Coliseums of Korma

In the dwarven nation of Korma, coliseum fights are the national pastime. These fights can be between any two creatures. The combatants battle until one of them surrenders, is incapacitated, or dies. However, no fighter actually dies in these matches. The arena is enchanted with many Breath of Life runes that will revive a creature at the moment of death, while still rendering it unconscious. Sleep, paralysis, and other similar effects are magically negated in the arena to prevent quick victories that do not provide a spectacle.
Typically, fighters are entered by sponsors with a bounty attached to them; the bounty is effectively a bet made by the sponsor that their fighter will win. When one fighter defeats another, the bounty of the defeated fighter is added to the bounty of the winning fighter. Efforts are made to ensure that the fighters have equal bounties in each match. The champion's sponsor will receive the entire bounty collected at the end of the tournament. Fighters are not allowed to withdraw from the tournament once they have entered, and will automatically forfeit if they fail to show up for their match.
Public bets will be placed on each round of the tournament, as well as on the overall champion. In addition to the sponsor bounty, there are two other betting pools that work similarly, with one difference. For each round, bettors choose one of three outcomes: the purple fighter wins, the green fighter wins, or a draw. They can also bet on a single fighter to win the entire tournament at the beginning of the day. They enter the amount to bet, which is added to the pool with the others. At the end of the round/tournament, the pool is divided among all bettors who predicted the correct outcome.
The difference is how the pool is divided among the winners. The first pool is scaled, so that each gambler's bet is recorded to determine what percentage of the bet on their chosen outcome they have contributed. At the end of the round, they receive an equal percentage of the winnings. For example, a player who contributed 5% of the total bet for a tie would receive 5% of the final pool total for a tie.
The second pool is not scaled. Each player who picks the same outcome will receive an equal share of the pool, regardless of the amount of the initial bet. For example, if player A bets 5 gold on a tie, while player B bets only 1 gold, they both receive the same amount of gold on a tie. The excitement of this betting style comes from betting against the other players, as betting below the average results in a larger individual profit. However, larger bets result in larger payouts for everyone.

Colored Collars

The most lucrative of these dwarven arenas offer special challenges that fighters can take on to increase their initial prize money. Upon accepting a challenge, the fighter is given a special colored collar to wear for the duration of the challenge. The most prominent of these is the black collar, although other colors have also been seen.

The Black Collar

Black collar fighters are fighters who have given up resurrection in exchange for a 1,000 gold bonus to their bounty. Black collars are enchanted to prevent resurrection, so the Arena's Breath of Life rune will be unable to resurrect them at the moment of death. It is made absolutely clear to fighters and sponsors that the arena cannot and will not resurrect fighters should they lose. Still, many see the challenge as the ultimate sign of confidence or arrogance.

The Red Collar

Red collar fights also exist in some locales, but are only held after sundown, as they are considered inappropriate for the public eye. The Red Collar marks fighters that consent to allow tactics to be used against them that are normally not allowed in the arenas in general, namely those of a physically intimate nature.
Due to the nature of these fights, red-collar fights are completely unregulated. They consist of single round matches with prize payouts immediately following the conclusion of the match. The prize bonus for the collar varies according to the pitmaster's opinion of the red collar fighter. These bouts originated with an all-female tribe of orcs who came to the arena in search of strong mates.

The Green and Blue Collars

The green and blue collars have comparable but opposed purposes. Green collars indicate fighters who will not fight any humanoids; instead, they will battle animals and various other creatures. Blue collars, on the other hand, indicate warriors who will only fight other humanoids, not beasts. Green collars may be attached to any combatant, whilst blue collars can only be applied to humanoids. Green collars are often worn by people who prefer not to engage in war with their own kind, and blue collars are worn by those who excel in combat against other humanoids. The disparity between the two collar colors helps a fighter or their owner to clearly identify their favorite opponents and battlefield strategies.

Fodder Flingers

The term "Fodder Flinger" is used within arena culture to describe individuals who sponsor low-effort fighters, typically betting nothing but a collar bounty. These fighters often consist of wild beasts or recently captured monsters. The motivation behind such sponsorship is to secure a substantial profit for the sponsor if the creature manages to win the day, while incurring minimal losses should the creature be defeated.
This practice is generally met with disapproval, primarily due to ethical concerns and the perception that it inflates the daily bracket with fighters of little to no skill. However, it is allowed to continue, as it contributes to the arena's spectacle with the unpredictable nature of these wild combatants. While it may not be the most respected aspect of the coliseums, it is permitted to continue due to the diverse and often unpredictable displays these wild cratures bring to the arena.

History

The origins of the coliseums lie with dwarven nobles who would hold fights between their Halfling slaves behind closed doors. Once the rumor of the practice began to spread, the dwarven population became fascinated with the bouts. Eventually, arenas were constructed to house them as a public spectacle, and formal betting was introduced to pay for the arenas' maintenance.
The battling of non-halflings is said to have come about when a noble declared that his prized fighter could single-handedly take down a razor boar. Once the bet was made, a razor boar was captured and brought to the arena to face off against the slave. The fight drew an enormous crowd, so it was decided to open the fights to any and all participants. If you could bring it to the arena alive, you could sponsor it as a fighter.
With more time and growth, the addition of the runes was funded; in this way, anyone could battle in the arena without fear of losing their life. However, the apparent lack of risk did lead to a slight loss of excitement. Thus, the black collars were introduced so that matches with actual weight could still be held.

Related Organizations

• Kingdom of Korma