I have a player who's going to start off with an affiliation to Zelkarune's Horns and he's probably going to want to take part in a few of the gladiator trials (definitely, actually). Any thoughts on the best way to handle this? I suppose I could just let them whack away at each other per normal combat rules and just have clerics waiting in the wings, but that seems like an expensive way to run a gladiator pit. Also, would folks just cry "mercy" when they notice that they're particularly low on the HP and hope nobody gets a bad case of the "dying"? (The Sasserine supplement did say that fights were "generally" not to the death when people were involved.) We could try taking the penalty for non-lethal strikes and run it that way and what have you, but that feels a little like wussing out, but the other option seems a tad barbaric for a place that feels so otherwise civilized like Sasserine.
At the moment, I'm thinking just normal combat rules, with each gladiator entering into combat with the full understanding that this is a possibly lethal undertaking and that they'd have to be responsible for their own health afterwards. Perhaps judges could watch and call a match if it looks like neither side is willing to offer quarter...
If anyone has any other ideas they'd like to share, I would greatly appreciate it.
Toodles!
You could also say that Zelkarune hires local clerics to stand by during matches, ready to administer healing if need be.
If you don't mind creating a new type of magic item, Pippi, here's an idea that that might work for you:
Kord's Ring of Mercy
An item designed specifically for the Sasserine Arena, this ring is designed to be slipped over a weapon's haft or grip (or finger, in the case of a cestus or spiked gauntlet). These rings are used when mercenaries/gladiators fight each other in the arena (and sometimes when fighting exotic creatures as well), and want to keep to the general rule of nonlethal combat.
When placed on a weapon, the ring makes all damage from that weapon nonlethal damage, just as if the weapon had the Merciful weapon trait). The rings only work within the confines of the Sasserine Arena (they are keyed to the structure itself, and go inert if they leave it for any reason).
These rings were crafted decades ago by the church of Kord to garner goodwill for the competitions at the Arena (and to enforce their image of supporting nonlethal physical competition).
I unfortunately do not have any books with me (like the one the Merciful weapon trait comes from - I think it was Book of Exalted Deeds), so my best guess for a Market Value would be the cost of the Merciful trait's 'plus value', plus 500 gp for the ring, then divide the total by half to account for its limited range of application.
I hope this idea helps a little!
Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman
"Bringing Big D**n Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"
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I was actually going to suggest something very similar to that. Switching it all over to non-lethal is the way to go.
In fact, if you don't want to muck around with an item like the ring (not that it's a bad idea), you could just say that the church of Kord blessed the entire arena such that all damage dealt therein would be of the non-lethal variety. That takes a slightly higher level of disbelief suspension, but then it is, after all, magic. :)
I considered the cleric, but I didn't think that the guild would spend money to use clerics on a fight between two unknowns, so I went with nonlethal damage.
I think that as my PC progresses and fights more times, added perks such as clerics standing by will go to show that he is becoming a name in Sasserine.
Neat ring, though!
Thanks for the responses, you guys! They were very helpful.
I think I might even employ a combination of ideas for The Arena.
I think that Zelkarune's Horns will employ clerics, Par-a-dox but only in the case of emergencies (-1 to -9 HP), and then the gladiator in need of the services will wind up paying a steep charge for them (I picture Mr. Grankus employing some savy business guys. The Z's Horns are listed as one of Sasserine's most profitable groups). Anything outside of those emergency services is to be arranged before hand, and contestants are encouraged to bring along their own healing potions and healy-type friends to the arena, if at all possible.
I love the idea of the rings, Dalesman, and for a group as wealthy as the Horns it's more than financially feasible for them to have a few around. Bound to The Arena itself, it would make it less likely for them to be pilfered as well (although, what kind of thief would want to steal something that makes folks less lethal? Hmmmm...). Zasker can have them readily avaible for the folks that want them. The idea of the whole Arena being blessed was a good one as well, FDW, but I think there are still enough blood-thirsty folk around that would want to see a monster or two taken down in a lethal-type manner that I'll just run with the individual magic items for now.
Thanks again for the help!
Glad we could help! :)
Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman
"Bringing Big D**n Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"
You guys really did!
As a matter of fact, I'm thinking I may be changing up the focus of my "pre-game" game.
I think someone's going to swap one of the enchanted rings of mercy for an ordinary ring designed to look exactly the same. A popular, retired gladiator will come back into the Arena for a one-time-only exhibition match and his opponent is given the swapped ring! *GASP!* The up-and-coming gladiator winds up killing the older champion, unintentionally (or was it?). 0_0
The ring will be traced back to the goldsmith who made the ring, unaware of its intended purpose. (One of my players already stated his fighter has a father who's a smithy...)
Mwah-hah-ha! Political intrigue will abound! My Machiavellian nature, long repressed, will be allowed to run rampant! Children will weep for their lost innocence!
Thanks again!
Not to still the post away from the 0P, but I also have a PC who wishes to be in a gladiator and I was think of useing the gladiator fight from "Pandemonium in the veins" Dungon #96 befor he heads off to the Isle of dread.
So has anyone played/ran this advunture,From what I can tell it puts the heros in to the pits and battles and end with the stadum being wreaked for the time being wich push the PC to go and leave the ring and go to the island.
You guys really did!
As a matter of fact, I'm thinking I may be changing up the focus of my "pre-game" game.
I think someone's going to swap one of the enchanted rings of mercy for an ordinary ring designed to look exactly the same. A popular, retired gladiator will come back into the Arena for a one-time-only exhibition match and his opponent is given the swapped ring! *GASP!* The up-and-coming gladiator winds up killing the older champion, unintentionally (or was it?). 0_0
The ring will be traced back to the goldsmith who made the ring, unaware of its intended purpose. (One of my players already stated his fighter has a father who's a smithy...)
Mwah-hah-ha! Political intrigue will abound! My Machiavellian nature, long repressed, will be allowed to run rampant! Children will weep for their lost innocence!
Thanks again!
Ooooh, that's sweet, Pippi.... intrigue worthy of a Medici ;P
Let us know how it goes if you do decide to use it!
Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman
"Bringing Big D**n Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"
I'm sorry, Tomovasky, but I've never played or run that particular adventure. It sounds interesting, though. Considering the teeth I had to pull to get me an addtional copy of issue #139 (after mine was stolen... grrr!) I don't know how lucky I'll be to find a copy of that one. :(
Ooooh, that's sweet, Pippi.... intrigue worthy of a Medici ;P
Let us know how it goes if you do decide to use it!
I will!
I hope to have it all written out for this Saturday morning, but I'm a little pressed for time. I'm going to try not to throw in too many red herrings, but successful Gather Information checks might lead to some of this scuttle-butt around the town:
One rumor has it that the murdered champion was a seeker, and his death is tied to the recent deaths of certain other rumored seekers, whose last names just happen to be Vanderboren. (Not true, but a hint of things to come.)
Another source tells that Emil Dracktus, a big fan of the games, has been buying up a lot of the Shadowshore slums, and has been considering building an arena of his own. The shocking news of the dead champion, along with a string of other "accidents" (that wyvern you heard of that broke free from its chain and mauled that poor spectator? Horrible business, that...) would certainly help Dracktus in his efforts. (Not true either -Zasker has just had a string of bad luck- and could you imagine anyone building an arena in Shadow shore?- but it will get them going through Shadowshore, where I hope to leave intimations of an up-and-coming new band of thugs whose name begins with an "L" and rhymes with "Motus Dragons".)
Another rumor-monger has heard that the champion was a devout follower of Kord, and that the cleric waiting in the wings, a worshiper of Wee Jas, stripped the ring of its magical abilites and offered up the gladiator as a sacrifice to her dark goddess. (Whatever.)
The actual truth, though, (I think...) will be that the retired champion (I'm going to call him Hazen Lacroix) retired a very wealthy man, and wound up investing a great deal of money in the Thunder River Lumber Company. Neldrak Lorchester (although Lawful Neutral) has hired some rather unscrupulous individuals to try and secure the sale of his shares (I'm still trying to decide how much he actually knows about their methods). Hazen refused to sell, but apparently his nephew (and only heir) would be more than willing to part with them...
I dunno... the plot is still a little weak, but I have some very fun players whose rollplaying always leaves me very delighted. I hope they have fun with it.
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I think someone's going to swap one of the enchanted rings of mercy for an ordinary ring designed to look exactly the same. A popular, retired gladiator will come back into the Arena for a one-time-only exhibition match and his opponent is given the swapped ring! *GASP!* The up-and-coming gladiator winds up killing the older champion, unintentionally (or was it?). 0_0The ring will be traced back to the goldsmith who made the ring, unaware of its intended purpose. (One of my players already stated his fighter has a father who's a smithy...)
Thanks again!
I was reading the begining of this thread and was thinking of having an assasin just using a scroll of dispell magic on a ring for the same effect.If the dead person has rubbed against the wrong noble-born it could be another way to hate a certain villan....
Pippi,
I like this idea, and might want to use it in some fashion for my game. Do you think you might be willing to share your final write up with us? If it's to big to post here, perhaps you could email it?
Thanks,
FCW
Thanks for your interest, Mr. Wesel! (Mrrr! I almost wrote Weasel as opposed to Wesel, 'cause that's how I read your last name. I wish I were smart.) It was a fun little adventure to run, and I'd be happy to post it, but the majority of it was kind of done off of a sort of DM short-hand I keep, so it'll pro'ly be a moment or two before I can get it together in some sort of form that would be useful for anyone not living in my head.
The assassin would be a way to accomplish the death as well, Cpt_kirstov, but I figured the Horns would have people on the look-out for magical interference with the different fights (on account of all the betting and what have you... a favored champion who had sleep cast on him at an inopportune time could cost someone a whole lot of money), so I decided to go a completely non-magical route to accomplish this particular dastardly deed. It's funny how much magic tends to cloud the players' minds to how things could be accomplished without it. Sometimes a good reversable coat is worth its weight in invisibility potions. :P
Pippi,
I like this idea, and might want to use it in some fashion for my game. Do you think you might be willing to share your final write up with us? If it's to big to post here, perhaps you could email it?
Thanks,
Hi there,
If poss. when you've done it, could you please send the write up to christoperjrbond@hotmail.com. That would be fantastic. I understand that you're busy, so no rush or anything, just if you wouldn't mind sending it when you've done it.
Many thanks
Warmage 101
Our STAP will feature the arena heavily due to two players tying their backstories into it. The pair have been talking excitedly about taking each other on and perhaps becoming the next famous arena partnership (tag team). They wish to have a match to decide who is the 'side kick' out of them.
To add some spice to the arena battles I was hoping to comeup with different styles of match, has anyone thought of doing something simular?
Maybe matches in which the fighters are bound together at the forearm or another where the fight takes place on raised platforms, that sort of thing.
Perhaps I should start to watch WWE...
just to throw in my 2cp...
When I use arenas in my game the mages will summon the fighters into the arena, like a summon monster spell. they fight to the death and when one dies he just reappears outside of the arena, right where they were in the first place.