From the DM:
At one point or another, ... you found [yourself] within the boundaries of the empire. You were ... approached by a high-ranking imperial officer. According to him, you had caught his eye and showed “promise.” Generally, non-humans are not selected, but exceptions are made each year. You can decide for [yourself] what this officer saw in you. He explained that he was an officer at the Kharnith Officer Training School, known more commonly as “The Academy.” This Academy is located in sar-Rhyon, a royal city whose inhabitants are mainly high-ranking government personnel and wealthy landholders. After the officer explained all of the benefits of successfully graduating – riches, power and influence, pursuits tailored to your interests and skills – you ... accept. This is the last thing you remember before waking up in a field with tall grass, hills, and large rock formations. Next to you, you find a letter which reads,
“There are 400 of you in this field. Please narrow this number down to 200 using any means. The test will begin when you hear the canon fire. A second shot will occur when there are only 200 left standing. Good luck.”
You ... managed to not get knocked out or killed, and you can decide how your character behaved during this test. ...
From me:
Ok,
The Hunger Games 400, or just "200" as Zach Synder would call it:
Vohnkar awoke in the tall grass utterly disoriented and rather hungry. Cursing the officer who clearly did not understand that "Go **** yourself" was not a form of agreement, he noticed the letter sitting on his pack in front of him. Physically incapable of reading, Vohnkar was at least able to determine that whatever was written on the paper was in the common tongue and was not a map.
Entirely unsure of his surroundings as the grass was well above his head, Vohnkar was startled by the sound of a cannon. With no other guidance, he decided to head in that direction while chewing on some of the jerky he always kept on his person.
It did not take long before he came across the first of the lesser 399. He barely had time to react when the ruffian charged him. Six unpleasant seconds later, Vohnkar was searching through the unconscious--if bloody--body. Not finding any food of note, Vohnkar was concerned to find a letter in a similar form to his. He was lightly slapping awake his attacker when a second bruiser entered the small clearing made by the first disappointing combat.
Vohnkar tried yelling, "What--the ****--does this say?" while holding up the letter, but this man only smiled and started swinging his greataxe (clearly a family heirloom) in Vohnkar's direction. Six frustrating seconds later, Vohnkar was chagrined to find yet another letter, and another disappointing lack of provisions, with the exception of a skin of ale that tasted like warm piss.
It was only after two similar encounters that Vohnkar was able to rouse the first of his unconscious attackers. One of them had even managed to wound him by taking him by surprise before taking a restful, if heavily bruised, nap. Once awakened, the original ruffian, Boryon, was quite forthcoming about the contents of the letter because one of Vohnkar's hatchets was resting uncomfortably close to Boryon's chances of future procreation. Interestingly Boryon, and the other three attackers--once they came to--seemed amicable to Vohnkar's suggestion that they work together as an alternative to him just killing them then and there.
With the help of their height, Vohnkar chose a hill that was both defensible and gave a solid vantage point of the area. Foraging a bit on the way, they added a couple of other people to their band--the only death occurred in the process due to an axe-ident with one particularly frothy individual.
Finally arriving at their vantage point, Vohnkar set to work cooking up a meal to settle his now ravenous appetite. Sharing with the half-dozen, he snacked while watching the festivities below. On a couple of occasions, Vohnkar and a few of the healthier others (as they were still nursing their wounds) would intervene on behalf of another "applicant" who clearly did not intend to willingly join the slaughter. Fending off the occasional optimist, Vohnkar and his group continued to give people the chance to join or die, growing to about three dozen men and women from a variety of races by the time the second cannon blast sounded.