CWF Handbook


ABOUT CWF


CWF (Championship Wrestling Federation) is a roleplay based efed, touring the USA and sometimes overseas and performing in large arenas. It is around the audience share of late 90’s WCW.

We have one show each week, called Evolution. On those shows you can roleplay only once. There is no word limit for roleplays. Roleplays are judged 45% based on ‘trash talk’ and 55% on the story itself. More on the roleplay judging later.

Our schedule is generally four weekly Evolution shows then a PPV scheduled two weeks after. The roleplay limit and judging criteria remains the same for the PPV’s.

Failure to show for an event without prior notice is likely to mean you are removed from the roster. If there’s a problem, let Justin know. If you don’t want to be booked for an upcoming show, let Justin know in advance.




ROLEPLAY GUIDELINES


– Competitive role-plays here are known simply as “Promos” and do not have any word restrictions. The length of any role-play has absolutely no bearing on the outcome. It's about reaching that "perfect" length that fits you. Give us enough, but leave us wanting more. While you may sit in fear at seeing a 5,000 monster of a role-play, worry not. Time and time again in the CWF, a 1k word roleplay has proven victorious over a role-play with two, three and four times as many words. It’s not about the word count, it’s about making the words count. We want you to express yourself without feeling confined to a limit, but also without feeling the need to ‘match word for word’.  Filler is a role-play killer. We cannot stress this enough: A longer role-play does NOT equal winning role-play. So do not be discouraged if your opponent drops a ‘monster promo’. Stick to what works for you. Trust in the voting staff. – QUALITY over QUANTITY.

KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF:
Does the backstory (if you add backstory) make sense?
Does the backstory or rp in general drag on?
Can I say the same things in fewer words?
Is there relevance to my match/do I talk about my match?
Did I spend time talking about my opponent?
Did I show that I know my opponent? (did I do homework?)
Was I creative or do I drag on?

- Relevancy/Argument
Relevancy is simple. Did you talk about your match or story-line or successfully advance your character in a meaningful way. Ultimately, your case for winning has to make sense. We look for Opponent Relevance, Match Relevance, Valid Points and Facts, did you do your homework?. Most feds just want you to “talk about your opponent” but anyone can do that. Here, we want to see that you've done your homework and really made a case for why your character is going to win.

- Entertainment / Creativity
Is it enjoyable and interesting or does it go on and on and on? Are you creative or is it dull and boring? Did you try and cram extra words in to appear longer? If so, you probably lost us and the match.

- Flow
Did the role play flow well? Was I able to follow along or did you lose me? Are you jumping around all over the place or is everything clearly stated? Can we clearly tell who is speaking?

– The role-play limit for each and every show is ONE per character. This will always be the case, unless otherwise specified on the event card itself.


– There is no hard and fast rule about the structure of your Promo. You may choose to make them straight old-school dialogue only with just a bunch of trash talk; you may decide to add some scene and context to them - it's entirely up to you. Remember that you can be as creative as you want to be. Nothing will limit your ideas other than you. However do not under any circumstances utilize someone else’s character in your role-play without their permission first. We encourage people to collaborate and work together on role-plays and show segments, but it's a matter of respect to ask them to contribute their characters and not force them into your bits.

 – Character Development role-plays are encouraged here, and they are NOT subject to any kind of word count or posting limit. We have a CD board on the forums that are intended for posting role-plays that don't have to do with your match this week, or maybe don't fit in with what you are doing for your "official"  match roleplay. If you want to try something new, but don't know how well it will go over, try a Character Development post. It will not count as far as judging goes, but developing your character and storylines go a long way to success here.

– Breaking Character/Out of Character Comments: If you break character, in the sense you say something in a role-play that happened OOC, you will get an automatic loss. There are creative ways to place a *wink* or a *nod* towards OOC events, but the line is very small and easily crossed. An example of crossing the line is if the handler were to have something happen to him/her and you the wrestler mention it in a role-play. This would be breaking character. Any mention of the handler, the handlers behavior, the handler having multiple characters or insulting the handlers ability to read/write properly, these are all automatic loss traits that are not tolerated in CWF. This is also a form of bullying, which is not allowed in the CWF.

 – Making comments in a role-play such as: "Management had me lose on purpose" or anything of that nature, will be an automatic loss unless part of an approved story-line with Justin and the writers. We strongly believe in "kayfabe", and with that, the matches are not predetermined in any fashion. Stay in character for your role-plays please, and do not air your dirty laundry on the forums masked as a character role-play. It will make the character sound like a total idiot. If the wrestler loses a match, it's because they got their ass beat from a better opponent on that night.

– For tag team matches, in the event of close match or "tie" situation, the best individual role-play always wins. In the case where you write 1 role-play and your opponent(s) write 2, each role-play is judged individually. So having written more role-plays than your opponent(s) does not guarantee a victory. This is the same for 3v3 Tag Team matches or Survivor Series type matches.

– Once again, you are not permitted to use another person's character without their prior consent to do so. Management can – and will – use your character in segments within the results, but only because by signing up to the fed, you've agreed to the rules that state this is the case. We also ask that you do not include any offensive, racially motivated, or unnecessary sexually explicit elements in your character or role-plays. Attempt to keep it mature. If you're making a non-offensive joke about a race or ethnic group, or your character is just dark, or you write a scene where you're just lying in bed with a woman, don't worry.

– We understand that, in a competitive environment, losses can sometimes sting. However, it is never acceptable to cry foul publicly and cause unrest within the group, simply because you've had your ego bruised. Any queries or questions relating to match outcomes will always be treated with the utmost respect by management, so long as they are pitched privately, via direct messaging. Keep it off the boards and social media.

 – Get involved. Opportunities are awarded to those who contribute positively to the fed, both in character (via role-plays, contributing segments to the result shows, collaborating with other writers, reliably posting a RP every time you are booked) and out of character (promoting the site, adopting a friendly attitude to others, participating in OOC discussions, feedbacking the shows and other handlers and most importantly enjoying this for what it is – a game).

 – We have a strict "Three Strikes" policy for no-shows. We understand things come up, people may register and then forget about it, have family emergencies, etc. If you do not get a role-play done within the window, please try to explain to Justin or on the forums what happened in a timely manner. Don't leave us hanging please. If you no-show and we don't hear from you, we will not book you until you tell us you want booked again. If it's a repeating problem, again, it's three strikes and you're out. Nothing is worse then putting your heart and soul into a RP for a match and then your opponent does not even bother to show up. Please have respect, and we will respect you.

ROLEPLAYING DEADLINES


Deadlines are consistent in CWF. For the weekly show (Evolution) Roleplaying runs from Monday to Saturday. These deadlines are posted on the forums each week.

PPV roleplaying has an extended timeframe and runs from Monday to the following Wednesday. Again, these deadlines are posted on the forums each week.

ROLEPLAY JUDGING


Roleplays are judged on two criteria: The Story, & the Trash Talk.

THE STORY

The ‘story’ section of the roleplay, I judge on the following criteria: the creativeness of the piece, how vivid the descriptions are, how much the roleplay furthers the character's internal story, and how interesting the background scenery is. How effective is the dialogue between your character and your side characters in this particular rp. I am very big on character development also, the more you explain how your character would react to certain things, how your character feels in a certain situation, the better off your piece will be in my eyes. The more vivid the description in the background, the better too. If I read your roleplay and can picture myself being where your character is, then you are doing your job right.
Character development is a large focus in the judging criteria. The more you explain how your character would react to certain things, how your character feels in a certain situation, the better off your piece will be scored. The more vivid the description in the background, the better.


TRASH TALK

For trash talk, judging is based on how creative the match talk is, how well the trash talk blends in to the rest of the roleplay, and how descriptive the dialogue is. Try to think, are you saying the same old, same old that every efedder before you has said? If so, rethink your approach. Try to create an interesting narrative that threads into your dialogue aimed at your opponents in a unique and interesting way. Creativity is a huge key here.

Mistakes in spelling or grammar also affect how the roleplay is graded.


ROLEPLAY LENGTH


Length in a roleplay means little to nothing in CWF. If you have an amazing 2,000 word roleplay, where you hit every mark right on the money, it's going to be better than a 4,000 word piece packed full of filler. Try to weave an engaging narrative with relevant dialogue based on your opponent, and your own character.


SHOW FEEDBACK


The team writing the shows put a lot of time and effort into putting the shows together and getting them out on time. Whilst feedback isn’t required, the creative team would appreciate receiving feedback on shows so that the shows can continue to improve week on week, and the use of your character on the shows can also improve. The team want you to have a great time at CWF, so improving how your character is portrayed by them on the shows is key. This can only happen with your feedback. Providing good quality, detailed feedback on a regular basis does give a very slight favour in your roleplay judging.


SEGMENTS, MATCHES & DEADLINES


You are encouraged to submit your own segments to run on the shows, the deadline for segments and matches to be submitted for the card is the day FOLLOWING the roleplay deadline. Please see the SHOW FORMATTING section for details on how these segments and matches should be written. Contributing to the show via segments and matches does give a very slight favour in your roleplay judging.

SHOW FORMATTING


Shows are written in present tense, novel format. If you are not familiar with these terms, please look at previous shows of ours and/or google the terms to become familiar with them. The exception here is dialogue. Dialogue is written in script format.


CWF CONTRACT

So, you've been in the business for a while, fought through the minor leagues and now you think you have what it takes to impress the Championship Wrestling Federation? Well, they've been watching you, scouting you. Anxiously anticipating your arrival.
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The only question left to ask is, can you really handle life in the CWF?
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First, a quick breakdown of the rules:
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All characters must be original only, no Cena's or Undertaker's allowed here.
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If you are booked for a show, you are expected to roleplay. One roleplay per show, but additional character development roleplays are allowed on the forum as needed. Please do not no-show events, there is a "Do-Not-Book-Me" thread for a reason.
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All applications are done through the forums. Please include any and all relevant information about your character in your app. This will be used to create your character's Bio page and a reference for writers to use during your matches. Please include wrestler name, entrance music, pic base, move sets, face/heel alignment, age, weight, nationality, etc. The deeper the bio, the deeper your character will be, and the writer's will see your level of commitment.
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Please no flaming other handlers, or getting upset over results. This is for fun, but as in any competition where winners and losers are decided, feelings can get hurt. If you have any concerns, please take them up with Justin Rishel on the forums via a private message.
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There are no word limits on roleplays, but bigger is not always better. Please remember that our handlers have other commitments and don't want to spend hours upon hours reading one post. We have used a 4,000 word limit in the past, and that is a number that has been generally used as a "not too high, not too low" number for people to work with. Please don't feel obligated to write that much, if you are unable to...quality will be graded over quantity.
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Other than that, the rules of CWF are that there are no rules. No limits. No glass ceilings, no favorites. With hard work and a helluva character, you could be CWF World Heavyweight Champion in no time...

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The CWF awaits here: