Sylvia looked at Rayne - whose demure attitude trying not very successfully to cover up her chest and rear contrasted with her slutty outfit's exposure of her nipples and ass - and then back at her own difficult lewd choice. "Fuck it," she said at last, "if we lose here, we'll get much worse downstairs." With that, she put on an analogous version of Rayne's nipple ornaments, a pair of large metal rings which to which the leather straps she was wearing attached, leaving her puffy nipples exposed in the middle of the loop.<br/><br/>While Rayne gave herself additional protection with a<em>shield</em>spell, Sylvia opted for an offensive buff, enhancing the damage potential of her longbow with<em>gravity bow</em>. So armed and armored, the elevator awaited them to bring them up to the arena for the second time...<br/><br/><hr/><br/>As the elevator approached the surface, the first thing that Rayne and Sylvia could see was that the arena stands, packed with spectators, were safely behind an activated and raised magical barrier. A magic circle of shiny metal - either silver or cold iron - surrounded the fighting grounds. The Announcer lounged on a trapeze hanging from the ceiling high above, one hand holding onto a rope, the other holding her magitech microphone. And on the ground waiting to meet them, was an impeccably dressed man in fine clothes with the grostesque head and insectile wings of a house fly. He held a leash to which the harpy was collared like a dog, kneeling at his feet with a blank look on her face as though she wasn't entirely aware of what was going on.<br/><br/><strong>"Laaaaadies and gentlemen, monsters of all alignments! Weeeeelcome to Balmorlag Arenaaaaaaaaaa!"</strong><br/><br/>As the crowd went wild with applause, the man-fly hybrid waved politely with his free hand at them, as though he were a politician at a convention.<br/><br/><strong>"I give you our newest, up-and-rising staaaaars! Give it up fooooor..... Blood-Raaaaaaaaaayne! Aaaaand... Sylviaaaaa Orc-Slayeeeeeeeeeer!"</strong><br/><br/>Illusory screens flickered to life, showing the highlights of their previous matches. The crowd's adoration continued, but now it was directed towards the two of them! Some of the screens switched to close-up shots of their rather revealing outfits, drawing more cheers and catcalls from the crowd.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Performance Combat Refresher</div><div class="spoiler_body">The crowd is equally supportive of both sides, effects cancel out for a net effect of "indifferent".<br/>Current attitude towards Rayne and Sylvia: Indifferent (no effect, DC 14 to improve)<br/>Current attitude towards ???: Indifferent<br/><br/>Performance Combat Check: 1d20 + Charisma modifier + BAB modifier + equipment modifier. Rayne's BAB of +9 becomes a +2 modifier to the Performance Combat Check. Also she gets a +2 equipment modifier for her nipple rings and miniskirt (the microbikini itself is old hat and doesn't give a bonus anymore). In summary, roll 1d20+8 for a Performance Combat Check for now.<br/><br/>Succeeding at a performance combat check improves the attitude of the crowd by one step. Unlike skill checks, a roll of a natural 20 on a performance combat check always succeeds. Failing the check either leaves the attitude unchanged or, if the check fails by 5 or more, causes the attitude of the crowd to decrease by one step.<br/><br/>Performance Combat Checks can only be made when triggered by certain events. Rayne can perform a Performance Combat Check as a swift action after the following: rolling maximum damage on a successful attack, casting a spell with a flashy visible effect, hitting multiple different targets in the same round, or confirming a critical hit.<br/><br/>If Rayne rolls a natural 1, she must immediately make a Performance Combat Check as well.<br/></div></div><br/><br/><strong>"And now without further adooooo... let the Colossus Challenge begiiiiiiiiiin!"</strong><br/><br/>The crowd continued cheering for a while, but the fly-man raised his hands and waited for them to quiet down before speaking. His voice echoed in their ears and minds at the same time like something slimy and sweet, temptation flavored with logic and reason, speaking both audibly and telepathically simultaneously.<br/><br/>My beautiful ladies Rayne and Sylvia, it is my pleasure to host you on the Colossus Challenge tonight. As you might have already guessed, they call me Colossus, and I know what you're thinking, there's no part of medium-sized me that you'd call colossal, but that's because you haven't seen all of me. He tipped his antenna like a hat while makingthe ball-cupping gesture at his crotch level. Kneel before me, serve me, swear to me and I shall lift you up to glories you have only dreamed of. Otherwise... let's just say you might find yourself hosting your own challenge. He patted the harpy's head condescendingly like she was a prized exotic pet.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Makes a Knowledge (Planes) to attempt to access the bestiary database about the guy from <em>The Fly</em>.<br/>Make a Sense Motive check if you doubt his fancy speech.<br/></div></div>