A team-based gladiatorial combat sport played in a large circular arena with a diameter of around 100 meters. Each team consists of six players, who wear armor and wield a variety of weapons. The objective of the game is to capture the opponent's banner from their base and return it to your own. Players may knock out, incapacitate, trap, or ring-out their opponents in pursuit of their victory. Players who are incapacitated in any way can be revived and returned to the game by a teammate, but players who are ejected from the ring may not return until the next round.
The game is divided into rounds, with each round lasting for 10 minutes. At the start of each round, the players start on opposite sides of the arena. The game is played in a best-of-three format, meaning that the first team to win two rounds wins the match. If no capture has been made at the end of a round, the team with the most players still in play and not incapacitated is ruled the winner of the round. However, if a team possesses their opponent's banner at the round's end, they are considered to have two extra players in play for the purposes of determining the winner.
During the game, the players have to navigate a variety of hazards and obstacles in the arena, such as pits, traps, and moving platforms. The arena is also equipped with various environmental hazards, such as fire jets, poison gas clouds, and acid pools. These obstacles and hazards are unique to each arena in Atraeleon.
The game is highly strategic, with players needing to work together to coordinate attacks and defend against enemy assaults. The teams also have the ability to call time-outs, during which they can regroup and come up with new strategies. Each team is limited to 2 time-outs per game (not per round).
Leagues and Tournaments
The many teams of Atraeleon are divided into 5 leagues for the purposes of matchmaking. From lowest to highest, these leagues are bronze, copper, silver, gold, and platinum.
The Bronze league is sometimes called the casual league, as many teams are content simply to have fun playing the game instead of advancing. Teams rarely have sponsors and players often have improvised gear.
The Copper league sees competitiveness ramp up slightly, with some professional teams appearing sometimes having sponsors and reasonable gear and/or even some training.
The Silver league is entirely made up of professional teams, most of which have sponsors and train often to keep their skills sharp. This can often be a very competitive league as advancing enough to enter the Gold League brings major renown and thus rewards.
The Gold League is made up of professional sponsored teams that often officially represent towns, factions, or military organizations. These teams train rigorously and have gear and skills specialized for Banner Blitz. Stadiums are often the official home of Gold League teams.
The Platinum League consists of the best of the best teams in the world. Usually, no more than 6 teams exist in this League, as the barrier for entry is so high that no team can maintain it for too many years.
Grand Tournaments are often held to celebrate national or religious holidays, special events such as noble marriages or coronations, or, in the past, military victories. These vary in size and structure but always provide great rewards to the winners.
Rewards for Winning
League seasons and Tournaments always offer some sort of reward for the top teams and especially the winners. These rewards vary based upon the League involved and in the case of a tournament, the specific venue it was held in. Some lower level rewards may be a set of equipment for the game itself for Bronze teams or a magical set for higher leagues. Silver and gold leagues often reward vast sums of gold or even land in some cases. Platinum tournaments have been known to award the worth of townships in prizes, or even physical towns.
Brief History
As the game grew in popularity, it became a major source of entertainment and revenue for the cities that hosted it. Fans gather in large crowds to cheer on their favorite teams and players, and wealthy patrons place large bets on the outcome of matches. Initially, there were few teams, generally one per city with a colliseum to host the game. But as its popularity grew, many more teams surfaced in each city. The barrier for entry into the sport is fairly low, as any team of six people with any sort of weapons and armor can pay a license fee to the
Atraelian Empire to create a team.
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