Idol Senshi

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Idol Senshi are warriors who fight monsters for prize money. They are found in most Enclaves.

The modern-day version of warrior poets, Idol Senshi compete for fame and sponhsorships as much of the thrill of the chase.

## History

After the Stormburst, the lack of culture or arts, or room to make things, led to a looming dread that began to consume people's will and sap them of desire to continue. In an effort to combat this, competitions were called: High threat-level monsters would be scouted around an area and a bounty would be placed on it's destruction.

Every time a city ship discovered a noteworthy prize, it would hover over and begin a televised hunt, shown on vidscreens like a sporting event, complete with competitor stats.

As certain hunters became stronger, they developed fanbass, and over time this developed into hero worship and adoration not dissimilar to the idol culture of present day earth.

## Present Day

Idol Senshi are scouted by Sponsors, who pay for their transportation down to the surface in exchange for a portion of their winnings. Their "sponsor" acts as a form of manager, organizing promotional deals, ad campaigns, and paying for their Watcher- the automated camera droid that follows them and broadcasts their battle in real time.

Sponsors can be huge businesses who hold the majority of blueprints in an Enclave, or small up and coming businesses willing to front the money in exchange for the winnings and blueprints that are collected on the ground. Idols often build up gimmicks for themselves.

Popular Senshi are never far from TV or vidscreen, appearing on animated billboard adverts or even singing and dancing, depending on their personal talents. They are talked about and adored by their fans in various newsletters. However, this has it's darkside. As the price of a life is low, memorable deaths may be broadcast in segments such as "Slip of the Hunt", with added comedic sound effects and mockery.

## Talent, Sponsor, and Manager

### Talent

"Talent" is the word used to refer to Idol Senshi, usually up and comers, but also in general. Talent sign a contract with a willing Sponsor, who deals with the funding of their lifestyle in exchange for a percentage of all of their earnings. This contract can be bought out if the Sponsor and Talent agree.

Talent can sell their contract and be bought out, if they or the sponsor is willing. Talent can be any species other than mutant, as long as they are willing to fight and die for their Sponsor.

Most talent dream of big success, like gaining enough money to raise in echelon and live on the upper decks, but only the strongest and most bloodthirsty can succeed.

### Sponsor

A "Sponsor" is someone willing to put in the money to pay for the Idol's pass down into the fight, and to gear them and pay for their medical expenses, and maybe housing. The Sponsor signs a contract with the free agent, taking a percentage of their winnings in exchange for the advertising, publicity, and money they earn in.

Some sponsors only hire one or two, but elite sponsors hire huge teams, and pay for them to have only the finest weapons and armor. Poaching, the act of a comapny buying the contract of a rising star Talent, is common.

Sponsors are usually large corporations, so they will hire individual Managers to handle the day to day running of their Idols and Idol groups.

### Manager/Control

The Manager, or Control, is the person who interfaces with the Idol Talent directly. They are the ones who calibrate and control the Watcher Bot, who scan for enemies and high value targets and monitor the Idol's health on and off the ground, from within the safety of the pod shelter.

Outside of fighting, Managers deal with getting their Talent paid work as singers, dancers, models (risqué and tame), actors, and other similar things. Having your Idol represent a product across multiple Enclaves through the net is considered the greatest badge of honor for a Manager.

One manager runs a group or a single Talent for a Sponsor. It is not unusual for bigger sponsors to have multiple managers with different groups, or potentially multiple managers with one group, although that is rare.

## Watcher Bots

A Watcher, or Watcher Bot, is a floating camera robot with the approximate intelligence of a large dog, kept in a small box.

Watchers are owned by sponsors and are how they get footage and stream their Senshi's battles. Each Watcher's feed can be viewed at any time, and may be used in battle highlight reels. Until a Senshi has a reputation, they will probably be only fleetingly glimpsed if at all. Sponsors can keep an eye on the view count and let their handler know to inform them when it's increasing or decreasing.

Particularly famous or memorable Senshi may have multiple Watchers, who live edit between them to increase their brand reputation and provide the best shots possible. Some Senshi treat them as pets, personalizing and rewarding them, while others see them merely as a tool. It's unsurprising which of those two types get the most discretion when they die.

## The Hunt

Hunts usually occur once or twice monthly. As in antiquity, they are treated as sporting events with the target assigned one day ahead of time so that each Idol can study the area as much as possible.

Before the hunt there is a ramp up of interest, Senshi give smack-talking speeches of how great they'll do, or request their fans to support them, on their streams using their watchers. Hunt shows will usually make a best of reel for the general public to view.

The hunt officially begins on the signal, after which the gates to their pods are opened and they are free to move about the surface. While the bravest or most foolhardy will go for the big prize, early starters tend to aim for the smaller ones.

During the hunt, they are supported by a Control, a person in the pod who relays information from whatever scanners or other devices they have on hand. The control will feed them live info and keeps track of their bodily condition using various vidscreens linked to the competitors own neural net. Although Control may order a pull out, it is possible the Senshi will refuse the order and press onward, likely to their death.

At the end of the hunt, the Senshi are ranked according to the value of their retrievals and kills, including any Idol-kills, and placed into a ranking. Their rank may be raised depending on how successful they were.

## Prizes

While big targets have big prize money, smaller targets can also be bet on. Citizens watching will place a monetary bet on a certain monster they spot on vidscreens, and a portion of the winnings goes to the Idol who defeat it. Idols of the same sponsor usually work together, while those from opposing may fight or attempt to disable each other.

Similarly, sponsors will pay a high price in credits for any blueprints that are recovered.

Idols are also able to rapidly ascend Echelons, if they're skilled enough to get the money needed. For this reason, many in the lower echelons seek a sponsor.

## Regulations

Once the hunt is on, there are officially no rules for the Idols to follow. Although many won't harm others due to the damage to their reputation this would cause, some have developed a reputation for being bloodthirsty and killers, and their fans cheer them ever louder when they kill other competitors.

There have even been cases of vicious Idols kidnapping and murdering the on-site Control for their competitors, just to cripple their functionality.