What is the Arena

By now you must be curious about what the Arena entails here at Dicesongs. This is the place where your characters come to test their mettle, to demonstrate their true character, what they are made of, and how they will act and react in certain situations. One could consider the Arena as a place where they can take what their characters have learned and be tested. It is also a place where one character can train against another, duel if it comes down to it, and a place where parties can practice. In essence, the Arena is as real as the characters that people play and the NPCs of Dicesongs.

What happens in the Arena

Within the world of Ertha there are the Great Guilds and many seek to become a member. This is a place where those come to adventure, for self-discovery, or for party camaraderie. Each guild will provide education and its own testing. The Arena is a place where players can see if they have improved or not. For those, who wish to play solo-type games, there will be certain tools made available to those who agree to join this guild, however, it is not mandatory to excel in the different guilds within Dicesongs, but it does help. As the other guilds will offer a form of education, the Arena will do the same.

You will not find a repeat of the rules from any game system here, however, you will have access to a new approach to playing the game, and put your skills to the test. The Arena also provies players the opportunity to see if they and their character are ready to level up. Put simply, those victorius will gain new abilities, and those who fail, may have a negative added to their character sheet.

May Luck Always Roll In Your Favor…

Types of Testing

Within the Arena, your characters will be put through a cornucopia of testing that will include morality situations, emotionally provocative questions, reaction time, and testing class alignments to see if they are true to what they claim.

This is where they can show off the training they have earned and prove their knowledge and skills learned. This way, when they are put into an open field of combat, they know which weapon to use, as in the same, if they were in a close-quarter combat situation deep in a dungeon. Remember, fragging your own players is never recommended, nor does it win you any extra points by your own party.

Training

So let us presume that you are not a novice, but a semi-seasoned player. You have years under your belt, and you were curious as to what you could learn if not experience from within Dicesongs, as you came here probably by word of mouth (and welcome friend!). You don’t have the notion to use the different guilds, as you are more curious about what you can do on your own, as a solo player (rare, but folks like you do exist). Maybe you are a GM that is working out characters, and you wanted a place to test your concepts, this is what the Dicesongs Arena is for.

Training a character is more than just giving it stats on a page, it requires that you run the character through its paces, a dry run if you will. From the halls of the Arena, you have the ability to do just that. You can create your characters, bring them here, and train them. The tools will vary depending on the paths you take. It truly depends upon the micro-adventure that you choose to put your characters through. Then you must honor the system that is in place, don’t cheat, and in the end, will the journey of the micro-adventure reveal more about your character (or the player) or will the final destination be the big reveal? As my grandfather once said, “You have to enjoy the way there before you stay there”.

So to be honest, and not to give the proverbial bride away, come in and see what the training is about… We will keep the torches lit for you.

Learning your weaknesses

Every character, no matter how you create it, will have a type of weakness that you may or may not realize until you come across it. During the micro-adventures, this is where these weaknesses will come out. The situations you will find yourself in will reveal your character’s true inner core, and from there, you can accept your character for what it is, or choose to see if you can’t improve upon it. Remember, your character’s backstory will help keep their own moral compass true to their alignment. If you have created a character, that you find playing a different alignment, this could be considered the gem of the backstory of your character.

Let us say, for example, that you have a Lawfully Evil character, yet you find that there are glimmers of mercy… this could be construed as a personal weakness, a characters flaw, that you have the opportunity to stamp it out, and keep your character truly pure evil, or perhaps, this is where that little bit of hope might exist in all that darkness. Either way, it could make for great characterization, and the best model for inner conflict, or that touch of self-doubt. As a good friend said once “A friend in need, is a friend, indeed!”

So one has to ask the question, is the weakness in your character a true character flaw that requires correction, or just great storytelling of the background of your character, which explains their actions today?

Areas to improve

Depending upon how you do, all the little mini-quest, and the self-exams will determine the areas that your character may lack. There will be a set number of questions that you need to answer, and those answers, if given, are related to your character and their backstory. To how they fight, and the logic that goes into their static. Will you become a better fighter, time will tell, and also depends on how well you are rolling, and if you have the mental capacity to see the obstacles on the open road, and how to navigate around them. Remember, a natural twenty isn’t a hall pass to victory, and neither is a natural one the road to defeat.

These are the areas that you can improve on, and how you react to the situation or the cards that you are dealt. Not every hand is a good one, and there are times when the situation your character will find themselves in, probably will make them wish they never should have gotten out of bed. How your other players interact with you, and how your support characters support your character, is all part of the fun in the game. Perhaps your role isn’t the lead, but more of a support role. There is no shame in that, and in fact, the support characters truly make up the game, more so than the principal character.

Assessment

The assessment of your character will work one of a few ways. From the Dicesongs aspect, you will have the opportunity to study, and earn either achievement on the site directly to your character, or from the academic aspect of the site. Either way, the lessons learned from the journey that you and your character just took, should alter the way you used to look at the game, in a whole new light. In this light, you should see that you are viewing the game differently, and the aspect of possibilities that you once would never have considered, now become apparently clear. This is proof that you have grown and your character has matured.

The other aspect is that your GM, who you have been playing with, would need to make the call if your abilities have improved. Presuming you have played with the GM in question before, they should know your methods and way of thinking, by observing your gameplay. If the GM feels that you truly have grown, there will be a way to contact Dicesongs, upon your passing and then get to level up.

Both methodologies are based purely on an honor system. There will be folks out there who will try to cheat, but in the end, they are truly only cheating themselves. The Arena is a place for your character to grow and practice the different aspects learned from within the different guilds.

Passing or Failing

After a while of you and your character chewing throughout the different houses and guilds, there are little tests that you can take along the way. These little tests are designed to help your character grow, and you and the player look at how you play in a different light as it was just stated above. In order to pass, or to fail, there isn’t a clear-cut way to do one or the other. Failure isn’t the end, but just a mere setback, and a reminder that the way you were trying to do a thing, isn’t the way to do a thing. If you passed, it just means that you have solved the puzzle of the moment, and there are plenty more where that came from, for you to figure out the whole plan.

There is no disgrace for your character not to be granted the next level, it just means that you are not ready, and there is more work that is needed to be done before you get to level up. As it was stated before, I shall state again, (and again) that those who cheat, are only truly cheating themselves. If you are willing to cheat, you are bringing rot into your games, and would only, in the end, sew the seeds of discontent between you and your GM. You might not see all this now, however, if you watch your actions as a retrospective, you will see that is the case.

The whole point is to have fun, and to grow your character, presuming your character can stay alive that long.

Advancement and demotion

The base concept of this is quite simple. Do the work, read the pages, take the little self-guided tests, and advance. Should you not pass, your character does not level up. You don’t get to access all that cool stuff, and you’ll be the runt of the litter until you can truly tactically get with it in the game.

There are times, when a character needs to be knocked back down a level, for a variety of reasons. These demotions can be handed down from Dicesongs directly, or from your GM by contacting Dicesongs where your records will reflect the glory of advancement, or the need for more study and, perhaps a slower path forward if you were demoted.

Receiving a new level

Congratulations on receiving a new level, so now where do you go from here? Why back to the books of course. Time to read all the new stuff in the posts, at the bottom of this guild page. Time to re-run those mini-quests that you just did a while ago, as you should not ever hit the same two mini-quests alike, ever!

From these mini-quests, your character will grow their backstory, and allow you to watch your character mature before your eyes. Remember, experience isn’t a number, but a mileage marker on the road of experiences.

Picking up new weapons

Every player knows that while out on an adventure, they are going to pick up goodies along the way. Of those goodies, some of them will be weapons.

Those who are well versed in the use of weapons will find some easy to understand their function, while other aspects might remain hidden until certain variables are met, and the hidden becomes revealed.
Your GM will either direct you to the NPC in town, or another character playing that role. From the Dicesongs perspective, you may encounter something along similar lines, where you receive a weapon while out questing, and acquire, win, or steal something new. There’s always information, you just have to go dig it up at times, or make arrangements for an audience member of a particular guild you’ll need to discuss what you found with them.

Master one, pick a second

In the decades I’ve played some form of D&D I have discovered that players tend to only lock into one primary weapon, and not truly have a backup. At times, there are those who play a dual weapon setup, like a proper ranger, in which the bow is the primary, and another weapon, typically either a dagger, short sword, or even a Bearded Axe as their second.

For those who have only gone with one main weapon, this is a great place to pick up another one, as your second (or even third, who knows) weapon, as you have to be proficient at more than one, to survive any typical game.
Trust us, you’ll thank us later for this little gem.

Care, maintenance, and sharpening

I have seen this more often than not. GMs will run moduled games, where they do not always take into consideration the condition of their players’ tools and weapons. There is always a presumption that in between the games, the weapons magically clean and sharpen themselves, as well as the armor self-clean and repairs. This honestly is not the case.

Nothing makes a game a bit more real than to have a life meter on your weapon, this way, when you get to a point that your weapon needs repairs, a well-needed sidequest to the town, village, whatever, in search of a guild smithy to help you mend your tools. While you are in these guild shops, it is always a great time to refit your character. By adding a touch of realism on the most basic of levels, the need to repair and clean your tools, allows for the game to take a breath, get a beat of rest, and thou it might seem boring to some, those who are creative enough knows, a lot can happen when the day turns into night.

Every player should have some proficiency in the care, maintenance, and sharpening of their tools. If they don’t have the smarts to find the services that you so desire and need to continue properly questing.

Mercy mercy mercy

Remember, you are in the Arena to train. What you entered to do, let us say was combat practice, well there is far more to just driving your weapon of choice into the monster you are looking to encounter. How you interact with others is a huge part of your combat training.

When you have a combat encounter, just know that in the end, you have the decision to kill the creature you encountered, or offer it mercy. There is always a choice in your actions. As the old saying goes, there is always more than one way to beat a Dragon.

The Arena offers up different ways to experience victory, and there are times when your own wits will be put to the test. Violence isn’t always the best option in certain circumstances, and there are always other options in every situation.

The reputation that you have outside of the Arena will be known to all the encounters within the Arena. Here is a place where you have the opportunity to change your reputation. Your actions within the Arena are not only reflected onto your record, however, it is also not hidden from those on the outside.

If you choose to give mercy versus the tip of your weapon, that is up to you. In some circumstances, this decision will either be correct or not. You might have earned the favor of a creature within the Arena, and that’s no small feat. The Arena is designed to reset its grounds, however, the creatures contained within all share a memory that in the end, is your record contained in the Arena.

Here is an example of this, let us say that you decided to spare a Troll’s life and send it on its way. Upon your next encounter, every Troll from that level forward will know of your kindness and may want to repay you, so debt isn’t owed.

Another thing to expect is that the Troll that you just freed, ran away, and brought back its friends to have you for their supper… every decision will vary depending on the situation.

Cry havoc

There will come a moment in your Arena training when everything on hand is coming for you. Consider this, you are bleeding, you are in the ocean, and you are in shark-infested waters, you get the idea right?

There comes a time, when you are there to do what you came for, combat! This is when your training truly will kick in and it will be a make-it-or-break-it moment for you.

One should always rely upon their training, look at the surroundings and make a tactical decision on how they wish to take on the horde. In the end, you are either a solo adventurer facing an unsolvable situation and retreat is your only recourse, or you might be with a party that is knuckling up for battle.

In these moments you will either come home with your shield or on it! The decision is truly up to you. This is where you get to show off your training. Remember that the Arena will never throw at you a situation that you can’t best.

You might not see it at first, but each encounter offers a path to victory, the only question is can you see it?

Who runs away

Every adventurer learns the hard truth that there are times when you can’t win, and the only actual decision is to retreat. It is a decision that is never made lightly, however when one is encountering an unstoppable force, it is always better to retreat, regroup, make a new plan and go at it again.

There is no dishonor in running away from a fight. Those who fight and run away will live to fight another day. This ancient saying is a deep-hearted truth, that every adventure must come to terms with.

There are those whose personalities will not accept this as an option, and make the unwise decision. This is how the Arena wins, and how you’ll never leave.

Remember the Arena is there to teach you. Sometimes those who you meet along the way are not actually other Adventurers who are lost, but in actuality are the Arena trying to help you.

There was a wandering sage that is rumored to find his way onto many a battlefield, where an adventurer is making the decision to stay and fight an impossible battle or choose to run away.

They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables are typically the words of this sage. When one is told this, they are at a crossroads and should take heed. If the decision is to leave the fight and run away, this unknown Sage will take you to safety.

For those who choose to disregard the final warning, their fate is in their own hands, however more times than not, their fate is sealed.