Avengers vs. X-Men Challenge Showing 1-50 of 1,103

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Starts: 01.01.2014
Ends: 31.12.2014

Players are welcome to join in whenever they want during the year, as long as the event is running.

Rules:

-Each player decides, if he wants to compete for the Avengers or the X-Men team.

-Avengers players are trying to complete the Avengers roster challenge, X-Men players trying to complete the X-Men roster challenge.

-There are going to be 12 characters on each roster, each represented by 3 challenges based on that characters traits and powers.

-For each trait challenge you're able to complete, your team is awarded 1 point.

-If you manage to complete all three trait challenges you "unlock" that character completely, which is awarded with 3 additional points.

-With 12 characters and 3 trait challenges per character, you need to read 36 books for the maximum of 72 points from the recruitment part of the challenge.

-The books for the recruitment challenge can be read at any point during 2014.

-Each book can only count toward one trait challenge, so you can't complete multiple challenges by just reading one book, even if the book would technically qualify for more then one challenge.

-For a book to count, it should have at least 100 pages. Graphic Novels do not count for the challenge.

-In addition to the recruitment part, each month a supervillain will be revealed. Like the heroes, each villain will have 3 trait challenges.
For each completed challenge you're rewarded with 1 point, if you manage to "beat" the villain by completing all 3 related challenges, you're arwarded with an additional 3 points.

-Villains will only be active for one month each and you can't score from their challenges afterwards. But of course you can complete them for fun.

-Villains should be revealed 2-3 days before the end of the month, so you get a little bid of time ahead to think about potential books to beat them.

-Beating each villain within the given amount of time would result in an additional maximum of 72 points you're able to earn for your team.

-IMPORTANT:To be able to keep up the score, it would great, if you could use a new post for each new book read, maybe like this: book link/character name/challenge name/number of challenges completed for that character
Example: Dune/Captain America/Shield Toss/2 of 3
Of course you can additionally use a huge post, where you can schedule your books for all the challenges.

-So, that's how you can play. I hope you're going to enjoy this challenge. :)

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

reserved for the Avengers roster - more characters will be revealed during December

Captain America



1. Red, White and Blue
Read a book with the US-flag on the cover or with a main character, who is part of the military.

2. Shield Toss
Read a book with a shield on the cover or which has a knight/paladin as main character.

3. Bucky
Read a book with a main character and a side-kick on the cover or that is set during World War II.

Iron Man



1. Repulsor Beam
Read a book with a laser beam or rocket on the cover or with a character/ship using those weapons.

2. Billionaire extraordinaire
Read a book with money or gold on the cover or with a rich protagonist.

3. Stark Tower
Read a book with a tower on the cover or where the protagonists visit a tower/skyscraper.

Hulk



1. Green & Mean
Read a book with a predominantly green cover or where a character goes on a bezerk rage.

2. Dr. Banner
Read a book with a scientist on the cover or a scientist as main protagonist.

3. Hulk Smash!
Read a book with a destroyed city on the cover or where a city gets destroyed during the book.

Thor



1. Son of Asgard
Read a book with a viking or viking ship on the cover, or where vikings/northern mythology are a main theme of the book.

2. Mjölnir
Read a book with a hammer/mace on the cover or where a major character carries a hammer or mace.

3. Midgard Serpent
Read a book with a serpent/snake on the cover or in the title, or where a serpent/snake appears.

Ms. Marvel



1. Natural Born Leader
Read a book with a political leader (president, Queen, King etc.) on the cover or as the main protagonist.

2. Air Force Captain
Read a book with a plane/flying object on the cover or with a plane captain as main protagonist.

3. Kree Heritage
Read a book with an alien on the cover or with a non-human protagonist.

The Wasp



1. Sting of the Wasp
Read a book with an insect on the cover or in the title or where insects/insectoid races play a significant role.

2. Shopping Queen
Read a book with shopping bags or a store on the cover, or where a store/shopping mall is one of the major settings.

3. In love with a nerd
Read a book with a romantic couple on the cover, or where a girl falls in love with a nerd.

Giant Man



1. Giantic
Read a book with a giant/large person on the cover or where giants are mentioned or side characters.

2. Avengers A.I.
Read a book with a computer on the cover, or where A.I. is one of the main themes.

3. Yellowjacket
Read a book with a predominantly yellow cover or where a character has severe mood swings.

Hawkeye



1. Master Archer
Read a book with an archer on the cover or with an archer as the main protagonist.

2. Trick Arrow
Read a book with an arrow on the cover or where a con/heist is one of the main themes in the book.

3. You can't spell Hawkeye without hawk
Read a book with a bird on the cover, or where a bird plays a major or minor role in the story.

Black Widow



1. Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Read a book with a character in a black suit on the cover or with a spy as the main protagonist.

2. Natasha Romanoff
Read a book by a russian author or with a russian main/side character.

3. Widowmaker
Read a book with a woman as the only figure on the cover or where a widow is one of the main characters.

Spider Woman



1. Web of the Spider
Read a book with a spider on the cover or in the title or where spiders play a significant role.

2. Fear Pheromones
Read a book with a scared character on the cover or which belongs to the horror genre.

3. Seductive Pheromones
Read a book with a "sexy" cover or which belongs to the erotica genre.

Hercules



1. Strong as an Ox
Read a book with a well muscled protagonist on the cover or with a physically strong main protagonist.

2. Son of Zeus
Read a book with ancient ruins on the cover or which is based on greek mythology.

3. Wine, Women and Song
Read a book with luxury/decadence on the cover or with a really decadent main/side character.

Scarlet Witch



1. Crimson Clothes
Read a book with a character dressed in red or a predominantly red cover or with a lot of blood in it.

2. Witchcraft
Read a book with a witch on the cover or with a witch as main/side character.

3. Playing with Probability
Read a book with numbers on the cover or with a science scentric plot.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

reserved for the X-Men roster - more characters will be revealed during December

Cyclops



1. Leadership Skills
Read a book with a commander/general on the cover or with a team/squad leader as main protagonist.

2. Optical Blast
Read a book with a character wearing glasses/eye enhancing devices on the cover or with a one-eyed main/side character.

3. Daddy/Son issues
Read a book with a father and his son on the cover or which involves a conflict between a father and a son.

Jean Grey



1. Mind Reader
Read a book with a book on the cover or where a character is able to read minds.

2. Phoenix
Read a book with a phoenix or another fire based creature on the cover or where a character gets ressurected.

3. Scott, Jean and Wolverine
Read a book with two male and one female character on the cover or which involves a love triangle.

Wolverine



1. Weapon X Project
Read a book with a secret facility on the cover or with a canadian main or side character.

2. Snikt
Read a book with claws on the cover or with a character/monster with claws.

3. Healing Factor
Read a book with a doctor/healer on the cover or with a doctor/healer as main protagonist.

Storm



1. Lightning Goddess
Read a book with lightning on the cover or with a god as a main protagonist or theme.

2. Queen of Wakanda
Read a book with a black character on the cover or with an african setting/culture.

3. Ororo, the Thief
Read a book with a hooded character on the cover or with a thief as main protagonist.

Nightcrawler



1. Mein Freund
Read a book by a german author or with a german main/side character.

2. Circus Acrobatics
Read a book with a circus theme (tent, clowns etc.) on the cover or where a circus is one of the settings.

3. Bamf
Read a book with a smoke cloud on the cover or where a character has the ability to teleport.

Kitty Pryde



1. Shadowcat
Read a book with a cat on the cover, or where one of the main/side characters is able to phase shift.

2. Lockheed
Read a book with a dragon on the cover or with a dragon as one of the main protagonists.

3. Professor Kitty
Read a book with a teacher/instructor on the cover or where a teacher/instructor is one of the main protagonists.

Angel



1. Archangel
1. Read a book with an angel/flying creature on the cover or with an angel/flying creature as a main/side character.

2. Warren Worthington III
Read a book with expensively clothed people on the cover or where the main protagonist is part of the nobility.

3. Herald of the Apocalypse
Read a book with a priest/spiritual leader on the cover or where the Apocalypse is a main theme/setting.

Emma Frost



1. Diamond skin
Read a book with gems on the cover or where a gem/jewelery plays a significant role.

2. Frosty demeanor
Read a book with snow/ice on the cover or which has a snow/ice setting.

3. The White Queen
Read a book with a predominantly white cover or with an older main protagonist, whose hair is already white.

Colossus



1. Steel Skin
Read a book with a robot on the cover or where a robot is a main/side character.

2. Pjotr Rasputin
Read a book with a russian/U.S.S.R. flag on the cover or where Russia is one of the settings.

3. Iron Curtain
Read a book with a fence on the cover or which is set during the cold war era.

Psylocke



1. Psychic Katana
Read a book with a samurai/ninja on the cover or which has a far eastern setting.

2. Betsy Braddock
Read a book by a british author or which plays in Great Britain.

3. Psychic Knives
Read a book with knives on the cover or with an assassin as main/side character.

Cable



1. Time Traveler
Read a book with a suitcase/backpack on the cover or where time travel plays some significant role.

2. Weaponmaster
Read a book with a gun/rifle on the cover or where the main character uses a gun frequently.

3. Virus Victim
Read a book with a sick/infected person on the cover or where a virus plays a significant role.

Beast



1. Animal Mine
Read a book with an animal on the cover or where an animal plays a significant role.

2. Blue Pelt
Read a book with a predominantly blue cover or which plays at sea.

3. Dr. Hank McCoy
Read a book with a laboratory on the cover or where a laboratory is one of the main settings.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

reserved for Villains roster

Sandman

Active from 01/01/14 - 31/01/14



1. Desert Sands
Read a book with a desert on the cover or which has a desert setting as one of its settings.

2. The Sands of Time
Read a book with ruins on the cover or which has ruins as one of its settings.

3. Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Read a book with a sleeping character on the cover or where dreams/nightmares play a significant role.


Crimson Dynamo

Active from: 01/02/2014 - 28/02/2014



1. Heavy Metal
Read a book with something metallic on the cover or where metals play an important role.

2. Comrade Vanko
Read a book by a eastern european author (as in former Warsaw Pact countries) or with an eastern european main/side character.

3. Dynamically powered
Read a book with a machine on the cover or where a machine plays an important role within the book.

Juggernaut

Active from: 01/03/2014 - 31/03/2014



1. Gem of Cyttorak
Read a book with a gem on the cover or in the title, or where a gem plays a significant role in the story.

2. Invincible
Read a book with a helmet on the cover, or where a character is invincible.

3. X-Tended family
Read a book with two male protagonists on the cover, or where a step-brother is a main/side character.

Kingpin

Active from: 01/04/2014 - 30/04/2014



1. Bold to be bald
Read a book with a bald character on the cover, or where a bald character is the protagonist.

2. Crime Lord
Read a book with thugs/thieves on the cover, or where a character is involved in a crime syndicate.

3. Drug Dealer
Read a book with an intoxicated character on the cover (drunk counts), or where a character has a drug problem.

Bullseye

Active from: 01/05/2014 - 31/05/2014



1. Target Practice
Read a book with a Bullseye cover, or where any sort of target practice (gun/bow/knife etc.) happens.

2. Dark Hawkeye
Read a book with 2 similar/identically looking characters on the cover (mirror images count), or where a character impersonates someone else.

3. Nemesis of the Daredevil
Read a book with flames on the cover, or where the hell plays a role as a setting or theme.

Loki

Active from: 01/06/2014 - 30/06/2014



1. Son of Jotunheim
Read a book with a devastated landscape on the cover, or with a dystopian society.

2. Trickster God
Read a book with a humorous cover (could be a funny scene or cartoonish drawings), or with a jester/joker/funny person as main or side character.

3. Thor's Half-Brother
Read a book with siblings on the cover, or with siblings as main or side characters.

Dr. Doom

Active from: 01/07/2014 - 31/07/2014



1. Latveria
Read a book by a european author or which plays mainly in one or more european countries.

2. Mask of Doom
Read a book with a masked character on the cover, or with a protagonists who disguises him-/herself as someone else. (Physical disguises count, as well as bodies being taken over or assuming the identity of someone else. Pretending to be someone else or acting under false pretense also counts)

3. Castle Doom
Read a book with a castle on the cover, or with a castle as one of the major settings within the book.

Galactus

Active from: 01/08/2014 - 31/08/2014



1. Insatiable Hunger
Read a book with food on the cover or where a cook/chef is a main/side character.

2. World Eater
Read a book with a planet on the cover or which includes space travel and other planets than Earth. (fantasy worlds like Middle Earth won't count)

3. Gah Lak Tus
Read a book with hive creatures (ants, bees, even nanites) on the cover or where a hive mind plays a significant role.

Magneto

Active from: 01/09/2014 - 30/09/2014



1. Master of Magnetism
Read a book with a magnet or a pole region (ice landscape) on the cover or where two characters are romantically attracted to each other.

2. Protected Psyche
Read a book with a helm (yep it's the second time we have that, sorry) on the cover or where a protagonist protects someone else.

3. Magneto, the X-Man
Read a book with a white haired character on the cover or where a character changes sides/allegiances within the story.

Green Goblin

Active from: 01/10/2014 - 31/10/2014



1. Pumpkin Bomb
Read a book with Helloween themed cover a pumpkin/jack o' lantern/ghosts/kids in costume etc or which is considered to be part of the horror genre.

2. Goblin Glider
Read a book with a person flying on a device (broomstick, glider, space bike - but no creatures, or indoor flying like planes or space ships!) on the cover or where the characters are flying on a device during the novel.

3. Norman Osborn, the business man
Read a book with a shop/bank/commercial building on the cover or where a shop owner/business woman/man is one of the main characters.

Apocalypse

Active from: 01/11/2014 - 30/11/2014



1. The Four Horsemen
Read a book with a horse on the cover or where a messenger/herald is one of the main characters.

2. En Sabah Nur
Read a book with something egyptian on the cover (Pyramid, Mummy, Pharaoh, Horus-statue etc.) or where egypt/egyptian mythology plays an important role.

3. Age of Apocalypse
Read a book with a door/portal on the cover or which plays in two different dimensions (Portal fantasies or parallel universes etc.) .

Thanos

Active from: 01/12/2014 - 31/12/2014



1. Mistress Death
Read a book with a skeleton on the cover or where a character sacrifices himself for love.

2. Cosmic Cube
Read a book with a square or cube on the cover or where a character gets his powers from a non-human/alien artifact.

3. Infinity Gauntlet
Read a book with a gauntlet on the cover (can be part of an armored character) or where an immortal character plays a significant role.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Meet the players!

In this post, I'm going to list the players from both teams, keep track of the scores and hand out achievements for various deeds, like being the first player who recruited character X completely or who beat villain Y.

Last Update: 01/01/2015




AVENGERS SCORE: 636


Team Avengers

Roger
Freya
Abi
Wayland
Kirsty
Leanne
Rian
Ren
Robert
Elwen







X-MEN SCORE: 637

Team X-Men

Rinn
Soila
Nic
Nara
Andreas
Kyle
Azure Rose
Chantelle
Lel
Rabindranauth
Clarkiep


I think, I'm going to stay neutral as well with keeping score and revealing the villains, but if we would run into a situation, where one team would outnumber the other team by far, I might would jump in as well, but so far it seems to be pretty even.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Achievements

First Recruit: Kyle (was awarded for being the first player to completely recruit a hero) 06/01/2014

Slim: Kyle (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Cyclops) 06/01/2014

The streets are safe, for now: Nara (was awarded for defeating the first villain) 11/01/2014

Nighty-Night: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Sandman) 11/01/2014

Future Soldier: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to recuit Cable) 26/01/2014

Logan: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Wolverine) 26/01/2014

Starktech: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Iron Man) 01/02/2014

From Moscow with Love: Abi (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Black Widow) 09/02/2014

Out of Energy: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Crimson Dynamo) 09/02/2014

Chain Lightning: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Storm) 16/02/2014

Super Soldier: Wayland (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Captain America) 16/02/2014

Marvelous: Wayland (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Ms. Marvel) 22/02/2014

Psychic Zen: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Psylocke) 22/02/2014

Telekinetic: Chantelle (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Jean Grey) 01/03/2014

Hex Bolt: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Scarlet Witch) 01/03/2014

Juggernaut's Helmet: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Juggernaut) 08/03/2014

Angel of the Apocalypse: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Angel) 15/03/2014

Tiny Wings: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Wasp) 22/03/2014

Furry: Soila (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Beast) 22/03/2014

Double Agent: Wayland (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Spider Woman) 05/04/2014

Phaseshifter: Soila (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Kitty Pryde) 05/04/2014

Crime Fighter: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Kingpin) 05/04/2014

Hero of Olympus: Wayland (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Hercules) 03/05/2014

Odinson: Wayland (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Thor) 03/05/2014

Knife Toss: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Bullseye) 11/05/2014

Holy Demon: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Nightcrawler) 25/05/2014

God of Mischief: Ren (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Loki) 08/06/2014

Hulk still strongest one there is!: Freya (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Hulk) 08/06/2014

Hellfire Headmistress: Lel (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Emma Frost) 08/06/2014

Precise Aim: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Hawkeye) 15/06/2014

Pym Particles: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Giant Man) 22/06/2014

Fastball Special: Rabindranauth (was awarded for being the first player to recruit Colossus) 28/06/2014

Victory over Victor: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Dr. Doom) 06/07/2014

Avengers Assemble!: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to recruit all Avengers) 02/08/2014

Children of the Atom: Nara (was awarded for being the first player to recruit all X-Men) 02/08/2014

Om Nom Nom: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Galactus) 02/08/2014

Leader of the Brotherhood: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Magneto) 13/09/2014

Leader of the Dark Avengers: Lel (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Green Goblin) 11/10/2014

Prevented the Apocalypse Nara (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Apocalypse) 08/11/2014

Master of Infinity: Roger (was awarded for being the first player to defeat Thanos) 06/12/2014

[Rinn, Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Just to let you know - I think only mods can create the actual challenges with the counters and everything, which of course I'll create for you when it's all set up - but if you shelf a book for the challenge (e.g. a shelf for this challenge called 'superheroes-challenge', and pick that as your challenge shelf), it'll automatically count towards your goal on the counter! A bit like the books read this year one.

Don't know if you already knew you could do that, but just in case!

Also, I'd like to be on the X-Men team, if we're listing them here =)

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Rinn wrote: "Just to let you know - I think only mods can create the actual challenges with the counters and everything, which of course I'll create for you when it's all set up - but if you shelf a book for th..."

Thanks, but everybody picks his/her books for the challenge individually, so a shelf wouldn't work.
That gives you a lot of room to plan your books.
Therefore each challenge has two components as well.
Maybe you read a book with a father/son issue.
Then you think, oh that would fit into Cyclops' challenge and add it for it.
But you normally don't know what happens in a book, so there is always an alternate choice for a cover challenge, so if you haven't read a book with a father/son conflict by the end of the year, you could at least plan a book with a father/son team on the cover.

I will at least try to do a weekly update of the team scores.

[Rinn, Captain of the SSV Normandy]

Oh, the shelf is one you create yourself! =) So it's on your own profile.

Then when you come to enter the challenge, you choose which of your shelves counts towards the challenge.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Rinn wrote: "Oh, the shelf is one you create yourself! =) So it's on your own profile.

Then when you come to enter the challenge, you choose which of your shelves counts towards the challenge."

Oh, that is extremely cool! Didn't know that this was possible. That would be really helpful indeed. :)

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Although I still need to track the progress manually, I think, due to the double points.
If one player reads 24 books, but only does two challenges on each of his 12 characters, he would score 24 points for his team.
Another player, who would read 24 books as well, but manages to complete all 3 challenges on 8 characters, without reading a book on the remaining 4, would score 48 points for his team, due to the 24 bonus points for completely unlocking 8 characters.

[Rinn, Captain of the SSV Normandy]

True true... I suppose the shelf would be useful for viewing what has actually been read, at least.

It's gonna be fun! =D

[Nic, Wormhole Technician]

A couple of questions, can a single book count towards 2 or more different traits for different characters if the requirements are met? and do all of these have to be SF/F books to qualify? Because i read quite a few different types of books.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Nic wrote: "A couple of questions, can a single book count towards 2 or more different traits for different characters if the requirements are met? and do all of these have to be SF/F books to qualify? Becaus..."

It should be one book per trait, but the genre is totally up to you. If you read non-fiction about rocket science, this would totally qualify for Iron Man f.e.

[Roger, Knight Radiant]

This sounds really cool, going to be tricky to keep track of but I'm in. I'd like to join the Avengers side.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Roger wrote: "This sounds really cool, going to be tricky to keep track of but I'm in. I'd like to join the Avengers side."

Great. :) I think it won't be long and we have a system that works in keeping track. I'll probably doing an excel sheet to keep track. Then it should be enough, if you just post the book you read and for which challenge it was.

[Wayland, Ernest Scribbler]

I suspect I'll screw up something in the tracking. The "shelves" in here and I don't seem to get on well, but I'll give this a shot. I don't care which team I end up on, so hold me in reserve if you need to even them out later, I guess?

[Freya, Dragon Rider]

I think my brain has just gotten around this (my goodreads notifications have been building up somewhat! Will catch up better after 20th December!)

I like this idea Mpauli and I'll have a ponder about which side to be on :)

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Freya wrote: "I think my brain has just gotten around this (my goodreads notifications have been building up somewhat! Will catch up better after 20th December!)
I like this idea Mpauli and I'll have a ponder a..."

Thanks, I hoped that -after the technical rule part- the challenge would become clearer as soon as we had a few characters announced, so you can get a feeling of what to expect from the challenges.
If I can keep up the pace of revealing 2 characters per day, we should see complete rosters next week, so there should be plenty of time to prepare a few titles before the challenge actually starts.

[Soila]

Sign me up for the X-men team!

This will be an interesting way of getting book recommendations, if people will say a few words about the books they read and how the book met the challenge.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Soila wrote: "Sign me up for the X-men team!

This will be an interesting way of getting book recommendations, if people will say a few words about the books they read and how the book met the challenge."

Great to have you aboard! :) I agree that this challenge might spark some inspiration from the books others are reading for the challenge. To paraphrase Spiderman: With great challenges come great tbr-piles.^^

[Freya, Dragon Rider]

Oooooh! I don't know which side to pick - they both look really good! :D

I'll go with Avengers :)

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Freya wrote: "Oooooh! I don't know which side to pick - they both look really good! :D

I'll go with Avengers :)"

Great! At the moment the teams are evenly matched and hopefully a few players might still join us, before the end of the year.
And with Rinn on the X-Men team and Freya on the Avengers side, I smell a mod-off here.^^
So far I've already the complete roster in my head, just lacking 1-2 challenges on each side and I'm starting to work on possible villains.

[Freya, Dragon Rider]

Mpauli wrote: "And with Rinn on the X-Men team and Freya on the Avengers side, I smell a mod-off here.^^"

Ahahaha I love it! :D

[Abi]

Ooh can you sign me up too please :) Avengers side

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Abi wrote: "Ooh can you sign me up too please :) Avengers side"

Of course. :) Hope you have fun playing and today you're already a superhero, cause I was so busy that I totally forgot to add two new characters to the roster for today and your post reminded me to do that. :)

[Nic, Wormhole Technician]

I thought i'd already stated this, but it seems i must not have posted! I'll go for the X-Men side!

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

The preparations are done and both teams have a full roster now.
Due to the large cast of X-Men and Avengers, not every hero could make it and at some point I had to cut 1-2 more famous heroes to make room for lesser known ones, who make more interesting and diverse challenges, but I hope we have a satisfying selection of characters and challenges.
Of course, the challenges are tweaked to fit in with the overall SFF theme of the group, but I think they are diverse enough that people who also read a lot of non-genre-literature should be able to find fitting books outside SFF for the majority of the challenges.
Now I hope you have fun while looking for possible candidates and wish all players a happy reading year for 2014.

As stated above, I'll try to reveal the first villain at some point after we decided our January club books and before the start of the month. Till then, excelsior! :)

[Soila]

Thank you for organizing, Mpauli! The challenges look very good. We're going to have a busy year, huh? :)

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Soila wrote: "Thank you for organizing, Mpauli! The challenges look very good. We're going to have a busy year, huh? :)"

I certainly think so! :)

[Roger, Knight Radiant]

Time for me to start finding books that fit this criteria...I better make a spreadsheet (did I ever mention I'm an engineer :) )

[Wayland, Ernest Scribbler]

Ok, so I'll be flipping back and forth as one team is behind? Just wanted to know so I can try and plan some of my reading.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Wayland wrote: "Ok, so I'll be flipping back and forth as one team is behind? Just wanted to know so I can try and plan some of my reading."

No, I think with 3 vs 3 so far you can sign up for any team you want. If it had been like 5 vs 1, might have been a different story.^^

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Roger wrote: "Time for me to start finding books that fit this criteria...I better make a spreadsheet (did I ever mention I'm an engineer :) )"

Haha, that sounds like a good plan. I did a lot of statistics, so spreadsheets speak to me as well.

[Wayland, Ernest Scribbler]

Well then, I guess I'm an Avenger. ;)

[Nara]

Is it too late to join up? If not, would I be able to join the Xmen team seeing as though it's 4 to 3 at the moment? :)

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Of course. :) Players can join up whenever they want. If somebody is new to the group and joins, let's say in May 2014, and wants to play he/she will be able to. There is no deadline for players to join. :)

[Soila]

Mpauli wrote: "Of course. :) Players can join up whenever they want. If somebody is new to the group and joins, let's say in May 2014, and wants to play he/she will be able to. There is no deadline for players to..."

Would be good to add that to the beginning of the first post, so people know they're welcome. The more the merrier. :)

[Wayland, Ernest Scribbler]

Well, having actually read the things for each character, I wish I'd waited to read "Spider Woman's Daughter" until after Jan 1. Oh well, back to planning and plotting.

[Wayland, Ernest Scribbler]

Question: Many super heroes actually have novelizations of stories out there. For example, there are many Iron Man novels, etc. Would those count for the challenge requirements? If so, I will have some suggestions for team Avengers. ;)

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

@Soila: Great idea! :) I upgraded the first post accordingly.

@Wayland: Novelizations are fine, as long as the novel is a real novel (at least 100 pages). Ironically, Graphic Novels don't count for the challenge.
I also updated the first post with this information.

[Soila]

Some further suggestions... It would be nice to have a collected post of what everyone has read and for what challenge, so you can easily see what's happening. This can be done either by each individual or by Mpauli if he's willing to put in the effort. Or will this all be included in the scoring post?

I'm also wondering if we should have separate threads for the books read each month and discussion, keeping just the technical questions here. Otherwise this thread will be awfully long and difficult to follow.

[Freya, Dragon Rider]

Soila wrote: "Some further suggestions... It would be nice to have a collected post of what everyone has read and for what challenge, so you can easily see what's happening. This can be done either by each indiv..."

This is actually a good point because our divisions for book discussion are SF or Fantasy and this challenge gives you the option to read non-fic if it falls under the categories set. Would a separate divide for challenge book discussion be wise? Or would this get complicated if a challenge book was also a BotM?

[Soila]

I'd think it smartest to have a thread under Challenges, something like "Avengers vs. X-men Challenge - January", where we can report the books we've read and others can comment on them. It would be easier to keep track if everything is in the same place.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

My initial idea was that everything would happen in this thread.
I'm part of a group that is called "Nothing but reading challenges" and they do a lot of those kinds of challenges.
Most of the time, the players create one huge post for themselves with all the challenges in it and add books to this post to have an overview for themselves.
In addition to this, you add a book in the format I mentioned above in a new post, each time when you finish one.
Tracking this way is quite easy for me, cause I get an e-mail each time somebody adds a new post and then I can add the point(s) toward the team score.

Personally, I'm fine to sticking with one thread that grows over time, but if you guys would find an additional thread per month more helpful, I could also add monthly threads to the challenge section.

[Freya, Dragon Rider]

Hmm good point - I would probably be fine with just editing a post, whichever people think would be best :)

[Rinn, Captain of the SSV Normandy]

I think Soila's idea is good - a separate topic to keep track, and we can all have one post on there that we just edit accordingly.

One topic each might get a bit cluttered/confusing. If people want several posts in a topic, you could just do as Mpauli has done and create several posts in a row with 'Reserved' or something similar as the text.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

I set up a second thread, where you can keep track of your personal progress and plan your books for the challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Kirsty, Jedi Master]

Can I join Team Avengers?

I've been weighing up whether I think that I could keep up with this challenge, and I think that I would like to give it a go!

Apologies if I "let the team down" haha.

[Mpauli, Bitten by a radioactive book]

Kirsty wrote: "Can I join Team Avengers?

I've been weighing up whether I think that I could keep up with this challenge, and I think that I would like to give it a go!

Apologies if I "let the team down" haha."

Of course! Welcome aboard! Hope you have fun. :)