Unoriginal
2017-06-08, 06:05 AM
At some point in the campaign I'm writing, the PCs will visit a city ruled by a Marilith, and built around combat. Literally.
The history of this place is that hundreds of years ago, a fort stood here, put there by an empire in order to control the commercial route that passed through it. But when confronted by a superior army from another empire, the fort was reduced to ruins. Yet, a Marilith had been summoned here, for a task now only known of her, and she stayed in the ruins of the fort.
Years passed. The empires either stopped fighting, or were destroyed. And the Marilith remained in her ruins. But little by little, people started using the route again, as it was the most practical. At first, the merchants and travelers stayed far, far away from the ruins, thinking the Marilith couldn't go outside of them, and only adventurers and other wandering warriors dared approach the place to try and kill the demon. But staying away from the ruins proved to be useless when more and more travelers saw that the Marilith actually often wandered away from them. Yet, as people started to notice, the demon had never killed anyone except those who had come here to challenge her. And so, a few of them had an idea.
Bearing the best gifts they could afford, they approached the demon, and asked her if they could build a resting spot where the fort once stood. She answered: "I am Na-Q of Battles, and where there are battlefields, there are scavengers. Build as you wish, little merchants. As for this treasure, I offer it to any who can vanquish me. Wherever you go, tell all those who wish to test their sword, their spell or their prayer that Na-Q is waiting for them."
Soon the word spread, and dozens of adventurers, mercenaries, thieves and others came, in quest of glory and riches. None of them succeeded, their possessions adding to the growing treasure of the Marilith. At first, the merchants enjoyed this increase in traffic and having as customers the combatants that happily came on their road, but after a while, the constant battles in their trading posts started to threaten wreaking it for good, especially as stronger or more numerous group showed up. And one merchant dared to complain to the demon.
The demon responded to it by throwing a bag of gem at the merchant, and said: "Then build be an arena, the greatest of its kind. And let its walls protect you from the deaths that make your success." The merchant, not understanding the last sentence, but accepting the solution, started the construction. And a few years later the Arena was built, the new fights taking place there. Which resulted in the merchants realizing than an increasing number of people showed up neither to trade nor to fight the Marilith, but simply to watch the fights. They immediately saw the economic opportunity it was, and, with the authorization of the demon, started making people pay to watch, as well as building inns, restaurants, houses and the like to host the visitors. At the same time, combatants who realized they were no match for the demon, yet still wanted to test their mettle, started challenging each others, which resulted in the construction of several lesser arenas and other dueling grouds, which in turn demanded more infrastructures to support them, turning what started as abandonned ruins into a true city dedicated to various forms of combat and its spectators.
Of course, this success had other consequences. Numerous cities in the surrounding areas saw an increase in popularity of gladiatorial combats, resulting in them building their own arenas to capitalize on it (and avoid non-regulated fights to swarm their territories). Another consequence is that some people, impressed by the Marilith's battle prowesses, asked her to train them. Which she agreed to. The hellish (or rather, abyssal) training she subjected them to vastly increased their powers, and soon those who wished to challenge the demon found other adversaries to handle.
Nowadays, Na-Q lives in the lap of luxury, in a palace built with and filled by the riches she accumulated during the centuries, fighting as much as she desires and against any kind of foes she could ask for. And the people of the city loves her, not only for her great sense of spectacle when she fights in front of her audience, but also for her various acts of generosity (or at least, that seems generous) such as distributing the prize money of the day to the poor or hiring doctors and priests to heal the sick and the injured.
And in the privacy of her chambers, sipping expensive wine, Na-Q smiles, knowing full well she manages to make a whole region used and happy to kill people for divertissement and profit as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and got payed by them to do that.
Any thoughts/ideas/comments ?
The history of this place is that hundreds of years ago, a fort stood here, put there by an empire in order to control the commercial route that passed through it. But when confronted by a superior army from another empire, the fort was reduced to ruins. Yet, a Marilith had been summoned here, for a task now only known of her, and she stayed in the ruins of the fort.
Years passed. The empires either stopped fighting, or were destroyed. And the Marilith remained in her ruins. But little by little, people started using the route again, as it was the most practical. At first, the merchants and travelers stayed far, far away from the ruins, thinking the Marilith couldn't go outside of them, and only adventurers and other wandering warriors dared approach the place to try and kill the demon. But staying away from the ruins proved to be useless when more and more travelers saw that the Marilith actually often wandered away from them. Yet, as people started to notice, the demon had never killed anyone except those who had come here to challenge her. And so, a few of them had an idea.
Bearing the best gifts they could afford, they approached the demon, and asked her if they could build a resting spot where the fort once stood. She answered: "I am Na-Q of Battles, and where there are battlefields, there are scavengers. Build as you wish, little merchants. As for this treasure, I offer it to any who can vanquish me. Wherever you go, tell all those who wish to test their sword, their spell or their prayer that Na-Q is waiting for them."
Soon the word spread, and dozens of adventurers, mercenaries, thieves and others came, in quest of glory and riches. None of them succeeded, their possessions adding to the growing treasure of the Marilith. At first, the merchants enjoyed this increase in traffic and having as customers the combatants that happily came on their road, but after a while, the constant battles in their trading posts started to threaten wreaking it for good, especially as stronger or more numerous group showed up. And one merchant dared to complain to the demon.
The demon responded to it by throwing a bag of gem at the merchant, and said: "Then build be an arena, the greatest of its kind. And let its walls protect you from the deaths that make your success." The merchant, not understanding the last sentence, but accepting the solution, started the construction. And a few years later the Arena was built, the new fights taking place there. Which resulted in the merchants realizing than an increasing number of people showed up neither to trade nor to fight the Marilith, but simply to watch the fights. They immediately saw the economic opportunity it was, and, with the authorization of the demon, started making people pay to watch, as well as building inns, restaurants, houses and the like to host the visitors. At the same time, combatants who realized they were no match for the demon, yet still wanted to test their mettle, started challenging each others, which resulted in the construction of several lesser arenas and other dueling grouds, which in turn demanded more infrastructures to support them, turning what started as abandonned ruins into a true city dedicated to various forms of combat and its spectators.
Of course, this success had other consequences. Numerous cities in the surrounding areas saw an increase in popularity of gladiatorial combats, resulting in them building their own arenas to capitalize on it (and avoid non-regulated fights to swarm their territories). Another consequence is that some people, impressed by the Marilith's battle prowesses, asked her to train them. Which she agreed to. The hellish (or rather, abyssal) training she subjected them to vastly increased their powers, and soon those who wished to challenge the demon found other adversaries to handle.
Nowadays, Na-Q lives in the lap of luxury, in a palace built with and filled by the riches she accumulated during the centuries, fighting as much as she desires and against any kind of foes she could ask for. And the people of the city loves her, not only for her great sense of spectacle when she fights in front of her audience, but also for her various acts of generosity (or at least, that seems generous) such as distributing the prize money of the day to the poor or hiring doctors and priests to heal the sick and the injured.
And in the privacy of her chambers, sipping expensive wine, Na-Q smiles, knowing full well she manages to make a whole region used and happy to kill people for divertissement and profit as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and got payed by them to do that.
Any thoughts/ideas/comments ?