Arena 13

[etcircenses]

Code Name: Ice Age
Size: 16 square miles
Special Areas: Glacial Lake, The Forests, The Caves, The Meadows, The Mountains, The River, The Bog
Opening Date: January 23rd

If this Arena seems a little old school, that’s because it is. This arena seems massive and expanding, with lots of open space to run and hide and disappear into. Tributes will emerge from their tubes into a lush green meadow of waist-high grasses. The Cornucopia is situated at the center of the meadow, with backpacks hidden in the grasses and within the horn itself. In the backpacks there will be various foodstuffs, first aid supplies, all-weather gear, and weapons. The larger weapon-prizes will be waiting at the center of the Cornucopia.

Beyond the meadow is the treeline of thick pine trees which surrounds the meadow on all sides. These trees are not so great for climbing, but they'll provide cover if you need to run and their boughs are good for shelter. Some parts of the forest seem to extend further than others. Indeed, if one heads east from the meadow, one will soon find a wide river. The water there is potable, but extremely cold, and there are fish swimming in it. On the other side of the river, the trees give way to rocky hills of shale which jut up into impressive, impassable mountains. The south of the mountains consists of shale hills, which then lead to a series of dark, deep, explorable caves. To the north of the mountains, along the path of the river is a cold, crisp glacial lake. The glacier itself has receded a bit, but is still visible from the shores of the lake, which is surrounded on three sides by mountains.

If one heads south from the Cornucopia meadow, one will encounter trees upon unending trees, until eventually reaching a small pond which turns to marshland. The water in this area is not so good, and the marsh itself will upon closer inspection, reveal itself to be a peat bog. It's a quiet area, devoid of animal life save the aggressive geese which populate the pond and tons of bloodthirsty insects. The marsh itself has a frightening, deathlike quality. If one dares to explore, one might even find long lost corpses within it.

Just north of the marshland is a grassland area, where small game seem to congregate to graze. It's surrounded on all sides by tree, but this is a birch forest, which is easier to climb. If one wanders the birch forest, eventually the wildflower field will come into view. This picturesque scene is home of lush wildflowers of every hue, but be careful! These genetically engineered plants could "potentially" be toxic!

North of the cornucopia, through the pine forest, is situated the largest field in the Arena. This massive plain is home to great migrating herds of animals. If one has the skill and the supplies, picking off a beast or two for meat shouldn't be a problem, but be cautious: these herd animals are dangerous in large numbers.

Immediate Hazards:

The Weather

The theme of this arena is the ice age. Week one will begin with moderate, if somewhat chilly weather, and slowly over the course of the arena, the weather will shift into a frozen wasteland. Death by exposure is a real and possible danger in this arena, and by the finale, you can expect that the entire arena will have transformed into an icy wasteland. Shelter is a necessity in this arena. Without shelter, you won’t last long.

The Animals

The wildlife in the arena seems harmless at first. There are typical animals, such as rabbits, geese, buffalo, deer, birds, and fish, many of which can be easily caught and consumed. However, about two-three weeks in, the animals will take on strange and frightening appearances. Gone are the adorable little deers. In their place are mammoths, giant sloths, and sabertooth cats. Not only are these animals massive, but some of them will hunt and try to eat the Tributes.

The Plantlife

Much of the plant life in the arena is highly poisonous, including the wildflowers and many of the berries which can be found throughout. Of course, there will be edible plants mixed in, just to mess with you. There’s also poison ivy, poison oak, and other icky plants throughout.

Attire:

All Tributes will wear identical uniforms consisting of long underwear, thick athletic socks, Ugg boots, a lightweight one-piece outfit, and a windbreaker. The windbreakers will have their District insignia embroidered on it. All Tributes will be allowed to wear their token into the arena.

Cornucopia Prizes:

There are 25 watertight backpacks of supplies throughout the cornucopia. If you choose to run for the cornucopia, you will be rolled to either live or die. There is a 20% chance of death, however if you choose to run for the cornucopia, your name is excluded from the deathroll until it is your week to be rolled. Those who do not run for the cornucopia will be included in every death roll.

Those who live will be assigned one of the 25 backpacks with contents unknown. There is also a stash of random supplies at the Cornucopia. The Cornucopia of this arena may very well be your best and only source of food that won't poison you or fight back, but we've definitely tried to make it worth your while:

Winter boots
Winter hat, scarf, and gloves (in a set)
Extra socks
Parka
First aid kit
Pocket Knife
Fire starting kit
One person tent
Two person tent
Four person tent
Blanket
Rubbing alcohol
Flashlight
Bug repellent
Rope
Ice pick
Shovel
Various fishhooks
Empty metal water tight containers; holds 1 liter
Dried fruit
Canned meat
Canned fish
Instant coffee
Instant oatmeal
Teriyaki sauce
Saltine crackers
Canned cheese
Bottles of gin
Cases of beer
Pickled vegetables
Net traps
Bear traps
7-inch serrated hunting knives
Bow & quiver of arrows
Spear
Sword
Axe

Sponsor Gifts:

1 Two-day supply of food
1 Two-day supply of fresh water
1 Single Person Tent
1 Sleeping Bag
1 First Aid Kit
1 Small Folding Knife
1 Fire Starting Kit
1 Pair of Winter boots
1 Parka
1 Blanket
1 7-inch serrated hunting knife

Map:




Important Notes:
Characters may be bought out of death this arena! All those credits you accumulated since August? Feel free to spend them! This Arena will be a full length Arena with opportunities to give gifts and save your friends (or foes) from death!

Powers are not allowed in this Arena and have been disabled for the duration.

Tributes will be reaped immediately following the Signless' Crowning Ceremony. They will be taken directly from the Crowning to their launch tubes. More information on the Crowning itself will be coming this week, along with the Crowning log.

OOC Links:
Cornucopia Sign-Ups ((* you must sign up for the Cornucopia by Tuesday 1/20 at 11:59pm EST *))
General Plotting
Mod Questions

Comments

[ka_sera_sera]

If Roland lives long enough maybe they could like fight off a saber toothed tiger or something together, but it'd be kind of funny if they met while trying to track the same animal.

[hersir]

Same for Ragnar, since this is all assuming he survives the cornucopia HA. All this lovely plotting and who knows if it will come to pass BUT I'm all for planning and that sounds fantastic. "This is my kill" turns into lets kill it together and share the bounty. I could most certainly get behind all this. I'd love for them to continue their CR beyond the arena as well, it could be fantastic!

[ka_sera_sera]

yeah, agreed. Outside the arenas Roland is always looking for some way to fill his time so more Capitol CR for him the better. So if that sounds good to you we could do that! Maybe early on in the arena, since it doesn't depend on them tracking any ice-age type of animal.

[hersir]

Lovely stuff! I look forward to it very much. I think early on in the arena is perfect. I'll be sure to keep in touch to see what happens after the cornucopia and if all else fails we can plan something for afterwards!

[ka_sera_sera]

Cool, that sounds good. Looking over all the other planning comments, you mentioned his culture was big on storytelling? Roland's is too. In fact two of the books in his series are almost entirely just him telling ridiculously detailed stories. So that could be a thing once they're back in the Capitol (or before then if things work out that way).

[hersir]

Oh yeah, they love their stories about their cultures and gods and love telling them, so much. That would be a great wait to bond, Ragnar is a very curious persona and so he'd be keen to hear of tales from someone else's life/culture since he's an explorer warrior at heart so the more he know, the more he'll feel better about the ordeal. There's always a good story to tell! They can have some serious swapping sessions.

[ka_sera_sera]

gooooooood I look forward to it. Once we actually play out their meeting we will probably have a better idea of whether one would seek out the other after the arena or whether they should meet accidentally or what.

[hersir]

Absolutely agreed! I look forward to it with great anticipation!

[ka_sera_sera]

Aaaaand an open post. If the hunting one doesn't work I can edit it or we can handwave something else or whatever.