The Arena
The Arena in Crystal Hills comes from traditions a century old. The nobility of Ikaanos in particular enjoys spectating the blood sports that take place here.
The Arena is open to both slave and citizen alike. Slave fights are rarely to the death, as training a slave to fight is a significant investment that no master wants to lose. As such, medical personnel are kept on hand to treat any major or life-threatening wounds.
Despite this, it is not unheard of for a slave to die. In such cases, recordings of the fight are examined and a ruling is made as to the legality of the death. If the death appears to be a genuine accident resulting from a misjudged attack or other error, no further action is taken. There are legal protections in place to prevent the Arena or the opposing slave's master from being held responsible for an accidental death, as it is viewed as part of the risk a slavemaster voluntarily accepts when entering their slave in a fight.
If it appears that the deceased's opponent killed them deliberately, the dead slave's master may demand reparations from the master of the opposing slave. Such cases are usually settled via private agreements. If no agreement can be made, the masters may agree to bring the case before a private arbitrator. The arbitrator will take several days to review the evidence, during which time both sides will privately try to exert political and financial pressure to sway things in their favor. The case is usually won by whichever side has better political connections or can offer the bigger bribe.
Regardless of the outcome of any private dispute, the Arena's owners take a very dim view of any master whose slave deliberately kills an opponent. They may excuse such an incident once, especially if the master is appropriately apologetic and the slave is severely disciplined. If it happens again, however, the master risks being banned from the Arena. No master wants to send their slave up against the slave of someone who has a history of letting their slaves kill, and the Arena's reputation would suffer if no action was taken against someone who showed such callous disregard for the property and investments of others.
Fights between free citizens are somewhat different. Private citizens typically participate in more brutal, lethal fights. These pay quite well, but the real draw is the potential to earn fame and influence as a top arena fighter. A particularly successful fighter may earn a sponsorship from a member of the nobility, which in turn provides even more fame and influence, as well as a substantial amount of cash and the political connections to retire to a comfortable, cushy job working for the nobility once the gladiator is either too old or too injured to continue fighting. Of course, a fighter has to survive in order to make it that far, and survival is not guaranteed.
The arena is also used to punish criminals. Certain crimes are often punished by assigning the perpetrator(s) to "One Thousand Fights." This is effectively a death sentence, as surviving one thousand fights is so rare as to be considered impossible. Only a handful of individuals have ever survived their thousand fights and won their freedom. These individuals are now considered gladiatorial legends, and several of them enjoyed the life so much that they signed back on as free gladiators.
Fighting in the Arena
The player can sign up to fight in the Arena. You can sign up yourself and fight alone , or take your party of slaves and mercenaries into the arena as a team. Fighting solo pits you against the same enemies as taking your party with you, so it's not recommended. This comes with it's own share of risks and rewards. Fights in the arena are deadly. Mercenaries who perish are permanently lost just as they are in regular combat, and you and your slaves will suffer the same permanent effects for being defeated in combat. You can choose the tier of fights to participate in, and can also choose to fight a random opponent. You earn money for winning fights, and prestige in the form of climbing the internal ranks of the Arena. You gain a daily amount of influence based on your rank. Arena ranks are as follows:
- CHAMPION OF THE MASTERSPHERE - +20 influence/day
- Immortal - +14 influence/day
- Centurion - +6 influence/day
- Herald - +2 influence/day
- Veteran
- Warrior
- Brawler
- Initiate
- Unproven
The Crystal Hills Arena Gladiatrix School
You can send a slave to the Arena's Gladiatrix School. This frees up her household slot, allowing you to purchase another slave or move someone else into your home. It costs $95 per day to keep your slave enrolled here and in return the school will teach her combat skills and allow you to schedule her for fights in the Arena. Arena fights are not mandatory, but are an excellent way for your slave to earn you influence and income. A skilled slave can more than pay for the price of her combat education through fighting. These fights are not to the death, but your slave can be wounded in them. If your slave wins, you receive both monetary winnings and influence from owning such a skilled slave.
Interaction options with slaves in the CHAGS are limited. You can inquire as to how the slave is doing, request sex from her, and encourage her. You can also inspect her and arrange fights for her from the interaction menu. Note that if you ask a slave for sex and she refuses, you do not have your usual options for punishing such insolence, as the school is a public place and making a scene would only show that cannot control your slaves.
Fights arranged for your slave play out different than fights involving the player. You choose the weapon your slave is equipped with from your available inventory, then choose her opponent. After that, you watch the fight unfold. There is an event roll that determines if your slave gets any bonuses or penalties for the match, then another event roll to determine the outcome of the fight. If you interact with your slave after a fight, the options provide some different scenes. Encouraging her will comfort her if she lost or praise her if she won. Asking for sex can be framed as a celebration of her victory, or as a punishment for losing. The outcome of a fight can affect her chances of saying yes to sex as well. A slave who hates you but likes fighting might punish herself for a loss by agreeing to sex despite not really wanting to.