So I'm planning for my 'runners to have an option, tomorrow, to enter underground street fights "sponsored" by various syndicates. Think the unlicensed boxing goings-on from Snatch, with the Brick Top of 2072 Seattle facilitating a place where the Syndicates can compete with each other in a blatant show of force via sponsored fighters. Needless to say, these won't be "clean" fights...

The natural problem with this is that, well, one 'runner can fight, but how the hell to occupy the rest of the team? The technomancer and rigger probably aren't going to be too involved if the

Here's my plan, but I'm still looking for some additional input:

1. Promoters. Every unlicensed fighter needs an agent, in this case, the face. Possibly the hacker as well, to ensure that the AR feeds for the party's fighter are going out loud and strong, attracting sponsors as is appropriate. The trick here is to get the sponsorship without getting in debt to the syndicates.
2. Security. I figure the muscle members of the party who aren't in the fight could do a bouncer-style scenario, with the explanation that an event like this with potential syndicate friction needs hired muscle.
3. Magical input. I plan on having the mage spend most of the fight in the astral, checking to make sure the other fighter isn't astrally active. This is easily my weakest one.

Potential rewards include syndicate contacts, maybe a Martial Arts quality from Arsenal for a certain amount of fights won, and of course, every 'runner's favorite reward: nuyen.

I plan on using this mostly as a side quest, sort of something to occupy the 20 minutes at the end of the session where the 'runners are still itching for more but have run through whatever I have planned. The guys themselves like the idea, but I'd like to float it by the dumpshock community to get feedback.

Thanks in advance.

It's a solid idea for a sideline, just be wary because if the rewards are heavy enough they might stop running. An underground sports campaign could be fun but if you don't intend on running that...

If the rewards get heavier than normal 'running, just have Lone Star (after a local syndicate bigwig in attendance, or maybe just the security wing of whatever company currently sponsors Mixed Martial Arts stuff, cutting down on their competition) crash the place a few moments after the big fight's over.

The brawler gets the spotlight while he's in the ring, everyone else is on the sidelines -- literally -- for a while...but then when the helicopters swoop in and the sec-teams start to rappel in through windows and spray the crowd with rubber bullets, all of a sudden the punch-drunk tough guy who's unarmed and unarmored for the bout isn't hogging the limelight anymore. The rest of your characters get thrust into taking point to get the team out of there, and everyone gets to feel important...and the ring gets shut down, so that they aren't just making money by punching people (they've got to go back to making money by variously talking to, and shooting, people, like God intended).

An underground fight, you say? Why not tempt them to gamble on the outcome.

I had a run where the team escorted an Awakened animal to Vancouver. It turned out that it was being used in an underground animal pit-fighting tournament. They delivered it, stuck around, and one of the PCs decided to place a wager with an Ork. They bet fingers.

The PC lost, and it was awesome.

The underground fight could be the back drop for a mission. Maybe the street sam or adept in the ring needs to keep the fight going long enough for the rest of the team to hack some underworld big wigs comm or kidnap some high profile person. Maybe it has some implications for the illegal gambling (the target is the main bookie, the Johnson is sure he's fixing the fights and needs proof, etc). This has the added benefit of giving the team a variable time limit for the actual job, since the dude in the ring could win (or loose) at any time.

For something for the Mage to interact with, someone could be trying to help the other fighter with a Spirit. Say a Spirit of Air uses Concealment on itself, materializes, then uses Accident on your muscle during a crucial moment in the fight.

Or Guard preventing the opponent from slipping or whatever. Someone could also be casting spells (Clout, Increase/Decrease Attribute, Resist Pain, etc).

What about expanding the scope of the competition? Instead of just boxing, why not have it be a one-on-one combat, period? You could have classes - mage versus mage, one-on-one cybercombat, etc - and/or just mixed-class, where you have to fight some random guy with some random capabilities. If locale is a concern, Seattle has a lot of real estate no one's using.

Great fun when a wraith shows up to feed on the mayhem?

I had player whose character was becoming a MMA fighter. He was asked to join Gladio. He knock a troll out in one round

These are good suggestions guys. I'm gonna run tonight's run and post results when I'm done-- thanks to all.

One of my recent characters was a down on his luck Boxer who hoped he'd get enough street cred to get some fights. Depending on builds it may be hard to not have unarmed matches end as 1 punch ordeals.

Ironically enough Shinobi *Killfist* makes a great point. If you want to make the fights last longer (and thus more dramatic) you may have to say that fighters are required to wear protective equipment (boxing gloves, head gear, mouth guards, etc) that reduce all damage by some factor. If you include mages and other character types in the fights you'll have to get more creative.

Don't forget drugs -
- Fighters looking for an edge (steroids, pain killers, magical drugs)
- Rivals looking to tranq a rival (make them sluggish)

While possible that PCs might be tempted to become fulltime fighters, I highly doubt it. The pay for fighters - even illegal fights - would be so minimal it wouldn't be worth it unless they're a major UFC (or similar organisation) global name. You might have Unarmed Combat 6 and 20BP Martial Arts qualities but if you haven't got a list of major fights in major organisations and got airtime, you aren't going to be pulling in the big bucks (disparity in pay amoung fighters in the UFC is already a contentious issue).

Also in underground fighting arena they would have to deal with all the baggage that comes with it. Bribes, rivalries, setups, busts, organised crime, etc. In many cases, it may be safer running the shadows - at least they get to pick the field of engagement (well, ideally). At least I think that could well be a reasonable conclusion drawn.

This is a very viable scenario IMHO.

- J.

The rest of the party really needs to make sure people in the crowd don't mess with their guy by hitting him with a spell (or boosting the opponents atts with magic), doping him before or during the fight, hacking his cyber or the environment (glaring / dimming lights, triggering arena traps, etc) or just plain grabbing his leg through the ropes (though that may be allowed, Thunderdome style).
They could probably also have fun making running side bets (probably at hot VR speed) during the fight, and making sure its all properly recorded for later Sim-sale (though the organizers may hold a monopoly there).



Haven lillies or an astral static spell would do the trick.