Darkball

| August 6, 2018

An Introduction to Darkball

What is Darkball?

Darkball: the superior sport of Satyrine! With an ever-shifting array of locales and players Darkball is the pre-eminent pasttime of Indigo denizens. Darkball: coming to a street near you!

Yeah, but what is Darkball?

Darkball is a team sport played on the streets of Satyrine, and is a wholly fan-crafted idea. Development of the nuances of this sport is taking place with the good folks that run The Notion.

Cool! What do we know so far?

  • There are 8 teams representing a step on the Path of Suns, and 8 representing the Nightside path.
  • Each team may have a roster of legacy players equal to that teams number on the Path of Suns. 1-8 for the Path teams, 10-17 for the Nightside.
  • The Players Sigil is a form of magical tattoo that appears on the dominant limb of citizens that have been chosen to play. A black sphere to mundane vision, magical sight will show the colour of the team they are to play with.
  • Players Sigils can be removed at the end of a match, though another player will be selected.
  • Being caught inside the field can result in citizens being conscripted/forcibly recruited into the game.
  • The Path of Suns teams generally start with a number of “legacy” Darkball players. Minor celebrities in their own right, their identities are well known through the Suns.
  • The Nightside teams are mysterious figures, identity and purpose unknown.
  • The arrival of the Nightside teams heralds the start of the cycle.
  • The field for each match shifts, although all matches of a cycle will take place within the same district.
  • The boundaries of the field are often irregular, sometimes following streets, sometimes cutting through buildings.
  • The matches can result in serious property damage & even death.
  • The darkball itself absorbs any magical effect that contacts it. It is still possible to have an effect on the carrier of the darkball though the ball can be used as a shield. This property also means that the darkball cannot be moved by direct magical means – no teleporting to the goal Vislae. Finally the darkball is summoned at the start of each match and can only exist within bounds of the field.
  • Darkball is a popular spectator sport; although scrying spells cannot capture the image of the ball, instead it appears as a void in the image – hence the name. Live viewing is possible but inherently risky – as the boundaries can shift and drag idle spectators into the game.
  • The meta-plot for Darkball is that the patterns that are traced out by the matches form a giant ritual, channeling magic from all the Suns to some, presumably sinister, purpose.

Sweet, what else have you got?

Questions mostly. There’s a lot still to be figured out about this sport & the people that play it. Leaving the mechanics and scoring vague is a deliberate choice – like much in Invisible Sun the collaborative efforts to build what Darkball means are bound to be far more rewarding. If you have ideas please let us know.

Additionally, famous players, personalities & matches are essential to the mythos of a sport & any help building these would be greatly appreciated.

Finally, if you incorporate Darkball into your game we’d love to hear about it & with your permission weave it into our resources.

The Fartown Cycle

The Darkball cycle that is currently being detailed by The Notion staff & appears in The Truth Bleeds at Twighlight is colloquially known as “The Fartown Cycle.” If you wish to incorporate elements of this specific cycle into your own game we will be updating this page with relevant information as it occurs.

  • The Fartown Cycle that The Notion is reporting on is the first recorded instance of Darkball being played in Fartown.
  • The Notion is reporting that Nightside Gold team has arrived in Satyrine. 
  • The Shepherd of the Silver has begun gathering those with the “Players Sigil.”

Inspirations

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