Q: What is OCBZ?
A: We are a club dedicated to using original characters in battles and tournaments.

Q: What is an original character battle?
A: Each person has an original character, as if they were role playing. Then, in tournaments, two people are matched together (in brawls, two or more people choose to fight).

Each person then produces a comic, animation, or literature piece that shows their character beating the opponent's character. They do this before a deadline.

At the deadline, a judge decides which comic/story/animation was best; that person and their character win. In the case of a tournament, they move to the next round and face another person.

Q: How do I join?
A: [link]

Q: Is there a limit to the number of members/is the club closed?
A: No, we accept new members at all times.

Q: Is there a limit to how many character profiles I can have?
A: The current limit is 5. If you manage to use your characters consistently, we may consider allowing you more.

Q: Can I remove one of my characters from OCBZ?
A: Yes. Just send a note to the club with a thumbnail of the character you wish to retire, and they'll be removed from the roster.

Q: What time does the club run on?
A: We run on PST (Pacific Standard Time), which is -8 GMT. All deadlines will be at 23:59 (11:59 PM).

STEP ONE: Find someone you want to brawl. You can contact someone to challenge them, arrange a match in the chat, etc. Characters available for brawling can be found here.

STEP TWO: Once you find someone to brawl, set up the details of the match, such as time frame, medium, and any additional stipulations you want to add.

The following mediums are available to use for brawls. Chose one for the brawl. Both artists are required to produce an entry in this medium. (Chosing a medium is required for all battles.)

Literature - A written entry.
Graphic Literature - A written entry supplemented with visuals.
Splash Page - A single image.
Comic - A sequential visual.
Animation - An animated visual.

You may add any number of the following stipulations:

Non-Canon --- Normally, the winning entry becomes a permanent part of both character's stories. Anything that happens to either character or Gatta "sticks." This stipulation is recommended for those looking to have a battle that just wouldn't make sense as part of the larger continuity, such as those that are particularly silly or outlandish.

Page Count: X - Y (X & Y being any number) --- Appropriate for comic brawls. This sets a page minimum or maximum.

Word Count: X - Y (X & Y being any number) --- Appropriate for literature brawls. This sets a word count minimum or maximum.

No Killing (Alternatively "No Injuries") --- Recommended for those who don't want their characters permanently injured or killed during the brawl, especially with canon brawls.

Setting: X (X being any setting) --- Restricts the brawl to a specific setting within Gatta, such as those listed in the Terav Region map: [link]

Theme: X (X may be nearly anything) --- Gives a theme to your brawl, such as "cooking", "race", or "fanservice."

Critique --- Normally, when brawls are judged, the judge will include a line or two about the reason for their choice. Adding this stipulation will encourage them to dig deeper and provide a more thorough critique on each entry. Beware - critiques may seem harsh. Don't take it personally.

STEP THREE: Confirm all details with your opponent, then NOTE the OCBZ account with the details of the brawl. Include thumbnails of the characters.

STEP FOUR: Create an entry for the match. It should have a conflict and resolution that involves all participating characters (splash pages included).

STEP FIVE: Sometime before the end date, send a note to the club with a link to your entry for the match. Due to numerous issues with late entries in the club's history, NO entry more than a few minutes late will be accepted under any circumstance.

Your brawl will be judged after the end date, and posted in Finished Brawls. If all brawl contestants finish considerably before the deadline and don't wish to make any changes, you may send a note requesting that the brawl be closed (this must be agreed upon by ALL contestants; many people like to make pre-deadline edits to their entry after posting.) Judging usually takes between 1 and 2 weeks.

Character killing/maiming is not strictly disallowed in our brawls or tournaments (except when restricted by a stipulation), but remember rule #1: be respectful and courteous. A lot of people don't like seeing their characters torn apart. Don't set out to be an asshole.

You are always allowed to do whatever you want to your own characters.

You are strongly encouraged to use Gatta as a setting for brawls. If your battle does not relate to the Gatta continuity, then you should probably use the Non-Canon stipulation.

Mature content is perfectly fine for brawls, but check with your opponent first. Some members may be too young to view mature content.

All pages of a brawl must be linked to each other, either by deviation links in the description or by stacking the pages into one file.

Brawls have a maximum deadline of 6 months, and a minimum deadline of 1 day. Deadlines are always at 23:59 on the day the brawl is due. More specific deadlines (down to the hour) may be agreed upon by opponents, but deadlines will only be officially enforced to the day.

Brawls may be extended, shortened, or otherwise altered if all artists consent. Extensions cannot lengthen a brawl beyond 6 months. The characters and artists participating in a brawl can not be changed. Each instance of change will be denoted as E# (number of edits) in your brawl. Brawls may only be canceled within the first week of their posting, before the deadline, again by mutual consent.

3 consecutive forfeits within 6 months will result in you being sent to the bottom of the roster. 5 consecutive forfeits within a year will result in expulsion from the club. Extenuating circumstances may be taken into consideration.

Brawl rulings done by 1 judge may be challenged within 1 month of results posting. Note the club requesting a judging challenge on the brawl. Two more judges will look at the brawl and give their decision. If the winner of the brawl would change based on these decisions, the brawl will be ruled a tie and all contestants granted a win on their records.

Winning a brawl moves you up the roster. How MUCH it moves you up the roster depends on who you face. When you win, you get a number of rankups equal to the difference between your rank and the rank of your opponent. For example, if you're ranked 104 and your opponent is ranked 97, you get 7 rankups. You always get at least 1 rankup for beating someone, even if they're lower on the roster than you. Additionally, the most rankups you can get for winning is 15 (this number is based on the size of the club, and will grow with the club).

Whenever you move to Rank 1, or whenever you win a brawl while holding Rank 1, you get checked to see if you qualify for moving to Rank 0. If your last 5 brawls have been wins against different artists, you then move to Rank 0. Rank 0 is a permanent position, and can be held by any number of artists.

For calculating rankups in brawls with more than two people (free-for-alls and team brawls for example), the win difference is calculated using the highest ranking members among winning and losing parties.

Beating a Rank 0 artist always provides the maximum number of rankups.

Tournaments will specify what kinds of rankups they provide.