )