Background/Setting - First Draft...

[ynnen]

I know we discussed quite a few different names and concepts, but I'm still fairly partial to PhoenixCrawl, for reasons you'll see reading this. It is still, of course, changable, but I had to start somewhere. So here's the current draft of the introduction, background and setting information for this...

Jeff - I certainly need some input to see if my assumptions and concepts fit in the XCrawl canon... Please advise.

The PhoenixCrawl Open

Introduction

PhoenixCrawl Open is an exciting XCrawl adventure, originally designed for GenCon 2007 for the official XCrawl Tournament. The PhoenixCrawl Open is designed specifically for a group of four 7th level characters. In the tournament setting, players have a pool of pre-generated characters to choose from when assembling their team of XCrawlers. As with most XCrawls, a good mix of offense and defense is essential – teams will need skills, smarts and strength to survive the challenges they’ll face in the PhoenixCrawl Open.

Adventure Summary

Always on the lookout for exciting events to capture the nation’s interest, the XCrawl league has actively sought out new venues and new DJ talent to add to its fall lineup. A billionaire business mogul from Phoenix, Arizona caught the attention of league officials with a bold plan to develop a state-of-the-artifact XCrawl arena built specifically for his high octane dungeon. Within weeks, the league broke ground and construction began on what is now the setting for the First Annual PhoenixCrawl Open.

It hasn’t taken long for the PhoenixCrawl Open to become a “must play in” event for teams. League officials have decided to use the PhoenixCrawl Open as a means for young and unproven teams to showcase their skills in front of rabid fans, possible corporate sponsors and the XCrawl League itself.

In an effort to boost ratings and create interest among XCrawl teams, the event is open to all XCrawl teams of Division III caliber or lower who wish to test their mettle. All the teams that advance past the first round of the PhoenixCrawl Open will be given a probationary one-year “upgrade” to Division III status if they aren’t already in Division III. Any team advancing into the finals will be allowed to enter Division II events and are virtually guaranteed premium endorsements and sponsorship deals. Teams that have toiled in the lower divisions see this as an opportunity to skyrocket into the big leagues.

Fans, league officials and sponsors alike are all keeping a close eye on this event – the next big XCrawl star is sure to rise from the ashes of the PhoenixCrawl Open!

The Steak Behind the Sizzle

DJ Sizzle, the mind and the money behind the PhoenixCrawl Open, is all about the eye candy. He likes his pyrotechnics, and he likes them hot, loud and flashy. And for good reason. DJ Sizzle is a powerful Efreeti who gets to vent his love of fire and all things loud, nasty and explosive on the XCrawlers.

DJ Sizzle, known as Eshara Va'Zakir in his native Plane of Fire, is a successful businessman who has made a fortune manufacturing fire safety equipment. His innate knowledge and love of fire has allowed him to develop materials that withstand even his own withering flames – a unique marketplace position that has made him a billionaire. His business savvy is matched only by his vanity and penchant for evil.

Eshara Va'Zakir contacted league officials anonymously with a request to host an XCrawl event in Phoenix, Arizona, with his company underwriting a significant portion of the expenses. Eshara Va'Zakir's boldness, coupled with the visual spectacle and expected lethality of his proposed event, piqued the interest of the XCrawl league.

DJ Sizzle’s vast wealth has afforded him the luxury of building contraptions and hiring monsters that would normally be unavailable to an XCrawl event of this level. And his willingness to contribute generously out of his own pockets made it easy for network executives and XCrawl officials to look past his diabolic nature and see the big picture – epic television ratings and enormous profit potential from sponsors and merchandising.

If You Die, You Die! … Mostly

The sponsors of the PhoenixCrawl Open have invested heavily in commercial and marketing tie-ins for DJ Sizzle’s dungeon. During the initial testing, however, the dungeon proved so dangerous that sponsors were fearful the viewers may lose interest as some areas may never get explored by the XCrawlers – they’d all be dead before they could complete the entire dungeon!

In an unprecedented move, fully supported by (and secretly subsidized by) DJ Sizzle, the Temple of Apollo (?) has provided each team entering the PhoenixCrawl Open with an incredibly rare gift – a phoenix feather. The phoenix feather is a powerful item that an XCrawl participant can use to cast true resurrection on a slain teammate. The feather is consumed in the process, but unlike the spell true resurrection, the resurrection effect takes only one minute and can be activated by any character.

If the winning team can manage to survive the entire XCrawl without any team members dying, the team will receive a special bonus prize.

(this was as a compromise between the DCC rez/recovery rules and the standard XCrawl setting concept... i think it's a good middle ground... thoughts?)

Player Beginning

The small, cramped waiting room outside the first challenge smells strongly of fresh paint and plaster, and is uncomfortably warm. Even through the thick walls, you can hear the thrum of a rabid crowd cheering. Vid screens mounted in the walls pan across the faceless throng of people, all eyes fixed on the door your team is about to enter.

An explosion rocks the room, and the vid screens erupt with images of countless fireworks filling the sky above the arena with blazing pyrotechnics. The crowd roars in delight, as fireworks continue to thunder over their heads.

A slender man in business attire and dark glasses stands near the door at the north end of the small room. Next to him, a sweaty-faced man with a headset and clipboard nervously wipes the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.

The business man leans over to whisper something to the man with the clipboard, gives a curt nod to the group, then files past you and through the door leading back to the locker room where you geared up and stretched while waiting for your time slot.

“O… okay,” stammers the man with the clipboard. “It’s a… packed house out there tonight. The XCrawl League officials h… have asked me to run through a brief list of r… reminders about the event.”

You can barely hear the man over the din of the crowd, but could swear you heard him mention something about incineration insurance and a decapitation waiver. Before you can ask him to clarify, a red light starts flashing above the door leading north, and the vid screens blank out.

The roar of the crowd softens to a dull rumble as images of fire crackle across the vid screens. A deep voice fills the air, its rich tone holding the crowd enraptured.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am so very pleased you could all attend. To those watching at home, welcome to the First Annual PhoenixCrawl Open.”

A series of fireworks explode overhead, and the crowd roars its approval. After letting the crowd cheer for a few moments, the voice continues.

“Welcome to my domain. Team [insert team name] – I will be your host for the next few hours, or for as long as you manage to survive. You may call me DJ Sizzle. I hope you like things spicy, because I’ve cooked up a hot little number for you here today. So let’s not waste any more time, shall we? Phoenix – are you ready to burn?”

The crowd cheers even louder than before, whipped to a fever by DJ Sizzle. The red light above the door flashes faster for a few moments then turns off. You hear the click and whir of some mechanism in the walls to either side of the door as it unlocks.

The man with the clipboard looks nervously at you, then steps aside. He flips open a small panel on the wall, revealing a large red switch. “Get ready. And good l… luck. I hope you do better than the last t… team.” With that, he flips the switch. The door slides open, a warm rush of air hitting you in the face.

Let the games begin.

[goodmangames]

Niiice... at first glance, everything looks great. The phoenix feather works for me. I really like the fact that the DJ is a fantasy creature -- it reinforces the fantasy theme very strongly.