With the spare
time and expendable income that so many enjoy during the magitech era,
there were sure to be those that would fill the need for entertainment
and recreation.
Theatres
One of the
most popular forms of entertainment is to go to the theatre, especially
if you want to move among the upper class. It is a bit spendy, on the order
of 5 gp. for an average show, while the really class acts that tour can
charge up to 20 gp per seat. The more impressive shows will incorporate
illusion and magical effects of all kinds to create the kind of show that
is the subject for weeks at the better social events.
Being "in" being
what it is, one can hardly stay in the upper crust socially if one
misses too many shows, particularly the class acts. Considering that
the average worker makes about 35 gp per month, one can see that keeping
up has its price.
Illusion
Parks
This could
be said to be the roleplaying of JERA. Here you can be anyone, do anything
in a world modelled after the stuff of your imagination. The basis of it
is that your thoughts are amplified and projected in space. It is a sort
of lucid dreaming that is very popular.
A variation
on the theme involves one player doing the dreaming and the others
playing parts in the dream. Many of those that set themselves up as
the social conscience of society have warned that too active an imagination
can cause all sorts of mental disorders and hyperactivity. Basically
things are not so different from here.
Amusement
Parks
If you think
the rides of today's carnival are wild, you can only imagine what they
could be like if augmented with magic and illusion. There are the good
oldies like the ferris wheel, but there are also rides that take you literally "to
hell and back." Gateways to other dimensions and times are among the most
popular. If you want to see dinosaurs or just see the tropics of the south
seas islands, the attractions that let you go to another place or dimension
draw the curious. Always the attractions are made safe by glassteel and
force fields, but the occasional accident happens often enough to make
one just a tad bit nervous.
Water
Parks
The creation
of archemages that never really grew up, the water parks of the magitech
era would make the kid of today green with envy. Some slides travel the
entire length of cities, towering above their skylines. Water is supplied
by eternal faucets, simply a length of pipe, one end of which extends into
the elemental plane of water. The runoff is channeled off to irrigate the
parks of the major cities. Each park seeks to outdo past records. Many
follow a theme, such as castles, but all are extravagently done and a great
source of amusement for kids and a wonderful way to separate kids from
their funds for the park owners.
Sports
As important
as the theatre is to the upper class, sporting events make up the common
man's entertainment. Team sports are popular to be in both to keep one
fit and for the social interaction. Watching one's favorite team play is
a good outlet in magitech society, as it is for us.
Popular
Sports
Sport |
Description |
Fencing |
The
climb to the top among top fencers is one of the most watched competitions
throughout Asterland. It draws the crowds and creates the excitement
of the more brutal boxing in our world. |
Dueling |
Seen
by the more refined as a barbaric display, dueling has become a
popular sport. Perhaps it comes from a society that so quickly
changed from near barbarism themselves to the politically correct,
polite high society of today. |
Dome
Battle |
As
the name might imply, Dome Battle is a sport that takes place in
a dome-shaped arena. The dome is a magical negative gravity zone,
where everything in it is under the effects of a levitate spell.
Players try to manuver by bouncing off walls and pillars that make
up the playfield, trying to throw a round rubber ball through a
hole at either end of the playfield. To add challenge, every so
often a trumpet sounds, indicating that one has 10 seconds before
the anti-gravity effect will turn off for a few seconds. One must
hurry to grab onto something before the time is up, or take a nasty
fall. The ceiling height at the top of the dome is 50', so a fall
can be devastating, even though the floor is heavily padded. Uniforms
are padded leather, which helps with lesser falls. There are handholds
all over the walls and dome. This sport can get rather bloody as
almost anything goes. |
Jousting |
This
mostly spectator sport just never goes out of style. It is as if
society clings to its past and its medieval ways. It seems that
everyone has their favorite knight. Onhand clerics make the sport
a little less dangerous than in times past, when such were considered
unmanly, but it seems that the competitors seem to live longer
and develop more skill than before. |
Arena |
Heros
battle creatures that are gated in by wizards. Spectators cheer
from behind glassteel windows. Anything goes, including magic use. |
Bond
and Free |
This
is basically the equivalent to dodge ball, except that the ball
used is a heavy leather ball filled with padding around a lead
core. Injuries are common, but few are serious. Helmets are suggested,
but not required. This is the most common sport among the everyday
man. Teams are often set up through your place of work or school.
This is an inexpensive sport to play, besides the medical bills. |
|