Thursday, March 03, 2005

The Everlasting Game of Uberspielen

This is for my campaign. Yes, you may all read it -there's nothing here I particularly care if you know before hand.

It is the ultimate entertainment.
It is the most exciting challenge.
It is the game that will never end.
Uberspielen is a country-sized Arena for the largest game of capture the flag ever played. All of the planes inhabitants are either players or spectators. There are two teams, the red team and the blue team. Although they have no real ideological differences, they have been taught to hate each other with a passion.
The landscape of Uberspielen is wrapped around an enormous cylinder. The sides of this cylinder are mini arenas, where players go to challenge other players or face “penalties” for breaking the rules – often in the form of dangerous creatures summoned from other dimensions. Out of the seams rise the stands, where spectators abide. Two rings around the cylinder divide it into three sections – red territory, blue territory, and no man’s land, where the play is hottest. A small moon orbits Uberspielen, serving as front row seating reserved for deities, who often stay for as long as a century.
The rules of the game are very complicated, but the basics are fairly simple – each team is trying to acquire all the balls (there are 5,000). Anyone hit by a ball while in the opposing teams territory Is immediately teleported to a prison. They can be broken out by their teammates. In no man’s land, anyone hit by a ball is teleported back to their own home base. The game has been going on for thousands of years, and the most balls ever acquired by one team was 3, 904 – and that was over two hundred years ago. The Game is presided over by a lesser deity known only as the Referee.
Killing someone is technically a foul, and the punishment for fouling is far worse than just sitting out for a game. But still, the game can get ugly, and swordplay breaking out on the field is not uncommon. Violence is also fairly common in the stands – especially if the referee makes what some spectators consider a bad call. Travelers to Uberspielen are encouraged to join in the play if they wish, though many are content to watch from the stands.
Uberspielen Traits:
Uberspielen has the following traits:
Objective directional Gravity/ Partial Light Gravity – Gravity aligns itself to whichever object you stand on. No man’s land has the light gravity trait.
Normal Time
Finite Size – Leave the cylinder and you fall into the abyss, eventually ending up on the astral plane.
Limited Divinely Morphic – The Referee alone is capable of modifying the landscape of Uberspielen.
No Elemental Traits
No Energy Traits
Mildly Law Aligned – Because the rules are so strictly enforced, Chaotic creatures are frowned upon and receive a –2 penalty on Charisma based checks. Red/Blue Aligned – Any character who decides to play the game is randomly assigned a new alignment trait – either red or blue. This effectively replaces the good-evil axis for the duration of the characters play time. For all spells that effect alignment, act as if they now say the new alignment instead of the old. Clerics, for instance, would gain the ability to “smite red” if assigned to the blue team. Treat each team’s side as strongly aligned to that team’s color.
Varying Magic – For a spellcaster on his own turf – a red player on the red side or a blue player on the blue side – all spells are Enhanced (they act as they would under the maximize spell feat). For a spellcaster on the opposing teams side, magic is impeded. In No Man’s Land, Wild Magic applies. Certain spells, however, are against the rules – greater invisibility, for instance, is considered cheating, and can result in a penalty. Spells that allow travel to other planes are impeded on the field, but work in the stands. Normal magic applies in the stands.
Uberspielen Links: Four portals surrounding the stands are the main method of entrance to Uberspielen. Each one has end points on all adjacent planes and the Astral plane. It is impossible to plane shift directly to or from the field – you must enter and exit through the stands.
Uberspielen Inhabitants: There are no natives to Uberspielen – members of all sentient races are found on both teams and among the spectators, and creatures from many other planes roam the wilderness areas as “terrain hazards”. A number of high level Divine Agents known as Attendants are servants of the Referee, and have a way of showing up when most (or least) needed.
Uberspielen Petitioners – Uberspielen has almost no petitioners, mostly former players or enthusiasts who haunt the stands. They are virtually indistinguishable from other spectators, but are prohibited from joing a team.
Movement and Combat:
Movement on Uberspielen is much like movement on the material plane – accept in a few places. To cross from the stands onto the field or from the stand to the stands of the challenge arena, you must contact an one of the Attendants (there’s usually one around when you need one), who will transport you there (and assign you a team). Getting back to the stands from the field can be accomplished only from your team’s home base.
Uberspielen Combat – Combat on uberspielen is similar to combat on the material plane, but again, you must be careful not to commit fouls. Killing an opponent and using certain spells will cause you to be summoned immediately to the challenge Arena, where you will have to face a penalty – a creature decided on by the Referee based on your power level and the seriousness of your transgression. The Ref may also choose to give you a handicap, such as making you fight blind or removing your weapons. Terrain in the Arena is alterable however the Referee wants.
Features of Uberspielen: Uberspielen is mostly divided into three areas we’ll treat as layers – The stands, The Field, and the Challenge Arena.
The Stands – The Stands are made up of steps, each nearly a mile long and a long way down, though staircases and latters hewn out of stone make coming down and up fairly simple. The landscape on the steps looks like plains. Many people have houses here, but dotting the landscape are dome-shaped viewing stations. Though the field is visible from anywhere in the stands, the view is usually to far away to see any of the action. From the viewing stations, observers can get a closer view of whatever they want, and also buy food and interact with fellow observers. Viewing stations look like cities, with most of the houses being made of metal. Each viewing station is run by an Attendant.
The Field – The field appears basically like a normal country. In the sides controlled by one team or another, there are various towns and cities. Right by the stands is a mountainous region. Closer to the border you find woods and two large lakes – the terrain features are almost entirely symmetrical. A number of important sites are located on the field:
Home Base: The home bases are enormous Castles where team members go to plan, coordinate, and prepare for battle. New Players always start from her. The Team captains preside here – they are mortal humans born into a Monarchy, but they are only figure-heads. The MVP – determined by various running game statistics and rechosen every two years, plans team strategy, although he or she has no power to enforce it.
Prison: Captured players are immediately transported to this underground facility. All weapons are confiscated from them, and the prison is surrounded by an anti-magic field. There is only one entrance, and it is not an exit – a prisoner can only leave through it if accompanied by a free teammate who entered through the gate. A prisoner can also escape by challenging a guard for his freedom. The prison is dark and cavernous, but has no cells – all prisoners can roam freely in it. It is incredibly well-guarded, and the chances of a single person successfully mounting a rescue are minimal.
No Man’s Land: This is a dangerous wilderness country. Both sides are evenly matched here, and wild beasts from every plane roam as “hazards”. The terrain is mostly woods, but there are also some desert areas.
The Challenge Arena: This is where the Referee takes those who commit a foul, or where a challenge can take place. The terrain changes based on what it’s being used for, as does the size of the playing field. In the case of a penalty, bizarre and extremely ridiculous handicaps are often put in place – challenges are usually fought on even footing.
Uberspielen Encounters: Coming soon. Encounter Tables take forever to make.

1 comment:

Marten said...

I like. I want to play. now.