The Hold

A place for the stories that take place within Rhy'Din
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DUEL Reid
RoH Official
RoH Official
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 8:57 pm
Location: The Hold.

The Hold

Post by DUEL Reid »

There is no sign above the door telling you you’re in the right place. But this is Dockside. That’s how things are here. Someone told you. So you know this is right.

You knock once. A metal window slides back with a thunk. Two yellow eyes peer out at you. Maybe you know the password. Maybe you slip the guy a gold coin or two. He opens the door.

You don’t hear the noise until you’re down the hall, down the stairs, and through the open doorway. Then it hits you. The sounds of a crowd. Shouting, drinking, the meaty thunks of fists hitting flesh, the loud clash of metal on metal. A magic spell flashes and for a moment you can see the whole space of it.

Men and women of all races packed around makeshift rings, surrounding fighters facing off. There are no wards here. The concrete floor is stained with blood. No mats. No ropes. No padding. Sometimes cardboard is set down to soften the blows. People don’t die here. Usually.

There’s not much seating. A few steps lead up to a platform along two sides of the room. You can find a better view here. Set your beer on the railing as you watch. If you can find an open space.

There’s a bar at the back, but you better have cash on you. No credsticks, no credit, no tabs. Pay as you go. There’s no seating here either. You’re here to watch the fights, right?

You’ll also need cash if you want to place a bet. Old Salty is in the corner sitting on an overturned bucket, his white hair peeking from under a ratty sailor’s cap. Beside him is a chalkboard with a list of names. Nothing says what the names mean, but the regulars know. That’s the leaderboard. Want to get your name up there? Better get a fight.

Put your name on the sign-up board. Wipe the chalk off your hands. Someone puts a beer in your hand while you wait. “Good luck, kid,” someone says. “You’re gonna need it,” they laugh.

Welcome to The Hold.
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DUEL Reid
RoH Official
RoH Official
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 8:57 pm
Location: The Hold.

Post by DUEL Reid »

The Hold -- OOC

The Hold is an all-sports fighting venue. Fists. Swords. Magic. All rings are unwarded including magic---your character better look out for wayward spells anywhere in the venue.

Even though the rings are unwarded, the normal rules of cooperative roleplay apply to fights here. Roleplay should be give and take between the characters
and the players. Killing blows, chopped off limbs, scorched skulls, are only acceptable with consent of both players and should be played out in a cooperative manner.

Fights called by an official will count as regulation duels.

Unofficial fights are welcome. If you want to roleplay a fight that is not a duel, just give the caller a heads-up. The caller will acknowledge the fight as a part of the action, but will not provide play-by-play commentary or designate a winner. Unofficial fights will not be included on the leaderboard.

Oddsmakers are welcome---if you’re interested in roleplaying as the official oddsmaker on a particular night of play, please contact DUEL Reid.
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Denarrd Pryce
Junior Adventurer
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Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 6:22 pm

Post by Denarrd Pryce »

Life as a bouncer in this city was lucrative, but often tiresome. There was rarely a lack for work opportunities, but those opportunities led to scrapes, bruises and doctor’s visits more often than not. As he aged, he found he’d needed to choose his opportunities more carefully. There were younger, stronger men quite willing to take the jobs he signed up for but over the years he’d learned that awareness and cunning were almost in-line replacements for brute strength and an imposing figure. He’d earned a reputation for being crafty, for stopping problems before they got really out of hand and for still being able to throw someone out on their ass when push came to shove.

This place, though, despite its clientele, was almost a relaxing break from the usual bouncer grind. In here, when someone got salty, they wound up in a sanctioned fight and the problem usually took care of itself one way or the other. Most nights, he didn’t have a whole lot of actual “work” to do, though he did always have to stay on his toes.

The Hold wasn’t at all like the more legitimate dueling venues such as the Arena, Outback or even Twilight Isle. Most folks who tried out one fight never opted for a second, either because they hadn’t the stomach for it (quite literally in some cases…The Hold had seen as many spilled intestines as a sausage factory) or they decided they’d really rather hang onto their remaining limbs. Anyone who braved the fights more than 5 times was generally, if not grudgingly, accepted by the regulars and those on the leaderboards were practically royalty.

The leaderboards were broken down into 4 categories – one for each sport and one which combined tallies from those three. Some of those names, like Troy Whitney and Janella Vallonia, were absolutely legendary. Years after both had last fought, people still bet on whether their records would stand for all time.

Unlike other venues, the leaderboards weren’t tallied on wins or losses. . No…they reflected all the sheer brutality offered by The Hold. Here, leaderboards reflected what were called Critical Strikes, though more than one person argued they should be renamed to what they ultimately were in most cases: mortal wounds.

Critical Strikes were broken down into three categories, depending on the sport. Unarmed Combat equated to broken bones (bones which wound up puncturing flesh often netted a bonus in the betting circles), Armed Combat tracked severed/crushed/eviscerated body parts while Arcane Combat tallied a variety of fates, including melted flesh, permanent (or semi-permanent) banishing to another dimension and boring a hole through an opponent’s body. Outright killing was generally frowned upon but more than once, he’d had to drag a body out and call the morgue.

For a moment, he looked over the names on those leaderboards, wondering who’d be the next on them to die. Perhaps tonight would be the end for Jerish or Nate or Jewell. Or perhaps they’d increase their tallies and subsequent notoriety even further. You just never knew what the night would bring.


Overall Leaders
Troy Whitney: 29W / 54L / 76CS
Janella Vallonia: 38W / 4L / 63CS
Arlene Hunter: 5W / 22L / 53CS
Jerish Kamble: 8W / 8L / 35CS
Emiko Butala: 9W / 8L / 35CS

Arcane Combat
Troy Whitney: 22W / 32L / 45CS
Nate Lau: 13W / 15L / 30CS
Pradhan Dash: 9W / 1L / 25CS

Armed Combat
Janella Vallonia: 38W / 4L / 63 CS
Troy Whitney: 7W / 22 L / 29CS
Sarish Themley: 14W / 14L / 28 CS

Unarmed Combat
Lotha Mehytenweskhet: 12W / 10L / 32CS
Jewell Ravenlock: 8W / 7L / 28CS
Groktar Ashlayer: 5W / 10L / 22CS

*PC names, including Janella and Jewell, used with permission of their players
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