Welcome to the Coliseum

[sinfulmods]

Event: Welcome to the Coliseum

Shortly after the City-wide flooding, in the wake of the now-infamous Tower break-in, and just after a new City influence comes into play comes a rather odd little invitation: just as citizens were starting to feel as though things were tapering off, it’s obvious that they are not.

For the Chosen, at least.

Towards the end of the week, on July 3, every Chosen in the City will receive the same message: a video from Justice inviting everyone to come to the Coliseum in two days time for some kind of competition. He won’t tell anyone what the prize is, but it’s pretty obvious from the tone of his voice that he thinks it’s pretty good. Everyone will be strongly encouraged to come by, if they want to know what exactly it is they have a shot at.

All Chosen who show up at the appointed time and place will be met by Justice himself, and only at that point is he willing to divulge what it is he’s offering: the chance to go home, providing they’re willing to fight. Not just anyone, though - he expects them to fight each other in an all-out, Hunger Games-style brawl. The thing is that Justice isn’t exactly willing to let anyone who showed up go if they suddenly don’t want to participate. They’re stuck, for all intents and purposes.

Now, some Chosen may remember that Justice hasn’t exactly been a presence the last few weeks, and that rumours had been flying about his disappearance. Unfortunately, he’s not going to answer anything in regards to that, but it does seem like he’s just slightly pissed about things.

Of course, maybe that’s why he wants the Chosen to fight to what looks like it could be the death.

This is a mod-run plot, taking place from July 5 - 6 in game, and August 28 - September 2 OOCly. There will be an announcement in the State of the City to remind players, an official network from Justice that characters may respond to, and a log for all involved players.

FAQ

- What exactly does this plot involve?
All characters who show up to the Coliseum will promptly be locked in it. There isn’t any leaving, not even by magical means, because being held somewhere by a Magistrate generally means that only another Magistrate can let you out. On the plus side, instead of the Coliseum being this closed off, round little arena, all that flooding caused one of the walls to break open, opening it up to a rather large forested area just outside the City.

Characters have full reign over this forested area, so to speak. They will be able to travel three miles from the break in the Coliseum wall in any direction, at which point they hit an invisible force field that will send a current through them not unlike an electric fence. Most people will probably find that they’re knocked out for a couple of minutes if they touch the force field, so it’s not recommended. Periodically, there are sources of clean water, though there are also sources of rather rank water; there is also access to food, including but not limited to berries, greens, and the odd animal.

But at the same time, their time in the Coliseum is not just about surviving the elements: they are also encouraged to survive one another. Justice has made it abundantly clear that there are weapons scattered all around the area, mostly located in the Coliseum itself, and the last man standing will be the one to get their opportunity to go home. Theoretically, at least.

- I’m not into this. Is this plot optional?
It is, providing that your character not sign up for it. If your character would be into the idea, but you, as the player, are not for whatever reason, that’s absolutely acceptable as well - we can come up and handwave extenuating circumstances that would keep the character from being able to participate. If this doesn’t suit either, please come to the mods and we’ll do our best to figure out something that will work best.

- So if it’s a fight to the death, what happens to all the characters who die?
For the duration of this event, all characters who ‘die’ or are given what is likely a killing blow will fall unconscious for a few hours (roughly; this will be up to players), and be healed entirely upon their awakening. They still won’t be able to leave the Coliseum, and will wake up in one of the group dressing rooms in the lower levels there, with no recollection of how they got there and why they’re not dead. From there, they’ll be allowed to head up to the bleachers to watch the rest of the brawl play out.

- What if my character’s immortal / has the ability to heal themselves?
For the duration of this plot, that ability will be quashed. Perhaps not entirely, but characters will be, for all intents and purposes, mortal. This is to even out the playing field between characters who can take a little more than the rest of us squishy humans.

- What if I want my character to keep an injury after the fact?
Why would you do that to your poor character?

Actually, in the case of those wanting to have their character show some sign of having participated, we will be allowing characters to retain one injury even after death. They won’t realise it immediately, but will instead find out just how real the battle was after the fact, once they’ve left the Coliseum. It is up to players as to whether or not they want the injury (of their choosing) to appear immediately after leaving the Coliseum or shortly thereafter, but it must appear before the day’s end.

- What kind of weapons are available and where?
There are mostly various types of knives, but there is the odd other thing as well: staves, spears, a bow, a crossbow, etc. No guns, however. Most of them are found in lockers or under things in the Coliseum itself, but there is also the odd weapon scattered outside as well, such as in the trunk of a tree. Have fun with it! If you have any questions about whether a particular weapon might be available, feel free to ask the mods, and we’ll let you know.

- What if my character tries to escape?
Escape is, effectively, impossible, no matter how determined your character is. If they try to hit the force field bordering the forest too much, they’ll suffer the effects of intense electrocution and will, for all intents and purposes, ‘die’, thus waking up with the other ‘dead’ in the Coliseum. If they try to escape through the Coliseum, they’ll find all their ways out blocked by fallen rocks. But they’re also more than welcome to just get lost in the Coliseum’s winding lower levels, if they’re so inclined. Just watch out for traps.

- What kind of traps?
Think Indiana Jones. There are holes in the floor full of spikes, arrows that shoot out of the walls, rocks that could potentially crush a character - that kind of thing. Once again, if you have any questions about what might happen in the slightly labyrinthine lower levels of the Coliseum, feel free to ask the mods, and we’ll clear anything up.

- What’s up with Justice?
He’s sort of bent out of shape that the Emperor took him out of commission for so long. As some characters have already figured out, he’s the Magistrate of the district ruling over the sin of wrath, so despite his normally casual demeanour, he’s obviously got a bit of a temper.

And apparently he’s taking it out on the Chosen.

- Does this have any ties to that break-in on the Tower?
It absolutely does! Sort of. Consider this punishment for not listening. Some of the Magistrates are obviously more angry than others.

- How are you choosing a winner?
The mods will be using the RNG to determine who ‘wins’ from those who choose to participate, to keep things from getting unbalanced. We know there’s a good chance that, logically, one of the higher-powered characters should win, but instead of having everyone argue it out, we feel as though random is good.

- What are the other characters, who chose not to go, doing?
Likely living their lives, regretting their actions, and generally missing out on all the fun.

But in all honesty, they’re fully capable of finding out exactly what Justice had set up for them. All the televisions in the City are apparently set to show the fights, once again in the same way as the Hunger Games does. If characters don’t necessarily watch TV, they’re welcome to run across it at a bar or in the windows of an electronics shop. And besides that, it’s all the citizens of the City can talk about. It’s kind of exciting for them.

- The Coliseum doesn’t normally look like this, does it?
Not at all. Normally, the Coliseum is a relatively straightforward place, with a couple of areas for fighters to prepare for their battles, and tunnels through which they enter the arena. The stands are set up in a circle around the arena, so everyone has an excellent view of the fighting.

However, since it’s abundantly clear that nothing about this set-up is normal, things are getting a little bit more intense. The stands remain the same, and there’s still a few tunnels leading out to the arena, but the areas that normally act as locker rooms or preparation areas are now expansive and labyrinthine, with stone corridors leading every which way, rather like catacombs. It’s just as easy to get lost under there as it is in the forest outside.

- I have another question that you haven’t answered!
Feel free to ask below, in the appropriate subthread! We’ll be happy to answer it for you!

Please feel free to use this as a plotting post!

Comments

Louise Gardiner

[doomed_copper]

I know that I already posted this on Plurk, but thought it would be a good idea to crosspost it here, as well.

It wouldn't be IC for Louise to participate in this event due to many reasons, so she will be sitting this out, but I have thought of a few things she might do instead:

Since the Tower break-in, she's really been wary and distrustful of the Magistrates, and will see this "game" at the Coliseum as payback. It's too good to be true, and far too coincidental in time to be otherwise.

She will make a private, secure channel Network post to those she's closest to, and imploring them not to go, not to take the bait.

As she watches her friends die one by one on her television at home, she'll face a loss that she's not felt in quite some time, not since she was abandoned by her partner in 1999, and, when she then took her own life, thereby setting in motion the events that took her to Gene Hunt's copper's limbo world, and then to various other alternative realities before arriving back in 2013 London, shortly before her return to the City.

It will be eerily familiar, and very much a déjà vu scenario, and she will have PTSD as a result, possibly finding herself having that decision in front of her again. Has she learned from the last time? Has she evolved? Or is she the same weak, spineless officer with just bravado masking it?

SPOILER ALERT: She definitely will not off herself. Instead, she'll throw herself into busy work, sequestering herself in her office or flat, or training to the point of exhaustion, or spending too much time at The Bullet Hole. The flask will also make a comeback. Basically, anything and everything she can do to avoid the pain, or show raw emotion. She's going to try to beat it out of herself.