Players: Two SEASONED, BLOODTHIRSTY ARENA DUELISTS
Their AUDIENCE
Supplies: Colored paper, scissors, wimpy tape.
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PREPARE:
Duelists! Name and title your characters: FIONA SKULLRIDER, SCOURGE OF FAR KULION. UGNE BLOODFEATHERED, THUNDER-EATER. Like that.
Proudly announce your Specialty: POWERFUL (Rock), FLASHY (Scissors), UNDERDOG (Paper). It breaks ties.
You have three (!) minutes to assemble FEARSOME, LEGENDARY ARMOR/WEAPONRY/ACCESSORIES from the supplies.
After, while donning/wielding items, boast about who/what you slew to obtain them.
Audience! Scrabbling, make coins/trinkets from (only!) the remaining scraps. Hoard them.
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DUEL:
Duelists! Make your grand entrance! Face off.
Narrate/display your awe-inspiring, crowd-pleasing maneuver, stopping moments before contact.
Play Rock-Paper-Scissors for your LIVES!
Audience! Chant BLOOD, GLORY, DEAAATHHHHH, with duelists throwing *on* Death.
WIN/LOSS/BROKEN TIE: Duelists! Collaboratively narrate the results, loser going first.
UNBROKEN TIE: Audience! Demonstrate your favor: cheer, throw coins/trinkets, surround/carry your Duelist, etc., until the winner is clear.
Victor wins 2 out of 3 rounds.
VICTORY: The victor takes one item from the defeated, and decides their FATE.
An audience member becomes the NEW CHALLENGER and PREPARES.
Continue until your thirst for BLOOD AND GLORY is slaked.
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ALTERNATE: (Some) Duelists could be BEASTS/MONSTERS, just sayin'.
Thanks as always to Corinne, Ed, and the RPG Workshop/Narrative Games Northwest crew for their support and inspiration! If anyone actually plays this, email me and let me know how it went!
Oh also thanks to Brandon and James of the Stop, Hack, and Roll podcast whose episode on audiences during games kindled the spark of this idea in my brain!