— future link —
IT'S PREY OR BE PREYED
------The year is 1939. Nationalist sentiment is at a high. Previous traditionalism has been gradually weeded out of the political centre of Uruhu — Moyofura — and a new generation of leaders heads the great Council of Houses. In a historical first, there is a genuine governmental interference in the violence surrounding the prosperous heartland, interfering in and ultimately ceasing a civil war that had commenced for a near decade. The Moyofura militia held true to those promises made to further account for the smaller communities lying on the continent’s outskirts. Groups and cultures long ignored by centralized authority are finally being acknowledged with tournaments other than the Food Web Nationals. The world of Uruhu has never felt as unified as it has now, and its people can finally celebrate as one common people.
------In a society alone in the midst of a measureless sea, the Uruhi inevitably assumed it a world of its own. In the earliest centuries, Uruhu was split between feudal territories of varying ideologies; it was a country gripped in the throngs of incessant war. It’s an exaggeration to say of that warfare is over, but the Houses of Uruhu have considerably matured. United under common, centralized leadership, their councils and their cultures are interwoven through a spiritual faith — literal belief in Spirits, sworn animalian guardians, manifestations of a true self — and the reinforcement of a “warrior culture.” Uruhu has overarching governance that provides systems — it’s a modernized society, the recent innovation of television especially revolutionizing media and intercommunication.. But everything in Uruhu, from the economy to the politics, remains segregated and clan-based, simply because of the need for warriors to carry those ideals of strength on their shoulders.
------A warrior is earnest, intuitive, and savage. They act of personal ambition, and are dedicated to that ambition as their top priority, always. They are escapist fantasy, everything a civilized man cannot be for the sake of the society, and yet the embodiment of freedom they desperately idolize. It’s no surprise, then, that the Nationals are not the only combat tournaments. It’s no surprise, then, the Nationals just happens to be the most prodigious of thousands of combat tournaments spanning the entire world! Not every tournament is exclusive to Amazimu, men and women — astonishingly — with access to great preternatural power. Some mimic the stringent procedure and maintenance of the FWN. Others are messier. Others don’t patch their fighters up between rounds. Others don’t have a betting system to demotivate brutalization. Granted, there are regulations for how tournaments in-general should be conducted. That means others are driven underground. But, in most Houses, fighting has simply become a way of life, whether one is influenced from the broadcast of Smash Night from the comfort of their living room, or thrown into street fights from adolescence to help their family scrape by. Especially in the light of the Amazimu who are oftentimes pressured to apply their skills in some semblance of combat or training, many non-Instinct-users aspire to wield that sort of dominance themselves.
------Accordingly, there has long been an demand for the goods of Menágrie. Proof that the Uruhi were never alone, they made contact in 1888 at the fishing town, Chumvi, totally unsuspecting of meeting other human beings. The people of Menágrie would describe themselves as “innovators,” “sophisticates.” Of those who landed, they seemed laughably inept, all bedraggled and sickly after some extended “naval expedition.” But they did bring technology unbeknownst to the Uruhi: tools for sailing and tracking. And weapons of a new, extraordinary variety, weapons that hit from a distance, that could be combined with other weapons and, combined with the law-defying Aisos, could be wielded in opposition to lousy physics laws. The Menágrie, luck would have it, revolutionized violence in Uruha. Perhaps earlier governance would have thrown them in the sea, but the new wave has gradually allowed those of foreign origin to assimilate themselves, often in the wealthier, centermost rungs of the nation. Menágrie pilgrims of the upper-middle and higher ranks of some distanced psuedo-democratic society join the populous in hopes of “reinvention” or making a killing from the innocuous weapons trade that has taken Uluru by storm.
Every four years, the people of
Uruhu trade their faded yore on bated breath, recollections of ancient warriors, tales of bloodlust and teamwork and tragedy and destiny. The legends that laid the tapestry for this diverse, magic-enriched nation— the warriors that tamed their Spirits dare rise from their burials to wreak the motherland once more, and
damn are they bound to give a hell of a good show.
‘Apex’ follows the quad-annual fighting tournament and the events surrounding it known as the
Food Web Nationals, a revelry of wild weapons and animal-themed magic that you have likely been training their entire lives for. Born possessors of the mystic ability
Instinct, you’ll pair up to mow down the competition.
While the story will mostly follow
four of these partnerships, you’ll also be joined by
fourteen* additional rivals — seven other partnerships — none of which should be taken for granted.
It’s cutthroat! You could get attached to your partner, but you’re not guaranteed to last together; you could come in the strongest of the lot, yet crash and burn if you don’t know how to improvise. The Nationals are as much about pomp as they are about power. Will you risk partnership over the chance of transcendence? With your name on that list, you’ve already become an icon, representative of your family, your
house, and the values and responsibilities you carry on your back. People honor you,
Amazimu — they
fear you, “ogre.” “Monster.”
Consider why you’ve prepared for this, heard of those crowned
Apex, immaculate and innominate and secluded and free, and for one reason or another, wanted to
be that. Maybe it’s that grand prize— the
Crown of Chrysopeia, describing thousands of EBs, the equivalent to 5.5 million in US dollars (if you knew of a ‘US’). On top of that, the winner of the FWN is promised a 30% cut for the next four years of any profit made by the Nationals’ eminent foreign sponsor. It’s money on top of money; it’s values that likely bend your reality, tempt serious revolution in your life and of others around you. Especially when you could be from anywhere in
Uruhu At the end of the day, the Nationals do not discriminate. As long as you’re part of the Instinct-practicing minority and can pass the preliminary testing, you have a shot. You
can do this.
But let’s cut the bullmuk. The Food Web Nationals (FWN) is staged in rounds in which contestants will aim to have the most points to avoid being slashed from the roster. The rounds themselves are distinguished in two parts:
The Primaries — Where duos duel to submission.
------What counts as “submission” may vary, from the first to get knocked out, to the first to get corralled off the ring. This is where collaboration becomes key, as
victory for either side is weighed by which team loses a component first to the conditions.
------The central mechanic here is the FWN’s special way of measuring success during the Primaries, an original system of
betting. Before every match— that’s
every match, not just the ones with our heroes, whether they care to watch it or not— a clandestine ‘betting panel’ of tournament analysts, coaches, and referees will customize a list of criteria for fighters where it will be posted publicly some time before the match. If a bet is met by either side during the match, that side will earn some extra points, ranging from
5 to
35 a pop, at variables of 5, based on the bet’s extremity. Although
the most points will always go to the winning side at a hefty total of 40, appeasing the panel could make a huge difference — and it’s insinuated in official tourney ruling that
winners might not get every bit of that 40.
------Each primary match will unfold in
one post. Please collaborate with any partners to make it happen!
The Free-For-All — Name’s on the tin, though pummelling not guaranteed.
------Proceeding the Primaries, things get a bit more unwieldy, even with betting excluded. In a Free-For-All,
every remaining fighter is thrown into the arena.
Partnerships will no longer matter; point gain will be independent.
It’s every fighter for themselves… unless it isn’t.
------The proper description for the Free-for-Alls is
game-like. There is always the possibility for a winning move; there is always an end objective. It is never tied to the simple solution of “last one standing”;
violence is often unavoidable, but never necessitated, and yes, there is a difference. Whatever is thrown at competitors here, they will need to stay on their toes and get creative to get their points.
------Because so many characters will be involved at one time, Free-for-Alls will just be carried out post-by-post.
So, who gets disqualified? What determines acclivity versus hitting rock bottom, it’s point value, and what determines point value: creativity, flexibility, and savagery, really. Kick ass and avoid being one of
the four lowest climbers getting dumped each round: that’s the goal.
As a note: it
is possible for a main player-character to be disqualified during the first round. In this case, your “safety net” is a Loser’s Round if it’s your main, or both of your characters are disqualified— for the latter, you can choose to redeem one character, but you will have to let the other go. In any case, disqualified player-characters will not be isolated from the roleplay — its surrounding plot — as a whole if you still want to participate. Not to mention you can become one of those betting panel members, or even an NPC!
’Apex’ intends to keep every player engaged to the end, because for you, it’s not all about reaching the top, but the journey in getting there.