r/whowouldwin • u/TheAsianIsGamin • Jun 12 '25
Event Character Scramble Season 20 Sign-Ups
Character Scramble Season 20 Sign-Ups
Fill out this form to join the season. If you do not fill this out, you will not receive a team.
Click here for a list of already-posted submissions
Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions
The Character Scramble is a long-running writing prompt tournament in which participants submit characters from fiction to a specified tier and guideline. After the submission period ends, the submitted characters are "scrambled" and randomly distributed to each writer, forming their team for the season. Writers will then be entered into a single-elimination bracket, where they write a story that features their team fighting against their opponent's team. Victors are decided based on reader votes; in other words, if you want people to vote for you, write some good content. The winner by votes of each match-up moves on to the next round. The tournament continues until only one participant remains: the new Character Scramble champion!
The Champion joins the GMs of the next season, is responsible for the theme and tier of the next season as well as all of the writing prompts, and they also get to choose a monthly banner theme for the subreddit as a reward.
Come join our official Discord Channel! It’s the most active community for Scramble by a HUGE margin, and is the first place to get new info as it comes out. You don’t even have to participate in the chat to be a part of the fun, so just swing on by!
Click here to join the email list.
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Basic Rules & Scramble Process
PLEASE NOTE: Signups will close at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on July 3rd, and Tribunal will go up the following morning. Anyone who isn’t done when Tribunal goes up will have their incomplete submissions removed or will be DQed if they don’t have enough submissions after removal. If you don't want to be rushing to finish, get your stuff done well before the deadline!
If you want to compete, you must submit THREE (3) characters, one in each of the three listed Classes, that adhere to the rules listed in the Submission Rules section below.
You may also optionally submit TWO (2) backup entrants, which must be of different classes and will also adhere to some rules.
- Specify at the top of the submission post if a character is a backup. If a main character submission is deemed out-of-tier in Tribunal, the submission will be replaced by an entry of your choice from the backup pool.
- While listing backups, feel free to list the other classes they might fall under for convenience, as in Tribunal, you'll be able to pull backups subbed to roles other than the one an OoT'd sub was placed into (as long as they could feasibly fit into this role as well). Of course, still pick a role to sign them up as.
Each character must be submitted in their own parent comment in this thread. Don't reply to your own submission comment with another submission; make a separate comment thread for each individual submission.
After you complete your submission posts for all of your main submissions and any back-up submissions, fill out and submit the submission form linked at the very top of this post.
If you need to make a change during sign-ups, just resubmit the submission form with the same name and new info. We'll use whichever version is newest.
DO NOT resubmit this form after Tribunal; we'll account for any Tribunal changes to rosters on our end.
After signups are done, we'll begin the Tribunal, which is a community-regulated period for users to point out characters they feel are over- or underpowered.
Please keep an open mind when receiving criticism; it is encouraged for you to comment on the characters of other participants as well. Similarly, please be diplomatic as you go about these debates.
Characters with issues that are not amicably resolved may be replaced by a back-up character at the discretion of the GMs and a panel of selected judges.
If you would like to apply to be a Tribunal judge, please fill out this form.
After Tribunal, the characters are scrambled so that every participant ends up with two submitted characters. You will then select a third, according to the rules below, to create a team with a sub of each Class: a Vanguard, an Infiltrator, and a Sentinel, each of which will be described in a later section.
This season will include a Pick One rule like in Season 18, rather than a Keep One rule like in others. When subs are scrambled into teams, you will receive two characters of different classes. During Round 0, you will then choose your third team member from the pool of unscrambled characters in the class you haven’t yet received.
This pool is guaranteed to include your unscrambled sub in that class. So it’s a good idea to submit high-quality characters that you’d enjoy writing about for weeks or even months—that way, you’re guaranteed to have something you like in your Pick One pool!
Participants also have the option to opt out of NSFW submissions and veto one submission out of the list of total submissions. (You can't veto your own submissions.) Links to a form for opt-out and veto will be provided after Tribunal ends and before the scrambling happens. You may not opt out of NSFW submissions if you have yourself submitted a character from NSFW media.
Once everyone has their teams, the rounds will begin. Every round, a prompt is posted. Players are expected to write about how their characters would defeat their opponents based on the prompt.
At the end of the round, the thread is locked and the voting thread is posted. Voting is done using Google forms, so you'll need a Google account to vote.
Voting is mandatory; failing to vote in any round will result in disqualification, no exceptions. If you cannot vote due to time constraints, message /u/TheAsianIsGamin or /u/Morvis343 and we can work around that.
After results are posted, the brackets are updated and the next round begins.
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Theme
The theme of Scramble 20 is
Mass Effect
Since the release of its first game in 2007, the Mass Effect franchise has taken its place in history as one of the most critically acclaimed role-playing games and works of science fiction of all time. Tens of millions of players have stepped into the shoes of the daring and charismatic Commander Shepard and, in their quest to save the galaxy from fearsome foes that lurk in dark space, have fallen in love with the rich characters and storylines, as well as the deep and intricate way their choices matter and affect the overall experience.
We hope we can capture some of that “choices matter” magic as we bring you a season of prompts which, while not following the events of any one game chronologically, will serve as something of a highlight reel, a greatest-hits tour of some of the series' most memorable moments.
Submission Rules
Participants will submit THREE (3) characters who fit the tier, each into one of three classes inspired by the Mass Effect games, explained more below.
You get up to ONE (1) major change on each character submission submitted this season. Refer to the FAQ for more info.
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Tiersetter & Details
Scramble tiersetters are based on specially-curated Respect Threads, using a variety of sources for their feats. Submitted characters’ feats will be compared to this RT, and any tiersetter feats not included in this RT will not apply for the purposes of tiering.
- Submissions for this season will be matched against Cloud Strife.
This is a solid step upwards from last season, but not too far—and it’s a tier we haven’t done in a while, either, so we’re super excited!
Your submissions must score between a Likely and an Unlikely Victory against the tiersetter.
For more information about what that means, check the FAQ.
- For tiering purposes, all matches will take place in Armax Arena. Combatants will start at the center of the arena as depicted here. Although in game the billboard in the center rotates, and you can see it in different positions in the album, for tiering purposes it will remain static in the position as it is in the starting distance image. Nobody else will be in the arena other than the combatants; if you see guys in there in the screenshots, that's just /u/FreestyleKneepad's Shepard in Photo Mode (shoutout to Free for getting the pictures btw).
Beyond the tier, we are also bringing back submission roles in a way that hasn’t been seen since Season 9, more than seven years ago. To celebrate Mass Effect’s tactical gameplay and represent the wide range of extraordinary abilities Commander Shepard’s squadmates bring to the table, you will be submitting characters into three Character Classes.
These roles are modeled after three of the classes in the Mass Effect games, and each of your three main submissions are expected to align with a different one of the classes. The three classes are as follows:
Vanguard: These fighters love nothing more than a flat out brawl. These are your classic bricks. They’re the type to get in your face and just trade blows until only one is left standing. Submissions to this class should be primarily melee combatants.
Infiltrator: These combatants are no less deadly than their melee counterparts, but they prefer to take down their target with something besides brute force. They are snipers, saboteurs, summoners, and more. They can scrap in melee if forced to, but those are absolutely not their ideal conditions. Submissions to this class should either be primarily ranged combatants, or they should fight their opponents in some other unorthodox manner.
Sentinel: These combatants operate best when they have allies at their sides, bringing utility to the battlefield that their friends can benefit from. Whether they can heal their allies, shield people or objectives, create obstacles to hinder their enemies, or something else entirely, submissions to this class should bring something to the table beyond direct damage. However, they are still combatants; unlike previous roles like Manager and Spirit, this is not an exclusively supportive role. Sentinels should be combatants who can interact with the tier while still providing utility to their teammates.
We will be vibe checking subs’ suitability for these roles. This vibe check will be fairly permissive, especially for Sentinel, but we do want to make sure that we preserve the class flavor. Just because Dr. Strange is a Vanguard in Marvel Rivals doesn’t mean he’s one in Mass Effect.
While these roles are primarily for flavor, we wanted to make it a little easier for subs fulfilling that flavor to be subbed. To do this, we’ve slightly expanded how we’re going to be looking at Unlikely and Likely Victories this season, while keeping it relevant to the tiersetter:
- We will consider a Vanguard with up to high strength, high durability, and target speed to be a Likely Victory.
- We will consider an Infiltrator with up to target strength, high durability, and high speed to be a Likely Victory
- We will consider a Sentinel with at least low end in all three stats to be an Unlikely Victory.
- These slight expansions are only applicable to the class listed.
Please note that you do not have to fit ONLY these profiles. A character that is cleanly within the tier anyway is still within the tier. This includes a Vanguard sub with high speed, an Infiltrator with high strength, a character that happens to have one OoT stat but works out to be in tier, et cetera. Such characters are, simply, not eligible for the above special rules but could be subbed normally as long as they're in tier.
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Additional Rules & Guidelines
Characters must be in tier.
Characters must be researchable.
- The show, video game, movie, or other media from which your character originates must be accessible in some way, ideally online.
- Your character must have a functional Respect Thread, so that people can understand your character's stats and abilities at a glance. It is preferable that your character's Respect Thread is hosted on the Respect Threads subreddit, but Character/Team of the Week posts or any real repository of cited feats are acceptable.
- We understand that many Respect Threads are still in a state of disrepair after the death of gfycat. That being said, you are still expected to show something for your character, it’s not difficult to collect and reupload the important feats using the wayback machine for a mini-RT so please at least do that. We will NOT be extending the time to make your mini-RTs into Tribunal like we did a few seasons ago when Gfycat first perished.
- If your character does not have a Respect Thread of any kind, please at the minimum include a Mini-RT in the sign-up post with at least five combat-related feats that completely cover the character's stats and abilities. VSBattlesWiki pages or similar sources are not acceptable Respect Threads.
You cannot submit characters that you have created, helped to create, or in any way developed. If the GMs believe you have asked someone else to submit a character you created, we might ban that as well.
You cannot submit a character with feats based on a previous Scramble story. This rule prevents Scramble writers from tailoring characters to be submitted to future tiers.
You may submit real life figures and celebrities, but not if they're notably controversial. No Trump or Biden, no Putin, no Kanye, none of that. The GMs reserve the right to decide what qualifies as "controversial."
While you can submit characters from NSFW series with risqué material (such as an ecchi anime), you cannot submit characters from actual pornography.
- Additionally, if your character is child-presenting and put into sexual situations, they will be immediately kicked out. If you are unsure whether a character falls into this category, be sure to notify a GM.
- Characters from High School DxD, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, No Game No Life, and Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA are banned from being submitted this season. Other Fate characters are allowed, though we will take them on a case by case basis.
Characters from ongoing series remain at the balance level from when they were submitted.
The GMs reserve the right to veto specific submissions under what we call the "Dude, come on" rule. This clause may sound extremely abusable, but honestly we'll only use it for submissions we feel violate the spirit of the above guidelines or are otherwise deemed unusable, like "disaster movie lava" or "a swarm of bees with the consciousness of Steve Buscemi."
Not exactly rules, but some suggestions:
Submit characters you actually want to write yourself. With this season’s Pick One mechanic, trust us when we say you’ll want to guarantee there’s something you genuinely like in the pool.
- Ask yourself: Will your hilarious meme submission idea actually be hilarious over the course of an entire writing contest, or will the joke get old immediately?
- If you're only submitting a character because the act of submitting them is funny, don't submit them.
- If you don't have any ideas for submissions, it's recommended that you try submitting one of the many back-ups we're likely to have.
- Additionally, the GMs have created an official suggestion doc, to give you a character you could submit or maybe just a point towards what kind of things you can submit.
Sometimes people like different things, and that's okay. Don't hate on a submission or submitter just because you personally don't like the character or the series. And on the other end, you don't have to withdraw a submission just because someone else doesn't like them.
You are allowed to make some changes to a character for the purpose of making sure they're in tier or otherwise clarifying what gear they have available. Within reason of course, see the FAQ for more info.
- In general, avoid submissions with changes that radically change the character, such as "Ferris Bueller with Iron Man's armor" or "Goku with the stats of Captain America."
Duplicate submissions aren't prohibited, but try to avoid submitting the fifth Spider-Man submission this Scramble. Check to see if someone else has already submitted your character before you. The best rule of thumb is that if you really want to submit a character someone else already has, at least try to find a different version of them (MCU Spider-Man as opposed to 616 Spider-Man). This allows more variety in character choice. Just make sure they fit the tier too!
Listen to feedback. You don't have to follow it, but if a lot of people are saying the same thing, at least humor the idea that they might have a point.
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System Changes To Note
Class Roles: As detailed above, we are requiring submissions to match one of three classes inspired by the Mass Effect games. Your three main submissions must each belong to a different class, and if you submit backups, each backup must belong to a different class. These classes will have slightly different parameters in Tribunal, which can be found above.
Pick One: As explained above, we’re putting the classic Keep One mechanic away this time. Instead, everyone will have the opportunity to pick the third member of their team from a pool of characters made up of the Class they haven’t received yet, and one character in that pool will be their own sub in case they want to pick it.
Major Changes: Characters may be submitted with up to ONE (1) major change to help them better fit the tier.
More information on what will be allowed for Major Changes this season can be found in the tier, and in the FAQ.
Submission Forms & Prompts
To submit a character, fill out the following form in a comment to this thread. Include either the writing or non-writing prompt. As long as all of the below information is included, you can add extra information or reformat your submission post however you want for maximum aesthetic.
Of your three main submissions, two of them MUST use the writing prompt to count. If you are submitting backups, half of your submissions, rounded up, must have writing prompts. If you submit all 2 backups, this means you have to write three writing prompts.
If you're not competing and only submitting back-ups, you may only submit 3 backups total. You still must use the writing prompt for at least two of them, and each must belong to a different class. This is your chance to win over people who otherwise wouldn't know what to replace their main sub with, so put your best foot forward and try to submit things people might enjoy writing about!
Submission Template
Name: The character's name.
Series: The name of the piece of media your character is from. You can add specifications as necessary.
Class Role: Vanguard, Infiltrator, or Sentinel? If this is a backup, feel free to list the other classes they might fall under for convenience, as in Tribunal, you'll be able to pull backups subbed to roles other than the one an OoT'd sub was placed into (as long as they could feasibly fit into this role as well).
Content Warning: Simply state if this character’s series has anything people may be uncomfortable seeing. Nudity, heavy gore, extremely graphic imagery, just mark it here. If this doesn’t apply to your character, simply leave this field blank.
Biography: A quick summary of your character. Who are they? What can they do? Where are they from? What are they like? It doesn't need to be a novel, but a good paragraph of information is appreciated.
Research: A link to your RT or RT-substitute, as well as any other links that might help someone understand your character quickly. You may also suggest how much of the series someone needs to read/watch to get a good idea of the character. Make sure it's understandable though; a newcomer won't know what My Hero Academia's "Deku Contracts Malaria" arc is.
Justification: Briefly outline why you think your character is in tier, and where in the tier they fall (Unlikely Victory, Draw, or Likely Victory—See the FAQ for more information). The non-writing prompt already covers some of this information, but to expedite the Tribunal process, at least give a sentence or two. You can write something as simple as “Strength similar, low dura but high speed,” or really get into the nitty gritty if you wish.
Motivation: Everybody fights for something, what about them? Is it love? Vengeance? Money? The thrill of the fight itself? Tell us about it here.
Major Changes: Check the FAQ for what to put here. You only get one!
Minor Changes: Check the FAQ for what to put here. You get as many of these as you need, but try not to go overboard.
Writing Prompt
It’s a big galaxy out there, and whether for work or for play, your character has ended up on a new and unknown planet… or, at least, one they’ve never been on themselves. Before they can get their bearings, though, two things catch their eye: A scowl and a giant chunk of steel.
The man says that this is just business, contract work for some guy neither of you have ever met—but last you checked, mercenaries didn’t usually run around with swords that big.
Either way, one thing is clear: You’re not getting out of this without a fight.
Prompt Rules
Not Trained, but Chosen: You are writing a battle between your character and Cloud Strife, where, no matter how hurt they are, they’ll come out alive. Even if your character has only a small chance of victory against their opponent, write that small chance happening!
I Will Destroy You!: You must defeat Cloud in a direct physical confrontation. He’s a pretty standoffish guy anyway, so maybe he deserves a good punch to the face. Although the prompt is reasonably open, you must write a fight, and you must write your character winning. If you are doing a writeup for a Sentinel class, you may instead write about how your character assists someone notably weaker than Cloud to defeat him instead. Keep in mind, however, that Sentinels still fight themselves.
The Lazarus Project: Cloud doesn’t have to be Cloud. You can substitute his appearance in your signup for anything or anyone you like. Whatever you pick as the opponent will be assumed to be an equally strong stand-in.
Galaxy Map: The default location of the fight for tiersetting purposes is Armax Arena, as stated above. However, you may set your writeup wherever you want. Go crazy. After all; nobody’s doing any voting yet.
Non-Writing Prompt
Analysis Versus Cloud Strife: Go deeper into how your character fares against the benchmark. How their abilities match the tier, how their stats counteract each other, specific instances that are likely to happen in a fight between them, and so on. Because this analysis serves as a replacement for a narrative, you need to communicate how your character fights (for instance, whether they rush in headlong or approach tactically and exploit weaknesses) and what that means for them fighting other characters.
Biggest Strength and Weakness: Discuss the best thing your character brings to the table in a fight (a tactical mind, unorthodox abilities, good stats, et cetera), and also what detriments or drawbacks they might have (a specific stat that's lower than the others, lack of ranged options, inability to work with others, et cetera.)
Character in Setting/with Team: Your character is going to be thrown into a large group setting. How will they function in that kind of thing? Are they a leader type? A lone wolf? Will they try and betray their allies? Or will they just hang out, do as they’re told, and hope their side wins? Explore how they fit into a group dynamic here.
Paragon or Renegade: We’ve each got choices to make on our journey. Your sub is no different. Is your character more the Boy Scout type who wants to accomplish their goals “the right way?” Or are they the maverick who will do whatever needs to be done to kick the bad guy’s ass and get the mission done?
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u/GuyOfEvil Jun 16 '25 edited Jun 18 '25
Lightning
Series: Final Fantasy XIII
Class Role: Vanguard
Content Warning: Nothing too crazy I can think of
Biography: Lightining was once a member of the Guardian Corps, a branch of the military of the planet Cocoon that dealt with peacekeeping issues. She lived with her sister Serah, and was generally a doting, if somewhat aloof sister. All that changed when Serah was branded a Fal'cie. This bio could extend out infinitely if i tried to explain too much, so suffice it to say, Serah had to gather a group of people together to fulfill her mission, including Lightning. At the conclusion of that task, Serah was turned to crystal, and Lightning became a Fal'cie herself, given the task to either cause or prevent Ragnarok, the destruction of Cocoon.
She embarks on a quest to get revenge against the government on Cocoon who caused her current situation, along the way happening towards the fulfillment of her destiny. And some other stuff happens in the other XIII games too.
Research: Mini-RT here, as for tangible research, just play Final Fantasy XIII, it's a really fun and cool video game.
Justification: She scales to Sephiroth, mostly that's how she's in tier, she's able to clash evenly with Sephiroth and dodge or deflect his attacks. Her own feats put her more towards the top of the tier, with launching Caius through several buildings and taking hits that destroy very large rocks. Plus Odin, her summon, is decently strong.
Although she may be able to overpower Cloud in the small aggregate, she is pretty fundamentally something he has fought before and triumphed against. She probably wins more often than not, but especially with the Vanguard tiering expansion, he'll be fine. Likely Victory
Motivation: She can want to save her sister, help her friends, or just complete the mission that made her a Fal'Cie so that she doesn't become a shambling corpse. Or she's just generally a person with a sense of right and wrong and the strength to see it through. She's a very motivated person.
Major Changes: None
Minor Changes: None