The Coliseum
The Coliseum is most definitely one of the landmarks of Ne'haer. It was built shortly after the city's wall, in the 500th arc. It was created with the goal of providing entertainment to the citizens of Ne'haer, mostly by watching incredible fights which often led to death and betting on the winners. People have been known to cheat the system wince it was made, just by having insight into which of the combatants was the most prepared one, and then betting everyone possible that the most likely winner would in fact take the victory. Still, even for folks that do not enjoy throwing their money at the suicide mission enthusiasts, watching the fights can be a thrill by itself. The best and most confident of fighters in all of Ne'haer and the region come to fight in the events that happen once every season, usually near the end. Once every arc, a larger event is held, usually in Ashan, which invites every man with a wish to earn some money to fight in the grand tournament. During the tournament, combatants are placed in groups of 5, and the number of groups depends on the number of participants. The winner and/or survivor from each of the group then go one on one with each other, until only 2 remain. When the final two are selected from the winners, the tournament takes a break of five trials to ensure both of them are going to be starting the battle on even terms. In every stage, every combatant has the right to fight with any weapon available at the Coliseum. Nobody is allowed to bring in their own weapons, because that would make the fights in favor of those with the most money. Armor is handled the same way, and each combatant can choose a set of light (leather), medium (chain mail) or heavy (plate) armor. All armor and weapons are of the same quality and made by the same blackmsmith with the same material. If there is one thing that the Coliseum holds closely to, that thing would be fair play. It has been known in several occasions that a person cheated to get to the rank they got to during the fights, or the tournament, and whenever discovered of cheating, every individual, no matter the status or ranking, will be imprisoned within the Coliseum and forced to fight his or her way to freedom with low level equipment. The Council has yet to disagree with the Coliseum personnel on this rule, as they also believe in the fair play behind the fights, seeing how most who enter lose their lives.
The arena within the Coliseum is 300 feet long and around 165 feet wide, while with all of the seating and storage rooms, it is 400 feet long and 250 feet wide. The ground on the arena is always filled with sand, so that no fight during a season can be in different conditions than in any other season, except for the weather. The arena has 13 gates total, from which 11 lead to cage-like rooms in which fighters, in some cases even beasts were stored. The other 2 lead to storage units, which contain all of the equipment available to the combatants. The seating has 11 floors, with each floor being able to contain approximately 5 thousand people. The floors are divided into 3 categories, based on the experience. The floors closest to the arena and the highest priced and valued, as people sitting in them can see everything that is going on between the combatants without issues. The first 5 floors are in this category, and they all have separate seats for every viewer. Whenever a Councilor of Minaih, an Immortal, or any of the Masters of the Coliseum are seated, they will get places in the first floor, no matter what. The second category contains floors from the 5th to the 8th, and these have benches with walls being the only thing someone can lean on. In these seats most often are found citizens of the middle class, the ones that have just enough money for themselves. The third category has the last three floors in it, and it has no seats for the viewers in it. However, this category is almost always completely filled, seeing how cheap it is to buy a "seat". Here are often found the people that just adore watching the events, and yet don't have enough money to watch them from anywhere closer to the arena. The third seating category is also the one where the most gambling takes place, as well as the first one, because the latter is filled with people with money to spend, and the 3rd category is filled with people that love spending money on the events, even if that led to them getting in serious debt.
NPCs
Name: Johan Strawd
Race: Mixed (Human/Biqaj)
Age: 38
Born: 1st of Ashan, arc 668
Title: Grand Master of the Coliseum
Blessings/Curses: Taithir - Adored
Skills: Blades: Shortsword (Dual wielding) - Master Intimidation - Expert Endurance - Competent Discipline - Competent
Other Information: Johan used to be in Ne'haer military, protecting the city and fighting for it's glory, until one day he decided to try out at one of the events at the Coliseum. After beating every one of his opponents with ease, he was offered a spot as one of the overseers and trainers, a master of the Coliseum. As he had always been of the free spirit, and the military had disciplined him to madness, he accepted the position and remained at the Coliseum. Slowly progressing as his mentors retired or died, Johan earned the title of Grand Master of the Coliseum, becoming the true ruler of the large building.
Johan believes in fair play and the right of freedom, and so he will punish cheaters with all of his might and strength with no regards for the consequences. He believes that everyone can be a fighter, if they believe in themselves, and work hard for it. He gladly accepts anyone with any skill in any weapon into the fights at the Coliseum, so long as they behave during the fights. What his fighters do once outside of the place doesn't concern him, unless their actions directly affect the events at the Coliseum.
Awards
TBD
Note: All players are free to use the NPCs here mentioned without moderator approval if writing about the location. If you are writing about one of the fights, you should PM a local Prophet to let them know, and to make sure the events during that season haven't already happened at some other time. For the Grand Tournament, Moderator approval and/or a Moderated thread is a MUST.
Created by: Aeon