SPOILERS:Oh look it's another one of these. Lots of people wanted to be in my first game but couldn't so I came up with something new.
It is a dark day for Clan Fourem. Nine members of this proud Goblin clan have been captured during an attack on their village by Humans, and they have been brought back to the Human city to serve as entertainment. They are to fight and die in a great Arena for the amusement of the masses. Their fate seems sealed.
But Clan Fourem Goblins are not known for their cowardice! They do not merely intend to fight bravely and die honourable deaths, nor to simply survive the vicious life of combat ahead.
They intend to escape.
The Rules
Each Goblin begins play with the following stats:
Hp 5
Atk 1
Def 1
App -5
Hp: Hit Points. How much damage a Goblin can take. A Goblin (or other creature) reduced to 0 Hp is Disabled and can take no actions, but may live to fight again.
Atk: Attack. How much damage a Goblin deals in combat. Weapons increase your Atk.
Def: Defense. How much damage a Goblin can ignore each turn. Armour increases your Def.
App: Appeal. This is no dungeon crawl, it’s an Arena! Working the Crowd will be key to success. Your App score will change as the game progresses, and will greatly affect the course of the game.
During the day you will be made to fight in a single round of combat in the Arena. Generally, combat only ends when one side is defeated, either the Goblins or their opponents, but special rules may sometimes come into play. Combat is fought in turns. Each night I’ll post an update and you will have a chance to take your actions. This is one turn. There are several basic action types you can take during combat.
Move: You move to an adjacent space. The Arena is divided into five spaces. Goblins who remain at the far Left are furthest from harm, but the Crowd doesn’t react well to cowardice. Conversely, Goblins who head to the far Right are closest to danger, which the Crowd enjoys. However, staying at the far ends causes the larger part of the Crowd to ignore you, so your actions will have little effect on the Crowd Guage. Goblins who stay in the Middle are in full view of the entire Crowd, and their actions affect the Crowd Gauge very strongly, for better or worse. The Middle Left and Middle Right are sort of neutral zones, neither cowardly nor brave, neither hidden nor open. If you attempt to move while an enemy is in the space you start in, that enemy can still attack you!
Attack: Deal damage to an enemy in your space. Of course, they get to hit back. But you’ll have to fight if you want to survive.
Charge: Attack an enemy in an adjacent space while also moving into that space. The downside is that you suffer a -2 penalty to Def during the turn that you do so.
Flaunt: Put that App stat to work! Flaunting lets you nudge the Crowd Gauge, but the reaction you get is dependent not only on your App, but also on your recent and past actions. If you hid in the corner today, the crowd will remember it tomorrow!
Coup De Grace: Finish off a Disabled enemy, ensuring he will never come back to fight you again. This is like a combination attack and flaunt. Be careful when you finish an enemy who has a higher App than you, since the Crowd will react negatively. But finishing enemies whose App is close to yours (or better yet, much lower) will garner favour. Plus you’re pretty sure your opponents will have no qualms in finishing YOU…
You Can Also: Give away, receive, pick up, or drop one item per turn in addition to your action. Equipping items that you possess does not count as your action.
Although these are broad action types, the way you DESCRIBE your character undertaking them matters. The crowd might react more favourably, or you might even get bonuses to Atk or Def.
Once the combat round is over, assuming you survive, your App will most likely go up or down depending on your performance and the final state of the Crowd Gauge. You might be able to pick up some new items from your fallen enemies. These Trophy items often affect your App while used or worn. But be warned: if your App gets REALLY high, the Crowd is going to demand that the Arena Champions defend their titles…
After combat you will be sent back to your cells and stripped of (most of) your items. You will have five turns to work on your escape, but these turns represent a longer span of time than combat turns. All Goblins will also recover 1 Hp, including those who are Disabled. Goblins who spend all five turns doing nothing but resting will regain an additional 1 Hp. Disabled Goblins can ONLY rest, and do not gain an additional Hp. Make good use of your time, as there’ll be another combat in the morning.
Finally, let’s talk about this Crowd Gauge business. The Crowd Gauge will always start at the average of the Goblins’ App scores, but will fluctuate based on your actions. The Crowd likes bravery, victory in combat, and seeing low-App characters getting trounced. The Crowd hates cowardice, failure, and high-App characters getting beaten. Note that the Crowd Gauge represents how the Crowd feels about Clan Fourem, not about the entire combat; if it shows as negative, that means they’re rooting for your opponents, who will benefit from your loss. If you Flaunt while the Crowd Gauge is positive, new items might get tossed into the far Left and Right spaces of the Arena. Ending the combat with a positive Crowd Gauge is a good way to raise your App. If the Crowd Gauge reaches maximum or minimum, something special might happen…
Anyone can sign up to play*. All you need to do is tell me your character name and choose a colour (preferably a basic one). Note that updates will be posted EVERY NIGHT with few exceptions, so please don’t sign up if you can’t commit to one post a day! If you must miss one or two nights you can warn us and task someone else with taking your actions, but if you suddenly become unavailable, it would be better to give your position away permanently.
Long Live Clan Fourem!
Goblin Roster:
1. Not Important, dark purple (notimportant)
2. Betrays A Friend, orange (Kide)
3. Eats An Adventurer, blue (AdjectiveNoun)
4. Trips On Rocks, brown (brontan)
5. Keeper Of Doors, dark blue (Ratha)
6. Raises Eyebrows, slate grey (ArdentSilver)
7. Aims At Genitals, green (TanaNari)
8. Get Away I Want To Be Alone, black (RandomMerc)
9. Lives By The Sword, red (Cragspyder)
*If you are already participating in a game run by me, you cannot join until five hours after this initial post is made. Any claim made before this time will not count. Let’s give everyone else a chance to play, arright?
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