PlotRelay/BadDude
Starter Title: Are You A Bad Enough Dude?
Dawn - Prelude -- Hapushet
The word has gone out across the South - the Tri-Khan summons all worthy warriors to a magnificent tournament of combat prowess. Martial artists, masters of blade and spear and even archers with eagle eyes and lightning hands are traveling to participate in the grand event. Dragon-Blooded champions from the Realm are even arriving to join the contest, for the prizes are enough to turn even the jaded eyes of a Dynast to an acquistive gleam. Rumors abound, however, that the Tri-Khan has a deeper design behind his sudden proclamation...
Zenith - Challenge -- Darloth
Of course, someone in the circle will likely want to participate, and even if not, it is an amazing spectacle that none should miss. Whichever is the case, midway through the tournament, a strange new type of warrior is seen, unlike any who has been seen before. Perhaps he (or she, depending on desired flavour) is a new kind of exalt, or perhaps not an exalt at all. Either way, the warrior is matched with a PC if PC's are fighting, or looks directly at them at a critical moment if they are not. Why and how does the strange warrior know them, and what strange nature is behind the warrior's cool and kickass abilities? How is the Tri-Khan connected?
Twilight - Development -- GregLink
It turns out that this warrior is in fact one of the first Infernal Exalts sent forth to properly display himself to others, and test himself in open combat. Under the direction of his dark masters, the Tri-Khan has thought forth this giant tournament as a means of dispatching those most likely to be able to resist the onslaught of his new champion. By ensuring that the competition is 'rigged' and ruled correctly, with the Tri-Khan determining if the loser lives or dies, he ensures that the Infernal will gain battle experience against all types of warrior, and ensures that said great warriors won't live to see the coming war. In particular, the Yozis would like to see how their creation fares against one of the Solar Exalts on the open field, hence the interest in the PC's. While a number of Solars have already been taken by the Infernal, all were done under the guise of stealth and ambush. The tournament is a way to test the Infernal's ability to survive an inevitable direct confrontation, without actually risking his life.
Night - Conclusions -- -Miles
- Party doen't get involved in the fighting - Characters will eventually see that this is a slaughter of many of the best warriors in the area and start to look for information leading them to stop or stall this tournament. They should get some ideas, even if through uncommon channels and be able to find out that something is going on. If not, the party should be attacked directly by this new warrior when they are still a bit unsuspecting and the party should be left with a bad taste in their mouth. The warrior should flee if he is about to be defeated. The party will either need to track down the Tri-Kahn or this warrior and deal with the situation. The party will quickly need to move allong a fine line or the dragon blooded will find out the party is Anathema or the Warrior will try to pick off individual party members. This is the most likely way to get circle members killed with surprise attacks especially while the circle is devided up. The warrior may also get an opportunity to challenge a party member directly if they are in the audience under the pretense of it being a non lethal fight. This path can leed to any of the other two endings also.
- Party is involved in the fighting - Of course it will eventually come down to this new warrior against one of the Circle members, in which case the circle member should be weaker than this warrior. Of course, to not let their abilities be see they will have to use very limited charms in order to not alert the dragon blooded in the competition. A quickly amassed deadly hunt should be in order for the party if any of them does display their anima. Should see some major battles of all or some of the party leading to a possible cancelation of the tournament because Anathema have become involved.
- Party is smarter than average - If the party members end up going directly to the Tri-Kahn and asking too many direct questions they should expect an attack from this new warrior very soon after talking to him. The party should be able to trace the trail back to the Tri-Kahn with some work to determine that he has supported this warrior and should be guided to seek a way to end this tournament. This can end in a diplomatic way with the Tri-Kahn canceling the tournament or may end in the death of the Tri-Kahn and the dissapearance of the winnings.
Eclipse - Epilogue -- IanPrice
Including an Akuma in your chronicle shifts the focus towards the Yozis. Even if the tournament devolves into an impromptu Wyld Hunt against the PCs, they should be left with nagging questions about the horrible warrior they have witnessed. For that matter, so should the NPCs. Solar Anathema are obvious threats the Dynasts present would naturally attack first, but for each Dragon-Blooded warrior there is also a Terrestrial savant. The demon-tainted essence of the Akuma will be noticed, and the rush for sources of Yozi lore will be on.
- What if...
- The PCs continue to pursue the Tri-Khan as the source of the problem? How much does he know? How do they go about getting it from him? Can they do it before the Akuma corruption gets worse, and also avoid the Wyld Hunt?
- The Wyld Hunt decides that the Infernal was also an Anathema, since they were known to wield strange demon powers? Could unusually subtle PCs end up working with the Wyld Hunt? What if your PCs are the Wyld Hunt instead of the Solars? Which demon-tainted aberrations will they pursue?
- Nobody ends up caring about the Infernal? What destruction will he wreak before someone takes notice? When does the ripple effect engulf the PCs? (How many times will Gem be destroyed?)
- The Infernal in the tournament is a stalking horse for a whole circle of Akuma, keeping the attention on his visible destruction while the others work to free the Yozis from their eternal prison? What signs could lead the PCs to discover the preparations for such a ritual? Are certain rare items being sold in unusual quantities? Do the PCs unknowingly hold the key ingredient for the ritual?
- The PCs discover the true nature of their foe, and search for more lore on the Yozis? How much do they know about the Primordial War? What histories exist, and where might they be found? What if savants from another faction present at the tournament (the Immaculate Order, the CotI, some theoretical faction NOT directly manipulated by Sidereals...) also want these histories, and perhaps already have them?
- Have the PCs ever summoned demons? Will they now find it harder? Easier? Which would be worse?
This scenario could be used to begin a campaign, or it could easily be fit into the middle of an existing one. In an existing campaign, consider what has come before. If the PCs are already conquering Solar warlords, their identity will be known prior to their arrival, and if the Wyld Hunt dares face them it will probably meet them on the way. To start the fight during the tournament and disrupt it would be very impolite to the Tri-Khan under such circumstances. High-profile PCs may receive a direct invitation to the tournament and perhaps a promise of peaceful passage if they participate, while low-profile groups probably hear by word of mouth. If your group does not seem likely to follow up on such rumors or invitations, don't be afraid to sweeten the deal. Tournaments often offer fabulous prizes, and people the PCs want to see (or kill) may gather conveniently in one place for the spectacle. Remember: the tournament is not the main event. The Akuma is, and the tournament is the stage for its appearance.
Peanut Gallery
Maybe I'm being hasty, but I thought we'd see something happening here a little bit faster than this... Was the opening that bad? - Hapushet, who does not wish to be a RelayKiller
There's my best shot. We shall see ^_^ (For reference, I suggest a dragon-king under some sort of illusion effect, but, hey, up to whoever is using/expanding on the plot)
-- Darloth
- Rock on. That's what I wanted to see. - Hapushet
Decided that it was important to list a few of the possible endings because players have the option of doing many different things. -Miles
There we go, finished this one up. If nobody else does, I'll post a new theme tomorrow. - IanPrice
