Jet
Uncultured
Extra information
The story begins in the backwater, a rust-bucket city named Jezibelle of Mars' farm-belt. A hub of cross planet travel and agriculture, Jezibelle is a city where most of the population is here today and gone tomorrow, leaving behind a large minority of permanent residents. It's a boring place with most locals working in hospitality, serving interstellar haulers who arrive daily for deep space deliveries.
Something interesting happened here today though, a rare spark in the remote pan. An open tryout to form a city-sponsored Payload team it was, and flocking from across the system pilots threw down in scrimmages, showing skills and staking claim on a roster spot. With goals of making the second tier challenger-league this team has professional aspirations, it's a real opportunity with enormous money backing to pay the league buy in and provide rigs. Why it's being formed is anyone's guess, some even say it's a money laundering scheme? Others say a tax write off for "Big Grain". Other rumors mention an enigmatic billionaire with passion for the game. The official story is that it's a joint business owned privately with public investment, the to raise tourism and bring in revenue for public works. Whatever the case is, all your character has is rumor, if anything at all... That and the chance this represents for enthusiasts, wannabes, washout pros and small-program collegiate pilots without stock in the game.
Where we begin.
Those who've made it through initial testing wait in the field-house atop worn hand-me-down, or even team-provided junk rigs with leaking oil and burnt exhaust ports; low budget gear all around. In the hanger are enough pilots to form three full teams. Who will be selected by the rough-edged coaching staff is anyone's guess as the sun falls below horizon's edge.
(Note, upon sponsor acquisition the team will have access to much better rigs. That's not going to take more than two "episodes" in total. I'm not trapping us with rust buckets but it wouldn't make sense for us to have top of the line gear at the very beginning. It won't be long though)
Stadiums
Stadiums are loosely regulated by the ISPF (Inter-Sol Payload Federation). So few are the rules that each pro-level stadium is completely unique with different terrain and topographies. Some even include buildings, tall spires, sky-roads and canyons! The eight main super-stadiums can be compared to "maps" in a video game. They stick to certain principles but can vary wildly, it's all part of the game. Challenger division fields operate on the same principles but on a smaller scale because of lesser funding. Semi-pro fields are unique in their own ways as well. More uniform in general dimensions, the variety comes with traps, pitfalls and dangerous uneven terrain to provide entertaining wrecks (known officially as "Nulls").
The one exception is Collegiate Payload. At the college level all fields are built to specific standards provided by the NCAA (yes, the NCAA). One reason why college performance can be a fluky measure of pro performance is the repetitive playstyle of collegiate Payload in contrast to the varying fields of pro Payload.
Lethality
Every year several dozen Pro-Payload players die in the ring. It's just a fact of life. There are protections though, pilots work in pods of titanium-steel alloy containing operating systems, these are suspended in an impact-reducing, flame-retardant gel that rigs are built around. Some rules exist preventing unnecessary roughness and center chest power shots are frowned upon. However, this doesn't stop Payload from being the most dangerous sport in modern history.
MECHABOWL
64 Slots filled by auto-qualified pro teams, 64 open spots for Semi-Pro and Freelance teams. Qualify and you enter the 128 team bracket known as Mechabowl.
Played once every five years, Mechabowl is a rare opportunity for cross-divisional play and for unknown players to make a mark. It's also a tournament with a ¢250,000 Plat-Cred prize, enough money to buy a city. No use in being coy, Mechabowl is the goal, from the bottom we will try to rise through the ranks and qualify for the bracket. From there a seven round gauntlet begins. Will our squad have what it takes?
And equally important to surviving the ring, can we survive what takes place outside of it?
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