Ironball Washout
Survived the league.
Sold or signed to an Ironball franchise as a youth -- a debtor, a delinquent, a gene-craft washout, or just a talented nobody the recruiters liked. Trained in the league academies, fought under house colours, took the pay, took the pain, and took the scars. They wash out: injury, contract end, an IronMind flag, a star who lost their value, or simply the league declaring the asset spent. They leave the arena with a body's worth of damage, a player's instinct, and the eye of every betting syndicate in known space. The leash was the franchise; the debt was the contract.
Rules Reference
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Archetype Combinations / Academic | Bad fit. The league taught the body, not the mind. |
| Archetype Combinations / Chaplain | Bad fit. Day One despises the arena; House chaplains avoid it. |
| Archetype Combinations / Face | Workable fit. A famous name opens house doors; closes others. |
| Archetype Combinations / Officer | Awkward fit. League captaincy is not military rank. |
| Archetype Combinations / Operative | Workable fit. The conditioning and the rep both translate. |
| Archetype Combinations / Psion | Awkward fit. If the gene-screen flagged them, the league sold the flag. |
| Archetype Combinations / Sawbones | Awkward fit. Field-medic skills are not the same as athletic training. |
| Archetype Combinations / Scout | Good fit. Arena-side awareness is real instinct. |
| Archetype Combinations / Soldier | Natural fit. The arena teaches soldiering the hard way. |
| Background Trait / Cause | Because Ironball pays in years off your knees and your name on every bookie's wall. |
| Background Trait / Name | Arena-Tempered |
| Background Trait / Trigger | Passive; combat bonus and one long-tail drawback. |
| Birthplace | core-or-rim |
| Pipeline | ironball |
| Starting Kadiss Tier | 2 |
| Starting Rek | 300 |
| Verse Anchor | Ironball Washout |
Notes
Background Trait / Effect: +2 bonus to melee attack rolls and to all Strength- and Constitution-based checks (Ironball conditioning). Once per session the character may reroll a single attack roll or saving throw and take the second result. However, the character's body has been through the league: any healing check made on the character carries disadvantage (multiple past injuries, scar tissue, faded aug patches), and any gambling or social check made by a betting syndicate NPC against the character is made with advantage (the character's name is in the league books).
Social Hook: The washout knows the smell of the arena floor and the sound a body makes when it stops. They can fight, take a hit, and read a play. They have a name that the betting underworld remembers, a body that the med-techs remember, and a franchise that might still claim them if the right offer drops.
Starting Gear: Ironball franchise ID (former-player tag; one-time entry to one house-sponsored event per story), Personal weapon (often the same model they trained with -- ITEM-COMBAT-KNIFE or a sidearm of choice), Reinforced clothing (arena-recycled, under-armour soft weave), Rek chip with starting balance of 300, Three ration vouchers (any house brand), Tournament chip / ring / trophy-piece (small, valuable, sentimental; one reroll of a Persuasion check inside an Ironball venue, once), A betting-side debt marker (the syndicate expects the washout to throw or fade; -2 to Persuasion against the syndicate until cleared)
Trained Skills
| Skill | Ranks | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Athletics | 4 | Ironball training is a lifetime of conditioning. |
| Insight | 1 | Reading the play before the play. |
| Intimidation | 2 | The arena teaches presence. |