Quoted By:
<span class="mu-i">"And there he goes! The last goblin scrabbling away. Can Mad Dog Martigan run that little b- OHH! Mad Dog Martigan with the axe throw to the back! That goblin's NOT getting up!"</span>
They were with you then, and they are with you now. The fantastical races are all here in the ///current year/// Elves, orcs, hobgoblins, gryphons, even dragons. All living together in a pretty weird, but somehow functional society. The world's population is actually a bit smaller, comparatively. (Not counting goblins, they live underground.) Stretches of land all around of the world are reserved especially for native species of monsters, ranging from giant scorpions, to trolls, to minotaurs and chimeras. These monsters are then used in the various CRAWLS in the world.
Part gladiator, part bloodsport, part professional wrestling, Crawls are the number 1 source of entertainment consumed by sentient society today. Even dragons are reported to watch. Contestants are known as Crawlers, or Runners. They are typically in teams of 3, and are sponsored, have team names, sweaty people working contracts and deals, just like other "real" sports teams. There are divisions, with the higher divisions having tougher dungeons to run. Dungeons are put together by a particular city's Crawl Authority, and are given guidelines and rules to follow by the League. The even itself can be several hours long. Most times, there will be more than one team running a dungeon, with each taking turns. The team that completes a dungeon in the lowest time wins, with prizes and money doled out to the participants.
The rules are pretty simple. There are no guns, or laser blaster rifles, or grenades or anything else that's on the banned "modern weapon and item" list. Just like the days of old, the teams are limited to swords and sorcery. Wizards will typically have to show their books, as many dungeons have a restricted spell list. Those using Faith based spells are almost always exempt.
Teams on the lower rung will usually go through 2 or 3 Crawls a month. Higher division teams may only do one or two crawls every over month. The compensation starts out slim, but the money starts really rolling in at the Pro level. The first step for many Crawl teams is to get out of local shows and get on their first televised event.
There are many celebrity Crawlers. There are quite a few celebrity Monster and Freebooters. With monsters being what you expect...dungeon monsters, and Freebooters being sentient individuals who would rather try their luck opposing a Crawler team. Some veteran Freebooters are very expensive to have appear in a dungeon, and often have a powerful insurance policy with the best clerics on hand. Renegades are a special kind of scum; former Crawlers turned Freebooters
