Tales from the Tjordek Ring
Hook
It is the 86th year of the 6th Era, Serranak. For centuries, the world-renowned sand pits of the Tjordek Ring have boasted some of the most powerful, unparalleled fighters from all across the land. The spilling of fresh blood, the rush of victory, and the raucous, deafening cheer from the stands above is enough to bring both volunteer and visitor to the Ring to play a part in a savage, and yet widely beloved communal experience. Those with enough money, time, or both often make a decennial (or even yearly) pilgrimage to witness the unprecedented matches that are hosted every single day of the week in the Ring.
Whether a slave of a local dominus or a brave volunteer, those taking part in the Ring’s spectacular arena matches have paved for the way for a massive industry, feeding a river of gold between owner and slaver, mercenary and gambler. Some seek glory, some seek coin, some seek freedom, and some simply seek blood, though all fight with the same fury and zeal that gives the Ring its fiery reputation.
The Tjordek Ring is host to more than just man-on-man arena matches, however. Extravagant events such as dozen-man deathmatches, beast fights, group skirmishes, and many more one-off scenarios have all seen the light of day in the massive fighting pit. Each day, several matches are put on at the Ring, and spectators can watch and bet and drink and eat for several hours of grueling, gritty combat.
Indelible tales are born in the pits — but for every victor left standing, breathing, and partaking in their newfound glory, another soul’s story ends. Every stroke of the blade, every loose of an arrow, every swing of a fist could spell the end of your life — or the beginning of your new one. Will you make your name in the bloody pit of the Tjordek Ring and forge a tale that is written in annals and sung in drinking halls? Or will you be just another gruesome corpse dragged from the sands to a mass grave with the others? The gong has sounded. The match has begun.
Setting and Lore
Along the northern coast of the region of Serranak lies Tjordek, a bustling, temperate port city. Tjordek wasn’t always the center of attention for blood, guts, and glory, despite what many tourists think in modernity. Once an off-shoot of a Kurnish colony, the city attracted denizens from across the land and sea because of its accessible location as a trade hub that connected Forelle, Kurnhuelde, and Serra.
With a reputation of being a breeding ground for quality ship labor or mercenary groups always looking to make easy coin, Tjordek became somewhat of a melting pot where one could easily find the manpower necessary for any a task. It wasn’t until the early 5th Era that a group of investors from Kurnhuelde, Razak, Imardin, Serra, and Tjordek itself banded together to initiate construction of the Tjordek Ring. It was imagined to be the largest gladiatorial and events stadium that the known world had ever seen, a feat that has not been surpassed to this day.
The Ring’s renown exploded almost overnight, driving mass tourism and investment into the area and causing a pronounced, long-lasting boom for the city itself. The town grew rapidly, with ships and caravans bringing in not just traders but also laborers, fighters, gamblers, and sightseers every month. Today, the Tjordek Ring has become not just a local landmark but a world-renowned one as well. There isn’t an arable spot of land within five miles of the city that isn’t put to use feeding the constant bustle of the crowded, active Tjordek.
Character Creation Information
You are a fighter of the Tjordek Ring. The possibilities regarding your origin are near-limitless, and your reasons for being here are as well. Most combatants would typically fit one of two profiles: self-starters who are confident in their prowess and have come to the Tjordek Ring to create a name for themselves, while others may have been enslaved in Kurnhuelde, Serran, Serranak or beyond, and are forced to fight for a dominus — whether simply for their life, or possibly even for their freedom.
Volunteer fighters would likely come from all corners of the realm. Many cultures value strength, glory, and fortune, and even more peaceful cultures could be the reason a particular fighter left them in search of a gladiator’s life. A few example hooks of a self-starter might include: a Tulrissian man-at-arms seeking the tourney of a lifetime; an exiled warrior with nothing more to lose; a cultist seeking to sacrifice as many souls to their deity as possible; a celebrity warrior from another region hoping to legitimize their claims to the true top spot; a grizzled old fighter looking for a noble end to their tale; a pauper who has expended every other option to put bread on the table; or a lonely wanderer who finds solace in the challenge, limelight, and regimented lifestyle.
Similarly, the Ring’s enslaved combatants also have a wide range to choose from regarding their background story. Slavery is especially common for those living in Serra and Serranak, and Cru’un. Slavers run rampant along the Beredin Steppe and south of the Ghrystbehn, snatching up travelers, villagers, and others too few or too weak to stop them. Possible examples of backstories could be: a defeated soldier who was beaten, captured, and sold; a traveling merchant or vagrant who was set upon while on the roads, a simple villager living in a remote location prone to raider and slaver assaults, or even a captured member of the Unfettered, forced to participate in the system they sword to upheave.
Due to the Ring’s daily schedule of constant battles both big and small, there are a tremendous amount of fighters that come and go from its halls. While most of these comers are simply meat for the grinder, there is a large, rotating cast of ‘regulars’ that are housed and sponsored by the Ring’s leadership and participate in scheduled fights. While this is not necessarily a promise of surviving any fight a regular is part, the Overseers are known to typically call fights before loss of life, preserving the longevity of their house fighters. Fresh blood are rarely offered the same leniency, and most of these newcomers do not make it past their first heat.
A note on character levels and loadouts:
I have initially laid out three different character creation rulesets, opting for options at level 1 (fresh-faced fighters, slaves, etc.), level 5 (established fighters or sponsored regulars), and level 11 (local legends). Matches will be fought with all PCs or NPCs involved set to a similar power level, the exact level of which will be decided upon the in-world context of each match. For example, a large-scale deathmatch that weeds out a recent influx of newcomers would be a level 1 encounter. A smaller team-based brawl between two groups of three mercenaries each may be played at level 5. A high-ticket headlining event between a local legend and a visiting celebrity fighter would be at level 11. This allows for many types of builds to be played with, while also fitting the in-universe variety that would organically take place in the Ring over the course of a day.