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Lanark (1981) - Alasdair Gray ====================================== It's the second Sunday of the month, so it's time for a new Dead Pool thread. Historical continuity carries on, but we still don't know where it all started. One year I'm sure I'll find out who started the P&B Dead Pool, but it's not this year. If you're new to the Dead Pool, it's quite simple. You pick fifteen celebrities you think will die over the course of the coming year (2021). If any of them die, you get points. Whoever gets the most points by the end of the year wins, everyone else is furious at their choices and over-compensates by putting a bunch of oldies in the next year's team and they barely score anything. If you still fancy getting some enjoyment out of people dying, here's what you need to know: RULES To enter, you must be registered on Pie & Bovril before this thread was posted. To enter, send me a private message containing the names of 15 celebrities you think will die in 2021. To make it as easy as possible for me and limit the possibility of mistakes, please try to spell their names correctly. If they use alternate names, please make a note of this. Reasons for a person's fame are welcome. When submitting a team, please create a new message. In order to have space in my inbox for everyone's entries I have to empty it each year. If you reply to a previous message you've sent me, I won't see it. For the purposes of eligibility, your PM must be sent to me by 00:00 GMT, January 1, 2021. The game will officially end on 00:00 GMT, January 1, 2022. Despite this, if someone dies in a different time zone, the local time and date will be considered instead. In order to be eligible upon death, your entrants must receive an obituary in a UK-based national news source. Websites concerning a niche interest do not count in this instance - it must be a mainstream news source. If you pick someone obscure or non-British, you may have to find and post a qualifying obituary. The Lauren Hill Rule - American college sports personalities are not eligible. The Liz Taylor Rule - Is someone a celebrity if their child or spouse or relative is famous? Probably not. If their only claim to fame is a well-known relation, they don't count. The Abubakar Shekau Rule - If a pick's date of birth is unconfirmed or unavailable, their points will be calculated assuming their date of birth is the 1st of January of the latest year provided by relevant sources. The Terminal Rule - People who are famous specifically for being ill are not eligible. The World's Greatest Democracy Rule - People who are on death row or facing trial where the death penalty is a mooted sentence are not eligible. Fugitives on the run are eligible. Your entrants must be human. Your entrants must be over the age of 18. Your entrants cannot be fictional characters. You are not allowed to kill any of your entrants yourself. If a P&B user is found to be responsible for the death of any of their entrants, they will be disqualified from this and all future Dead Pools. You are not allowed to select any P&B members. If, upon death, it emerges that a celebrity was a P&B poster, this is allowed. It is your responsibility to ensure all of your entrants are alive. Don't do what someone did last year and pick Neil Armstrong (d.2012). If you pick someone who dies in the final days of 2020 it is your responsibility to PM me with a replacement pick. I would suggest including a short list of back-up picks, just in case. Scores will be updated and posted, hopefully, every Sunday. SCORING Base Points: Each death is worth 125 points minus the person's age. So the younger your picks, the more points if they die. There are several multipliers available: First Blood - The first person to die in 2021 gets 25 extra points. Last Gasp - The last person to die in 2021 gets 25 extra points. Solo Shot - If you are the only person to pick someone who dies you get a bonus of 50 points. Deadly Duo - If only two people pick someone who dies you both get a bonus of 25 points. Captain Bonus - You can nominate a captain of your team who receives an extra set of Base Points added to their score. Inherent Vice - You can nominate a vice-captain of your team who receives an extra set of half Base Points (rounded up) added to their score. (If you do not nominate a Captain or Vice-captain, I will consider the first and second respective names on your list for these positions) Deadly December - If your pick dies in December, you get an extra set of Base Points in addition to any other bonuses. Unnatural Causes - If your pick is murdered, commits suicide or has an accident, you get 30 extra points. There's nothing else I need to say about this year. The Firing Squad Bonus is gone to get some simplicity on the spreadsheet, so it's just the basics you have to look out for. I think everyone who participates usually understands the basics of how the game works, so if you do have a question or are confused then feel free to post, we'll do our best to answer it. With that in mind, all I have left to say is: GOOD LUCK!