The Title of Keeper
A Keeper is a duelist who maintains control over one of the Isle's four elemental towers, and the element associated with it. Anyone with the rank of Sorcerer or above may become a Keeper. However, unlike the titles in Swords and Fists, Keeper is not a separate rank, but a title that is added onto their current rank. Thus, Keepers will be highlighted in gold on the standings.
In order to remain a Keeper, the duelist must complete a regular (non-tournament, non-challenge) duel at least once per cycle. Activity requirements are greater for Keepers due to holding one of the only four challengeable titles in the sport. If these requirements are not met, the Keeper will be stripped of their title, and it will be offered in a tournament, usually the next All-Ranks Tournament. It is not required for the Keeper to remain at the rank of Sorcerer or above, but if they fall below the rank of Sorcerer, they are immediately rendered vulnerable to challenge without any grace period until they regain the rank of Sorcerer.
The Keepers* have an extra spell at their disposal called Elemental Fury. It is incredibly powerful, but may only be used once per duel in both regulation and challenge matches. As always, its incarnation will vary from duelist to duelist, but it will always involve the Keeper's element. They will also be listed in the Duel of Magic histories for their respective tower.
*Does not apply to the Archmage.
The Archmage may only use their Elemental Fury against an Elemental Keeper within a regulation match. This reflects the same reason as to why the Archmage may only use their Elemental Fury against a Keeper within the challenge match format.
The winner of the Archmage Tournament will then have a challenge match against the reigning Archmage, with the same rules as all other Keeper challenges. However, the Archmage will not be allowed to use Elemental Fury unless the challenger is another Keeper, in which case both will be able to use it for each duel. The rationale is that the Archmage already has enough of an advantage with both mage spells. The winner will be the Archmage for the next cycle, until the next Archmage Tournament.
Becoming a Keeper
There are two ways to become a Keeper: by challenge, or by victory in a tournament offering a tower.
Anyone meeting the following criteria may render challenge to a Keeper for their title:
1. Is listed on the DoM standings with the rank of Sorcerer or higher.
2. Has been an active member of the Duel of Magic for at least two weeks. This includes duelists who have returned from retirement. They must complete a regular duel to become an active member of the Duel of Magic.
3. Has not challenged in the last 30 days.
4. Has not lost a Keeper title in the last 30 days.
5. Does not already hold a Keeper title. In order to obtain a different tower, the Keeper must first retire their current title and then challenge. This does not count as losing a Keeper title.
Challenges must be rendered as threads posted on the Duel of Magic corkboard. One of the Coordinators will then verify that the challenger meets the criteria. The Keeper must then respond with their acceptance within one week. A Keeper may not refuse any valid challenge. The challenger and the Keeper must then find a caller to officiate their match and agree on a date and time for it to take place. Details on caller and time/date should be posted as replies to the challenge thread.
Both duelists are expected to show up on time. In the case of either duelist being absent thirty minutes after the scheduled time, the match will be rescheduled for a date preferrably within a week of the original challenge date. If the same duelist continues to be absent for two reschedules after the initial failure to appear, that duelist will lose the challenge by default. If the Keeper loses by default, the DoM Coordinators will ask another Keeper to champion the vacant Tower and duel the challenger. There is no risk to the champion's own title. If the challenger defeats the champion, the challenger gains the Keeper rank and will hold the Tower of the element for which they issued challenge. If the champion defeats the challenger, the Keeper's title of the originally challenged element will be considered vacant (i.e. held by nobody) and will likely become a tournament prize. However, the final decision regarding how the Keepership will be awarded (tournament, etc.) remains at the discretion of the DoM Coordinators.
Should a Keeper fail to accept a valid challenge within one week after validation has occurred, the Keeper will be considered in forfeit. The challenged Keeper will be stripped of their title, and the DoM Coordinators will ask another Keeper to champion the vacant Tower and duel the challenger. There is no risk to the champion's own title. If the challenger defeats the champion, the challenger gains the Keeper rank and will hold the Tower of the element for which they issued challenge. If the champion defeats the challenger, the Keeper's title of the originally challenged element will be considered vacant (i.e. held by nobody) and will likely become a tournament prize. However, the final decision regarding how the Keepership will be awarded (tournament, etc.) remains at the discretion of the DoM Coordinators.
Every Keeper challenge will be held in Best of Three format. A minimum of two and a maximum of three duels will be fought, and the duelist who wins two duels will be the winner, and thus, the holder of the title. The defending Keeper will be allowed to use Elemental Fury once each duel, and both duelists will fight at rank.
Whenever there is a new Keeper, it will be official upon the conclusion of the challenge and shall be made public notice on the public forums. In the case of a defeated Keeper, they may not utilize Elemental Fury any longer, and the new Keeper may not use Elemental Fury in regulation duels until the new standings are posted. The new or defending Keeper may also optionally have a 30-day grace period during which no challenge may be rendered against them. The day after the challenge is officially counted as Day 1 of the 30 day grace period. The grace period expires at 9:00pm (Eastern) on the 30th day. If a new Keeper waives their grace period, they are allowed to use Elemental Fury in a Keeper challenge if the challenge occurs prior to the standings being updated to reflect their status as Keeper.
In all challenge duels and all tournament duels, there can not be a tie. If there is no duelist with a full point lead by round 15, the duel will continue until there is a proper victor.
((Edited by Max on 3/8/2020 to reflect Sorcerers or higher being eligible for challenging for a Tower.))