Some call it the nexus of all
realities, the holiest of places, the wellspring of eternity or the
court of the mad gods. To those who live there, the city-state of Non
is simply home. No one knows how the vast sprawling city came to
exist, but all agree it would be famous even if was not the most
famous place in all the universes. Billions of gates link it
sporadically to every location in space and time and travel to it –
and even from it – is a thing of legend in many places. Every story
of a portal ends up here.
All portals lead to Non. That alone is
fame enough. But there is also the Arena. And this elevates it into
myth and stories almost no one dares believe. Because every few years
there are a series of battles in 12 Arenas on Non, fortunes rising
and falling until there is a victor. The victor replaces the last one
in the Manifold Palace. They step in, become a living God, and remake
the multiverse in their own image.
Sometimes everything is altered, or
perhaps just their home dimension. No one knows. It is said, by those
who work in the palace, that the god does not move. They sit,
thoughts and will on matters that nothing mortal can understand,
until the energy that made them is used up and another God replaces
them. The time between Arenas varies: this much is known as truth.
And also that no one has been able to wake one of the Living Gods,
though few have been foolish enough to even try.
The Living God seems unable to get rid
of Non, or the Arenas. Or perhaps, knowing of some wider world, they
simply have no concern for such small things.
Not all who come to Non to fight in the
Arena seek to win. Some arrive by accident and seek only to find a
way home. Others see cures for other ailments or allies in different
quests. The reasons are as varied as the fighters. Some are veterans
of battles in far-off worlds. Others pacifists pushed to the breaking
point. The universes they come from are as varied as their reasons
for doing battle and as more and more battles are won, the press of
Non begin to zero in on prospective winners and seek to learn about
them. And, sometimes, learn enough to try and sabotage the changes of
some would-be God.
Nothing is simple in Non, but perhaps
the Living Gods would have it no other way.
GM Notes:
This is intended to be an Arena-style
fighting game using OVA 2e. PCs begin with 5 free points, and can get
up to 5 more by taking weaknesses accordingly. No ability can begin
higher than +3 and OVA uses the [u] dice with Sparkie. The GM has
developed a cheat sheet to explain how some abilities mesh and
overlap.
Characters can be from any setting and
genre you wish – making characters who are genre-savvy to other
genres than an Arena one is also a recipe for fun. Motives and goals
are entirely up to the players though making sure there aren’t too
many cross-pollination of powers is a good idea. (More than 2 PCs with
teleport etc. could get silly.) Unlike most games, the family of a PC
is unlikely to be involved so the relations made among contestants
and other PCs in the Great Game becomes a springboard for other
adventures.
There will, naturally, be far more to
the game than battles in arenas. More info. will be added this this
in a few days.
