In 2341, the biggest sporting event in the Universe is the UnrealTMTournament
– the gladiatorial arena of the future!
Fight and win – or die, using weapons of awesome destructive capability.
• Background
During the years of the Human/Skaarj war, Earth and the United Aligned Worlds
formed the New Earth Government, a single government that might be more
efficient at carrying out an interplanetary war. Deep space asteroid mining
became the choice means of financing the war, with raw materials easily gained
from within the Terran System.
Mining was hard and the pay very poor. The working class grew more and more
restless with their working conditions and a war that seemed to never cease.
Each day the Skaarj invasion forces drew closer and few battles were won. Riots
began to break out, the most notable being the "Green's World
Rebellion," where over three thousand miners joined in a riot that would
cost billions in damage.
The Human/Skaarj war was brought to a standstill during the '7 Day Siege' when
Skaarj forces surrounded the Terran system and Earth itself seemed doomed. All
was made well when a crack team of NEG military specialists were able to destroy
the Skri'ith Class Dreadnought 'Krujhlok', the Queen Ship of the Skaarj forces.
Confused by the loss of their High Matriarch, the Skaarj withdrew. Their unity
shattered by a well-placed fusion detonator.
The damage was done, however. The NEG had largely ignored its internal social
conditions while waging an expensive and impossible war. More and more mining
"incidents" were being reported and cracking down seemed to have
little effect.
NEG politicians determined that the best policy was not to stifle the violence,
but give it an outlet. In 2291, "consentual murder" was legalised.
Under NEG law, any two people could, under organised conditions, fight to the
death. The various mining conglomerates organised matches and small leagues to
channel aggression.
The results were immediate and successful. The leagues escalated with money and
promotions offered to victors. One insightful corporation, the Liandri Mining
Corporation, began to tri-cast fights and capitalises on the primal form of
entertainment. Much to the LMC's financial delight, the tri-casts became more
successful than the fights themselves; their popularity growing with their
brutality.
• The Tournament
Now it is 2341. 50 years after the legalisation of "consensual
murder."
The LMC has found the "Tournament" be significantly more popular than
mining (now merely a token element of their yearly profits). The
"Professional League" has been formed. They are a cabal of the most
violent and skilled warriors. Each year, the LMC hosts the "Grand
Tournament," the most brutal and popular of tri-cast events.
You are a warrior chosen to fight in the Grand Tournament. Perhaps you are a
criminal, condemned by the New Earth Government to fight to your death for the
entertainment of billions. Perhaps you are a mad man, bred by Liandri scientists
to fight and die without question. Perhaps you are a military specialist,
fighting in the Tournament to prove your abilities and win fame and fortune
among the Aligned Worlds. Perhaps you are a member of the Necris. An alien race
until now rarely seen. Entering the Tournament to prove your racial superiority.
The current champion of the Tournament is Xan Krigor. None have seen his true
form as he always battles in an enhanced cybernetic shell. (There are no laws
against cybernetic or chemical assistance.) Some say that Xan is a Skaarj,
others contend that he is an artificial intelligence constructed by the LMC,
still others argue that he is merely a highly skilled human. Either way, you
will have to fight many battles across several worlds to claim the right of
challenge against Xan...then, perhaps you will find out for yourself what it is
like to be Champion…The Champion of the UnrealTM Tournament.