Origin of Hoops

What would make the perfect blood sport? A game that doesn’t get lost in the rules of course!

Hoops in Dome

In the world of Dome, Hoops is generally a simple children’s game like capture the flag or hide and seek. It’s most direct equivalent would be tag – where children merely chase their friends around and try to catch them with the hoop.

In creating a blood sport, I wanted to take something so simple and innocent – and make it simpler and less innocent. Thus the primary strategy: completely forget the hoop and fight!

Rules and Etiquette of Hoops

Hoops is meant to be played as a brawl. Thus, there really is only one rule. No using outside equipment. This includes weapons and armor, but also things that might be used as props. A Wind wielder might carry sand to blow into someone’s eyes and an Ice mage might have a flask of water to freeze. None of this is allowed.

As far as etiquette, well, that’s pretty sparse too. It’s the equivalent of being in the gladiator’s arena. The greatest sin is to disappoint the audience. Cowardice, running away, surrendering prematurely – all of this might end up with a hailstorm of thrown drinks and food!

Another point of etiquette is holding onto the hoop while fighting. While this isn’t against the rules, its considered disrespectful because it means you think so little of your opponent, you don’t even want to make the trip back to your side to retrieve your hoop after knocking them out. In the series, Hermit, N’Halia, and Araina all do this at some point or another to demonstrate this exact concept – they’re so sure of their victory that they aren’t going to waste any time.

Next up

The next several posts will be detailing the main characters’ Powers. I’ll go over them individually, starting with Hermit. The posts will talk about my original ideas for their Powers, how that changed, and some history on why each character got their Power.