Arena – Session 1

System Resources: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition.

Oracle Resources: Mythic Games Master Emulator second edition.

Generative Resources: Story Engine cards. Gamemaster’s Apprentice cards. Story cubes.

The game opens over the port city of Argallas, on the southern shores of Sardis. A once vibrant community now under the brutal occupation of the Helian Empire, Argallas is a shadow of its former glory. The markets and thoroughfares no longer throng with crowds. Church callers no longer sing on the street corners and in the plazas. Instead, furtive, fearful individuals scurry along the echoing arteries of the city, anxious not to tarry beneath the baleful gaze of Helian soldiers, lest they are punished merely for having the temerity to exist.

Into this grim tableau steps Marcus Vesta, a Gallacian deserter from the north, who has been arrested alongside many others for taking up arms against the invaders.

He has been sentenced to death in the arena.

Scene 01 – Expected.

Marcus and a group of prisoners are taken from their cells and transported to the chambers beneath the arena. Unshackled but under heavy guard, they are ushered into a small outfitting room that holds an assortment of battered looking weapons and armour. The stench of fear and sweat is thick in the air as a soldier orders them to choose their equipment. He speaks in a guttural, broken amalgam of Imperial and Trade, and laughs as he watches the captives fumble with the weaponry.

With a sinking feeling, Marcus realises most of them are but simple citizens, men and women who have never needed to raise arms against another. Some are so exhausted they can barely stand. The Gallacian helps them as best he can before donning a well-used baked leather breastplate and selecting a broadsword and shield for himself. He notes an orcan loitering near the rear, testing the balance of a short blade. Perhaps the group is not completely devoid of skill after all.

The prisoners are forced at spearpoint into a long, inclined corridor ending in a barred entrance leading to the arena floor. The muffled orations of the master of ceremonies can be heard from somewhere above them, but the usually loud cheers of the crowd are strangely absent.

A commotion erupts from a side gate, as five struggling soldiers drag a chained taurok into the corridor. The hulking, black haired brute has obviously been kissed by the Helian lash, welts and wounds criss-crossing his body, yet still he strains vigorously against the bonds. The guards retreat away from him and slam the iron gate shut.

Marcus speaks to the taurok, attempting to obtain his cooperation in protecting the civilians. The brute grunts noncommittally and pushes his way to the front.

Scene 02 – Expected.

The doors open slowly, and the group emerges blinking into the sunlight. The master of ceremonies drones on, but Marcus ignores the noise. He regards the doors on the far side with caution, not knowing what is waiting behind them.

As the group spreads out warily, many move alongside the tall stone walls of the arena floor. The orcan stands next to Marcus.

“I am with you, northlander.”

Marcus nods. “Stay close. If we can find a way, we should try to break that taurok’s chains.”

The orcan looks at him with a dry smile. “Unleashing the beast is fine as long as you know whom he will attack.”

The droning stops and the far gate grinds open, disgorging a band of anak warriors into the arena.

Round 1

The taurok roars and runs headlong into the oncoming group. Hampered by the chains binding him, he still manages to gore an opponent, his razor-sharp horn ripping through the goblinoid’s throat. Marcus, the orcan, and a lone elf follow, the Gallacian scooping up the fallen foe’s axe and desperately trying to cleave through his ally’s chains whilst the others attempt to push the enemy back.

The other captives stay near their gate, but a sizable group of anak break away and charge them, smashing into their disorderly ranks and cutting them down savagely. A handful manage to survive, scattering away from the deadly scrum.

The taurok is stabbed in the back, which seems to do nothing but enrage him further, and the elf is put to the sword by a gleeful anak warrior who delights in a rapid series of twisting gut thrusts with his jagged blade.

Round 2

Seeing the elf fall and unable to break the chains, Marcus hands the taurok his shield, which the creature holds in his bound hands as a makeshift club, brutally bludgeoning the nearest enemy to death. Marcus joins the orcan and together they manage to kill another goblinoid.

Sadly, the civilians on the other side of the arena fare badly, and all but one are slaughtered by the rampaging anak.

Round 3

The remaining survivor tries to flee but is overpowered and torn apart. The anak, with no enemies left, turn and charge back towards their entrance gate, engaging Marcus and his allies.

The Gallacian trades furious blows with a brutish warrior, eventually managing to slip through his defences and disembowel him. Seeing the orcan wounded and falling back against an onslaught of flashing blades, Marcus hurls his sword into the back of one of the aggressors.

For the first time since they arrived, a cheer erupts from the crowd. Whilst the combatants cannot see it, this causes an angered grimace to seep across the face of the Helian commander.

Using his foot to flick a fallen warrior’s battleaxe into the air, Marcus catches the weapon with a flourish before rushing to aid his comrades. The cheers intensify.

Round 4

The tide turns, with goblinoids fleeing before the three warriors. Marcus kills one, whilst the taurok and orcan cuts down a second. The remaining two run for the arena walls. Panicked and desperate, they pull uselessly at the entrance gate.

Round 5

To the cheers of the crowd, Marcus and his allies close the distance and kill the pair. Using the edge of his shield, the taurok decapitates one of the corpses and angrily kicks the head into the crowd before roaring his defiance at the high ranking helians seated in the cortas’ box.

Soldiers pour into the arena and encircle the survivors. Blood up, the taurok is poised to charge, but Marcus and the orcan manage to calm him. They throw down their weapons and are led back into the chambers below.