The CHAOS Trials is an event hosted by Challenge Lead shoombabi starting December 22, 2023 with an anticipated end date of Thursday, April 11, 2024. The winner after 8 rounds (lasting 2 weeks each) will be championed with a to-be-determined title to commemorate their participation and tenacity in overcoming these challenge seeds.
The scoring for this event will use a variation on the bucket system that has been in effect since Fall League 2023 (see other Tournament Information for how the bucket system of points works). The variation on this scoring is that if a runner finds themselves as the only runner in their bucket for twice the allotted time for that bucket, they will earn an extra point.
The idea behind The CHAOS Trials was to pilot a tournament-structure with an evolving flagset. Originally, the plan had been to maintain the same core flags while updating the challenge via incremental adjustments to the maps and scaling. This idea was scrapped early on, as map edits alone are incredibly polarizing within the community (specifically shifts between overworld edits, deep dungeon, and No Overworld), and despite changing the framing of the game, would have easily caused burn out within the runners.
The second iteration on the idea, what has been actually presented, is a narrative-driven approach to why these challenges exist.
Each week, a little more of the story unfolds, tracking our adventurers across many iterations and planes…
| Images for these rounds were generated with AI. With respect to the artists whose works may have been utilized unintentionally or unwillingly, I have taken down the original generations. These (may/will?) be replaced at some point moving forward via original or licensed work, time and resources permitting. |
Round 1 - The Deepest of Dungeons CHAOS invites our challengers into his dungeon, testing our adventurers with a challenge of brute strength. Can they traverse the mazelike halls and incredible danger present in the dungeon that CHAOS has made his home and conquer the evil lord on the 52nd floor? |
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Round 2 - It's Not Over(World) Yet The dungeon has been conquered; the trials accepted. |
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Round 3 - Welcome Home? The world is restored - at least, it appears to have been. Everything is in its place, but it seems not every being. In the absence of CHAOS, new foes have risen. Armies of creatures unlike any you have ever encountered now roam the land. Take your orbs and brave the strangling marshes, harsh deserts, and frigid caverns of World A (yes, that's apparently its name). |
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Round 4 - Matoya's Mischief
Growing tired of current state of affairs, Matoya emerges from her cave to add a little pizazz to the world. As her brooms are wont to remind you, “SLLOD REH WON ERA UOY DNA ESUOHYALP REH SI DLROW EHT”. |
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Round 5 - And Yet No Rainbow Bridge Your party is nowhere to be found. Scattered too are the relics you know to lay siege upon the towers and dungeons of CHAOS. Even your maps seem to have been lost, though what good should it do here? Dragons rule this world, and under their reign the sages confer about the rotting earth; the human kings cower and false monarchs rise; lonely men wait for heroes that never seem to arrive. The landscape of this plane is familiar and yet so foreign. Traversal of this world is done only out of necessity, with fearful peasants, weary travelers, and wannabe heroes finding salvation only in the light of a friendly inn. Perhaps you can find some way to bring peace back to the peoples of this land. |
| <image redacted> | Round 6 - Into the Unknown |
| <image redacted> | Round 7 - Where There's a Way, There's a Will |
| Round 8 - Everything, Everywhere, All at Once |
The flags below link to specific iterations of FFR as far back as version 4-7-5; playing on an updated version may break the flags and will certainly result in a seed different from the one the runners faced for the trials.
| Release Date | Title | Seed / Flags | Description |
| December 22, 2023 | Round 1 - The Deepest of Dungeons |
Seed: 49147C07 |
A Deep Dungeon flagset with very high scaling. This is a very unforgiving seed and will really test your patience more than anything. |
| January 04, 2024 | Round 2 - It's Not Over(World) Yet |
Seed: D1E69997 |
No Overworld with 32 Shard Hunt. The major gimmick on this flagset is that you may choose a single promoted light warrior for the adventure, but if you choose to promote, your classes will change in unpredictable ways. |
| January 18, 2024 | Round 3 - Welcome Home? |
Seed: 20240118 |
A few unusual overworld edits and some typical features missing (such as no early Sarda/Sage) create a familiar environment that has just enough kinks in it to make you uncomfortable. |
| February 01, 2024 | Round 4 - Matoya's Mischief |
Seed: 20240201 |
The challenge present in this flagset is based on the fact that many runners are unfamiliar with transmooglifier; there is additionally high scaling, 2 dud locations, and lots of minor quirks and inconveniences that add up to an incredibly mischief-filled adventure. |
| February 15, 2024 | Round 5 - And Yet No Rainbow Bridge |
Seed: 0742422B |
Mimicking a Dragon Quest Randomizer run, start out with a solo adventurer on a procedurally generated world. You will be given access to some low level black and white magic on your adventure, as well as access to a singular White Mage to push you over the edge as you overcome an otherwise tame set of circumstances. |
| (Anticipated) Feb 29, 2024 | Round 6 | ||
| (Anticipated) March 14, 2024 | Round 7 | ||
| (Anticipated) March 28, 2024 | Round 8 |