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Champions

Every fighter enters the arena as a champion — a named gladiator with their own fighting style, stamina, and crowd appeal. Champions are picked before deck-building: deal two, keep one.

Champion rules

• Each champion sets your starting water and your edge refill — how much water you regain when you visit an edge hex.
• Each champion has one special rule — a fighting style that shapes how you play.
• Bigger, harder-hitting champions start with more water but burn through it faster; lighter champions run lean and refill less at the edge.

Demo champions

Four champions for the print-and-play demo. Art: Kennon James (requested — placeholder sketches until then).

Rufus the Ox

• Style: Brute. Hits like a siege engine.
• Starting water: 14💧 · Edge refill: 6💧
• Special: +1 damage on all your attacks.
• "Rufus once headbutted a gate. The gate apologized."
• 🎨 Art: Kennon James (pending)

Vela the Eel

• Style: Swift. Never where the blade lands.
• Starting water: 10💧 · Edge refill: 3💧
• Special: Once per round, move 1 hex as a free action — it doesn't use your card play for that second.
• "You can't hit what already left."
• 🎨 Art: Kennon James (pending)

Cassius the Peacock

• Style: Showman. The crowd is his second weapon.
• Starting water: 12💧 · Edge refill: 4💧
• Special: Your flourish cards earn +1 extra prestige.
• "The crowd didn't come to see him win. They came to see him."
• 🎨 Art: Kennon James (pending)

Drusa the Wall

• Style: Veteran. Twenty bouts of bad decisions survived.
• Starting water: 12💧 · Edge refill: 5💧
• Special: Once per round, ignore 1 damage dealt to you.
• "Twenty bouts. Four scars. Zero apologies."
• 🎨 Art: Kennon James (pending)

Future champions (with arena bundles): each arena ships its own champions with themed styles and modifiers.