Turn 0: Welcome to the ShowThe twelve of you are gathered on a white floor in a spacious... something. It could almost pass for a garden or plaza, except the walls are composed of some curving black material that's either very dark and glossy or glass or similar that's looking out into sheer darkness. Similarly glossy spheres float lazily through the air, high enough to not be noticeable unless you look straight up.
"Welcome, contestants!" a voice calls out, and with a rather dramatic puff of multicolored smoke and a lot of largely feminine cheering coming from above, your host appears. Some of you recognize him as an Arshazari Incubus, others can only guess that his wings and hornlets make him a demon of some kind. Either way, he's fairly ruggedly built and very handsome, but displays some obviously inhuman characteristics, notably his stubby, vaguely hooflike feet, swishing tail, and batlike wings.
He stalks over, moving with a bit of swagger and holding yet another, but much smaller black sphere in his hands.
"As I'm sure you're aware, I am your host. It is my duty to explain the challenges and provide additional insight to what we're about to witness. But I can't do it alone! Let's meet out judges, shall we?"The closest black wall slides upwards, revealing a counter with three figures seated at it.
"Greetings. I look forward to seeing your insights, Summoners," the leftmost figure says. It appears to be a darkened skeleton of some kind, presumably a lich. Its voice is melodious and has an echoing quality.
"Greetings! I look forward to seeing all the stuff you can do!" the middle figure adds. It's a woman, but a gaunt, pale, obviously fanged woman with a somewhat manic air about her. She sounds very enthusiastic.
"Greetings. I look forward to seeing your results," the last, rightmost figure says. It's a rather severe-looking, rather dead-looking man, with a similar but more petrified pale gauntness to the middle figure.
"And those are our judges!" your host says to more applause.
"Now then, let's get this first challenge underway, shall we?
Your first challenge is a simple one, designed to make sure you're warmed up. This is also a bonus round, so don't worry! None of you will be banished to a slow death in a hellish, icy wasteland just yet. It's still worth tokens though, so don't skimp!
Your first challenge shall last a mere 1 round. That may sound brief, but that's the point! The goal of this challenge is to get a minion ready immediately, on a moment's notice!
The Armory, Workshop, and Arena are now open to you, Summoners. Good luck and get to it!"With that, three more walls rise, revealing the place to purchase accoutrements, the working area, and a testing arena. A glowing red ball also descends, appears, transforms, or otherwise shows up where it wasn't before, displaying the rapidly dwindling time you have left.
Sample AccoutrementsSlaves0 Power / 1 Toughness
Soldiers1 Power / 1 Toughness
Wolves1 Power / 1 Toughness
Dragor the Spiteful (Unholy)
Tall pale man clad in natural greens
9 Tokens
+1 Growth [Innate]
+1 Thorn [Innate]
Grank Bloukat (Xantalos)
Short, weaselly, resentful-looking man
9 Tokens
+1 Demonology [Innate]
+1 Evocation [Innate]
Nerdillus Maximus (borno)
Pale, short, chubby man with perpetually smug expression
9 Tokens
+1 Infusion [Innate]
+1 Amity [Innate]
Jane Torn (scapheap)
Pleasantly plump, green-haired woman
9 Tokens
+1 Shelter [Innate]
+1 Invocation [Innate]
Reina (superBlast)
Upbeat, dark brown-haired, blue-eyed girl
9 Tokens
+1 Growth [Innate]
+1 Root [Innate]
Nathaniel the Thunderous
Large, loud, entrepeneurial man
9 Tokens
+1 Infusion [Innate]
+1 Vitriol [Innate]
Drake Kelt (GWG)
Eely, suspicious-looking man
9 Tokens
+1 Mutation [Innate]
+1 Stem [Innate]
Stone Frank (javierpwn)
Tall, thin man absolutely covered in scars
9 Tokens
+1 Animation [Innate]
+1 Blood [Innate]
Dail Frogh (Illgeo)
Short, thin man with colorless hair and dirty white clothing
9 Tokens
+1 Transvocation [Innate]
+1 Darkness [Innate]
Bob the Necromancer (NPC)
Pale, black-haired, slightly plump man in dark clothing
9 Tokens
+1 Animation [Innate]
+1 Bone [Innate]
Sally the Druid (NPC)
Ruddy, green-haired, whispy woman in green clothing
9 Tokens
+1 Growth [Innate]
+1 Stem [Innate]
Biff the Summoner (NPC)
Beefy, red-haired man wearing red clothing
9 Tokens
+1 Transvocation [Innate]
+1 Fire [Innate]
((I do apologize for all the things that aren't clear.
Nature can indeed cover animals, but it can be trickier to use than on plants, because, as you've probably noticed, it tends to operate in plant terms. Transforming something's claws could be done with Thorns, something's torso might need Stem, and its teeth could use Thorns, but major mouth modifications might need Root, as could its heart.
Also, as a reminder, purchasing accoutrements does not require any time, though you might want to inquire about or try to buy things ahead of time if you're not sure if you can get them. Losing a turn because it turns out they don't sell Ancient Acid Dragons can quite literally be a fatal delay.
Also as a reminder, raw materials, including living things, are in a limited but inexhaustible supply based on their relative worth. In the case of living things this usually isn't as pronounced, since you might get a handful of slaves or just one dragon, but with inanimate materials you might be able to make a giant golem out of lumber but get only a few bars of gold.))