***Zoë's Guide to The Bloodbath

So you’ve got your first tribute. Excellent! Congratulations! Writing a tribute is one of the most rewarding aspects of the site filled with character development opportunities, drama and adventure, friends and foes, and the chance to really dig deep into the essence of your character and build crucial writing skills. (Plus, who doesn’t love severing limbs and getting hacked open, amiright?) After all the hype of the reaping has died down now is the time to really gear yourself up for the games, and most importantly the bloodbath – arguably one of the most exciting, difficult and crucial part of the Games.

Brilliant, congrats! First thing you need to do is:

• Breathe
• I said breathe!
• Relax, Chill, Calm yo’self.
• Ok good – now, let’s get down to business:

The Bloodbath can make or break you, quite literally. Whilst it can be one of the most enjoyable times for members in the Games (because at the start everybody’s tributes are still alive, yay!) the Bloodbath can also be the most stressful. The most important thing to remember is DO NOT PANIC. The days (and hours) leading up to the Bloodbath can be hectic and filled with worrying, especially if it’s your first bloodbath or you’re tribsitting for someone else. Even if it’s your 1st, 4th, 5th, 10th, or 296th bloodbath it’s ok to worry! Nerves can get the better of even the most experienced Games players. Panicking will only make things worse – everybody’s nervous! Hopefully this guide will help the newer bloodbathians ease their way through their first bloodbath, and as the great band Fun once said: “It gets better!”

(PS: If you’re tribsitting, read this handy guide by South on how to be the best tribsitter ever!)

So sit back, relax, and try to remember that this is a game! It’s supposed to be fun! Yay death! Yay writing!

Alliances are a crucial part of bloodbaths and can help the security of you and your tribute immensely. A few hours after reapings have occurred you may receive invitations to join an alliance or ally with other tributes. For those of you who are new to alliances – allies are people in the bloodbath whom you don’t attack, a bit like a ‘team’ you’re a part of, and who you make decisions on who to attack, when to flee, etc. with. Alliances can have up to 4 members as per Hunger Games rules and are completely optional. If you chose not to ally with others that is perfectly fine also, but as with almost any decision in the games there are pros and cons to each choice.

If you decide to join an alliance in the Bloodbath:

• POUNCE ON IT. Some alliances are formed within hours, so if you’re interested in forming an alliance with someone, send them a PM or Skype message! This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be the leader of the alliance, it just allows you to see who would like to ally with you and gets the word out that you’re looking for alliances. It’s also quite flattering to be asked to ally with someone – don’t worry if they say yes or no, or feel bad about saying no back to someone – as long as everyone is civil and polite alliance forming is usually a nice and easy process. Plus, if your alliance or another loses members after the bloodbath, people know that you are interested in allying with them and may call on you again if you need help post-bloodbath.

• ALLY WITH PEOPLE YOU TRUST. Trust is the most important part of alliances in the Games, so people tend to ally with their friends, previous allies from past games, or people whom they are certain they can rely on. Friends are less likely to stab you in the back or throw you under the bus so to speak. 

• IF YOU WANT THE BLOODBATH ‘WEALTH’ YOU WILL NEED 4 MEMBERS. The Wealth is awarded to the last alliance left in the Bloodbath thread and is enormously valuable. It contains medicine, armor, food, water and plenty of other crucial supplies in bountiful amounts for your alliance to roll all over. However, to qualify for the wealth at least one member of your alliance must be in the first 15 tributes to enter the bloodbath, so you’ll need to stick it out for a while to fight for it. 

• COMMUNICATION IS CRUCIAL. Being able to talk to your alliance members before, during and after the bloodbath is very, very, VERY important. I cannot stress this enough, TALK TO YOUR ALLIANCE MEMBERS REGULARLY. Skype is an excellent way to communicate as you can group chat all at once. Alternatively you can make a cbox, but that has to be opened in another tab and it’s much easier to have Skype open in a different window rather than switch back and forth between tabs as you’re posting in the Bloodbath. Being able to discuss strategy, thread planning, interviews and other games-related stuff prior to the Bloodbath helps to put everyone’s mind at ease and makes sure that everyone is in the know as to what will be happening when you enter the Bloodbath, and once you’re in it’s an effective means of communicating what everyone’s feeling, if somebody is getting attacked, damage scores, flee times, etc. It’s also great for getting to know your allies a bit better and forming bonds with other members. (Also, don’t be that idiot who discusses their allies and strategy in the cbox, you’re sort of asking to be killed. TLDR: SKYPE IS GREAT, YAY TALKING!)

• SOMEONE HAS TO CALL THE SHOTS. Elect a good strategist, experienced Games player or someone whom you’re all comfortable will make good decisions to call the final shots in the Bloodbath. If an argument, conflict or situation in which you’re unsure comes about, this person will make the final (and hopefully best) decision. This is the ‘leader’ of the team if you’d like – but make sure they’re open to other people’s suggestions too. Sometimes the best ideas come from the most unlikely of alliance members.

• DON’T DITCH YOUR ALLIANCE. Again, the most important aspect of an alliance is trust. If you turn on your alliance you will look appalling and nobody will want to ally with you for a long time. Karma is a bitch after all (see: Michael Smith insta’ing his ally Sapphire Ross in the 59th bloodbath and then simultaneously getting insta’d himself.) If you want to flee because you’re getting attacked let your alliance know first and make sure they know you’re fleeing so they can make the decision on whether or not they will stay to grab more items or flee with you. Communication is essential!

• TRUCING: “No” – Rosetta. (Or at the very least be subtle about it for Ripred’s sake!)

If you decide to go it alone:

• KNOW THAT IT’S RISKY. To put it simply, you’re defenseless in the Bloodbath. If an alliance decides to gang up on you, you’ve got nobody else to scare them off. Be prepared to run in, grab a few items, and run out again. Bloodbaths are crazy and you’re more secure with allies if you want to get as many items as possible. On the other hand, if you’re confident that you will have enough money to buy a good lot of sponsorship items going it alone can be extremely effective.

• DON’T EXPECT TO GAIN A LOT OF ITEMS. The more time you spend in the bloodbath the more dangerous it becomes, with or without an alliance. If you don’t want to risk your tribute’s life, get in and out as fast as you can. Prior to the Bloodbath, see if you can get sponsorship from friends and other members on the site – the more cash you have after the Bloodbath on Day 1 the better. If you’re struggling to find sponsorship money try working it to your strong points. Lots of members offer a ‘Sponsor for Graphics/Tables/Writing/Poems/Videos’ system in which they are rewarded creations by you for sponsoring your tribute. 

• GO IN WHEN IT’S BUSY/YOU FEEL SAFEST. From my bloodbath experience whilst tribsitting I’ve been in to situations in which I’ve gone in without an alliance – once in the 63rd, and again in the 64th. In the 63rd I went in towards the middle when the bloodbath was ridiculously busy, so much so that the Gamemakers had to halt the bloodbath at least 4 times. This allowed me to sneak in and out without being noticed – whilst everyone was ganging up on other alliances I snuck in, grabbed about 7 items, and fled just before I was attacked with 0 damage and a good amount of items. In the 64th, I went in when two alliance compromised of my friends who knew I was tribsitting went in. Although I hadn’t allied with them nor was I truced with them (because the Gamemakers hate that!) I felt that it was the safest time for me to enter the Bloodbath because my friends wouldn’t want me to have to tell Clover that I’d gotten her tribute killed. However this Bloodbath wasn’t as hectic as the 63rd and I took about 15 damage, getting out with 2 or 3 items. I’d rather have Clover’s tribute out and alive with a few items than dead with better items for someone else to nab.

• AVOID BEING THE LAST TRIBUTE LEFT. If you are left with a 4-person alliance vs. you, and the Bloodbath rules come into play, at least 3 of those alliance members are going to have to attack you before you can successfully flee. More often than not the alliance won’t go easy on you and attack unarmed, so you’ll be taking pretty hefty damage. Get out while you can!

Oh sweet summer child, they're your new best friends! A prewrite is a post made up of a paragraph or two that is pre-written for the bloodbath. Because the Bloodbath gets crazy-fast, if you want to keep up with the rest of the tributes and maintain a quick, clean posting order with your alliance prewrites are essential. ‘Filler’ posts are not acceptable in the bloodbath and you WILL take 8 damage if you use one, as well as any attempts to attack, pick up an item or flee being negated.

You will need:

• An intro post: this can be as long as you’d like as it’s important (and probably the only posts that make sense whilst reading the BB)

• 9 ‘attack’ posts in which you pick up a weapon/items. Your Bloodbath item list will be posted by the GameMakers a day before the BB begins, so make sure you specify what item you pick up for each post and code in the appropriate dice roll beforehand. These item lists are designed to draw you into the bloodbath and keep you in longer – the more you post, the better the items you pick up will be. Note that picking up these items isn’t compulsory, and you are more than welcome to post an intro and then a flee post without collecting items or attacking. Note: your first attack post will be UNARMED as you’re picking up your weapon after you attack.

• 3 ‘flee’ posts. If your foot/leg gets broken/severed you will need to be assisted by another tribute in your alliance to flee or post 3 flee attempts before you have successfully left the Bloodbath. If you’re going alone these are crucial in case this happens as you have no alliance members to assist you. Note: you CANNOT pick up items and flee at the same time.

• Extra attack posts just in case, and these are crucial if you’re wanting to go for the wealth as you’ll be in the BB a while!

It’s a good idea to test out your weapon attack rolls in the JFF thread, especially if it’s your first time using the dice system or going into a BB, but please for the love of god don’t overdo it. One or two posts is plenty!

Just a few helpful handy tips and words of wisdom from our members for your pre-BB preparation:

• "tactical pee" - Anatra
• "Pee in a soda bottle" – Yoya
• "get lots of sleep and don't stress out" - Ani
• "don't be hungover" - Aya
• "dont be 4am” – Clover
• “be naked” - Rosetta
• "don't be drunk" - Puppy
• "dont think 'oh i can turn up a little late'" - Clover
• "also do your homework before" - Aya
• "DON'T BE ME AND OVERSLEEP" - Shrimp

So you’ve made it this far! You’ve got your prewrites ready, alliance details settled, Skype open and ready to chat with your alliance, energy drinks by the dozen, and you’re pumped for some tribute maiming!!! Remember to KEEP CALM, communicate, and have fun. *mario voice* Here we goooo…

• Write a cool and lengthy intro post! Chances are these are probably going to be the only BB posts people actually read, so make it count! Remember than your tribute is probably either crapping their pants or have been training for this moment since before they could talk, so write accordingly!

• Enter with your alliance to make sure you’re as protected as possible and all know where each-other are. Please be online at the time your alliance agreed to, there’s nothing worse than waiting on an alliance member who hasn’t turned up and the BB has already begun hence ruining your plans.

• COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION. Talk with your alliance! Keep up to date about what’s going on and what you’re all feeling. This is crucial!

• Work out potential threats – who are your biggest threats alliance-wise and who are your least. Try to enter the Bloodbath with the alliance you’re least-threatened by to avoid getting swarmed the minute you enter.

• DO NOT ATTACK IN YOUR INTRO POST FOR CHRISTS SAKE. That is all.

Let’s keep this simple and brief:
• BREATHE!!!
• COMMUNICATE!!!
• BREATHE!!!
• STAY CALM!!!
• BREATHE!!!

And now for the more detailed explanations:

• As per the Hunger Games ruled, a tribute can only be attacked 6 times per round. So, for example, if your alliance of 3 attacks John Smith all in a row, that’s 3 attacks. Then, another alliance of 2 attacks John Smith after, that’s 5 attacks. Your alliance can now only attack John Smith once more before targeting another tribute, or your attacks will be negated. It’s a good idea (especially in an alliance of 4) to have two tributes on your hit-list so your attacks are all counted and the damage is spread evenly.

• As per HG Rules: “tributes must wait for at least three other people to post in between their own posts.” If you are in an alliance of 4 and you are posting all in a row (so, one attack/flee after the other), another tribute must post after your 3rd member has posted before the 4th member can post. So the order must look like this (if ‘x’ is one alliance and ‘y’ is another): x, x, x, y, x

• Know your item lists and work out which items you need crucially and which items you think you can gain in sponsorship. Better to grab the basics and get out alive, thus being able to grab the more essential items through sponsorship, than risking getting killed in the BB. If you just want to run in and run out, make sure you grab a weapon!

• STAY CALM!!!

• Edit in your attack damage once you’re out of the bloodbath. Better not waste time trying to edit in the info – the Ripred Engine usually picks it up anyway. But make sure you do edit in damages for a happy Gamemaker 

• OBEY THE GAMEMAKERS AT ALL TIMES. This pretty much applies to all aspects of the Games, but if the Gamemakers say halt, halt dammit!

• Try not to get shitty - we know Bloodbaths are a stressful time (there’s a reason this guide is called keep calm and carry on) but getting angry at Gamemakers or other tributes for that matter in the CBox is really uncalled for and will only make the situation worse. If you have an issue or problem, PM a GM instead.

• Make sure you write 3 flee posts in case your leg/foot/knee is broken/severed. A tribute has to flee 3 times if this happens before they have successfully left the Bloodbath. You’ll also need an alliance member to assist your fleeing. If your legs are fine it’s just one, but I tend to write 3 just in case I mess up when trying to flee and fleeing is negated.

• The 3rd person posting rule also applies to fleeing – if 3 of your alliance members have posted, you can’t flee until another tribute posts. If you break this rule you’ll receive 8 damage and have to wait until you can successfully flee again which is both annoying and risky.

• You cannot attack a tribute or pick up an item in a flee post.

• Have a damage limit in mind that you don’t want to pass. How badly can you risk getting injured (consider fights outside of the BB on Day 1) in the BB before you want to escape? Staying in the BB allows for more items but puts your tribute at risk. If you hit your limit, get out as quick as you can!

• Again, communicate with your alliance when you want to flee and let them know you’re leaving. Nobody likes a whimp-out. Prior to the BB it’s a good idea to discuss with your alliance your limits and what is ok with your alliance in terms of fleeing. You may decide to all follow suit if one person flees, half of you might stay and fight an half of you might leave, etc. etc.

• If you feel it in your gut, it’s better to get out and be safe rather than risk it. Better an alive tribute with no items than a dead tribute with lots!

So that’s your basic rundown of the Bloodbath and how to get through it, hopefully unscathed. If any other members have any tips, tricks or pointers that they’d like to add feel free to post them below. Hope that this helps someone and if anyone has any questions feel free to PM me. Thanks for reading, good luck, and most of all don’t die/panic/all of the above have fun!