AVB: Fighting Ring Spectaculaire! (Public Thread)

[hustlertwo]

A hobgoblin bearing a blue tattoo on his face and a skeleton with a similar (if sloppier) mark address the throngs of attendees and soon-to-be gladiators.

Greetings ladies, gentlemen, constructs, animals, residents of non-material planes, and lovers of violence everywhere! Welcome to my arena of unbridled carnage, where avarice meets assault. And from their vigorous coupling a child is born, and we lovingly name it Fight Night! At least, until a better name comes to mind. Here, death takes a holiday, and you can feel free to pull no punches as you claw all over each other to take the winner's purse! Without further ad, or at least with as little further ado as possible, let the mayhem commence!

Rules:

Spoiler

-Animal companions, familiars, and other class feature creatures or companions are allowed in matches, as are mounts. Cohorts (wild or otherwise) and anyone acquired through Leadership are not, ditto for any attempts at hiring people to fight with you or buff you.
-First one to go down or surrender is the loser.
-500 gold to enter, the prize to the winner will be half of all the entry fees. Second place will get a magical item of some kind, whose value is guaranteed to be more than the entry fee. XP is awarded for every match (and some even when you lose). All slots in a tournament not taken up by PCs will be taken up by NPCs.
-No pre-buffing.
-It is an endurance-type round. One hour elapses between rounds (during which you cannot do anything). Buffs that last longer than an hour will carry over to the next fight. Spells and power points won't be replenished, same with rages, flurries of blows, so on and so forth. Damage taken remains; you can't heal it in between matches (but can heal it in matches, of course)
-NPCs will lose random amounts of HP in each round to simulate the degradation of their matches (and NPC mages will consume spells in a similar fashion).
-If a match is being unnecessarily stalled, the current fighting ring manager will dip into his Boring Box. It contains a nasty assortment of ranged weapons and combat items to be used on whoever is ticking the crowd off. Mechanics-wise, this can be translated as anyone who either hides or runs away for five rounds or longer without taking an offensive action.
-You must post at least once per day (unless you're currently awaiting DM response). Every day you don't post is a round your character sits idle.
-Other rules may be added as they come up; when in doubt, ask before you do to avoid any rewinds or anything.
-This is a public thread. Matches will take place in separate, and PRIVATE, threads. Summaries of those matches will be posted here. You can read about them here, not there, where the standard rule against seeing other people's threads will apply. If you post in here (as an audience member or fighter watching other fights, or what have you), please post in-character. If the thread starts to fill up too fast, we'll begin charging for 'tickets' to post.

The Map:

Spoiler

-To reiterate what the map rules say above, everything in here is transparent. There is no way to block line of sight aside from magic, powers, or items. Please make a note of it.
-Ignore the lava, it's not there. Those squares instead represent the unpassable border of the map.
-Max elevation is 150 feet above 0. Go past that, you get disqualified as if you ran away.

[hustlertwo]

Fight Night I: The Bloodening

As always and like never before, I, your glorious arena manager Wilstaff will provide play-by-play on all matches of interest during our Fight Nights. My undead vice-manager Bennett will be our color commentator, of course. I always say he's got the heart of a poet; I just wish I hadn't thrown it away with the rest of his internal organs.

Without too much further ado, we bring you a summary of the first match of import for Fight Night I. And coincidentally, it stars Yours Truly. Who'da thunk?

Round 1: Trial by Fire

Originally Posted by hustlertwo

Wilstaff looks at the cheering throng from inside the arena's enclosure.

This is our prototype for what we hope to be a cornerstone of Aldhavenian culture, like any museum, art gallery, or fine eating establishment where there happen to be scantily clad females of various races willing to dry hump you for coins. And how better to learn the best way to hone and improve your experience than to participate in the first fight ourselves! As you can see, I'm not just the manager of this cavalcade of carnage, I'm also a member. And my vice-manager, Bennett will also put his neckbone on the line for the sake of knowledge and fun for all.

He nods to his opponent on the blue end, and at his suggestion, Bennett bows.

We who are about to die, however briefly, salute....well, me. Let the fun begin!

The handsome hob Wilstaff and his chatty skeleton chum Bennett square off against a bugbear who has managed to overcome his natural stupidity enough to learn some rudimentary magic. Combat begins in the air, but Bennett complains of being left out of the fun, so after minor spell exchanges everyone lands and the bugbear suddenly finds himself the cheese, turkey, and barbeque chips in the middle of a Wil and Ben Sandwich. He turns up the heat on the hob, but a deft sword thrust from Bennett's bony hands removes the bugbear from the contest by removing his heart from his chest.

What, Bennett? How am I not giving you enough credit, I said it was deft! How would you have described it? 'A surgical strike of unparalleled skill that even the gods themselves could not have withstood'? I know you're the color man, but that's a tad too rainbowish for my tastes. And you can say what you want, but I was there and I am quite sure I don't remember any heavenly chorus singing your praises after the fight. Keep dreaming, bonehead.

Spoiler

There will be similar writeups for any other PC match in the fighting ring if requested; all you'll have to do is PM me a basic description of what happened after it ends (leaving out as much or as little specific character info as you wish, to avoid having your person's powers and abilities known to all) and I will do the rest.

[hustlertwo]

Round 2: The Night The Lights Went Out in Aldhaven

It certainly was a scintillating opening fight for the spell-slinging hob and his bony buddy. In the semi-final, the pair found themselves toe to toe with a human swinging a length of spike-studded chain. They approached him slowly, only to find he was rooted to the spot. Wilstaff, ever the cautious one, sent the skeleton forward to attack and-

What, Bennett? Cowardly? No, no, clearly it was caution. That little bit of fear urine you saw squirt out was just an...illusion. Yeah.

Anyhow, Bennett failed to achieve victory a bunch, and the human nocked an arrow and tried himself. It was at this point that Wilstaff realized two things: this human wasn't real, and everything had just gotten dark. Very, very dark. Forever.

Blinded by the cowardly illusionist-

Yes Bennett, what he was doing WAS cowardly. Of course there's a difference! He was hiding from a fight, I was simply letting someone else fight it for me. Apples and oranges.

As I was saying, blinded by the cowardly illusionist, Wilstaff retreated. Bennett, swinging blindly, finally manages to hit the invisible enemy with a devastating dagger strike, and Wilstaff uses the sound of this to zero in as best he can and loose a deadly spell, dropping the deceiver where he stood and allowing the unseeing hob to claim his second win, and advance the finals. But alas, without a potion to cure and prevented by the rules from finding one in the midst of the tournament, he was forced to go into the last round as blind as a bat.

Which, as it turned out, was a very apt turn of phrase for that battle.

[Rizban]

A dapper looking gentleman in a top hat enters. He walks with a fine cane, though he doesn't appear to need it.

"I am seeking the proprietor of this establishment."

[hustlertwo]

Spoiler

Wow, I totally forgot to post a synopsis for the third battle. Guess it doesn't much matter now. If anyone cares, long story very short is Wilstaff fights reasonably well despite his blindness, but he, Bennett, and the dire bats he summons are all crunched by the gargantuan dire bat his half-fiend opponent controlled.

"Might be tough, the bosses are in and out all day long." He cranes his neck to listen to a disturbance out in the slums. "But judging by the screams echoing down the hall, it might be your lucky day. Or it might not, depending."

A few moments later, a wild-eyed hobgoblin mage bursts into the room, followed by a rather well-equipped and finely polished skeleton. He appears to be mired in a debate with his companion, despite the skeleton's lack of any noticeable response.

Absolutely not. I don't care that you have a controlling interest in this business, either those children fight the badger or I walk.

He pauses as the skeleton stares forward silently.

Wah wah, who cares if they get roughed up a bit? A little dying is good for building character.

The mage then notices their visitor.

Well lookee here Bennett, there's a high-class sort flouncing about in our neighborhood. That you could make it this far into the slums dressed like that without taking a club to the head tells me I definitely want to see you in the ring. So what's your story, morning glory?

[Rizban]

"Oh, no no. I'm not here to fight. I wish merely to test out one of my... pets. I've bred him to be quite vicious, and I want to see how he fares in real combat."

[hustlertwo]

Wilstaff is momentarily surprised. Hmmm...that's a new one. We have a couple of options if you want to see if you want your creature properly featured. Would you like to pit it against one of our newly acquired beasts? A horde of commoners? Or perhaps just one or two somewhat more highly skilled combatants?

[Rizban]

"I would prefer it to have some sort of challenge. I want to test it's limits, not merely watch it slaughter for sport. If you can not accommodate that, then I will go elsewhere."

[hustlertwo]

Wilstaff looks to the skeleton.

I know, right? As if he could just go try the other elaborately warded and fully staffed illegal arena down the street.

He then looks back to their dapper visitor.

Trust me, we'll challenge your beast, even if I have to get in there and snap its neck myself. Would you like this to take place during one of our marquee events, or is it less about publicity and more just a straight combat challenge?

Another look to his partner.

No, we'll move Phelicia back to 4:30 if we need to. Just tell her I had to kill something, she'll understand.

[Rizban]

"I don't care about publicity. I just want to test him out so I know where to go with my experiments for the next litter."

[hustlertwo]

Then let's light this firecracker.

Spoiler

At which point I guess we'll take this to my thread, and I'll post a synopsis of it on here.

[Debatra]

An Elf walks in. She has visible injuries, but either doesn't notice or doesn't care. She walks to the front desk.

"Hello. I'm looking to sign up for a match."

[hustlertwo]

The elf hears a commotion in the background, followed by a crash and an unearthly scream. A calm, disinterested voice chimes in nearby.

Put some ointment on that. Like, a lot of it.

Moments later, a wild-eyed hobgoblin enters the room, flanked by a heavily armed skeleton. Both wear blue marks on their faces, though the skeleton's bears more resemblance to a fuzzy blue spider.

The hob looks to his new arrival.

Oh, the first catch of the day, hmmm? You're in luck! We've recently expanded our operations from merely being a periodical tournament. Now it's full-on fighting mode every day in the sunny slums! So we have a variety of options available. First, tell me a bit about yourself. Who you are, what you specialize in, and the story of those lovely bits of red you're currently wearing all over your person. Actually, I think we can help on that last part. Grissom!

A cleric comes at the summon.

"My name is Chisholm, Mr. Wilstaff."

Gristle, give our guest here a bit of your magic fingers, on the house. She's making me hurt just looking at her.

The cleric touches the elf, healing her for (2d8+3)[13] HP.

That's better. So, yes, go ahead and fill me in on what you are and what you want. If you seek entry in our big tournament, you'll need 500 gold, cash on the barrel. Grand prize is 2,000 gold, second place an item valued at more than your admission. But it won't start yet, we're keeping registration open a while longer, try to lure in some of the crazies.

He then looks over at the skeleton, who remains mute and motionless.

Well, yes, the crazies other than me, Bennett. I don't want to be the only one this time. Fighting bats while blind as a bat was an interesting experience, though. I guess not so much for you, you were dead again by that point.

He then tries to focus his limited attention back on the task at hand.

Right, sorry. So, if you want something cheaper and more immediate, we have some fighting options right now. For 100 gold, we can arrange a fight against a horde of opponents with limited skills, or dip into our menagerie of beasties to find you a challenge. Win, and you get a trip to our brand-new Potion Grab Bag! Or, my favorite choice: you put up any amount of gold, from 50 to 1,000, against another elite fighter. Whose eliteness is basically measured by them showing up here in time. Winner takes all.

So, pick your poison, and if you have any questions, ask away. I probably won't listen, but talking it out might make you feel better. And Bennett here is always looking to help out our customers. Quite a people person, he is.

The skeleton remains still, possibly awaiting your response. But more likely just because it's a skeleton.

Spoiler

Hopefully that made the options for combat pretty apparent (low-level NPC mob, semi-random choice of creature, fight against another PC). They are also listed in the OOC and Recruitment threads. Keep in mind all matches generate XP, win or lose. Winning being worth more, of course.

[Lokio]

[[DM noting a 13 point heal for Debatra's main thread. Thanks Hustler.]]

[Debatra]

"For now, I'll just sign up for the tournament." She puts the 500 on the table. "As for what I do, I'm a bounty hunter, among other odd jobs. You wouldn't happen to need anyone in my line of work, would you? Guaranteed secrecy."

[hustlertwo]

Wilstaff scratches his chin.

A bounty hunter....that could be helpful. Shame I didn't run into you before. Wouldn't have had to tiger-bomb that fellow myself.

An idea suddenly dawns.

Actually, if you're looking for regular work, I might have something for you along these lines. Would you like to have a little practice scrap while we discuss it in private? Or we can just discuss it in private without the fight, though that sounds a lot less fun.

[Debatra]

The Elf grins. "Oh, I'm always game. What do you have in mind?"

[Rizban]

A familiar suited man enters the room.

"Hello, Sir Hobgob. I've brought a new pet for you to try out in your ring. I think I might enter this one in a tournament though. I'm quite sure that it can take even you."

[hustlertwo]

Wilstaff enters with a grin, sweating from his recent workout with the elf.

Ho there! I think I'll call you Mr. E, seems appropriate. A new and improved beastie, eh? Certainly the last one gave Bennett quite the run for his money. We don't normally have creatures in the tournament, but in your case I'll make an exception; I think your creatures might be quite the draw. In fact, I've been meaning to talk to you about that, and now seems as good a time as any. How about instead of the 500 gold registration fee, you hand us one of your creatures for the menagerie? Doesn't have to be this souped-up version you're debuting; the reject Bennie and I burned up will do. But I think it would be a fine addition to the growing selection of beasts to fight, and give you even more opportunity to see how one of your breed fares against a wide variety of opponents and situations. Everything from one lone warrior of great power to a horde of panicked commoners that it will likely tear through like tissue paper. Sound like a deal?

[Rizban]

"Thank you, no. The five entry fee is fine."

The man tips his hat ever so slightly, a hint of a smirk on his face.

[hustlertwo]

Wilstaff shrugs.

Can't blame a hob for trying. Go ahead and drop off your payment, and we'll register the...thing. Any particular name or desgination for it?

And if you ever decide you want one of them included in our menagerie, let me know, and we'll try to work out a deal.

[Rizban]

He tosses a small pouch with 50 platinum pieces to Wilstaff.

"'Creature' is sufficient."

[hustlertwo]

Spoiler

I thought 1 platinum was 10 gold. It's 100?

Creature it is, then.

[Rizban]

Spoiler

That was supposed to be 50. I just didn't push the zero hard enough. It's now corrected.

[Monodominant]

A young child approaches the arena looking around for what has been described to him as a hobgoblin with a blue tattoo and a skeleton flunkie.

[hustlertwo]

The child is directed to a room where a hobgoblin sits, admiring a collection of humanoid skulls placed tastefully on a shelf near his desk. He smiles warmly at the incoming youngling.

Hi there, little one. Are you here to report to the Watch about one of the bad men touching you in your no-no places? Or are you one of my little squirts scheduled to go up against that rabid badger during Fight Night 2? If so, I hope you brought your whomping sticks, because I've been poking that brute with a spear all week and he's mighty ornery!

[Monodominant]

"I am here because monsigniore asked me to be here" he says with determination.

"He said I am to make arrangements for his participation and asked what kind of an operation you are running here. What kind of matches he can expect, if there is an entry fee etc. He said I am to glean information and return to him..."

[hustlertwo]

Spoiler

FYI, XP awards for these matches are still undetermined; Plans and I were debating that when he dropped off. Feel free to read the last few posts in my character thread to get the gist of it.

Wilstaff rattles off the list with an air of someone who has done this many times before.

For a hundred gold, you can battle a horde of weaker types or one of our menagerie of beasts. It's a good workout, if not incredibly challenging, and if you win you'll get a turn at the Potion Grab Bag. You can put in anywhere from 50 to 1,000 gold to enter into a one on one fight against another Aldhaven citizen of similar strength; you both agree how much to put up, and winner takes all. Or you can plop down 500 clams to reserve a spot in our next Fight Night Main Event tournament. 3 matches, no rest, no mercy. Winner gets 2,000 gold, 2nd place a magic item of greater value than the entry fee. Everyone gets the thrill of the fight.

Anything else, small fry?

[hustlertwo]

Spoiler

FYI, XP awards for these matches are still undetermined; Plans and I were debating that when he dropped off. Feel free to read the last few posts in my character thread to get the gist of it.

Wilstaff rattles off the list with an air of someone who has done this many times before.

For a hundred gold, you can battle a horde of weaker types or one of our menagerie of beasts. It's a good workout, if not incredibly challenging, and if you win you'll get a turn at the Potion Grab Bag. You can put in anywhere from 50 to 1,000 gold to enter into a one on one fight against another Aldhaven citizen of similar strength; you both agree how much to put up, and winner takes all. Or you can plop down 500 clams to reserve a spot in our next Fight Night Main Event tournament. 3 matches, no rest, no mercy. Winner gets 2,000 gold, 2nd place a magic item of greater value than the entry fee. Everyone gets the thrill of the fight.

Anything else, small fry?

[Monodominant]

"What happens to his foes and who watches those matches? Monsigniore said he wants privacy, perhaps something to test his skills against tougher or something trickier... it could be another Aldhavenian I guess" he says scratching his head.

"By the way, are those real?" he asks pointing at the skulls.

Spoiler

Dont care for the XP really... just a matter of passing the time using Ishmael in combat to try things out in a full LOS arena...