Enter the OCTAGON II (always open)

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Thanks for that kind Reply, Neb. I may have to do just that. After all, I got started by helping Mitro over on HADB.

I admit I'm a bit of a "control freak" when it comes to my dungeons, but after this next batch of fights, the rest of you should have a good idea of the style I'm looking for when Posting fights.

I started out copying Mitro's style of describing the arena, crowd, etc. Now, I've decided to do it more as a "play-by-play" commentary.

So, after this group of fights are done, I'll consider "farming out" some of the fights to other DM's.

Thanks again. It really means a lot to me.

[Morgeruat]

maybe you could try auditions, have people who you're interested in possibly sharing responsibility, send you a write-up of a fight they ran and if it agrees with what you're style is then let them post it, or have them write it and e-mail it to you for editting...

BTW I'm still in regardless, Altho if it would mean saving the Octagon I would be willing to retire Knuckles and run some fights.

[Morgan_Corbesant]

im staying, i cant imagin leaving the arena!! seriously, this is the closest to actuall P&P that ive played in years. i will wait as long as it takes. i do like the idea of a co-dm. that way, one can work on it while the other one cant. just like with mitro. i think you are doing an outstanding job on the thread, and there should be NO reason to close it down. hell, im sure once its running again, there will even be MORE people joining.

[caleb]

Keep it open

[ 07-09-2002, 05:23 PM: Message edited by: caleb ]

[Neb]

I would be willing to run a few fights. Non involving my own character, of course. If you don't mind and you need the help.

[Cerek the Barbaric]

I want to thank ALL of you for your strong support and offers to help with this thread. It has become VERY obvious that I am going to need help running this thing and I sincerely appreciate each of you who have offered to assist in the DM duties. I'll be contacting you as needed.

Now then....

LET'S SEE SOME FIGHTS!!!

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Morgan vs Knuckles

Welcome to the Octagon, IronWorks fans. We’ve got several fights lined up for you tonight. Our first fight features two of our best warriors. We’ll see a big contrast in fighting styles though. Our first fighter is Morgan, the Bladesinger.

Morgan enters from the West Gate; his firmly muscled arms and legs carry him smoothly across the arena floor. On his forehead is a tattoo of his school’s symbol – 3 black triangles intertwined to form one large triangle. He is wearing no armor, but is swinging his long sword back and forth easily, loosening up for the battle.

His opponent relies on savagery and strength, rather than practiced skill. Please welcome Knuckles Akirason, dwarven BattleRager! The horrid-smelling dwarf enters the East Gate amid several moans, groans, and gags. A huge cloud of flies follow his every step, some of them becoming trapped in the animal fat that’s rubbed into his hair to make it stick out. His beard is dyed to match every color of the rainbow, but without the lined symmetry. Blotches of colors intermingle with each other to form different hues and patterns. Knuckles is wearing his new set of spiked plate mail. It was made by a dwarven black smith and is extra large and bulky, to accommodate his frame after the BattleRage sets in. Knuckles sings his BattleRager song as he strides to the center of the arena. He has left his great battleaxe behind this time, choosing to fight with just handaxes against the smaller elf.

The two take their positions, and the battle begins.

Morgan quickly begins casting Armor on himself to protect against the dwarf’s axes. Knuckles begins charging ahead, an axe in each hand. Morgan completes his spell as the first axe flies past his head. The protective magic appears none too soon as the second axe bounces off the blue aura that now surrounds him. As Knuckles closes in, singing loudly, Morgan drops to a crouch and waits. Just before the dwarf gets within striking distance, Morgan springs forward – flinging a handful of dust from the arena floor straight at the BattleRagers eyes. He then dives into a roll directly under the dwarf’s pounding legs.

Knuckles is taken completely by surprise and goes flying across the back of the sneaky elf, slamming into the ground face first. Morgan dashes in as the dwarf rises, spitting dirt and muttering curses and drives his sword in underneath his opponents arm. Akirason howls in pain and rage as the sword thrusts into his ribs. He swings wildly at the elf, but misses. His eyes are still full of dirt and he can’t see the dashing elf. The sweat and animal fat running down his face just make his eyes burn that much worse.

Morgan leaps in again, pressing his advantage, but this time the dwarf is expecting it and he slices the elf’s arm with his axe. Morgan manages to parry the next blow, but realizes the dwarf is starting to recover from his initial disadvantage. The Bladesinger decides to back off and use some of his spells instead. He slips away quickly and quietly, leaving the furious dwarf swinging at thin air. As he retreats, Morgan realizes he has gained another advantage – Knuckles isn’t singing his BattleSong. The unexpected crash into the dirt broke his concentration and interrupted the song. That means it will take several minutes for him to work himself back up into his beserker frenzy. Morgan begins casting quickly to make the most of his time.

Several small, fiery globes appear in his hand as he completes his spell, and he begins tossing them towards the dwarf. He throws a total of four globes, three of them scoring direct hits and bursting into flame. The fourth one lands right at Akirason’s feet and also explodes. The dwarf howls even louder as he is engulfed in flames and Morgan retreats a couple of steps further.

As the fire sears his skin, it also burns away the sweat and animal fat that was blinding him and Knuckles vision begins to clear. He still can’t see the elf too well, but he can at least make out his shape now. The BattleRage has been forgotten, Knuckles is more than mad enough without it. He grips his two handaxes firmly and charges towards the blurry shape in front of him, heaving his axes as he runs. Morgan casts another quick spell, producing 3 small missiles of arcane energy that shoot forward and strike the dwarf around his chest and shoulders, just as one of the axes clips his shoulder. Knuckles doesn’t even feel the pain this time. He can see the Bladesinger clearly now and he isn’t about to let him get away. Two more handaxes are hurled towards his enemy and the dwarf starts running towards him as fast as his powerful legs will carry him. Morgan manages to fire off his last Magic Missile just before both axes strike him in his chest and torso. The force of the weapons knock him back for a couple of steps he gasps for breath.

When he looks up, he sees the enraged dwarf is only a few feet away and he tries to bring his sword up in defense, but it does no good. Akirason dives forward, crashing into the Bladesingers stomach with all of his force. The impact sends both men flying to the ground, where they roll end-over-end. The dwarf uses their momentum to roll back to his feet, clutching the elf’s shirt in one powerful hand. His other hand is extended straight out behind him. He holds this pose for just a moment, then his arm and fist snap forward towards the elf’s handsome face. Instead of punching with his fist though, Knuckles suddenly bends his arm and smashes his spiked elbow into the Morgan’s jaw.

The elf slumps in his arms – motionless. Knuckles Akirason wins.

Knuckles – 3000xp 1 Reputation point
Morgan – 1500xp

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Oorg Uggh vs Kharn, the Beserker

Our next battle is between two of the fiercest warriors to step into the arena. Neither of them has been defeated – yet. That will change today. It’s the battle of the beserkers, and one of them has to lose.

Entering from the West Gate is Oorg Uggh, the massive half-orc beserker that has met every challenge thrown his way so far. Oorg walks into the arena proudly. He is wearing his plate mail armor and carrying his huge tower shield in his right hand. His left hand holds his battleaxe. As he enters the arena, he raises his axe and shield in the air and shouts “OORG IS THE MIGHTIEST OF ALL!”

The boast is suddenly drowned out by an ungodly howl. A moment later, Kharn, beserker warrior for the Blood God Khrone enters the arena. As he walks through the East gate, spectators notice that his head and armor are covered in freshly dripping blood. Workers within the arena discover the carcass of a stray dog not far from the East gate and quickly remove the grisly remains.

As soon as Kharn reaches his mark, the two beserker warriors charge straight towards each other, screaming curses and waving their axes. They meet head-on with an ear-splitting crash. Metal rings against metal as their axes bounce of each others armor.

Kharn is already fully into his beserker fury, and he slashes wildly and the larger half-orc. Oorg easily avoids the attack and brings his axe slicing down into Kharn’s shoulder. First blood goes to Oorg, but Kharn takes no notice. He continues the momentum of his first strike and brings his axe swinging around in a vicious criss-cross attack – leaving twin dents in the chestplate of his opponents armor. Oorg responds in kind. Even though he has maintained control and not slipped into his beserker fury, his strength is still far greater than his opponents. He proves his superior strength by leaving two deep cuts in Kharn’s armor as well.

The battle rages back and forth, with no quarter asked and none given. The savagery of the attacks astounds the spectators. Both warriors take blows that would kill lesser men without even flinching. Their stamina and endurance appear to be endless as they pound each other tirelessly.

Kharn suddenly changes the direction of his attack, swinging his axe up from below his waist in an attempt to strike under Oorgs protective armor. The blade sinks deeply into Oorgh’s private region, releasing a floodwave of pain so intense that the half-orc cannot even cry out. His arms fall limply to his sides and he rocks back and forth, barely able to stand. The only thing that keeps him up is the rush of adrenaline released by the pain that triggers his beserker fury.

Kharn can’t believe that his opponent is still standing. He rips the axe out and smashes it across the half-orcs face, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Kharn turns to the crowd and raises his hands in victory.....only to feel a matching wave of pain flood through HIS body. His eyes widen in disbelief, and he turns to stare dumbfounded at the brutish half-orc, who has risen to his knees and repaid him for the wound he received. As Kharn falls to the ground, Oorg is too weak to yell his victory cry. He just falls forward onto his hands and knees, panting heavily as blood pours from his mouth and nose. (Oorg Uggh wins).

Oorg Uggh: 3000xp 1 Reputation point
Kharn: 1500xp

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Morgan vs Mortilas Round II

We’ve seen two very exciting fights so far, and this fight promises to keep the excitement going. Instead of brute force and savage attacks, we will now see fluid movements and skilled precision. Returning from the first fight (and a refreshing round of Healing spells) is Morgan, elven Bladesinger. He will be facing his counterpart and former colleague, Mortilas...also an elven Bladesinger.

The two warriors enter from their respective gates. Neither of them wears any armor and they both move with a liquid grace. Morgan is a little sore from his earlier fight, but nothing he couldn’t cope with. He carried his long sword at his side and made a few practice swings to test his arm.

Mortilas comes in carrying his trademark halberd. Nobody had ever seen a Bladesinger use a polearm before, not even Morgan. It was generally discouraged by their teachers due to the size and weight of the weapons. Mortilas must be a very persuasive fellow indeed, to convince his master to allow him to use such a weapon. Mortilas goes through a warm-up routine of his own and then advances to his mark.

The two Bladesingers salute each other out of mutual respect, then the fight begins.

Both men begin chanting and casting a spell. A few moments later, a magical Armor spell covers both of them, and they move toward each other with practiced ease.

Their blades spin faster and faster around their bodies, and the tell-tale “whistling” that gives Bladesingers their name, can be heard to the upper levels of the Octagon. They move closer together, their movements looking beautifully smooth and fluid, as they continually adjust to the movements of the other. They circle each other, looking for an opening, but finding none. Another pass, and still no opening is offered for either one. They pass each other a third time, their blades and bodies moving in a synchronized ballet of battle. This time, Morgan shifts his movements and thrusts his blade forward quickly. Mortilas sees the attack coming, but cannot avoid it completely. So he adjusts his movements to flow with the attack and receives only a minor cut near the shoulder. He brings his halberd down in the same motion and watches as it cuts a deep gash across Morgan’s back.

Morgan winces in pain and quickly retreats out of the weapons range. The extra-long reach of the halberd gave Mortilas a decided advantage. Morgan had to work very carefully to even get within striking distance without taking a hit from the broad-bladed weapon. As he studied his opponent’s movements, a bold plan came to mind and he again moved in to attack. He deliberately slowed his movements by about half-a-step, knowing that Mortilas would use the halberds’ long reach to try to keep him at bay. As the blade came down along the predicted path, Morgan sprang forward like a cat, getting inside path of the weapon. Instead of attacking Mortilas, though, he turns and thrusts his long sword towards the halberd, hooking it in the curved portion of the blades’ bottom. Using his sword for leverage, Morgan spins with the weapons movement, while stepping away from his foe. Mortilas can do nothing but stare helplessly as the surprise maneuver pulls his weapon from his hands and sends it spinning across the arena.

He has little time to worry about that, though, as Morgan continues his spin and uses it to launch another attack at the elf’s exposed chest. The long sword digs a long, deep furrow across his chest, sending Mortilas reeling backwards. Morgan, who appears to be spinning like a top, completes yet another spin. This time, he stabs straight ahead with his blade, sinking it straight into Mortilas chest in the very center of the newly-made furrow.

Then....all movement stops as the weight on the end of his blade tells Morgan that the fight is over.

Morgan: 3000xp 1 Reputation point
Mortilas: 1500xp

[Morgeruat]

great fights, it's good to see the arena alive again.

BTW (just a friendly reminder, Knuckles uses warhammers, not handaxes)