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Author: Malfidus Story: The Complete Rules and a Brief History of Deturrbocus Rating: Everyone Setting: Pre-OotP Status: Completed Reviews: 1 Words: 1,878 Rules Definition- Deturrbocus is a two-wizard game. It is played as best of eleven turbae. Each turba consists of two rounds. Deturrbocus is played with a standard six-inch Deturrbocus wand* made of oak, and containing one strand of Leprechaun hair. *Deturrbocus wands are less powerful than regular wands. They are enchanted to work only on Deturrbocus pieces, or hides, and if a stray curse hits a spectator, he feels no more than if a fly had landed on him. Setup- Deturrbocus is played on a large square board, 2.4 metres on a side. The board is divided into 64 squares, each one 30 centimetres on a side. Each square contains one hide (wooden pins covered in leather, of a similar shape to Muggle bowling pins). As in chess, every square has a classification. On the Y-axis, going up the board away from the players, each square is numbered as 1 through 8. On the X-axis, going across the board from the players' left to their right, each square is numbered as 1 through 8. The hides in each square are classified according to which square they are put into in an X-value:Y-value format. Therefore, the hide in the lower left corner would be classified as hide 1:1, diagonal from that would be hide 2:2, and right of that would be hide 3:2. Within the board, 32 hides are set standing up, and 32 are set lying down. All hides in the columns on the left side of the board (X-value < 4) are standing up, and all hides in the columns on the right side of the board (X-value > 5) are lying down. Hides are charmed to stay within their own squares unless their state is changed (i.e. transfigured, engorged). Rules and Scoring- As stated, Deturrbocus is played by two wizards at a time. Each round is sixty seconds long, and timed by an enchanted hourglass. After the ceremonial wand presentation which marks the beginning of the match, and at the beginning of each round, one wizard casts a charm on the hourglass to levitate it and flip it upside-down, while the other wizard charms the sand inside to keep it from falling. The game begins when each wizard releases their respective spell from the hourglass, allowing it to fall slowly, as though through water, to the ground. Each wizard has a different Objective for each round. One wizard's Objective is to knock down as many hides as quickly as he can, while the other tries to stand up as many hides as he can, all with magic of any kind**. However, when the hourglass signals the end of a round by dinging, all hides must be in their original state, otherwise, the wizard responsible for their state transformation is penalized two points for each hide in question. Before the game begins, the Objective Selection Ceremony occurs. In general terms, the wizard with more championship victories is granted the choice of his starting Objective. If each wizard has won the same number of tournaments, then the senior wizard of the two is granted choice. If they are of the same age, then the two wizards will decide between themselves who will begin with which Objective. During play, either wizard is allowed to deflect or block the other wizard's spells. At the end of one minute, the hides whose positions (up or down) have reversed are tallied, each worth one point toward the wizard whose Objective it was to knock down or stand up the hide. The following round, which is necessary to complete the turba, reverses the Objectives. At the end of that round, all points are tallied together, and the wizard with more points wins the turba. This continues, while alternating Objectives each round, for as many turbae as are needed for one wizard to win six turbae, which wins the game. In the event of a tie at the end of a turba, the wizards then play a tiebreaker, called a demi-turba. The rules are the same, except there are only 16 total hides (eight standing and eight lying down) arranged in a four by four square in the middle of the board, and there is only one round per demi-turba meaning that the wizards do not alternate Objectives at any time during the demi-turba. The wizard with the most hides in their position (up or down) wins the tiebreaker. The demi-turba lasts 15 seconds. In the event of a tie at the end of the demi-turba, it moves to a semi-demi-turba, in which there are only four hides (two standing and two lying down) arranged in a two by two square in the middle of the board, and one round per semi-demi-turba. The wizard with the most hides in their position (up or down) wins the tiebreaker. The semi-demi-turba lasts seven seconds. In the event of a tie at the end of the semi-demi-turba, it moves to a hemi-semi-demi-turba, in which there is only one hide set standing up in the 4:4 square, and only one round per hemi-semi-demi-turba. The wizard with the hide in their position (up or down) wins the tiebreaker. The hemi-semi-demi-turba lasts three seconds. If, for any reason, at the end of the hemi-semi-demi-turba, the hide is neither standing nor lying down, the hemi-semi-demi-turba is replayed with no change of Objective until one wizard is victorious.° Note: At the end of any round, within a partial turba or full turba, the two wizards alternate Objectives until the end of the game. Another note: Deturrbocus hides can be shrunk with a real wand so that mini-Deturrbocus can be played on a chessboard. Since the hides are shrunk with a real wand, the Finite Incantatem spell done by a Deturrbocus wand will not be powerful enough to end the Shrinking Charm (incantation: Reducio) on them. **Unforgivable Curses are illegal. History Deturrbocus originated in Ireland, and the first known Deturrbocus players were Leprechauns. At nighttime, they would fly about in fields, knocking over sleeping cows. Each game was one turba in duration, each turba consisted of one round, and each turba lasted from sunset to sunrise, or the time the cows were asleep. When the first wizards colonized Ireland in 1157, they observed the game that the Leprechauns were playing, and over the course of 838 years, it became the domesticated sport it is today. For ethical reasons, the cows originally tipped over by the Leprechauns were replaced by wooden, leather-covered hides, modelled after Muggle bowling pins, and as a tribute to the ancestors of the game, one strand of Leprechaun hair is used in each Deturrbocus wand. Many famous Deturrbocus games have been held over the centuries, but probably one of the most famous was the national championship between Flavus Dumbledore; great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle of Albus Dumbledore, current headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; and Jacques Malfidus, great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather of Arcanum Malfidus, former Minister of Magic; held in 1476. This game lasted all eleven turbae, each turba extended to hemi-semi-demi-turbae, and neither Dumbledore nor Malfidus were victorious. During the eleventh and final turba, fully extended to a hemi-semi-demi-turba, both wizards simultaneously cast such powerful spells on the one standing hide that it disappeared instantly. The game was declared a draw.° During the following championship in 1477 between the same two wizards, during the eleventh turba, which had been fully extended to the hemi-semi-demi-turba, they were each about to cast their respective spells when the same hide that had disappeared the previous year appeared directly on top of the remaining hide, causing it to fall over. Dumbledore, despite his surprise, did manage to stand up one of the two hides. But since no one knew which hide he stood up - the one from the previous year, or the one from that year - the match was left uncalled. Malfidus and Dumbledore were left to decide between themselves who won the two matches in question. They eventually came to the gentlemanly agreement that each of them had won one of the two matches, although no one, to this day, knows who **is considered to have won which. It is still an unsolved controversy between the two families, although both Flavus Dumbledore and Jacques Malfidus have long since died, supposedly because of their frustration at everyone else's stupidity on the matter. °The hemi-semi-demi-turba was not replayed because, as nobody knew where the hide went, they could not check to see if it was standing or lying down. Records Throughout the centuries that Deturrbocus has been played, there have been many memorable matches. The record of each match that takes place is kept in a magical book that transcribes the transcript of the match into a readable form. Though many witches and wizards throughout the ages have excelled at the art of Deturrbocus playing, no one has yet outmatched one Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. Until his beheading on October 31st, 1492, he was the best Deturrbocus player alive. He still holds the record of most hides directly knocked down at once: nine. On October 30th, 1492, Sir Nicholas was challenged to a match by none other than Mr. Horstforth P. Bulbydibb, the then current Minister of Magic himself. The match, like the famous 1476 and 1477 Malfidus-Dumbledore matches, lasted all eleven turbae, although not all were fully extended. In the fourth turba, score one to three in the Minister's favour, Sir. Nicholas used an extremely powerful (considering that he was using a standard Deturrbocus wand) Ripple Charm, and managed to knock down nine of the seventeen remaining standing hides. After Sir Nicholas won the brutal match, Minister Bulbydibb was so upset that he called for Sir. Nicholas's immediate beheading. It took place the next day, but to reasons still unknown, the axe was not sharpened properly, and his ghost, residing at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, still has his head, although partially severed, attached. He still is known to play Deturrbocus occasionally with Headmaster Dumbledore at the castle. Sir Nicholas's record still stands, although other wizards have managed to knock down more than nine hides with a single spell. These do not count towards beating the record, however, as they were all secondary effects of the spell they used. For example, the earthquake created by a Seismic Charm (first used by Gregory Gryphis in 1238), or the rampaging of a transfigured hide. A primary effect (the only effect that would count toward the record) would be the initial magic done by the wand. For example, a Banishing or Deturrbus Charm, which would result in directly knocking a hide over. When a wizard knocks down four or more hides with a primary curse effect, that sort of achievement is given a name. Four hides is called a quadruple, five is called a fiver, six is called a sixer, seven is called a septer, and eight, although rare, has been dubbed the name of octer. Since only one wizard has ever knocked down nine hides at once with the primary effect of a single spell, it has not been given an official name, although when referred to in casual speech, it is often called a niner. A/N Be sure to check out the excerpt from the transcription of the famous Dumbledore - Malfidus match of 1477! |