The Free City Arena
Oeridians have been obsessed with blood sport since before the migrations, and a common truism throughout the Flanaess holds that one can determine the influence of Oeridians upon a given city by measuring the size and resplendence of its colosseum. By this metric, the Free City of Greyhawk is truly the jewel of the Flanaess.
Purpose / Function
The stadium hosts many sporting events, from jousts to races, but is best known for the Champion's Belt, a massive gladatorial tournament that draws fans and fighters from all over Greyhawk Domain. In addition to sport and gladiatorial combat, the Free City Arena sees action as a home to militia and city watch drills, countless open-air performances, musical concerts, and holiday celebrations. At least once a year, guild wizards seal the field’s two entrances with walls of force and flood the playing field allowing for simulated naval battles that draw observers from as far as Nyrond.
In addition to these contests, the arena is still used by the city for those occasions when a grand celebration is required. Many holidays are commemorated with a service here. Illusionist shows, offered once or twice a year, are extremely popular. And every few years a traveling circus comes to the Free City, remaining for two or three weeks. These festive occasions are cause for nightly crowds in Clerkburg, even though they occur over Midsummer when the colleges are not in session.
The men of the City Watch hold drills and mock battles here. Only twice a year are the mock battles performed before an audience, once in spring and once in autumn, but the troops often practice here during the day, or even under the light of a bright moon.
Architecture
The grand stone edifice was once a gleaming white circle of limestone. The color first faded to gray, and then one day nearly 20 years ago, suffered the indignity of a practical joke by the students of the Bardschool: the citizens of the Free City awakened one morning to find that their coliseum had been painted all over a vibrant shade of pink
Of course, it has mostly faded by now, but in places an observer can see a streak of pink running through a seam in the limestone. And from a distance, the entire edifice seems to take on a rosy hue when the sun hits it just right. The arena is capable of hosting all sorts of functions. Its field is large, and normally covered with hard-packed sand. However, it has been covered with lush turf or filled with enough water to float small boats-both transformations accomplished with the aid of powerful priests-on more than one occasion.
Below the seats is a complex labyrinth of dressing rooms, cages for wild animals or prisoners, and storage halls for the equipment that is sometimes employed in the events of the arena. The short, narrow skiffs used by the various college teams for the rowing races and mock sea battles fought in the flooded stadium, for example, are locked up under a section of the stands.
The arena floor itself has only two entrances, one at the east end and the other at the west end. Each of these is 20 feet wide by 16 feet high, and can be secured with massive wooden doors. These doors fit so snugly that water barely trickles under them when the arena is awash. The front rank of spectator seating reaches almost to the edge of this wall. In fact, an observer in this row who leans too far forward may find himself flat on his face in the arena. Above the western entrance rests the Grand Box of the Lord Mayor, where Gasgal and his honored guests admire the competition under the shade of an elaborately columned roof. In addition to space for dozens of cronies and functionaries, the Box contains an elaborate wooden throne known as Zagig’s Seat, which to this day is left empty should the city’s infamous mayor drop by for a bit of sport. This luxurious accommodation can seat 100 personal guests of the lord mayor.
The arena proper contains underground housing for contestants. Nearby buildings house administrative business, as well as the arena owner's palatial estate and a barracks for his personal force of bodyguards.
Watchtowers
The circular points on the arena building are watchtowers. Each is manned by four guards.Gates
There are arena gates at the North, Northwest, Southwest, and South points of the arena proper. All but the northern gates lead directly into the stand. The North gate also has a service entrance to the coenoby.Arena
The arena floor is packed, dry earth. A lift is built into the arena floor to transport gladiators into the ring. The stands are arranged in 12 banks of 1,200 seats each, with 500 box seats arranged along the lower levels. All seats enjoy a splendid view of events, but the lower seats are more highly valued. Box seats enjoy cushioned couches and private food and drink service during arena events.Service Level
The first basement level houses props and tools for use in the arena, as well as cells for death-row prisoners who are executed here. It also houses a menagerie of exotic beasts that fight in the arena for the public's entertainment. A ring that lines up with the arena's stands contains staircases connecting the Arena to this level and the Coenoby.Coenoby
The second basement level houses the Coenoby, a dormitory cut in Deep Dwarven style from a natural cavern. During the annual Champion's Games, competing teams are housed here. The Coenoby includes a mess hall, kitchen, and infirmary. The modern Coenoby adjoins an older dormitory called the Titan's House, which has since been closed off due to collapse. A ring that lines up with the arena's stands contains staircases connecting this area to the Arena, passing through the Service Level along the way.A: Raknian Estate
Loris Raknian, retired gladiator, founder of the Champion's Games, and manager of the Free City Arena, lives here.B: Barracks
Loris Raknian, Arena manager, houses his private guard force here. The guards serve the arena and its attendance as much as Raknian himself.C: Arena Administration
The bureaucracy of the arena, such as the licensing of team managers and the maintenance of the grounds, is handled here. Tools and other maintenance equipment are housed in the L-shaped shed behind the building.History
The arena began as a Joint effort between Grey College and Lord Mayor Zagig, to be used for college assemblies and events as well as entertainments for the citizens of the city. Zagig employed a cadre of architectural virtuosos to craft one of the most spectacular arenas in modern times. It proved somewhat of a bust as the latter – apparently the citizens of Greyhawk had plenty of ways to entertain themselves without the grandiose spectacles hosted by Zagig.
As a college focal point. however, the arena has been a grand success. It serves as a neutral ground for representatives of all the schools in Clerkburg, as well as self-proclaimed fraternities of students using individual tutors. to gather and face off in the endless series of games and contests these students use to amuse themselves.
After Zagig’s disappearance, the Directing Oligarchy forbade lethal combat in the arena, preferring to focus on athletic competitions between the city’s many colleges (the brutal sport of jumps remains popular, no doubt in part because its players occasionally manage to suffer lethal injuries on the field).
In 594 CY, Lord-Mayor reinstated lethal combat in the arena as a means to deal with overcrowding in the city’s workhouses. Hardened criminals are now given the opportunity to do battle against imported creatures or each other at biweekly day-long festivals of violence. The irony that vicious criminals now rank among some of Greyhawk’s most popular residents is not lost upon the cynical inhabitants of the city.
Maps
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The Free City Arena
This huge collosseum is the centre of martial artistry and bloodsport in Greyhawk.
Type
Stadium
Parent Location
Owner
Related Tradition (Primary)
Related Report (Primary Locations)