dailyadventureprompts:Adventure: Queen of the Arena “Go Find me another challenger, go a
dailyadventureprompts:Adventure: Queen of the Arena “Go Find me another challenger, go ahead, I’ll wait. These good people paid to see a show and by the gods I’m going to give them one If I have to hack my way through every beast in the pits beneath us.” Setup: One name reverberates across the city, chanted by adoring crowds and whispered by treasonous lips, a name that echoes across the empire could even shake heaven itself with the thunder of its cry: “ VOLZI! VOLZI! VOLZI! VOLZI! ”. Champion of the people’s hearts and daughter of one of the empire’s most powerful generals, this swaggering swordswoman is one of the greatest ever to spill blood upon the sand, famous not just for her skill in dispatching opponents, but with the utter art with which she handles her blade, Born at the front while her father was on campaign, Volzi Polvian grew up among soldiers and camp followers, in a years long campaign that saw the frontiers of the empires expand, absorbing vast swaths of new territory that earned her family honors beyond counting. When her father returned in Triumph, Volzi found hersleft thrust into the political limelight, but always chafed at the constraints of “civilized” society and longed for a chance to life a life of exertion and challenge once again, a longing that brought her invariably to the glories of the arena. Everyone knows the story of how when she was only fourteen years old, Volzi leaped from her seat on the edge of the arena to save a favored combatant that’d been set to meet his death at the hands of a victorious rival. Taking up her champion’s blade, she disarmed the far larger and more experienced warrior and forced the preceding to a draw. While it began as a scandal among the nobility, it soon became heralded as the first of Volzi’s many victories within the arena, where she fought beasts who’s savagery and hunger cared little for her noble pedigree. In those battles that Volzi found a space for herself outside her father’s shadow, and over the decade or so since, she’s yet to meet with an opponent who could wrest her from the title of champion, or her place in the people’s esteem. Adventure Hooks: While the battles against beasts and the executions of convicted criminals are real as can be, Everyone knows the warrior-on-warrior fights are staged; carefully choreographed exhibitions between performers trained to show off and entertain the crowd rather than slay eachother outright. Identity obscuring outfits and cleverly concealed mummers tricks helps preserve the “verisimilitude” of these warrior’s grisly deaths, while helping to retain a roster of highly skilled athletes that circulates around the empire as their performances require. One of these performers, (and old friend of one of the heroes) reaches out to the party to request their aid. Lately there have been ACTUAL deaths in the arena, and while the first one or two appeared to be accidents, there’s a growing suspicion that someone is sabotaging the fights to contrive murderous circumstance. An Aetherborn known as “The Haze” controls betting around the arena, and allows those who wish to wager on the outcomes of various bouts and games to pay back their debts in either coin or life-force. Part oddsmaker, part crimeboss, and part manager, The Haze sees the arena and the crowds it draws as a wellspring of both livelihood and longevity, and as such takes a discerning interest in the lives of patrons and performers alike. The Heroes may find The Haze to be a welcome source of finance for future adventures, provided they’re willing to stake their wellbeing on uncontrolable outcomes. Proffering everything from snacks to memorabilia to scalped tickets, the goblins of the extended Gleesqueak family are an inescapable presence in the arena crowds, hawking their goods left and right as they have for generations. In addition to their more mundane wares, the Gleesqueak also operate a lucrative sidehustle brewing up various alchemical goodies for the athletes and competitors within the arena. While their reserves of healing and heroism seem downright bottomless, the Gleesqueak brewmasters can easily cook up something more specialized for a discerning patron. Keep reading -- source link